Yan Hong was the happiest among them. She knew that she had met a true benefactor and that she might be able to regain her freedom this time.
Feng Ruichuan usually treated his concubines like dirt, frequently beating and scolding them, and often coming up with bizarre ways to torment them.
If it weren't for her parents who were worried about her, Yan Hong would have ended her own life long ago, rather than continue to suffer in the Feng family.
When Magistrate Sun arrived at the county government office, the usually deserted gate was almost completely packed with people.
Loud discussions could be heard from time to time in the crowd.
"Have you heard? A noble lady led a long line of people into our county government office today!"
"How could I not have heard? I heard it clearly. It was a neighbor who lives on the same street who called me over. He said that among that long line of people, there were several constables dressed in black being escorted by others!"
"What? Even the constables were being escorted by them! Where did this important person come from? My God, she's got some nerve!"
Then someone else came up to share the gossip they had heard: "I heard someone died. Someone saw them carrying a person, who was already covered with a white sheet."
The crowd immediately became even more agitated, with everyone shouting at once.
"What? Someone died? That's no small matter."
"My God, someone was killed out of nowhere! No wonder they came to the government office to demand an explanation!"
"That's right! We just hope the magistrate will arrest all the villains as soon as possible, otherwise who will dare to go out in the future!"
A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd; with everyone's safety at stake, their goals were aligned like never before.
Magistrate Sun was engrossed in his study, leisurely reading and sipping tea, thoroughly enjoying himself. Suddenly, a servant came to report that a constable had arrived. He impatiently waved for the servant to wait, but after finally finishing reading the page in his hand, he ordered the servant to lead the constable inside.
Seeing the constables in such a hurry, Magistrate Sun immediately shouted, "What's the rush! What's the matter?"
The constable, with a bitter face, recounted the matter.
Magistrate Sun initially remained indifferent, but upon hearing the woman's identity, he became slightly more serious. By the time the constable finished speaking, his face had turned as black as ink.
Magistrate Sun did indeed favor his younger sister. Even after she got married, whenever she came to him with a difficult problem, he would usually have someone help her.
But Magistrate Sun was quite annoyed with his nephew, Feng Ruichuan.
From the time his nephew was a child, Magistrate Sun had never heard of him doing anything good, and he would hide from him as if he had seen a ghost every time he saw him. Unfortunately, he was also his sister's only son, and Magistrate Sun couldn't resist his sister's pleas, so over the years he had cleaned up the mess for that good-for-nothing scoundrel countless times.
After this happened several times, Magistrate Sun became too lazy to personally intervene, only instructing his subordinates to take good care of the Feng family. Little did he know that this time it would cause such a huge mess.
He was very anxious, sensing that this matter couldn't be delayed. If it really escalated to the Dali Temple, he wouldn't be able to explain himself no matter how hard he tried.
Magistrate Sun hurriedly changed into his official robes and led his constables to the county government office. Before he even entered the main hall, he heard a commotion. When he sat down in the hall, he saw that there were already three or four layers of people surrounding the gate, which made him even more overwhelmed.
At this moment, Min Yueqing and others entered the main hall under the guidance of the tall yamen runner. Given her status, she did not need to kneel. The petition had already been handed over to the tall yamen runner, who presented it to the county magistrate and the criminal clerk for review.
Not only did Magistrate Sun feel a chill run down his spine after reading the petition, but even the legal advisor, who had no connection to the matter, broke out in a cold sweat for the magistrate. After all, this was no ordinary person he had offended; if the magistrate were to blindly favor his relatives, he himself might be implicated.
After reading the complaint, the clerk, as usual, began to inquire about the details of the case.
Min Yueqing briefly recounted the entire incident in court, and when she mentioned Feng Ruichuan, she pointed to the ground.
When Min Yueqing pointed, she turned slightly to the side, and only then did Magistrate Sun and his advisor notice the dirty rolled-up blanket on the ground. They hadn't noticed it before because the four kneeling yamen runners had blocked their view.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Sun realized that there was someone inside the shroud, and that it was his good-for-nothing nephew. He immediately told the constable standing next to the shroud, "Untie it."
The constable obeyed the order and stepped forward. Seeing that the straps binding the rolled-up blanket were tied in a tight knot, he drew his knife and cut the straps before finally unrolling the blanket.
The moment the coil was unwound, Min Yueqing's fingers subtly moved, releasing a stream of air to release Feng Ruichuan's sealed acupoints, thus relieving his speech impediment.
Feng Ruichuan did not make a sound immediately, perhaps because he had not yet reacted, or perhaps because he had been dragged along and had no strength left.
Magistrate Sun was startled when he saw Feng Ruichuan from afar, his clothes disheveled and his appearance half-dead. After all, this was his own nephew. Although he disliked Feng Ruichuan, he knew that this was his sister's lifeblood, and for the time being, he hadn't reached the point of wanting to kill him.
Magistrate Sun unconsciously stood up slightly, craning his neck to try and get a better look at Feng Ruichuan's condition.
Seeing that Feng Ruichuan's eyes were open but he remained silent, the bailiff became somewhat suspicious. He then reached his finger to check Feng Ruichuan's philtrum and felt a faint breath.
The bailiff reported to the court: "The person is still alive."
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Sun immediately breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, at least she was still alive; otherwise, his sister would have definitely tried to kill herself.
As if triggered by the words "still alive," Feng Ruichuan began to groan. As soon as the faint sound came out, Feng Ruichuan was overjoyed. He realized that he could finally speak.
Feng Ruichuan immediately tried to shout, but after being tossed around all the way and kicked a few times, he was too exhausted. What he thought was a loud shout was just a few soft hums.
"You wretch...you dared to kidnap me...I'll make you wish you were dead..."
Most of those who were far away didn't hear it, but Lao Wu and the others, because they were too close and their bodies were slowly recovering, managed to hear the gist of it.
The fifth brother couldn't help but curse the idiot in his heart. What kind of time is this to be talking big? He's just being stubborn.
The fifth brother was filled with regret. If he had known this man could be so stupid, why would he have taken on this job? No matter how much the reward from the Feng family was, it couldn't compare to a stable job, especially one with an official title—it was both prestigious and rewarding.
Aside from Lao Wu and the others, the only one who clearly heard these words was the sharp-eared and sharp-eyed Min Yueqing. She couldn't be bothered to give that scumbag even half a glance.
The people inside the hall remained silent after hearing the whole story, but the crowd watching the commotion outside erupted in whispers again.
Those standing in the back row didn't hear clearly, so they pushed and shoved forward, their ears perked up, listening intently to the discussion in front, their expressions quite varied.
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