Chapter 13: Yikes! Stirred up a hornet’s nest of shady merchants!

“Boom boom boom boom boom boom—”

The old emperor blurted out, “What’s that noise?”

“It seems…” The head eunuch listened carefully, “The petition drum outside the Meridian Gate is being struck.”

The petition drum?

The old emperor stood up solemnly.

“Summon the officials!”

…

Xu Yanmiao walked at the back of the officials, listening as a Ministry of War clerk explained to him:

“When His Majesty first founded the dynasty, he set up a petition drum outside the Meridian Gate. If any citizen had a grievance, they could come and strike the drum to bring their issue directly to the emperor’s attention.”

“Ah! So do they need to roll over a bed of nails? I heard you have to do that before presenting your grievance.”

“Of course not, where did you hear such a ridiculous rumor, Xu Lang?” The Ministry of War official couldn’t help but chuckle. “The Emperor set up the Drum of Appeals to encourage open communication. If every petitioner had to roll over nails, most of them would die before even getting to state their case. Who would dare to come forward then?”

That would be like taking off your pants to fart—completely unnecessary!

Even in previous dynasties, the most they’d do is whip or cane the complainant, never something as extreme as rolling over nails.

Xu Yanmiao felt a bit embarrassed. “I must have misunderstood…”

As they stepped into the side hall near the Meridian Gate, a strong smell of blood hit them.

What the… Xu Yanmiao’s pupils contracted in shock. Did the old emperor really make someone roll over nails to lodge a complaint?

The others: “…” Thanks, we’re shocked too.

The Prime Minister and the six Ministers at the front all snapped their heads up to look at the Emperor.

Your Majesty, isn’t this going a bit too far?

—Mainly because they could also smell the overwhelming scent of blood, which was unusually strong.

The veins on the Emperor’s forehead throbbed.

He shot a glare at Xu Yanmiao before he slowly and clearly enunciated, “I have already ordered the Imperial Physician to attend to her. This woman was already badly injured before she struck the Drum of Appeals. We must discover what grievance could make her endure such pain.”

He emphasized the word “already,” as if worried people might not hear or understand it properly.

The Imperial Physician, carrying his medical kit, approached the bloodied woman with a look of pity. His years of experience told him she was beyond saving and could only be given something to ease her pain in her final moments.

“Sigh…”

He reached out to check her pulse.

Smack! A bloodied hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and shoved it aside.

“Ah!!” the Imperial Physician cried out in shock.

She’s alive!

The Emperor gripped the armrest tightly, his whole arm bulging with veins.

If he weren’t sitting down, he would have taken three steps back!

“Your Majesty!!!” The bloodied woman began to speak, her voice not strong, but filled with sorrowful determination: “This humble woman, Xie Luoshui, accuses the Marquis of Kuaiji, his wife, and their son!”

The Emperor opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice spoke for him.

What the heck? Is this woman some kind of tragic heroine? She should be near death or barely able to speak after such injuries, yet she can still speak so forcefully.

Xu Yanmiao sucked in a cold breath as he looked at the system’s gossip feed.

She just had a miscarriage yesterday!!!

Civil and military officials: “Hiss—”

You’d never be able to tell!

After all, when a woman miscarriages, shouldn’t she be bedridden and weak for at least ten days to half a month?

Unbelievable! She managed to escape while the Marquis of Kuaiji and his family were attending the Prime Minister’s betrothal banquet. She even stole a horse and rode nonstop for forty miles to the capital to file her complaint.

The crowd couldn’t help but glance at the woman’s legs.

The insides of her thighs were covered in blood.

But!

When Xie Luoshui became agitated while recounting her story, she instinctively stepped forward with her left leg—her tattered clothes pulled against her wounds, causing blood scabs that had barely healed to tear open again.

“Hiss—” Prime Minister Dou couldn’t help but wince in sympathy.

Yet this frail-looking woman merely furrowed her brows slightly, as if this pain meant nothing to her.

She quickly recounted her story.

She was originally a farmer’s daughter who recently came to the city with her parents to sell fish. The Marquis’s son initially wooed her with sweet words and brought her into the household, but when the Emperor announced a second selection for Princess Xiangyang’s husband, the Marquis’s family imprisoned her to keep her from speaking out. Meanwhile, the Marquis’s son maintained the facade of a man who had remained unmarried and pure for the Princess’s sake.

As for her pregnancy, it resulted from the Marquis’s son raping her in a drunken state.

The Emperor turned his gaze to the Marquis of Kuaiji. “Do you have anything to say?”

Xie Luoshui also looked at the Marquis, preparing for him to counterattack or even accuse her falsely.

But no one expected the Marquis to directly admit his guilt, saying he had lost his mind in his desire to have his son marry the Princess and thus committed such a heinous act.

After confessing, he immediately apologized to Xie Luoshui, shocking everyone from the Emperor to the officials. The Emperor, still dazed, followed the law and sentenced the Marquis for injuring another and the Marquis’s son for rape.

After sentencing, the Emperor couldn’t help but ask, “Marquis of Kuaiji, the law dictates that murderers die, and those who harm others are punished. You are sentenced to 40 lashes for harming another. Do you accept this sentence?”

The Marquis bowed and replied, “I accept, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor asked again, “Your son is sentenced to two years of hard labor for raping an unmarried woman. Do you accept?”

—That meant two years of forced labor.

The Marquis bowed again and said, “I accept on behalf of my disobedient son.”

The Emperor turned to Xie Luoshui. “Are you satisfied with this judgment?”

Xie Luoshui also bowed, “I am satisfied, Your Majesty.”

Since the victim was satisfied, the court session was over.

Xu Yanmiao, who had been bewildered from the start, remained so as he prepared to leave. He began to question why he had even come to court that day.

When he looked up, he saw the Marquis of Kuaiji hastily leaving, eager to get away.

Xu Yanmiao instinctively opened the system.

Something feels off…

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the Marquis of Kuaiji paused, then quickened his pace even more.

Just as he was about to step out of the side hall, Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice echoed with multiple exclamations of shock.

Holy crap! They switched the babies! They switched the babies!!!

The Emperor, who was getting into his sedan chair, nearly stumbled and fell.

The Chief Eunuch: “Your Majesty!!!” He hurriedly helped him up.

“No need to help me!” The old emperor leaped down from the sedan and strode back to the hall with great energy. “I have some matters to attend to!”

He was eager to return and catch up on the gossip!

Since the emperor went back, the officials naturally had to follow.

The Marquis of Kuaiji’s legs went weak, and the Royal Guards had to hold him up and drag him inside.

Xie Luoshui looked at the officials in confusion—some of them were inexplicably tugging at their beards. What were they doing?

She couldn’t figure it out but instinctively followed them back.

Xu Yanmiao absentmindedly followed the crowd, his eyes fixated on the system interface.

“I knew something was off! If he were truly so honest, he wouldn’t have confessed so easily. If he was capable of imprisoning someone, he wouldn’t have just admitted everything right away.”

“Who would have thought? It really was a case of switching the real heir with a fake!”

“The current heir of the Marquis of Kuaiji is not even his own blood!”

The officials, who had been drowsy from the earlier hearing, suddenly perked up, their eyes burning with curiosity.

What exactly do you mean by not his own blood? Tell us! Quickly!

Did the marchioness have an affair and bring her lover’s son to replace the real heir?

“The child was swapped by the marchioness! It was a random baby boy she picked up from outside! Let me see if the Marquis of Kuaiji knew about this.”

“Oh wow!!!”

“What a mess! He knew! He’s always known! He has a low sperm count, only one child, and wanted an heir to inherit the title, so he accepted it!”

The officials were deeply disappointed.

Since the marquis knew about it, he must have consented. So, it couldn’t be the lover’s child after all.

The Minister of Revenue sighed heavily, “The Marchioness of Kuaiji was so foolish! As a couple, if the child wasn’t of her husband’s bloodline, at least it should have been of hers. How could she bring back a child that belonged to neither of them to inherit the marquisate? Even if she had a lover, the Marquis of Kuaiji is so magnanimous, he wouldn’t have cared about such a small matter!”

The Minister of Revenue stomped his foot, “How foolish!”

Marquis of Kuaiji: Get lost!!!

Marquis of Kuaiji: All of you are making this situation worse, why don’t you have your wives give you a son!!!

The old emperor quickly called for the chief eunuch, “Bring the heir of the Marquis of Kuaiji and the marchioness here!”

Time to see the drama unfold. Hee hee.

Soon, the two were brought in.

In the meantime, the officials were thoroughly entertained by the gossip.

The stories of the Marquis of Kuaiji’s son, who could write poetry at three and compose essays at five, were all pre-prepared by the marquis for him to memorize.

The tale of the heir at ten years old, hunting a mystical black fox and releasing it, only for the fox to circle three times and then jump back into his arms—a tale that was the talk of the town—turned out to be just as fabricated. The fox had been caught ahead of time, starved for three days, and barely able to move before being shot. When it saw the heir with meat in his arms, it jumped towards him.

“And that fox! Hahahaha, that fox, hahahahahaha——”

Xu Yanmiao’s laughter was earth-shattering.

“That fox was just a regular red fox that they dyed black with ink, hahahahahaha!”

“This level of fakery is truly wicked. That poor fox nearly drowned in a vat of ink.”

The Marquis of Kuaiji turned red with embarrassment, feeling as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into the grand hall.

So what if it was fake!

Others wish they could pull off such fakery and can’t even manage it!

Moreover, building a reputation for a scholar’s family—how could you call it simple fakery!

Xu Yanmiao is really crude!

Xu Yanmiao found another fabrication: “Hahahahahahahahahaha——”

Marquis of Kuaiji: “……”

Could you stop laughing!

Xu Yanmiao found yet another fabrication: “Hahahahahahahahahaha——”

Marquis of Kuaiji: “……”

Is this ever going to end? Will it ever end!

Xu Yanmiao: “Hahahahahahaha! So that’s how the Marquis of Kuaiji earned his reputation as the most elegant and scholarly man in his middle age! No wonder he’s so good at boosting the image of his adopted son, it runs in the family! Hahahahaha……”

The officials’ faces turned red as they tried to hold back their laughter, with only Xu Yanmiao’s wild laughter echoing through the grand hall.

Suddenly, Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts fell silent.

The Marquis of Kuaiji felt a chill in his heart and, against his better judgment, turned his face towards the hall entrance. There, he saw his wife and the illegitimate child being brought in by the Royal Guards.

It was over.

The Marquis of Kuaiji thought despairingly.

Xu Yanmiao exclaimed, “Oh wow!” with great excitement.

“I’m actually witnessing the drama live!”

“The old emperor’s Royal Guards must have been investigating the Marquis of Kuaiji’s mansion for a long time.”

“I get it now! The earlier dismissal was just a ruse to prevent the marquis from doing anything desperate!”

“The Royal Guards must have found out that Xie Luoshui is actually the rightful heiress of the Marquis of Kuaiji!”

The Marquis of Kuaiji closed his eyes in pain.

This time, it was truly over.