The Emperor has arrived!
“Long live His Majesty, long live, long live!”
After the commoners cleared the path, they knelt and bowed, their cries of “Long live!” loud and orderly. The imperial carriage stopped before the Fengxian Pavilion, and a young eunuch knelt to serve as a footstool.
Ji Hong alighted from the carriage, and the ministers bowed in unison: “Your subjects greet His Majesty!”
“Rise!”
Ji Hong waved his hand, and the commoners stood up, the ministers straightened.
“Your subject, Wang Xu, Magistrate of Wucheng County, greets His Majesty!”
The monk, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly knelt. However, the content of his greeting caused the surroundings to fall silent.
Who?
Who did this monk say he was?
Ji Hong’s pupils contracted, and his gaze towards Wang Xu was sharp and majestic: “Do you know the crime for an official to enter the capital without the Emperor’s summons?”
“This subject knows!”
“Do you also know the crime for an official to not report grievances through memorials and instead beat the Drum of Appeal?”
“This subject knows!”
“Good, I wish to see what kind of grievance it is that makes you willing to abandon your future and beat the Drum of Appeal!”
“Enter the pavilion, the case will be heard!”
Ji Hong took the lead into the Fengxian Pavilion. Inside, everything had been prepared since someone had beaten the Drum of Appeal.
Ji Hong sat behind the desk and ordered Wang Xu to present his case.
Wang Xu presented the memorial he had prepared with both hands. A eunuch stepped forward, took the memorial, and presented it to Ji Hong.
Ji Hong read through it at lightning speed. Although he was already aware of the Wucheng incident, the subsequent reports were not as vivid and bloody as those written by Wang Xu, who was an eyewitness.
Among the families of the missing commoners, some drowned innocently, some were bitten to death by dogs, and some committed suicide by crashing into walls. The number of commoners killed by the beasts led by Yu Dabou was no less than a thousand.
And then there was the Hengyuan Chamber of Commerce, a mere merchant daring to prey on the common people.
“Bang!”
Ji Hong slammed his hand on the desk. Even if the desk shattered, it could not quell the anger in his heart.
“Issue My decree, order Lin Xie to mobilize the Langhuan Army to surround Wucheng.”
“Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!”
“This subject is here!”
Ji Hong threw the memorial at the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review’s feet. He bent down to pick it up and read it quickly. The more he read, the paler his face became, until finally, his entire demeanor changed.
“I order you to proceed to Wucheng immediately and investigate for Me. If everything is true, then…”
“No need to investigate!”
Ji Jinmo, clutching the memorial, walked into the hall, ignoring the curious gazes of everyone. He presented the memorial: “Feng Luan has reported that Yu Dabou, the Assistant Magistrate of Wucheng County, is in fact a spy from Liao Jiang. He coerced Cheng Chongyu, the Deputy General of the Langhuan Army, into kidnapping over a thousand women and children for years, selling them to Liao Jiang through the Hengyuan Chamber of Commerce.”
“Deputy General Cheng Chongyu of the Langhuan Army, knowing his grave sins, was unwilling to be coerced by Yu Dabou. Thus, he clearly confessed how he was bought and threatened, and what evil deeds he committed after being bought and threatened.”
“The evidence is present!”
Ji Hong signaled for the eunuch to receive the memorial. The eunuch walked to Ji Jinmo’s side, respectfully took the memorial, and quickly returned to Ji Hong’s side.
In the hall, everyone was somewhat stunned, except for Wang Xu, whose gaze was fixed on Ji Jinmo. His eyes shone with unprecedented brilliance, and his voice was choked with emotion: “Your Highness, is it true?”
Ji Jinmo nodded at him, showing a rare look of appreciation. He was in a good mood, and the corners of his mouth curved upward: “Of course!”
“Also, Yu Dabou is dead!”
“He was tortured to death by the populace, and when he died, he was a bloody pulp!”
“Good, good, good!”
Wang Xu exclaimed “good” three times with relief. Then, disregarding the imperial dignity, he laughed heartily at the sky. As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes. He then sobbed, but felt he should be laughing, and began to laugh heartily again.
The commoners were stunned by the earth-shattering case revealed by the Regent. Although Wucheng was distant, it was adjacent to Liao Jiang and not an insignificant town.
In such a city, for a Liao Jiang spy to ascend to the position of Assistant Magistrate and commit such heinous acts, forcing the Magistrate of Wucheng to risk the severe crime of entering the capital without summons and beat the Drum of Appeal, was simply horrifying and unheard of.
Now, hearing that Yu Dabou was tortured to death by the enraged commoners of Wucheng, everyone felt a sense of satisfaction. If they had been present, they would have minced his mangled corpse into meat filling!
The commoners had no grand strategy or long-term vision, nor did they care about laws or procedures. They only felt that Divine Physician Feng had done a good deed, and that such an evil person should be despised by all and cast into the eighteen levels of hell, never to be reborn.
The officials in Fengxian Pavilion looked at each other. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice wanted to say that Feng Luan had used torture without the Emperor’s permission, which was a grave crime. However, seeing the excited crowd and the joy mingled with sorrow on Wang Xu’s face, the words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t utter them.
Liu Wanjun knew about the Wucheng disappearance case, but he knew nothing of the subsequent events. Although his cousin, Liu Chongyan, served as the envoy to Liao, he couldn’t possibly know what happened in Wucheng. Hearing about the subsequent implications, Liu Wanjun felt fortunate once again.
Thankfully, thankfully, it was fortunate that Qian Cheng was not entangled in this matter.
If Qian Cheng had gone, he might have returned as a handful of ashes.
Wouldn’t that mean he had wronged his granddaughter!
“Imperial Uncle, you should know the crime of fabricating evidence and accepting credit for a resolved case!” Ji Hong asked, rubbing the memorial with his finger, speaking word by word.
His eyes were fixed on Ji Jinmo, like a sharp sword pressed against Ji Jinmo’s throat.
The entire hall felt a chilling intensity in the air, but Ji Hong’s imposing presence had no effect on Ji Jinmo, like a breeze rippling on the surface of water.
Ji Jinmo’s back was straight. Facing Ji Hong’s questioning, his tone was light: “This King guarantees it with his life. What does Your Majesty think?”
A collective gasp of cold air came from the crowd.
If His Majesty were to humiliate the Prince… everyone dared not think further. If His Majesty were to act in such a manner, would an Emperor who disregarded the lives of the common people and worldly justice for the sake of imperial power be worthy of their loyalty?
Ji Hong’s expression changed slightly, but he was uncharacteristically not angered.
He was not angry, and there was no need for anger in today’s play.
He and his Imperial Uncle merely wished to inform the officials and the commoners of one thing – no matter how fiercely they fought over the dragon throne, or how bad their relationship was, if anyone harmed the territory of Linyuan or harmed the people of Linyuan, they would stand shoulder to shoulder and raise their swords against those who dared to extend their claws towards Linyuan and its nation.