Alas!
He Qia sighed long and deeply.
He wanted to fight in Xinzhou, not ascend to court in Andu.
"Summon forth, bring the Zhang brothers to the hall,"
He Qia had no yamen runners under him, only soldiers armed to the teeth, looking quite fierce. However, when the Zhang brothers were brought forward, not a trace of fear could be seen on their faces.
"Feng Shiâer Niang is framing us!"
"Lord He, we havenât killed anyone, we are wronged,"
A crowd of onlookers surged outside the hall.
People craned their necks to get a look inside, many of whom were villagers from Huaxi Village.
Before He Qia could speak, an uproar started from outside.
"I testify, the Zhang brothers killed a man!"
He Qia, "Quiet! Quiet."
The crowd fell silent.
He Qia glanced at Feng Yun standing beside the hall, and the witnesses present at the time, Jin Ge and Kong Yunâe, as well as several villagers from Huaxi Village, and asked coldly:
"Did you personally see Zhang Erbing murder Tie Ma?"
Feng Yun said, "It wasnât Zhang Erbing who killed him..."
Before she could finish speaking, she pointed at Zhang Sande, "It was his brother."
Zhang Sande, not as quick-witted as Zhang Erbing, felt dizzy from this bolt from the blue, quivering with anger.
"Nonsense, all nonsense! We have no enmity with Tie Ma, why would I kill him?"
Feng Yun responded, "So without enmity, you wouldnât kill? Huaxi Village bears you no ill will either, so why did you steal grain and blame it on me?"
The Zhang brothers narrowed their eyes, looking fiercely at Feng Yun.
"Village Chiefâs Lady, having a mouth isnât for spreading chaos with your words."
"Right! We didnât kill him. When I arrived, he was already dead."
Feng Yunâs expression darkened slightly, "Jin Ge and Tie Ma are brothers by blood. If you didnât kill him, could it have been Jin Ge? Would I frame you? And could it be that Jin Ge and Yunâe would frame you as well?"
The Zhang brothersâ faces turned menacing as they turned to look at Jin Ge.
"Feng Family, who knows if he isnât your lover, speaking for you..."
Here it was again. Must they insinuate she had a lover?
Feng Yun glanced at He Qia, then turned to address the people outside the hall, "Everyone, listen! I spurn the Great General, a man of such valor, to pick up any lover from the streets. Am I, Feng Shiâer Niang, a fool or mad?"
Laughter immediately filled the hall.
Feng Yun saw the Zhang brothers furious and seething, and she smiled again.
"Donât think that your dirty deeds are unknown to anyone."
Having said that, she walked to the center of the hall and bowed to He Qia.
"Sir He, this morning, submerged grain was discovered in the waterways of Huaxi Village, the work of the Zhang brothers..."
Then she glared at the Zhang brothers, "At this moment, so many people canât fill their stomachs, gnawing on tree bark, digging up wild vegetables, yet you, to frame me, actually sank the stolen grain to the bottom of the water..."
An uproar rose among the crowd.
Grain was as precious as gold in these times.
Yet the Zhang Family, after stealing grain, had sunk it in water to destroy it?
Such a heinous crime.
Zhang Erbing snorted coldly, "Feng Family, I toil to steal grain, only to sink it in the river? Would you say I am the fool, or mad?"
Feng Yun retorted, "Youâre neither mad nor a fool. Quite the opposite, youâre quite clever. As everyone knows, the Zhang Family is the poorest in the village, constantly complaining about your plight, accusing me, the Village Chief, of being unfair to you, of not allocating good land, leaving you hungry. But look at the Zhang Family, isnât every one of you full and rotund..."
She paused, then snorted heavily.
"Furthermore, that day in front of the Great General and all the villagers, I boasted that I would solve the grain theft within ten days. If you were to keep the stolen grain at home, it would be too easy to give yourselves away, leaving you no choice but to sink it in the river."
Zhang Erbing was so angry he almost ground his teeth to dust.
"What evidence do you have that we stole it? And how can you prove that the grain underwater was our doing? I could say it was you. Donât wrong a good person without proof."
Feng Yun declared, "Of course, I have evidence."
Immediately, from the crowd at the door, someone called out loudly.
"Sir He, we saw it with our own eyes."
"Sir He, we have the evidence."
The crowd turned to look.
It was Sun Tieniu and Zhao Heidan from Huaxi Village, who had cozied up to the Zhang brothers since they arrived in the village and openly slandered Feng Yun at Changmen Village. They had become the Zhang brothersâ "own people."
And now they had come forward to testify?
Zhang Erbing stared at them in disbelief.
He had once suspected these two curs of cosying up and ingratiating themselves as part of Feng Yunâs scheming. During that night in Changmen Village, their staunch support had earned his trust...
But it turned out they really were Feng Yunâs people after all.