Censor Lin's eyes instantly turned icy cold. He raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the ragged, hopeful refugees lining both sides of the official road, their expressions a mixture of grief and indignation, before settling back on Er Gou. "What's your name? Where are you from? Whom are you accusing?"

Er Gou trembled under that gaze, but thinking of his dead fellow villagers and Jiang Chan's eyes on the high ground, he straightened his back and answered in a hoarse but clear voice, "I...I am Er Gou! A river worker from Qinghe County! I'm suing...suing those heartless river workers in Qinghe County! They embezzled the money for repairing the dikes! They filled the dikes with rotten wood and garbage! They caused the dikes to breach, and countless people died! Sir! Look!"

He pointed to the piece of rotten wood and the blood-written letter, "This is all evidence! There's more on the high ground!"

Er Gou's words were like a spark, reigniting the crowd.

"My lord! It's true!"

"The wood is all rotten!"

"Corrupt officials kill people!"

The nursery rhyme rang out again from the corner: "Wood rots like mud, a black heart is filled with mud and sand..."

Imperial Censor Lin's face remained ashen, and he did not stop the sporadic cries. He glanced at the broken, rotten wood and bloodstained rag in his hand, then at Er Gou, who was kneeling on the muddy official road, thin and bony but with a stubborn look in his eyes, and at the countless pairs of eyes around him filled with hopeful tears.

He paused for a few seconds, then instructed his attendants:

"Take him back to the headquarters and question him carefully. Inform the magistrate of Qinghe County that I will immediately go to the Qinghe County government office to personally inspect the breached dike remains! Issue an order to open the Qinghe County granary and quickly set up soup kitchens to accommodate the disaster victims along the way!"

"Yes!" the attendant replied.

The soldiers immediately dispersed the crowd and cleared the road. Er Gou was carefully led by two of his attendants to the accompanying carriage behind.

The news spread like wildfire. The imperial envoy accepted the blood testimonies, ordered the granaries to be opened and grain to be distributed, and even planned to personally inspect the dikes! This news quickly spread among the disaster-stricken people, and finally, a glimmer of light pierced through the mire of despair.

A few days later, in the main hall of Qinghe County Government.

The atmosphere inside and outside the hall was heavy and somber. The yamen runners, holding fire and water sticks, stood on both sides, but they had long lost their former arrogance.

Below the hall, several people were kneeling: the fat county magistrate Liu, who was in charge of the river works, was already ashen-faced and trembling like a leaf; the fat workshop manager Qian was sweating profusely; and two merchants who supplied building materials were slumped on the ground.

Seated at the head of the main hall was Imperial Censor Lin, his face stern. On the long table before him were arranged in order:

That heavy wooden board covered with "bloody handprints".

Those few crucial, illegible pages of the ledger.

A pile of rotten wood blocks and samples of substandard "rammed earth" blocks filled with garbage.

Jiang Chan, as one of the most important witnesses, stood below the courtroom. She wore a clean, coarse cloth dress, her hair was neatly tied up, her face was expressionless, and her eyes were calm as still water.

Er Gou, Lao Li, Aunt Zhang, and others stood aside, nervously watching the scene in the hall.

“County Magistrate Liu,” Imperial Censor Lin’s voice broke the silence like an ice bead hitting a jade plate, “this tattered account book says ‘purchased 300 top-quality fir stakes.’ How much silver was spent? How much timber was actually used? Do you know?”

The portly county magistrate shuddered violently, his head hitting the ground with a thud: "My...my lord! I...I didn't know! This...this was all handled by Clerk Qian! I...I failed to notice! I failed to notice!" He desperately tried to shirk responsibility.

The clerk was terrified: "Sir! I'm innocent! It was...it was them! They were the ones who sold inferior goods!"

He pointed at the merchant who was slumped on the ground, "They're the ones who delivered the wood! I... I was just... checking the accounts..." He was incoherent.

The merchant wailed, "Sir! We had no choice! It's the clerk... the clerk was driving down the prices too hard! He said... he said if we didn't do it this way... we wouldn't get any work!"

"Nonsense! It's clearly your greed that's the problem!"

"It was you who demanded a kickback!"

The dogs below were fighting amongst themselves, shifting blame and making a complete spectacle of themselves.

Imperial Censor Lin listened expressionlessly, his fingers lightly tapping the rotten pieces of wood: "Oversight? Price gouging? Kickbacks?"

He sneered, picked up a piece of rotten wood, and said, "I personally inspected the breached dam ruins, and eight or nine out of ten of the wooden stakes I dug up were like this! They crumble at the slightest touch! The filling soil is full of garbage! How can such a dam hold back floods? This is not negligence, this is dereliction of duty! This is embezzlement! This is murder for profit!"

He slammed the gavel down!

Snap!

"The witnesses and physical evidence are all here! Your attempts to deceive and shirk responsibility are futile! Guards!"

"Here!" the soldiers on both sides shouted in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

"Liu Wen, the magistrate of Qinghe County, and Qian Gui, the clerk of the construction workshop, were convicted of embezzling funds for river works and neglecting their duties, which led to the collapse of the dike and the devastation of the people..."

Imperial Censor Lin's sharp gaze swept over the kneeling men below the court. "...And the two unscrupulous merchants who colluded with officials and sold inferior goods as superior ones, strip them of their titles and ranks, and imprison them! Confiscate their property to fund disaster relief and the reconstruction of the dikes! I will report to His Majesty for further judgment!"

"My lord, spare my life!" A heart-wrenching cry rang out.

The soldiers, as fierce as wolves, stepped forward, removed the official hat from Magistrate Liu, stripped the clerk of his official robes, and roughly dragged him away along with the limp merchant. The chains rattled, and the cries gradually faded into the distance.

The lobby was completely silent.

Er Gou, Lao Li, and the others clenched their fists tightly, watching as those corrupt officials who had killed countless villagers were dragged away. Their eyes were red, and their bodies trembled slightly with excitement.

Aunt Zhang covered Xiao Shitou's eyes, and silently shed tears herself.

Imperial Censor Lin's gaze slowly swept over Jiang Chan and the others standing below the hall, his tone softening slightly: "Your denunciation of treacherous officials is a service to the nation and its people. I have already ordered the prefectures and counties to allocate the disaster relief funds to the fullest extent and properly resettle the victims. The reconstruction of the dikes will be directly supervised by the provincial Ministry of Works to ensure their sturdiness and reliability."

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!