Chapter 39

Seeing that the situation was not going well, the eldest princess immediately spoke up.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be better to imprison the two of them first."

Huang Shang no longer looked at Su Wanxing and strode past her.

Su Wanxing knew she had failed, and slumped down in the magnificent palace, looking at Nineteen in despair.

Huang Shang entered Yan Heng's room.

Where is Huang Zi?

The servants all knelt down, saying they didn't know.

The Empress suppressed her displeasure and gave the order.

"Even if it means turning this entire Phoenix Palace upside down, find him for me! Send people outside the palace to search for him too!"

At the entrance of the Phoenix City government office.

A figure dressed in tattered clothes arrived at the entrance of the yamen, picked up drumsticks with both hands, and although his body was trembling violently, he raised his arms with all his might, and the drumbeats sounded densely, each one like a blow to his heart.

The surrounding crowd surged forward, and murmurs rose and fell. Several constables hurriedly came out carrying sticks.

"Why are you beating the drum to appeal for justice?"

The man threw his hands down, knelt down, kowtowed heavily, and shouted with all his might.

"This humble citizen was humiliated last night! I beg Your Excellency to uphold justice for the people!"

The man was brought into the yamen, and the crowd gathered around to listen to his grievances.

"Who is this person standing below? What brings them to beat the drum and appeal for justice?"

The man raised his head and stared intently at the courtroom.

"My name is Yan Heng. Last night, I was kidnapped by villains and taken into an alley. They raped me. I beg you, sir, to do me justice!"

It's that kind of case again! He's tired of hearing them every day, so he just goes through the motions.

Do you remember what that person looked like?

"Remember"

"Very well, order someone to draw a portrait."

"yes!"

More than an hour later, the bailiffs forced the man to kneel in the courtroom.

"You audacious scoundrel, wasn't it you who committed illicit acts with the person next to you last night?"

The man carefully examined Yan Heng's face.

"Ha, how can you prove it's me?"

"Based on this person's description, a portrait of you was drawn. Do you know your crime?"

"It's just a portrait; who knows if he's just making things up?"

The adult thought about it and realized it made sense.

"Yan Heng, how can you prove that this portrait wasn't made up by you?"

Why would a commoner like myself use my innocence to frame her?

"That makes sense."

"My lord, it's also possible that he has a grudge against me and is deliberately using this method to frame me."

Yan Heng smiled, as if he had expected this to happen.

"Sir, could you investigate whether she returned home last night?"

The man panicked upon hearing this.

"Okay, I confess, it was me. But you can't blame it all on me. He was drunk last night, so I went up to him and asked if he needed help. Then he collapsed. I saw that he was already disheveled, so..."

The gavel slammed down.

"How dare you! I'm under your feet, how dare you act so recklessly!"

"No, sir, he didn't refuse, how can you blame it all on me?"

Yan Heng stood up and shouted at the crowd watching the commotion outside the door.

"How can someone who is not conscious refuse? Does not speaking mean consent? How exactly can a deaf-mute person refuse?"

Yan Heng's words drew cheers from the group of men.

"Yeah, why should we?"

"This kind of person should be executed!"

He struck the gavel three times in quick succession.

"Quiet down! Be quiet!"

The crowd then quieted down.

The adults, fearing public outrage, had no choice but to issue a judgment.

"Guards! This man has shown contempt for the court and the law, and has assaulted others. He is sentenced to three years in prison."

Yan Heng walked into the courtroom.

"Sir, only three years? What if she comes out and commits crimes again after three years? She can still live a normal life, get married and have children after three years. What about us, the victims?"

"How dare you! I've already shown you a lot of leniency by issuing such a swift judgment. Don't be ungrateful!"

"Guards! This man is showing contempt of court! Drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane!"

The constables surrounded Yan Heng.

Yan Heng looked forlornly at the people in the courtroom, their cold eyes piercing him. His heart was ashen, and he slowly took out the jade pendant from his pocket.

"Yan Heng, the son of the Phoenix, let's see who dares to make a move!"

The adult stepped forward and examined the jade pendant closely. Upon discovering that it was indeed an item from the palace, he knelt down in fear.

"This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness, and will immediately imprison and execute this treacherous commoner."

The remaining officials and the crowd knelt down and shouted.

Yan Heng looked at the crowd at his feet, and the world seemed so unfamiliar.

More painful than the physical pain was the world itself. The emperor was supposed to be subject to the same laws as commoners, yet now he could be sentenced arbitrarily simply because of his status. He couldn't understand. His sister's words echoed in his mind: could this world truly live up to her description? If so, only his sister could do it. Therefore, no matter what happened, he would help his sister.