Chapter 90 - 2#
World 4: You Are the Snow on the Branch#
The nursery rhyme turned into loud wailing. Several children staggered to their feet, crying out for their parents.
Qin Qing slowly sat back down. Ye Li walked around the vicinity and discovered that the group of little beggars would throw stones at any children they saw gathered together, then rob them before scattering and fleeing.
Ye Li stood at the street corner, frowning in deep thought. He felt that this group of little beggars had appeared too coincidentally.
But the porridge distribution had already begun, allowing him no time to investigate, so he had to return to continue guarding Qin Qing.
What he didn’t know was that little beggars were wandering not only at this street corner but also in other streets. Whenever groups of children clapped their hands and started singing the nursery rhyme, they would be attacked by small stones.
“Sister Hong, we’ve searched everywhere. No other child in Jiangbei City dares to sing that nursery rhyme anymore.” A man dressed as a beggar knocked on the door of a house, extending his hand as if begging, but actually reporting in a low voice.
The young woman in red nodded and threw a copper coin to the beggar with a look of disgust.
The copper coin rolled across the street and lay on the ground. The beggar picked up the copper coin, wiped it with his clothes, and revealed a smile. He looked up at the exquisite courtyard opposite Sister Hong’s house. Above the main gate of the courtyard hung a plaque with three large characters: “Ci Ji Tang” (Benevolent Relief Hall).
Although Qin Qing used rice mixed with stones to make porridge, the stream of people coming to drink porridge was still endless.
However, a few quarters of an hour later, a group of bailiffs pushed through the crowd, walking fiercely. They locked the servants of the Tai’an Marquis’s residence with iron chains and dragged them towards the government office, saying gruffly, “Someone drank your porridge and has unbearable stomach pain, saying their stomach was cut by stones. You come with us to the government office!”
Qin Qing and Ye Li stepped forward to stop them but were also taken back together.
In the court hall, Qi Sifeng sat upright with great official authority, holding a gavel in his hand. Two rows of bailiffs beat the ground with their staves, making a loud rumbling sound.
A ragged, skeletal refugee lay on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain, looking like he was dying.
“I beg the official to seek justice for this commoner. This commoner drank the porridge from the Tai’an Marquis’s residence and cut his stomach! The porridge was mixed with stones!” He struggled to get up and kowtowed.
Qin Qing was brought to the hall, while Ye Li, Ah Niu, and the others were actually released and were now standing outside the hall watching. Many common people heard the news and squeezed into the government office to watch the excitement.
996 climbed onto Ye Li’s shoulder and looked inside anxiously. Ye Li didn’t chase it away and even gently supported its chubby butt.
“Qin Qing, how to solve this? Do you have a way?” 996 shouted anxiously.
Qin Qing looked back, waved his hand, and made a gesture not to worry.
Qi Sifeng put down the gavel and said slowly, “Little Marquis, this person accuses you—”
“Whether he has drunk my family’s porridge is yet to be known. Is there a doctor in the audience? Please prepare a dose of emetic medicine; I want to verify it.” Qin Qing said unhurriedly.
If you die, I’ll cut open your stomach. If you don’t die, I’ll make you vomit it out.
Qi Sifeng didn’t hesitate and immediately ordered, “Someone, find a doctor to prepare medicine!”
“No need to look far. This commoner is a doctor and happens to have emetic medicine on him.” A man, upright as a pine and bamboo, elegant and handsome, walked out of the crowd.
Qin Qing looked back and couldn’t help but smile.
It was Jiang Feishi.
Ye Li watched helplessly as Jiang Feishi walked past him and stood with Qin Qing. The two smiled at each other, a natural tacit understanding between them.
“Damn it!”
996 heard Ye Li curse in a low voice.
“Who are you cursing? Don’t you want Jiang Feishi to save Qin Qing? Do you still want to harm Qin Qing? I’ll smack you to death!” 996 raised its fat paw and patted Ye Li’s face indiscriminately.
Ah Niu: “Master, this cat is too naughty. I’ll chase it away.”
Ye Li grabbed 996 into his arms and held it down: “No need. If it gets lost, Qin Qing will be sad.”
While they were talking, Jiang Feishi had already fed the medicinal powder into the refugee’s mouth and found a large tray to catch the filth. The common people standing outside all stood on tiptoe to look inside, all expecting the final result.
“The porridge from the Tai’an Marquis’s residence really has stones mixed in! I saw it with my own eyes; they definitely weren’t wrongly accused!”
“Yes, yes, what’s there to verify? Just throw this Little Marquis into the big prison!”
“Beheading after autumn, the time is just right!”
Surrounded by such voices, Ye Li felt extremely uncomfortable. He took out a token from his waist and held it tightly in his hand.
A “wah” sound came from the hall, followed by a crashing sound.
Jiang Feishi pulled Qin Qing back a few steps and naturally covered Qin Qing’s eyes with his palm.
“Don’t look, it’s too dirty.”
However, he himself stared straight at it, his face cold.
Ye Li: “Damn pretty boy!”
996: “You’re cursing Jiang Feishi! Are you jealous? Hahaha…”
The refugee vomited a large puddle of bloody porridge water, mixed with many tiny stones. The stones had sharp edges and corners. Eating them into the stomach would be like swallowing steel nails; it must be extremely painful.
The coroner picked out the stones, washed them clean with water, put them in a porcelain white bowl, showed them to Qi Sifeng, and then walked around outside to let everyone see.
The people outside the hall voiced their condemnation of the Tai’an Marquis’s residence.
Qi Sifeng slammed the gavel hard and asked sternly, “Little Marquis, what else do you have to say?”
Qin Qing cupped his hands unhurriedly: “Just now I asked the bailiffs to bring my family’s porridge bucket as well. Lord Qi might as well examine my family’s porridge water.”
Qi Sifeng didn’t speak but waved his hand, telling the coroner to scoop the porridge.
The coroner scooped out a bowl of porridge with a ladle but made a sound of “Yi”.
Qi Sifeng asked, “What is it?”
The coroner shook his head, scooped another bowl, then a second, a third…
Seeing him busy non-stop, Qi Sifeng asked impatiently, “What are you doing?”
Qin Qing said, “There are no stones in the porridge he scooped out, of course he’s anxious. Don’t rush, scoop from the very bottom. Stones are heavy and settle at the bottom.”
The coroner hurriedly scooped from the very bottom and finally scooped out a few stones. He washed them clean with clear water, placed them in a porcelain white bowl as well, and then made another surprised “Yi” sound.
Qi Sifeng knew the Fourth Prince was watching outside the hall and felt anxious, so he asked urgently, “What now?”
“What now?” Jiang Feishi walked forward slowly, picked up the two bowls, and smiled. “Because the coroner discovered that the stones in these two bowls are different. The stones vomited from that refugee’s mouth are sharp and tiny, while the stones found in the big pot of the Tai’an Marquis’s residence are as big as a thumb, heavy and round.”
Jiang Feishi walked outside and showed the stones in both bowls to everyone.
“To be honest, these stones were dug from the dry riverbed by villagers from nearby villages at the Little Marquis’s request. He then led a group of women to pick out stones of the same size and boiled them many times in boiling water before mixing them into the rice. These stones are as big as broad beans and sink directly to the bottom of the porridge water. How could they be scooped into a bowl? Even if accidentally scooped in, such a big stone would be discovered immediately upon putting it in the mouth. Who would swallow it?”
Jiang Feishi turned back to look at Qi Sifeng and said, “If Lord Qi doesn’t believe it, you can open the remaining rice bags and see if the stones mixed inside all look the same.”
Qi Sifeng immediately ordered people to open the remaining rice bags to check, and the stones picked out were indeed all of the exact same size.
“Are you trying to extort money from my Tai’an Marquis’s residence?” Qin Qing looked at the refugee lying on the ground.
After vomiting the crushed stones, the refugee was much better. He hurriedly got up and cried injustice, claiming repeatedly that he only ended up like this after drinking the Marquis’s residence’s porridge, begging Lord Qi to give him justice.
Although the people outside the hall couldn’t figure out whether the refugee had drunk the Marquis’s residence’s porridge or not, they understood one thing.
“The Tai’an Marquis’s residence has bad intentions! The rice used for porridge distribution is all mixed with stones!”
“Yes, they admitted it themselves just now!”
“Truly wicked and immoral!”
“So the Tai’an Marquis’s residence is a major scourge of our Jiangbei City! It must be eliminated!”
“Lord Qi, sentence heavily! Beat with boards and behead!” Someone shouted indignantly, causing public outrage.
Qi Sifeng suppressed the corners of his lips that were turning up. He knew the Fourth Prince was bent on raiding the Marquis’s residence and taking back the minting rights, which was why he allowed the Marquis’s residence to mix stones into the rice. And the public anger at this moment was exactly what he needed most.
This Little Marquis of the Tai’an Marquis’s residence is really stupid! Having done such a wicked thing, he didn’t even try to hide it. Giving birth to such a stupid son, Qin Dehuai is really unlucky!
Thinking this way, Qi Sifeng’s gaze towards Qin Qing involuntarily carried a bit of pity.
Ye Li looked around at the indignantly shouting people, then at Qi Sifeng sitting in the hall with mocking eyes, and finally at Qin Qing. Qin Qing hid behind Jiang Feishi, his small hand quietly tugging at Jiang Feishi’s sleeve.
He seemed very afraid, but his face was indifferent. Because he knew what kind of foolish people he was facing, who couldn’t distinguish good from bad or right from wrong. Treating fools with contempt was enough.
This reminded Ye Li of the scene when he first arrived at the Marquis’s residence and made trouble for Qin Qing at the gate. At that time, in Qin Qing’s eyes, was he also just as foolish?
Memories cut like knives, making Ye Li, standing outside the hall, feel painful and embarrassed.
Inside the hall, Qi Sifeng pulled out a red-headed stick and said in a deep voice, “Little Marquis, haven’t you understood yet? Your family’s rice is mixed with stones; this is undeniable! Even if no one died from eating it, you have harmed the common people of Jiangbei City. This official sentences you—”
The red-headed stick meant beating to death or disability without consequence. Ye Li was very clear about these tricks.
Still holding a fat cat in his arms, he strode out and said loudly, “Lord Qi, let me judge this case.”
“Who are you?” Qi Sifeng asked knowingly.
“I am the Fourth Prince Li Suye, and also the Imperial Envoy sent by the Emperor.”
Ye Li revealed the token in his hand. Immediately, a group of hidden guards in tight suits holding broadswords pushed through the crowd, entered the hall, and scanned everyone around with hostility.
An air of slaughter filled the venue.
Inside and outside the hall, there was first a sound of shock, then it became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. No one expected this case could summon such a big shot.
Qin Qing, standing aside, turned to look at Ye Li, opened his mouth, his eyes darkened, and then lowered his head. Jiang Feishi blocked Qin Qing behind him.
Everyone knelt down, including Qi Sifeng who was sitting in the hall with great official authority just now.
Qin Qing pulled Jiang Feishi’s sleeve and also knelt down silently.
Ye Li looked back and suddenly felt a dull pain in his heart. This was absolutely not what he wanted.
He had imagined many scenarios of revealing his identity, but never thought of making Qin Qing kneel. His knee still bore Qin Qing’s small footprint; this person should be fluttering above, aloof and proud…
“Rise.” Ye Li withdrew his gaze, his hoarse voice carrying a trace of wretchedness that no one noticed.
“Lord Qi, and everyone present, follow this Prince. Today, this Prince will properly judge this case of stones mixed in the rice of the Tai’an Marquis’s residence.” He strode out of the government office.
Everyone hurriedly got up and followed out in a mighty contingent, looking at each other, all with baffled expressions.
Why not judge the case in the government office? What are we doing on the street?
“Lord Qi, your sister is also distributing porridge in the city today, right?” Ye Li asked in a deep voice.
Qi Sifeng was delighted in his heart and quickly said, “Yes, just outside the Furong Garden in the south of the city.”
“Then let’s go to Furong Garden.” Ye Li stepped forward.
The fat cat twisted its body, jumped down from his arms, and ran towards Qin Qing behind.
Ye Li looked back to check, only to see Qin Qing pick up the fat cat and stroke it lovingly, his head always lowered, never looking at him once.
In such a situation, Ye Li wanted Qin Qing to curse him a few times, punch him a few times, ask him for a reasonable explanation, but even that became a luxury.
The distance between them was instantly pulled into a chasm.