Behind her, the officials immediately seized her, forcing her to the ground. The few burly men who had been chasing her saw this and quickly retreated, fleeing in a hurry.
"What's going on?"
A local official, frightened out of his wits, hurriedly stepped forward: "Quick! Get this female assassin out of here, don't disturb the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort."
But the girl looked delicate and weak, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, with injuries on her body. She didn't seem like an assassin at all.
On the other hand, the official who wanted to drive the young lady away was fat-headed and sly-eyed, clearly not a good person.
"Wait!"
Apparently, the Xuanwu Emperor and Jiang Xinyue shared the same thought.
Just as the guards were about to drag the girl away, he intervened, his gaze pressing down on her: "Do you know that recklessly obstructing the imperial procession is punishable by decapitation?"
"I did not obstruct the procession without reason!"
The girl struggled free from the guards' grip, wiped away her tears and dirt, revealing a face as pure as a lotus emerging from clear water.
Her movements exuded the grace of a well-bred young lady as she bowed to the Emperor and Jiang Xinyue: "I am the eldest daughter of Qin Zhigu, the wealthiest merchant in Guiyang. A month ago, when the Emperor's procession was to pass through Guiyang, the County Magistrate used this as an excuse to host a banquet at the County Magistrate's Mansion, inviting the city's wealthy merchants. My father, mother, and sister attended, but when we left, my sister... my sister..."
At this point, her eyes glared fiercely at the official who had called her an "assassin," her finger trembling with hatred as she pointed at him: "My sister was forcibly violated by him, naked, thrown out of the County Magistrate's Mansion. My parents sought justice for my sister, but he framed my sister for seducing him, and my parents were thrown into prison."
She was already sobbing uncontrollably: "I wanted to seek justice for my sister and parents, but my sister couldn't bear the humiliation and hanged herself at home. My parents also mysteriously died in prison. The coroner at the County Government Office refused to conduct an autopsy, insisting that my parents died of anger from my sister. I am innocent, I am truly innocent, and that's why I did what I did today. Please, Your Majesty, seek justice for me!"
"That's too tragic, her whole family is dead, leaving only her."
"Tsk tsk tsk, too tragic. That County Magistrate looks so ugly, yet he dares to say the second Miss Qin seduced him. Who does he think he is? That delicate, beautiful young lady would never tarnish her reputation for him."
"Exactly! I bet the County Magistrate killed the Qin family out of greed for their wealth, deliberately..."
"Yes, he doesn't look like a good person."
Under the reign of the Xuanwu Emperor, such a horrific incident had occurred. He had no choice but to order everyone to halt and had the Guiyang County Magistrate detained. He then sent Wang Dequan with dozens of guards to investigate the truth.
Such a big incident couldn't be hidden, and probably all the people of Guiyang knew about the County Magistrate's actions, but they dared not speak out.
Jiang Xinyue pulled Wang Dequan aside and whispered a few instructions in his ear. Wang Dequan looked at her in surprise but quickly nodded.
"What did you tell Wang Dequan?"
The Emperor didn't let Wang Dequan take the eldest Miss Qin with him, but Wang Dequan still went over to help her up and let her lead the way.
Jiang Xinyue sighed, her heart heavy: "I was just worried that the people might be afraid of collusion among officials and wouldn't speak the truth. So I told Wang Dequan to take Miss Qin with him, announcing along the way that the County Magistrate had fallen from power, urging anyone with grievances to come forward, as the Emperor would personally seek justice for them."
This way, it solved the problem of the people's distrust of the government and boosted the Xuanwu Emperor's reputation among the common folk.
The Guiyang County Magistrate fell to his knees with a thud, never dreaming that Qin Ruofang had managed to escape from the County Government Office.
The wait for the investigation results was long. The Internal Affairs Department had already arranged for others to unload the goods from the carriages and load them onto the ships.
Some of the servants and attendants also boarded the ships first.
Those left on the shore were only the officials and their families, probably all eager to witness this exciting drama.
Tang Shiliang brought two chairs, and the Xuanwu Emperor helped Jiang Xinyue sit down. Ignoring the reactions of the other concubines, he fanned her, saying: "If you feel hot, go back to the cabin. I'll be back after I handle this."
Jiang Xinyue shook her head: "I'm not hot, I want to stay with you."
She couldn't let that lecherous, murderous County Magistrate leave here alive.
About an hour later, Wang Dequan returned with people.
This time, it wasn't just Miss Qin; behind them were dozens of weeping commoners.
Wang Dequan was calm when he left but returned furious, his eyes filled with disgust and hatred for the County Magistrate.
"Your Majesty, that scoundrel is not human! Last year, he forcibly took our land without paying a cent, and he even broke my son's leg. My son is now at home, depressed, his life ruined."
"The year before, he had the soldiers take my wife to the County Magistrate's Mansion, violated her, and then threw her naked on the street. My wife became pregnant with that scoundrel's child. When he found out, he sent a quack to our house, who forced my wife to drink an abortion potion, resulting in her death and the loss of our unborn child."
"We poor scholars who took the local exams, no matter how brilliant our talents, always failed. It was him taking bribes and swapping our exam papers with those of rich, incompetent sons of officials. A classmate once reported this and was brutally beaten, his right hand shattered, the doctor said he could never write again."
"Officials protect each other, and we have no one to turn to. Today, we are fortunate that the Emperor passed by. We beg the Emperor to seek justice for us."
"Miss Qin's words are all true. Although the Qin couple had great wealth, they were not unscrupulous merchants. The poor people of Guiyang, who hasn't received Qin's charity? Even the scholars harmed by the scoundrel have received help from Mr. Qin. Today, even if we scholars are punished, we must seek justice for the Qin family."
"Yes! Mr. and Mrs. Qin were kind and benevolent, they cannot die in vain."
...
Just these few people had overwhelming grievances, let alone the dozens more.
There were probably countless others who dared not come forward, fearing for their lives.
The Xuanwu Emperor's gaze turned dark as he looked at the Governor of Qin Province, his anger rolling like waves, causing the elderly Governor to tremble.
Minister Pei of the Privy Council stood behind the Emperor, frantically signaling to the Governor, who then crawled over to kneel beside the County Magistrate: "Your Majesty, please be clear, I truly did not know such a vermin existed in Guiyang. It must be that there is a traitor in my office, hiding the truth!"
