I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 299 The whole room was shocked
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfan was so shocked that he swallowed the pastry he was holding in his mouth, not caring about whether it was bitter or not, and hurriedly summoned all the officials to the Fengtian Hall.

It is rare for someone to be willing to file a complaint with the emperor; this must be taken seriously.

He strode quickly with his long legs, and Chu Liuzheng and the others followed him at a jog.

In the Fengtian Hall, all the officials were present, and the emperor took his seat.

The person who struck the Dengwen Drum was led into the hall by the Imperial Guards.

"This humble subject, Wang Qi, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Judging from the voice, it should belong to a young boy.

Everyone stared intently, initially shocked by the newcomer's tattered clothes, dusty face, and bruised and swollen face.

If you put a broken bowl in front of you, who could bear not to throw in a couple of coins?
Upon closer inspection, with bruises and swelling, it was impossible to discern beauty or ugliness; all that could be seen was extreme thinness, a slender back bent into a bow, and arms tightly protecting the dusty bundle on its chest.

Xiao Jingfan sized up the man and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you beating the Dengwen Drum?"

"This humble subject has suffered a great injustice." Wang Qi raised his head, his face bruised and swollen, but his eyes were bright and black as he looked up at the emperor on the dragon throne. "I beg Your Majesty to do justice for this humble subject!"

"Insolence!" Xiao Anzi took over his master's job and shouted shrilly, "You are not allowed to look directly at the Emperor's face!"

Wang Qi was startled by the sudden shrill voice and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look any further.

Xiao Jingfan stared at him: "If you have such a great injustice, why don't you appeal to the Shuntian Prefecture first?"

Wang Qi said, "This humble subject is worried that the officials of Shuntian Prefecture will not dare to intervene, and also fears that they will protect each other and be unwilling to intervene. Everyone says that Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and this humble subject only believes in Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingfan thought the second half of the sentence sounded quite pleasing.

Standing in the line, Dong Yi felt as if a huge pot had been thrown from the sky, and his chest felt heavy from those words.

How is he accused of protecting each other?

How do you know I wouldn't dare to interfere if you haven't even filed a complaint?
Why don't you try suing them first?

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review glanced at him with a hint of schadenfreude.

Dong Yi ignored him and stepped forward to clear his name, strongly demanding that Shuntian Prefecture take over this "great injustice".

Xiao Jingfan waved his hand, telling the defiant person to go back. Was it easy for him to find someone who dared to appeal to the emperor?
He cleared his throat: "Tell me your grievances, and I will investigate and redress your grievances."

Wang Qi kowtowed and said, "I am from Shisong County. I want to sue the Marquis of Zhongyong for murder and destruction of the village, and for the massacre of all 347 people in Dongjing Village."

As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked.

Three hundred and forty-seven people—smaller villages don't even have that many.

Xiao Jingfan's face immediately darkened, and he coldly looked at the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery in the queue.

The officials all turned to look at their colleague.

If they remembered correctly, the ancestral home of the Marquis of Zhongyong was in Shisong County, and the Marquis of Zhongyong would personally return to pay homage to his ancestors every autumn.

Marquis Zhongyong remained calm and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, I have never committed such an evil deed. It is all malicious slander by this man."

"I did not slander him!" Wang Qi did not recognize him, but judging from his voice, he felt that he should be from the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion. He was no longer afraid and shouted loudly while holding the bundle, "Your Majesty, it was the people from the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion who killed all 347 people in the entire estate. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Marquis Zhongyong turned to look at him, his brows furrowed, his square face contorted with rage, and he shouted sternly, "You brat, how dare you shout like that in the main hall! When have I ever ordered the slaughter of your entire estate?"

"So you're the Marquis of Zhongyong! You villain! You scum! You owe me my family's lives!" Wang Qi gritted his teeth and lunged forward, as if to tear a piece of flesh from his body.

Marquis Zhongyong clenched his fists, about to teach this arrogant brat a lesson, when Xie Hui suddenly grabbed the boy and dragged him back to kneel. He said coldly, "You must not be disrespectful in front of His Majesty."

"Let go! I'm going to kill that scum!" Wang Qi twisted twice but couldn't break free from his grasp, so he could only glare at Marquis Zhongyong.

If glares could kill, the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor would have been torn to pieces long ago.

Dong Yi, eager to prove himself capable of taking charge, specifically reminded the young man: "You can't just believe your side of the story when you file a complaint; you need evidence. If you have any evidence, produce it quickly so His Majesty can make a decision for you."

"Dong Yi!" Marquis Zhongyong glared at him unhappily.

Dong Yi stood up straight, unafraid of him.

Reminded by him, Wang Qi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I... this humble subject has evidence!"

He reached into his bundle and pulled out a token no bigger than the palm of his hand, holding it high above his head: "This is what I took from the man who killed me."

Everyone looked up.

The token is made of bronze, with the words "Loyalty and Courage" engraved in the middle and a lion pattern painted below, which is the emblem of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage.

Few officials were unfamiliar with this token.

Xie Hui said, "It is indeed the token of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion. If I remember correctly, only the steward of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion would wear such a token."

Marquis Zhongyong glanced at the token and sneered, "How do I know this brat didn't steal the token from somewhere and deliberately try to smear my Marquis Zhongyong's mansion?"

There is some truth to that.

Since the token isn't permanently attached to your body, it could be lost or stolen, so using it as evidence to identify the murderer is a stretch.

“The token can be stolen, but what about the injury?” Wang Qi put down the token and tore open his clothes with both hands.

A collective gasp filled the hall.

A scar ran from the boy's left shoulder through his right abdomen, its bared edges resembling a long, thick centipede crawling across his thin, frail chest—a truly shocking sight.

Xie Hui squatted down to examine it closely and said, "It's a new injury from within the last three months. It's very difficult for an ordinary person to survive such a serious injury." This young man in front of him is truly lucky.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Marquis Zhongyong.

Marquis Zhongyong sneered: "What can a single injury prove? It's not only people from my Marquis Zhongyong's mansion who can hurt you."

Although it's hard to hear, it's the truth.

If the only evidence this young man has is this token and the long scar on his body, he will not only be unable to harm the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion today, but will also be accused of insubordination.

As for whether this injustice is true or false, we can only find out after sending someone to Shisong County to verify it, which will take at least a month and a half.

Just as everyone was whispering among themselves, Chu Liuzheng turned to the page where the boy had mentioned the "great injustice".

She desperately hoped it was fake, but judging from the messages she found in the system, it was indeed true.

The people of Dongjing Village suffered terribly. They served the Marquis of Zhongyong so diligently, only to have their entire village slaughtered in the end. More than three hundred people—their blood flowed right from the doorstep.

Chu Liuzheng dared not look closely, fearing he would have nightmares that night.

She continued rummaging through the system.

That's over three hundred people, not over three hundred chickens. There must be a reason for such a heinous massacre.
Xiao Jingfan's face darkened upon hearing this; it was indeed the work of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery.

He looked down at the calm and composed Marquis Zhongyong, whose face showed no sign of guilt, and a chilling killing intent flashed in his eyes.