The crisp sound rang out loudly in the quiet street, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it. The middle-aged woman's face instantly swelled up, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, her breath filled with the strong taste of rust. Ignoring it, she glared fiercely at Li Fan, roaring furiously, "Li Fan, you damned corrupt official... protecting criminals, causing the death of my daughter, you owe me my daughter's life..."
The street vendors were packing up when they heard the middle-aged woman's angry roar and all looked over. Li Fan's eyes flickered unnaturally: "That crazy old woman is incredibly audacious. She has framed and beaten an official of the imperial court. She has no respect for the law. Throw her in jail and she will be tried tomorrow."
"Yes." The sedan chair bearers, who had followed Li Fan for many years, knew that he did not want to make a scene in the street, so they twisted the middle-aged woman's arms behind her back and prepared to take her to jail.
The middle-aged woman struggled with all her might but could not break free from the strong sedan chair bearers. Her eyes were filled with despair, and she was on the verge of madness, hysterically roaring: "Those who harm others get promoted and made rich, and go unpunished. My daughter, the victim, bears a huge crime, buried under a handful of yellow earth, with nowhere to seek justice and nowhere to complain. Is there no justice in this world...?"
"Crazy woman, what are you yelling about?" A sedan bearer slapped her, silencing the middle-aged woman's shout. A mouthful of blood mixed with her teeth spurted from her mouth. Her frail body swayed slightly, a hint of despair in her eyes. A bitter smile spread across her face. She lowered her head, wiped the blood on her clothes, looked at the vendors and common people, and roared again:
"Gentlemen, my daughter is an innocent young woman who was defiled by those despicable officials. This Lord Li Fan not only refuses to seek justice for my daughter, but also colludes with those officials to distort the truth and accuse my daughter of seducing them... My daughter is only fourteen years old, has lived in the countryside for a long time, and has not yet reached marriageable age. How could she seduce anyone..."
The middle-aged woman spoke with a hoarse voice, her voice filled with sorrow and despair, evoking sympathy from the onlookers. The crowd whispered and discussed among themselves.
A sense of panic rose in Li Fan's heart, and his eyes flickered unnaturally: "Crazy woman, stop shouting and making false accusations, take her to the jail immediately."
"Li Fan, are you in such a hurry to take me to prison because you're afraid I'll expose your past?" The middle-aged woman glared at Li Fan, filled with righteous indignation. "You, as an official of the imperial court, do not seek the well-being of the people, but instead help corrupt officials commit evil deeds, causing my daughter to die unjustly with a false accusation. If I go there, I'm afraid I won't come back. Where is justice in Qingyan? Are you even letting us ordinary people live?"
"You lowly commoner, what are you yelling about?" The sedan bearer slapped the middle-aged woman hard across the face again. The moment his hand touched her cheek, his wrist was gripped tightly. He looked up and met Zi Mo's cold, sharp eyes. Before he could even be surprised, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and he was kicked and sent flying backward, crashing into the wall and falling heavily to the ground. His bones felt like they were shattered, and he was in excruciating pain.
The middle-aged woman paused for a moment, then quickly ran to the front of the crowd and hysterically shouted, "My daughter is innocent! She's truly innocent! Those corrupt officials framed my daughter!"
The woman's voice was mournful and poignant, quite infectious, and the crowd was somewhat convinced, though they looked at Li Fan with a hint of doubt.
A surge of anger welled up in Li Fan's chest, and he roared at the culprit, "Zi Mo, what are you doing?"
"Of course, it's to seek justice for the people!" Shen Lixue stepped forward, supporting Qiu He's hand, and looked coldly at Li Fan: "As an official of the imperial court, you should stand up for the people, not oppress them, distort the truth, and twist the facts."
“Shen Lixue, you didn’t preside over the case, how do you know it must be that I oppressed the people, and not that this lowly commoner framed me?” Li Fan glared at Shen Lixue, trying to argue his way out of a pretense.
“I do not know the truth, nor do I have the right to argue with Lord Li here. I remember that the Qingyan Law stipulates that if a county magistrate cannot decide a case, he or she can appeal to the next higher court. Since this case involves other officials of the court, it is a major case and can be tried by the Ministry of Justice.”
Shen Lixue's lighthearted words caused Li Fan's expression to change slightly: "The Ministry of Justice handles major cases, important cases. Don't you find it ridiculous that an ignorant village woman goes to the Ministry of Justice?"
“Qingyan is made up of ordinary people. No matter how lowly a village woman is, she is still a citizen of Qingyan. Whether the Ministry of Justice is handling major or important cases, it is always about upholding justice for the people. She has a grievance, so of course she is qualified to go to the Ministry of Justice.” Shen Lixue’s words were powerful and resounding, leaving Li Fan speechless. His lips kept moving, but he couldn’t say a word.
Shen Lixue turned to look at the middle-aged woman, her voice softening: "Auntie, would you be willing to go to the Ministry of Justice?"
"Yes, yes, I'm willing to go through fire and water for my daughter's sake." The middle-aged woman's tired eyes were filled with tears. For days, she had been trying to seek justice for her daughter, but she had been met with setbacks everywhere and had long been desperate. Now that someone was helping her, she was extremely grateful and would never refuse anyone's offer.
"Princess Consort An, as a woman confined to the inner quarters, actually enjoys meddling in the affairs of the court. Tsk tsk." Li Fan drooped his eyelids and mocked Shen Lixue. Women should just mind their own business in the inner quarters. To show your face in public and meddle in court affairs is truly ignorant of etiquette.
Shen Lixue glanced at him: "As an official of the imperial court, you are idle all day long, turning right and wrong upside down, and turning a blind eye to the grievances of the people. As someone from the inner quarters, I have no choice but to step in and help."
“You…” Li Fan glared at Shen Lixue, gritting his teeth in hatred. Was Shen Lixue mocking him for being ignorant and unable to distinguish right from wrong?
Shen Lixue ignored Li Fan and looked at Zi Mo: "Zi Mo, go to the Ministry of Justice."
"Yes!" Zi Mo replied, preparing to fly to the Ministry of Justice, when he saw the sedan chair of the Minister of Justice slowly approaching. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun had already set, and wisps of smoke were rising all around. It was almost time for meals, and the court officials were also about to finish their duties and go home.
As the sedan chair drew ever closer, Shen Lixue subtly gave the middle-aged woman a wink. The woman understood, rushed forward, knelt in the middle of the road, and wept bitterly: "My lord, I have been wronged! Please, please redress my grievances!"
The sedan chair stopped three meters away from the middle-aged woman. The Minister of Justice lifted the curtain and stepped out. His sharp gaze swept over the crowd of onlookers before landing on the middle-aged woman.
The Ministry of Justice is in charge of major cases in the court. Cases like the violent deaths of ordinary people are generally under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. However, the woman knelt in front of him in front of so many people. If he sat idly by or chased her away, it would definitely arouse public anger.
"Tell me your grievances without hesitation." He would first understand the situation and then decide on a course of action based on the severity of the matter.
"Your Excellency, I am originally from Zhoujia Village outside the city. I lost my husband early and have a daughter who is fourteen years old. Ten days ago, I was working in the fields when my daughter went to deliver food to the fields. She was spotted by several passing officials who forcibly pulled her into their carriage and raped her, causing damage to my daughter's uterus, making her unable to conceive again in this life."
"I took these men to court, but to my surprise, the county magistrate, Li Fan, colluded with them and insisted that my daughter was immoral and seduced them. My daughter, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide out of shame and anger. She died with her eyes wide open, and I beg you, Your Honor, to do me justice and give my daughter the truth..."
The middle-aged woman's voice was mournful, and she broke down in tears as she spoke of her sorrows. Many of the elderly women and middle-aged women watching were moved by her grief and looked at her with sympathy, while their gazes toward Li Fan were full of suspicion and reproach.
The Minister of Justice nodded. Officials colluding to kill civilians was a matter that was neither too big nor too small. It involved officials of the same court, so it had to be handled carefully. He glanced at Li Fan and asked, "Minister Li, is this true?"
"Nonsense! In judging cases, I rely on witnesses and physical evidence. If that woman had truly been raped, she would have had injuries on her body. However, when the female coroner examined her, the woman had no injuries at all. How could she have been raped?" Li Fan said sternly, looking down at the middle-aged woman with a raging fire in his eyes, as if he wanted to burn her to ashes.
The Minister of Justice looked at the middle-aged woman: "What Minister Li said is correct. Under normal circumstances, a person who has been raped will have marks on their body." Of course, there are special cases where no marks are left, and it depends on whether she is one of those special cases.
"According to the woman and her daughter, there were four or five people in the carriage. They held her hands and feet down. She struggled desperately, was slapped, and fainted. When she woke up, she was naked and had been brutally violated..." As she spoke, the middle-aged woman seemed to see her daughter's misery, loneliness, and helplessness, and she cried sadly.
The Minister of Justice had been handling cases for many years and was very experienced, having seen countless people. The middle-aged woman was simply dressed and spoke plainly. Her grief after the wrongful death of her daughter seemed genuine and not feigned. What she said was probably true: "Minister Li, who are the people involved in the case?"
Li Fan scoffed, "There's Huang Liang, Wang Qiang, Li Yan, Du Wei..."
Shen Lixue had no recollection of these people and glanced sideways at Zi Mo.
Zi Mo pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I've never heard of them either. They must be lowly soldiers from the capital, not well-known."
Minister Ma of the Ministry of Justice stroked his beard lightly: "Someone, go and summon them all."
In a trial, there must be a plaintiff and a defendant. The plaintiff makes a vehement accusation, and the defendant, whether innocent or guilty, must be brought here to confront the plaintiff and debate the matter in order to clarify the truth.
The guard obeyed and left. Lord Ma looked at Li Fan again: "Lord Li, what were the results of the coroner's examination of that woman?"
“It’s true that she had affairs with several people, but it was that woman who took the initiative to seduce them. One woman controlling five men, her nature is really…” Li Fan didn’t say the word “debauchery”, but from the mocking and disdainful look in his eyes when he looked at the middle-aged woman, everyone could guess what he meant.
Li Fan's undisguised disdain and mockery crossed the middle-aged woman's most sensitive line. She jumped to her feet and charged straight at Li Fan: "You despicable, shameless, and corrupt official! Just how many bribes did you take to so heartlessly and cruelly frame my daughter..."
Li Fan hadn't expected the middle-aged woman to be so crazy. He couldn't dodge in time and she caught him red-handed, slapping him mercilessly across the face. The woman, in her rage, possessed terrifying strength. Li Fan tried his best to break free but couldn't. His head spun, and he saw one small golden star after another before his eyes.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, turned her head to the side, and pretended not to see. She didn't know if Li Fan was greedy for money, but she knew that he was very lecherous, had no ability, and only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. As a county magistrate, he was also a muddle-headed official who made wrong judgments and could not possibly bring benefits to the people. She believed what the middle-aged woman said.
The servants and sedan bearers watched as Li Fan's face was slapped to one side and then to the other, quickly swelling up. Their lips twitched involuntarily. They quickly stepped forward and pulled the middle-aged woman away. The woman struggled, her eyes bloodshot, and screamed, "You dare to insult my daughter! I'll kill you!"
Li Fan covered his swollen face, feeling the swelling so bad he could barely feel it. He glared at the middle-aged woman and roared, "I judge this case based on evidence! How dare you frame your daughter? You shrew who can't distinguish right from wrong, and you still dare to argue!"
"My daughter is just a weak woman. She was alone in the carriage with five men. No matter how you look at it, my daughter was the one who suffered. How can this not be rape?" The middle-aged woman shouted hoarsely, which made everyone nod in agreement. The woman was no match for the man. The five men were dragging a woman, and they clearly had bad intentions.