Princess Promotion

Above the lobby, light streams through the tall windows, forming bright beams of light.

Li Jinglong sat upright on a high official chair, his face serious and his eyes sharp as knives.

He held a heavy gavel in his hand, and with a crisp knock, he struck the gavel.

"Court open!" Li Jinglong's voice was loud and majestic, echoing throughout the hall.

Following his order, the yamen runners responded in unison and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Yu Zhijian sat at the bottom, with a large table in front of him piled with various documents and confessions.

The documents piled up like a mountain, almost burying him completely.

In our imagination, when a case is heard in court, officials would walk in, and the presiding judge would sit in the center, holding a gavel.

The prisoner was brought in and knelt in front of the hall, and the witnesses gave their statements in turn.

The presiding judge asks questions carefully and the clerk takes notes.

After the trial, the presiding judge retreated to the back hall to discuss the verdict.

In reality, when the court was in session, the gavel in Li Jinglong's hand only had one function: to create silence.

Ordinary people have never seen the world and are usually scared when they see officials, let alone coming to the yamen to attend court.

As soon as he came in, he started trembling non-stop and the first thing he said was "My Lord!"

When asked who he wanted to sue, he trembled for a long time and then pointed in a direction, saying it was at the corner where rapeseed was sold.

Someone came and said anxiously that it was not right, it was that place, and a group of people started talking at once, making absolutely no sense.

Li Jinglong had never seen such a scene before, and he was overwhelmed for a moment.

Fortunately, Yu Zhijian was an expert and quickly sorted out the demands.

But the yamen was still in chaos, and the gavel in Li Jinglong's hand was almost sending out sparks.

At this moment, He Yuzhen and several companions arrived. Li Jinglong raised his head and asked weakly, "Who is here? What do you want to report?"

He Yuzhen straightened her back and said, "I am He Yuzhen, a commoner from Hezhou. I have come to report to you today that when Mengchangjun was still alive, he abducted commoners and forced them into prostitution. Even worse, he took human lives."

As soon as she finished speaking, noisy discussions arose all around. Some people sympathized with her situation, while others expressed doubts about it.

Li Jinglong frowned and asked, "Do you have any solid evidence to support what you said?"

He Yuzhen said, "Sir, Lord Mengchang is deceased, and his residence was burned down. It's difficult to find direct evidence now. However, my experience, as well as the testimonies of many victims, can serve as circumstantial evidence."

Li Jinglong sighed after hearing this. He turned to Yu Zhijian beside him and whispered, "This is quite a tricky matter. Since Mengchangjun is no longer with us, how can we obtain evidence?"

Yu Zhijian also found this very difficult. Now that Mengchangjun was dead and the Meng Mansion had been burned down, there was really no way to prove what He Yuzhen said.

Yu Zhijian thought for a moment and decided it would be better to start by investigating the lack of care for human life. He then asked, "Do you have any evidence that Mengchangjun has committed such a crime?"

He Yuzhen: "Of course there are."

Yu Zhijian: "Where did you bring it?"

He Yuzhen: "It's in the Meng Mansion."

Led by He Yuzhen, the group walked through the smoke-filled streets and arrived at the scorched earth Meng Mansion.

Among the broken walls and ruins, the carved beams and painted buildings of the past are no longer there, leaving only traces of being devoured by fire.

He Yuzhen stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary flower garden, and a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes.

He Yuzhen pointed to the barren land and said in a low voice, "It's here."

Yu Zhijian followed He Yuzhen's gaze and asked doubtfully, "What's so special about this place?"

He Yuzhen closed her eyes, as if recalling the unbearable past, and then slowly spoke: "The bones of those girls who were trafficked here are buried under this flower garden."

Every time Mengchangjun hosted a banquet to entertain officials, there were girls accompanying him. Many shady affairs were accomplished when they were drinking and being served comfortably.

Mengchangjun would not allow these girls who had served officials to leave the Meng Mansion alive. If these girls went out alive, who could guarantee that they would not leak secrets?

Only dead people would not reveal secrets.

Yu Zhijian's face instantly became solemn, and he immediately ordered the accompanying constables to fetch tools and start digging.

With every swing of the shovel, the soil was turned over, revealing the secrets hidden underneath.

The corpses gradually emerged, lying there quietly, silently telling of their tragic fate.

Soon, more than a dozen corpses were excavated. They were in different shapes, some intact, some broken, but without exception, they were all wearing women's clothing.

Among them, there are several skeletons with small bones, which are the remains of young children.

Yu Zhijian squatted down and carefully observed each corpse, with complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

Mengchangjun is worse than an animal.

In the harem garden, Yao Chuguang was lazily drinking wine when he saw Fu Hongxuan sitting upright and serious beside him.

I couldn't help but curl my lips. Every time this guy stood aside, he always made me look like a less serious person.

Yao Chuguang put down his glass and asked, "If you have something to say, say it. If not, just drink. You always have such a stern face, as if I owe you money."

Fu Hongxuan picked up the wine pot and poured himself a glass before asking, "Why did you kill Mengchangjun in the first place?"

If Mengchangjun had not been killed but captured and interrogated slowly, An Tian would not have been arrested and imprisoned.

Fu Hongxuan couldn't understand why Yao Chuguang went through so much trouble to expose the officials who were in cahoots with Mengchangjun.

Yao Chuguang looked at his wine glass and said casually, "Because only after Mengchangjun's death did the people who were oppressed by him dare to stand up and report him."

Fu Hongxuan was even more confused when he heard this. The purpose of asking for evidence was to confirm whether Mengchangjun was guilty.

Didn’t An Tian find the account books of secret transactions between Mengchangjun and those ministers in Meng’s mansion?

Why not just arrest them according to the list in the account book? There is no need to go through so much trouble. Could it be that she cares about what the world thinks of her?

He had just issued a decree saying that those who surrendered would not be killed, but as soon as he came to power he fabricated charges and executed former ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Yao Chuguang shook his head: "Everyone in the world thinks you are a traitor. No matter what you do, they think you are a traitor."

"Since I have decided to execute these people, any evidence I find will be considered perjury by those with ulterior motives."

Fu Hongxuan was really confused now: "Then what are you still doing? Just to let the people come forward to testify against Mengchangjun?"

Yao Chuguang: "Only through your own efforts and obtaining justice can you truly escape from this nightmare."

Yao Chuguang suddenly turned around and looked Fu Hongxuan up and down. She had to say that this man had gained some weight recently. He had a great figure with a wasp waist, broad chest and long legs.

Yao Chuguang smiled maliciously and said, "This is your position as a general. You became a general by your ability to lead troops in battle, and you became a general by having a private relationship with me."

Yao Chuguang continued with an indifferent expression, "To me, these two reasons are the same. I want to make you a general, but to you..."

Just when Yao Chuguang thought Fu Hongxuan would be so angry that he would jump up and down.

Unexpectedly, Fu Hongxuan calmly poured himself a glass of wine and said, "To me, these two are no different. Anyway, my bad reputation has been around for a long time."

Yao Chuguang couldn't help but be shocked. Why didn't this person play by the rules? Why did he just throw the jar into chaos?

Fu Hongxuan looked at Yao Chuguang's surprised expression, and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. He picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then heard Yao Chuguang exclaim.

"So you have a preference for Longyang?"

Fu Hongxuan had a mouthful of wine stuck in his throat, and he almost choked. He coughed for a long time before he could breathe smoothly.

Now Fu Hongxuan’s mind is full of question marks?

Yao Chuguang walked behind Fu Hongxuan and helped him to breathe. He was coughing so hard that he almost passed out.

Fu Hongxuan: "Where did you hear these rumors?"

Yao Chuguang: "Did you say that yourself?"

Fu Hongxuan said angrily: "You are talking nonsense. I didn't do that."

Yao Chuguang said righteously, "You've been saying that your reputation is bad for a long time. You've been known as a martial arts prodigy since you were a child. After accompanying your father to the battlefield, you've repeatedly achieved remarkable feats and earned the nickname "God of War" among the people. Your reputation for talent is undeniable."

Fu Hongxuan looked at Yao Chuguang with a look of anxiety in his eyes: What then? How can I be so fond of Long Yang just because I have talent?

Yao Chuguang began his analysis seriously: "Look at you, you are talented, and your family has been loyal and brave for generations. Your family background and character are impeccable. Aside from your reputation in terms of love, people are tolerant of men who have affairs and often praise their romanticism. It can't be considered a bad reputation."

Yao Chuguang said the final conclusion under Fu Hongxuan's gloomy face: "Only Long Yang is good..."

Fu Hongxuan had to admit that although Yao Chuguang was talking nonsense, he had to say that her analysis seemed to be correct...

Fu Hongxuan had a gloomy face and left without saying a word.

Yao Chuguang looked at Fu Hongxuan's angry back and finally concluded that it seemed not to be the case.

Back to a few days ago, after An Tian separated from Fu Hongxuan and the others, he put on a mask and quietly entered the palace.

Yao Chuguang looked at An Tian and asked with a smile, "Did the journey go smoothly?"

An Tian took off his mask and said, "Everything is going well, but it's this Mengchang Jun who is a bit tricky."

Yao Chuguang smiled and said, "Him! I do have some impression of him. When Lin Wan was investigating the officials of the Western Zhou Dynasty, although this man did not hold an official position, he had many officials who were on good terms with him."

Generally speaking, there are only two types of people who can have a good personal relationship with officials: one is the royal family, and the other is the person who bribes the officials.

Mengchangjun was not a royal relative, but a wealthy businessman, so it goes without saying that he was the second type.

Yao Chuguang then said, "I'll take care of the rest. You've been running around for days, so go back and have a good rest."

An Tian asked, "Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with Lord Mengchang?"

Yao Chuguang: "No need to be so distant, just call me Achu. I'm going to ask my brother to capture this Mengchangjun and interrogate the officials who colluded with him."

An Tian hesitated for a moment and said, "Achu, Lord Mengchang is such a shrewd man, he would definitely leave a way out for himself. He would definitely leave behind a record of his bribes to officials in case of emergency."

Yao Chuguang nodded. She had thought of this as well. But in fact, as long as Mengchangjun was captured, he would never give up the officials who were in cahoots with him unless he was a tough guy.

Otherwise, there would be no need to look for the account book, but the possibility of Mengchangjun refusing to confess is too low.

Yao Chuguang saw that An Tian still had something to say, so he smiled and encouraged her, "Given our relationship, if you have something to say, just tell me. I will definitely help you if I can."

An Tian finally made up his mind and said, "Actually, I've heard some rumors about Mengchang Jun before. He often gave women to officials for fun."

There is no such thing as an impenetrable wall in this world, especially when it comes to things that are not allowed to be seen in public. When An Tian was still a daughter of an official, she heard a noble lady complain in private that her husband was bewitched by a seductress outside.

At that time, An Tian had vaguely heard about Mengchangjun's deeds. In fact, those noble ladies privately mocked him as a brothel owner.

Now, in order to obtain the food and grass that Mengchangjun had stored, An Tian naturally sent people to investigate Mengchangjun's background.

Naturally, those people didn't find out anything very detailed, but they did find out that officials from the court would go to the Meng Mansion by car every few nights.

One time, the investigator secretly followed the carriage of an official leaving the Meng Mansion and deliberately collided with it. Naturally, the official got out of the carriage cursing.

The investigators immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol and a faint scent of rouge and powder.

Later, An Tian checked several famous rouge, silk, satin, and jewelry stores in the capital, and found that these stores sent a large amount of rouge, silk, satin, and jewelry for women to the Meng Mansion every month.

Mengchangjun had only one wife. After she died of complications during childbirth, he never remarried and had only several concubines.

But it is impossible for several concubines to use so much rouge and powder every month.

An Tian speculated that Mengchangjun not only had monetary transactions with officials, but also power-for-sex transactions.

If you follow the trail of women, and if it's a beautiful young girl, you can easily find several families whose daughters have gone missing for no reason.

The more An Tian investigated along this line, the more shocked she became. Mengchangjun was only looking for girls from common people with clean family backgrounds.

If the government were to directly raid the Meng residence, these abducted and robbed girls would be exposed to the world.

In today's world, women's reputation and chastity are very important. Even if they want to go home, their families may not accept them.

By then, they will be homeless and unable to make a living, and the only thing waiting for them is death.

Yao Chuguang: "Then what do you want to do?"

An Tian: "Tonight I will lead my men to raid the Meng Mansion, torture Mengchangjun to hand over the account book, and then burn the Meng Mansion down. Everyone will think that the Meng Mansion was robbed and the whole family was wiped out."

"No one will know the past of these girls. Those who have families can go home, and those who don't have homes can change their household registration and start a new life elsewhere."

An Tian continued, "Once I've settled these girls, I'll go to the government office and turn myself in. I'll say that I was ruined by Lord Mengchang and that I'm back for revenge. I'll also present the account books showing my collusion with Lord Mengchang."

At this point, An Tian changed the subject and looked at Yao Chuguang, saying, "Then His Majesty saw that I had made a good report and offered my family wealth, so he expiated my crime and released me without charge."

Yao Chuguang: "So your final solution is to let me get you out?"

An Tian smiled: "You are here, even if I mess up, you can still cover it up."

Yao Chuguang: "You've considered everyone, but have you ever considered yourself? Those women's reputations have been preserved, but what about you?"

An Tian's smile froze, as if she saw herself being dragged out of the house by her family and thrown into the street on that rainy day, with passers-by pointing and talking at her.

Some people say she is shameless and shameless, but she clearly did nothing wrong, so why did she end up like this?

An Tian smiled, but there was an unspeakable sadness in her smile. "It's okay. My reputation is long gone."

When An Tian was walking on that rainy night, she wished someone could give her an umbrella.