TGCFNM -Chapter 116 Where Is Heaven’s Justice?

Outside the Zeng family mansion.

A line of guards stood in front of the Zeng estate, their large swords already drawn. Anyone trying to approach would be met with immediate force—death or survival, it made no difference to them.

Wan Sanjin’s eyes were heavy as he watched, while Old Madam Zeng glared back without showing an ounce of fear.

Wang Wei tightened his grip on his sword and whispered, “Master Wan, there are people blocking us from behind as well. It will be difficult to break through.”

Han Yin’s expression darkened. “They’re trying to trap us. Those three must have run off long ago.”

“Only three small merchant families, yet they’ve raised so many guards, and they even dare to obstruct the government’s officers. They truly don’t respect the authority of the yamen at all,” Wan Sanjin said coldly, thinking about what his master would have done in this situation.

Old Madam Zeng snorted and hobbled forward with her cane, a long rectangular brocade box held prominently in her hand.

Proudly, she announced, “Inside this box is the brush given by the current emperor to my late husband years ago. The Zeng family has long enjoyed the emperor’s favor. You little yamen officers dare to make a scene in front of my door—do you intend to force me to go to the court in person to present my grievance?”

Wan Sanjin snorted. Today he had truly seen it all—people really could treat a mere feather as if it were a royal edict.

At that moment, the onlookers suddenly shouted in alarm: “The magistrate is here!”

“Master Chu is here!”

“He brought so many students…”

“Why do those students have white cloths wrapped around their heads?”

Wan Sanjin looked back and felt a sense of relief—salvation had arrived.

Chu Ling rode in on horseback, her gaze icy, looking down from above at the guards. Zhuifeng stomped its hooves impatiently, letting out a long, sharp whinny.

The guards instinctively parted, making way for Chu Ling and her students to enter.

Chu Ling dismounted, and Wan Sanjin quickly stepped forward to support her.

Leaning on her cane, Chu Ling walked step by step toward Old Madam Zeng. Her legs were injured, yet her expression in that moment made Old Madam Zeng involuntarily take several steps back.

“You must be Old Madam Zeng?” Chu Ling greeted with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It must have been hard for you to stand outside. Where is your grandson?”

Old Madam Zeng’s expression shifted slightly. Clutching the box, she stepped toward Chu Ling. “This item is a gift from the emperor himself. My Zeng family…”

“I’m asking you,” Chu Ling’s eyes went cold. “Where is Zeng Yuanpin? Did he run away?”

Old Madam Zeng’s brow furrowed in anger. “How dare you! I am—”

“Are all these guards yours, from the Zeng family?” Chu Ling interrupted, sweeping her gaze coldly across them before frowning. “What? Even a small merchant family dares to obstruct the yamen’s work?”

“Master Chu!” Old Madam Zeng shouted, her face twitching. “Stop your nonsense here! I tell you, this is an imperial gift. If you dare force your way into my home today, you’ll regret it!”

“Is that so? An imperial gift, huh?” Chu Ling lowered her gaze briefly, then suddenly smiled at Old Madam Zeng. “You just bring out a box and claim it’s an imperial gift? Who would believe that?”

Old Madam Zeng sneered and, in front of Chu Ling, opened the box. “The brush inside was a tribute presented to the emperor years ago. It even bears engraved characters. It is indeed personally granted by His Majesty. How could it be fake?”

She was brimming with pride. Just a little county magistrate, yet she dared to challenge her, not realizing her own weight.

Chu Ling’s expression hardened as she looked on coldly.

The ghostly scholar glanced at it from the side, furrowed his brows, and nodded slightly to Chu Ling. “The engraving is real. The emperor did grant it.”

The students from Yushui County who had come with her ground their teeth in rage, their eyes burning red.

“Your grandson has killed someone! He killed someone!” Finally, a student couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.

“Can someone who’s killed just roam free? Why is that?”

“Why? Why…?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” the Old Madam Zeng scolded angrily. “My obedient grandson is filial and kind, quietly studying at home, yet he’s being slandered as a murderer—and now they come here to demand him! Where is justice? Where is the law?”

“Quietly studying at home?” Chu Ling sneered. “Very well, Old Madam Zeng. If you call him out here in front of everyone, let me take a look—if he’s still in the Zeng residence and hasn’t run, I’ll reopen the investigation. How about that?”

Old Madam Zeng froze, then coldly said, “My grandson is studying and has no time to meet anyone.”

“Fine!” Chu Ling suddenly shouted, and the surroundings fell silent immediately.

Leaning on her cane, she took slow, deliberate steps toward Old Madam Zeng.

Old Madam Zeng clutched the box tightly, looking at her with disdain, considering this little county magistrate beneath notice.

Then Chu Ling gave her a strange smile. With her left hand on the cane, her right hand moved faster than thought, snatching the box straight into her grasp.

Old Madam Zeng gasped, “What are you doing? How dare you steal an imperial gift?”

“Imperial gift?” Chu Ling sneered, tossing the box aside. She picked up the brush and toyed with it, then with one firm motion, snapped it in half.

The onlookers gasped, staring in shock at the broken brush in Chu Ling’s hand.

An imperial gift… broken just like that?

“There’s no imperial gift at all. It’s just Old Madam Zeng playing tricks,” Chu Ling said, casually handing the brush to Wan Sanjin. “Old Madam Zeng deliberately disguised an ordinary brush as an imperial gift to protect her murdering grandson. This is a crime against the emperor.”

Wan Sanjin was stunned—so it could really be done this way?

Chu Ling waved her hand and calmly ordered, “Guards, seize Old Madam Zeng and take her to prison.”

Old Madam Zeng’s face turned pale with fury, barely able to stand.

Suddenly, the gates of the Zeng residence were thrown open, and a group of people rushed out, steadying the tottering Old Madam Zeng. Gritting their teeth, they pointed at Chu Ling and shouted, “How dare you! That’s an imperial gift!”

“Who says it’s an imperial gift? Do you have proof? Or…” Chu Ling leaned closer, a strange smile on her face, “Can you summon His Majesty himself to prove it?”

“You… you… you…” Old Madam Zeng trembled uncontrollably, wishing she could kill the woman in front of her.

Chu Ling tilted her chin and mocked, “If you have an imperial edict to prove it, fine. If not… it’s a crime against the emperor!”

Wan Sanjin added, “A crime against the emperor can bring execution of nine generations!”

“The Zengs dared to fake an imperial gift. Their crime is unforgivable,” Chu Ling said sternly, issuing her command: “Guards, imprison everyone in the Zeng family! Let’s see who dares help them, who dares plead for them!”

Clang!

A guard’s sword fell to the ground. He stared at Chu Ling in horror.

Chu Ling smiled at him. “Pick up your sword! Hurry and take the Zengs to prison. You can redeem yourself through service, can’t you?”

“Y-yes, yes…” the guard stammered.

Chu Ling smiled at Old Madam Zeng. “I came here to see what tricks you had up your sleeve, and yet you dared commit such audacity—fake an imperial gift?”

“You… you’re lying… you…” Old Madam Zeng’s face twisted, her strength failing.

Chu Ling’s expression hardened. “I’ve already sent people outside the city to make arrests. Soon, you’ll see for yourself—where justice lies, where the law stands!”