Chapter 67 The Reeds and Rushes: And you won't even acknowledge the child in my womb?!

The Prefect of the Capital sat at his desk, feeling as if his head was about to explode.

It took him a lot of effort to persuade the woman, who called herself Yu, to enter the mansion, and he even had someone bring her a chair to sit down.

The aroma of the vegetable buns wafted into the nose of the Prefect of the Capital, making him feel both hot and hungry, and even his stomach felt a little empty.

He glanced up and saw the woman still sobbing with her head down. He quickly slipped the steamed bun under the desk when no one was looking, out of sight, out of mind.

You said you're from Yunyang County?

The woman was sobbing, and upon hearing the official's question, she immediately stood up and was about to kneel down.

The Prefect of the Capital hurriedly waved his hand: "No need, no need, please sit down and answer the questions."

The woman lowered her head, her voice soft, somewhat different from her resolute tone outside the mansion: "I am from Yunyang County."

On the street, the Prefect of the Capital couldn't take a close look, but now that he looked closely, he found that although this Lady Yu was dressed simply and had no decent jewelry in her hair, only wrapped in a handkerchief, her skin was not rough like that of someone who had worked hard for many years. Instead, it was delicate and fair, with willow-leaf eyebrows and peach-blossom cheeks, and she had a natural charm.

The Prefect of the Capital pondered to himself that this Lady Yu was indeed quite beautiful. He continued to inquire, "Are there any other people in your household? What kind of business do they do?"

"My parents and siblings don't have any livelihood. They make a living by farming and do odd jobs for other people during the off-season."

Her background could be easily found out by asking around in Yunyang County; she certainly wouldn't dare lie about it. The Prefect of the Capital narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Madam Yu again. A family that toils in the fields could not raise such a beautiful and sheltered girl.

At this moment, the Registrar of Households walked in and immediately showed the two documents in his hand to the Prefect of the Capital.

When Yu heard someone enter, she looked at the person carefully for a few moments with a hint of doubt. Only when she saw the Prefect of the Capital put away the report and wave his hand to signal the Registrar of Households to leave first did she calm down and continue to wait for the interrogation with her head down.

The Prefect of the Capital set the report aside for the moment, then asked, "Did you just arrive in the capital today?"

Madam Yu shook her head: "I have been in the capital the whole time."

These words aroused suspicion in the Prefect of the Capital.

If she had only recently arrived in the capital, her journey through the city would have been easily documented by the gatekeepers, making her travel itinerary readily traceable. Yet, she claims to have been in the capital for some time…

Food and lodging are expensive in the capital. Where would a peasant woman like her live? Where would she get the money? Xue Guangting has only been back in the capital for less than a month. Surely he didn't bring this woman back on the day he returned?

Madam Yu offered a different explanation: "Although I was in the capital, I was not checked at the city gates. Xue Guangting coerced me to come to the capital and smuggled me here by hiding me in a wooden cart. Afterwards, he placed me in a house with both the front and back gates locked tightly, forbidding me from leaving. These past few days, seeing that the villain hadn't come for several days, I finally managed to climb over the wall and escape."

Yu's explanation sounds reasonable, but since it wasn't checked and recorded at the city gate, it would be difficult to investigate later.

Just as they were asking, another person walked in.

Madam Yu glanced at him and saw a tall, thin young man in a blue official robe. He entered the room and walked inside, just like the people who had come before. Madam Yu glanced at him and then looked away.

From the moment that person entered, the Prefect of the Capital kept a close eye on Madam Yu's movements. Seeing that Madam Yu continued to sit upright as if nothing had happened, he smiled bitterly to himself. Why did he have to run into such a mess?

The tall, thin young man stopped three steps away from the desk, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "I, Xue, greet the Lord of the Three Auxiliary Regions."

Upon hearing the name "Xue," Madam Yu immediately looked up and saw that the Prefect of the Capital was distant and polite to the man surnamed Xue. She immediately understood the identity of the newcomer.

With a loud bang, the chair overturned to the ground. Madam Yu looked terrified, her eyes wide as she stared straight at Xue Guangting. She hurriedly backed away, stepping on the fallen chair, and tripped, falling to the side.

There was no one else in the hall; the Prefect of the Capital had already sent everyone away. When Xue Guangting saw a woman fall, he stepped forward to help her.

"Don't come any closer!"

Yu screamed and tried to back away with both hands and feet. Before she knew it, her clothes got tangled in the chair, and she was pulled to the side, falling to the ground in a disheveled state. Her arm hit the chair leg, and she pushed the chair, making a sharp scraping sound.

The clerk who went to the Censorate to invite Xue Guangting only said that the Prefect of the Capital had something to discuss, without informing Xue Guangting that a woman had filed a complaint against him. Xue Guangting was unaware of Yu's identity and was somewhat at a loss when he was suddenly yelled at.

The Prefect of the Capital shook his head helplessly and told Xue Guangting to stand further away from Madam Yu, thinking to himself that this case would probably be difficult to hear today.

"Your Honor, Your Honor, please do justice for me!" Madam Yu struggled to sit up, crawled on her knees toward the judge's office, and tearfully accused him, "It was him! He forcibly humiliated me. When I refused, he threatened my parents' lives. My family is poor and powerless, and I was afraid of his official power, so I had no choice but to submit to him."

Xue Guangting was completely bewildered. The woman's words seemed to be related to him, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He asked in confusion, "What threat to my life? Who are you, and why are you slandering me?"

"You beast!" Madam Yu turned around abruptly, her eyes filled with resentment. She pointed at Xue Guangting and cursed through gritted teeth, "You did it yourself, and now you refuse to admit it!"

Madam Yu scrambled to the desk, gripping its edge tightly with both hands. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her voice trembled as she cried out, "Your Excellency, please do justice for me! This beast refuses to acknowledge himself, but he clearly violated me. I would recognize him even if he were ashes..."

After rolling on the ground, Yu's hair was disheveled, with a few strands falling down and sticking to her face with tears, making her look even more pitiful. She gripped the table tightly with both hands, almost digging her nails into the wood, her fingertips turning a chilling bluish-white.

Regardless of how this case is judged in the future, the Yu family is the aggrieved party now, and the Prefect of the Capital must find out the whole story.

“Tell me how you met and when he humiliated you. Do not lie. Tell me everything in detail.”

"Lord Sanfu, I..." Xue Guangting was anxious to argue, but the Prefect of Jingzhao raised his hand to stop him from continuing.

Yu casually wiped her face with one hand, removing the tears that were smeared on it. She crawled around on the ground, her hands covered in dust, and traced two dirty marks down her cheeks.

She didn't care about being dirty; all she wanted to do was tell the Prefect of the Capital: "I first met him last year. At that time, he seemed to be on his way to the capital to take the imperial examination. He happened to meet me and said some things about admiring me. But I am an unmarried woman and don't even know who he is. How could I dare to agree to his request? So I rejected him and told him that if he continued to pester me, I would report him to the authorities."

Yu cried for a long time, and became very emotional, speaking in broken sentences and gasping for breath.

"After he left, I thought the matter was over and didn't take it to heart. Who would have thought that he was still up to no good? A few days ago, I don't know how he found out about my home and said a lot of nonsense."

“That day, my father went out to work and was not at home. Only my mother and I were at home. We two women couldn’t chase him away, so he took advantage of us and even…” Madam Yu cried out, tears welling up again, “He actually dragged me into the house.”

After saying this, Madam Yu lay down on the table and wept bitterly.

"Don't talk nonsense! I don't know you at all, how could I insult you?" Xue Guangting couldn't stand it any longer and questioned sharply, "Furthermore, I have never been to Yunyang County, which you mentioned. Tell me, when and when did I meet you? If you can't answer, you are slandering an official of the imperial court and will be punished!"

Lady Yu cried even harder, and the Prefect of the Capital had to slam his fist on the table to gradually quiet her down.

She sobbed as she replied, "It was early August, but I can't remember the exact date. He stayed at my house for a while afterward, but my family was afraid of his official position and dared not argue with him."

"Later...later he left for some reason." Madam Yu's tone became urgent. She leaned on the desk and tried to look at the Prefect of the Capital. "At that time, my family was planning to move out, but we had nowhere to go. Before my family could finish packing, he suddenly came back."

“He said he was going back to the capital and wanted me to go with him. He also said he had obtained something good and was about to rise to prominence. I am just a woman and don’t understand the ways of officialdom. I just felt that I could no longer let him bully me, so I refused to agree to his request.”

"Who would have thought...who would have thought he would say that if I didn't respond, he...he would kill my parents." Yu was trembling as she spoke.

Xue Guangting stepped forward: "Lord Sanfu, don't listen to her twisting the truth. I was on my way to and from Liangzhou in August, how could I have ended up in Yunyang County? Lord Sanfu also knows that Liangzhou is a long way away. When I entered Liangzhou, there was a travel permit at the city gate. Lord Sanfu can easily find out by sending someone to check."

"I'm talking nonsense?" Madam Yu looked back at Xue Guangting in disbelief, raising her hand and pointing a finger, "With heaven above, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning!"

Xue Guangting showed no fear whatsoever, instead staring intently at Madam Yu: "My conscience is clear, why should I fear divine retribution!"

"Okay, okay, okay." Her eyes were so red they looked like they were soaked in blood, and even her eyelashes were stuck together in clumps with tears. New tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes and fell onto her already soaked clothes.

"You beast, you have such a cruel heart." Madam Yu slowly touched her lower abdomen, forcing a manic and broken laugh. "Then you won't even acknowledge the child in my womb!"

"Really pregnant?" Fu Sui put down the miscellaneous books in her hand, her face full of curiosity.

"That's what she said; no doctor has examined her yet." Perhaps the Prefect of the Capital had already arranged for someone to diagnose her, but Cheng Liwu hadn't found out yet, so this was the only reply he could give for now.

"Where did you get this information?" Fu Sui had no spies in the Jingzhao Prefecture, so Cheng Liwu shouldn't have known about what happened there so quickly.

This news didn't actually come from the Jingzhao Prefecture. Cheng Liwu replied, "Yu was making a fuss about going to beat the Dengwen Drum, but the people in the Jingzhao Prefecture didn't dare to forcibly stop her because of her pregnancy."

Guangdefang was mostly residential, and when Yu filed a complaint in the street, many people gathered at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture to watch the spectacle. As soon as Yu made a scene, the news spread immediately.

Fu Sui rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully. Why did this trick of slandering someone's innocence in the street sound so familiar? Who stole her trick?

Fu Sui did not believe that Xue Guangting was responsible for this. He left the capital in July and returned in October. In those three months, he had to find the old mother of the Lü family, settle the Tian family in Meiyuan County, and go to Liangzhou.

The map of Hedong was "found" by Xue Guangting, but no one helped him "find" the dike survey map of Liangzhou; he had to make the trip himself.

Measuring the land, inspecting the dikes, and investigating the canal transport were all difficult tasks, not to mention the constant travel involved. Even the best workers trained by Fu Sui would need several days of rest after completing these tasks in three months. Xue Guangting, a frail scholar, was able to finish in such a short time; anyone who knew the hardships involved would praise him for his incredible strength and resilience.

If Xue Guangting could still find time to detour to Yunyang County to be intimate with someone, then why should he be a civil official? He might as well go to the army as a vanguard, and no one could outrun him.

Even accusing Xue Guangting of misconduct during his studies in his hometown would be more credible than accusing him of loitering elsewhere during these three months. Fu Sui sneered disdainfully; Wang Bochang would never have come up with such a stupid idea, it was most likely the Feng family's doing again.

Wang Bochang didn't stop him. Didn't he have dealings with the Feng family? His carefully chosen "ally" only had despicable skills. Wasn't he ashamed?

"Did Feng Man make this again?" she asked casually.

Fu Sui kept an eye on the daily reports from the Feng family's spies. Unless it was something important, they would only report back to Cheng Liwu. Fu Sui would only ask about it occasionally when he thought of it.

But Cheng Liwu had no clue about this matter either: "No one in the Feng family has had any contact with the Yu family."

Fu Sui was slightly surprised to hear this. She had already concluded that the Feng family had made a false accusation, but she did not expect that the Yu family really had nothing to do with the Feng family.

"Who else has the Feng family been in contact with this month?"

Cheng Liwu frowned and thought carefully for a moment before answering definitively, "The Duke of Shen."