Chapter 119

"You say you have evidence? What is it?"

Instead of answering Lord Guo's question directly, Fan Xiaoxiao asked in return, "My lord, if someone were to kidnap you, where would they leave marks on your body in the heat of the moment?"

Lord Guo became interested and sat up straight: "Where?"

"Please allow me to rise, Your Excellency."

"allow."

“Sister, get up, and then wrap your arms around Auntie from behind.”

Suddenly being ordered around, Madam Fan was a little confused about what her younger sister meant, but she still followed Fan Xiaoxiao's instructions, walked behind Granny Wang, and reached out her hand to make a gesture of restraining her.

“Okay, that’s it. Sir, please see, if someone is restrained from behind, one hand will be around the other person’s shoulder, and the other hand will be used to cover the other person’s mouth and nose in case they cry out.”

Lord Guo stood up, carefully observed the actions of Madam Fan and Granny Wang, and nodded, saying, "That's true, but what does the evidence you mentioned have to do with these?"

Fan Xiaoxiao gave a slight smile, but the smile, combined with the injuries on her face, looked rather horrifying to Li Er. For some reason, he suddenly felt waves of dread washing over him.

What Fan Xiaoxiao, who was standing in front, said next confirmed his bad thoughts.

"My lord, I have three pieces of evidence to provide. First, I stomped on Li Er's foot forcefully during the struggle, with enough force to leave a bruise on his foot."

Secondly, I bent the little finger joint of his right hand; even if it wasn't fractured, there should have been redness and swelling.

Listening to Fan Xiaoxiao's account, Lord Guo showed a hint of appreciation. Normally, cases of attempted kidnapping like this are very difficult to solve due to insufficient evidence. However, this woman spoke clearly and directly, so it seemed this case would be resolved quickly.

"What is the third one?"

Fan Xiaoxiao paused slightly before continuing with a smile, "Thirdly, there's the bruise on my shoulder!"

Upon hearing this, the people outside the white cloth erupted in uproar. They hadn't expected that the third piece of evidence would be the bruises on Fan Xiaoxiao's body.

Lord Guo glanced at Li Er's expression and saw that the man's face had lost all color and his hands and lips were trembling. He then had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"Officer Xing, go and check if the wounds on Li Er's body match what this young lady said."

"Yes!" Constable Xing replied, and walked up to Li Er to take off his shoes.

"No! What...what are you going to do! There's nothing on my feet!"

"My lord! My lord! My son has nothing on his feet! They... they're slandering him! Old man! Say something!"

Li cried and pushed her husband, desperately trying to stop Constable Xing from getting close to Li Er.

But how could a woman's strength be a match for a seven-foot-tall man? Li was easily pushed aside by Constable Xing, and Li Er's shoes were also taken off, revealing a large bruise on the instep of his right foot.

And just as Fan Xiaoxiao said, the little finger of his right hand was also very swollen.

"My lord, it is indeed exactly as that lady said."

Even now, Li still refused to admit her mistake. She shook her head, crying, and said, "Sir, no, it's because my son accidentally made this while he was working! No!"

Fan Xiaoxiao sneered, took two steps forward, and said to Lord Guo, "Sir, if necessary, you may trouble a respected lady to examine my injuries!"

"You!" Li's crying stopped. She hadn't expected Fan Xiaoxiao to actually go this far. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more.

"Li! If you continue to make a scene, I will first sentence you to the crime of disrupting public order!" Lord Guo had long been annoyed by the woman's repeated actions, and with a cold face, he stopped her crying and making a scene.

"Li Er, is there anything else you want to say?"

"I..." Li Er opened his mouth, but the sound seemed to be stuck in his throat, and he could not speak. In the end, he could only lower his head and shake his head slightly.

"Do you acknowledge the accusation made by Madam Fan that you kidnapped her?"

Li Er closed his eyes and nodded with deep regret in his heart.

When Li saw him nod, she let out a piercing cry.

Lord Guo ignored her commotion: "According to the laws of this dynasty, since you failed in your attempt to take someone hostage, you are sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and three years of hard labor!"

With the third strike of the gavel, the case was considered closed. Li Er was given thirty strokes of the cane in court, his buttocks and the back of his thighs left bloody and mangled.

With tears in her eyes, Li walked over and glared fiercely at Wang Da Niang, saying, "Why did you come back! If you hadn't come back, none of this would have happened!"

"Slap!" Li Da strode over and slapped her hard across the face.

Li stared at her husband in disbelief. After she came to her senses, she began to beat him violently, yelling, "Are you crazy! You actually hit me! How dare you!"

"Shut up! Aren't you ashamed enough? This is my sister's home! She can come back whenever she wants! It's our fault for not raising our children properly! Don't think I don't know what you and the three kids are plotting!"

"We adopted our third son to our elder sister! So he can inherit her and her husband's wealth! Greedy for money, and this is the good son we raised! Don't you understand?! That young woman already showed mercy! If she had accused our second son of defaming her, would your current son still be alive?!"

Li Da cursed Li Shi in a low, harsh voice. This was the first time in many years that he had lost his temper with his wife.

But he had always been weak and timid, so his sudden outburst was hardly frightening to Li. She shoved Li Da away, glared at him fiercely, and pointed a finger at Wang Da Niang's nose while cursing at him.

"Why are you being so fierce! She gave up being a proper concubine in a wealthy family! Instead, she's running around with other men! She's nothing but a lowly person! Do you really think she's your older sister? I think it's a blessing for her to have San'er adopted by her! They're the ones who don't know what's good for them!"

Aunt Wang was completely stunned. She never expected that these words would come from her sister-in-law's mouth.

"Smack!"

Another slap landed on Li's face, and everyone froze in place. This time, it wasn't Li Da who did the slapping, but Fan Xiaoxiao.

Li was stunned for a few seconds. The successive blows made her completely lose her mind. She bared her teeth and claws and pounced on Fan Xiaoxiao.

But at this moment, Uncle Wang blocked her way with an unfriendly expression, his face many times darker than Li Da's: "I think you really are a clueless person! Don't you know why Li Da's parents forced Li Niang to marry the rich merchant back then? It was because of the dowry your parents demanded! It was because Li Da wanted to marry you! That rich merchant was not a good person to begin with!"

"I couldn't bear to see Liniang jump into that fire! I worked myself to the bone to earn a sum of money for Liniang's parents so I could take her away! You know the logic of being a lowly slave! How could I not know it! Liniang, I got a marriage certificate from the Li family and married her properly! Don't talk nonsense here!"

Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes flickered. They had heard similar words from Li Er when they caught him. It was precisely because she heard this family's deep-seated contempt for Aunt Wang that she decided to report the case.

Li was stunned by Wang Dabo's roar and stood there dumbfounded. Li Da lowered his head in shame, not daring to look at Wang Da Niang's expression. Although he had helped Wang Da Niang protect his parents back then, if he hadn't insisted on marrying Li, things wouldn't be like this today!

Looking at the farcical scene unfolding before her, Aunt Wang felt a tear in her heart the moment Li Shi uttered those words. Looking at her younger brother's cowardly appearance, she suddenly felt utterly disillusioned.

"Heh, forget it, I don't want to dwell on it anymore. Let's go, girl, let's leave Jingchuan."

(End of this chapter)