Chapter Three: Forced Entry Failed

“Enough pretending, I’ll lay my cards on the table now…”

Watching the commotion in the magistrate’s court, Feng Jingzhe had lost all patience. Schemes like this—paltry tricks to stir the crowd—were things he had played with countless times before.

“That’s right. My future wife’s name is Beiming Xuanyue. If there’s no one else by that name, she should be the very same General of the Western Garrison you all speak of.”

As the crowd surged toward him, Feng Jingzhe did not retreat but strode forward to meet them.

“Master… be careful…”

Li Changsheng tried to shield him but was brushed aside with a single motion.

His brazen, fearless confession left everyone momentarily stunned.

“First, let me thank you for your support of my fiancée. I truly understand how you feel at this moment!

If I put myself in your shoes, I too would want to thrash such a scoundrel, to make sure my idol isn’t thrown into the fire pit…”

At these words, not only Fang Shaoyan, but even the county magistrate seated beneath the lofty plaque of ‘Bright Mirror’ was utterly baffled.

“What nonsense is this? Were the rumors true? Is this fellow really just a brainless wastrel, an empty-headed dandy?

Otherwise, who would so eagerly smear himself with filth?”

Before Dou Wen’an could gather his thoughts, Feng Jingzhe spoke again.

“My friends, if I were to claim this whole affair is groundless, that I was framed, I know you wouldn’t believe me.”

There was no need for a reply—their expressions said everything. Every face was filled with contempt and disdain.

“Heh… I can understand your disbelief. After all, I’m known as a good-for-nothing, a wastrel who spends his nights in brothels and pleasure houses. How could someone like me be trusted?”

After this self-deprecating speech, Fang Shaoyan suddenly realized the earlier chaos had miraculously quieted down.

Even the alluring widow, Liu Yanben, had furrowed her brows ever so slightly.

“Let me share a secret from my heart.

To be honest, my greatest ambition is to be a carefree idler—so long as I have food and drink and no work to do, to spend my days basking in the sun, that’s my highest pursuit in life.

And my future wife, the General of the Western Garrison you speak of, is without question the perfect person to help me realize this ultimate goal.

The General of the Western Garrison! You understand—she has power, she has a noble family.

Ask yourselves: with my dream within reach, how foolish would I have to be to turn away from such a golden opportunity and, instead, force myself upon a widow?

Even if I did covet her beauty, surely I could wait until after our marriage. At most, I could take her as a concubine—I’m not marrying into the Beiming family, after all…”

At this, everyone was even more bewildered. They knew this man was shameless, but they hadn’t imagined he could be so unabashed, speaking so righteously of living off a woman.

Yet, crude as his words were, the logic behind them was solid. Anyone who thought a little would realize that the motive made no sense.

But Feng Jingzhe wasn’t finished. He turned to Wang Meier at his side, seizing the moment to press on:

“So here’s what puzzles me. With something so obvious, like lice on a monk’s head, why would anyone still try to frame me?

Dare I speculate—the person framing me doesn’t want me to lie low, doesn’t want me to enjoy the good life, wants to stop the General from marrying me?

To ruin a man’s prospects is like killing his parents. Isn’t that despicable? What do you all think?”

Feng Jingzhe spun around abruptly, his gaze meeting Dou Wen’an’s. Instinctively, everyone followed his lead and looked over as well.

Dozens of eyes bore into Dou Wen’an, making his back prickle as if with needles.

“You… you’re talking nonsense… You’re just trying to twist words and wriggle out of your crime…”

“Then tell me, how do you explain that belt found at the scene?”

Dou Wen’an pointed to the silk belt on the table, his confidence much diminished.

“It’s just a belt. What does it prove? Could have been bought, could have been stolen. The one thing it doesn’t prove is that I left it at Widow Wang’s house.”

“You’re lying! That belt was clearly dropped by you in your panic last night—”

Wang Meier pointed at Feng Jingzhe, her eyes brimming with tears, a look of such wounded beauty that every man present felt a rush of protective anger.

She was indeed a rare enchantress; under other circumstances, Feng Jingzhe wouldn’t have minded exchanging a few more words with her.

But now, newly arrived in this era, with the situation still unclear and having been poisoned just yesterday, there was no room for carelessness.

“Heh… You claim that I forced myself into your house last night. In the end, did I succeed?”

Wang Meier hadn’t expected the wastrel to be so blunt. Her cheeks burned scarlet with embarrassment.

But with no turning back, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

“You… you did…”

“Your honor, you heard her—she said I did! But if I did, then it has nothing to do with me anymore, does it?”

Feng Jingzhe pointed at Wang Meier and shouted, his antics leaving everyone even more confused.

Slap!

“Feng Jingzhe, what nonsense is this?”

The magistrate’s gavel crashed down, the sound echoing his mounting fury.

“Did you not hear? She said you did. But if she didn’t cooperate, how could you have succeeded?

Widow Wang accuses you of rape, but if she agreed, where’s the crime?”

“Absurd! What kind of twisted logic is that?”

Now not only Dou Wen’an, but nearly everyone present believed Feng Jingzhe was mad.

But was he? Of course not—he was just beginning to turn the tables.

Widow Wang, who had half expected some unforeseen reversal, now regained her composure. A fool is always a fool, she thought. With the evidence so certain, all he can do is play word games—he’ll never talk his way out of this.

“Heh… I’ve been a rake for years, and I’ve never heard of a man succeeding without a woman’s cooperation!

No need to argue—seeing is believing. If you don’t trust me, then right here in this hall, bring two—no, three—men and have them try with Widow Wang…”

At these words, the crowd was truly shocked—outraged beyond words. The onlookers outside immediately began to curse. What kind of monster would suggest such a vile scheme?

If this truly happened today, the magistrate would become the laughingstock of the entire world.

“What? You think it’s absurd? I’m telling you, anyone who tries to stop me from living off my wife, I’ll fight to the end!

Let me make it clear—bring three men here. If they really manage to do it to Widow Wang in this public court, I’ll confess my guilt!

You can kill me, chop off my head right now, and if I so much as frown, I’ll no longer bear the name Feng!”

His determination to lie low and live off his wife was as solid as rock, transcending life and death itself, leaving the crowd speechless.

As for Dou Wen’an, he wasn’t about to fall for such madness. He instinctively reached for the gavel, ready to berate this shameless scoundrel.

But just then, a young servant ran out from behind the screen, whispered a few words in his ear, and in an instant, his face paled.

Without further delay, the upright magistrate, right before everyone’s eyes, ordered his constables to select three prisoners from the jail…