Chapter 214 He's determined to see this justice through to the end.

"—Thirteenth Young Master?" Lou Cangyu exclaimed, then quickly stopped himself, coughing to cover his panic. "Where is Feng Thirteen? I'll take men and capture him right away."

“Rongdu Prefectural Government Office.” Cui Jin’s expression was cold. Seeing Lou Cangyu’s stunned look, he said in a sinister voice, “The one with the main gate facing east, do you recognize it?”

Lou Cangyu took a few steps back. The government office, with its main gate facing east… He remembered that Feng Shisan and Xiao Ma had talked about it. Xiao Ma kept saying that his family had been wronged and that he was determined to clear his family's name. Feng Shisan had jokingly said back then that he would take care of it… Just a few jokes… Feng Shisan… actually… went to the government office. He was going to…

"He... went to beat the drum to appeal for justice?" Lou Cangyu's speech was unusually fluent.

Cui Jin glanced at him coldly, "You knew all along?"

"No," Lou Cangyu hurriedly defended himself, "He mentioned it to Xiao Ma casually before, and I thought it was just a casual remark... but he actually... he actually..."

Cui Jin rubbed his palms together. Feng Shisan's actions were also unexpected. According to the laws of Jin, as long as one went to the government office to beat the drum and passed three tests, the government office would have to accept the case. Of course, Cui Jin knew that Feng Shisan could not overturn the case, but... if he remembered correctly, no one in Rongdu had beaten the drum at the government office for more than ten years. In the hundred years since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, there were only a handful of people who dared to beat the drum... The three tests were difficult to pass: first, being beaten with thirty rods; second, walking on a road of burning charcoal for several feet; and third, rolling on a ten-meter-long board of steel nails. Those who could risk their lives to pass the three tests must have a great injustice to bear. The sound of the drum would shock the court and the country and shake the four directions. Feng Shisan's beating would not only bring up the old case of the Ma family's mint... but also the matter of Xingguo Ward.

"Three trials...are they difficult?" Lou Cangyu asked nervously.

Cui Jin paused for a moment and said, "According to the records of the Dali Temple, in the past hundred years, only three or five people have been able to pass all three tests and submit their petitions alive. Many have been scared off by the thirty-beating rods, and many have been killed or injured. It is already rare to pass two tests. Passing all three tests is not common, but it is not impossible. Feng Shisan is a young man, full of vigor and strength. Do you think he can pass all three tests?"

Lou Cangyu trembled and said, "If he weren't injured, maybe we could give it a try, but... he's already seriously injured from several battles in a row. It's only been a few days. Even the strongest body can't be completely healed. Three passes? I don't think he can even withstand the disciplinary rod."

Lou Cangyu said this, but the twitching of his knuckles betrayed his inner panic. Cui Jin glanced at him with his one eye, then lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Rongdu, outside the government office

In no time, the crowd of people who had heard the news had packed the gates of the government office, pointing at the back of the kneeling man and whispering among themselves. They had never seen anything like it in their lives, and they had to come and see for themselves.

"Who goes there?" The prefectural magistrate asked, pointing at the newcomer with a look of terror on his face.

Feng Shisan raised his head proudly. "My name is Feng Jian. I am the thirteenth in my clan. People call me Young Master Feng Shisan. I am from Rongdu. My home is in Qingwatai, South Lane, seventeen places north. My father was Feng Shouzheng of the Zhuque Gate. I wonder if the elders of Rongdu still remember him."

"—Feng...Feng Shouzhen?" someone in the crowd called out. An older man recalled, "I remember him. Who doesn't know Feng Shouzhen, the garrison commander of the Vermilion Bird Gate?"

"More than a decade ago, Feng Shouzhen committed a crime, his home was ransacked, and he was beheaded. What, are you trying to seek justice for your father?"

"Silence!" The bailiffs banged their sticks to intimidate the crowd.

Feng Shisan wiped his face and said loudly, "The evidence against my father is conclusive. I don't want to admit it, but I have no choice. My family has no grievances."

"Huh?" The crowd exclaimed in surprise again.

The yamen runners, carrying sticks, approached Feng Shisan, glaring at him and saying, "If you have no grievance, why did you rashly come to beat the drum? Are you trying to amuse us? Do you want to die?"

Feng Shisan remained fearless. "What? Can't I speak up for others who have been wronged?"

The bailiff pondered for a moment, and it seemed that there was indeed no rule against pleading for someone else's innocence. The prefect coughed and said, "You can plead for anyone, but... you still have to pass three tests. Feng... Jian? Do you know which three tests?"

"Hahahaha." Feng Shisan laughed loudly, "I wonder if they're here yet." As he spoke, he beckoned to the yamen runners, "Thirty strokes of the rod, is that it? Your Grandpa Feng can take it."

"Can you handle it?" someone shouted from the crowd. "Young man, you look injured. Your body probably can't take it."

"Yes," a kind-hearted person reminded, "they're not using ordinary sticks, and they're all burly men with broad shoulders and thick waists. Each blow must weigh a hundred pounds. Even a strong and healthy man would be half-dead after taking thirty blows. After the 'deterrent rods,' there's a road of burning charcoal, and finally, you have to roll on a long board of nails..." Before he could finish speaking, the crowd around him gasped in shock, as if they could already see the horrific scene that was about to unfold.

“If he can’t handle it, I’ll take care of it.” Guan Ye squeezed through the crowd and walked toward the drum. She rolled up her sleeves, raised the handle, and was about to strike the drum when she was suddenly stopped by someone.

"Wait a minute." The prefect sensed something was amiss. After years of peace, the sudden appearance of two drummers was hardly a good thing; he needed to be cautious. "The drums beat without turning back. Who are you, and what grievance do you have? Are you doing this for yourself? Or for someone else?"

Guan Ye, dressed in red, stood between heaven and earth like a large, burning flame. Mu Chenbi gazed at her from afar, unable to look away. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: no matter what, Guan Ye would not be alone. Wherever she was, Mu Chenbi would be there too.

"I am Guan Ye, a commoner." Guan Ye's face was as calm as the deep sea. "I am from Rongdu. My father is Guan Xiaotian, a blacksmith at Tianhu Workshop..."

"—Guan Xiaotian?!" The crowd staggered back several steps, everyone's faces filled with astonishment. "Tianhufang? The Tianhufang that was wiped out, Guan Xiaotian, the missing Guan Xiaotian?"

"Guan Ye, Guan Xiaotian's daughter?" The magistrate's face changed drastically, and his finger pointing at Guan Ye began to tremble. "Your father is Guan Xiaotian, a wanted fugitive in the Blood Crossbow Case?"

Guan Ye smiled slightly, “What you said is half right and half wrong. It is right that my father did indeed go into hiding because of the Blood Crossbow Case. It is wrong that my father was not a fugitive, because the Blood Crossbow Case was a miscarriage of justice. Tianhufang was wronged, and so was my father.”

"Huh?!" The crowd's expressions changed from astonishment to fear. They had really stirred up trouble today; it seemed they were about to cause a huge uproar.

The magistrate's rough face turned pale. He knew that he could not bear the consequences. He summoned his attendant and whispered a few words to him. The attendant nodded repeatedly and hurried to the backyard.

"This is a case from twenty years ago, an undeniable fact." The prefect forced himself to remain calm. "What injustice could there be? Guan Ye, you are the daughter of a fugitive. Tianhufang committed a serious crime, and everyone involved was executed. Your parents have been on the run ever since. Where are they? According to the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty, if they were still alive, it wouldn't be as simple as beheading. Your whole family would be executed by slow slicing."

Guan Ye smiled, revealing a shallow dimple. "Then they are truly blessed. My parents have long since passed away."

The magistrate glared at the girl in red before him. "You still have the nerve to laugh? Even if they die, you won't escape punishment. The blades they escaped will still be used against you."

Guan Ye turned to the crowded onlookers and said loudly, "I'm here to beat the drum and cry out for justice. If Tianhufang was wronged, and the Blood Crossbow case was a miscarriage of justice, then no one deserves to die. They killed the wrong person. If Tianhufang is innocent, then my parents are not guilty. Why should I suffer the pain of being slowly sliced ​​to death? Don't you all agree?"

The crowd looked at each other, none daring to respond. Suddenly, someone raised their arm and shouted, "Of course! That's how it should be, otherwise where is justice!"

As they spoke, Mu Chenbi opened his robe and stood at the front. The prefect did not recognize the crown prince, but felt that this man had an imposing presence and did not look like an ordinary commoner. He moved his lips but dared not rebuke him rashly.

"Yes, that makes sense." After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd chimed in.

"Yes..." The crowd began to whisper among themselves. "I know Master Guan. He's a rare, honest man. He's worked diligently at Tianhu Workshop for many years. How could he have betrayed the country..."

The crowd found the story plausible, and their speculations grew louder. "Could there really be a grievance?"

"They dared to beat the drums to pass through three checkpoints, risking their lives; there must be some story behind it."

"Guan Ye!" the magistrate roared, "You are a woman, and if you strike the drum... people will die! Have you thought this through?"

"Wait a minute." Feng Shisan tilted his head to look at Guan Ye, and scratched his nose with the back of his hand. "I will appeal for both Tianhufang and Guan Ye's grievances."

The magistrate's eyes widened. "What do these matters have to do with you? Why don't you just appeal all the wrongful convictions in the world?"

"Hahahaha." Feng Shisan burst into laughter. "It couldn't be better. Anyone with a grievance can speak to me, Young Master Shisan. We have to pass all three trials. The more grievances we have, the better!"

"Shut up!" The prefect was so angry and embarrassed that he wanted to slap him. He raised his wrist but then glanced at Mu Chenbi's sharp eyes. He was intimidated by something and lowered his wrist without daring to move. "Feng Jian, is it? I'm asking you, what does the case of the Guan family and Tianhufang have to do with you? You have to give me a reason before I can appeal it together."

"Thirteenth Young Master..." Guan Ye was about to say something when Feng Shisan waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry about this matter.

Feng Shisan straightened his back. "Now that things have come to this, it's no harm to tell you. Guan Ye entered Xingguo Workshop a few years ago and is now the best blacksmith there." Seeing that everyone was skeptical, Feng Shisan was a little displeased. "What, you don't believe me? Guan Ye received the true teachings of Guan Xiaotian and was also taught by Young Master Pei of Xingguo Workshop. In Jin Kingdom today, if she claims to be second, no one dares to claim to be first. She can even present swords to the Emperor. Even the Emperor praises her for forging excellent weapons."

Feng Shisan swallowed hard, then grinned and said, "I, Young Master Shisan, am a swordsman from Xingguo Fang. I am a fellow disciple of Guan Ye, so her affairs are naturally related to me. Of course, I also defended the Guan family and Tianhu Fang against their injustices. Don't you all agree?"

"That makes sense," Mu Chenbi incited loudly. "Fellow disciples are like brothers. Guan Ye is like your sister, so her affairs are your affairs."

“Yes, that makes sense.” Everyone nodded and looked at the magistrate. “Sir, this is a good idea.”

The magistrate kept glancing back, and Mu Chenbi knew he wouldn't dare make the decision himself. He had already sent someone to invite the prefect of Rongdu, but the prefect probably already knew something was amiss and wouldn't be showing up anytime soon. Mu Chenbi paced back and forth. "Magistrate, everyone's watching. You... can't do anything about it?"

The magistrate's face flushed red and then turned pale. "It's possible, but I'm afraid he might die on the spot..."

“My life is my own to decide.” Feng Shisan looked at Mu Chenbi. “Ajiu, take good care of Guan Ye. After your Grandpa Feng gets through this, Guan Ye will have to handle the rest.”

Mu Chenbi nodded emphatically, their eyes meeting, a mutual trust between the two men.

“Thirteenth Young Master,” Guan Ye said, pointing to her heart, “you have done what you promised Xiao Ma, and I will definitely do what I promised you.”

Feng Shisan spread his fists. "Sir, there's no time to lose. Everyone's waiting. Let's go."

The magistrate signaled to the constables that they could make their move. The constables brought over a long bench, but before they could even speak, Feng Shisan had already pounced on them, lifting up the back of his robe and baring his teeth as he observed the various expressions on the constables' faces. "Don't back down! Come on, a soft hand isn't a man. Hit me hard! If I can't kill your Grandpa Feng, I'll go all the way!"

"Okay, you said that."

Hearing the sound, everyone turned their heads and saw a man in black armor slowly approaching with a sword in hand. The man had a maniacal smile on his face, dark eyes, and a face as pale as snow, which made his eyes look even more unfathomable. Everyone was alarmed and hurriedly made way for him.

"Lou Cangyu!" Guan Ye pointed angrily at the newcomer, "You've come too."