He heard that his daughter was having an affair here, and he was so angry that he gave the gossipy old woman a good scolding.

Unexpectedly, the tables turned so quickly.

His Fang'er really did such a shameless thing with someone.

Chen Dayong was furious.

Just then, the county magistrate arrived with his constables.

“Your Honor, it was this couple. They were having an affair here yesterday. I heard some noise when I passed by, so I came to check it out. But I heard them say… that they were worried their affair would be exposed, so they killed Ma Cai’er. Chen Fang did it himself, pushing her into the ice hole.” Ma Cai’er’s face was calm, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.

"No, no, no... there must be a mistake. My sister is timid by nature and very kind. She and the Ma family girl grew up together and are like sisters. There's no way I would push her into an ice hole," Chen Yu said quickly.

My sister was having an affair, and so many people in the village saw it in broad daylight. In the past, she would have been drowned.

Fortunately, the current emperor has issued an order forbidding the use of private punishments and forbidding people from being drowned in ponds.

All crimes committed by citizens of the Great Yan Dynasty shall be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the dynasty.

My sister and Liang Feng committed such an immoral act in broad daylight; according to the law, they should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane.

If they could bribe the executioners to show mercy, my sister would only suffer minor injuries and would recover in a few days.

Although she might never be able to get married, at least she can survive.

The three brothers can still support her.

If what Chen Tianhe said is true, then his sister is a murderer, which is punishable by death.

Chen Yu didn't believe his sister would kill anyone, let alone that she would kill Ma Cai'er.

The younger sister and Ma Cai'er grew up together since childhood. They were inseparable and closer than blood sisters.

Whenever the younger sister gets something good, the first person she thinks of isn't her three older brothers, but Ma Cai'er.

She bought hair ornaments for the New Year and insisted on sharing one with Ma Cai'er.

My sister would never kill Ma Cai'er!

"Guards, take him back and interrogate him thoroughly," Magistrate Gong ordered loudly.

"It must have been Liang Feng who did it. He's a shameless playboy who loves to use sweet talk to deceive young girls. Even my sister's wrongdoing today was forced upon her by him," Chen Yu said loudly.

"Nonsense! It was clearly this shameless little slut who seduced me first. The first time she flirted with me was last year. Ever since she tasted the pleasures of love, she has been constantly pestering me. Even though she knows I'm already engaged, she still keeps bothering me. Today... today she invited me here."

As Liang Feng spoke, he continued under Chen Fang's utterly shocked gaze: "You all saw it just now, how much this woman enjoyed it. I didn't force her; she's just naturally promiscuous and likes men treating her like this. Besides me, she definitely has other lovers..."

Chen Yu was furious and stepped forward to punch Liang Feng, but Liang Feng dodged him.

“Your Honor, please save me! The Chen family is trying to silence me. Ma Cai’er was killed by Chen Fang. Chen Fang pushed her into the ice hole. Ma Cai’er caught us having an affair in the cornfield and even tried to persuade Chen Fang to leave me. Chen Fang was afraid that she would tell others. This September, when they went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables, Chen Fang tried to push her off the cliff. I was the one who stopped her…” Before Magistrate Gong could take him back for questioning, Liang Feng confessed everything in detail.

Anyway, he didn't kill the person.

He and Chen Fang had an affair in broad daylight, which would get him punished, but at least his life wouldn't be in danger.

He's a man; even after something like this, he can still get married. Huang Yuanhua probably won't break off the engagement.

"You shameless slut! You're despicable yourself, yet you still try to harm my Cai'er! He never uttered a single word about you, not even I, her father, knew anything about it, and yet you took her life! You're inhuman!" Ma Mingdong angrily rushed over and kicked Chen Fang hard.

He wanted to continue kicking this vicious little bitch, but was pulled away by the Chen father and son.

"I'm going to kill you to avenge my Cai'er!" Ma Mingdong didn't know where the strength came from, but he actually broke free.

However, with the yamen runners present, it was impossible for him to kill someone in broad daylight.

Magistrate Gong quickly ordered his constables to take Chen Fang and Liang Feng away.

Ma Cai'er smiled through her scabbed face, which looked somewhat frightening.

But Ma Mingdong and his three sons were very grateful to her for telling the story.

"Thank you so much, Brother Chen, for speaking up for my daughter and finding the murderer who killed her!" Ma Mingdong quickly came over and bowed to express his gratitude.

Ma Cai'er dared not look at them.

Ma Mingdong and his three sons were very grateful to her and insisted that she stay for dinner.

After Ma Cai'er went to the Ma family with them, she couldn't help but tell her father and brothers that she had become Chen Tianhe after her death.

The family hugged each other and cried for a long time.

When Ye Xianya arrived, it was already dark.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Ye Xianya asked with a smile.

"Yes!" Ma Cai'er nodded: "When I was ten years old, my mother passed away after giving birth to my fourth brother. Since then, I have been taking care of my family, cooking and tending the fire. After my second and third brothers grew up, they were able to help my father with chores, and our family's life gradually improved. My fourth brother would also help me sweep the yard, fetch water, and do whatever he could. I was originally very content with this kind of life, but I never expected to encounter such a calamity!"

To be fair, she didn't want to leave her family, because once she went to the underworld to be reincarnated, she would forget everything and be reborn as a human.

Her connection with her father and brothers was completely severed.

However, she didn't want to live as a man.

Her father and brothers also urged her to reincarnate.

"Now that things have come to this, you can only look forward. Fortunately, that wicked woman will receive the punishment she deserves, and your father and brothers' lives will gradually improve. In your next life, you will be reborn into a good family and won't have to live such a hard life as you have in this one," Ye Xianya said.

"Thank you, Princess. I have another request. I would like to ask you to use your magic to retrieve my body from the river. My father has been jumping into the ice hole for several days in a row to search for my body. He is not young and his body cannot withstand it." Ma Cai'er knelt down, kowtowed three times to Ye Xianya, and said respectfully.

“Okay!” Ye Xianya nodded in agreement and quickly used her magic to retrieve Ma Cai’er’s body from the Jing Shui River and place it in the Ma family’s courtyard.

"Thank you, Princess!" Ma Cai'er kowtowed in gratitude.

Ye Xianya smiled and shook her head, then led her away.

Back at Chen Tianhe's place, Ye Xianya released Ma Cai'er's soul and sent her to be reincarnated.