On the high platform, Fu Zhun, who was always impeccably dressed, took off his black robes and looked indifferently at the edict of self-reproach in his hand, wearing only a thin undergarment.

Oh!

A cold, indifferent smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"This treacherous subject has disobeyed Your Majesty, falsely claimed to be acting on imperial orders, formed cliques for personal gain, appointed relatives and friends, and lined his own pockets. This is a heinous crime."

"He is also secretly raising a private army and hoarding armor, harboring malicious intentions and plotting a rebellion—"

"I never imagined that the dignified Prince of Zhenbei would forge an imperial edict and even form cliques for personal gain? Bah! I despise such corrupt and treacherous factions more than anything else in my life!"

"It's infuriating! It's infuriating! It turns out that the Prince of Zhenbei is a corrupt official! He used to pretend to be so upright and honest, it's disgusting!"

"Heh! The dynasty is unstable, and the people are already living in such hardship, yet the Prince of Zhenbei still raises an army to rebel! He's simply a beast!"

The people present grew increasingly angry as they listened to the accusations. No one knew who started it, but before they could react, a dirty leaf of vegetable had already slammed into Fu Zhun's shoulder.

"Smash it! Everyone smash it together! Smash this scum who doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people, who is lining his own pockets and wants to rebel!"

As soon as he uttered those words, countless vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and decaying fruit rained down on Fu Zhun like a storm.

Su An watched this scene with a bitter and aching feeling in her heart, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"You idiots! These accusations are all fabricated!" Li Wanyue's face flushed with anger as she looked at Fu Zhun, who was once second only to the emperor, now in such a state. "Stop it, all of you! Stop it!"

However, nobody paid any attention to her.

Just as Li Wanyue was about to scold him again, the rain of rotten vegetables suddenly stopped.

It turned out that Su An had walked onto the high platform.

"Fellow citizens, I will not comment on the truth or falsehood of these most important matters! I will only speak of what I know!"

This statement successfully calmed the crowd, who were about to cause another disturbance.

"Two months ago, the north suffered a severe drought, leaving the land barren and littered with corpses. Fu Zhun was appointed to a critical mission. After arriving in Jizhou, he worked tirelessly through the night to relieve the disaster victims, build water conservancy projects, and save countless lives!"

Upon hearing this, the restless expressions of the people subsided, and everyone's eyes fell on Fu Zhun.

"When the county was repairing a road, the prefect of Qingzhou colluded with Master Lu to embezzle the construction funds. After being discovered, they led troops to besiege the city and planned to massacre the entire city with rockets. The city was filled with cries of despair. It was Fu Zhun who rushed over day and night, killed the rebels, and saved the lives of the entire city."

What happened locally, and not long ago, is naturally more unforgettable for the people.

Many people no longer dared to look at Fu Zhun. They thought of the rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs they had just thrown away, and a silent sense of regret welled up in their hearts.

"Disaster victims flooded into Fuyou County, all of them emaciated from hunger. It was Fu Zhun who led the people to set up soup kitchens and distribute food. Seeing that the disaster victims had no means of making a living, he also taught me various recipes for delicious food. It was even with his support that we were able to build a food street..."

At this point, Su Anming was clearly trying to control her emotions, but her voice still choked up.

"Have we all forgotten all of this?"

They haven't forgotten. How could they possibly forget?

With such good deeds and dedication to the people, how could the Prince of Zhenbei possibly line his own pocket?

How could they possibly form cliques, practice favoritism, or appoint relatives to positions of power?

They were misled; the self-reproach edict was clearly full of nonsense.

"Slander! This is blatant slander!"

A tall young man strode out of the crowd.

"Everyone! The prince has definitely been framed!"

"Your Highness, we were wrong. We shouldn't have believed this fabricated edict of self-reproach and ignored your character!"

There was a loud thud!

An old man knelt down fiercely!

In an instant, it was as if a torrential rain had fallen, and the people below the platform knelt down one after another.

They kowtowed deeply, and when they raised their heads again, their burning eyes shone with excitement: "Long live the Prince! Long live the Prince!"

What was originally an attack on Fu Zhun turned into enthusiastic praise for Fu Zhun after Su An's heartfelt defense.

Upon witnessing this scene, He Cheng's smug and triumphant face instantly turned ashen.

He deliberately chose the fifth floor of the inn next to the high platform so that he could see Fu Zhun's miserable fall from grace as soon as possible.

But to his utter surprise, the result was completely different from what he had imagined!

He yanked Su Yue out of the room, forcefully grabbed her by the neck, and threw her out the window.

"Su An!" he shouted sharply.

Su An immediately looked up instinctively and saw that her younger sister's entire body was hanging outside the window, with only her slender neck pressed against the window frame.

Its small body trembled violently, swaying uncontrollably from side to side with the slightest breeze, as frail as a tile that could fall at any moment.

"Little Yue'er!" Su An felt as if her soul had left her body, and with a deathly pale face, she ran towards the inn without a care in the world.

But He Cheng's men forcefully stopped them.

"He Cheng! I have already issued the edict of self-reproach as you instructed. Do not make things difficult for the Su family. If you have any problems, come at me!"

Fu Zhun pulled Su An behind him, his eyes dark and cold.

"Su An, you vile vixen! How dare you ruin my plans! I'll throw your little sister down right now!"

"No, no!" Su An was instantly drenched in sweat, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Big sister!"

Su Yue suppressed her fear, not daring to even cry out loud, and could only sob softly as she called out to Su An.

Seeing this, Su An felt her heart breaking. Her back hunched over, and tears welled in her eyes: "Please, don't throw it! I really beg you!"