Sometimes things are just that coincidental.
Afraid of missing out again, Dong Mei turned her head upon hearing the sound and indeed saw Su Xiuer.
She recognized Su Xiuer as the Scholar Wei's wife she had seen at the Wei Mansion gate that day.
Fearing another mistake, Dong Mei looked at Dong Song for confirmation: "Are you sure you didn't misidentify her?"
Dong Song nodded heavily and swore, "If I make another mistake, I'll be punished by eating without chopsticks and going to the latrine without toilet paper."
The oaths made by children were a bit potent, and a bit too graphic.
Dong Mei shot Dong Song a look that was hard to describe, then neatly dismounted.
Dong Mei, with Dong Song in tow, pushed through the crowd.
The Drum Court Envoy, his attitude unreadable, scanned Su Xiuer sternly: "Do you know that if you beat the Dengwen Drum without a just cause, you will first receive thirty heavy planks!"
Su Xiuer bowed deeply to the Drum Court Envoy and said with a resonant voice, "This commoner's wife knows. This commoner's wife has a grievance to be heard and is willing to bear all consequences."
The Drum Court Envoy nodded and, handling official business, waved for his men to carry out the order.
The Drum Court Envoy was not as passive as the bailiffs guarding the drum. Since taking office, he had been bored to death. Now that someone had finally come, he naturally wanted to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
He took this case seriously, but he had no intention of going easy on Su Xiuer.
What you want to gain, you must put effort into.
To dare to beat the Dengwen Drum, one must certainly pay a price.
Otherwise, if everyone followed suit and beat the Dengwen Drum for every minor grievance, wouldn't he be worked to death?
If these thirty planks were administered normally and she lost her life, it would be fate.
If she survived these thirty planks but did not survive the subsequent thirty planks to be administered before the Emperor, that too would be fate.
After understanding the situation, the Drum Court Envoy turned and returned to the Dengwen Courtyard to prepare for the preliminary hearing.
Dong Song saw that the bailiffs were already preparing the execution stool for the caning and tugged anxiously at Dong Mei's sleeve.
"Aunt Dong Mei, this is bad. These bailiffs are going to carry out the punishment on the beautiful elder sister. Thirty heavy planks will take at least half her life. Then, facing the Emperor for an imperial hearing, she will be beaten with another thirty planks. She definitely won't survive."
"The beautiful elder sister beating the Dengwen Drum now must be to accuse Wei Mingze of remarrying while his wife is alive, and Duan Zhenzhu of bullying others with her influence."
"She is the victim and should not have to suffer like this. Moreover, if she dies, how will we find the Eldest Princess?"
"The Eldest Princess gave the Jade Hairpin to the beautiful elder sister, so she might be someone the Eldest Princess values. For the sake of the Eldest Princess, we must find a way to protect her."
The Eldest Princess's disappearance had always been a secret of the Imperial Family, known only to imperial relatives and a few court ministers.
Therefore, the search for the Eldest Princess had always been conducted in secret.
Although Dong Song and Dong Mei had not made a big fuss while searching for people these past few days, they had uncovered some information.
Especially after Duan Zhenzhu set her dogs to chase and bite Su Xiaobao, he felt sympathy for Su Xiuer.
Dong Mei, who also hated evil, frowned: "The law stipulates that once the Dengwen Drum is struck, no one is allowed to interrupt or interfere."
Thinking of something, she took out a token representing the Princess's Mansion from her sleeve and handed it to Dong Song, lowering her voice: "Go, ask the Drum Court Envoy to be accommodating. When administering the planks, reduce the strength... by half."
The Emperor had once said that seeing the Eldest Princess was like seeing him.
Dong Mei was confident that even without the Eldest Princess appearing in person, as long as Dong Song presented the token from the Princess's Mansion, the Drum Court Envoy would comply no matter what.
The rules for beating the Dengwen Drum could not be changed, but some aspects could be manipulated.
As for the caning, everyone's strength was different, so the pain would certainly differ.
The Drum Court Envoy walked slowly, not at all rushed about the preliminary hearing to come, thinking about the process required for the hearing.
After all, this was the first case he had handled since becoming Drum Court Envoy, and his experience was pitifully scarce.
As he was contemplating, his path was blocked. A black-clothed guard suddenly appeared, holding a token: "Drum Court Envoy, the First Prince has an order: the strength of the thirty heavy planks is to be halved."
The current Emperor had only two sons. The First Prince was the legitimate eldest son, and the country would most likely be ruled by the First Prince in the future. With an order from the First Prince, the Drum Court Envoy dared not disobey.
He adjusted his sleeves and responded, "Yes."
As soon as the black-clothed guard left, the Drum Court Envoy turned around and saw a young man leap down from the wall, holding a token and blocking his path again.
"Drum Court Envoy, the Eldest Princess has an order: the strength of the thirty heavy planks is to be halved."
The Drum Court Envoy froze in place, completely stunned.
Seeing that the Drum Court Envoy remained silent, Dong Song frowned and asked sternly, "Drum Court Envoy, do you have doubts about the Eldest Princess's order?"
The Drum Court Envoy wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the token in Dong Song's hand.
The silver surface was engraved with entwined lotus patterns, a unique token of the Princess's Mansion, and it was genuine.
When the First Prince had issued his order earlier, the black-clothed guard's tone, though mild, carried an undeniable pressure.
Now, although Dong Song was just a young man, his question, "Do you have doubts about the Eldest Princess's order?" weighed on the Drum Court Envoy's heart like a stone.
The Emperor had long ago decreed that seeing the Eldest Princess was like seeing him. Let alone just reducing the strength, even if the Eldest Princess asked him to preside over the trial personally, he would not dare to say a single word of refusal.
Fortunately, the orders from the First Prince and the Eldest Princess did not conflict.
He was just a minor Drum Court Envoy, and he dared not question the orders of the First Prince or the Eldest Princess.
The Drum Court Envoy quickly cupped his hands: "I dare not have any doubts. This official will go and give the instructions immediately and will certainly not disobey the Eldest Princess's order."
Seeing that he had agreed, Dong Song put away the token and leaped over the wall again.
The Drum Court Envoy continued towards the execution ground, but his heart was in turmoil.
Who exactly was this peasant woman who beat the Dengwen Drum?
She could not only get the First Prince to secretly send someone to speak on her behalf but also alarm the Princess's Mansion, which had been silent for many years, to intervene.
He had initially thought of "following the rules," but now he dared not be negligent in the slightest, and his pace quickened compared to before.
At the execution ground, the bailiffs had already set up the execution stool.
Su Xiuer stood to the side, showing no sign of fear, fully prepared to be beaten.
After the Drum Court Envoy emerged, he glanced at the surrounding common people and beckoned to the head bailiff.
Since both the First Prince's and the Eldest Princess's people had appeared discreetly, it meant they did not wish for their involvement to be known, and thus it was not appropriate to openly bend the law for personal gain.
The head bailiff was taken aback and stepped forward: "My Lord, the execution can commence immediately."
"No," the Drum Court Envoy said, shaking his head with his hands behind his back.
He was about to tell the bailiff to reduce the strength of the planks by half during the execution, but the words caught in his throat, and he didn't know how to say them.
The First Prince's mansion said to halve it, and the Eldest Princess's mansion also said to halve it.
So, how exactly should he halve it?
Things he couldn't figure out himself, he might as well leave to others to ponder.
The Drum Court Envoy whispered to the bailiff, his face solemn, and with official authority, he said: "This halving, you know how to execute it. Go!"
The bailiff blinked blankly and saw his Lord, the Drum Court Envoy, re-enter the manor.
The bailiff turned and saw Su Xiuer staring at him.
He thought about Su Xiuer's unknown background, with the First Prince and the Eldest Princess standing behind her. His demeanor involuntarily lowered a notch, and he smiled at Su Xiuer: "Young Lady, please lie down first."
If he could, he would have wished to carry Su Xiuer onto the stool.
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