cold clothes

"Hmm...did you hurt yourself?" To Leng Yi's surprise, Hu's mother asked with concern.

Leng Yi suddenly raised her head and stared at Hu's mother.

"Hehe, your gaze hasn't changed at all, very good."

Leng Yi felt a chill run down her spine. The person who clearly treated her as a tool and arbitrarily controlled her life was looking at her with concern... It was terrifying and disgusting.

Leng Yi noticed a significant change in Hu Mama's attire today. Usually, Hu Mama would wear very flamboyant makeup, with bright red and purple fabrics covering her and bright yellow and green headdresses adorning her head, which would only make her look older and more haggard. But today, Hu Mama was dressed in dark green, her attire simple, and she actually looked several years younger than usual. She appeared less stern and more languid, leaning against the cushion with a hint of melancholy in her eyes, like a noblewoman in her boudoir, grieving for spring and autumn.

She certainly didn't want to praise Mrs. Hu's beauty, but she often had a keen intuition when judging people...

"Do you think I've figured anything out?" Mrs. Hu asked with a smile.

Leng Yi quickly looked away and replied curtly, "No."

Madam Hu didn't mind Leng Yi's rudeness at all. She sighed and said, "But I think you're getting more and more beautiful, Xiao Ningbi. It was definitely the right choice to take you in. Did you hear people's expectations and praise for you just now? My expectations for you are the same."

But I regretted it... My heart suddenly ached.

"I can tell you're a very intelligent girl. You're more mature than your peers, but your personality is as stubborn and unyielding as a rock, and as sharp as a sword. Oh, by the way, you seem to be interested in swordsmanship."

Leng Yi looked up in alarm: "You know?"

There's nothing about Fengxianglou that I don't know.

A feeling of suffocating despair and helplessness washed over Leng Yi again. Her heart felt as heavy as a waterlogged sponge, and her strength was slowly draining away... Yes, from the very beginning, she had no chance of resisting.

Leng Yi's clenched back teeth gradually loosened, and she asked, "Is there anything I need to do later? Your mother must need me to let me out, right?"

“You don’t need to do anything,” Mrs. Hu shook her head. “Just be yourself. Answer whatever they ask you.”

"Yes……"

The carriage stopped shortly after the two finished their conversation. Leng Yi's heart was in her throat, and Hu Mama's expression also changed slightly as she disguised herself as a vulgar woman.

Leng Yi got off the car after Hu Mama. As soon as she got off, she felt her legs trembling, and this was not an act. The Dali Temple, supported by vermilion pillars, stood in front of her. The two Pixiu statues glared fiercely, and the open gates looked like the gaping mouths of giant beasts. She dared not look at the solemn soldiers standing in two rows.

The government offices were even more impressive than the ones she had seen on television.

A cacophony of voices filled the air; a large crowd had gathered at the entrance of Dali Temple, and their discussions intensified upon seeing Madam Hu and Leng Yi alight from the car. This was the first time Leng Yi, who had been traveling through time, had witnessed such a scene, and her head was spinning; everything around her seemed to slow down like a movie.

By the time Leng Yi came to her senses, she was already standing in the courtroom, with the imposing Minister of Justice sitting in the very center.

"Court is now in session!" The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review slammed his gavel. "Bring in the suspect, Liang Shuyun—"

Leng Yi opened her eyes wide and saw the person in prison clothes and shackles being brought over and kneeling heavily beside her.

Liang Shuyun was disheveled and covered in dirt, completely unlike the refined and elegant civil official he once was. It has to be admitted that Leng Yi was pleased to see him end up like this, and could even reconcile with the world.

"The former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Liang Shuyun, was impeached by the remonstrating official Zhang Fengquan for falsifying account books and embezzling 200,000 taels of public funds. Account books and 50,000 taels of silver were found in your basement. The evidence is conclusive. Do you plead guilty?" As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review spoke, someone presented a stack of account books to the judge.

"Your humble servant confesses his guilt." Liang Shuyun kowtowed until his head touched the ground, confessing his guilt in the face of the imposing Minister of Justice and the overwhelming evidence.

"And—" The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review looked at Mama Hu and Leng Yi, "Is it true that Liang Shuyun murdered Yun Mei from Fengxiang Pavilion and bribed her with ten thousand taels of silver as hush money?"

Madam Hu immediately knelt down, startling Leng Yi, who also knelt down in shock. Madam Hu said urgently, "It's absolutely true, sir. I would never dare to touch the ten thousand taels of the Vice Minister of Works. Those ten thousand taels have already been handed over to the officers and soldiers."

“Your Excellency, what Mama Hu said is true. The ten thousand taels of silver were indeed official silver, and they match Liang Shuyun’s accounts.”

“Very well, since that’s the case,” the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said in a loud voice, “The former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Liang Shuyun, is guilty of unforgivable crimes of embezzlement and perverting the law. According to the laws of the Great Qi, he shall be dismissed from his post, his entire family shall be exiled to the southern border, and his descendants for the next three generations shall not be allowed to serve as officials.”

Corruption and embezzlement, exiled to southern Xinjiang... No, that's not right.

Leng Yi sensed something was very wrong. Was Liang Shuyun's crime only embezzlement? Why was he not mentioning the murder charge?!

The next moment, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review responded to Leng Yi's question. After a slight hesitation, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said, "As for Liang Shuyun's murder of the prostitute of Fengxianglou, the Great Qi Law states that 'the law does not apply to high-ranking officials.' Moreover, prostitutes are slaves. According to the investigation, Yunmei was a slave who escaped from a respectable family. Her indenture is still with her family. Therefore, Liang Shuyun is exempt from the death penalty."

"This case is closed, court adjourned!" The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review was about to strike the gavel—

"Wait!" Suddenly, a sharp shout rang out in the courtroom before the gavel could strike, startling everyone. Liang Shuyun, who had been keeping his head down, immediately raised his head with a fierce look. All the shocked eyes were focused on the little girl.

Furious.

In an instant, Leng Yi felt an uncontrollable rage.

Is this verdict alright? She was practically trembling... How could they sentence me like this? How could they do this?

When the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review saw that someone was questioning his verdict, even a little girl, he immediately roared, "How dare you! Who dares to make a scene in the courtroom?"

"Please calm down, sir. The little girl Ningbi has been raised in seclusion and is ignorant. Please don't take it to heart," Hu Mama said in a pleading tone, but she did not seem to stop Leng Yi.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review thought to himself, "So be it. I am a magnanimous man and I am too lazy to argue with a young girl." He was about to say "I'm leaving court" again.

"this--"

"Is it really okay for this case to end like this?" The child's innocent voice rang out again.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, having reached his limit, glared at Leng Yi and said, "Children shouldn't speak nonsense if they don't understand. My judgments are all based on the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty. What do you know about the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty? Madam Hu, why did you bring a child to the court? This is not a place for children. Quickly, take her out—"