Chapter 477: Facing Injustice

"The daughter of the Yue family, Yang Shi—oh, that's Old Lady Zhao's daughter-in-law—and the son and daughter-in-law of the He family are also at our cloth shop. Isn't that a coincidence?"

The shopkeeper sighed: "Anyway, we've somehow ended up with every kind of oddball."

Soon, the guards dragged out three more people, who tumbled helplessly out of the cloth shop and landed on the ground beside Old Lady Zhao.

Zhu Qizhen watched, unable to bear it, and stepped forward—only to be pulled back by Xue Shao.

Zhu Qizhen scowled and turned to look at him.

Xue Shao's expression remained calm: "Young Master, if you forcibly keep them here, their situation will only grow worse. To the world, the imperial court has judged their families guilty; thus, they are guilty kin—and therefore guilty themselves."

The four of them were driven out and knelt, crawling on the ground, unwilling to leave.

The shopkeeper shooed away the workers who had been watching and gossiping, shut the door, then walked forward with a cold face and tossed two money bags at them: "Don't blame me for being cruel—you've seen how things have been these past days. If we keep you, the shop's morale will collapse. Even if the owner is kind-hearted, he can't smash his own livelihood for your sake."

"Besides, your two families aren't just guilty of having relatives commit crimes—you've angered the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Yang Shi lifted her tear-streaked face and wailed: "My father was also Embroidered Uniform Guard! He was Embroidered Uniform Guard too—he fought on the battlefield with the late Emperor, solved countless strange cases; even if he had no merit, he had hardship. Why, when he died, did my mother and husband die unjustly? Why, why—"

She cried out to the heavens: "Father—look! Come and see us! Why is this happening? Why—"

Yang Chenghao arrived, tears instantly streaming down his face as he rushed forward and embraced his sister: "Sister, get up—"

Yang Shi winced and curled up, gripping Yang Chenghao's arm tightly as she demanded bitterly: "Heaven is unjust, Your Majesty—wah—"

Yang Chenghao clamped his hand over her mouth, tears pouring down: "Sister, don't say it, don't say it—I'm here, you still have me. I'll earn money, I'll support the family, I'll clear your name—"

He choked out: "Believe me, Mother and your husband will be exonerated. They will be rehabilitated!"

Yang Shi collapsed weeping into his arms.

Even the shopkeeper's eyes turned red. He turned away and quickly wiped his eyes, then rummaged in his sleeve and pulled out a handful of silver coins, shoving them into Yang Chenghao's hand and waving them off: "Go quickly. The county magistrate is no match for the local officer. Though your fathers were once Embroidered Uniform Guards, they're both dead now—and the men they angered are still Embroidered Uniform Guards."

"Before, we didn't know your identities, so the shop took you in without issue. But now everyone knows who you are. Because of you, Captain Chen Fulin has come to the shop twice already. We simply can't keep you anymore."

Zhu Qizhen's face darkened.

Yang Chenghao wiped his tears, tucked the money away, and bowed repeatedly to the shopkeeper, accepting his kindness: "If I ever amount to anything, I will repay you. If I amount to nothing…"

He paused, ashamed: "Then I can only repay you in my next life."

With that, he helped his sister and Old Lady Zhao to their feet, and the three of them walked away together.

Zhang Qingfang and his wife, who had been silently weeping on the ground, picked up their money bags, rose, bowed silently to the shopkeeper, and left.

Zhu Qizhen watched the backs of the five of them depart, his heart sinking lower and lower.

The shopkeeper, too, felt a moment of sorrow—but quickly shook it off and turned warmly to Zhu Qizhen and Xue Shao: "My esteemed guests, what would you like to see next? Shall we go look at the dyeing? Just now, Zhang Qingfang was working in the dyeing room."

Zhu Qizhen asked grimly: "That Zhang Qingfang looks literate. Since his father was once Embroidered Uniform Guard, he must have been educated and trained in Wu Gong—why is he dyeing cloth?"

"He was literate and knew Wu Gong," the shopkeeper said. "So what? His mother murdered her husband—he lost his path to officialdom. And worse, his family angered Wang Zhangyin's own nephew, Wang Shan. That man doesn't even need to speak; plenty of people below him will do his dirty work for him."

The shopkeeper whispered: "His situation is even harder than Yang's boy. Yang's boy can still find work copying texts. He… even carrying sacks at the docks brings trouble every few days. That's why he ended up here, dyeing cloth."

Zhu Qizhen frowned: "Does carrying sacks pay more than dyeing cloth?"

The shopkeeper: "Naturally. For a young man like him, carrying sacks pays far more than dyeing. And since he's been cheated so often, he's not a long-term worker here—he's hired by the day, paid daily."

Xue Shao, seeing the Emperor didn't understand, whispered: "Daily wages are lower than monthly ones, hours are longer, and the work is harder."

Zhu Qizhen's chest rose and fell as Yang Shi's accusations and Zhang Qingfang's numb face flashed repeatedly in his mind. He had no more interest in touring the cloth shop—he left immediately.

Xue Shao quickly apologized to the shopkeeper and hurried after the Emperor.

He followed silently behind Zhu Qizhen as the Emperor walked into the bustling street, weaving through the crowd—but now he felt no liveliness, only loneliness.

He climbed onto a bridge, stood looking down at the boatmen selling their wares, and asked: "Is this real? Or is it also your arrangement?"

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Xue Shao: "That they worked at the cloth shop is true; that they live in constant fear is true; that Captain Chen Fulin of the Embroidered Uniform Guard threatened the shop is true…"

Xue Shao turned to look at him and said: "That I brought Your Majesty here to see them is also true."

Zhu Qizhen: "Everyone claims to want me to become a wise ruler. They tell me, in every setting, how I should rule. Yet inwardly, they all wish I am foolish, weak, and rely heavily on them."

"They believe only what they think and do is right. If I don't follow their way, I am wrong. What about you? What do you think of me?"

Xue Shao: "Your Majesty, I only wish justice to be served, the wrongs to be heard, the dead to find peace, and the living to return to calm."

He said: "I am a lowly minister. I do not think in terms of state affairs—I see only the common people. But I wish that every single common person I see receives justice, free from wrongs."

"Your Majesty, to court ministers, the Yue and He families are merely women. The injustices against the Yang, Qiu, and Zhang households are but a few families—insignificant compared to state matters. But…" He looked up at the Emperor: "All state matters are made up of individuals, of households. We cannot see only the great and ignore the small."

"The wrong done to an individual is still a wrong!"

Had he heard this before today, Zhu Qizhen would have resisted, thinking Xue Shao was grandiose and narrow-minded.

But he had just seen Old Lady Zhao's bloody forehead, Yang Shi's accusations and fury, and Zhang Qingfang's blank, numb face…

They were living, breathing people—not just "Zhao Shi, Yang Shi, Zhang's son" in the ministers' mouths…

His heart… could no longer ignore them.

(End of Chapter)