As the prison cart moved forward, the crowd of onlookers seemed to come to their senses and began following the cart, eager to hear what crimes had brought down the once invincible Zhao Bocai.

Lu Qing and Zhu Yu were also mingled in the crowd, listening as they walked, hearing how Zhao Bocai had tried to find a place outside the Capital to store troops, forcibly driving away peasants from two villages, beating them with whips and clubs, making them leave their homes and fields, and forcing them to flee far away so that he could use those lands to store troops and conduct training.

They also resorted to robbing money and grain from nearby areas to stockpile provisions, causing unbearable hardship to the surrounding peasants. The local government, due to Zhao Bocai being the Duke Yan’s legitimate grandson, dared not speak out. After being threatened by Zhao Bocai, they lacked the courage to even report, allowing him to run amok.

Matters like storing troops and the Jade Seal made the ordinary peasants around feel that the crimes were too severe, making them tremble with fear, though they felt little genuine emotion beyond that.

However, upon hearing about the seizure of houses and farmland, forcing decent farmers into displacement and becoming homeless, it stirred up anger in these hardworking ordinary people.

Unbeknownst to who started first, someone picked up small stones from the roadside and threw them at Zhao Bocai’s prison cart.

Once one person started, others naturally followed suit. In an instant, small stones pelted the prison cart like a rainstorm. The roadside rubble was snatched up so quickly by the crowd that even the weeds disappeared in the chaos.

Some people couldn’t find stones and, filled with anger, simply took off their shoes and threw them.

Although the bars of Zhao Bocai’s prison cart were quite dense, there were gaps, and occasionally stones were thrown inside, hitting Zhao Bocai. He tried to dodge but the narrow prison cart made it difficult for him to turn around, so he had no choice but to huddle his neck and endure.

Lu Qing turned his back to the prison cart, partly shielding Zhu Yu from the rebounding stones to prevent them from hitting her.

After moving some distance forward, suddenly, cries erupted from afar. The crowd looked toward the sound and saw several women in luxurious outfits stumbling toward them, with a few young maidservants following closely to support them.

As those women rushed forward, the lead officer tried to block them with his sword but was signaled by someone beside him to sheathe his weapon, stepping aside to clear a path for the women.

Closer up, Zhu Yu recognized them, including the Duchess Yan, who had previously thrown a disastrous birthday banquet, the unfortunate elderly lady.

She was flanked by two maidservants supporting her, making it seem less like she was walking and more like she was being lifted as they trotted.

Behind the Duchess were Zhao Bocai’s mother and Zhao Bi’s eldest daughter-in-law, and Zhu Yu couldn’t recognize the other women following them.

These women were crying and wailing as they charged straight and threw themselves in front of the prison cart, crying loudly, trapping the cart in place.

Upon seeing the group of women rushing over crying, the crowd instinctively paused their stone-throwing actions.

After all, leading the group was an elderly woman, and disregarding her noble status, the onlookers also had elderly family members, and none wanted to throw stones at these women.

The Duchess Yan, supported by maidservants, and her daughters-in-law threw themselves at the cart, leaning on the bars, wailing.

"My grandson! My dear grandson! Which damnable soul caused you such suffering! How did you end up like this!" The Duchess Yan cried tears of sorrow, extending her hand into the prison cart to touch her grandson’s face but unable to reach it. She trembled and cried, her hand in mid-air, "My grandson has never suffered like this!

This is such a misfortune!"

Zhao Family’s eldest daughter-in-law also sobbed uncontrollably beside her, "Son... My poor son! What immortal has our family offended to suffer so much lately...

My son has suffered... suffered...

Don’t be afraid, we... we..."

She muttered "we" a few times before realizing that their usual reliance, the Duke Yan, was also imprisoned recently, unable to rescue her grandson, causing sudden grief and loud crying. As she cried, she reached out to touch Zhao Bocai’s boots, sobbing, "My son... my son..."

Originally, upon seeing these women rush over, the crowd instinctively stopped throwing stones. Upon hearing their crying, any initial pity disappeared, and an unspoken fury surged forth.

"How shameless these people are!" Someone in the crowd couldn’t take it and shouted, "Your family’s unworthy son drove peasants from their lands, attempted rebellion, and here you are grieving!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Once someone starts, it’s like opening a floodgate; condemnation and curses arose, and any slight sympathy vanished, leaving a chaotic uproar condemning Zhao Bocai’s crimes.

Within moments, Duke Mansion’s women were surrounded, and accusations came from all directions louder and louder.

Duke Mansion’s women, usually pampered inside the household and associated only with other noble women with whom they were always cordial and respectful due to Zhao Bi’s status, faced this mass denunciation for the first time, terrified into silence, trembling like frightened quails.

The more they appeared to suffer, the angrier the crowd became, and curses grew louder, making the women’s crying worsen, creating utter chaos.

Zhu Yu watched coldly from the side, pondering how the Duke’s ambition was not matched by his family’s intellect.

The son was either incompetent or physically impaired, and the son-in-law disagreed politically, unwilling to even conspire.

The only favored legitimate grandson was of mediocre aptitude, lacking in intellect, sole arrogance being his main trait.

Female family members lacked courage or righteousness, nowhere near good counsel.

Thus, relying solely on Zhao Bi’s impulsiveness, those schemes were doomed from the start.