Song Anxin, wearing a noblewoman's hat and a noblewoman's robe, walked slowly forward, her entire demeanor exuding an innate elegance. She stopped at the entrance of the hall, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the impoverished people, before speaking in a gentle voice:

"Fellow citizens of Heyang County, I know that you must have suffered a lot of bullying and humiliation from the local tyrants and scoundrels, and even more so, you have suffered great injustices. I know why you dare not seek justice for yourselves. It is because Magistrate Yan protects and favors them, leaving you with no way to appeal and forcing you to swallow your grievances. You cry out in pain, but no one hears you."

Her eyes were firm and sincere: "I was once an ordinary citizen, powerless and without influence. Today, I almost lost my life trying to seek justice for my son. Now, thanks to the Emperor's grace, I have been granted the title of Lady Hui, making me a court lady. How can I stand by and watch these corrupt and humiliating acts against the people?"

Her voice rose: "Today, I, Madam Hui, ask everyone to join me in suing Magistrate Yan of Heyang County. Let us all speak out our grievances today. With the Prefect of Liuzhou here, I believe he will surely give us justice!"

As soon as the words fell, the shocked faces of the people below remained silent for a second, then two seconds, and then suddenly erupted into a frenzy. Some beat their chests and stamped their feet, some clapped their hands and wailed loudly, and many more people spoke with great passion:

"With Madam Hui by our side, we have nothing to fear. Let us all speak out our grievances!"

"That corrupt Magistrate Yan! He colludes with merchants and local thugs to oppress us ordinary people. He's not fit to be an official at all! I'm going to sue him!"

"Oh my God, you've finally opened your eyes! My son won't have died in vain! You corrupt official, Magistrate Yan, give me back my son's life!"

"Waaaaah... And my daughter too... Magistrate Yan allows men to bully women and women to do as they please. My poor daughter has been murdered like this."

"......"

Amidst the resounding cries of injustice from the people, Song Anxin remained remarkably calm, as if she had come to understand the meaning of her upward climb.

She turned and knelt down, her voice firm and resolute: "We beg Your Excellency, Prefect, to do us justice."

The people outside also all knelt down, pleading, "Please, Your Excellency, do us justice."

"We beg Your Excellency Prefect to do us justice."

"We beg Your Excellency Prefect to do us justice."

The sounds of the people's voices, like waves, never ceased.

When Zhang Jingjiangliu and Lin Gangzi realized that something was wrong, they secretly slipped into the crowd and tried to run away.

But Lin Fengnian spotted them immediately. "They're trying to run away! Catch them!"

The three were quickly dragged up by the people below. It is estimated that the people took the opportunity to beat them secretly, and their hair was messy and their clothes were dirty.

Knowing he was definitely not going to escape this time, Lin Gangzi immediately burst into tears and crawled to Song Anxin's feet.

"Second Aunt, Second Aunt, please, please let me go! It was Young Master Jiang and Young Master Zhang who forced me to this. I didn't mean to harm your family... For the sake of us being from the same village and my parents, please tell them I have nothing to do with them... Second Aunt, please... I don't want to die. My parents only have me as their son..."

Song Anxin's calm eyes remained unmoved. This Lin Gangzi had harmed her family time and time again, and even wanted to beg her to let him go. She wasn't that kind of saint. This time, this man would probably never appear in front of her again.

Lin Gangzi saw that Song Anxin didn't even glance at him and climbed back to Lin Fengnian's feet:

"Fengnian, yes, it was Young Master Jiang who framed your family! I was just a gofer, it really had nothing to do with me! Please, please let me go! I won't do it again, I really won't... I beg you, I beg you..."

Lin Fengnian looked at Lin Gangzi, who used to be arrogant and looked down on them, the peasants, and now he was kneeling at his feet begging for his forgiveness. He didn't know what to feel, but he would never forgive him.

Jiang Liu was already furious after being captured and beaten, and upon hearing Lin Gangzi's words, he rushed forward and began punching and kicking him.

"You still say it has nothing to do with you! It's you, it's you! That bitch said Lin Fengshou's family had some good stuff, and now I'm in this sorry state... Damn it... you worthless bastard, I'll beat you to death..."

Jiang Liu had completely lost his mind, his eyes bloodshot. He glanced at Zhang Jing out of the corner of his eye, then roughly threw Lin Gangzi aside and tackled Zhang Jing to the ground, punching him and cursing as he did so.

"You son of a bitch Zhang Jing, what kind of trash did you find for me! Damn it, a lackey is a lackey, your whole Zhang family eats my food, lives in my house, and then you harm me..."

Zhang Jing was completely enraged. Gone was his usual composed demeanor. He flipped Jiang Liu over, pinning him beneath him, his eyes blazing with fury as he rained down punches on Jiang Liu with even greater ferocity. Jiang Liu, already weaker and thinner, was utterly powerless against the onslaught, howling in pain.

"You son of a bitch! Who are you calling a lackey? Who do you think you are? All you do is swagger around and order me around. You're nothing without the Jiang family. I've had enough of you..."

"Damn it, Zhang Jing, how dare you hit me... Ah! Stop hitting me, I was wrong, I was wrong... You fucking hit me so hard, ah..."

For a while, it was quite a spectacle of dogs fighting each other.

Prefect Xu's face grew increasingly dark. He roared, "Enough! Guards, take Magistrate Yan and these men to jail!"

He stepped forward and addressed the kneeling Song Anxin and the people below, saying, "As an official responsible for the people's livelihood, you have been corrupt and lawless, ignoring the people's grievances and colluding with merchants and local bullies to oppress them! Lady Hui and all the people, rest assured, after I have investigated this matter and obtained conclusive evidence, I will definitely report it to the imperial court, and the imperial court will punish you severely and give you justice."

Song Anxin and the people below said in unison, "Thank you, Prefect! Prefect, you are very perceptive."

Meanwhile, Magistrate Yan had already passed away amidst the public outcry. Jiang Liu and his companions were all taken away, still hurling insults at each other as they were taken away, their relationship already irreconcilable.

Prefect Xu said, “Madam Hui, please rise. Madam Hui is truly a lucky star for the people of our Great Yin Dynasty. I thought Magistrate Yan was the most upright person, but I didn’t expect him to be two-faced. I was really deceived by him. Otherwise, if this matter had been left unchecked and the higher-ups had found out, I would have been blamed for negligence. You have rid this prefecture of a black sheep, and I should thank you more.”

Prefect Xu was genuinely grateful to Hui Song for putting his mind at ease; he wasn't just making empty promises. The agricultural and water conservancy tools she had offered were a huge help to Liuzhou, and now that she had helped him uncover another corrupt official, he could add another achievement to his list.

It seems he made the right choice coming here to deliver the imperial decree. He could have simply sent a messenger, but he was genuinely curious about what this woman, who could devise such ingenious and beneficial tools for the country and its people, looked like. Her actions, words, and demeanor today were truly admirable; she was indeed a rare and remarkable woman.