A piece of Japanese incense

"Sir! Lord Xin is in cahoots with the Bai family! In the past, I, a commoner, escaped from the Bai residence and beat the drum to appeal for justice, but Lord Xin led me into the government office on the surface, but secretly colluded with Bai Xun and sent people to detain me back to the Bai residence! As a result, the Huang family murder case remains unresolved to this day!" Xiao Zhu accused indignantly.

"I don't think I've ever seen the girl before." Lord Xin raised the corner of his mouth and glanced at Xiao Zhu sharply.

"That day, Lord Xin sent someone to take me to the back hall to wait. There was a rippling pond in the back hall of the government office, in which several koi were swimming. One with golden scales was particularly eye-catching. There was a small pavilion on the top of the rockery. In the pavilion there was a round stone table, and three rattan chairs surrounded it..."

Xiao Zhu paused for a moment, his eyes flickering: "Master Xin, do I need to elaborate?"

My uncle nodded happily: "Yes! What you said is true. How can I describe it in such detail if I have never been there in person?"

Lord Xin hesitated to speak, and his uncle smiled and continued, "I think Lord Xin was busy with government affairs, so he forgot about it."

"That's right!" Lord Xin immediately agreed.

Bai Xuan raised his head, his cheeks gradually flushed, his eyes began to blur, and he acted aggrieved: "My lord, I haven't told them about the harm they did to me yet, but they are the first to complain. It's really unfair! I even took them in to recuperate in my private residence. The fire a few days ago was probably caused by them. My lord, please make the decision for me!"

Xiao Zhu was about to speak, but was interrupted by his uncle knocking on the table. He pointed at Bai Yan and asked: "Bai Yan! Let me ask you, when did you set foot in the Huang Mansion on the night of the Lantern Festival?!"

Bai Fan was stunned for a moment, and the man named Bai beside him wanted to speak: "Master Jin, Shangyuan..."

My uncle suddenly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted angrily: "I didn't ask you! Let him answer it himself! Bai Xuan! When did you go to the Huang family!"

Bai Xuan hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up, with his head down, and took off his light blue embroidered half-sleeve stand-up collar middle coat, laughing like a fool: "I don't remember. I can go whenever I want!"

My uncle asked quickly, "Why are you going there?"

Bai Yan smiled slyly! "His little girl is pretty! I want her to be my concubine, hehe!"

As soon as these words came out, the crowd was like a lake with a stone thrown into it, and waves of discussion spread out like ripples. Their voices intertwined together, like countless bees flying and buzzing in the air.

My cousin asked loudly, "Why did you clash with the Huang family?"

Bai Xuan looked arrogant: "My family is very wealthy and handsome, but that old scholar would rather marry his granddaughter to a poor scholar than to me! It's his Huang family's good fortune that I like someone from his family! Smoke is coming out of our ancestral graves! It's really despicable to refuse a toast and drink a forfeit!"

His uncle didn't allow him to catch his breath and kept chasing him: "What did you do after entering the Huang Mansion?"

"My people clearly saw the whole family in the yard, but how come they were gone when I went there! They didn't cry until they saw the coffin. They were so poor, but they found the little beauty in no time and brought her home!" Bai Xun patted his chest, feeling quite proud.

"Will the Huang family allow you to do this?" "Of course not! Those two old guys made a fuss and I beat them up! I also fell and got injured, and I was bleeding!" Bai Xun pointed to his forehead as proof and threw the jade pendant around his neck to the ground.

"Such rude people are really hateful! How can a brave and fearless man like Mr. Bai accept such an insult!" The cousin said with a faint smile.

"Of course! I, Bai, have never been treated like this since I was a child!"

"This group of people is really despicable! Even your followers didn't protect you? It's really shameful to let you get hurt!"

"That's right! These dogs and slaves! My father spent a lot of money to hire them, but they act like this!"

"Not only did they fail to help you, they also did a poor job. If you leave scars, wouldn't it damage your elegance?"

"That's right! These bastards! I'm going to drive them out of the imperial capital right now!"

"So you're just going to let the fall go? This isn't like you, the eldest son of the Bai family! You're not such a coward, are you?"

"You are kidding! Whenever I have a grudge, I always settle it face to face!"

Seeing that Bai Xun was becoming more and more emotional and his words were becoming more intense, Lord Xin stood up and wanted to step forward to stop him, but Pei Du skillfully controlled his arms with one hand and covered his mouth with the other.

The cousin calmly guided him: "Oh! Your guards are only a few, and they have to hold that family back. How can they have time to help you save the situation?"

"Everyone says they are useless!"

"Only one can do it in person?"

"That must!"

"What did you do?"

"I immediately drew out the jade knife from my waist..."

"Bai Fan!" With a loud roar, the young marquis Fang Sinian rushed in from outside the yamen.

Bai Xuan seemed not to notice, still enjoying his own description: "Swinging the knife! That bitch tried to rush over and grab my knife, so I immediately asked Liu Quan to restrain her for me, don't try to ruin my good deeds!"

Bai Xuan looked like a madman, gritting his teeth and making chopping movements while cursing: "When the old scholar saw me stabbing his son, he cursed me as a beast! He dared to curse me, so I stabbed him again. Another old woman stepped forward to stop her. I killed her! I killed her! I killed gods if I saw them, and Buddhas if I saw them!"

Bai Xuan's chest heaved violently, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, so red that they almost bled. He opened his eyes wide, and the light in his eyes was filled with flames of anger and despair.

The bloodshot was like a dense net that locked his vision tightly, leaving only the enemy in front of him and the ever-expanding killing desire in his heart. He no longer hesitated in his movements, and every swing was so decisive, as if he wanted to release all the pain and unwillingness with the blade.

Fang Sinian stood in the corridor of the yamen, looking at him from afar, motionless, with his hands hanging limply at his sides.

My uncle slammed the gavel: "It is so!"

Lord Xin broke free from Pei Du's restraint and splashed a cup of tea on Bai Peng's face. Bai Peng was still lying on the ground, mad and threatening.

"This is the signed testimony of eight followers. The Huang family case has been solved. Bai Xun, what else do you have to say?" The cousin slammed the gavel again.

Several guards who were originally covered in wounds walked out of the back hall intact.

Bai Xuan had taken off his underwear without knowing when, revealing the ugly scar on his chest. He lay on the ground and laughed crazily: "So what if I stabbed them? They were still alive when I left. I was just negligent in causing injury..."

The uncle shouted angrily, "You arrogant fellow! The evidence is irrefutable. If you continue to argue, you will not be able to escape the blame. I will punish you severely!"

"Every word I said is the truth. If you dare to torture me, my father will never forgive you!"

Subtle sound waves quietly surged among the crowd, like ripples on the surface of a lake under the night sky, inconspicuous yet hard to ignore.

The owners of the voices lowered their heads and turned sideways towards each other, their hearts filled with curiosity, suspicion and uneasiness.