On one side, Wang Shi’qi-lang stomped after them in a fury. On the other, Steward Cao and his men dragged over four soldiers along with three members of the Wang family, and threw them down in front of the gate.
“How dare you bully the common people? You’ve got some nerve!” Steward Cao shouted.
Cheers erupted all around.
“Good hit!” a few scattered voices called out.
“What do you think you’re doing? Rebelling?” a clerk shouted. “Do you even know who we are?”
Seeing a few people get beaten, the clerk looked stunned but not frightened. His eyes darted around rapidly, a thousand thoughts flashing through his mind in the span of a single sentence.
The lady’s accent was from the north, and her attendants were from the capital. Judging by their bearing, they likely served the household of some official in the capital…
His gaze swept over her clothing—nothing revealing. Then over the carriage behind her—nothing impressive either…
They had even set up camp by the roadside; clearly, she wasn’t anyone too high-ranking or noble. Otherwise, the arrangements wouldn’t be this simple.
“…How dare you interfere with Master Feng of the Three Judicial Offices in carrying out official duties!” he shouted next, as if afraid no one had heard him the first time. He loudly repeated, “Master Feng of the Three Judicial Offices in the capital! Acting on the emperor’s orders!”
As his shouting rang out, the lean man’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Cheng Jiao-niang ignored him and instead turned to the surrounding crowd.
“They drove you out in the middle of the night just so they could live more comfortably. Tell me—who are the real wrongdoers here? Tell me—don’t they deserve a beating?” she asked.
“They’re the wrongdoers! They’re the wrongdoers!”
“They deserve it! They deserve it!”
The crowd roared in response. Of course, most of the voices belonged to Steward Cao and his men, but mixed in with the crowd, no one paid it much mind.
The sudden outburst startled everyone present.
“There was no eviction—it was voluntary, and they were paid…” the clerk hurriedly shouted, while also glancing nervously at the lean man. “Master Feng, you traveled day and night to get here, they were just concerned for your well-being…”
“Money? Money can be important sometimes, but other times, it means nothing at all. When someone is starving, what they need is a bite of food—not a handful of coins. They stayed at the inn for shelter, just for one night. If they were driven out, what good would the money do? In the middle of the night—elderly, women, and children—where would you have them go?” Cheng Jiao-niang cut him off sternly. Then she turned to the crowd. “Do you need money?”
“No! We don’t need it!”
“That’s right, that’s right! This is just unreasonable…”
“Just because they’re rich and in power, they think they can bully people?”
“They even hurt someone…”
The crowd burst into discussion. This time, the voices of Steward Cao and his men were drowned out.
“Our lord is acting under imperial orders—” the clerk snorted and stepped forward, shouting loudly.
But before he could finish, Cheng Jiao-niang interrupted him again.
“Imperial orders? And with those orders, you abuse your power to bully the common people?” she said. Without giving the clerk a chance to speak, her gaze turned to Master Feng. “And you, my lord—are these your subordinates? Are these the men you allow to run wild and do as they please?”
Under the torchlight, the expression on the lean man’s face flickered between light and shadow.
After saying this, Cheng Jiao-niang fell silent and simply stared at the official.
Those standing nearby felt a strange and unsettling stillness—but in truth, the scene was anything but quiet. The cries of children, the murmurs of the crowd, the groans of the beaten guards… all continued in the background.
“Outrageous fools!”
A sudden furious shout rang out, followed by a sharp slap.
Only then did the scene finally quiet down.
Everyone saw the clerk stagger back a few steps, clutching his face and looking fearfully at the lean man.
“How dare you disturb the people like this? And dare to spout such nonsense?” the man shouted, brows raised in fury. He was visibly shaken, his body trembling slightly.
“My lord, my lord—we did it for you,” the clerk cried out.
“You bullied the people in my name? Tarnished the emperor’s virtue in my name?” the lean man roared, pointing at them. “I am not worthy of such a title!”
Under the torchlight, his face was full of righteous anger. Seeing this, the onlooking crowd finally relaxed a little. At least this official seemed to be an honest man—not one of those who blindly protected his own.
“The fault lies with you, but I cannot escape blame,” the lean man sighed, then turned and cupped his hands to the people in a deep bow. “I have disturbed the people. I am at fault.”
“It’s not your fault, my lord…”
“You didn’t know what was going on…”
“That’s why they say the king is easier to reason with than his lackeys…”
The crowd murmured, and the atmosphere eased considerably.
The clerk didn’t dare say another word. His gaze landed on Cheng Jiao-niang, filled with resentment.
It’s all this meddling girl’s fault! Just you wait!
But then her eyes turned toward him as well—and even in the darkness, he could clearly see those eyes, blacker than the night itself. A shiver ran down his spine, and he quickly lowered his gaze.
“My lord, since there is wrongdoing, there should be punishment…”
The girl spoke calmly.
“…Several of the common folk were injured…”
What?
The clerk looked up in disbelief—this girl still wouldn’t let it go?
Did they have some kind of personal grudge?
The lean man was visibly surprised when he heard this and quickly stepped forward.
“Where are the injured?” he asked, his face full of concern.
After hearing Cheng Jiao-niang’s words, Steward Cao had already gone ahead to find one of the injured and rushed forward a few steps.
In truth, the injury wasn’t serious—the so-called injured man had just been tiptoeing behind the crowd trying to watch the commotion. Suddenly, Steward Cao gave him a hard slap that knocked him straight to the ground.
“…The injured is here!” Steward Cao shouted.
The crowd quickly made way, revealing an old man sitting on the ground, grimacing in exaggerated pain.
Well then, he did look badly hurt now…
“Sir,” the lean man hurried over, crouched down, and gently took the old man’s arm, his face filled with sorrow. “It is my failure in discipline!”
Seeing the lean man look as though he might weep from grief, the surrounding crowd was even more moved—what a good and upright official he was.
“It’s not really your fault, my lord…”
People began murmuring in sympathy.
“No, no—it is my fault,” the lean man said firmly.
“If there is fault, then my lord must pass fair judgment,” Cheng Jiao-niang said calmly.
The lean man glanced at her, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
“If you fail to act when it’s time to act, chaos will follow,” Cheng Jiao-niang continued. “If a child is unruly, it is the father’s fault. If teaching fails, the teacher is to blame.”
As these words left her mouth, the lean man suddenly straightened up.
“Men! Seize these five!” he commanded sternly. “Strip them of their military and clerical status, and deliver them to the Taicang Prefecture for judgment!”
What?! Strip them of their positions?
The moment those words were spoken, the soldiers and clerk on the ground turned pale with shock.
Now things had really blown up!
They had worked so hard to obtain those official titles, and relied on them for power and profit. If those were taken away—then they’d lose everything. It was as good as a death sentence!
“My lord, my lord, spare us!”
“My lord, we know we were wrong!”
But the lean man remained unmoved, standing with his hands behind his back.
“If you had known this would happen, why act so in the first place?” he said sternly, his eyes slowly sweeping over the five men, his meaning unmistakable.
“My lord, you can’t punish us!” the clerk cried out anxiously. No longer pleading, he now sounded agitated. “I’m with the Taicang Circuit Fiscal Commissioner’s Office…”
His reminder jolted the four soldiers as well.
“You can’t punish us either! We’re the Emperor’s guards—we’re with the Three Offices!” they shouted, now with a trace of pride and scorn.
This unfortunate wretch from the Three Judicial Offices, kicked out to handle some menial errand, probably wouldn’t even see the Emperor once a year. How could he possibly compare to them?
Being publicly contradicted like this, the lean man’s expression darkened, and a flicker of helplessness appeared in his eyes.
Someone in the crowd had spoken the truth—it’s easier to reason with the king than with his underlings.
“My lord cannot punish them, but can the common people punish them?”
A lady’s calm voice spoke again.
The lean man suddenly perked up and straightened his posture.
“How dare you!” he shouted, staring at the five men before him. “You know full well who you are, yet you bully the people and tarnish the emperor’s virtue. If I cannot punish you, and if my duty gives me no power, then let the people decide!”
He turned and looked around.
“Elders, tell me—should they be punished or not?”
His question stunned everyone present. Voices began to rise in a jumble.
“Punish them! Punish them!”
“Should they be punished?” the lean man asked again.
Someone led the chorus, and more voices joined in.
“Punish them! Punish them!”
In the darkness, the voices of dozens rang out clearly.
“Can they be punished?” the lean man shouted again.
“Yes, they can! Yes, they can!”
Even more people answered in unison this time.
“Elders, would you be willing to write a joint petition for me?”
“Yes, we would!”
Loud cries echoed through the night wind.
“Good. If I cannot act for the people, then I might as well not be an official at all!”
The lean man raised his hand and waved it passionately, veins bulging on his face, his expression intense.
“For the people! For the people!”
Shouts rose up again, a wave of voices sweeping through the entire post station.
Listening to the shouts, the soldiers and clerks went pale, their faces full of disbelief.
When they were whipping and driving away the crowd, the soldiers never expected the people to shout so loudly. Those waves of voices felt as if they could crush them…
It’s over, it’s over…
How did this turn into popular opinion?
What the hell is going on?
Public opinion is a towering mountain—no one dares to touch it, not even the emperor dares to treat it lightly!
The clerk knew this mountain all too well. He had once used it to crush several unyielding officials.
But he never thought that today, it would be his turn…
It’s over, it’s over…
The clerk could no longer speak. His face was deathly pale, cold sweat poured down like rain, and with a thud he collapsed to the ground.
Watching the soldiers and clerk collapse to the ground, too afraid to move, and hearing the waves of voices still rising behind him, the lean man felt, for the first time since leaving the capital, that he was standing tall and straight. For the first time, the heavy weight in his chest seemed to lift. If not for the constraints of his official status, he would have wanted to join in the shouting.
Happiness came so suddenly that he was almost stunned, unable to even recall how things had come to this.
But the old servant of the Wang family, lying on the ground, understood perfectly well.
This was never how things should have been. Someone, with just a few words, had turned the situation into this!
Someone’s every word was like a knife, forcing the official to make this decision!
He raised his head, his face pale as well. Through the night and the shifting crowd, he saw the girl who had already left the commotion and was now walking back toward her tent.
It was her—just like that, in the blink of an eye, she had ruined the lives and reputations of these five men!
Under the torchlight, her shadow stretched long. The night wind tugged at her cloak, making it billow, shaping her silhouette like a grim reaper wielding a hooked spear and sickle.
