She had to use all her strength to reach the high drum, her toes curled up, regardless of her clothes being soaked through, and people around her were already pointing at her "immodesty".

  The grand temple gate in front of her finally swung open again as she had wished.

  She looked towards the door with hope. A pair of women's slender feet walked out from inside the door.

  The woman looked at the girl who walked out and saw that she was not the person she wanted to see, and a look of disappointment appeared on her face.

  Jing Wan'er didn't miss the expression on the woman's face, wearing simple and unadorned clothes, yet her face was delicate and moving, about twenty years old, unfortunately, such a face was full of sorrowful expressions.

  "I am Lady Pae's maid." After seeing the woman, Jing Wanyi carefully chose her words and said this sentence.

  The woman's eyes moved slightly, and she looked at Jing Wanyu again. A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in her eyes.

  Jing Wan'er smiled and said her second sentence: "Lord Pei wants me to bring you to see him."

  The woman frowned and said somewhat disbelievingly: "R-really?"

  Jing Wan'er's face wore a reassuring expression. "The master has heard the drumbeat and has finished changing his clothes; he is waiting for you in the main hall."

  The girl was dazed, and suddenly a line of tears fell down.

  Jing Wan'er slowly walked forward and took the woman's hand.

  Thus, Jing Wanyu led her all the way to the public hall where Pei Tan was.

  When she arrived there, the woman naturally saw a young man sitting high up in the same way as the rumors, and indeed he was a handsome noble son.

  The woman immediately knelt down: "A commoner's daughter pays respects to the great Minister of Justice!"

  The woman's figure is slender and elegant, with a graceful bearing that has a hint of romance.

  Pei Tan seemed to be sitting in the main hall for the second time, the last time was the daughter of the fisherman who died under Zong Ho's horse hoof. She was also a weak and gentle woman.

  "Who is under the hall? Report your name."

  Although kneeling, her body was straight, "Civilian woman Lin Jingjing, a resident of Chang'an."

  "Why beat the drum of injustice." Pei Tan stared at the woman's pale face.

  Lin Jingjing's head knocked on the ground again, seemingly unable to calm down for a while without speaking. After a long time, she got up and took out a folded notice from her sleeve.

  This is probably the most bizarre missing person notice in the history of Chang'an City, with a description but no portrait, only a few lines of sparse descriptions that vaguely describe the appearance of the missing person.

  It turned out to be a missing person notice posted on the streets and alleys.

  Lin Jingjing seemed to have calmed down a lot, she slowly opened her mouth: "Min Nü, go and see the person mentioned in this notice."

  Jing Wan'er stood on one side of the main hall, slowly looking towards Pei Tan.

  "Did you know who was in the notice?" Pei Tan asked slowly.

  Lin Jing's face suddenly showed a hint of mockery, she clenched the notice and said slowly: "The civilian woman knows."

  "Who is it?"

  Lin Jing looked at Pei Tan, but didn't respond. After a while, she smiled slightly and asked: "Before that, I'd like to ask you something, sir. Can you tell me whether the person in this painting is dead or alive?"

  Jing Wan'er's face was filled with astonishment, and the atmosphere in the great hall suddenly turned silent.

  Pei Tan stared at the woman without making a sound. After all, the notice on the Dali Temple only mentioned searching for someone, but didn't say anything about life or death.

  This woman came up and asked, especially with a resolute expression on her face.

  "What is your relationship with the person in the notice?" Pei Tan asked again, his eyes narrowing.

  But then the woman's face showed an even clearer cold smile, and Jing Wanyu saw that the woman's slender wrist had a embroidered peony flower, and she suddenly understood something.

  An ordinary good family girl, her body and skin are all given by her parents, she will never carve anything on her skin...

  Lin Jing's expression gradually cooled: "The adults don't let the common people see the person in this notice, it seems that the person in the notice has indeed met with misfortune."

  Pei Tan furrowed his brow slightly.

  This woman's words clearly show she knows something, but is unwilling to say it.

  "Lin girl, since you've come to identify someone, at least say out the identity of the person you're identifying?" said Jing Wan'er.

  Lin Jingjing's joints were pale, her hands clasped together: "The person in the painting is named Fan Wenjun, a scholar from Bianzhou who came to Chang'an for the imperial examination. If... if Your Excellency is benevolent, could you please hand over his body to me? I want to give him a proper burial."

  This made it even more impossible for others to intervene. From the beginning of the public trial, Lin Jingjing's expression had clearly been hiding something, but she didn't plan on saying anything.

  Pei Tan's eyes were heavy as he looked at her, "You haven't even seen the body, how can you be sure it's Fan Wenjun?"

  Lin Jingjing smiled coldly: "It is written in the adult's notice that the person being sought has a scar on his right hand, it must be Fan Gongzi without a doubt."

  Who would notice such details, Jing Waner couldn't help but think that Lin Jingjing must be a close relative of the deceased. Otherwise, she wouldn't know so much.

  "Then who are you to Fan Wenjun?" Pei Tan could only ask. From the girl's tone, she wasn't a relative either.

  But Lin Jingjing bit her lower lip and stiffly said: "Friend."

  Jing Wan'er roughly understood the implication of Pei Tan's question, and indeed Pei Tan said: "Even if the notice... is the person you mentioned, according to the law of the Tang Dynasty, only relatives have the qualifications to claim the body for burial."

  Lin Jing's face suddenly turned pale, and after a moment she said: "Fan Wenjun is not a native of Chang'an, how could there be relatives coming to dress him for burial?"

  "It can't be helped then."

  Lin Jingjing's hands were clasped together, "Please, sir, be lenient."

  Pei Tan gazed at the gaunt figure: "The law is thus, and this official cannot change it."

  Lin Jingjing suddenly raised her head and looked at Pei Tan, wondering what thoughts flashed through her mind. "Rumors have it that Temple Master Pei has the demeanor of a former Di Gong, so even a humble fisherman's daughter can speak out against injustice. Now it seems that you, sir, would let Fan Wengong, a lone foreigner, die without even being able to rest in peace?"

  At this time, the yamen runner shouted: "How dare you! You actually threatened the master!"

  Lin Jingjing's face didn't show a hint of fear.

  Jing Wan'er had already roughly sensed it. Listening to the woman's tone, she was absolutely not an ordinary townspeople, and she seemed to be really thinking of the deceased with all her heart.

  Jing Wan'er suddenly smiled and said: "Lin Niang, you don't care how the deceased died, but only want to take back the body for burial. Forgive me, I don't understand what you're thinking."

  Not sparing to strike the drum of injustice, they came to the main hall to see the official, obviously having a deep affection for this "Fan Wenjun". If so, after hearing the news of his death, why did Lin Jingjing only turn pale, but didn't show more intense emotions?

  The more I look at her, the more I feel she has secrets.

  Lin Jingjing apparently fell silent to Jing Wanyu's question, and Jing Wanyu said at this time: "You are a citizen of Chang'an, how did you get to know Fan Wenjun? And do you know...Fan Wenjun's body was found outside the city?"

  Lin Jing's whole body shook slightly as she looked at Jing Wanyan: "His corpse... is outside the city?"

  Looking at Lin Jingjing's expression, Jing Wanyan's eyes dimmed: "The corpse had countless knife wounds, and the forensic examination found that it was killed by robbers who were robbed and died in a chaotic knife."

  This was the result of the autopsy done previously, but it has already been overturned. Pei Tan's expression changed involuntarily.

  Ling Jing's expression changed suddenly, "Chaos... Chaotic Blade?"

  She slumped down onto the ground, seemingly dazed.

  No one can accept that someone they care about would die in such a tragic way.

  Jing Wantong couldn't help but play a small trick.

  Lin Jingjing slowly straightened up, her voice slightly trembling: "Fan Wenjun was not killed by bandits, please investigate clearly."

  "Pei Tan looked at her: 'Why did you say that?'"

  Lin Jingjing smiled coldly: "Fan Wenjun is a poor scholar, penniless and without any status, which thief would rob someone like him?"

  Pei Tan and Jing Wanyu looked at each other, it was not easy for Lin Jingjing to reveal her true feelings.

  "He used to stay in the most dilapidated Hengxi Inn in Chang'an, and was even forced out by the boss several times, who wanted to sell the room to someone else. All he had was that one set of unconventional and open-minded clothes..."

  Pei Tan remained silent for a long time, waiting for the woman opposite him to wipe away her tears.

  "Does Fan Wenjun have an enemy?" he asked.

  Lin Jingjing shook her head and said quietly: "His temperament would never allow him to make enemies with others."

  Not for wealth, not for revenge.

  Lin Jingjing paused for a long time, then said in a low and mournful tone: "Minyu and Fan Wenjun had agreed to meet on the ninth day of March, but he didn't show up."

  Since then, she had never seen him again in Chang'an.

  "Pei's eyes were deep and mysterious, 'How did you two meet, and why would you make an appointment with him?'"

  Lin Jingjings head hung low, and she smiled faintly: "The adults ask these things, and the commoner woman has nothing to hide. The commoner woman is a Qingyi hired by the Hears Happiness Inn, specifically to sing opera for the scholars, and it was through this that she became acquainted with Master Fan."

  Lin Jingjing came forward and beat the drum. Her identity naturally became a mystery that everyone in the court wanted to know, and now she finally spoke out.

  Jing Wan'er was convinced in her heart, and she had guessed correctly. The one who would embroider flowers on her wrist could only be a woman of the wind and dust from Chang'an. And she didn't say it earlier, obviously because she was afraid that her identity would be looked down upon.

  "Master Fan," said Lin Jingjing, "is also the only person in that inn who treats me with courtesy. It's nothing unusual for someone like me to be looked down upon and trampled on, I'm already used to it."

  At this time, there was one person who was different, even willing to stand up for an actor, enough to make the woman remember.

  Jing Wan'er suddenly understood, Lin Jingjing, she was Fan Wenjun's girlfriend...

  The story of the talented men and beautiful women, every time the imperial examination was held in Chang'an City, but Lin Jingjing and Fan Wenjun were the most tragic among them.

  Just then, Lin Jingjing suddenly knelt down and kowtowed deeply, and when she got up, she said: "Since I couldn't bring back Mr. Fan's body, I don't want to bother you anymore. Sir, please let me take my leave."

  The woman slowly got up, covering her face with a sorrowful expression, and turned around to leave.

  Jing Wan'er clearly had something stuck in her throat, but she couldn't say it out loud. She saw Lin Jingjing already walking out of the main hall's gate, and Pei Tan seemed to be in a similar mood.

  After all, it's just bullying the lonely and helpless people in this world. Even if they are hurt or die, if no one comes to plead for them, then even death will be ignored.

  And Fan Wenjun, the poor scholar who died a tragic death, had been dead for many days. The notice had been posted for three days, but only one woman, a courtesan who had feelings for him, came to mourn his passing.