Chapter 24: You set me up?

"Coroner, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Wang Lingxin let out a thunderous roar, nearly jumping from his seat. Terrified that the coroner might reveal more, he quickly shouted, "Guards, drag this coroner away and beat him severely!"

However, as most of the bailiffs were currently occupied holding back the crowd, only one managed to grab the coroner. He knocked the man to the ground and raised his heavy staff, bringing it down with brutal force.

The coroner, Xu Zhihuan, screamed in agony, rolling on the floor. Unable to stand by and watch any longer, Meng Yuxi snatched the staff away, kicked the bailiff to the ground, and snapped the thick wooden rod in two before tossing it aside.

*Clatter.* The broken pieces of the staff rolled across the courtroom floor.

Meng Yuxi helped Xu Zhihuan up and declared in a clear, resonant voice, "Xu Zhihuan is the official coroner of this prefecture. He has stated the facts of the case truthfully; by what right do you beat him? I, Meng Yuxi, will not permit it, and neither will the people of Su City."

Li Zhao could no longer remain silent. He pointed an accusing finger, "It must be that you, Meng Yuxi, bribed Xu Zhihuan to spout this nonsense in an attempt to absolve yourself of your crimes! Xu Zhihuan, you are just as guilty as Meng Yuxi!"

Wang Lingxin chimed in, "Exactly!"

Meng Yuxi let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Setting aside the fact that I have never even met Xu Zhihuan, did you not hold a meeting just last night to plot this frame-up? You must have appointed this man as the coroner only last night. I spent the entire night at the Biyun Pavilion, where everyone outside can testify to my presence. I was brought directly here from the pavilion this morning. Pray tell, when would I have had the time to bribe a coroner I had never met for a position that hadn't even been assigned? Your accusations are nothing but a desperate attempt to frame the innocent."

Seeing Li Zhao and Wang Lingxin struck speechless, Meng Yuxi gave them no chance to recover or weave further lies.

"Fifth brother, tell the people of Su City what you saw the night before last."

"Yes, Fourth Brother. Can these two old men finally let go of me?" Meng Xueqiao asked the two guards pinning his shoulders. They glanced toward Wu Jiwen, who was calmly sipping tea. Only when she looked down did they release him.

"The night before last, I saw Wang Lingxin in plain clothes, acting very suspicious. Curious, I followed him..." Meng Xueqiao recounted everything he had seen in detail.

"By the time it was nearly dawn, he hauled out Qin Ming's body."

"Oh? So it seems the coroner was telling the truth. And yet, the body of Qin Ming was supposedly discovered right behind the Weichun Fragrance Room where I was staying, wasn't it? Isn't that right, Chen Meiying? That was your testimony just a moment ago."

Hearing her name, the brothel madam, Chen Meiying, felt her obese frame tremble. Meng Yuxi strode forward, hoisted her heavy body up, and dumped her into the center of the hall. The madam groaned in pain as her features, already tight on her fleshy, pale face, bunched up in agony.

"Madam, tell the people of Su City: the reason your Piaoxiang Pavilion can lure so many men of this city into a daze—is it not because of those cheap, illicit aphrodisiacs?"

Despite the pain in her backside, the madam puffed out her chest, gave a thumbs-up, and boasted, "Impossible! Every one of the Four Golden Flowers I trained is the pride of Su City! We never use such things in the Piaoxiang Pavilion."

Meng Yuxi chuckled to himself, thinking that those four flowers would soon be coming to his own establishment, Heaven and Earth.

"Good. That is all I need to hear. So, the drugs in the Weichun Fragrance Room were prepared specifically for me? This 'good girl' Qin Ming had the drugs ready before she even met me? Either she was insane, or she had some nefarious scheme!"

"Wait! Meng Yuxi, you’re exaggerating. Even if the coroner did find traces of incense in the room's window curtains, it doesn't prove Qin Ming planted them." Wang Lingxin jumped in to argue. Since the poisoned bodice had already been burned, he decided to deny everything to the death—what could they possibly do to him?

"Magistrate Wang, the coroner only mentioned finding traces of incense throughout the room; he never specified the curtains. Yet, you are so certain it was the curtains. I suppose you just remembered that you forgot to destroy the curtains along with Qin Ming's poisoned bodice?"

Meng Yuxi pressed on, "What is it? Did you bury the poisoned bodice, or did you cut it to pieces? No, no—burning it was the safest bet, wasn't it?"

Wang Lingxin, having been an official for many years, had skin thick as armor. Yet, under Meng Yuxi’s piercing gaze, which felt as if he had witnessed the act himself, his old face flushed crimson.

"I was only guessing!" Wang Lingxin stammered after a long pause.

"Guessing? Then why didn't you guess the teacup, the teapot, the wine cups, or the wine pot? Are those not the most common places to slip in a drug?"

Wang Lingxin was stunned. It sounded logical, yet something felt off. Had he overplayed his hand? As he pondered this, Meng Yuxi added with a feigned apologetic tone, "Oh, right, you only guessed correctly because the coroner mentioned the traces of incense earlier."

"Yes, yes! The coroner said it, so I guessed correctly!"

"Correct your head! The coroner said there were traces of incense everywhere in the room, but none on Qin Ming herself. I was only baiting you. You blockhead, you can't even remember the testimony, yet you guessed so accurately? Do you still refuse to admit you cleaned the traces of incense from the body? Do you take the people of Su City for fools dumber than yourself?"

Meng Yuxi’s eloquence flowed like a river. How could a corrupt official dare to confront a master litigator who had spent twenty years winning cases?

"Damn you! You brat, you dared to set me up!" Wang Lingxin rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge.

"Come on then, Magistrate Wang, come down here. Let’s see if I don't hammer you into the ground!"

Wang Lingxin rolled his sleeves back down. The crowd outside began to jeer once more.

"Magistrate Wang, don't fall for this kid's tricks! He has always had a silver tongue. No matter how he twists his words, the sword that killed Qin Ming is his, isn't it? And the madam heard the commotion in his room, didn't she? How can he deny that?" Li Zhao, prompted, blurted out these points.

"Exactly! The material evidence is there, and the eyewitness is Chen Meiying. Meng Yuxi, you deserve the death penalty!" Wang Lingxin pointed at Meng Yuxi triumphantly.

"Ha! Material evidence? You went to great lengths to burn the bodice covered in incense. I suppose you also melted down the dagger she used to try and assassinate me, didn't you? Isn't that right, you blockhead?"

Wang Lingxin turned his head away, refusing to engage. He was terrified that a few more words would lead him to reveal another blunder. Naturally, they had melted the dagger. After all, what kind of innocent girl carries a poisoned blade if not to commit murder?