Xiangzhou Arc: Soul-Transmigrated to Another World — Chapter 12: An Ungrateful Dog Bites Lu Dongbin
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Seeing that Ye Qiaoqiao’s account was logical and clearly expressed, Dong Feiguang nearly believed her himself!
If he had not previously heard Ye Qiaoqiao mention that she had once passed through the gates of Hell, only for the King of Hell to refuse to accept her, he could never have imagined that Ye Qiaoqiao had truly died by hanging herself, rather than being buried alive.
Yet Chen Bailei’s filthy and despicable thoughts were not entirely without basis.
At that thought, the wooden court block in Dong Feiguang’s hand suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand catties. He hesitated, uncertain whether he ought to bring it down.
His gaze fell upon the edge of a white robe at the side. Dong Feiguang made his decision and said solemnly, “The defendant is not present. We must wait until he arrives before passing judgment.”
Ye Qiaoqiao seemed to have expected him to say this. Once again, she raised her voice. “My lord, Chen Bailei has already gone to the capital. If the defendant is not here, how is this matter to be resolved?”
“Since the drum of grievance has been struck, this matter cannot be treated lightly! The yamen will dispatch someone to notify the Third-Ranked Graduate and summon him back to Xiangzhou to deal with the matter!” Dong Feiguang spoke with authority, each word deliberate.
Ye Qiaoqiao had come for precisely this purpose: to bring the matter before the court and make the affair as public and serious as possible!
Now that Lord Dong had said this, she naturally knew that he would keep his word, and that Chen Bailei would certainly return to Xiangzhou from the capital. It was merely a question of how long it would take.
Her doubts vanished.
She also understood that continuing would bring no benefit to either side. Thus she said, “Since my lord has said so, I shall trust that you will honor your word. There is no point in my continuing to press the matter, so I shall take my leave.”
With that, she rose and walked out of the courtroom.
After Ye Qiaoqiao departed, an oppressive silence settled over the courtroom.
In the next instant, Shen Jianzhou lightly leaped down from the rafters and entered the courtroom.
When Dong Feiguang saw Shen Jianzhou, he hurriedly rose from his chair and fell to his knees. “Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Crown Prince.”
He knew that the Crown Prince had been standing atop the rafters all along, silently observing everything. Yet when the Crown Prince finally appeared, he could not help feeling afraid—afraid that Ye Qiaoqiao’s striking of the grievance drum had been instigated by him.
Dong Feiguang was deeply worried that he might lose his official position.
The bailiffs surrounding them also dropped to their knees and cried out in unison, “We pay our respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
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“Was that the Third-Ranked Graduate’s wife just now?” Shen Jianzhou asked without expression as he slowly paced forward.
Nearby, Zuo Wenshan was still thinking about how he had gone to Xiangzhou City the previous night to investigate Ye Qiaoqiao’s affairs. He had intended to report everything to the Crown Prince, but who could have imagined that first thing this morning, he would hear Ye Qiaoqiao striking the grievance drum? It was truly strange.
“Your Highness, yes. The woman just now was the Third-Ranked Graduate’s wife. Her name is Ye Qiaoqiao,” Dong Feiguang hastily replied.
Shen Jianzhou seemed lost in thought. His dark, ink-black eyes resembled unfathomable pools, making it impossible for anyone to discern what lay within his mind.
Seeing the solemn atmosphere, Dong Feiguang once again spoke up in his own defense. “Your Highness, this old servant truly had no knowledge that Ye Qiaoqiao would strike the grievance drum today!”
The implication was clear: I do not know why Ye Qiaoqiao struck the grievance drum either.
“You may rise,” Shen Jianzhou said, his authoritative voice descending from above.
Dong Feiguang let out a quiet breath of relief and immediately straightened, waiting for his orders. The bailiffs nearby rose along with him.
Once everyone was standing, Shen Jianzhou looked at Dong Feiguang and slowly issued his command. “You must treat this case with the utmost seriousness.”
“Yes, yes,” Dong Feiguang answered repeatedly.
The Crown Prince’s orders were naturally beyond question.
Several days later, Ye Qiaoqiao was jolted awake by a commotion.
She opened her eyes and rose from bed. Looking through the window, she saw her mother-in-law, Zheng Qianjuan, making a furious scene with a group of women at the entrance to the Chen family compound.
Ye Qiaoqiao quickly dressed and hurried outside.
Before she had even drawn near, she heard Uncle Zhang—who had only just returned home to recuperate—shouting angrily at the gate as he tried to stop them.
“Don’t push your way in! My young mistress ordered that no one disturb her. Get out of here!”
Hanxiang was also holding a broom and doing her best to keep them back.
Seeing how desperately they were fighting to protect her sleep, Ye Qiaoqiao’s temper flared. Facing Zheng Qianjuan, who stood at the head of the group, she said sharply, “What are you making such a racket for? Are you going to let anyone sleep? Are you deliberately disturbing the neighborhood?”
It was already the hour of Chen. Sunlight had long since risen, spilling softly across the gray brick and tiled roofs of the Chen family compound and reflecting a faint golden glow.
Though Ye Qiaoqiao wore no makeup, her anger lent her face a unique charm, giving her an exceptionally fresh and graceful beauty.
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“You ill-starred woman! Not only did you dare drive my son away, you even hired people to beat him until his face looked like a pig’s head! You truly have no shame! You little wretch!”
“Who are you calling a little wretch?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Hanxiang seized her broom and began striking Zheng Qianjuan.
The women Zheng Qianjuan had brought with her took a step back when they saw Hanxiang change from blocking their way to beating Zheng Qianjuan. They were afraid the broom might soon turn on them instead.
Those women had clearly come merely to watch the spectacle. None of them offered help; they simply stood by and watched Zheng Qianjuan get beaten.
After all, from beginning to end, Zheng Qianjuan had been afraid she could not make enough trouble by herself, so she had brought them along merely to swell the numbers.
And Zheng Qianjuan had often spoken ill of them behind their backs. Thus each of them watched the scene with silent amusement. They knew perfectly well that stepping forward to help would earn them nothing but hardship and resentment.
Besides, no matter how poorly Ye Qiaoqiao might fare, she still had the wealthy family of merchants behind her.
The difference between friend and foe was obvious, and they possessed at least that much sense.
When Zheng Qianjuan was beaten until she fled about with her head covered, while not a single person around her came to help, Ye Qiaoqiao calmly told Hanxiang to stop.
Hanxiang lowered the broom. Only then did Ye Qiaoqiao look at Zheng Qianjuan, whose clothes were disheveled, and say irritably, “If I had not married Chen Bailei, do you think your son would have had the money to go to the capital? You supported him there as he studied, and only then did he manage to place as the Third-Ranked Graduate.”
Zheng Qianjuan hastily smoothed the hair Hanxiang had mussed with the broom. Looking at Ye Qiaoqiao, she said furiously, “That was because my son studied diligently day and night and was personally selected by His Majesty as the Third-Ranked Graduate. Do you really think anyone cares about the few scraps of property your family possesses?”
“If you truly do not care about it, then why did you bring people to my home to cause trouble? What business of yours was it that I drove him away?” Ye Qiaoqiao gave a light laugh and retorted with a smile.
It was one thing to be bitten by a dog that mistook a good man for a bad one; it was quite another for the dog to bite again after being shown mercy.
Enraged, Zheng Qianjuan resorted to moral coercion. “I am your mother-in-law, and he is still your husband! You drove him away just because you felt like it—did you ever think about how our family is supposed to live in Xiangzhou?”
Ye Qiaoqiao shook her head repeatedly. “I respectfully call you Mother, and you really think you are my own mother? Do you know what it means to exploit your age and seniority? That is exactly what you are doing.”
Ye Qiaoqiao wore an expression that seemed to say she was fortunate to be both beautiful and kindhearted.
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