The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

A man dressed in a light green official robe was leaning against a stool.

The man had a face as handsome as jade, with dark eyebrows like swords. Beneath his beautiful face, his eyes looked so clear and deep.

At this moment, he flipped through the case file in his hand, his expression cold and stern. His eyes looked sharp and resolute, yet one could also read a tender affection within them…

Indeed, no matter what expression he made, his eyes always held a hazy, deep affection. That affection, seemingly both real and illusory, was irresistible to young girls everywhere.

It was precisely these clear and affectionate eyes that gave him an air of youthful charm. His flesh may age, but his eyes would remain unchanged. So even when he was old and faded, he would still resemble a handsome, devoted young man…

However, he himself does not seem to cherish the youthful beauty that God gave him, so he deliberately grew a small mustache to make himself look more mature.

Unfortunately, despite being dressed in a dignified official robe, his posture was far too casual. This stark contrast caused any semblance of maturity he might have displayed to vanish in an instant…

But this didn't mean he lacked authority. He flipped through the case files in his hands, his face expressionless. It was as if he wouldn't be surprised no matter how the case unfolded.

At this moment, the official beside the desk stood up, bowed, and said, "Sir, let the plaintiff recount what happened first."

Hua Chang was still diligently flipping through the case files…

Seeing this, the other officials also stood up in turn to bow and offer their advice.

Hua Chang remained unfazed, not even glancing at them, and continued flipping through the case files in her hands.

If Hua Chang wouldn't budge, these officials could only stand there obediently and wait.

So, hundreds of people just watched as Hua Chang flipped through the case files in her hands, and the only sound in the huge hall was the hissing of the pages turning.

The voice was soft, yet it touched the hearts of hundreds of people in the hall.

This overwhelming sense of oppression made everyone on the field, except for He Lai, tremble with fear.

So when the sound of turning pages suddenly stopped, the plaintiff woman, who was waiting to speak, was so frightened that before Hua Chang could even open her mouth, she hurriedly kowtowed and cried, "Please, Your Honor, do justice for this humble woman!"

Faced with such rude behavior, the officials were so nervous that their hands were sweating.

Although Hua Chang was looking at the case file, a smile appeared on her face as she softly said, "Go on."

His voice was like a warm breeze in the mountains; at first glance, one might mistake it for the voice of an innocent and carefree young boy.

The woman, who had been crying with tears streaming down her face and white powder scattered on the ground, looked up at him and stared in a daze after hearing Hua Chang's gentle voice.

After a long silence, she hurriedly wiped away her tears and said, "My lord, my daughter, Xiaolin, is from Yunchun Restaurant..."

"Hmph, Yunchun Restaurant, so it's just a hostess! Hostesses are only taken advantage of by johns, how could they be raped? You're clearly making a false accusation!" An official ruthlessly interrupted her.

Xiaolin became even more anxious and hurriedly shook her head, saying, "No, sir, that day Chunhu sent people to the restaurant to hold a grand celebration banquet, and I've long admired Helai, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see him in person. That's why I went to him and confessed my feelings. But he was already drunk, all smiles, and insisted that I drink a few cups with them..."

He Lai, standing to the side, kept his head down with a resolute expression and did not deny Xiao Lin's words.

Then Xiaolin continued, "Later, I felt a little unwell from drinking and wanted to go back to my room to rest. But Helai insisted on taking me back. I thought that someone as heroic as him would never be the kind of person to take advantage of someone in distress..."

Xiaolin's voice slowly turned to sobs, "Who would have thought that he would do this to me in my room... Waaah..."

He Lai had his eyes tightly closed and confessed without hesitation.

"Hmph! You're just a hostess from a brothel, and you've been... cough cough, how come you're crying so sadly?" another official said with ill intent.

"Although I serve drinks, I never sell my body. Our manager can vouch for that!" Xiaolin cried and cried anxiously.

The official gave a wicked smile, then turned back to Hua Chang and bowed, saying, "Sir, why don't we have the manager of Yun Chun Restaurant come out and explain things clearly?"

Hua Chang nodded silently, but her eyes were still fixed on the case file.

Then the official called out, "Call out the manager of Yunchun Restaurant!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a short, stout, wealthy middle-aged man walked briskly from the crowd, head down.

"This humble man, Chen Fugui, greets all esteemed officials." The fat man kneeling in the middle was none other than the manager of Yunchun Restaurant.

"Chen Fugui, this woman is one of your men. She says she never sells herself. Is that true?" The official asked sternly, his face ashen.

Chen Fugui trembled all over, his smile more like a grimace: "Of course...it's not true..."

These words caused an uproar, especially from Xiaolin, whose eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Chen Fugui beside her. "Manager, you...you!!"

Xiaolin's expression showed shock, but even more so, confusion.

Some people in the audience had already started whispering among themselves.

The official stroked his beard and continued to press, "Chen Fugui, what exactly happened?"

Chen Fugui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, hanging his head dejectedly, and said, "I'm ashamed, sir. To be honest, the food and drink at Yunchun Restaurant are truly mediocre. The reason our restaurant is so popular is because we... do offer some special services..."

The official smiled knowingly. "What kind of special service?"

Chen Fugui chuckled awkwardly, "Sir, think about it. The guests and girls have already drunk to such an extent that if we can't continue, wouldn't it be a disaster? So, the restaurant has opened up some other services to solve the guests' immediate problem and also allow me to eat a few more bites, hehe."

"So you're saying this isn't a rape case, but rather a premeditated act by a prostitute?" the official said.

Upon hearing this, Hua Chang couldn't help but smile, but she still couldn't bear to put down the case file in her hand.

But Xiao Lin said anxiously, "He's talking nonsense, sir! I have a way to prove that He Lai and I did have a relationship!"

Whispers began to circulate again among the crowd.

.........

“No proof is needed…” Tsurugi continued with his eyes closed, “I did have sex with her, and it happened in her room…”

The hall erupted in another uproar.

Xiao Lin, in particular, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and from then on, everyone's attention was focused on Chen Fugui again.

Chen Fugui kowtowed heavily and continued with a smile, "My lord, I never said that nothing had happened between them, it's just..."

The official asked in doubt, "Just what?"

Chen Fugui then took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and respectfully presented it: "This is what I found in Xiaolin's room."

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Xiaolin's heart, which had just been at ease, jumped again.

After receiving it, the official respectfully presented it to Hua Chang: "Sir, this seems to be a letter."

"Read it," Hua Chang said coldly, flipping through the case file.

"Yes."

The content is as follows:

I've taken care of things here, and the plan remains the same. When the time comes, you go and seduce the drunken He Lai, and make sure he goes to your room! Leave the rest to me; I'll make sure he's utterly ruined. As usual, you'll get your share of the rewards after it's all done.

"Sir, the letter is unsigned..."

The news shocked everyone.

Xiao Lin became even more anxious and started crying again, "I'm innocent, sir! I've never received this letter!"

"You audacious wretch! How dare you make such a scene in court! Do you dare to swear that you have never seduced He Lai?!"

"I...I..." Xiaolin suddenly became hesitant, her expression showing some fear.

At this moment, only Hua Chang and He Lai remained calm and composed; one continued to flip through the case files, and the other kept her eyes closed.

The official then pointed at Chen Fugui, "What else do you know about this letter?"

Chen Fugui replied, "My lord, I found this letter the day before the final of the Kaiyuan Martial Arts Tournament. At that time, a guy who claimed to be representing the Shangyang Sect came to our restaurant and said he wanted to reserve the venue for the Shangyang Sect's victory banquet in advance."

He continued, his face showing a hint of anger, "I can't help but feel angry. How do you know that our Chunhu Sect will definitely lose before the competition has even started? So I've been keeping a close eye on this person and discovered that he did indeed linger suspiciously outside Xiaolin's room for a while."

"So that night, I came to Xiaolin's room with doubts and found her looking at a letter repeatedly, sometimes smiling and sometimes troubled. She thought about it and couldn't bear to destroy the letter, but hid it under her pillow. I guess she was afraid that things would be exposed and could use it as a shield."

Xiaolin angrily shouted in court: "You shameless bastard, how dare you frame me!"

"How dare you! You slap me..." Hua Chang didn't speak, and the official didn't dare to carry out the punishment.

So the official just coughed twice and asked, "Chen Fugui, how can you be sure that person is from Shangyang Gate? What if someone is deliberately framing him?"

Chen Fugui said with a forced smile, "My lord, firstly, the final victory celebration banquet of Shangyang Gate was indeed held at my place. However, the most important thing is the second point."

"The person who booked the table was a bald, foul-smelling young man. Although he tried to conceal his identity at the time, I only realized later that this guy was none other than Lu Xiaosan from Shangyangmen! This is also the main reason why he didn't participate in the finals!"