I want to die!

The courtroom fell silent for a moment.

"Do you have any objections?" Magistrate Zhao hesitated for a moment.

Before he could react, Zhou Xing spoke loudly:

"I do hate Zhao the Benevolent for colluding with officials, lending money and forcing debtors, seizing land, forcibly taking women into his household, and forcing innocent women into prostitution and officialdom. But..." He rattled off a string of accusations, then took a deep breath:

"But I did kill their entire family. Even if we assume there are mitigating circumstances, the law cannot forgive it!"

"To be honest, Zhao Shanren did have some extenuating circumstances...they also had their own difficulties!"

The words left everyone in and around the hall stunned.

Li Ziqing stood to the side and suddenly looked up at her father.

She thought she had misheard.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Zhao San, who had been feeling disheartened, stared at him with wide eyes, somewhat confused about what Zhou Xing had just said.

Did he mishear?

Zhou Xing was referring to the Zhao family's predicament? The Zhao family?

Zhao San himself didn't know what difficulties or extenuating circumstances he had in lending money, so why did the other party seem so confident?

Magistrate Zhao was also momentarily speechless.

Good heavens, this guy got incredibly lucky and caught the attention of the Crown Prince Regent, who intends to bail him out.

Magistrate Zhao figured that by ostensibly exiling the person, but secretly rescuing him afterward, he could ensure that the person was handed over to the Crown Prince.

But now he disagrees? Does he really think the Crown Prince's kindness is cheap and easily obtained?

His face turned cold, and he laughed in anger, looking at Zhou Xing as if he were a dead man.

He felt incredibly hurt, as if he'd been fed up with something he didn't appreciate, so he simply watched coldly as Zhou Xing continued his antics.

"Oh?"

"Then, according to you, what is the Zhao family's predicament? Tell me."

Zhou Xing then said loudly:

"The reason why Zhao Shan's family is in distress is that the world is corrupt and the law is biased. Only by getting dirty can they earn money."

So, in order to survive and make money in this corrupt world, they engaged in the unethical business of lending money to starving farmers, and then buying their land deeds and annexing their land when the farmers were desperate.

"Zhao Shanren is just a local gentry in Baxiang Town, not some great figure."

"That's just how the world is; he set an example for others, so he's not the one who's truly responsible!"

Li Ziqing's pupils contracted slightly.

She suddenly remembered someone.

Ten years ago, on that snowy night.

A fool threw himself into a pot. She squeezed into the crowd and heard her terrified second uncle say that he hadn't killed anyone, and heard the starving people tearfully recount how he had helped them.

Now, another fool is standing in the courtroom.

Li Ziqing suddenly felt like a stranger.

The Li Yingcai in her memory was the figure who ran away in the night when she was nine years old, the "father" who didn't come home for ten years, and the stranger who sent money back every month but never showed his face.

She never associated this person with "courage".

But now, standing here, in front of the county magistrate, in front of the entire assembly, and in front of the silent "imperial envoy" sitting to the side, he said:

"His Majesty has reigned for over a century, and the Crown Prince has overseen the country for sixty years. Does he know that Jiangnan is inhabited by these wolves in sheep's clothing? The law is biased and cannot control them; how can the people survive?"

"You audacious scoundrel, shut up—" Magistrate Zhao glared angrily and slammed his gavel to forcefully interrupt the speaker.

A commotion erupted in the audience. The newspaper reporter, who had been taking notes rapidly, suddenly stopped writing and looked up in astonishment at Zhou Xing, who was speaking eloquently.

They thought Zhou Xing was going to cause a big stir, but they never expected him to be planning such a huge commotion...

Whether it will actually get published in the newspaper is hard to say.

Magistrate Zhao took a deep breath; cold sweat had silently soaked his official robes.

He couldn't help but glance frantically at the crown prince sitting to his side, his heart filled with remorse:

I shouldn't have let him speak; who knew he could spout such nonsense...

You say this is just a murder case involving local gentry, but you insist on bringing up legal injustice and political decay...

What, the Zhao family wasn't the ringleader, but rather they set a bad example for others...?

According to your logic, the culprit who caused the Zhao family to rise to prominence through lending money and oppress the villagers could be the Crown Prince, who holds the reins of power over the country.

If you're going to die, don't fucking drag me into it!

As expected, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Crown Prince, who had been silent all along, and he also dropped his detached attitude and gave Zhou Xing a cold look.

"Indeed interesting," he said casually.

"Just say it straight. The Zhao family isn't the ringleader, but it's a case of 'what goes up must come down.' So who is the ringleader?"

Crown Prince Murong Ying's cold gaze swept over Zhou Chen, the hostage who was mixed in with the crowd, and finally landed on Zhou Xing below the hall.

To put it bluntly, this family annihilation case is a shocking case in Baxiang Town and Qingshui County.

But from the perspective of the Crown Prince who was in charge of the Great Mang Dynasty... it was just a local affair in a county under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Province.

It doesn't matter who is wronged and who is righteous; it doesn't matter who lives or dies.

The important question is whether Zhou Xing lives or dies, and which outcome would be more beneficial to him.

Without uttering a single word, a single glance from him can tip the scales of justice.

He intended to protect Zhou Xing, but it was merely a casual act.

First, to give the Southern Zhou prince a slight courtesy; second, to keep Li Yingcai, who was suspected of being a member of the righteous alliance, in case he was useful for catching fish later.

This doesn't mean he necessarily wants Zhou Xing to live.

Seeing the "Imperial Envoy" looking at him coldly from the side, Zhou Xing was frantically trying to suppress the corners of his mouth.

LOL, they finally took the bait.

With such a powerful figure as the Crown Prince, the regent of the Great Mang Dynasty, standing beside him, how could he possibly hold back?

Watch me do it!

Watch carefully, learn well, and be a good tool for boosting your score.

Zhou Xing declared loudly, "It's not the Zhao family that's harming people, it's not me who's harming the Zhao family, it's this chaotic world that's harming people!"

"Ten years ago, I sold my land and became an official in the palace because I owed the Zhao family a debt."

"After being away from home for only a year, my son Li Xuanqing became a beggar on the streets to pay off his debts. Later, seeing that there were starving people everywhere, he became a grain robber and distributed the grain from the government granary to hundreds of starving people."

"Now ten years have passed, and when I returned home, I found that my younger brother Li Yingjie had also gone into debt and was about to sell his only son to become an official in the palace, repeating my mistakes."

Do you know what "repeating the same mistakes" means? It means watching yourself walk the same path again. It means knowingly jumping into a pit of fire with a smile.

"Ten years have passed, and the famine in this world shows no signs of abating. I wonder how many of the hundred starving people from back then will survive these ten years..."

"Over the past ten years, how many people, not just my Li brothers, have owed this philanthropist Zhao a debt, even selling their children?"

"In the past ten years, how many more Li Yingcais and Li Yingjies have there been, and how many starving people have died on the streets?"

The words landed.

The room was completely silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the middle-aged eunuch in the hall of the yamen, unsure how to react.

The smiles on the faces of the ordinary people who had initially come just to watch the spectacle had vanished. Some lowered their heads, some clenched their fists, and some stared blankly into space, as if they were remembering something they didn't want to recall.

Even Zhao Weiming, the third son of the Zhao family who was determined to kill Zhou Xing, couldn't help but feel apprehensive at this moment.

Even if he stood on the opposite side of Zhou Xing, even if they stood together in the hall, he was still afraid of being splattered with blood.

At that moment, a sound came from the hall.

It was that "Imperial Envoy" who stood up at this moment.

Magistrate Zhao trembled, his lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

But Murong Ying didn't walk towards him.

But we've come a long way step by step.

Everyone's gaze followed the imperial envoy's position until he stopped in front of Zhou Xing, looking down at him:

"Li Yingcai, who is using you to sow discord between me and the Emperor? Is it the Righteous Alliance?" He stared intently at Zhou Xing's face, trying to catch any subtle changes in his expression.

"I do not believe that such words could be uttered by a middle-aged eunuch."

You've finally stopped pretending, haven't you, by using "I, the Empress" now?

But this young master is indeed quite astute.

Because the one speaking was not the original Li Yingcai, but a living corpse in a coffin deep in the earth.

Zhou Xing's smile was harder to suppress than an AK, yet he still responded calmly at this moment:

"Your Excellency, please do not worry."

"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen."

"I am but a commoner, Li Yingcai, with no one to back me up. If you kill me, the consequence will be that you kill me too."

He paused, then smiled faintly:

"If you're asking who's speaking on my behalf..."

"I suppose it is my son Li Xuanqing, the starving people of the past ten years, and all living beings in this world speaking through my voice."

Li Ziqing was shocked.

She looked at Zhou Xing, at his unfamiliar face and that familiar smile.

It's been ten years.

She thought that the fool who cooked her in the iron pot, that smile, was long gone.

It wasn't there originally.

I didn't know there were people who could laugh like that.

At this moment, she suddenly realized that her biological father did indeed resemble her older brother from back then.

The idea that a father is like his son might sound absurd.

But in Li Ziqing's mind, the impression of this biological father was naturally not as deep as that of her elder brother, who was both a brother and a father to her.

The crown prince's eyes twitched. Even someone as composed as him, who had been openly criticized for so long, finally lost his temper.

"You lowly eunuch, you're not even worthy of being called a commoner!"

"To be honest, if there's a second son, then there's a second son. I truly don't have a second son; I'm a rootless person," Zhou Xing said casually with a faint smile.

"But does Your Excellency know what the roots of the Great Mang Dynasty are?"

Murong Ying no longer wanted to talk to him. He turned around expressionlessly and walked back, raising his eyes to signal to Magistrate Zhao, who dared not speak.

Magistrate Zhao was startled and immediately ordered those around him:

"Seize this treacherous villain who spreads heresy, slanders the government, and commits heinous crimes!"

The bailiffs on either side immediately rushed forward to seize Zhou Xing.

Zhou Xing, still smiling, shouted loudly as he was being held down by the constables:

"The foundation of the Great Mang Dynasty lies in its people; the lifeblood of the people is the land."

"Throughout history, the rise and fall of dynasties have always depended on whether farmers owned their land. Today, the landholdings of gentry and wealthy families are expanding daily, while the poor and ordinary households are being increasingly exploited, leaving them with no means of livelihood!"

The common people are starving and desperate, and even people like us are selling our wives and children. Boys are either castrated to serve in the imperial court, or girls are forced into prostitution to survive their remaining years.

He was dragged out by the bailiffs, and he shouted his last words:

"The world shouldn't be like this!"

The sound was carried away and finally disappeared into the afternoon sunlight outside the yamen.

The courtroom was deathly silent.

The crowd of onlookers crowded at the entrance, craning their necks to look in that direction, and for a moment no one spoke. The sunlight shone on their faces, illuminating their complex expressions clearly.

Someone opened their mouth, then closed it again.

Someone lowered their head and stared at the tips of their shoes.

An old woman secretly wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve, the movement very light, as if she didn't want anyone to see.

The newspaper reporters held their pens, the ink on the paper already dry. They glanced at each other, but no one moved. A young man tried to write something, but an older man next to him pressed his wrist down and shook his head.

This manuscript can't be published.

Zhao Weiming stood below the hall, as still as a statue. The afternoon sun slanted in from the doorway, illuminating his pale face. His expression was strange.

It wasn't the exhilaration of revenge, nor the fear of being exposed, but rather an inexplicable sense of bewilderment.

Did he win?

It seems so, but it seems that Li Yingcai actually won.

As Magistrate Zhao sat in the hall, he felt the sweat on his back soaking through several layers of his official robe.

He glanced furtively at the Crown Prince beside him, and seeing the man's expressionless face, his heart pounded with anxiety. Sunlight shone on the "imperial envoy's" profile, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Advance, adjourn the court..." Magistrate Zhao waved his hand, his voice slightly unsteady.

The constables began to disperse the crowd.

The crowd slowly dispersed, disappearing into the street in all directions. No one talked, no one chatted; the whole street was as quiet as if something had happened. Only the afternoon sun continued to fall, casting long shadows on everyone.

Li Ziqing stood there without moving.

Zhang tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Let's go."

Li Ziqing did not respond.

She gazed at the empty street outside the yamen, in the direction where Zhou Xing had been dragged away. The sunlight was blinding, making her squint.

She remembered his last words.

"The world shouldn't be like this."

looks like?

Like.

That laugh, that posture, that stubborn way of speaking even when being held down...

The same.

For a moment, she even felt disoriented, thinking that the person standing there wasn't Li Yingcai, but the fool who had thrown her into the pot ten years ago.

But that fool died.

He's been dead for ten years.

Li Ziqing clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh.

Zhang, standing beside her, tugged at her again: "Qing'er..."

Li Ziqing took a deep breath, turned around, and followed her mother outside.

She paused suddenly as she reached the door.

Look back.

The "imperial envoy" in the hall had not yet left.

He sat there, his gaze fixed on some empty space, as if deep in thought. The afternoon light streamed in from the doorway, casting a bright white glow upon him.

He glanced sideways at the trembling county magistrate beside him and spoke:

"This man is utterly rebellious and must be a traitor within the Righteous Alliance. He should be executed in the street tomorrow." He paused, then added expressionlessly:

"Before execution, he was to be paraded naked through the streets as punishment."

Naked punishment... Magistrate Zhao remained silent for a while, but dared not say more or offer any advice.

Killing someone is nothing more than a beheading.

However, for certain heinous criminals, the laws of the Great Mang actually included some punishments that were, in some ways, even worse than beheading.

Not only beheading, but also extreme humiliation.

It's like a woman riding a wooden horse naked in the street... a wooden horse with horns or even thorns.

And this criminal who murdered his entire family... he was a eunuch without any genitals!

The streets will probably be quite lively tomorrow...