The Slender Waist-Chapter 153 - 113 Desperate Struggle

Zhang Erbing saw this and turned ashen-faced as he cried out to He Qia.

"The Village Chief’s wife has colluded with others to frame us, please see through their deceit, Sir He."

He continued, "On that day, the Village Chief’s wife even released her family’s wild beasts into the Zhang family home to attack us. Us brothers, being young and strong, were lucky to escape the ordeal, but my elderly parents nearly lost their lives, which everyone in the village witnessed..."

Sun Tieniu and Zhao Heidan spat contemptuously.

"Don’t talk nonsense! The wild beast that broke into the Zhang family’s home came down from Jieqiu Mountain, who told you brothers to be so depraved that even the wild animals on the mountain couldn’t stand it?"

These two had loud voices and took the opportunity to graphically describe how the Zhang brothers stole grain and falsely accused Feng Yun, and their goal was simply to tarnish Feng Yun’s reputation.

"They said they must make the Great General detest her."

"Right, and also make her despised by a thousand men—whatever that implies."

"They wanted her to be denounced by everyone in Huaxi Village and fail to become the Village Chief."

"Without anyone to protect her, they would then secretly kidnap her and sell her to some rich household to become a house concubine..."

Every time Sun Tieniu and Zhao Heidan spoke, a gasp could be heard from the crowd.

Especially the villagers of Huaxi, who couldn’t bear to listen any longer.

"The Village Chief’s wife is such a kind person, helping everyone find seeds for crops, lending out farming tools, allowing people to have credit in the manor if they had no money, and her subordinates patrolled the village every day. Otherwise, the village would have long been robbed by bandits..."

Then came a soul-searching question.

"If the Village Chief’s wife is so good to people, why would the Zhang brothers want to harm her like this?"

Feng Yun wore an innocent expression and sighed deeply.

"Sir He and all the citizens present have heard this, and these are the causes and consequences."

She then deeply bowed to He Qia.

"Please, Sir He, seek justice for me."

He Qia stroked his beard.

"Zhang Erbing, Zhang Sande, you are guilty of one crime for stealing the villagers’ grain at night, guilty of a second crime for destroying the grain in the river, guilty of a third crime for framing the Village Chief’s wife and coveting her close sister Yun Nian, and guilty of a fourth crime for killing Tie Ma, who couldn’t stand your injustice. Your crimes are numerous and utterly unforgivable..."

The Zhang brothers immediately protested their innocence.

He Qia slapped the table fiercely, "Silence!"

Everyone held their breath and focused.

He Qia declared, "The testimonies and evidence are all here, leaving no room for your sophistry... Drag them away and execute them by beating."

In Andu County, He Qia could kill a few petty criminals without any obstruction.

The citizens were happy to see justice done. Outside the hall, there was a round of applause and cheers.

"Well done."

"Sir He exterminates the corrupt and protects the peace of the citizens, truly a good official."

A few soldiers clad in armor came over, grabbed the Zhang brothers, and were about to take them away for the execution.

With the situation looking bleak, the Zhang brothers finally became frantic.

"Sir He!" Zhang Erbing struggled violently and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:

"We are Imperial Cavalry from the Imperial Cavalry Division of the imperial household, answering only to the Emperor, authorized to gather intelligence and apprehend criminals, not under the jurisdiction of local authorities... We were ordered to Andu County for an assignment, so you, Sir He, have no right to interrogate or execute us!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a commotion in the court.

The arrogant and domineering Zhang family, were they actually Imperial Cavalry?

How did Huaxi Village merit such attention from the Imperial Court of Jin Country?

Feng Yun had been waiting a long time for them to incriminate themselves, and it finally happened in front of the onlooking public.

Executing the Zhang brothers had never been of any benefit to Feng Yun.

What she was waiting for was this very moment...

She barely managed to contain the smile on her face, putting on a look of heartfelt pain.

"So, the Zhang brothers were sent by the Empress Dowager?"

As it was well known, the so-called Emperor of Jin Country was but a three-year-old child.

In the eyes of the people, the one in charge was the ruling Empress Dowager...

Without waiting for the Zhang brothers to reply, Feng Yun suddenly chuckled, pressed her handkerchief to the corner of her mouth, and then slowly said:

"It seems that, due to the spread of these rumors, the Empress Dowager bears a grudge against the citizens of Andu County..."

With her reminder, the citizens suddenly had an epiphany as if enlightened.

"No wonder they went to steal grain from Huaxi Village, wasn’t it the love affairs of the Empress Dowager that originated from Huaxi Village?"

"Stealing grain is nothing, they even killed someone! Treating human life like grass, not valuing the citizens at all."

Just as the populace had almost forgotten about Empress Dowager Li’s amorous affairs, it was brought up again, causing laughter to erupt in the hall.

Even someone recited a tasteless ditty:

"General Wei lifts his spear to select two beauties, while Empress Dowager Li’s youth has faded."

"Empress Dowager Li mourned in widowhood for three years, raising favored entertainers and defiling the imperial harem."

Zhang Erbing, seeing the situation take a turn, naturally wanted to defend the reputation of the Empress Dowager.

He said, "It was our Imperial Cavalry Division that received intelligence that there were Qing Country spies in Huaxi Village, and that’s why we infiltrated to verify the facts."

He then turned, pointing at Jin Ge and Yun Nian, finding an excuse.

"They are from Qi, and we suspect they are spies from Qi Country."

Ren Rude in the crowd frowned.

Feng Yun, however, laughed.

"They are from Qi, and so am I. Outside this hall, the entire population of Andu County once were from Qi. Zhang Erbing, by your logic, are we all spies from Qi Country now?"

This statement was like stirring up a hornet’s nest.

The crowd erupted in roars, all hurling abuse at Zhang Erbing.

Even some hot-tempered folks began throwing rotten things at them in a frenzy... 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The public outrage was palpable.

Unexpectedly, Feng Yun suddenly said, "Zhang Erbing, Zhang Sande, since you’ve registered in Huaxi Village, you neither till the fields nor know how to farm, idling away your days, looking none too bright. You claim to be from the Imperial Cavalry Division, even sent by the Empress Dowager... You truly disgrace her."

A not-too-bright appearance.

Her words insulted the Zhang brothers and also Li Sangruo.

A foolish Empress Dowager, how could she take the reins of Jin Country’s power?

All the good words and the bad were said by Feng Yun.

He Qia felt a hidden sweat on his back and saw her giving him a meaningful look.

"He Qia, these few thieves might be deliberately lying, defaming the Empress Dowager. I don’t think they are from the Imperial Cavalry Division... He Qia, why not drag them away and kill them? Better to prevent the long night from breeding more dreams and complications."

He Qia got the message.

She wanted more direct evidence.

The matter involved the Empress Dowager, and He Qia actually did not want to continue the interrogation.

Ending it here was the best course of action.

But the villagers were watching, Feng Yun was pressuring intensely, and there was the indeed not-too-bright Zhang Sande...

Before He Qia could speak, Zhang Sande began to shout loudly.

"We have the waist tokens of the Imperial Cavalry Division! We have waist tokens... He Qia, you have no right to deal with us..."

"What are you, a mere clerk? Our Division Chief Song Shou’an is a confidant of the Empress Dowager. We are trusted agents of Division Chief Song and act under his command. He will surely stand up for us..."

"Even if we are guilty, it should be Division Chief Song who interrogates us, not you!"

Zhang Erbing wanted to stop him but was unable to do so.

He must have been at the height of panic.

In his threats to He Qia, he spoke recklessly.

Not only did he expose that they were sent by the palace.

He also revealed the ambiguous relationship between Division Chief Song and the Empress Dowager.

His relentless words flowed like a torrential river.

Every word was an eye-opener for the people inside and outside the hall.

"What ’confidant of the Empress Dowager’? A widow like the Empress Dowager, if not eunuchs by her side, who else could there be..."

"Courtesans... wasn’t that Wei Zheng the same? I heard he is now the deputy chief of this so-called Imperial Cavalry Division."

"The Imperial Cavalry Division can move about freely within the palace. Now it seems, all these chiefs and deputy chiefs are nothing but the Empress Dowager’s courtesans, my mother as well, this ’Imperial Cavalry Division’ is plainly the Empress Dowager’s den of iniquity."

Among the crowd were people Feng Yun had planted in advance to explain the mysterious aspects of the Imperial Cavalry Division to the clueless villagers.

The villagers listened with keen interest, tsk-tsking continuously.

Feng Yun let out a slight laugh.

She watched He Qia order someone to search them and take the waist tokens.

The words "Imperial Cavalry Division" were glaringly obvious.

He Qia looked at Feng Yun again, his scalp going numb.

Every step taken by this lady was full of calculation, yet her actions were impeccably clean.

Even if he suspected something, he was forced to follow her lead regardless.

"If they belong to the Imperial Cavalry Division, then they are out of my authority."

It was an institution directly under the Emperor’s command, only answering to His Majesty.

"In that case, take them into custody for now. I will report to the Emperor and wait for further orders before proceeding."

He glanced again at the Zhang brothers in the hall.

"I will also report your words in the hall today without bias."

The Zhang brothers slumped in defeat as if their strength had been sapped away.

Report to the Imperial Court, would there still be a way out for them?

Zhang Erbing originally wasn’t named Zhang Erbing. He had taken this name to please Division Chief Song Shou’an, becoming a leader in the Imperial Cavalry.

Division Chief Song said that Andu was a good assignment...

As long as they could embarrass Feng Ji, they could gain favor from the Empress Dowager.

If the Empress Dowager favored him, would promotion and riches not be a sure thing?

They were eager to embarrass the Feng Family lady, who knew such a woman would be so formidable?

It was also Zhang Sande’s fault for impulsively revealing the sordid relationship between the Empress Dowager and Division Chief Song...

Setting aside whether the Empress Dowager would want to execute them, consider Wei Zheng, who was always looking for faults in Song Shou’an to take his place. Now that they have made such a grave mistake, Wei Zheng would definitely hold onto it tightly.

They were surrounded by blades on all sides.

At this moment, he would rather have He Qia decapitate him with a single stroke than to be handed over to the Imperial Court, and fall back into the hands of the Imperial Cavalry Division, whose methods were even more brutal...

"My lady, Feng Ji..."

Zhang Erbing, as if suddenly awakened, turned his head and knelt to beg Feng Yun for mercy.

"Spare us, please spare us."

Feng Yun showed a touch of confusion, her expression calmly observing him.

"I am but a simple woman of a rural estate, how dare I act as the head of the Imperial Cavalry Division? Brothers Zhang, do not flatter me to death... Get up quickly, I cannot accept such a grand gesture..."

The more humble she appeared, the more desperate Zhang Erbing became.

"I know you can save me, please, save us..."

Zhang Erbing knocked his forehead on the ground twice, making loud thuds.

Feng Yun acted as though startled by his actions, retreating two steps before steadying herself with Xiaoman’s support. Ye Chuang quickly stepped forward, his sword ready to guard against him.

Zhang Erbing’s forehead swelled into a blue bump, and his cheeks were covered in fine sweat, but when he raised his head and met Feng Yun’s gaze, the lady smiled at him...

It was as if she was examining prey caught in her trap...

She watched him struggle desperately, without a shred of pity.