Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 479 Die-hard Remonstrance
After Liu Hui finished speaking, the officials in the room returned the greeting.

A moment of silence fell over the room, a surge of righteous indignation rising in everyone's hearts. To die for one's principles was an essential part of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, and simply what they were supposed to do.

Without saying anything more, the group walked out of the courtyard, mounted their horses, and headed towards the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office.

Liu Huizeng was in a hurry, fearing he might be stopped on the way. Their elaborate mobilization to beat the drum would surely attract attention, so they needed to submit the petition before that happened.

The group set off early, and there weren't many people on the streets. Seeing that the government office was not far away, they dismounted and walked, as was customary.

Before anyone knew it, a fine drizzle began to fall, wetting the green official robes on everyone's bodies. Eight pairs of swift boots moved forward together, stepping over the puddles on the bluestone slabs.

Liu Huizeng, who was walking at the front, had a solemn face and his eyes were fixed on the gate of Dengwen Procuratorate. If he was allowed to go in today, he would definitely wait for the emperor's summons.

"Liu Huizeng was there."

The sound of horses' hooves approached, followed by shouts.

Liu Huizeng subconsciously stopped and turned to look, only to see an official and several constables dismount. Seeing this, Liu Huizeng frowned, but without hesitation, quickened his pace and rushed towards the Dengwen Procuratorate.

Those people had clearly sensed his intentions long ago. The constables jumped off their horses and surrounded him to arrest him. The officials who had come with Liu Huizeng saw this and quickly stopped to stop them.

"Liu Huizeng, I am here on orders to take you back to the Dali Temple for questioning..."

The officials of the Court of Judicial Review shouted loudly, but Liu Huizeng turned a deaf ear. As long as he entered the Dengwen Procuratorate, he could ignore those matters for the time being. Even if he submitted the memorial and was imprisoned, the officials behind him would impeach Xia Mengxian on his behalf.

"Go quickly, go quickly."

The people behind him urged him on.

Seeing that the obstruction had worked, another group of people came towards them. The leader was still an official from the Court of Judicial Review. He held a document and led his constables to rush towards Liu Huizeng in a menacing manner.

With nowhere to hide, Liu Huizeng had no choice but to run into those people head-on. He clutched the book in his arms tightly, trying to break free from the constables' restraints, his eyes fixed on the gate of the Dengwen Procuratorate.

"Master Liu, leave quickly."

Yang Sanli and several officials rushed forward to rescue Liu Huizeng.

"Liu Huizeng, your crime of refusing to be pursued is aggravated. You should think it over."

The Dali Temple officials shouted loudly, but Liu Huizeng showed no fear whatsoever.

The fight broke out among the crowd and alerted the Dengwen Procuratorate. A clerk and a constable came out of the office to investigate the situation.

Liu Huizeng, his face flushed with emotion, shouted loudly, "Liu Huizeng, Assistant Compiler of the Secretariat, beats the drum to deliver our petition... We have suffered a great injustice..."

The clerk of Dengwen Prosecutor's Office looked at Liu Huizeng and saw that he was being held down by several constables, but he was still struggling. His clothes were disheveled and his official robes were even torn.

Yang Sanli, standing nearby, fared no better. He was kicked in the leg by a constable and stumbled and fell to the ground.

The official, who usually speaks and acts with great poise, is now in a sorry state, having lost all his dignity.

With veins bulging on his forehead, Liu Huizeng and others, the Assistant Compiler of the Secretariat, filed a complaint against Xia Mengxian. They first went to... the Petition Court... but received no response for three days... so today they went to... the Prosecutor's Office to plead their case... directly appealing to Your Majesty... begging Your Majesty... to do justice for them..."

Liu Huizeng's voice grew softer and softer as several constables pressed his head down, trying to force him to kneel... but he remained standing, resisting with all his might. The Dengwen Prosecutor's Office was so close, yet he could no longer move an inch.

Liu Huizeng and his group did not give up. Finally, someone broke free and came to Liu Huizeng's side to try to help.

Liu Huizeng's official robes were already torn and disheveled, but he still carefully protected the petition. Seeing that he could not get away, he used his last strength to hand the petition to the official: "Xue Yi, take the petition. As long as you enter the gate, the Dengwen Procuratorate will definitely not dare to hide it."

Documents sent to the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office had to be presented to the Emperor for review; this was their only hope.

"Go quickly."

Liu Hui gave him a push, and Xue Yi, having received the petition, hurriedly ran forward.

The officials who were being pulled along stared intently at Xue Yi's figure, their bloodshot eyes seemingly about to bleed.

Xue Yi evaded the pursuit of the Dali Temple, but to everyone's surprise, he stopped at the entrance of the Dengwen Procuratorate.

When Liu Hui saw this, his eyes dimmed, and he realized what was happening.

Xue Yi's expression gradually turned panicked. He dared not look at Liu Huizeng and the others, and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Liu... you should still go to the Dali Temple... you want to cause trouble by using the Dengwen Procuratorate... the law will not tolerate this. Although I am your classmate, I cannot help you commit evil."

“This… this joint memorial… I never intended to sign it, and the other officials were also misled by you,” Xue Yi said, taking out the joint memorial. “These absurd words cannot be shown in public…”

"What are you going to do?" Liu Huizeng stared wide-eyed at the heshu. "If you don't want to beat the drum, then give the heshu back to me..."

Xue Yi gripped the paper and suddenly pulled hard, tearing the letter filled with writing apart. Then, in front of Liu Huizeng, he ripped the paper to shreds.

Liu Huizeng was struck as if by a heavy blow. His eyes were fixed on Xue Yi, and he seemed to have lost all his strength all at once.

Suddenly, one of the constables drew a dagger and, taking advantage of Liu Huizeng's momentary distraction, stabbed him viciously in the heart.

"Be careful."

Yang Sanli, who was closest to Liu Huizeng, saw this scene and, in a moment of panic, slammed his head against the constable next to him before lunging at Liu Huizeng.

Blood dripped from the dagger.

Yang Sanli gripped the dagger tightly; the tip of the dagger had already sunk into Liu Huizeng's flesh, and the protruding part had cut Yang Sanli's palm.

The constable holding the dagger, seeing that he had failed to kill Liu Huizeng, secretly loosened his grip and then shouted, "Murder! They're trying to kill someone... Seize him! Seize him..."

After this shout, the soldiers and constables at the entrance of the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office rushed towards Liu Huizeng.

Seeing the officials rushing over, Liu Huizeng suddenly laughed. No matter how much he shouted, they stood aside as if they hadn't heard him. But after the petition was torn up and he was framed, they didn't hesitate to arrest him.

Liu Huizeng laughed louder and louder, as if he had gone mad. When he was pressed to the ground, his laughter stopped, and his face was full of grief and indignation.

“I submitted three petitions to the Drum Court, but each time the corrupt officials threw them into the ditch,” Liu Huizeng raised his head. “Severing the path of remonstrance is like cutting off the Jing and Wei rivers; silencing the people’s voices will lead to the downfall of the nation. Since the petition is gone… I will write a blood oath with my life today.”

After Liu Hui finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand. The dagger that Yang Sanli had just been holding was now in his palm. He used all his strength to stab himself hard in the neck.

One more chapter, coming later.