Alas!
He Qia sighed long and deeply.
He wanted to fight in Xinzhou, not ascend to court in Andu.
"Summon forth, bring the Zhang brothers to the hall,"
He Qia had no yan runners under him, only soldiers ard to the teeth, looking quite fierce. However, when the Zhang brothers were brought forward, not a trace of fear could be seen on their faces.
"Feng Shi’er Niang is framing us!"
"Lord He, we haven’t killed anyone, we are wronged,"
A crowd of onlookers surged outside the hall.
People craned their necks to get a look inside, many of whom were villagers from Huaxi Village.
Before He Qia could speak, an uproar started from outside.
"I testify, the Zhang brothers killed a man!"
He Qia, "Quiet! Quiet."
The crowd fell silent.
He Qia glanced at Feng Yun standing beside the hall, and the witnesses present at the ti, Jin Ge and Kong Yun’e, as well as several villagers from Huaxi Village, and asked coldly:
"Did you personally see Zhang Erbing murder Tie Ma?"
Feng Yun said, "It wasn’t Zhang Erbing who killed him..."
Before she could finish speaking, she pointed at Zhang Sande, "It was his brother."
Zhang Sande, not as quick-witted as Zhang Erbing, felt dizzy from this bolt from the blue, quivering with anger.
"Nonsense, all nonsense! We have no enmity with Tie Ma, why would I kill him?"
Feng Yun responded, "So without enmity, you wouldn’t kill? Huaxi Village bears you no ill will either, so why did you steal grain and bla it on ?"
The Zhang brothers narrowed their eyes, looking fiercely at Feng Yun.
"Village Chief’s Lady, having a mouth isn’t for spreading chaos with your words."
"Right! We didn’t kill him. When I arrived, he was already dead."
Feng Yun’s expression darkened slightly, "Jin Ge and Tie Ma are brothers by blood. If you didn’t kill him, could it have been Jin Ge? Would I fra you? And could it be that Jin Ge and Yun’e would fra you as well?"
The Zhang brothers’ faces turned nacing as they turned to look at Jin Ge.
"Feng Family, who knows if he isn’t your lover, speaking for you..."
Here it was again. Must they insinuate she had a lover?
Feng Yun glanced at He Qia, then turned to address the people outside the hall, "Everyone, listen! I spurn the Great General, a man of such valor, to pick up any lover from the streets. Am I, Feng Shi’er Niang, a fool or mad?"
Laughter imdiately filled the hall.
Feng Yun saw the Zhang brothers furious and seething, and she smiled again.
"Don’t think that your dirty deeds are unknown to anyone."
Having said that, she walked to the center of the hall and bowed to He Qia.
"Sir He, this morning, subrged grain was discovered in the waterways of Huaxi Village, the work of the Zhang brothers..."
Then she glared at the Zhang brothers, "At this mont, so many people can’t fill their stomachs, gnawing on tree bark, digging up wild vegetables, yet you, to fra , actually sank the stolen grain to the bottom of the water..."
An uproar rose among the crowd.
Grain was as precious as gold in these tis.
Yet the Zhang Family, after stealing grain, had sunk it in water to destroy it?
Such a heinous cri.
Zhang Erbing snorted coldly, "Feng Family, I toil to steal grain, only to sink it in the river? Would you say I am the fool, or mad?"
Feng Yun retorted, "You’re neither mad nor a fool. Quite the opposite, you’re quite clever. As everyone knows, the Zhang Family is the poorest in the village, constantly complaining about your plight, accusing , the Village Chief, of being unfair to you, of not allocating good land, leaving you hungry. But look at the Zhang Family, isn’t every one of you full and rotund..."
She paused, then snorted heavily.
"Furthermore, that day in front of the Great General and all the villagers, I boasted that I would solve the grain theft within ten days. If you were to keep the stolen grain at ho, it would be too easy to give yourselves away, leaving you no choice but to sink it in the river."
Zhang Erbing was so angry he almost ground his teeth to dust.
"What evidence do you have that we stole it? And how can you prove that the grain underwater was our doing? I could say it was you. Don’t wrong a good person without proof."
Feng Yun declared, "Of course, I have evidence."
Imdiately, from the crowd at the door, soone called out loudly.
"Sir He, we saw it with our own eyes."
"Sir He, we have the evidence."
The crowd turned to look.
It was Sun Tieniu and Zhao Heidan from Huaxi Village, who had cozied up to the Zhang brothers since they arrived in the village and openly slandered Feng Yun at Changn Village. They had beco the Zhang brothers’ "own people."
And now they had co forward to testify?
Zhang Erbing stared at them in disbelief.
He had once suspected these two curs of cosying up and ingratiating themselves as part of Feng Yun’s scheming. During that night in Changn Village, their staunch support had earned his trust...
But it turned out they really were Feng Yun’s people after all.
User Comments
0 comments from readers