Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

Upon hearing this, the young and energetic man's chest was filled with rage like the raging waves of the sea. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "Then why don't you go to the county government office, which is closer, to file a complaint? Instead, you have to go all the way to the Protectorate!"

When the old man heard this, he hurriedly explained: "Young master, you don't know, those officers were originally from the county government! I couldn't even enter the gate of the county government, and I was beaten up by them first. I really have nowhere to turn to!" At this point, the old man couldn't help but feel sad, and wiped the tears from his face with trembling hands.

Then, the old man endured the pain of his sick body and continued, "I really have no other choice but to drag my seriously ill body all the way to the Protectorate. When I arrived at the gate, I knelt down without saying a word, and kept shouting that I was wronged. I only hope that the Protectorate General will show mercy and seek justice for me! Otherwise, I am afraid I will never be able to live again..." Before he finished speaking, the old man was already sobbing, and tears as big as beans rolled down his wrinkled and slightly turbid cheeks.

Finally, the old man choked up and added, "My lord, please understand. I absolutely did not intend to force my way in. I was simply forced into no other option!"

The guard's face was filled with rage, his eyes wide, as he shouted at the man before him, "You have no other options? If you have no other options, then you can just kneel down and cry out for justice at the gate of the Protectorate! How can we do anything if you're being so unreasonable and wantonly disrupting order? You're ruining our jobs!"

The young man was stunned at first, then he felt the officer had a point. After all, a country has its own laws, and a family has its own rules. The Protectorate was not a place where anyone could freely complain about their grievances. If everyone acted like him, wouldn't the Protectorate become a noisy and chaotic market? Thinking of this, the young man nodded in agreement.

Then, the young man turned to look at the old man beside him and comforted him softly: "Uncle, no matter how great the injustice you have suffered, you must not act so rashly. This officer is just doing his duty, so we should not blame him. If you really have a grievance, you might as well beat the drum to complain according to the rules." After that, the young man patted the old man's shoulder gently to comfort him.

When the old man heard this, tears welled up in his eyes like a broken dam. His body trembled slightly, and he spoke in a choked voice, "It's not that I don't want to beat the drum to protest my grievances! It's just that every time I reach the drum, those who align themselves with the evildoers chase me out. They show me no mercy, either beating me up, leaving me covered in wounds, or simply throwing me out into the wilderness, leaving me with nowhere to turn for help!" At this point, the old man's tears broke.

The young man, desperate for a solution, felt a surge of incomprehensible rage rising in his heart. His eyes widened, his hair standing on end, and he shouted, "Come on! Old man, I'll take you there!" Before he had finished speaking, he had reached out, grasped the old man's arm, and strode towards the young lady.

Soon, the two men arrived before the famous lady. Without a word, the young man grabbed a pair of heavy hammers from his side and handed them to the old man without hesitation. He raised his voice and shouted, "Go ahead and beat the drums. Today, I want to see who dares to stop you!" His words were so powerful that they echoed in the air for a long time.

The weathered old man, his body trembling slightly, slowly lifted the hammer beside him with his calloused, trembling hands. Tears welled up in his already cloudy eyes. However, in that instant, the old man's expression suddenly changed. No longer the sadness and helplessness of before, it was filled with an incomparable determination and resolve.

He gripped the drumstick tightly with both hands, as if pouring all his strength into it. Then, he took a deep breath, and with all his might, he swung it hard at the drum in front of him. "Boom!" With a dull yet resounding drumbeat, the entire scene was instantly ignited.

The deafening drumbeats were like heavy hammers, hammering at the hearts of everyone present. For those living at the bottom of society, suffering endless hardships but unable to appeal for their grievances, these were more than just the sound of drums; they were the cry of anger and unwillingness that had been suppressed deep within them for so long.

At this moment, the common people present were all excited. They stared at the old man beating the drum with wide eyes, as if everything happening at this moment was a reflection of their own experience. The passionate drumbeats continued to echo in the crowd, striking the hearts of the people present one after another, making their emotions more and more excited.

"Dong, dong, dong..." The drumbeats continued, seemingly waking the entire government office. However, after a long moment, a figure slowly emerged from the government office. This person squinted at the old man beating the drums, his face filled with disdain, as if he were about to wave him away.

But at this moment, his eyes accidentally swept over the young man standing next to the old man. He saw that the young man was wearing simple clothes, without any gorgeous decorations on his body, but his upright posture, bright eyes and extraordinary temperament between his eyebrows made people feel at a glance that he was no ordinary person.

Thinking of this, the scolding that was about to come out of his mouth was swallowed back. The man quickly put on a flattering and cautious expression, walked forward quickly, and asked in a tone as gentle as possible: "I wonder who is beating the drum to complain about injustice? Tell me your name quickly!"

Hearing this, the old man hurriedly put down the drumstick in his hand as if he had seen a savior, and knelt on the ground with a "thump", shouting at the top of his lungs: "I am innocent, please help the people, sir! Some evil people seized my sheep in the name of the government, and beat me and my son for no reason. Poor my son, he had his leg broken by them, and now he can only lie on the kang to recuperate!" When talking about the sad things, the old man was already in tears and sobbed.

The bailiff, swiftly emerging from the yamen, took one glance at the scene before him and understood what was happening. He thought to himself, "It's obvious this is one of those government-affiliated individuals, using the government's name to seek personal gain. This kind of thing is commonplace! As long as they don't go too far, the government usually turns a blind eye. But how did it get to this point this time?" The bailiff muttered to himself, not daring to express his thoughts out loud.

After a brief hesitation, he said to the visitor, "Wait here first. I'll go in and report to the Master." He then turned and hurried into the courtyard. Soon, the yamen runner arrived at the inner courtyard and found the legal advisor in charge of administrative affairs.

Before the yamen runner could finish his words, the lawyer, upon hearing that someone was beating a drum to complain, immediately showed impatience and interrupted him angrily, "Why are you telling me about such a trivial matter? Can't you just chase them away? Do you really want me to teach you how to handle such trivial matters? Humph! How dare any Tom, Dick, or Harry come here to complain? You have no idea what you are talking about! Beat them out!"

The yamen runner ran up to the yamen master in a panic, panting, "Ya'er, this situation is different this time! I just saw a young man standing next to the old man crying out for justice at the gate. Judging from his gestures, it's obvious that he's no ordinary person. He must have a distinguished background. But strangely, he doesn't have any special markings to indicate his status. I'm worried that if I accidentally provoke this mysterious figure, I might get into big trouble! And, you don't know, many people have gathered at the yamen gate right now, pointing and talking. I'm really worried that this will negatively impact our reputation, so I've hurried over to report this matter to you and ask what should be done."

After hearing this, the lawyer couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied. He muttered to himself, "Every day, it's just a mess! Such a trivial matter has to bother me." However, the lawyer thought again that if he ignored the matter and allowed the situation to develop, if the county magistrate found out, he would definitely be scolded and punished. Thinking of this, the lawyer could only sigh helplessly, waved his hand and said to the yamen runner, "Forget it, in that case, you can take them to where they usually handle official business. I will go over and see what is going on later."

After accepting the task, the yamen runner did not dare to delay even a moment. He hurriedly led the old man and the young man to the place where Master Pian Ya was, which usually took half an hour to reach. Along the way, their hurried steps attracted the attention of passers-by.

When they finally arrived at their destination, they saw the two parties slowly enter the room. The entrance to the yamen, originally used for office work, was already thronged with citizens, making it impossible to get through. Despite the crowds, this was official procedure—the public was required to witness the fairness and justice of the officials' actions. After all, forcibly removing these onlookers would not only leave a bad impression, but could also hinder the legal advisor's own career advancement. So, suppressing his slight irritation, the legal advisor quietly observed the old man and young man inside.