In the middle of the crowd, Lu Xingli was being tightly held by a little girl dressed in coarse linen clothes, who was clinging to one of her legs. She tried to break free but couldn't. As more and more people gathered around her, she kicked the girl several times in frustration, but to no avail.
The little girl, carrying a bundle on her back, clung tightly to her leg, refusing to let go. Even though Lu Xingli had kicked her in the face and caused her nose to bleed, she still wouldn't loosen her grip, crying out, "My father is dead, my mother is dead, you killed them, I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Lu Xingli was surrounded and watched, feeling both embarrassed and indignant. She asked her servants to pull the girl away, but several people stepped forward but dared not make a move in front of everyone. They tried to persuade her with kind words, but to no avail. The noble ladies around her were pointing and whispering, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
The little girl was still crying and shouting, "You killed my mother and my father! You can't get away with this! I'll risk my life to get justice for them!"
The commotion quickly caught the attention of the Imperial Concubine, who informed the Emperor. Soon after, the Emperor sent someone to summon them.
When the little girl was brought before the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine, she knelt down with a thud. At first, she just sobbed and cried without saying a word.
Lu Xingli knelt to the side, her face turning red and then white, then white and then red again – it was quite a sight to behold.
The emperor, seated at the head of the table, asked with an air of authority, "You are a commoner. Trespassing into the royal hunting grounds is a grave offense. Do you know your crime?"
"This humble woman knows her crime." The young girl was nervous as it was her first time meeting the emperor. She kowtowed, clenched her hands, and continued, "Even if Your Majesty wants to punish me, I will have no complaints. However, if I do not take this risk today, I am afraid I will never have the chance to seek justice for my parents who died unjustly."
"Oh? What could be so dangerous that you'd risk your life for it? And how did your parents die?"
"It was the fourth daughter of the Duke of Lu's mansion who killed my parents."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Xingli glared at her and shouted angrily, "You're talking nonsense! I have no grudge against you, why would you want to harm me?"
The little girl shrank her shoulders, startled by her, and immediately fell silent.
Lu Xingli's arrogant demeanor from a moment ago vanished without a trace the next second. Realizing that she had lost her composure in front of the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine, she quickly bowed again.
The Emperor's gaze swept over her, and she immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Then, the Emperor nodded slightly, signaling the young girl to continue.
The young girl then slowly recounted the whole story.
It turns out that the girl's parents both worked in the Duke of Lu's mansion; one was a maid responsible for sweeping and cleaning, and the other was a cook in the kitchen.
Although they weren't a wealthy family, the couple loved each other and lived a simple and happy life. Until one day, while the maid was sweeping, she didn't notice Lu Xingli walking past her and accidentally swept dust onto her newly made shoes. In a bad mood, Lu Xingli kicked her into the lotus pond.
The maid couldn't swim and struggled in the water for a while, nearly drowning in the lotus pond, until her husband, who happened to be passing by, saw her and rescued her. After the cook learned what had happened, he wanted to seek justice for his wife, but unexpectedly, Lu Xingli ordered someone to break one of his fingers.
Before they entered the government, they signed labor contracts, not indentured servitude contracts, so they went directly to the government to report the matter. But how could a commoner fight against princes and nobles?
Lu Xingli somehow fabricated evidence of the cook's theft, which led to his imprisonment.
The little girl sobbed, “My father was locked up for two days, and when he was brought back, he was a cold, lifeless corpse. My mother couldn’t bear the series of blows and suddenly fell ill and passed away.”
“My parents were such good people when they were alive. Just because they accidentally offended Lu Xingli, she ruined our family and caused our deaths. How can I not hate her!”
The crowd watching the play all sighed and began to discuss it.
"Lu Xingli appears respectable and generous in public, but he is actually such a petty and narrow-minded person in private."
"You can't judge a book by its cover. They may look respectable, but they do terrible things."
"Just because someone accidentally got some dust on their shoes, she kicked them straight into the lake. So vicious! Whoever marries her will have to be careful even when drinking tea, because she might poison them if they displease her."
...
The crowd chattered loudly, their voices quite loud. Lu Xingli, filled with shame and indignation, pointed at the girl and retorted sharply, "You're talking nonsense! You're clearly framing me!"
The little girl looked up at her with a startled expression, then cautiously moved forward a little.
The emperor, sitting at the head of the table, frowned and asked, "Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?"
"Yes, yes." The little girl took off the small package on her back and took out a stack of things from it.
The chief eunuch immediately came over to take the item and presented it to the emperor.
“These are confessions that I obtained after begging many people. My parents are not the first to suffer such abuse. Before this, all the servants and attendants around Lu Xingli had been abused by her, ranging from beatings and scoldings to being beaten to death.”
The laws of the Eastern Kingdom clearly stipulate that masters cannot arbitrarily oppress their servants, let alone kill them at will. Servants who commit serious offenses, such as theft or adultery, must be reported to the government before they can be sold or disposed of.
The Imperial Concubine also glanced at the blood-stained confessions and said with a face full of sorrow, "Heaven have mercy, what kind of heart could commit so many heinous acts?"
The Emperor was furious. He slammed the items onto the table in front of him and looked coldly at Lu Xingli, saying, "The evidence is conclusive. What else do you have to say to argue?!"
Lu Xingli was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she knelt on the ground, trembling, unable to utter a word for a long time.
She knew that deceiving the emperor was a serious crime, but asking her to admit her actions in front of so many people was tantamount to stripping her naked and throwing her in front of everyone, which she was unwilling to do.
Seeing that she remained silent, the emperor assumed that she had confessed her guilt and was powerless to refute it, and immediately ordered her to be imprisoned to await trial.
As Lu Xingli was dragged away, she cried uncontrollably, shouting, "Injustice! Your Majesty! Injustice!"
Then the little girl was also taken away, but unlike the former, there was no sadness on her face, but rather a sense of relief and joy.
This, in turn, made everyone's hearts lean towards her even more.
This farce came quickly and went quickly.
The Emperor issued an order that this matter should not affect the autumn hunt, so everyone wisely left.
Qingying and Xie Jiaoying walked at the back, both looking rather preoccupied.
Qingying was worried that the little girl would be punished for it, and felt that she was the one who had harmed her.
Xie Jiaoying's expression, however, was more mysterious and unpredictable, making it difficult for anyone to understand her.
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