Chapter 271 Breaking Ties, Driving the Convicts Out of the Estate
Suddenly, a deep, aged voice rang out, "Wait!"
"According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one can be arrested without evidence. Does the Jiangling government not need evidence to arrest people?"
"Where did this old geezer come from? Get out of here."
The constable saw that the man was dressed in coarse linen clothes with patches, and was even worse off than a beggar on the street. He was only slightly better off than a beggar on the street, so he didn't take him seriously and pushed him aside with his sword.
Aunt Chen pleaded with him for help as if grasping at a straw, "Lord Lu, please save me! I've been framed! If I go to jail, I'll be killed to silence me. Wang will never let me go! Please save me..."
Lord Lu is an upright man; she's gambling that he might save her.
Upon hearing this, the constables laughed so hard they almost fell over, their faces full of disdain. They mocked, "Sir? You've been exiled. What kind of sir are you? Be careful, or I'll accuse you of impersonating officials of the imperial court."
Lu Wenyuan strode forward two steps, one hand in front of his chest and the other behind his back, his back straight and his body proud. "I am Lu Wenyuan, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although I was exiled and stripped of my official position, I know the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty by heart. When the government wants to arrest someone, it may be because they have obtained criminal weapons, witnessed a fight or bloody clothes, obtained stolen goods, or had many witnesses. Empty accusations cannot be taken as evidence."
Officials who falsely accuse innocent citizens out of personal bias will be punished for the crime they accused; if the accusation results in death, it will be considered intentional homicide. Those who fabricate evidence or concoct charges will be exiled three thousand li; those already imprisoned will be hanged!
The constable's face darkened. He stepped forward half a step, his boots clattering on the bluestone slab. "If you don't understand what you're saying, get out of here. This is none of your business, so mind your own business."
A dozen or so men from the Lu family stepped forward to form a human wall in front of the yamen runners. They were unarmed, all civil officials, and none of them knew martial arts.
The yamen runners didn't take them seriously.
With a 'whoosh!', he drew his sword and pointed it at them. "Get out of here! Anyone who obstructs the officers in handling a case shall be treated as an accomplice. Or do you want to taste what prison food is like too!"
The Lu family avoided their sharp edge, taking a half step back but still standing on the road. A gust of wind blew from behind them, lifting their thick, loose clothes, which clung to their straight backs. Their expressions were firm, and they were determined not to back down.
A constable held a knife to the neck of Lu Tingzhi, who was in charge. The clansmen behind him shouted angrily, "What are you doing? Tingzhi is a top scholar whom even the Emperor favors. If you dare to kill him, the Lu clan will spare no effort to make sure your head rolls!"
When the constable heard that he was someone of great importance, he panicked for a moment and moved his hand away from his knife. But then he thought, if he was favored by the emperor, why would he be exiled? Who is he trying to scare?
When he once again placed the sword against Lu Tingzhi's neck.
Suddenly a knife came flying at me.
With a clang, the constable's knife was suddenly parried, his arm went numb, and he almost lost his grip on the knife.
Hu Feng, accompanied by several guards, blocked the Lu family's path, exuding a menacing aura. "Without evidence, you cannot take them away. Release them!"
Several other exiled criminals also joined the Lu family's group, blocking the alleyway and making it completely impassable. Unless someone possessed superhuman agility and could carry them off the rooftop, it would be impossible to pass.
They weren't helping Aunt Chen, but rather the divine doctor Hua. Just now, Madam Wang had been disrespectful to the divine doctor.
We absolutely cannot allow her to collude with the government and disregard human life.
She can arrest whomever she wants. If one day it's her turn to be arrested, and she's isolated and helpless, then uniting to help Aunt Chen is helping herself.
"You've done your best. You can't take this person with you today, but I'm sure your master won't make things difficult for you."
The constable hesitated for a moment, unable to make up his mind. He glanced behind him, and Wang gave him a look.
"She's the prime suspect, and we absolutely have to take her away."
Yun Jiaoyue couldn't understand why they were helping Aunt Chen, and suspected that she was also having an affair with Lord Lu.
That damned bitch, seducing a mere escort wasn't enough, she's just as despicable as Yun Zhaoxue from my past life, damn her!
If I had known she was so hard to kill, I should have killed her when I was reborn and returned to the Marquis's mansion.
Her icy gaze swept over Lu Wenyuan. "Lord Lu, don't forget whose land you are standing on now. This is His Highness's territory. How is it any different from repaying kindness with enmity when you obstruct the yamen runners from arresting the murderer of my father?"
"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the land, all people are subjects of the king. We tread on the emperor's land, and we abide by the laws of the Great Zhou."
If, out of gratitude, one goes against their conscience and the law, and stands idly by to injustice, then all the classic texts have been studied in vain! We have spent ten years studying diligently, not for a life of ease and comfort. Even if imprisoned, our backbone should still uphold the principles of a scholar!
Wang's hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, seemed to be itching to act. She sneered, "That sounds nice, but if you have any backbone, get out of the manor and don't accept any favors from Prince Xuan."
Yun Jiaoyue hadn't forgotten Zhao Xuan's purpose in bringing these exiled people with him wherever he went: to win them over. If she were to send them away now, wouldn't that make them her enemies?
“Mother, we cannot make this decision on our own.”
Even she couldn't make the decision on this matter; if His Highness found out, he would definitely blame her.
Ignoring her advice, Wang pointed at the people and coldly said, "Where can they go if they have no money? If you want to stay here, then mind your own business, or get out of the manor!"
"Fine, I'll get out! We'll pack our things and move out right now."
But she's right. We're penniless, and we have family members who are seriously ill or injured. Where can we go?
Someone suggested, "Why don't we go to Prince Xiao's inn first? It's not like we haven't slept in the wild before. We can make do for the night in the inn's courtyard or the woodshed and kitchen."
Old Liao and several other families, including the Lu, Chen, Zhang, and Wang families, left without hesitation. They immediately went back to pack their things and followed Hua Murong's carriage in a grand procession towards the inn.
Yun Jiaoyue tried to persuade him to stay with kind words, but to no avail, and dared not let anyone report to Zhao Xuan.
However, when everyone arrived at the inn, they saw that the Xiao family was also moving things out.
An arrogant servant urged them to move quickly, saying, "Hurry up, you have one incense stick's time to get out of here."
"By the way, don't even think about going to other estates. If you offend our young master, no estate in Jiangling City will dare to take you in. You'll just be waiting to end up on the streets."
Knowing they couldn't win, they planned to drive the people out first and then attack them once they were homeless.
Hearing the commotion, Xiao Xuanwu lifted the curtain and saw his mother, brothers, and sisters-in-law outside, carrying large and small bags of luggage onto the carriage. "What happened? Are they getting ready to leave? This is too sudden."
Hua Murong jumped off the carriage and asked, "What happened? I was only gone for two or three hours, how come I was kicked out? Whose lackey is this? He's gone too far. I'll teach him a lesson."
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to punch someone.
Yun Zhaoxue raised her hand to stop him and comforted him, saying, "The prefect's son is someone whose territory we can't afford to offend. Keep a low profile."
"What about them? They said they wanted to come and seek refuge with you, but you were kicked out too. Are they going to end up on the streets with you? I'll do a good deed to the end. I don't know if any of your disciples are doing well here. I'll write them a letter and ask them to arrange a place for us to stay."
Yun Zhaoxue immediately replied, "Yes!"
"Yes? How do you know?"
He had too many disciples and followers scattered throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even some in the Great Jing Dynasty. Nobody knew where they had gone off to.
Yun Zhaoxue pulled out a land deed from her sleeve. "My second brother has a house here. Let's go live in that house."
Yun Zhaoxue also asked Lao Liao and the other convicts who had come with her to go to the manor to stay.
"I apologize for disturbing the young master and the princess."
Yun Zhaoxue said, "I won't bother you. We've been through thick and thin together many times, and we're old acquaintances. I'll help if I can."
She didn't expect that Yun Jiaoyue would push people to her side without her having to do anything herself, and even help her to roughly screen out the talents who could be used.
Aunt Chen not only completed the transaction with her, but also helped her a great deal.
After the group settled in the manor, Yun Zhaoxue personally detoxified her and gave her a bottle of Ice Skin Jade Dew Ointment to apply to the wound to remove scars once it scabbed over.
Aunt Chen thought that Yun Zhaoxue had poisoned the medicine to silence her, and she trembled like a leaf.
In front of her, Yun Zhaoxue opened the Ice Skin Jade Dew Cream, applied a little with her fingertip, and rubbed it on the back of her hand. "Don't be afraid, there's no poison in the medicine. This is a reward for you. You did very well this time."
"But this Ice Skin Jade Dew Cream is priceless, and I am but a broken body..."
Yun Zhaoxue placed the medicine in her hand, "You're only twenty years old, how can you be disabled? Wasn't it your fault that you followed the wrong person before? Don't belittle yourself, you still have a bright future ahead of you. Live well, live strongly, and watch your enemies fall one by one!"
Wang is not dead yet, but she will be soon. She has been poisoned by the drug and will not live for more than a month.
"Yes, yes, this servant will remember the Prefect's teachings!" Aunt Chen was moved to tears and quickly knelt down to perform a deep bow to her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com