Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

As everyone knew, if it were just a simple case of resembling someone else, Little Bai Ze wouldn’t be so obsessed with waiting for more information.

There could only be one explanation—

“Switched at birth!”

“An affair!”

“One person playing two roles!”

Several people spoke at once, then stared at each other in shock.

“Hold on a sec—what do you mean, switched at birth?! Don’t you think it’s utterly ridiculous for a county magistrate’s wife and an ordinary commoner to mix up their babies?!”

“Then what about the affair theory?! What kind of common girl could possibly seduce a magistrate into ditching a noble lady just to sneak around with her?”

“And how do you know it was a noble lady? What if he married her before becoming a magistrate?”

“Why not? An affair still makes more sense than one person playing two roles, right?”

“What’s wrong with one person playing two roles? Little Bai Ze’s stories are way more absurd than that before! What if it’s the dead man’s younger brother, and he wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of everyone not knowing he became the magistrate, still thinking he was lazy and useless, until one day the truth comes out and they’re all eating their words? Remember that one story Little Bai Ze mentioned… that ‘Dragon King’s live-in son-in-law’ or something? Tons of people love that kind of stuff!”

The officials began arguing in hushed voices, each convinced their theory made the most sense, and none willing to back down.

While they were bickering, the guards quickly stepped forward to separate them. “This is the main hall—no fighting or shouting allowed!”

It was just barely in time to save the dead man’s younger brother’s handsome face—although a few scratches had already been drawn across it. They didn’t seem deep, though, so he should recover.

Xu Yanmiao cried out in his mind: [This mother actually wanted to scratch up the dead guy’s brother’s face this whole time! Because he looks too much like Magistrate Luo! She didn’t want her affair to be exposed! She tried several times and failed, but finally found her chance!]

One of the officials got excited. “See? I told you it was an affair!”

The others around him sighed in regret.

Wrong guess…

Meanwhile, the Great General, seizing the moment, kicked the dead man’s mother square in the knee. With a thud, she slammed into the floor. “You wicked old woman! Even tigers don’t eat their own cubs, yet you harbor murderous intent toward your own son!”

The dead man’s mother was completely stunned.

Murderous intent? What?! No way! She just wanted to scratch up her younger son’s face! Besides, if she acted first, no one else would get a chance—two birds with one stone! Why would she—

But the Great General’s voice was so loud and commanding that no one could help but believe him: “Don’t you try to fool me! Your murderous aura is practically radiating!”

The dead man’s brother froze, blood still trickling down his face. He spoke with grief and shock: “Mother! You were going to kill me over this?!”

“I wasn’t—!”

“Then why would the general—” He guessed based on the man’s size. “He has no grudge against you! Why would he wrongly accuse you?! And you really did go all out when you scratched me—I felt it!”

The dead man’s mother: “……”

What could she even say? This might’ve been her only chance—if she didn’t use enough force, there might not even be a scar left later!

The dead man’s son looked at his lover-slash-uncle with distress, and hurriedly cut in: “Grandma! It’s all my fault. If someone has to be hurt, hurt me instead! Don’t hurt Uncle!”

The dead man’s mother: “……”

It was painfully obvious—the way she was crushed by that one word: “Uncle.”

The dead man’s younger brother gritted his teeth and added, “Mother! I know you’re upset, but… Jia Bao and I are practically family on top of family now! I’ll take good care of him!”

The courtiers of Great Xia: Huh? Wasn’t his name Yaozu?

But then, being sharp as they were, they quickly caught on: Oh! Yaozu must be a nickname Little Bai Ze made up as a joke.

Meanwhile, the dead man’s son—unaware that his name had been casually changed—was looking deeply moved. “Uncle…”

[Stop being touched! She’s about to pass out from rage!]

The Great General strode forward and pinched the dead man’s mother hard on the arm.

It worked—she was no longer fainting, just yelling in pain.

The Great General gave a goofy grin. “You’re welcome.”

The dead man’s mother: “……”

She swallowed down the mouthful of blood she nearly coughed up, just as an official stepped forward, pretending to examine the younger brother’s face closely. “I have a small question that only the madam can answer.”

The dead man’s mother: “W-What is it?”

The official tapped his wooden tablet with a finger, his eyes settling on her face as he asked with a polite smile, “The Magistrate of Luo County is my son-in-law. Naturally, I’ve seen his face before…”

Panic started creeping across her face. “I… I don’t know what you’re getting at!”

“Oh, really?” The official’s expression darkened, and he could no longer hold back. His voice thundered through the hall: “Then why does your son’s face look exactly like my son-in-law’s?! What is the relationship between them?! And what’s your relationship with my son-in-law?!”

[Oho! The face thing is finally out in the open! Way faster than I thought!]

—He’d only uncovered the truth when this family came to file their accusation and he started digging into things.

[Yikes… I can’t believe I missed it before—turns out, the Magistrate of Luo County’s wife is the daughter of the Marquis of Ping’en!]

Marquis of Ping’en: No matter. Finding out now is better than never. Once I get back, I’m going to chop that bastard into—

[But… I guess it couldn’t have come out earlier anyway? His daughter really liked her husband, didn’t she?]

[Let’s see… Yep, that tracks! Back then, no matter how much Marquis Ping’en tried to stop her, she wouldn’t budge. Even though she tore the guy’s character, personality, and family background to shreds—she still insisted on marrying him.]

[It was basically like this—]

Xu Yanmiao mimicked dramatically in his head: [Daaaaddy~! He’s not some poor nobody! He promised me that once he passed the imperial exams, he’d marry me~]

Marquis Ping’en suddenly clutched his chest, as though he’d just taken an arrow straight to the heart.

Pain. So much pain.

Who knew how jealous he’d been of other people’s daughters—whether they wanted to become officials themselves or fell in love with someone new every day—it was still better than marrying a man who lived off his wife!

At least common freeloaders were willing to be live-in sons-in-law! What was his daughter’s husband, then?!

[What could he do? In the end, he had to pinch his nose and give his daughter away.]

[Mmm… call it poverty relief.]

Yes. Let’s call it charity work.

The Marquis of Ping’en’s expression was anything but pleasant, and the dead man’s mother couldn’t help but take a step back. “I… It wasn’t really anything. I wasn’t with him that often.”

[To be precise, from the 13th of the 9th month in the 10th year of Tiantong, to the 10th of the 4th month in the 12th year, then from the 1st of the 3rd month in the 14th year to the 30th of the 12th month in the 17th year, the two of you were fooling around quite regularly.]

[Also, the affair didn’t stop in the 18th year because the Magistrate of Luo County suddenly came to his senses. It’s because his mistress, who was thirteen years older than him, turned forty-three that year. He liked mature women—but not too mature.]

The Marquis of Ping’en paused, mentally tallied the years, then exploded: “Not that often? You think saying that makes it true?!”

Five years, on and off—and she dared say it wasn’t much?!

Besides, the two-year gap in between? That was only because that bastard had just gotten married and was afraid of being caught!

“You—!”

The marquis took a deep breath. “Forget it. I won’t make things hard for you. But once all this is over, I am going to chop that bastard into pieces.”

The dead man’s mother seemed like she wanted to say something—but then quietly shut her mouth.

[Honestly, I think you should go now.] Xu Yanmiao mused inwardly, as if chatting with someone.

And of course, he couldn’t help diving into some gossip: [Though I know it’s unlikely, right now he’s actually in the left wing of Yunqi Temple, rolling in the sheets with Widow Zhang. If you rush over, you’ll definitely catch them in the act—holy crap! What a beast! Your wife is literally in labor, and you can’t wait even that long?!]

“Tsk.”

“What a filthy animal.”

The Crown Prince glanced at the Marquis of Ping’en, who looked like he was grinding his teeth to dust, and silently offered his sympathy.

He, for one, fully supported the marquis dismembering that scumbag.

But for now… without a proper excuse… Xu Yanmiao wasn’t stupid.

So, the Marquis found one for himself.

His face darkened and his voice turned stern. “Are you still going to press charges? You know full well what scared your eldest son to death, don’t you?”

The dead man’s mother immediately cried out, “No charges! No charges! My eldest son died of natural causes—it had nothing to do with the Commander!”

If she kept pushing this, both her younger son and grandson would be dragged into the mess. It just wasn’t worth it.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly fair to her eldest son, but for the sake of the family line, she was sure he’d understand.

Hearing this, the old Emperor, under the pleading eyes of the Marquis of Ping’en, brought down the gavel without delay: “In that case, this case is closed!”

Then he added, “False accusations warrant punishment.”

The family jumped in fright and immediately began to sob again.

The Emperor spoke slowly, “However, this situation is unique. The deceased happened to be holding a letter. The letter happened to contain inflammatory language. Your anger is understandable. This time, it won’t count as a false charge. Once you return home, do not stir up more trouble with your neighbors. Harmony is to be valued.”

A sudden twist in fortune.

The family was overjoyed, crying while banging their heads to the ground and parroting lines from popular storybooks: “Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!”

They all chimed in:

“We’ll definitely get along with our neighbors from now on!”

“We’ll go home and tear down the pigsty and chicken coop first!”

The old emperor waved his hand, and someone immediately came to escort them out.

Once everything was settled and the emperor had just announced that the court was dismissed, the Marquis of Ping’en bolted out the door.

He had to hurry! Who knew if that bastard really was like Xu Yanmiao said—a “three-second man”?!

If they got there too late and the guy was gone, they wouldn’t catch him in the act!

Xu Yanmiao saw the marquis take off: “!!!”

[Hiss—]

[I wanna follow and watch the drama unfold!]

And so, he quickly chased after him.

The civil and military officials of Great Xia: “……”

Well, uh, just going to check on a dear colleague, right? Totally normal.

Besides, they’d be great as eyewitnesses. Just in case the magistrate tried to deny it.

The Luo County magistrate wasn’t in Luo County today because his wife, terrified as she approached childbirth, insisted on returning to the capital to be with her mother. He had no choice but to accompany her.

But his wife was pregnant, so he couldn’t touch her. Back when he was courting her, he’d gone all in with the romantic talk—“only you, for life” kind of stuff. Now, forget about taking concubines, he didn’t even dare so much as glance at a maid.

So, he had to sneak around.

It’s not his fault! If only his wife were a little more open-minded and allowed him a few beautiful concubines, he wouldn’t have to look outside!

After shamelessly rationalizing everything to himself, and taking a long break, he felt ready for another round—and immediately flipped back on top of the woman beside him to begin another ten-second workout.

Then—the door was kicked open!

“AHHH—!”

“AHHH—!”

Wait. Three screams, not two.

[AHHH—]

Xu Yanmiao quickly yanked his head back: [MY EYES!]

The door had been kicked open by the Marquis of Ping’en (he had first returned home, pretending to just now realize his son-in-law wasn’t by his daughter’s side while she was in labor. Then, half-pretending, half-genuinely furious: “Oh really?! It was one thing when he used to go to Yunqi Temple all the time to ‘pray for blessings,’ but today too?!”—and he stormed over).

The Marquis of Ping’en—along with the emperor, crown prince, and a whole crowd of civil and military officials—were greeted with the sight of two glaringly white, jiggling blobs. Like two massive slabs of fat pork, they fell from the bed to the floor with a loud splat.

The two heads instinctively turned toward the door, their bodies still tightly glued together—like some grotesque set of conjoined twins.

“Eugh—”

The crown prince immediately covered his eyes.

The Luo County magistrate, upon recognizing the people at the door (he had previously been brought before the emperor and crown prince by his father-in-law), froze.

And then—

“AAAAHHHHHHHH!”

The officials of Great Xia understood instantly—that was the scream of someone whose social life had just died a horrible death.

OH MY GOD! There’s not a day without any drama in this court.