Chapter 42: The Plaintiff Becomes the Advocate

Jiang Luan, a slim and delicate young man, held a half-man-high boulder in his hands, striking an imposing and breathtaking posture.

Hearing Jiang Luan's words, Qi Shaolin sidestepped out of the way.

Gu Mu lay on the ground in utter astonishment and immediately cried out, "Wait, brothers, I'm done playing, I'm done playing!"

However, the boulder in Jiang Luan's hands had already been hurled forward, and Gu Mu closed his eyes in terror.

The falling rock kicked up a cloud of dust right beside his cheek, causing Gu Mu to break into a violent fit of coughing.

Leaning against Qi Shaolin's shoulder, Jiang Luan looked down at him and asked, "Marshal Gu, what on earth are you trying to do?"

Coughing, Gu Mu scrambled to his feet.

He was disheveled and unkempt to begin with, refusing to shave his beard, with his hair as messy as a bird's nest.

Having rolled around on the ground just now, he looked even more battered and covered in dust.

Yet Gu Mu didn't seem to mind in the least. After getting up, he patted the dust off his clothes and, despite having just been beaten up, grinned at the two of them like a lunatic. "Great coordination, wonderful teamwork. Interested in joining the army?"

Jiang Luan gave him a deadpan response, "Marshal Gu, have you ever heard the saying: 'Force a young man into the army, and heaven will strike you down with lightning'?"

"...How come I've never heard that old saying?" Gu Mu asked. "Who said it?"

"I did," Jiang Luan replied. "Stop joking around, Marshal Gu. Everyone is pressed for time. So, are you going to let me take a look at that bowl of egg custard or not?"

"Fine," Gu Mu agreed instantly. "But you have to let him join my army."

Gu Mu pointed at Qi Shaolin.

Qi Shaolin: "??"

So this was what Gu Mu meant by wanting Qi Shaolin.

Since he hadn't made himself clear earlier, Jiang Luan had actually thought this fellow was an old pervert.

"Brother Lin is not my property," Jiang Luan said. "It's not up to me. If you want him, ask him yourself."

Upon hearing this, Gu Mu turned to Qi Shaolin with a face full of anticipation.

Qi Shaolin crossed his arms and said firmly, "Not going!"

Looking thoroughly depressed, Gu Mu said, "Don't you want to help your wife..."

"Hey, hey, don't use my affairs as leverage," Jiang Luan interrupted. "If you won't let me see it, I won't look. It's not like I have to see it anyway."

"..." After a moment of thought, Gu Mu said sincerely to Qi Shaolin, "I'm not forcing you to enlist. It's just that I see you are blessed with extraordinary talent, and it would be an absolute waste to let it go unutilized..."

Jiang Luan interjected, "Speak the truth."

"Please, when you have the time, help me whip those arrogant little brats in my troop into shape," Gu Mu finally said through gritted teeth. "Let them learn that there are people beyond people and heavens beyond the heavens, and that they are actually nothing at all, so they can settle down and train properly!"

This reason sounded much more reasonable.

Moreover, beating people up was practically effortless for Qi Shaolin.

Qi Shaolin thought for a moment and asked Gu Mu, "If I go, will you agree to my wife's request?"

"Forget just looking at it for a moment, looking at it for a whole hour won't be a problem!" Gu Mu patted his chest and guaranteed.

Since the deal was struck and Qi Shaolin was willing to help, Gu Mu led the two of them to the magistrate's evidence room.

To prevent the evidence from spoiling, the egg custard was kept fresh in an ice cellar, and when it was brought out, it was still somewhat chilly.

As soon as Gu Mu brought it out and Jiang Luan glanced inside for a few moments, a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Alright," Jiang Luan said.

"That's it?" Gu Mu asked in astonishment. "You said you just wanted a look, but that didn't even take a quarter of an hour."

"What else did you expect?" Jiang Luan asked, equally puzzled.

***

Gu Mu asked, "Are you confident you can overturn Jiang Hao's verdict?"

"Probably not," Jiang Luan smiled. "We might not be able to catch the real culprit, but clearing his name should not be a problem."

Gu Mu was even more surprised. "Just by taking a single glance at this bowl of egg custard, you can clear Jiang Hao's name? Tell me all about it..."

As he spoke, he reached out to sling his arm around Jiang Luan's shoulder in a brotherly fashion, only to be rudely shoved away by Qi Shaolin.

Standing like a human wall between the two of them, Qi Shaolin cast his gaze far into the distance.

Gu Mu had no choice but to withdraw his outstretched arm and scratch his face. "Young Master Jiang, you truly have the heart of a Bodhisattva. Jiang Hao framed you like that, and yet you still want to help him?"

"You're mistaken, Marshal Gu. I'm not helping him," Jiang Luan said. "What I want to do is secure justice for those who died unjustly."

Hearing this, Qi Shaolin looked at Jiang Luan in deep thought.

The two of them walked out of the yamen and onto the street.

"What a pity, there is no evidence to point to the real culprit," Jiang Luan sighed.

Qi Shaolin suggested, "Wife, I heard that Big Rice has a wide network of information. How about we ask him to find out if any strange people have sneaked into the city recently?"

"Big Rice??" Jiang Luan's head was full of question marks.

"He's the beggar who crouches by our doorstep year-round," Qi Shaolin blinked. "I can go pass along the message for you. It only costs five copper coins."

However, that beggar stayed in Yunjiang City year-round; how could he possibly have tabs on Green Water Islet?

Though Jiang Luan held little hope, he still took out five copper coins and handed them to Qi Shaolin. "Alright, I'll leave it to you."

***

Two days later, the Green Water Islet County Yamen.

Word had spread that the owner of the Green Water Islet restaurant, "Green Mountain Eatery," had committed murder, and that City Lord Jiang was acting righteously to punish his own kin, attracting a huge crowd of onlookers.

Today, the yamen doors were wide open, and a swarm of commoners poured in to watch the excitement. It was so crowded that even the county magistrate had difficulty entering, shouting loudly, "Silence! Order in the court!"

Over the past few days, the news of people dying from poisoning at a certain restaurant had spread all over Green Water Islet, and the crowd was currently whispering among themselves, exchanging opinions:

"I never would have thought it. Green Mountain Eatery even opened its granaries to distribute food and relieve refugees during the famine. I used to think Young Master Jiang was an upright man, yet he would stoop to murder and framing others."

"Ah, all sins stem from the words 'jealousy' and 'resentment.' You only remember that Young Master Jiang was kind and helped refugees, but have you forgotten the orphan who lost a mother, or the old man who lost a daughter?"

"That's true as well."

At this moment, several young men blended into the noisy crowd.

Wearing a bamboo hat, Qi Baili slowly drew something out from his sleeve...

"Brother Baili, you'd better be careful," a voice suddenly sounded from behind him. "If you bring disaster upon yourself, you'll implicate the entire Qi Manor as well."

Startled, Qi Baili turned around nervously to see Jiang Luan standing behind him, watching him with a smile.

"Why are you here?" Qi Baili asked.

Jiang Luan replied, "As the plaintiff, naturally I should be here."

Qi Baili's expression immediately turned complicated. "Jiang Luan, don't kick a man when he's down!"

Jiang Luan looked perplexed. "How can accusing a villain who framed me be considered kicking a man when he's down?"

"..." Qi Baili was left speechless.

"Pardon me, please make way." Ignoring him further, Jiang Luan squeezed his way through the crowd.

Because of the incident with the restaurant, Jiang Luan was quite famous in Green Water Islet.

Seeing the young boss arrive, the villagers automatically parted ways to clear a path for him.

***

Qi Baili had originally intended to make a move, but recalling what Jiang Luan had just said to him, he hesitated once more, gazing with a solemn expression toward the main hall.

A seating area had been set up on the left side of the courtroom, reserved specifically for the City Lord.

Jiang Junyu had arrived early with his guards and sat in a chair, waiting to observe the trial of his nephew.

There were dark circles under his eyes, and his expression was grim; clearly, he hadn't slept well in three days.

Upon entering, the county magistrate first bowed to Jiang Junyu before taking his seat on the bench. Just as he was about to slam the gavel, a commotion arose at the entrance.

"His Grace, Prince Suiping, arrives!" the yamen bailiff shouted.

The commoners parted to let him pass, and Prince Suiping entered accompanied by Huachao.

Seeing the sudden arrival of Prince Suiping, both Jiang Junyu and the magistrate looked utterly bewildered.

Recovering first, the county magistrate stepped down to welcome him. "My Lord Prince, what wind blew you here?"

Prince Suiping looked baffled. "Didn't City Lord Jiang send someone to invite me to observe the proceedings?"

He had been sitting comfortably at home when a strange servant, claiming to be sent by Jiang Junyu, invited the Prince to participate in the trial of the "poisoned egg custard case" in Green Water Islet.

Though feeling a bit uneasy, Prince Suiping figured it was an invitation from the City Lord and it wouldn't do to reject it outright, so he had rushed over with Huachao.

Jiang Junyu also looked perplexed. "I never sent anyone to the Qi Manor."

The two of them exchanged a look of utter confusion.

The county magistrate smiled and said, "Since Your Grace is already here, there is no harm in observing the trial. Someone, bring a seat!"

Though harboring suspicions, Prince Suiping figured since he was already here, he might as well take his seat on the right side of the courtroom.

Huachao, standing beside him, looked quite jittery and tried to slip away several times, only to be glared back into place by Prince Suiping.

Sitting on the bench and seeing that everyone had arrived, the magistrate slammed his gavel. "Bring the plaintiff to the court!"

There were two plaintiffs—Jiang Luan and the victim, Madam Lü.

However, because Madam Lü's household consisted only of an elderly person with limited mobility and a child under six years old, they had hired a local legal advocate from Green Water Islet to plead their case on their behalf.

Jiang Luan stood calmly upon the plaintiff's stone, raising his hands in a polite bow.

Jiang Junyu nodded slightly in his direction, while Prince Suiping and Huachao couldn't help but look somewhat nervous upon seeing him.

Previously, they had assumed Jiang Hao and Jiang Luan were on good terms—after all, Jiang Hao had put on such a flawless act, offering help, hosting banquets, and leveraging his relationship with City Lord Jiang.

Prince Suiping had originally wanted to cut off Jiang Luan's support. Since he couldn't get close to Jiang Luan himself, hiding the drug pouch at Green Mountain Eatery had seemed like a viable alternative.

Little did he know that Jiang Hao was actually at odds with Jiang Luan, which instead ended up playing right into Jiang Luan's hands.

"Bring the defendant to the court," the magistrate ordered.

Jiang Hao, wearing prison garb, was brought forward.

Because of his relationship with Jiang Junyu, no one dared to mistreat him casually. Thus, after spending three days in prison, Jiang Hao had actually gained a little weight, though his hair was disheveled and his face filled with anxiety.

He froze upon seeing Jiang Luan standing on the plaintiff's stone, a complex look crossing his face, before obediently kneeling on the defendant's stone.

"First plaintiff, state your case," the magistrate commanded.

"Understood," Jiang Luan said, stepping forward. "On the twenty-fifth of April, a restaurant opened its doors. Jiang Hao falsely used my name to purchase poisonous vegetables from East Village in Lin City, and bribed Qian Er, Liu Wu, Zhao Wei, and others with the intent to frame me. The evidence is conclusive."

Although Jiang Hao had already confessed to the crimes Jiang Luan listed, the magistrate followed procedure and called, "Bring forth the plaintiff's witnesses and evidence."

Jiang Luan's witnesses included the on-duty soldiers of Green Water Islet from that night, as well as Qian Er, Liu Wu, and the others.

Among them, Qian Er and Liu Wu were villagers from East Village in Lin City. Acting as both witnesses and accomplices, they stepped forward and kowtowed in confession, "It was this Young Master Jiang who bribed us to pretend to accidentally ingest the poisonous vegetables on the day Green Mountain Eatery opened."

Zhao Wei, the young "physician" from that day, also bowed his head in confession, "I am merely a night watchman, not a physician at all. I was bribed by Jiang Hao to put on an act and falsely accuse Young Master Jiang."

The accomplices also included the men who drove the carriages, all of whom testified that Jiang Hao had hired them to purchase vegetables from East Village and deliver them into the city under Jiang Luan's name.