Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 277 Confrontation
Fu Zheng had never met Du Lingzhou, but he knew Li Chengge. When he saw Li Chengge, he was clearly stunned and blurted out.

"Your Highness, Prince Jin!"

Upon learning Li Chengge's identity, everyone clasped their hands in a gesture of respect.

Li Chengge hadn't expected his identity to be exposed so suddenly. He met Yan Ciwan's gaze, awkwardly touched his nose, and chuckled, "No need for formalities."

He thought Yan Ciwan would press him about concealing his identity, but instead, Yan Ciwan asked him the question.

"Didn't you already go to Jinggongfang to watch the polo match?"

Li Chengge didn't understand why she cared about this matter, but she still answered truthfully: "We came from Yongxingfang and Shengyefang. We heard that a batch of this year's new tea has entered the East Market, so we came here to buy some tea to take back to give to Master Xiao as a gift when we visit him."

Yan Ciwan suddenly realized that she had taken a different route from Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou. She subconsciously chose the shortest route, but she did not expect that the two guys had taken a detour, which was why they arrived in Dongshi later than her.

Du Lingzhou continued, "We saw a lot of people running this way just now, and we were curious, so we came over to take a look. We didn't expect to see you here."

At this moment, they both noticed the person lying on the ground. Li Chengge recognized him at a glance as Fu Hui, and asked with a serious expression, "What happened to Fu Hui?"

When this matter was mentioned, Fu Zheng was filled with grief and indignation.

He pointed at Yan Ciwan and angrily said, "She was the one who ran over my son with her horse and killed him!"

Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou were both taken aback.

Yan Ciwan denied it without changing her expression: "He wasn't killed by me."

Fu Zheng pointed his knife at her nose, gritting his teeth as he said, "So many people saw it, and you still dare to deny it?!"

Yan Ciwan looked at the sharp blade so close to her and said coldly, "I have already proven that there are contradictions in the witness's statements. There must be more to Fu Hui's death than meets the eye. If you want to know the truth, you must first have the coroner examine the body to see what the real cause of Fu Hui's death was."

Fu Zheng was furious: "My son is already dead, and you still want the coroner to desecrate his body? What are you up to?!"

Yan Ciwan said sternly, "General Fu, please be careful with your words! As an official of the imperial court, you should understand that the purpose of the court setting up the position of coroner is to assist the government in solving cases. It's one thing for ordinary people not to understand the implications and the necessity of coroners examining corpses, but why don't you understand it, General Fu? Today you publicly belittle the work of coroners like this. If these words get out, what will those hardworking coroners think?"

Fu Zheng gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. Everyone present could see that he really wanted to kill Yan Ciwan at this moment.

Yan Ciwan was not intimidated by the imposing manner and looked directly at the other party with neither arrogance nor servility.

She said, “I can understand your grief over losing your beloved son, but don’t forget that you are also the General of the Left Valiant Guard. Your every word and action represents the face of the court. According to the laws of the Daye Dynasty, murder cases should be handed over to the local government for investigation, and the deceased’s body should be handed over to the coroner for careful examination. All the people in the world abide by these laws, so why should you, General Fu, be exempt from them?”

The onlookers couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Putting aside the fact that Yan Ciwan might be the murderer who caused the accident, what she said was really pleasing to the ear.

We are all citizens of the Great Cause, and should be treated equally!
Fu Zheng sneered, "Who do you think you are? How dare you point fingers at me? Based on your insolent words, I could easily accuse you of disrespecting officials and spreading heresy!"

Li Chengge coughed lightly: "General Fu, Ning Ci's words were a bit extreme, but not entirely without reason. According to the rules, murder cases in the city must be handled by the local county government. If you think the magistrate of Wannian County is unreliable, you can transfer this case to the Jingzhao Prefecture. If the Jingzhao Prefecture is also unreliable, there are still the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice above. No matter what, resorting to private punishment is wrong." Xiao Wang also said: "With so many people watching, General Fu, even if you don't care about your own reputation, please think about the prestige of the imperial law and don't act impulsively."

Even after all that they said, Fu Zheng still refused to back down. He was completely consumed by hatred and was determined to kill Yan Ciwan to avenge his son.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

Xiao Wang looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Uncle Jiu driving a carriage.

When the carriage stopped, Uncle Nine jumped off, took out a stool, opened the door, and an elderly man with white hair and beard stepped out of the carriage.

Xiao Wang's eyes lit up: "Grandfather!"

Uncle Jiu tried to help Xiao Wenyi up, but he pushed him away.

"No need, I can walk by myself."

When Fu Zheng saw Xiao Wenyi arrive, he immediately realized that Xiao Wang must have sent someone to tip him off, and he glared at Xiao Wang fiercely.

Xiao Wang strode forward and bowed to Xiao Wenyi with his hands clasped: "Grandfather, why have you come in person?"

He originally thought that after hearing the news of Fu Hui's death, his grandfather would send someone to see what the situation was, but he never expected that the old man would come in person.

Xiao Wenyi had a rosy complexion and a gentle, approachable gaze. He didn't look like a high-ranking prime minister at all, but rather like a kind and friendly old neighbor.

Today he wore a dark red round-neck shirt and a black turban. Compared to the tall and robust Fu Zheng, he looked much thinner and more frail.

"I have heard about the misfortune that befell your son. I never expected that he would die so young. I am deeply saddened, but the dead cannot be brought back to life. I hope General Fu will take heed of this tragedy."

Since becoming the Left Valiant Guard General, Fu Zheng has become increasingly domineering in his dealings with others. However, when facing Xiao Wenyi, a veteran of three dynasties, he had to restrain some of his ruthlessness.

He slowly lowered the knife, first bowing to the other party before saying, "I only have one son, Ahui. Now I, an old man, am burying my son. How can I possibly grieve? If I cannot kill this woman today to avenge Ahui, I will have failed as a father!"

Xiao Wenyi sighed: "I understand your eagerness to avenge your son, but this is under the emperor's nose. How will the emperor feel if you openly resort to private punishment?"

Fu Zheng paused for a moment before saying, "After avenging Ah Hui, I will take off my official robes and go to the palace to plead guilty to the Emperor. I will accept whatever punishment the Emperor may give me."

"You may feel better now by doing this, but have you considered how the sage would feel? The sage trusts you so much; what you're doing will hurt him."

Fu Zheng fell silent.

Xiao Wenyi gently advised, "How about this, you come with me to the palace to meet the Emperor, tell him what happened today, and ask him to help make a judgment. You may not trust others, but surely you don't even trust the Emperor?"

After a long silence, Fu Zheng finally uttered a single word.

"it is good."