GBP Chapter 414 Complaint
Chapter 414 Complaint
Outside the palace gate, the official on duty at the Dengwen Drum Court came out to inquire about the matter after hearing someone beating the Dengwen Drum.
"Who beats the drum?" There was a hint of majesty in the official's voice.
The person who struck the drum for reporting was a young girl in plain clothes with a haggard face.
She knelt on the ground, her voice filled with tears, "My name is Su Yuan, and I am from Sujiazhuang, Yizhou."
"What grievance do you have?"
Su Yuan held up the bloodstained petition with both hands, "I want to sue Princess Yuehua for forcibly seizing my husband and killing my entire Su family."
The official paused, frowning as he asked, "Do you have any evidence for this?"
"Everyone in Sujia Village can testify that Princess Yuehua sent someone to openly abduct my husband on my wedding day."
The official then asked, "Did you know that anyone who sues a relative of the emperor will first be punished with thirty strokes of the cane, regardless of whether the grievance is true or not?"
"I know."
Princess Yuehua is the emperor's half-sister and now lives in Yizhou City.
Seeing that Su Yuan was young and frail, the official kindly warned him, "If you give him thirty strokes of the cane, you might die."
Su Yuan's eyes were firm as she said resolutely, "If I can sacrifice my life for Princess Yuehua's execution, I will do it without hesitation!"
The official saw that she had made up her mind, so he stopped trying to persuade her and called the bailiffs to prepare for the execution.
Thirty strokes of the cane, each one landing heavily on Su Yuan, her plain clothes were soon soaked with blood.
Every time the stick fell, her body trembled in pain, but she always bit her lower lip tightly and said nothing.
After the execution, Su Yuan was already on the verge of death, but she still managed to hold on to her last bit of strength and said with difficulty: "I...every word I said is true...I beg you...to make a decision for us common people."
Seeing her tenacity, the official couldn't help but admire her. He took the bloody petition and said, "Go back and recover from your injuries first. I will report this matter truthfully.
However, you should know that suing a royal relative is not an easy task, and no one can predict the final outcome."
"I...have nowhere to go back to, and I can't...leave this place." Su Yuan weakly raised her hand and grasped the official's clothes. "As long as...Princess Yongle participates in the trial of this case...I will definitely be able to redress my grievances successfully."
The reason why Su Yuan risked his life to file a complaint to the emperor was because he heard about what happened in Luoyang.
The official looked down at Su Yuan, who was lying on the bench, with deep eyes. After a while, he corrected her softly, "Princess Yongle is now a princess."
Su Yuan was stunned. "Yes, I hope Princess Yongle will participate in the trial of this case."
"I will report your request. As for whether Princess Yongle will participate in the trial, that is not for me to decide."
After saying that, he hurried away with the complaint.
Su Yuan lay on the bench waiting, closing her eyes weakly and praying that Jiang Yueyang would hear her case.
In the Drum Court, after reading Su Yuan's petition, the judge decided to report it to Emperor Yuan immediately.
***
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Jiang Yueyang listened boredly to Emperor Yuan and his civil and military officials discussing state affairs, and felt that time was passing so slowly.
Just when she wanted to ask Xiaogua if he knew who had beaten the drum before, a young eunuch hurried in from outside the hall.
The young eunuch knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news from the Drum Court."
"What's the matter?" Emperor Yuan asked with a frown.
"Your Majesty, the people have filed a complaint against Princess Yuehua for forcibly abducting men and killing entire families."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials were shocked!
Jiang Yueyang instantly perked up. Who has the courage to sue the royal family?
Emperor Yuan suddenly stood up and asked sternly, "Who is outside the Dengwen Drum Courtyard?"
"Your Majesty, it's Judge Song."
"Let him come in and answer the question."
The eunuch retreated immediately, and soon Judge Song walked into the hall.
He walked to the middle of the hall and stopped, then was about to kneel down to salute, but was interrupted by the voice of Emperor Yuan.
"Who sued Yuehua?"
Judge Song pulled Su Yuan's complaint from his sleeve and presented it to the court. "The person suing Princess Yuehua is Su Yuan, a native of Sujiazhuang, Yizhou."
Li Fuquan went downstairs and brought up the petition to present to Emperor Yuan. After reading it at a glance, Emperor Yuan's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it.
Judge Song said, "Your Majesty, Mrs. Su has willingly accepted thirty canings to sue Princess Yuehua, and is now awaiting the outcome at the Dengwen drum. Furthermore, Mrs. Su hopes that Princess Yongle will hear the case."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuan and all the civil and military officials looked at Jiang Yueyang. That Su Yuan actually dared to let Jiang Yueyang try the case, so the injustice was most likely true.
Jiang Yueyang raised her eyebrows in confusion. Why did Su Yuan want her to try this case?
The next moment, Jiang Yueyang caught sight of Emperor Yuan staring at her. She mistakenly thought that Emperor Yuan felt that Princess Yuehua's incident had something to do with her, so she stepped out to clarify, "Your Majesty, please excuse me. I do not know that Su Yuan."
The Emperor knew she had misunderstood. He turned his gaze towards Judge Song and said in a deep voice, "Judge Song, go down and bring the person in immediately. I want to personally try this case."
"promise!"
Judge Song took the order and left. Not long after, the dying Su Yuan was carried in by the imperial guards.
Jiang Yueyang was shocked. [Oh my god! He's so badly injured! Why does suing a royal relative require thirty strokes of the cane first?]
[Because the status of a royal relative is precious. The host is now a princess. If anyone wants to sue you in the future, they will first have to be beaten with thirty sticks!]
Perhaps having heard Jiang Yueyang's inner thoughts, the unconscious Su Yuan opened her eyes with difficulty.
She looked around her blurry vision, as if looking for someone.
Jiang Yueyang: [This rule is too unreasonable! If someone dies after thirty strokes of the cane, how can they seek redress?]
No wonder no one dared to sue Prince Rong before. Who would dare to sue if they weren't determined to die?
Su Yuan followed the sound and finally saw the petite Jiang Yueyang.
She only saw her weakly raising her hand towards Jiang Yueyang, calling out with an unsteady breath, "Princess...Princess."
Jiang Yueyang subconsciously walked over and held her hand, "Your Majesty is here. If you have any grievances, you can tell him. The emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Your Majesty will handle it impartially."
Su Yuan was a smart man. He immediately understood the implication of Jiang Yueyang's words, nodded, and looked at Emperor Yuan who was sitting above.
She couldn't cause trouble for the princess.
Su Yuan pulled out a bloody token from her bosom and said, "Your Majesty, I, Su Yuan, am suing Princess Yuehua for forcibly seizing a man and killing the entire Su family."
"My brother and I escaped by chance and rushed to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor. Princess Yuehua sent people to hunt down my brother and sister, and my brother was killed on the way." Su Yuan continued.
Emperor Yuan recognized at a glance that the token in Su Yuan's hand was Princess Yuehua's personal guard token.
Su Yuan explained: "This token... was taken from those who were chasing me."
The Left Prime Minister walked over, took the token, and looked at it. "Your Majesty, this token is indeed owned by Princess Yuehua."
Emperor Yuan did not question it. He looked at Su Yuan with deep eyes and said, "Tell me the whole story in detail."
"That day, I and my soon-to-be husband went to the city to buy the necessary items for the wedding..."