A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

A portly merchant said, "This morning, someone in the capital prefecture was beating a drum. It was a girl dressed in mourning clothes. She was beating it with all her might, and the loud noise attracted a crowd of people all over the street."

The person at the table asked curiously, "I didn't go that way today, I missed it. Do you know what case it was?"

Their conversation attracted the attention of other guests.

A woman sitting next to me sighed, "What a tragedy! To force a young woman to beat the drum and cry for justice, what a terrible injustice that must be!"

Seeing everyone's interest, the portly merchant cleared his throat with an air of importance and began to speak vividly:

"The constables from the Jingzhao Prefecture came out, but before they could even ask any questions, the girl suddenly knelt down heavily, holding up a large petition with both hands."

"I was in front of the crowd and saw it clearly: white paper with red writing, it was clearly written in blood!"

Everyone listened intently.

Gu Xixi and An Qinghe exchanged a glance, slowed their pace, and listened intently.

The portly merchant looked around and continued, "Then I heard the girl loudly proclaim that she was from out of town, a resident of Anning Village under the jurisdiction of Nan Yi County, and surnamed Lü. She was accusing Fan Dongping, a local tyrant in Nan Yi County, of long-term harassment of the village, including murder, robbery, and abduction of women."

Some people whispered among themselves, "I've been to Nanyi County; it's not exactly close to the capital."

The fat merchant said, "This girl's father was beaten to death by that tyrant, and her family's tea plantation property was robbed. But the local county government not only turned a blind eye, but also claimed that her family's tea had poisoned people, and arrested her mother that very day."

"And then guess what happened?"

He deliberately kept everyone in suspense until the audience urged him on before saying, "The constables from the Jingzhao Prefecture all changed their expressions and told the young lady to get up and go in with him to see the magistrate and recount her grievances."

Among those present were some astute individuals who sneered, "That constable must have heard that the county government was protecting a criminal and was afraid that if word got out, it would be a disgrace to his official position, so he panicked!"

Others chimed in, "It's just the same old trick of officials protecting each other, trying to shut up the victim!"

The woman sitting next to me asked anxiously, "How is the girl? Did she go inside with them?"

The portly merchant waved his hand mysteriously, "To be honest, this girl is both clever and brave."

"Even as the constables urged her on, she remained kneeling there, speaking even louder than before, practically shouting at the top of her lungs."

"She said that a few days later, the yamen officials notified her to collect the body, saying that her mother had committed suicide in prison. She did not believe that her mother had committed suicide, but the county yamen refused to allow the coroner to examine the body."

Everyone was talking about it.

"Refusing to perform an autopsy? Something's definitely fishy here?"

"Didn't they say they were in cahoots with that bully? I think they're the ones who killed him, faking it as suicide!"

The portly merchant sighed, "It's truly tragic. The young lady is probably an only child with no other close relatives. We have no choice but to bury her parents first. Her father's body is gone, so we can only erect a cenotaph for him."

“She swore before her parents’ graves that if there was no justice here, she would go to the capital to file a complaint.”

"But just as she was leaving the area, the bully tried to forcibly take her as his concubine, but luckily she managed to escape."

The woman sitting next to him slapped her thigh and said angrily, "He killed someone's parents, and the mourning period isn't even over yet, and he's already trying to..."

"Oh dear! Doesn't this beast fear retribution? Why doesn't Heaven strike him dead with a bolt of lightning?!"

Some concerned citizens sighed in sympathy, while others hurled insults.

Gu Xixi and An Qinghe had already left the inn.

An Qinghe said with a stern face, "Shall we head to the Jingzhao Prefecture now? I wonder if Miss Lü has come out safely."

Gu Xixi said, "There's no need to go. She should have left safely by now."

"So many eyes were watching at the time, and the news even reached the East Market."

“The Jingzhao Prefecture would never dare to detain her without cause before the court hearing.”

An Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

"However, her whereabouts have already been exposed, and Elder Fan's men will probably find her soon."

Gu Xixi smiled, but her eyes held a mocking look at those villains. "That's why I said Lü Jing did a great job. She knocked and knelt outside the Jingzhao Prefecture and gave a speech."

"Did you hear the reactions of the people in the inn just now?"

An Qinghe said with relief, "The people here are much more enthusiastic and righteous than I imagined."

Gu Xixi said, "The effect that Lü Jing wants to create is not limited to this."

"She intentionally recounted her grievances in public, hoping to let more people hear them."

"The more people discuss it, the wider the case spreads, the safer she will be."

An Qinghe wholeheartedly agreed, “The Jingzhao Prefecture has already accepted the case. Whoever kills to silence a witness at this time would be suspected of self-destruction.”

Gu Xixi took a deep breath and said, "But it's not quite done yet."

"If we're going to make a big fuss, we should make it thorough and muddy the waters even more."

She stared ahead, her pupils suddenly contracting, as if a beast had set its sights on its prey.

"Let's give it another push."

An Qinghe had already developed a tacit understanding with Gu Xixi, and immediately bent down and put his ear close.

Gu Xixi cupped her hand to her mouth and said a few words.

An Qinghe's lips curved into a wider smile as he nodded repeatedly.

"Great! Let's do it!"

"But I'll pay for it myself, so I can feel much better."

Gu Xi smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going back to the He residence."

I made an appointment with He Jinglan before leaving home to go back early.

Since the He family's carriage was accompanying them, An Qinghe didn't need to worry about Gu Xixi's safety. After seeing her off to the carriage, he walked away alone.

The second day of the imperial examination had passed three days since Gu Xixi last went out.

The two most discussed topics in various places, teahouses, and restaurants:

Firstly, many of the candidates gathered in the capital for this imperial examination were already well-known, and the question of who among the most prominent would emerge as the top three candidates was even a topic of speculation among the common people.

Secondly, topics such as "the family massacre case, the biological father died without a complete body, and the biological mother died mysteriously in prison" and "the orphan girl's righteous indignation moved Heaven" are widely circulated, and even storytellers at street stalls are rushing to create new stories.

The people speculated that the case was true, which in turn implicated the woman in mourning clothes beating a drum in front of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Everyone was enthusiastically speculating about the case, which led to even more rumors.

There were all sorts of rumors, and some of them came from nowhere.

For example, the local bully's surname was Fan, and he was the illegitimate son of Fan Ge Lao, a high-ranking official in the imperial court and the Minister of Personnel.

For example, when Grand Secretary Fan tried to cover up his illegitimate son's crimes, he relentlessly pursued him, forcing the victim to kneel and plead his case in front of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Hearing such things repeatedly makes one inevitably suspicious of the Jingzhao Prefecture as well.

Several highly respected scholars and students from academies have already declared that they will definitely attend the opening ceremony of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

He Jinglan took a sip of milk tea and laughed, "I heard that the old man from the Fan family has been throwing tantrums at home several times and ordered people to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors, but unfortunately so many people in the city are talking about it, he can't find out anything."