Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

In front of the Liangzhou government office, two stone lions stood menacingly, their imposing presence somewhat unsettling.

A huge drum stand stands on the left, its surface covered in dust, clearly indicating it hasn't been played in a long time.

Shen Qiongju stood in front of the drum and looked up at the yellowed drum skin.

Pei An stood in front of her and whispered, "Young Madam, once you strike, there's no turning back. Even if you're accusing a local thug, once you're in this yamen, if the accused is innocent, you'll be subjected to thirty strokes of the rod."

"If I don't knock, Shen Song and Master Lu will die inside."

Shen Qiongju pushed Pei An away and reached out to grasp the heavy drumstick.

The handle was cold. She took a deep breath, not to calm herself, but to gather her strength.

"Thump—!"

The first drumbeat was deep and thunderous, making her hands go numb.

The once bustling street fell silent for a moment.

Pedestrians stopped and stared in astonishment at the entrance of the government office.

"Thump—!"

The second tone is heavier and more urgent.

Shen Qiongju gritted her teeth and swung the drumsticks with all her might.

She was slender and appeared extremely small under the huge drum stand, but every swing of her arm carried a resolute and ruthless force.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The drumbeats were like a sudden downpour, each beat urging people on.

The gate of the yamen creaked open.

Several constables rushed out carrying fire and water sticks, their faces full of anger.

"Who's making such a racket outside! Don't they know Lord Chen is taking his lunch break?"

Shen Qiongju threw down the drumsticks, straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, and stood up straight.

Her face was pale, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"I, Shen Qiongju, have a grievance to seek justice!"

……

"mighty--"

In the courtroom, the sound of the disciplinary rod striking the ground was terrifying.

Prefect Chen sat under the plaque of "Mirror of the Mind" hanging high above, his official hat slightly askew, clearly having been hastily put on after being woken up.

He squinted, scrutinizing the woman below.

Dressed in plain clothes and without makeup, her beauty was still undeniable.

"Who goes there?" Prefect Chen slammed his gavel. "Why are you not kneeling? Furthermore, you disturbed me by beating the drum; you deserve twenty strokes of the cane!"

The constables on both sides immediately stepped forward to restrain Shen Qiongju.

"Sir, please wait!"

Shen Qiongju shouted to stop them, took out a shard of porcelain from her sleeve, and held it high above her head.

"This woman is beating the drum not because it's a sealed-off shop, but to accuse the city's tyrant of trespassing in broad daylight, vandalizing and looting, and attempting to murder an innocent citizen!"

Prefect Chen was taken aback.

This script is wrong.

Wasn't she supposed to be the female owner of that haunted shop? How did she become the victim?

Shen Qiongju didn't give him a chance to react, and pointed to the door.

"Bring it up!"

Pei An dragged the thug he had knocked unconscious into the courtroom like a dead dog.

The thug, his face bruised and swollen, was terrified at the sight of the official. Before he could even be asked anything, he spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.

"My lord, spare us! Someone paid us to scare that young lady! They said they'd give us fifty taels of silver if we drove her out of the city!"

The onlookers were in an uproar.

"This isn't just scaring, this is killing someone!"

"It seems this female business owner is being targeted. The dead body in that shop might also be..."

Public opinion shifted instantly.

Prefect Chen's face was grim.

He accepted the money from the Hu family and intended to use the "haunted shop" as a pretext to lock the woman up directly. However, she avoided the main issue and first filed a complaint against the police.

If he doesn't take the case, it would be an act of condoning a bully and demonstrate his incompetence and tyranny.

"Ahem." Prefect Chen cleared his throat. "Since this is a case of local thugs causing trouble, take this scoundrel away and we'll discuss it another day. What I want to ask you now is about the case of the female corpse found at the Qionghua Pavilion branch!"

His eyes sharpened, and the gavel struck again.

"As the owner, how can you admit your crime when such a scandalous murder occurs in your shop?"

An overwhelming pressure swept over us.

Just as Shen Qiongju was about to speak, a lazy voice came from behind the crowd.

"Know your crime? Know what crime?"

The crowd automatically parted to form a path.

Gao Hong swaggered in, fanning himself with a folding fan.

He changed back into a brocade robe, with the conspicuous jade pendant of the Gao family hanging at his waist, exuding an arrogant air of wealth and power.

"Lord Chen, what an imposing official air you have!"

Gao Hong walked to Shen Qiongju's side, but did not kneel down; he simply cupped his hands in a casual gesture.

"This humble citizen, Gao Hong, also owns half of Qionghua Pavilion. If Your Honor intends to punish someone, shouldn't you also interrogate me?"

Prefect Chen's eyelids twitched suddenly.

The Gao family?

Even the Governor's Mansion has to give the Gao family some face, yet the business of Qionghua Pavilion is actually based on the Gao family.

Prefect Chen swallowed back the harsh words he had prepared, forcing a stiff smile onto his face.

"So it's Young Master Gao. It's all a misunderstanding. I was just conducting a routine inquiry."

"Since it's just an inquiry, that makes things easier."

Shen Qiongju took over the conversation and stepped forward.

This move was imposing.

"I dare to ask you, sir, the incident occurred at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), so how were the officers able to arrive at the scene in less than half an hour, as if they had foreseen it?"

"Why were my shop's craftsmen convicted and imprisoned without any trial?"

"And why, when the deceased's identity was unknown, did you immediately conclude that she was a prostitute?"

Three questions, each one piercing to the heart.

Prefect Chen's forehead was beaded with sweat, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "This...this is classified information; how dare you interfere!"

"confidential?"

Shen Qiongju gave a cold laugh, her clear voice echoing throughout the entire courtroom.

"Since it's a secret, then I, a humble woman, must see it clearly."

She raised her head, looked directly at Prefect Chen, and said, word by word.

"This humble woman requests—that the coffin be opened and the body examined!"

"absurd!"

Prefect Chen suddenly stood up, and with a flick of his sleeve, he almost knocked over the command token on the table.

"Since ancient times, what reason has there been for a woman to examine a corpse? Besides, it's a corpse, with extremely heavy yin energy. Aren't you, a mere woman, afraid of offending this evil energy? This is simply immoral and utterly unreasonable!"

The people outside the courtroom were also pointing and whispering.

"Has this young lady gone mad?"

"Yeah, what's so interesting about a dead person? It's bad luck."

Shen Qiongju stood still, letting the murmurs surge in like a tide.

She didn't back down; instead, her smile became even colder.

"You jest, sir."

"I'm a businesswoman, I run a business to make money. Now people keep calling it a 'murder shop' and calling me a 'murderer,' how can I do business like this?"

She looked around, her gaze sweeping over the onlookers.

"If I don't get this straight today, this blame could be pinned on any one of you tomorrow!"

"The craftsmen of my Qionghua Pavilion are human beings, are they destined to be wronged? That dead woman was also a human being, is she destined to become a tool for some people to frame loyal and virtuous people without any explanation?"