Chapter 408 Rescue
The woman's face was contorted with madness, and even Jiang Lin was stunned by her hysterical state, remaining motionless for a long time.
"We are separated by death, so why are you still so inseparable? You brought me here for questioning, is it to appease the spirit of the Empress? Not even a white silk ribbon, are you so heartbroken that you can't accept the truth..."
"Losing a beloved person should cause one to be utterly devastated and heartbroken. It took me more than a month to recover. It seems that your love for the Empress is not as strong as that for my husband and me..."
Her voice grew increasingly shrill, filled with a tearful accusation, as she pointed at Wen Zhiming and said, "You, this tyrant, ascended the throne and, in order to establish your authority, killed eight officials and destroyed eight families. Your throne is stained with blood! You separated my husband and me forever, so of course I will make you lose your beloved..."
"You ask me why I poisoned the Empress? Of course, it's because of you! Because the tyrant killed my husband, I had to kill the tyrant's Empress..."
She kept calling him a tyrant, which made Jiang Lin frown deeply.
"Outrageous! How dare you, a madman, run wild in front of the Emperor?"
Jiang Lin acted with lightning speed, grabbing the woman's hand and twisting it forcefully. Everyone heard a crisp sound of bones shifting.
Tears welled in the woman's eyes from the pain, but she stubbornly retorted, "Is this all the tyrant can do?"
Jiang Lin was about to make another move when Wen Zhiming stopped him.
"Let her speak. Since I ascended the throne, everything I have done has been in accordance with my conscience. All those I have killed deserved their punishment. She says I am a foolish ruler, then let her explain clearly how I have been foolish and incompetent."
After saying that, he turned to look at the woman, his expression frank.
"Since you speak with such certainty, why not take advantage of the large crowd here and speak out about your husband's grievances and the injustices you have suffered? This will not only bring your injustices to light but also allow the public to judge right and wrong for you. If you think there aren't enough people, I can call more—officials, commoners, and guards are all welcome."
Judging from what this woman said, her husband must have been one of the eight corrupt officials killed by Wen Zhiming after he ascended the throne a few months ago.
Those eight people were all corrupt officials investigated jointly by multiple departments. He personally interrogated them, and there was ample evidence and witness testimony. He was certain that there were no wrongful convictions or miscarriages of justice.
Only executing the official and confiscating the embezzled funds, without implicating the corrupt official's relatives, is already a lenient treatment.
From both a moral and legal standpoint, he was worthy of the throne and, more importantly, worthy of his conscience.
Even if this woman wanted to set up a stage to cry out her grievances, he wouldn't be afraid.
The female prisoner was even more furious when she saw Wen Zhiming's calm demeanor.
Can one appeal their grievances?
After glancing at the palace maids and guards surrounding her, her gaze drifted away, lost in thought.
She was wronged, but no one could understand her grievances, nor could she tell anyone.
Because she was her husband's mistress—no, not even a mistress, she was just one of his other women.
The woman's surname was Yang, and because she was the fourth child in her family, she was named Yang Simei (Fourth Sister Yang). From the time she could remember, her family suffered misfortune and she was forced to wander from place to place.
No one knows how difficult it is for an eight-year-old girl to survive on her own.
During the day, she would squat in a corner of the vegetable market, picking up rotten vegetables that others didn't want to eat, and at night she would huddle under other people's eaves or rest in a dilapidated temple.
If it's just hunger and cold, that's already extremely fortunate.
But she was a young girl, and a rather pretty one at that.
A lonely and helpless little girl wandering outside may receive some kindness, but she will obviously encounter far more malice, and the despicable and vile acts are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Among them, the first to extend their evil hand to her and the one whose behavior was the most outrageous was the beggar who was also homeless like her.
She was naive and innocent back then. People could get her to strip naked with just a little food, or even without any bribes, just a little fright was enough to make her obedient and let them take advantage of her.
The pain and cruel torment she endured, even after more than a decade, still haunted her with nightmares whenever she thought of it.
At first it was one person, then two, three, countless... They took her begging during the day, and when it got dark, she became a tool for their amusement.
She cried, made a scene, ran away, and even attempted suicide.
But it was no use.
A young child is helpless against a group of adults; no amount of maneuvering will work.
Day after day, she was no longer a person, but even less than a cat or dog.
Her only piece of clothing was torn, and the group stopped taking her out during the day altogether. They chained her to a dilapidated temple, fed her cold water and spoiled food every day, and tortured her to their heart's content.
Whether it was due to a lack of warm clothing or the consumption of spoiled food, she suddenly fell ill. She developed a high fever day and night, and those beasts initially didn't take it seriously, even going even further.
Because she was burning hot, they all vied to hold her while they slept, saying it was like holding a stove, which would help keep them warm and ward off the cold. They also got to enjoy the warm bed-warming maid of a wealthy family.
It wasn't until she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two consecutive days, her mind was hazy, and her face was ashen, that these beasts began to panic.
They weren't worried about her health, of course; they were just sad to lose their only source of entertainment.
The beasts had originally planned to leave her to fend for herself in the dilapidated temple. But after discussing it, they felt unwilling to give up and decided to take her to a brothel while she still had a breath left.
If you can exchange it for a copper coin, then do so; if not, two steamed buns or two bowls of leftover rice will do.
Two steamed buns or two bowls of leftover rice—that was the price they charged her.
The little girl didn't know what a brothel was, but she thought there couldn't be a more terrifying place in the world than that dilapidated temple.
They chose to do so at night when no one was around, haphazardly wrapped strips of cloth they had picked up from outside around her body as clothing, and carried her to a brothel in a dark alley.
As a result, they were surrounded by a group of people halfway there.
In her hazy state of consciousness, she saw Lin Wangchu, who was then serving as the county magistrate. He was wearing official robes and a hat, and his shoes and linings were as white as pear blossoms.
Those beasts were ferocious in front of her, but they trembled like leaves in front of Lin Wangchu.
They pretended to be her relatives and tricked Lin Wangchu by saying they would take her to see a doctor.
She knew that Lin Wangchu must have seen through these people's disguise, because their disguise was too poor, but Lin Wangchu did not expose them. Instead, she negotiated with these beasts to buy her.
It was a huge ingot of silver; according to her knowledge at the time, it was at least ten taels of silver.
Actually, far less is needed, since these people only planned to exchange her for two steamed buns at the beginning.
If such a large ingot of silver were exchanged for steamed buns, it would be enough to suffocate those beasts.
She struggled to tell Lin Wangchu, but her throat was so dry that she could only manage to utter one word after a long effort.
"father".
Lin Wangchu did indeed resemble her father in some ways; he was refined and gentle, making her want to get closer to him.
The bastards who sold her left happily with their money.
The people behind Lin Wangchu burst into laughter upon hearing her address.
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