On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2153 The True and False Governors

The torches in the courtyard crackled and popped, and the air, besides the smell of smoke and a faint, almost imperceptible fishy odor, was also filled with Madam Ding's suppressed sobs, which drifted lightly and scraped at people's hearts.

Yan Ruyu stood under the corridor and slowly closed her eyes when she heard Madam Ding call out "husband" to the corpse wrapped in oilcloth.

The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs at her temples and brushed against her slightly cool cheeks. Her long eyelashes trembled, and the last vestige of hope in her heart was finally shattered completely.

She had suspected it all along, but she never expected it to come true, and in such a devastating way.

Huo Changhe, standing beside her, lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on Madam Ding's trembling back. His dark eyes were calm, but his hand gripping the sword hilt tightened its knuckles.

The servants and yamen runners holding torches all remained silent, and no one uttered a single word.

The torchlight reflected on their faces, revealing a mixture of reluctance, astonishment, and a melancholy that was hard to define.

Governor Ding stood in the shadows under the corridor, paused for a moment, then raised his voice and shouted, his voice carrying a hint of deliberate smugness: "See that! Everyone saw that!"

This woman is a fake! She's just confessing! She was just saying she was my wife, and now she's calling this unidentified corpse "husband"—it's utterly absurd!

As he spoke, he took two steps forward, wanting to get closer, but then stopped three feet away from the firelight, seemingly wary of the corpse.

Madam Ding's tears were still on her face, and she hadn't had time to wipe them away. She even paused for a moment when she sobbed.

She slowly raised her head, and her gaze toward Governor Ding was like ice tempered in the dead of winter, or a sharpened knife, cutting straight into him.

Her voice was trembling with tears, yet every word was clear and carried a piercing force: "You're the fake one. You imposter!"

She sniffed, her chest still rising and falling slightly, and continued, "If it weren't for my kind-hearted husband who saw you frozen to the point of near death at the city gate and took you in, you would be nothing more than a homeless beggar now, long ago frozen and starving to death, without even a straw mat to wrap your body!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Prefect Ding's face flushed red instantly, as if someone had touched a sore spot. His voice rose a few decibels, but it was tinged with a lack of confidence. "How could I, the dignified Prefect of Rongzhou, be a beggar? You woman are spouting nonsense and trying to tarnish my reputation!"

Madam Ding suddenly stood up straight, exuding a resolute aura.

She pointed to the corpse wrapped in oilcloth, her voice filled with anger instead of grief, and demanded, "Who is lying? If you have nothing to hide, if you are truly innocent, then you have the guts to swear an oath before my husband's corpse."

If you utter even half a lie, may you be struck by lightning and die a horrible death. Do you dare?

These words made the courtyard even quieter, and even the crackling sound of the torches burning seemed exceptionally clear.

Governor Ding opened his mouth, the words "What is there to be afraid of?" that were on the tip of his tongue, but at that moment, he heard a muffled rumble of thunder rolling across the distant horizon.

The thunder was extremely faint, as if it came from deep within the clouds, yet it struck his heart precisely, giving him a sharp jolt. The words that were about to come out of his throat were swallowed back down, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his face paled slightly.

He took a half step back, avoiding Madam Ding's gaze, and forced himself to argue: "Why should I argue with an ignorant woman like you about such nonsense?"

"Everyone in Rongzhou knows my identity, and so does Envoy Su. How dare you cause trouble here?"

Upon hearing this, Su Zhenhai, who was standing to the side, let out a short laugh, which was clearly sarcastic.

He took two steps forward, the torch illuminating his features, and said in a calm yet authoritative tone, "I don't know. If you really are Governor Ding, why not do as she says? What's wrong with swearing an oath?"

A hint of displeasure flashed across Governor Ding's face, and his brows furrowed. However, when he met Su Zhenhai's gaze and remembered the other's current status, he could only suppress his displeasure.

He lowered his stance somewhat, but his tone still carried a hint of arrogance: "Envoy Su, we have worked together for many years and are colleagues. How can you be deceived by a woman of unknown origin?"

"As the governor of a prefecture, my status is so noble, how could it be false?"

He had barely finished speaking when Huo Changhe's cold voice rang out: "Why not?"

Along his journey, he had witnessed countless strange and wicked things.

These words left Governor Ding speechless. He opened his mouth, then closed it again in frustration, his face turning pale and then flushed, looking extremely unpleasant.

Yan Ruyu, standing in the corridor, fixed her gaze on Madam Ding, her tone softening and carrying a hint of reassurance: "Madam, if you have any hidden grievances or proof, just tell us. Today, right here, we will surely give you justice."

Upon hearing this, Madam Ding couldn't help but shed tears again. She raised her hand to wipe her face, her gaze first falling on the corpse with endless sorrow, then turning to the fake governor on the steps, her eyes almost overflowing with hatred.

She took a deep breath, her voice gradually calming down, though still choked with sobs, as she recounted the past: "My husband was demoted to Rongzhou due to a change in the court."

At that time, he had just taken office and had few capable people around him. Rongzhou was also hit by floods, and the people were displaced and living a hard life.

But he never uttered a single complaint, only saying that since he had come to Rongzhou, he should do something for the people of Rongzhou and work for their well-being.

She paused, the firelight reflecting off her face, revealing the longing in her eyes.

"He said it, and he did it."

In the first three months after taking office, he hardly slept a wink. He went to the disaster area every day, leading his yamen runners to dredge the river, build sheds, and even paid out of his own pocket to buy food to relieve the disaster victims.

At that time, he wore out several pairs of boots, and his feet were red and swollen from the cold, but he refused to rest.

"After the flood receded, he tried to find ways to help the people rebuild their homes. He also took the lead in building irrigation canals to draw mountain spring water to irrigate the fields, and the harvest in Rongzhou got better year by year."

The old folks in town all say that Rongzhou's peaceful life today is all thanks to my husband.

At this point, her voice trembled with sobs, her chest heaving violently. When she looked at the fake governor again, every word was squeezed out of her throat, filled with heartbreaking grief and indignation.

"He worked diligently his whole life, always keeping the people of Rongzhou in his heart. He never slacked off in the slightest and never did anything wrong."

"Everything was fine before. Rongzhou was getting better, the people's lives were getting better, and our family of three was living a peaceful life."

She raised her hand to the fake governor: "Until this ungrateful beast shows up!"