Chapter 326 The Effect of Rumors
I only heard a fat merchant say, "This morning someone in Jingzhao Prefecture was beating a drum. It was a girl in mourning clothes. She beat the drum with all her might. The sound was so loud that it attracted people from all over the street."
The person at the same table was curious, "I didn't pass by that place today and missed it. Do you know what the case is?"
The conversation between the two attracted the attention of other guests.
A woman sitting next to me sighed, "What a sin! Forcing a girl to beat the drum to complain, how great an injustice must she have suffered?"
Seeing that everyone was interested, the fat merchant cleared his throat solemnly and said in a vivid voice:
"The Jingzhao Prefecture's police came out, and before they could ask any questions, they saw the girl kneel down heavily with a thud, holding up a large petition in both hands."
"I was in front of the crowd and saw it clearly. The red words on the white paper were clearly written in blood!"
Everyone listened.
Gu Xixi and An Qinghe looked at each other, slowed down their pace, and listened attentively.
The fat merchant looked around and continued, "Then I heard the girl loudly say that she was from another place, from Anning Village under the jurisdiction of Nanyi County, and her surname was Lu. She sued the bully Fan Dongping from Nanyi County for causing trouble to the village for a long time, killing people, robbing people's property, and robbing women."
Someone whispered, "I've been to Nanyi County, and it's not that close to the capital."
The fat merchant said, "The girl's father was beaten to death by the bully, and his tea garden and property were robbed, but the local county government not only turned a blind eye, but also accused her family's tea of poisoning people and arrested her mother that day."
"Guess what happened then?"
He deliberately kept the audience in suspense, and waited until everyone started to urge him before he said, "The officials of Jingzhao Prefecture all looked pale, and told the girl to get up and follow him in to see the master and tell him about her grievances."
There were many smart people present who sneered, "That officer must have heard that the county government was shielding the murderer, and he was afraid that if everyone heard about it and spread it among the people, it would be disgraceful for an official, so he got anxious!"
Someone else echoed, "It's just a trick of officials protecting each other, trying to silence the victim!"
The woman sitting next to me asked nervously, "What about this girl? Did she go in with them?"
The fat merchant waved his hand mysteriously, "This girl is really smart and brave."
"She continued to kneel there despite the officers' urging. She spoke even louder than before, almost shouting at the top of her lungs."
"She said that a few days later, the government notified her to collect the body, saying that her mother had committed suicide in prison. She didn't believe that her mother committed suicide, but the county government refused to allow the coroner to perform an autopsy."
Everyone was talking about it.
"No autopsy? Is there really something fishy going on?"
"Didn't they say they were in cahoots with that bully? I think they killed him, pretending it was suicide!"
The fat merchant sighed, "It's so tragic. The girl is an only child and has no other relatives. She had to bury her parents first. Her father didn't even have his body left, so she could only build a cenotaph."
"She swore in front of her parents' graves that if there was no justice here, she would go to the capital to file a complaint."
"But when she left the area, the bully tried to take her as a concubine, but luckily she escaped."
The woman sitting next to him slapped her thigh and said angrily, "He killed their parents, and the mourning period hasn't even ended yet, and he's actually trying to..."
"Oh my! Isn't this beast afraid of retribution? Why doesn't God kill him with a bolt of lightning?"
Among the enthusiastic people, some sighed, while others cursed.
Gu Xixi and An Qinghe have already walked out of the inn.
An Qinghe said with a sullen face, "Are we going to Jingzhao Prefecture right now? I wonder if Miss Lu has come out safely."
Gu Xixi said, "No need to go, she should have left safely by now."
"There were so many eyes watching at the time, and the news even spread to East City."
"The Jingzhao Prefecture would never dare to detain her without reason until she was brought to court."
An Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
"But her whereabouts have been exposed. I'm afraid that Lord Fan's people will find her soon."
Gu Xixi smiled, but her eyes were full of mockery towards those evil people. "That's why I say that Lu Jing did a great job. She knocked and knelt outside Jingzhao Prefecture, and then made a statement."
"Just now in the inn, did you hear everyone's reactions?"
An Qinghe said with relief, "The people here are much more enthusiastic and just than I thought."
Gu Xixi said, "The effect that Lv Jing wants to trigger is more than that."
"She intended to state her grievances in public so that more people could hear her."
"The more people discuss this case, the safer she will be."
An Qinghe agreed, "Jingzhao Prefecture has already accepted the case. Anyone who kills someone to silence them at this time would be suspected of self-destruction."
Gu Xixi took a deep breath and said, "But the heat is not yet enough."
"Since we are going to make a big fuss, we must do it thoroughly and make this pool of black water even more turbid."
She stared ahead, her pupils suddenly constricted, as if a beast was staring at its prey.
"We might as well give it another push."
An Qinghe had already developed a tacit understanding with Gu Xixi, and immediately bent down and put his ear closer.
Gu Xixi put one hand to her mouth and said a few words like this.
The curve of An Qinghe's lips gradually widened and he nodded repeatedly.
"Great! Let's do it!"
"But I'm the one who pays for this, and it makes me feel happy."
Gu Xi smiled, "Then I'll leave it to you. I'll go back to Xiao He's house."
Before leaving, I made an appointment with He Jinglan to go back early.
Because there was the He family's carriage accompanying them, An Qinghe didn't have to worry about Gu Xixi's safety. After seeing her off in the carriage, he walked away alone.
On the second day of the Spring Examination, three days had passed since Gu Xixi last went out.
The two most popular topics discussed in various places, teahouses and restaurants are:
First, there were many famous candidates gathered in Beijing for this examination, and people even started gambling on who would be the top three among the most popular candidates.
Secondly, topics such as "the unsolved case of the annihilation of a whole family, the biological father's body was dismembered, and the biological mother died mysteriously in prison" and "an orphan girl's filial piety moved heaven to seek justice" were widely circulated, and even the storytellers who set up stalls rushed to make new scripts.
The people speculated that the case was true, and then involved the woman in mourning clothes and beating the drum in front of the Jingzhao Mansion.
Everyone was excitedly trying to figure out the case, and more rumors arose from it.
People say all kinds of things, and some of the words don't even know where they come from.
For example, the bully’s surname is Fan, and he is the illegitimate son of Fan Ge Lao, a high-ranking official in the court and the Minister of Personnel.
For example, in order to cover up the crime of his illegitimate son, Lord Fan chased him all the way, forcing the victim to kneel in front of the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture and plead his case.
After hearing such words so many times, it is inevitable that people will become suspicious of the Jingzhao Prefecture as well.
Several respected scholars and students from academies have already said that they will be there to listen to the lectures when the Jingzhao Prefecture opens.
He Jinglan took a sip of milk tea and said with a smile, "I heard that the old man of the Fan family got angry several times at home and asked people to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumor. Unfortunately, so many people in the market were talking about it, and he couldn't find it at all."
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