Shen Xihe had Zhenzhu and Ziyu prepare some food for the little beggar, along with old clothes, household items, rice, and firewood from the Princess Manor. Disguising herself as a maid, she personally visited the Solitary Garden. She couldn't trust everything based solely on one account and report it directly.
Yet since the matter had come to her attention, she couldn't ignore it, especially since it involved the Solitary Garden. A single misstep could lead to the massacre of these innocent children. She couldn't go with great fanfare either, as too many eyes were watching her.
Particularly after the Youning Emperor hinted at marrying her into the Eastern Palace, even more people were monitoring her every move. If she personally visited the Solitary Garden, everyone would notice something unusual.
Fortunately, the Princess Manor regularly provided relief to the Solitary Garden and the Compassionate Field Shelter. While Shen Xihe went to the Solitary Garden, she dispatched another group to the Compassionate Field Shelter with ample supplies of food and clothing.
The Solitary Garden appeared desolate and bleak, with the cold wind carrying a foul, sour stench. While Zhenzhu and the others could tolerate it, Shen Xihe, with her sensitive sense of smell, found it nearly unbearable. Fearing that covering her nose would hurt the children's feelings, she forced herself to endure.
By the time she met Qi Pei, the repulsive smell had become truly nauseating.
"Disperse, all of you. I am here by order of the County Princess to examine your ailments," Zhenzhu promptly cleared the crowd.
This provided Shen Xihe some relief. Feigning a cough, she covered her nose with her sleeve, the cool fragrance from the cuff instantly clearing her dizziness. Zhenzhu examined Qi Pei, the young boy of merely thirteen who had delivered the letter to Shen Xihe.
His kneecaps had been gouged out, the wounds festering and frostbitten, a bloody mess oozing yellow fluid. He was feverish, delirious from the cold.
Though Zhenzhu had seen many gruesome injuries under Old Man with White Hair's tutelage, Qi Pei's condition still made her gasp. Maggots had indeed infested the wounds. She began cleaning them, fortunate to have Sui Axi's assistance. Working together, they managed without delay.
After an hour, they finally finished treating him. Shen Xihe walked around the Solitary Garden to get a better understanding of the situation.
Meanwhile, at the residence of the Minister of Justice, Yang, the steward rushed in. The elderly lady, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and dismissed the attendants. The steward whispered, "Madam, we've found him. He's at the Solitary Garden."
"Then go arrest him at once," the old lady ordered immediately.
"It's not that I refuse to arrest him, but today the Zhaoning County Princess sent people to the Solitary Garden on a charitable mission," the steward lowered his head, voice filled with worry and anxiety. "She even dispatched her personal maid to diagnose and treat illnesses."
"Why would the Zhaoning County Princess suddenly send people to the Solitary Garden? And specifically for medical treatment?" The old lady's face showed traces of panic.
"It must be a coincidence. The County Princess was seeing off the Northwest King today and happened to encounter a beggar who collapsed in front of her carriage," the steward shared his conjecture. "She took him to her manor and later released him. Perhaps this reminded her of the Solitary Garden and Compassionate Field Shelter, so she immediately sent supplies to both places. Since arriving in the capital, the County Princess has often donated unused items from her manor."
Madam Yang composed herself. "In that case, wait until they leave before taking action.""I heard they've been gone for two hours. I'm worried that the maid sent by the princess might have cured Qi Pei, and if Qi Pei learns she came from the Princess Manor, he might say something he shouldn't that could harm the Second Young Master." After expressing his concerns, the steward suggested, "At this point, Old Madam, I'm afraid we must inform the Elder Master to make a decision."
"You useless lot." Old Madam Yang's face darkened. "Even with both legs broken, he managed to flee to the capital and infiltrate the imperial city!"
The steward bowed his head in silence, chastised.
Old Madam Yang rotated a string of golden beads in her hand: "Go find the Elder Master and bring him back. Then send more men to keep a close watch on the Solitary Garden. If it comes to it... set fire to the courtyard and send people in to assassinate Qi Pei!"
Shen Xihe remained unaware of the danger quietly approaching. Hearing that Qi Pei had regained consciousness, she returned to the room. Zhenzhu had cleaned the room and placed an incense burner inside. When Shen Xihe entered again, she no longer felt dizzy.
"Prin..." Qi Pei clearly already knew Shen Xihe's identity and was extremely agitated, struggling to sit up.
"No need for formalities. Your injuries are severe, so keep it brief and don't strain yourself." Shen Xihe took a seat on the chair Zhenzhu had brought over.
"Princess..." Tears streamed down Qi Pei's face uncontrollably. "I beg Your Highness to seek justice for my Qi family of over forty members. The officials in Hebei Circuit protect each other, extract confessions under torture, and distort the truth..."
Qi Pei, a mere thirteen-year-old youth, poured out all the accumulated grievances and sorrows he had suppressed. Through his tearful accusations, Shen Xihe gradually learned the whole story.
The magistrate of Li County was Yang Xulin, the legitimate eldest son of Minister of Justice Yang Zhongxing. Yang Xulin had earned the dual imperial examination honors in the thirteenth year of Youning and was appointed magistrate of Li County in the sixteenth year. It wasn't that Yang Zhongxing was particularly evil—he didn't extort money from the people nor handle cases incompetently.
His three-year administrative record in Li County was neither outstanding nor completely worthless. As his three-year term was ending, he faced performance evaluation for promotion. That's when a theft case occurred in the wealthy Qi family of Li County—a group of bandits broke into the Qi residence at night to steal.
They killed one of the Qi family's guards, stole some hairpins, gold, and silver from the bedroom of Qi Jun's wife, but were driven off by the Qi family guards and all escaped.
Qi Jun, Qi Pei's elder brother, went to report the case early the next morning. After investigation, they found too few clues to solve the case. According to current dynasty regulations, theft cases must be solved within a specified time, or the local official would be punished.
At this time, Yang Xulin didn't want such complications affecting his record. So he insisted that Qi Jun had discovered an affair between the guard and his wife, killed the guard, and fabricated a theft case to cover up the murder.
Since the guard was a Qi family servant, killing him wouldn't be a major issue—especially with the alleged affair with the mistress preceding it. Yang Xulin refused to accept the case. Furious and mistakenly thinking he hadn't bribed sufficiently, Qi Jun took several hundred gold pieces to bribe Yang Xulin.
Unexpectedly, Yang Xulin returned all the gold. With no avenue to appeal his injustice and having suffered no major loss initially, Qi Jun considered letting the matter drop.
But when Qi Jun's rivals learned about this from the yamen, they used it to humiliate Qi Jun, widely publicizing that his wife had an affair with the guard until everyone knew. Unable to bear the shame, Qi Jun's wife committed suicide.Unable to stop the tragedy, Qi Jun was overwhelmed with grief. At that very moment, the local authorities apprehended a group of thieves who confessed to being the ones who broke into the Qi residence that night and killed the family guards.
Having lost his beloved wife, Qi Jun demanded justice from the authorities and reported the case to the Dingzhou Shanggu Commandery. Unbeknownst to him, the commandery governor was a disciple of Yang Zhongxing—the Minister of Justice and father of Yang Xulin—which was precisely why Yang Xulin had been assigned to Li County.
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