The frail counselor you said, you fight against three heroes alone?

"Yes, how come a strange woman suddenly appeared and was brought here with Wang Henghua? It seems that she has committed a crime." A young man echoed, his eyes flashing with excitement, as if he was expecting a big drama to begin.

Several women gathered together and chattered: "Maybe she is a bad person in the same group as Wang Henghua. Looking at her appearance, she doesn't look like a good person."

The children were weaving in and out of the crowd, looking at Sister Lin curiously. From time to time they were pulled back by adults, and then they would slip out again when the adults weren't paying attention.

The whole scene was noisy and bustling with all kinds of speculations. Sister Lin became more and more uneasy under the scrutiny of everyone. Her fate was like being put on fire at this moment.

This drama of revealing the truth, directed by Xi Yu, has just begun, and the subsequent developments have gripped the hearts of every villager.

Soon more and more people came, and Gan Mei also came over.

As soon as she appeared, she seemed to have her own light. Her delicate face revealed an otherworldly charm, her figure was graceful yet dignified, and the simple but high-quality clothes made her temperament more elegant.

When everyone saw Gan Mei, their eyes lit up. They felt that she was like a fairy who had accidentally fallen from heaven to earth, totally out of place in this simple countryside.

Everyone was full of curiosity, wondering how such a charming woman could appear in this ordinary countryside, and where did she come from?
The faces of several young men blushed slightly, and their eyes followed Gan Mei unconsciously. They did not dare to speak loudly for fear of offending the beauty.

The women also stopped chattering, their eyes showing both amazement and a bit of envy, and the children gathered around curiously at a distance.

The scene became quite quiet for a moment, as everyone was stunned by Gan Mei's outstanding temperament.

Xi Yu saw that most of the people had arrived, so he spoke up, "This Wang Henghua set up a checkpoint, the reason being that he had no relationship with the prime minister's wife. Later, my brother Luo Xiaoyu met this Sister Lin while walking on the road. This Sister Lin said that she could help people become officials and charge a fee because she claimed to have a relationship with the prime minister's wife. But now I don't know if what these two people said is true."

As soon as Xi Yu finished speaking, many people were in an uproar.

"So this woman is also claiming to be the Prime Minister's wife!" Everyone started talking about it, and the scene suddenly became noisy again.

A brave citizen shouted at Sister Lin: "Is what you said true or false? Don't just talk about the Prime Minister's wife!"

Sister Lin stood there, her face pale, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The people around him became more and more excited, waiting to see what Xi Yu would say next. The atmosphere became more and more tense, like a taut string that could break at any time.

Xi Yu said that they would be formally tried next.

So he asked Sister Lin and Wang Henghua, "Do you really know the Prime Minister's wife, or are you just acting under the banner of the Prime Minister's wife, but in fact you don't know the Prime Minister's wife at all?"

Sister Lin lowered her head, her hands unconsciously tugged at the corners of her clothes, and her body trembled slightly.

Wang Henghua's eyes rolled around, trying to find an opportunity to take advantage of the people around him.

But seeing the angry and answer-expecting looks in everyone's eyes, he swallowed hard a few times, and the atmosphere on the scene fell into a stalemate for a moment.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for them to give an explanation. The whole scene was so quiet that one could seem to hear everyone's heartbeat. The tense atmosphere hung over everyone's head like a dark cloud.

Wang Henghua quickly pretended to be calm again, stiffening his neck and retorting: "I set up this checkpoint with the tacit approval of the Prime Minister's wife."

Luo Xiaoyu snorted coldly, took a step forward, looked directly at Wang Henghua, and said loudly: "Don't try to quibble. You are just trying to find an excuse for your evil deeds. The villagers present can see it clearly. What are you thinking?"

The people around him followed suit, pointing at Wang Henghua and telling him to stop trying to deceive people. Sister Lin was standing by, her forehead already covered in cold sweat, her eyes dodging, not daring to look at the questioning eyes of the crowd, her heart in turmoil, not knowing how this scene would end.

Wang Henghua was still holding on, but beneath his pretended calm appearance, he was already extremely guilty.

Xi Yu's eyes were like torches. He turned to stare at Sister Lin and asked, "What about you?"

Sister Lin was a little flustered. Her knees went weak and she fell to the ground with a plop. She clasped her hands together and begged for mercy: "Sir, I was wrong. I don't know the Prime Minister's wife at all. I just heard about the checkpoints in Wangjiazhuang, and I was greedy for a moment. I thought I could make some money by using the Prime Minister's wife's name, so I lied and said I knew her to deceive people. I really just wanted money. But I swear, I have never killed anyone or set fire to anything. I... I don't know who you are, but judging from your aura, you must be an official, so I call you sir, and I beg you to have mercy and forgive me this time."

She glanced at Xi Yu secretly, her heart was in turmoil, and she just hoped to get a little forgiveness.

At this time, many people began to discuss it.

"This woman is so bold. To be an official, one must be both morally and academically excellent and have moral integrity. How can one buy and sell things casually?" An old man was so angry that his beard was shaking, and he kept shaking his head while leaning on his cane.

"That's right. The selection of officials by the imperial court is a major matter concerning the welfare of our people. Yet, she dares to do whatever she wants just for a little money. Keeping such a person will only bring disaster. In my opinion, this woman deserves to die now."

A young man also echoed with indignation on his face, his words full of contempt and resentment for such behavior.

Everyone was talking at once, becoming more and more excited. The accusations and curses merged into one, as if to completely drown out Sister Lin.

Sister Lin could only kowtow and keep muttering: "Please spare my life, please spare my life..."

But her voice was quickly drowned out by the noises of the people around her.

Xi Yu frowned slightly, his eyes showing a bit of seriousness. He looked at Wang Henghua and said in a deep voice: "I'll give you one last chance. You must think it over before you speak. Don't be stubborn anymore."

Wang Henghua sneered, his face full of disdain, and raised his neck and said loudly: "I am telling the truth, if you don't believe me, just wait and see! Humph, you have offended me today, and I will punish you a hundred times in the future. The power behind me is not something you can afford to provoke. When the Prime Minister's wife knows about this, she will definitely not let you ignorant guys off easily."

There was a sense of arrogance in his words, as if he was sure that nothing would happen to him. His arrogant look made the people around him hate him so much.

Many people clenched their fists. If they were not afraid of Wang Henghua's usual ruthlessness, they would probably rush up to teach him a lesson.

Xi Yu's face darkened and his eyes became colder, but he was not moved at all and just looked at Wang Henghua quietly.

Then, Xi Yu looked at Gan Mei and whispered, "Now you come and confront him."

Gan Mei nodded slightly, as if she had already made up her mind. She walked forward gracefully, her cold eyes fixed on Wang Henghua, but she said nothing.

The eyes of many people were once again focused on Gan Mei, and they were secretly amazed that even in such a rage, the beauty's grace was still breathtaking. Her cold aura seemed to add a bit of mystery to her beauty, making people fascinated by her.

Gan Mei raised her eyes slightly, and a cold voice rang out in the air: "Wang Henghua, tell me, how are you and I related?"

A sarcastic sneer appeared on Wang Henghua's lips.

"Humph, you better understand that I am related to the Prime Minister's wife. You are nothing."

Gan Mei's expression remained unchanged, and she simply said, "Because I am the Prime Minister's wife, I am Gan Mei."

When these words were spoken, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Wang Henghua's face was filled with disbelief. He had never thought that the woman in front of him would be the prime minister's wife. He had originally tried to use the title of prime minister's wife to exonerate himself, but now the real prime minister's wife was standing in front of him. He felt dizzy and his mind went blank.

But then, Wang Henghua burst into laughter again, pointing at Xi Yu and saying, "This man pretended to be the prime minister, and you pretended to be the prime minister's wife. After all this fuss, it turns out that the real impersonators are you two."

As he spoke, he laughed so hard that he fell backwards. He looked as if he had grasped some huge handle and was trying to use it to turn the situation around.

At this time, some people did not understand what was going on and began to discuss in low voices.

"How could this be? I thought they were good people, but after all this fuss they turned out to be bad people." Everyone looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion and hesitation.

The trust that he originally had in Xi Yu, Gan Mei and the others began to waver at this moment, and there was a bit more suspicion in his eyes when he looked at them.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became subtle and complicated, as if a fog shrouded everyone's hearts, making it difficult to tell who was real and who was fake.

Gan Mei raised her hand slightly, signaling everyone to be quiet. When everyone's voices gradually faded, she slowly said, "My fellow villagers, I, Gan Mei, hereby assure you that I am the genuine wife of the Prime Minister, and the one in front of you," she pointed at Xi Yu, "is the Prime Minister, there is absolutely no falsehood."

As soon as she finished speaking, many people who knew the prime minister's majesty suddenly changed their expressions and hurriedly knelt down to salute, chanting "Greetings to the Prime Minister, Greetings to the Prime Minister's wife".

For a moment, a large group of people knelt on the ground.

Wang Henghua was so anxious when he saw this that he jumped up and down, shouting at the top of his voice: "Why are you kneeling? They are liars, and you really believe them. Are you three-year-old children? Don't be fooled by them!"

But at this moment, the people had their own thoughts in their minds. Some of them were still kneeling on the ground, just looking up secretly, not knowing who to listen to.

The scene fell into a stalemate, the atmosphere was tense and chaotic, as if an invisible storm was quietly brewing among everyone.

Gan Mei then looked at Xi Yu and said softly, "Husband, why don't you reveal your identity?"

Xi Yu nodded, his expression calm, then slowly took out a token from his arms, held it high, and said loudly: "Look at what this is? This is the exclusive token of the prime minister. Seeing this token is like seeing the prime minister himself. If there are still some of you who don't believe that I am the prime minister, you can come with me to Youzhou City to verify it. Then the truth will be clear."

Everyone's eyes were immediately focused on the token, and those who could read came closer to examine it carefully.

Although most people had never seen the prime minister's token in person, the exquisite patterns, unique engravings and the sense of majesty it exuded made many people feel shocked.

The originally hesitant thoughts began to slowly waver.

Wang Henghua looked at the token and his face turned ugly. A trace of panic flashed in his eyes, but he still pretended to be calm and said stubbornly: "Humph, what can a broken token tell us? Who knows where it came from?"

But after he said this, only a few people agreed with him.

Luo Xiaoyu took a quick step forward, raised her hand and slapped Wang Henghua fiercely, shouting angrily: "Asshole, you are still talking nonsense at this time! The Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's wife have already produced the evidence, but you are still quibbling. Do you really think everyone is a fool?"

Wang Henghua was hit so hard by the sudden slap that he saw stars and his body swayed for a few times before he stabilized. A red slap mark instantly appeared on his face.

He was shocked and angry, glaring at Luo Xiaoyu. Just as he was about to open his mouth to fight back, he saw that the eyes of the people around him were full of disgust and contempt. He swallowed back the harsh words that were on the tip of his tongue and just stared at Luo Xiaoyu viciously, as if he wanted to eat him alive. But in the end, he no longer had the arrogance he had just now.

Wang Henghua also realized that the person in front of him was indeed the prime minister. He was so scared that his legs went limp. He knelt down with a plop, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Prime Minister, Madam Prime Minister, please forgive me. I was blind and offended the Buddha. I deserve death. But I am indeed related to you, Madam."

Gan Mei raised her eyebrows, looked at him coldly, and said, "Then tell me who your relatives are. You must make it clear to me today. If you dare to make up stories again, I will not let you off easily."

Wang Henghua said quickly, "Madam, I have a cousin named Long Taifeng, and Long Taifeng has a cousin named Hua Qianzhong, and Hua Qianzhong's cousin is Hua Qianfeng, and Hua Qianfeng and your father are brothers-in-law."

He spoke anxiously, trying to rely on this complicated and confusing relationship to prove that he was related to Gan Mei. While speaking, he glanced at Gan Mei's face, hoping to see a hint of relaxation.

He talked on and on for such a long time that Gan Mei couldn't help but sneer and said, "So it turns out that you are such an unrelated relative. You have to go through so many twists and turns, and you can actually say it out loud."

Many people around were stunned when they heard this, but when they came to their senses, they all started laughing.

The laughter was full of mockery of Wang Henghua's far-fetched words. The originally tense atmosphere on the scene became a little humorous because of this. However, the look in everyone's eyes when they looked at Wang Henghua still revealed undisguised contempt.

Then, Gan Mei sneered and said righteously: "Don't mention just this kind of roundabout relatives, even legitimate and close relatives must not act under my banner. He set up checkpoints here and wantonly collected money, which completely violated the laws of the Han Dynasty. Such evil deeds must not be tolerated."

Gan Mei's words were powerful and echoed in the air, demonstrating justice and majesty.

At this time, the long-suppressed resentment in the hearts of many people seemed to have finally found an outlet, and they began to applaud enthusiastically.

The applause was as loud as thunder, which was both an acknowledgement and support for Gan Mei's words and a criticism and condemnation of Wang Henghua's actions.

Wang Henghua saw that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to him, but he still kowtowed desperately and begged for mercy, crying out in tears: "Madam, Prime Minister, I was really wrong. Please forgive me this time. I will never dare to do it again. I will definitely turn over a new leaf and be a new person in the future."

Gan Mei ignored him and turned her gaze to Xi Yu.

Xi Yu frowned, thought for a moment and then said, "Take them directly to the local county government office."

As soon as these words were spoken, they were actually shouted towards the darkness. As soon as the words fell, several secret guards dressed in black and with agile skills immediately appeared.

The scene that appeared silently and suddenly really scared many people, and several exclamations were heard from the crowd.

Seeing this, Xi Yu quickly raised his hand to appease everyone and said loudly: "Don't be afraid, fellow villagers. These are my secret guards. They are just following orders and will not harm you. Today's incident will be handled by the county government according to the rules and justice will be done to everyone."

After hearing this, the people gradually calmed down, but there was still a bit of awe and curiosity in their eyes when they looked at the secret guards, and order was slowly restored at the scene.

Wang Henghua and Sister Lin kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Many people laughed at them, especially those from the same village as Wang Henghua. They thought his existence was an insult to the village.

Wang Henghua shouted, "My Lord, my Madam, please forgive us. We know we were wrong and we will never do it again."

Sister Lin cried so hard that her face was covered with tears. She sobbed and said, "Although I am guilty, my crime is much lighter than his. Please forgive me this time. I will be a good person in the future and make up for my mistakes."

However, no matter how hard they begged, Xiyu's expression remained stern and he was not moved at all. He had already made up his mind to hand them over to the county government for punishment according to the law.

In Xi Yu's opinion, the law is strict, and the mistakes they have made cannot be easily forgiven because of a few pleas for mercy. They must pay the price for their actions, so as to give an explanation to the people and let everyone know that those who break the law will not escape fair judgment.

Next, Xi Yu instructed the secret guards: "Go early and come back early, and you have to send Madam Gan back to settle down."

The secret guards responded in unison, and then escorted Wang Henghua and Sister Lin to the county government office. (End of this chapter)