TGCFNM -Chapter 180 This Official Will Help You Remember

It was just past noon.

The main gate of the government office was wide open. The constables stood in formation on both sides, each holding a vermilion wooden baton, ready and alert.

Master Feng, who should have been seated at the case desk, was instead tied up in a side room. Taking his place was a young master dressed in extravagant finery, yet not a single person present objected.

Beside the young master, Wan Sanjin, stood a round-faced little girl with twin buns in her hair. She was utterly adorable, but she held a fire poker in her hands, tapping it intermittently, her eyes flashing threats toward the constables.

The ten constables in total were sweating nervously at her gaze. They straightened their spines and even tried to quiet their breathing.

Inside the side room, Chu Ling adjusted her official hat, clasped her hands behind her back, and asked Zhang Dong, “Has everyone been confirmed?”

“Don’t worry, my lord. All confirmed,” Zhang Dong replied.

Chu Ling gave a nod, turned, and strode toward the main hall. She walked beneath the prominent official plaque and stared at the desk piled with evidence of countless crimes. She struck the judgment gavel with authority.

“Bang!”

“Bring forward the accused: Sun Yuanze!”

With that, Chu Ling took her seat behind the desk. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her presence fierce, her sharpness already beginning to show.

Master Ghost Scholar looked on with satisfaction, then slowly lifted his gaze toward the outside of the government office.

He seemed to be transported back to the first time Chu Ling presided over a case. Outside, there had been just as many curious citizens, all eyes tense and attentive, watching the person behind the desk to see how she would pass judgment.

Smiling faintly, the Ghost Scholar whispered, “She will absolutely not disappoint you.”

The two Shangguan brothers stood outside the office, followed by several disciples of the Danbo Academy. They peered inside through the brothers’ shoulders, whispering to one another.

“That’s the new magistrate? She looks so young.”

“Indeed, barely even an adult, and already a magistrate.”

“Can she handle a case? Surely she’s just for show.”

“Who knows? Let’s just watch.”

Shangguan Cheng turned his head and warned in a low voice, “He’s not to be trifled with. Vengeful to the extreme. You wouldn’t know unless careful, yet here you are talking nonsense! Keep your distance from me, don’t drag me into this!”

After speaking, he tugged at Shangguan Shi. “Little brother, you should say something too.” If these people really angered him, he might just destroy Danbo Academy.

Shangguan Shi smiled lightly, “Don’t trust hearsay. See with your own eyes.”

Shangguan Cheng fell silent.

Soon, Sun Yuanze was brought forward. Still confused about the situation, he was forced down onto his knees by the wooden bat, his legs pressed painfully against the ground.

“My lord, my lord, why are you arresting me? Did I disturb you last time? I apologize, I apologize sincerely,” Sun Yuanze said, trying to rise, only to be pressed back down to kneel.

He gritted his teeth, but when he lifted his head, he forced a wry smile. “My lord, under the laws of the Great Zhou, a student need not kneel before a magistrate.”

Chu Ling sat quietly, watching him, until she saw him begin to shiver from fear, then slowly spoke: “The person kneeling in the hall… is that Sun Yuanze?”

“Yes, Your Excellency… we’ve even met before…”

“Sun Yuanze, do you know Yu Luo?”

“I don’t know her!” Sun Yuanze answered instantly.

Chu Ling curled her lips in a cold snort. “Oh? You don’t know her?”

Cold sweat appeared on Sun Yuanze’s brow. “Your Excellency, I don’t understand who you mean. I don’t know her.”

“Very well, then this official will help you remember. Who exactly is this Yu Luo?” Chu Ling said, standing up and glancing at Yu Luo standing beside Cui Xi.

“Yu Luo is the top courtesan of Shu Hua Tower in Anzhou. Her song is worth a fortune, her dance worth a million coins. She is known by all in Anzhou as an unparalleled beauty.” Chu Ling walked toward Sun Yuanze, lowering her eyes and asking, “Remember now?”

“M-My lord, I’m just a student… I only study. I could never go to such a place of pleasure… I truly, truly don’t know her.” Sun Yuanze said this, then looked up to wipe the sweat forming on his forehead.

Chu Ling let out a meaningful “oh,” then asked again: “You really don’t know her?”

“I really don’t know her!” Sun Yuanze immediately replied.

Chu Ling stared at him coldly. “Truly stubborn until death.”

Sun Yuanze hung his head guiltily, not even knowing where to place his hands.

Chu Ling walked to the desk, looking at Yu Luo. “I thought this student, brave enough to kill someone, was some great figure. Yet he’s afraid—afraid even of a vengeful ghost claiming a life.”

Wan Sanjin tilted his head, glancing at Chu Ling, who had her back turned to Sun Yuanze.

But Sun Yuanze heard every word clearly.

“My lord, what are you saying? I… I’ve always been in the study reading books, Your Excellency.”

Chu Ling turned to face Sun Yuanze, her voice authoritative: “This official said I would help you remember. Now, listen carefully.”

“Sun Yuanze, a native of Anzhou, had an elderly mother at home, whom he supported by washing clothes for others. One day, she slipped on a wet floor and died by accident.”

“Sun Yuanze carried his mother’s body to demand compensation, but the patron family gave him only three taels of silver to dismiss him. Sun Yuanze, accepting the silver, wrapped his mother in a mat, threw her into a dug pit, and considered her buried.”

“Later, using the three taels as travel funds, Sun Yuanze passed the civil examination for xiucai. But after passing, he made no further progress, and hatched a devious plan to leverage connections to help himself. He repeatedly sold his household items and attempted to enter Shu Hua Tower, only to be repeatedly blocked.”

“Until one day, Sun Yuanze unexpectedly encountered the top courtesan of Shu Hua Tower, Yu Luo. He staged a heroic rescue to win her favor, feigned deep affection, tricked Yu Luo into redeeming herself for him, and even handed over a box of jewels to you so you could continue studying.”

“You, carrying a box of jewels, found your way into Danbo Academy. The Yu Luo you brought home waited in vain, and so she came to Dongle City to look for you. But by then, you already had a new target: the illegitimate daughter of the Nangong family. Therefore, you could not let Yu Luo live.”

Sun Yuanze’s face went pale. “Your Excellency… I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“The house you rented for Yu Luo was the Tao family house on Zhumen Street. That is where I now live,” Chu Ling said coldly.

Sun Yuanze froze. “Your Excellency, I don’t understand what you mean. You… you’re just upset that I disturbed you, so you’re taking revenge…”

“Revenge? You dare?” Chu Ling took out the evidence and scolded him: “Your fellow townspeople can all testify. Both eyewitnesses and material proof exist. You still want to deny it?”

“On the third day of this month, Yu Luo had already been in Dongle City for three months and had already been with you as husband and wife. That night she told you she was pregnant. You feared she would interfere with your plans, so you had the street beggar, Jiuwa, fetch a pregnancy medicine from the pharmacy and bring it to Zhumen Street. You personally prepared the medicine, poisoned it, and handed it to Yu Luo yourself.”

“Yu Luo drank it unsuspectingly—one body, two deaths!”