123: Chapter 123 A Show of Force

"What's the panic?" Chen Mo frowned. "Is the sky falling?"

"Just about!" Wang Xiaoer panted heavily. "The Li family... Old Master Li brought men and surrounded our yamen! There are also people from the Black Tiger Gang, several hundred of them! They said... they said..."

"Said what?"

"Said they want a life for a life!"

Chen Mo stood up and straightened his sleeves.

"Let's go take a look."

...

Outside the yamen.

The snow was covered in footprints, and a dense crowd blocked the main entrance completely.

At the very front were two rows of men in black clothes, holding short clubs—those were the thugs of the Black Tiger Gang. Behind them followed a group of people in servant attire, holding white cloth banners that read "A Life for a Life" and "Severely Punish the Killer."

In the center lay a door plank.

The door plank was covered with a white cloth, with a human shape bulging underneath.

A person was kneeling beside it.

He was tied up tightly, shirtless, with bruises all over his body—clearly, he had just been severely beaten.

It was Blacksmith Zhang.

This man, whose hands usually swung a heavy sledgehammer, now had them tied behind his back. His head hung low, his mouth was full of bloody froth, his eyes were vacant, and he looked as if his soul had been snatched away.

An old man stood beside him.

He wore a purple-red silk robe and leaned on a Dragon-head Cane. His face was full of flesh, and his triangular eyes gleamed with sharp light.

This was the head of the Li family, Li Wanshan.

"Lord Chen is out!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

The clamor quieted down slightly as everyone's eyes fixed on the steps.

Chen Mo walked down slowly with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Dazhu and Wang Xiaoer followed closely behind, hands on their sword hilts. Although their legs were trembling slightly, they still tried their best to glare.

"Master Li, quite a grand display."

Chen Mo stood on the steps, looking down from above, his tone indifferent. "Are you planning to tear down my new yamen?"

Li Wanshan sneered, his cane thumping heavily on the ground.

"Lord Chen, I had no choice. If I don't come to seek justice today, how can my Li family hold our heads up in West City in the future?"

He pointed at Blacksmith Zhang on the ground. "Lord Chen, you know this man, don't you?"

Chen Mo glanced at Blacksmith Zhang.

Hearing Chen Mo's voice, Blacksmith Zhang trembled all over and struggled to lift his head. That honest face was now covered in snot and tears, along with deep fear.

"Chen... Chen..." His lips quivered; he wanted to call out but didn't dare.

"I know him," Chen Mo nodded. "Master Zhang, the blacksmith from the west of the city."

"It's good that you know him!" Li Wanshan's voice suddenly rose. "Then do you know what this beast has done?"

Li Wanshan suddenly whipped away the white cloth on the door plank.

The crowd let out a gasp.

It was a female corpse.

She was very young, looking only seventeen or eighteen, with disheveled clothes, a purple-black bruise on her neck, and a pale face.

"This is Fragrant Flower, the concubine I just took in."

Li Wanshan spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes reddening. "Today, this beast came to the manor to deliver ironware, and I treated him to good wine and meat. Who knew this beast, after a few drinks, would become so emboldened by lust that he followed Fragrant Flower to the backyard when she went to fetch something, intending to do harm! When Fragrant Flower resisted, he... he strangled her to death!"

Boom!

The crowd erupted.

"What a beast!"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. He looks honest usually, but he's actually a lustful demon!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The Black Tiger Gang members were setting the pace in the crowd, shouting the loudest.

Chen Mo didn't speak.

He looked at the corpse, then at Blacksmith Zhang.

This setup was quite crude.

But it was very effective.

Blacksmith Zhang was an honest man who hadn't touched a woman in his life. After drinking, he was framed—a woman was pushed into his arms, someone shouted 'indecent assault,' and the man was likely stunned on the spot.

As for murder?

Blacksmith Zhang's grip was strong, but he didn't even dare to kill a chicken. Murder?

Chen Mo walked down the steps and came before Blacksmith Zhang.

"Master Zhang."

Chen Mo squatted down and looked into his eyes. "Did you kill her?"

Blacksmith Zhang's body shook like a sieve.

His mind was still a mess.

He only remembered going to deliver the goods, and the butler insisted on drinking with him. He drank until he was lightheaded and went to the latrine, but ended up entering a room where a fragrant woman lunged at him... then there were screams, and a group of people rushed in to beat him.

He didn't know how that woman died.

But he remembered that his hand had indeed touched the woman's neck during the scuffle.

"I... I don't know... I drank too much... she... she..." Blacksmith Zhang was incoherent, tears and snot blurring his face. "Lord Chen... I... I think... I pushed her..."

Li Wanshan snorted coldly from the side. "Could a simple push crush a throat bone? Lord Chen, everyone is watching. This is an old acquaintance of yours; surely you're not planning to bend the law for personal gain?"

As soon as these words were spoken, hundreds of eyes stared intently at Chen Mo.

This was a checkmate.

If Chen Mo said no, it would be seen as shielding him, and his authority on his first day in office would be ruined—who would respect him then?

If Chen Mo said yes, he would have to deal with Blacksmith Zhang on the spot, which would not only lose him the people's hearts but also make him a tool for the Li family.

A faint, imperceptible smirk touched the corner of Li Wanshan's mouth.

Kid, fighting me? You're still a bit green.

Chen Mo stood up.

He ignored Li Wanshan and walked over to the corpse, reaching out to press on the female corpse's neck.

The finger marks were very deep.

It was indeed strangled with great force.

But there was a detail.

The direction of the finger marks had the thumb on the outside and the four fingers on the inside.

When a normal person strangles someone's neck face-to-face, the thumb should be on the inside at the Adam's apple and the four fingers on the back of the neck.

Unless... it was strangled from behind.

Or, the person's hands were on backward.

Blacksmith Zhang just said it was a "scuffle." A scuffle happens face-to-face.

Furthermore, the female corpse's fingernails were very clean.

Being raped and not resisting? No scratching?

Before this woman died, she likely had already lost consciousness or was cooperating.

This was a trap.

A trap specifically made for Blacksmith Zhang, and also a trap for himself.

Chen Mo clapped his hands and stood up straight.

He looked at Li Wanshan and smiled.

"Master Li is right. The national law is as immovable as a mountain; no one can be an exception."

Li Wanshan was startled. This kid gave in so quickly?

Chen Mo turned around to face the crowd, his voice booming:

"Blacksmith Zhang, in a drunken state, committed a lewd act resulting in death. The evidence is conclusive, and he has confessed!"

Blacksmith Zhang suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with despair. Big Brother Chen... doesn't believe me either?

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

Li Wanshan stroked his beard even more smugly. "Lord Chen is indeed impartial and upright! Since that's the case, please pronounce the sentence on the spot—immediate execution! That way, we can give the deceased an explanation!"

"Wait."

Chen Mo raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Immediate execution? Master Li, do you have some misunderstanding of the Ming Code?"

Chen Mo paced at the entrance with his hands behind his back. "According to the law, in a murder case, the identity must be verified, the confession reviewed, and the case reported to the Ministry of Justice for execution after the autumn harvest. In our small Guard Post, what right do we have to kill someone in the street?"

"Furthermore."

Chen Mo's tone shifted, his gaze becoming sharp. "This case involves a powerful family from the West City, making it a major matter. To avoid suspicion and to prevent anyone from saying I, Chen Mo, am shielding an old friend..."