Speaking Up for Justice: Feng Ziying

This sudden change caused an instant silence to fall over the surroundings!

"Mother!" Jia Yun's composure, which he had been able to maintain even in the face of being condemned by thousands, vanished the moment he saw his mother being humiliated and falling to the ground!

His expression changed drastically, and he no longer cared about etiquette. He rushed forward and hurriedly bent down to help his mother up.

But Bu's hair was disheveled, her palms were scraped and bleeding, and her face was a mixture of panic and pain. Although tears welled up in her eyes, she stubbornly held them back.

Jia Yun's gaze swept over the group of silent disciples, and not one of them dared to meet his eyes.

However, just then, he suddenly spotted a servant in a blue satin jacket trying to sneak back from behind the crowd. A hint of smugness and panic still lingered on his face!

It's him!

A blurry image of her mother struggling before she fell flashed through Jia Yun's mind! The anger that had been suppressed in her chest for so long could no longer be contained!

"You lackey! Where do you think you're going!"

Jia Yun let out a loud shout that shook the roof tiles.

He gently pushed his mother to a safe spot, then turned around abruptly and strode towards the servant.

The hall was brightly lit, illuminating his angular face, which was etched with extreme anger. His usually gentle and handsome features now exuded a fierce and menacing aura, like a monstrous tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead!

The people around him were so intimidated by his sudden aura that no one dared to step forward to stop him, and they all instinctively backed away.

When the servant saw Jia Yun rushing towards him like a demon, he was so frightened that he turned to run away.

But Jia Yun was even faster—his footwork was swift and steady, instantly closing in on the other's back. He didn't care about elegant moves; with a bend of his right arm and a powerful thrust of his waist and hips, he unleashed a fierce and violent variation of the Bajiquan "Heart-Piercing Elbow," slamming it hard into the servant's back!

Fortunately, Jia Yun still retained a shred of reason. Remembering that this was Rongxi Hall and that there were many people around, he did not use all his strength.

Even so, how could an ordinary servant withstand such an angry blow?

A muffled thud!

The servant felt a tremendous force penetrate his body from behind, as if his internal organs had shifted. He screamed in agony as his feet left the ground and he crashed heavily to the ground more than ten feet away.

The servant rolled around a few more times before stopping, then clutched his chest and abdomen tightly with both hands, curled up into a ball, and howled like a pig being slaughtered.

Never before had any of the guests witnessed such a brazen act of violence in the main hall of the Duke's mansion. Screams and gasps filled the air, and many of the women covered their mouths and gasped in fright.

"Outrageous! Outrageous!" Grandmother Jia trembled with rage at the sight, slamming her dragon-headed cane heavily on the ground. "They dare to beat people right in front of me! This is unacceptable! Do they have no respect for family rules? No respect for their elders?!"

Jia She immediately darkened his face and shouted sternly, "Jia Yun! How dare you! Why are you beating a servant without cause! Is there no law anymore?!"

Jia Yun's anger subsided slightly after his attack. He stood tall in the hall, showing no fear in the face of the rebukes from Grandmother Jia and Jia She.

"Grandmother, Your Excellency, please witness! How could your grandson be such a troublemaker? It was this very man who secretly pushed my mother down! My mother is a frail woman; what wrong has she done to suffer such humiliation? If a son were to see his mother humiliated and remain silent, what difference would he be from pigs and dogs! The Classic of Filial Piety says: 'Of the three thousand kinds of punishments, none is greater than unfilial piety!' Today, let alone a mere servant like him, even if it were the Emperor himself who harmed my mother, I, Jia Yun, would absolutely not let this go!"

His words were powerful and resounding, firmly upholding the banner of "filial piety" and elevating his actions to the level of upholding human ethics!

Sure enough, those guests who initially thought Jia Yun's behavior was excessive, especially several officials who came from the orthodox path of the imperial examination and valued "loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness," couldn't help but nod slightly.

Some even whispered, "Although the behavior was a bit extreme, the situation is pitiful."

"It's not easy for a filial son to get angry, or for a man of spirit to be so fierce."

Even Jia Zheng, who was sitting upright, felt that Jia Yun's actions were inappropriate. However, after hearing Jia Yun cite classical texts and argue for filial piety, he actually valued him even more.

He had always believed that men should have integrity and uprightness. Although Jia Yun's actions were rash, they were not unreasonable and were still much better than those timid and subservient young men.

Seeing that the guests, especially the officials, were all subtly siding with Jia Yun, Grandmother Jia realized that if she were to forcefully suppress them with family rules, it would only make the Jia family appear unreasonable and condone a wicked servant bullying his master.

Although she was furious that Jia Yun had embarrassed her without regard for the occasion, she could only suppress her anger.

The many guests in the hall, especially the women, felt pity upon seeing this scene.

Tan Chun was so angry that her face turned pale, and she gripped the armrest of the chair tightly; even Wang Xifeng frowned, feeling that these people had done something too ugly.

An extremely awkward and tense silence fell over the scene. Jia Yun supported his mother, and the two stood in the hall, as if they were fighting against the injustice.

"Drag that man away right now!" Jia Zheng suppressed his anger and turned to several familiar officials at the table: "Gentlemen, are the examination questions and the first essays from the Wanping examination in the year of Yiwei as Yun'er described?"

The official Li, who had been talking with Jia Zheng earlier, paused slightly as he stroked his beard.

He exchanged a glance with several other officials who had come from the imperial examination system before carefully speaking, "Brother Cunzhou, this... the Wanping examination question from the year Yiwei is indeed as described. Xu Shaoting, the Hanlin scholar, wrote the essay... I vaguely remember that the opening and continuation of the question, the gist... seems to be similar to what Young Master Yun said."

A censor from the Censorate standing nearby nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right, that's the case. It's already quite remarkable that Young Master Yun can memorize the examination text so well, quote it so readily, and elaborate on it so powerfully."

Another scholar from the Imperial Academy added: "In my opinion, what Young Master Yun just said not only did not deviate from the topic, but also deeply grasped the essence of the word 'metaphor,' closely linked to the origin of human nature, and the writing style was also excellent. If it were placed in the examination for the young scholars, it would be considered a masterpiece."

Although these officials confirmed that Jia Yun's words were true and all thought he had answered well, their words were tinged with the tact and diplomacy of officialdom, and they did not push Jia Dairu into a corner.

Has the truth finally come out?

Countless gazes were directed at Jia Dairu and his grandson.

There was contempt, mockery, pity, and even more anger in those eyes. Jia Dairu felt all the blood rush to his head, his face burning as if he had been stripped naked in public.

He considered himself a private tutor his entire life, boasting of his profound knowledge. Yet now, he was utterly refuted in front of a hall full of distinguished guests by a distant relative from whom he looked down, using the very examination questions he valued most!

He pointed at Jia Yun, stammering "You...you..." but couldn't utter a single word. Suddenly, a breath caught in his chest, and his vision went black as he fell straight backward!

"grandfather!"

"Grandpa!"

"Quick, catch her!"

The scene immediately descended into chaos, and several servants rushed forward to help the unconscious Jia Dairu.

Jia Rui was also frightened and rushed over, calling out repeatedly.

However, in the midst of this chaos, no one noticed that in his panic, Jia Rui's eyes involuntarily drifted towards Feng Jie, who was sitting below Lady Wang.

Today, Sister Feng was wearing a narrow-sleeved bright red satin jacket embroidered with gold butterflies and flowers, over which was a five-colored carved silk dark blue and silver fox fur coat. The colorful embroidery was dazzling, making her look like a goddess or fairy.

Especially her jade-like face, dignified and elegant, not like a fairy but more lively, with fair and tender skin. Even more so, her movements revealed the unique, trembling, and enchanting charm of a mature woman.

At this moment, her lips were slightly parted, and her aloof and commanding demeanor, coupled with her shrewd, capable, and dazzling aura, made Jia Rui momentarily infatuated.

He even forgot most of his grandfather's fainting spell, his heart pounding wildly, as if his soul had already flown to the heavens.

However, at that moment, a clear yet somewhat unruly voice suddenly rang out:

"Hey! No wonder this looked so strange! Turns out it's your own family members putting down your own successful kids! This is truly eye-opening!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell into an instant silence!

All eyes immediately turned to the speaker—a young nobleman sitting in the seats reserved for sons of military officers and nobles.

The man had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a dignified bearing. He was none other than Feng Ziying, the son of the Divine General Feng Tang!

Feng Tang's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly, "Zi Ying! Stop talking nonsense! Shut up!"

Feng Ziying, however, didn't care at all. Instead, he stood up and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Jia Zheng and his mother, with a carefree smile on his face.

"Uncle, please forgive my rudeness, ancestor. It's just that I'm a straightforward person and can't stand this kind of thing! This Yun-ge'er answered perfectly, even Lord Li and Censor Wang praised him, so why does my own grandfather say he's talking nonsense? Isn't this blatant bullying? Do some people only want to hear good things called bad and smart people called fools?"

These words laid bare the shady schemes within the Jia family to all the guests!

Grandmother Jia's face instantly turned ashen, and her hand gripping her cane trembled slightly. Lady Wang lowered her eyelids, her knuckles turning white as she twirled her prayer beads. Lady Xing, however, remained indifferent, observing Feng Ziying and Jia Yun with a hint of curiosity.

At this moment, Jia Yun finally saw clearly this righteous young man and was shocked!

It's him!