Chapter 129 Courtroom Confrontation In the thirteenth year of the Daqing reign (October), Zhang Youdao took office…

"Are you rebelling?!" Emperor Qing took a slight step, lost his balance, and slumped back into his dragon throne.

Zhuang Ziyang said, “Your Majesty, the only way to silence public opinion is to reopen this case.” He then bowed deeply again, “Your Majesty, I humbly request that you reopen this case.”

As soon as he spoke, a chorus of agreement arose behind him.

Seeing this, Li Zhao hurriedly said, "Zhuang Ziyang! Are you trying to force Father Emperor? Don't forget, Father Emperor is the emperor of all the people. These people outside the palace are rebelling today, and they all deserve to die!"

Zhuang Ziyang: "Your Highness, please be careful with your words!"

The sound was like a thunderclap, and Li Zhao was stunned.

Then Zhuang Xiang continued, “The Emperor is the Emperor of all the people. When the people call His Majesty ‘Father,’ it means they all regard His Majesty as their father. Shouldn’t a child who has been wronged speak to his father? If a child has suffered injustice, shouldn’t the father uphold justice for his child?”

What the Fourth Prince said places His Majesty in an unjust position.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing relaxed and leaned back.

"Very well, very well." Emperor Qing looked dejected. "If I do not comply with them, I am not their sovereign, and my actions are unjust."

Zhuang Ziyang: "Your Majesty, I implore you to retry this case and give the people and the world an explanation!"

"Very well, very well, very well." Emperor Qing stood up, supporting himself on the armrest. "I want to see how this Tea Lady wants me to get justice for her, and where I have been unjust!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhen raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Fangtong. Seeing that the other party nodded slightly, he lowered his head and said no more.

Xu Fang and his men went to collect the court regalia from Li Yang before entering the palace.

Thirty strokes of the cane echoed in his ears. As Li Yang counted the blows, he felt the force of each strike to his back hit his very core.

At first, it was just a physical pain; the board was heavy, and with each blow, she felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

Later, I gradually felt a burning sensation on my back, as if each blow from the board felt like a knife cutting into it.

Sweating profusely, she bit her lower lip tightly, but couldn't suppress the cries of pain. After the paddle struck her, she quickly took a breath. Just before the punishment, the eunuch who had been holding her hostage had whispered in her ear that if she could take a deep breath and inflate her chest, it would reduce the pain in her internal organs.

This trick really worked. After more than twenty strokes, Li Yang didn't feel any metallic taste in his mouth, but he couldn't escape the tearing and lacerations on his back.

It must be that her grandfather asked someone to take care of her. Thinking this, Li Yang felt her eyes getting hot, but then she suddenly found it really funny. Her grandfather was performing magic tricks right under the emperor's nose.

The executioner was extremely skilled. After thirty strokes, Li Yang's clothes on the back were soaked with bloodstains. Strands of blood crisscrossed and spread across his plain white robe, the blood as red as plum blossoms.

However, after the execution, she stood up with the help of a eunuch and did not feel seriously injured.

Her back was sticky, and her clothes were stuck to the wound. Walking caused the wound to ache terribly, so she had to move forward slowly, dragging her feet.

As Li Yang dragged her feet into the Golden Palace, she saw officials kneeling on both sides, with only a few standing sparsely. She noticed Li Zhao standing closer to the throne, with Li Zhen kneeling beside him. Her maternal grandfather knelt on the other side, followed by Zhou Chengli.

The person they were kneeling before was now dressed in a black dragon robe and wearing a crown; his once kind and gentle face was now ashen.

The eunuch gently tugged at her arm, and Li Yang hurriedly knelt down to pay her respects, "This commoner, Chen Li, greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"

By the time she entered the hall, the officials had already risen.

Emperor Qing gave a cold snort as a response, but did not tell her to get up. Li Yang felt the wound on her back as if centipedes were crawling over it, both itchy and painful.

Li Zhen turned his head to look at her bloodied back, his brows furrowing involuntarily. He looked at Xu Fangtong and saw the latter nod slightly, which reassured him somewhat.

Emperor Qing said, "Chen Lishi, I remember you. You were the one who served tea in Songshan Town during my southern tour."

Li Yang rose, stood in the center of the hall, bowed to Emperor Qing, and said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed I, a commoner."

Emperor Qing: "Was it you who gathered the people outside the palace today and beat the Dengwen Drum?"

Li Yang: "Your Majesty, I struck the Dengwen Drum to plead for my husband's innocence, but I did not gather any people."

Emperor Qing: "No crowds have been gathered? What is the cause of the commotion outside the palace? What is the cause of the storytelling in the city?"

Li Yang: "Your Majesty, it was only because I was helping drought victims at the camp in the northern suburbs that I was recognized by the people. It was a spontaneous act, not because I gathered the people. There are storytellers in the city every day, and I do not know what Your Majesty is referring to."

Sensing that Emperor Qing's visit was ill-intentioned, she resolved not to let him pin the blame on her. Today was to clear Chen Junbo's name; the matter hadn't been discussed yet, and she absolutely could not be punished.

Therefore, her explanations were full of excuses and evasions, but even with such shameless methods, Emperor Qing couldn't come up with any respectable reason to make things difficult for her.

Emperor Qing: "Very well, then I ask you, what is the purpose of striking the Dengwen Drum today? Do you know that in this dynasty, the beating of the Dengwen Drum is only permitted for matters of great importance to the military and the state, for serious corruption and evil, for strange grievances and tragic events, otherwise the drum shall not be struck, and those who violate this rule shall be severely punished."

These words, seemingly explaining the regulations of the petitioning drum to Li Yang, were in fact a threat in every word. Li Yang knew that if he couldn't give a clear answer today, someone would seize this opportunity to severely punish him.

She suddenly felt a surge of determination to go all out.

She looked at her grandfather and uncle.

When she became an orphan overnight, she was terrified and panicked when her family's food supplies ran out.

Now, she has family in the palace, a lover in prison, and friends outside the palace; she fears nothing.

"Your Majesty," Li Yang straightened her back to avoid tearing her wound, and said loudly, "What I have reported concerns matters of great importance to the nation and the people, cases of great corruption, heinous crimes, and strange and tragic events."

She glanced at Emperor Qing's expression, took a deep breath, and said, "Chen Junbai, the chief salt merchant of Lianghuai, was recently sentenced for embezzling treasury silver and surplus profits, his family property was confiscated, and he was exiled to the frontier."

A commoner sued Zhang Youdao, the salt transport commissioner of Songshan Town, for corruption and perverting the law, for framing the honest official Lin Yihuai, and for slandering the imperial merchant Chen Junbai and other salt merchants, leaving the honest official with nowhere to seek justice and forcing the commoner to confess under torture. This was a case of extraordinary injustice and tragedy.

The woman sued Zhang Youdao and Zhong Zhengyuan for deceiving the emperor, demanding huge bribes from salt merchants while in office, embezzling surplus profits and disaster relief funds, and falsifying account books. Each and every one of these acts constituted heinous corruption.

The two men, disregarding the critical situation in the southern border region, framed loyal officials and ignored the impact this would have on the salt industry in Lianghuai, preventing salt merchants from raising funds for donations and delaying military operations. This was a serious delay in matters of vital importance to the nation.

She had memorized the speech perfectly under Mr. Zheng's tutelage. Zheng Qingbo was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the third year of the Daqing era. He later resigned from his official post and went to Songshan Town to live a quiet life, mingling only among the literati of Jiangnan. As for how to interpret the laws of this dynasty, probably no one in the court could surpass him.

These words were forceful and relevant, leaving Emperor Qing speechless and only able to lean back in his chair, breathing heavily.

Seeing this, Li Yang pleaded with Your Majesty to retry the case, restore the innocence of her husband Chen Junbai, the salt commissioner of Jiangnan Lin Yihuai, and the salt merchants of Jiangnan, and eliminate evil for the people of the world.

Before Emperor Qing could speak, Zhang Youdao jumped out, "You audacious criminal, don't spout nonsense!"

Upon hearing his voice, Li Yang looked up at Zhang Youdao and slowly straightened up. "Lord Zhang, are you anxious? Are you afraid? If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place!"

Zhang Youdao said, "This is outrageous! This is the Imperial Palace, not a place for you to spout nonsense. Beg for forgiveness and punishment, and His Majesty may spare your life."

“Lord Zhang,” Li Zhen said, “I didn’t know that you were now in charge of things in this hall.”

Zhang Youdao stammered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." He looked at Li Zhao sheepishly, but was glared at fiercely by the latter, so he lowered his head and remained silent.

In the main hall, only the rustling of officials' robes could be heard, while Emperor Qing was panting heavily.

Li Yang maintained his posture of requesting permission, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead onto the blue bricks of the hall, each drop as black as ink.

She listened to her own heartbeat, as if someone were beating a drum in her heart.

With renewed vigor, she pleaded, "Your Majesty, I implore you to retry this case."

Emperor Qing stared intently at His Highness, lost in thought.

Upon seeing this, Zhuang Ziyang knelt down again: "Your Highness, I humbly request that you re-examine this case."

Seeing this, the other officials were about to second the motion when Emperor Qing said in a deep voice, "You just accused Zhang Youdao and Zhong Zhengyuan. Do you have any evidence?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yang's gaze involuntarily shifted to Zhang Youdao. The latter's demeanor was extremely provocative, and Li Yang felt utterly disgusted.

"Your Majesty," Li Yang paused, then said loudly, "In the tenth month of the thirteenth year of Daqing, Zhang Youdao was appointed Salt Transport Commissioner of Songshan Town. In the first month of the following year, at Ruyi Pavilion, salt merchant Liu Yitong presented a courtesan with 100,000 taels of silver."

In March, a salt merchant gifted him ten scrolls of calligraphy and painting, and 200,000 taels of silver.

In May, a salt merchant gifted him a basket of silver notes, hidden inside a bamboo basket and covered with vegetables; the notes were worth 300,000 taels.

In June, a salt merchant presented a jade cabbage as a gift, valued at 200,000 taels of silver.

..."

As the accounts were being presented to Li Yang, whispers began to circulate in the court, while Zhang Youdao could only scratch his head in frustration.

"During his three years in office, Zhang Youdao accepted bribes totaling more than 4.36 million taels of silver from salt merchants. Among them, his family members solicited money from the families of salt merchants, but this was not recorded."

boom--

The crowd in the hall was in an uproar. A mere salt commissioner had extorted as much as 4.3 million taels of silver in just three years, including women, calligraphy and paintings, cultural relics, and money, among many other things.

The salary of a first-rank official in the capital was 180 taels of silver per year. With the addition of rice and other allowances, it amounted to about 500 taels of silver per year.

A salt commissioner of the third rank had an annual salary of four hundred taels of silver, but he accepted bribes totaling four million three hundred thousand taels of silver!

Emperor Qing seemed taken aback. Four million three hundred thousand taels of silver. The war in the southern border region had only cost four million taels of silver so far.

Thinking of this, Emperor Qing's gaze already drifted towards Zhang Youdao. Upon seeing this, Zhang Youdao hurriedly and sternly rebuked, "You audacious shrew, how dare you spout such nonsense here! What evidence do you have? If you have no evidence, don't even think about implicating me!"