TGCFNM -Chapter 156 I Insist on Trying the Case

Qingyu Bookshop.

Fu Qingyu sat upright, his complexion somewhat pale. Chu Ling took out the newly acquired golden needles and began administering acupuncture to him.

Bai Su held her hand and carefully explained step by step, “You can use this opportunity to learn the acupoints. At the same time, once the golden needle enters the point, you must remember how deep it goes.”

Chu Ling gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Since you’ll be giving him acupuncture for half a month anyway, practice makes perfect. Once this course of treatment is over, you won’t need me to hold your hand while you insert the needles,” Bai Su said with a smile.

Chu Ling pressed her lips together and glanced at Bai Su: You’re telling me to treat him like a slab of pork?

Bai Su lightly patted her shoulder. “He has practiced martial arts since childhood—his constitution is stronger than most. And with his cold syndrome, he’s the ideal person to practice on.”

Chu Ling raised her brows smugly. “Looks like I’m the more important one after all.”

Fu Qingyu turned his head in confusion. “What did you say, Your Excellency?”

“Nothing.” Chu Ling continued the acupuncture. As Bai Su had said, her movements gradually became much more fluid.

After finishing the session, Chu Ling cleaned the golden needles and prepared to leave.

Fu Qingyu, draped in an outer robe, looked at her and asked, “Your Excellency, will this case be easy to judge?”

Chu Ling rolled up the needles and replied matter-of-factly, “Of course it will. We have both witnesses and material evidence. Do the Gao family think they can still deny it?”

“Your Excellency, what I meant was, you…” Fu Qingyu’s worried expression softened when he saw her face, and he suddenly smiled. “Your Excellency, you are a very strong person.”

Chu Ling smiled. “Thank you for the compliment.”

“If there is anything you need help with, I will certainly do my utmost,” Fu Qingyu said earnestly.

“Alright, I’ll remember that.” With that, Chu Ling waved goodbye and left.

When she returned to the yamen, Su He’s autopsy reports were already finished—eight volumes in total.

Wan Sanjin flipped through them one by one, his expression growing darker and darker.

Su He had already cleaned himself up and was sitting silently at the table, staring at the steam rising from the teacup before him. Only when Chu Ling returned did he stir slightly and look at her.

Chu Ling walked over and said to Wan Sanjin, “Today’s acupuncture session is done. Fu Qingyu’s complexion looks a bit better.”

Wan Sanjin gave a faint grunt, his face ashen as he handed over the autopsy reports.

Su He looked at Chu Ling and said, “I’ve been a coroner for many years. I’ve seen countless bodies. But never like today—my hands were shaking, and yet I could do nothing. Aside from He Shi, who was beaten to death, the others all suffered gastric rupture, chest congestion—they were literally stuffed to death.”

Chu Ling flipped through the reports. Each word felt like a blade carving into her heart. “Food that was meant to save their lives became the weapon that took them.”

Su He gripped the rim of his teacup and said in a low voice, “I’ve been waiting for you to come back because I have a question.”

Chu Ling looked at him.

“Can I poison them to death?” Su He asked.

Chu Ling shook her head. “No. To be honest, I’ve struggled with this too. I’ve thought countless times that such vicious beasts deserve to be poisoned on the spot. But after thinking it through, I realized we can’t. It’s not because I insist on holding court, presenting facts and evidence, and sentencing them according to the law. It’s because I want the common people to see that no matter how powerful or privileged someone is, once they break the law, they must be punished by it.”

Wan Sanjin said coldly, “They don’t deserve an easy death. They should lose all reputation and die worthless, despised by all.”

Chu Ling carefully put away the autopsy report, then stood up and looked at Su He. “If that Noble Consort Gao in the capital truly covers the sky with one hand and manages to protect the Gao family, then I’ll go with you to poison them.”

Wan Sanjin raised his hand. “Count me in.”

—

As if Chu Ling’s words had turned prophetic, that very evening someone arrived from the capital, specifically asking to see her at the prefectural office.

Chen Shi couldn’t determine the person’s identity, but seeing their extraordinary bearing, he asked Chu Ling first before inviting them inside.

The moment the visitor saw Chu Ling, she cupped her hands in greeting. “Lord Chu, I am the personal guard of the Heir Apparent Xiao—Zhuque.”

Chu Ling looked at the woman before her—cool-faced, with a mole on her forehead. A name rolled silently across her tongue: Hongyuan.

So Hongyuan was Zhuque!

Hongyuan had always stayed by Xiao Lengjue’s side. She was likely the strongest fighter among his attendants. Later, after Xiao Lengjue met the female lead Chu Yue, Hongyuan continued to obey the commands of the two of them, a loyal and dutiful subordinate.

Chu Rou had once worried about Hongyuan and even mentioned it in front of Chu Yue.

But Hongyuan had never shown any personal feelings. In the book, her appearances were almost entirely for carrying out orders—nothing more.

Looking at her, Chu Ling asked, “Miss Zhuque, did the Heir Apparent Xiao send you here on some matter?”

Zhuque nodded. “Lord Chu, just call me Zhuque. This time, the Heir Apparent instructed me to come after purchasing your information through Jianghu’s Bai Xiaosheng. After making some deductions, he sent me here.”

Chu Ling: “……” She suddenly remembered—her information had been bought for twenty taels.

“Lord Chu, there has been a change regarding the Gao family in the capital,” Zhuque said. “Noble Consort Gao carried the imperial prince and knelt outside the hall, weeping and pleading, until she fainted. His Majesty was moved with pity and reduced the matter to a minor issue. The three young masters of the Gao family were merely punished with a round of whipping, and that was the end of it.”

For a moment, Chu Ling didn’t react. It wasn’t until she met Zhuque’s eyes that she asked faintly, “A round of whipping?”

“Yes.”

Chu Ling spread her arms, feeling the absurdity of it all. “Those three men buried an entire family alive simply because their teacher refused to follow them to the capital. And in the end, a single whipping—just like that, it’s over?”

Zhuque didn’t know what to say. She could only look at Chu Ling and explain, “I had originally intended to go to Changzhou to inform you, but I didn’t expect you to come to Linzhou instead. And when I arrived, I heard that you intended to try the Gao family case…”

“So what? You want me not to try it?” Chu Ling demanded.

Zhuque replied, “Lord Chu, Noble Consort Gao is currently highly favored. Even the Heir Apparent has no way to intervene. If you persist, she may file a complaint against you. When that time comes…”

With a wave of her hand, Chu Ling cut her off. “I know the Heir Apparent is worried, which is why he specially sent Miss Zhuque to notify me.”

Zhuque clasped her fists earnestly. “I know you are a good person, Lord Chu. But good people must stay alive to save more people, mustn’t they?”

“No.” Chu Ling looked at her, speaking each word clearly. “This Gao family—I will try them!”

“Lord Chu!” Remembering her orders, Zhuque could only try once more to persuade her. “The Heir Apparent said there will always be another opportunity.”

Chu Ling pressed her lips tightly together. Indeed, there would be another opportunity—but if the Gao family were let off this time, they would only grow even more unscrupulous.

“Miss Zhuque, I’m afraid of death. I cherish my life. I also worry about implicating the Heir Apparent. So I’ve thought of a way,” Chu Ling said.

Zhuque’s expression improved slightly. “What does Lord Chu intend to do? His Majesty has even issued an imperial edict and bestowed rewards upon the Gao family.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help sighing inwardly—what perfect timing. Just when she needed a pillow, one was delivered. She truly was fortunate.

“When will the eunuch delivering the imperial edict arrive?” she asked.

“Riding at full speed, he should arrive around nightfall tomorrow,” Zhuque replied.