Upon hearing Chu Yimeng's words, Yuan Kunlin secretly glanced at Fu Bai.
Seeing that Fu Bai was sitting calmly in the chair and showed no intention of moving, Yuan Kunlin stroked his goatee and said in a grand manner, "You are suing Chen Qiwen, the deceased ancestor of the Chen family. The princess is only cooperating with our investigation and is not a suspect."
The charges the emperor leveled against the Chen family included Chen Qiwen's treason and disloyalty to his master, as well as Chen Cangshu's deceitful behavior towards the emperor. However, none of these charges concerned Fu Bai, so logically he was not a suspect.
Moreover, Fu Bai is the Princess Consort of the Li King, who is listed in the Imperial Register, and her status is extraordinary. Chu Yimeng's attitude towards Fu Bai can be described as extremely disrespectful.
"But you," Yuan Kunlin coughed, glancing condescendingly at Chu Yimeng, "don't you even bow to the Princess?"
Chu Yimeng never expected that, despite having an imperial decree ordering Yuan Kunlin to arrest Chen Fubai, Yuan Kunlin would still dare to speak up for Chen Fubai.
Doesn't he respect the emperor?
Chu Yimeng looked at Yuan Kunlin in disbelief.
Fu Bai didn't want to get entangled with them any longer. He lifted his eyelids, his amber pupils looking listless, as if he didn't want to continue this farce.
He glanced at Yuan Kunlin indifferently.
Yuan Kunlin received Fu Bai's gaze, coughed, and immediately adopted the dignity of the Minister of Justice, saying, "Doctor Chu, since you say that the Chen family's ancestor stole your family's medical classics and even killed your family's ancestor, can you provide evidence to prove this?"
Chu Yi dreamt of this and knew that Yuan Kunlin would be holding a trial here today, so he definitely wouldn't bring Chen Fubai and the Chen family to the Ministry of Justice.
Her gaze darkened, and she lowered her eyes and said softly, "It's been so long that I no longer have any evidence to prove this matter. But Chen Qiwen was indeed my great-grandfather's apprentice. After my great-grandfather suddenly passed away, Chen Qiwen disappeared without a trace, along with the medical classics compiled by generations of my Chu family. Everyone in Xinzhou knew about this at the time. If you send someone to inquire, I think someone must have heard about this from their ancestors."
"Please, Your Honor, understand that the medical book is the culmination of generations of my Chu family's hard work. The Chen family moved to the capital because of it and became respected imperial physicians. However, my grandfather and father felt ashamed of their ancestors' legacy every day because the medical book was lost, and ultimately died with regret."
As Chu Yimeng finished speaking, tears streamed down her face, her body trembled slightly, and the corners of her eyes turned a pale red, making her look pitiful.
Li Jun rushed out from the crowd, tenderly supporting Chu Yimeng, and glared angrily at Fu Bai.
Then he turned to the crowd of onlookers and said loudly, "I know you are all grateful to the Chen family, but everything the Chen family has today was stolen from the Chu family. The things that the Chen family's ancestor Chen Qiwen did were no different from those of a robber. Do you think the descendants of such a person would truly care about you?"
Li Jun's voice was strong and clear. The Chen family had already been sentenced, and now all that was needed was to win over the people who supported the Chen family and prevent them from stopping the constables from taking the Chen family members away.
The people began to whisper among themselves.
Some people believed Chu Yimeng's words, thinking that the Chen family had acted dishonestly and that their so-called concern for the people was merely an attempt to atone for their ancestors' sins.
But most people don't believe it.
Someone in the crowd shouted, "Where's the evidence? We need evidence!"
"Exactly! Why should we believe what you say just because you've said it?"
"Your Highness and the doctors at the Chen Family Medical Clinic are people we have all witnessed. Why should we believe you just because you say they are bad? If you have the ability, then produce the evidence to prove it!"
"Ah! I remember now, isn't this the Third Prince? No, no, he's no longer the Third Prince; he was demoted to a commoner long ago."
Upon hearing this, the people present suddenly remembered the reason why Li Jun had been demoted to a commoner.
He attempted to frame the Chen family by taking the lives of tens of thousands of people in Qiyuan County, Taizhou, but was exposed by the Chen family and subsequently demoted to a commoner by the emperor.
"Hahaha, this is hilarious!" someone laughed loudly. "Commoner Li Jun, you failed to frame Physician Chen's family back then, and now you're getting Doctor Chu to cooperate with your act, huh? What do you take us common people for?"
"So it was him! That damned prince who treats the lives of us common people like dirt. He was willing to sacrifice the people of Qiyuan County to frame the Chen family back then. Who knows, he might use our lives to achieve his other goals in the future."
"Do you dare believe what this kind of person says? Don't let him use you as a pawn again!"
The crowd was noisy, but every word the people uttered was directed at Li Jun.
Someone in the crowd threw rotten vegetable leaves at Li Jun first, and it was like opening a fire. People picked up stones from the ground, and others picked up rotten fish and shrimp, throwing them all at Li Jun and Chu Yimeng.
Li Jun instinctively shielded Chu Yimeng, but the stench assaulted his nostrils, making him dizzy.
What puzzled Li Jun even more was why the people recognized him.
The reason he dared to stand up for Chu Yimeng today is because the common people don't know who he is.
Fu Bai leaned back in his chair, watching with amusement as Li Jun and Chu Yimeng were attacked by the people. Soon after, his gaze swept across the crowd and he quickly spotted several familiar faces.
These people were all Ouyang Xi's men, including Ouyang Xi's servant Shuyan, who was constantly stirring up trouble.
Fu Bai smiled and, seeing that the people had finished smashing the trash, he stood up leisurely.
"Fellow villagers..." Fu Bai began, his voice clear and resonant, yet with a strong penetrating power.
Upon hearing his voice, the people immediately stopped, their anger instantly calmed, and they all looked at Fu Bai.
Fu Bai: "Thank you all for trusting my Chen family, but today Chu Yimeng has actually slandered my Chen family to this extent. I will not allow rumors to spread and tarnish the reputation of my ancestors."
"Since Chu Yi of the Chu family wants the truth, I will give him the truth and let him see who betrayed their master and ancestors and coveted what should not belong to them."
"Chu Yimeng has no evidence, but I do."
Fu Bai spoke with a clear and resounding voice, his gaze sweeping over the common people before finally settling on Chu Yimeng, his fox-like eyes filled with deep sarcasm.
Chu Yimeng felt a sudden panic and, looking slightly guilty, avoided Fu Bai's gaze.
Fu Bai's lips curled up slightly.
He clapped his hands gently, and Nanxing brought out several people and several thick books from Chen's Medical Clinic.
After learning the original plot from 748 and discovering the dispute between the Chen and Chu families regarding the medical classics, Fu Bai began to have people investigate the matter.
The investigation results were already out, and Fu Bai had been waiting for Chu Yimeng to make her move.
In the original storyline, the entire Chen family was wiped out before Chu Yimeng dared to reveal the entanglement between the Chen and Chu families. By then, the Chen family was gone, so who could defend them?
But things are different now.
Fu Bai will defend the Chen family's innocence to the death.
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