As soon as Yan Xia spoke.

There was a lot of noise outside the hall.

“Kill her, kill her! That old hag is too vicious. I almost got tricked by her just now. You can spare her offspring, but killing is wrong. Aren't baby girls people? If you think baby girls are worthless, why don't you go and die? If this person isn't eliminated, just like Manager Yan said, many people will follow suit and drown baby girls after they are born. Then will there be any women left in the world? If there are no women, this world will have ceased to exist long ago.”

“Exactly! I cherish my daughter like a precious treasure since she was born. How could anyone bear to kill such a lovely baby girl? Her heart is absolutely black. Since the law is written so clearly, she should be punished according to the law. Kill her and cut off her head as a warning to others!”

"They slaughtered the entire Tian family. They were all vicious people; the elders were cruel, the younger ones were wicked, and they were rotten to the core—"

"Your Honor, please see this clearly! If this person is not eliminated, how can I dare to let my granddaughter leave the house again? What if there are fewer women and more men, and they can't find wives? What if they come to the streets to kidnap people? Wouldn't our peaceful life disappear? Please, Your Honor, kill her!"

"Kill her—"

"Kill the Tian family—"

"Kill them—"

"........"

A crowd of people knelt outside the hall.

They were all pleading with Magistrate Lu to kill Tian.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to, I don't want to, don't kill me, no, no—"

Upon hearing these sounds, Ms. Tian felt as if struck by lightning, and her body went limp.

Her fingers were red and swollen, and she held her hands high, afraid to touch anything, otherwise she would feel excruciating pain.

"Little Nine's grandpa, save me, save me! You said you killed them, and you threw five of them into the mountains! Tell me!"

Tian knelt on the ground and crawled to Zhu Ershi's side using her elbows.

He screamed in despair.

Of her eight granddaughters, she only killed three. One died in a chamber pot and was buried in a field. Two others were tied with stones and thrown into the river, accompanied by her daughter-in-law. The five granddaughters thrown into the mountains were killed by her husband and son.

She dared not go to the high mountains.

Her husband and son went to the mountains under the cover of night.

The purpose was to prevent the villagers from seeing it.

However, they didn't dare to go deeper into the area, so they left it on the outskirts, which is why the officials found it in just three hours.

After throwing her away, they told everyone that their granddaughter had died, that she died at birth.

Although the people of Baihua Village had their suspicions, they didn't meddle in the matter. However, on the surface, no one associated with the Zhu family.

After all, eight baby girls had died, so the house was definitely not clean, and no one dared to visit the Zhu family.

Tian looked at him with expectant eyes.

If the head of the household helps her share some of the burden, the county magistrate will surely spare her life.

Unfortunately, Mr. Tian's beautiful wish was not fulfilled.

"You, what nonsense are you talking about? It was clearly you who did it! Don't try to drag me into this! It's not my fault, Your Honor! It was all that vile woman's doing! I told her I'd spare the children's lives, but she wouldn't have agreed and insisted on killing them. If you're going to kill someone, kill her! Don't kill me! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!"

They slept together for decades, but when disaster struck, they went their separate ways.

Zhu Ershi pushed Tian Shi away.

He kowtowed frantically to Magistrate Lu, shouting that he hadn't done anything and that it was Tian who was deliberately framing him.

"Haha, see? This is the person you'd rather have your hands stained with blood to ensure his survival. He's the one who pushed you to your death, did you hear that?"

Yan Xia fanned the flames from the side.

When she was pushed, Tian's hands couldn't react in time and hit the ground. She was in excruciating pain, but no pain could compare to the pain of betrayal. Her chest felt like it had been kicked, and she couldn't breathe.

"Smack—"

"Silence is forbidden, Lady Tian. I will ask you one last time: did you kill all eight baby girls by yourself?"

The gavel struck, and the court fell silent. Yan Xia stood to the side, keeping her mouth tightly shut.

Zhu Ershi felt a pang of panic. He turned around and looked at Tian Shi.

He was still muttering something to himself.

"Yes, I killed them all. I did it all, I did it all. I threw them into the mountains, into the river, and buried them in the fields. It was all me, me, me—"

Tian understood Zhu Ershi's lip movements.

He said, "What will happen to Xiao Jiu if they all die?"

Xiao Jiu.....

Yes, and Xiao Jiu too.

If they all die, who will take care of the grandson? The daughter certainly won't be very good to the grandson. Tian Shi knows her daughter's personality; at most, she'll just feed the grandson enough so he won't starve.

no.

She couldn't let her grandson live such a miserable life. As long as the head of the household was alive, Xiao Jiu would still have someone to take care of him.

With a determined look, Tian took all the blame upon herself. Yan Xia never expected that she would remain so stubborn even on her deathbed.

Zhu Ershi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had escaped a disaster.

However, he underestimated Magistrate Lu's ability to handle cases.

Magistrate Lu slammed his gavel, coldly snorted at the courtroom below, and ordered the constables to immediately begin the torture. No matter how stubborn the two men were, they couldn't outmaneuver the instruments of torture.

"Ouch—I confess, I confess everything, please stop hitting me, it was me who did it, I threw my granddaughter into the mountains with my son, please stop hitting me, it hurts so much, please stop hitting me."

"Ah—it wasn't me, it wasn't me! My husband did it too! The baby girl we threw into the mountains was thrown by him and my son. The babies in the river and fields were killed by my daughter-in-law and me! Stop! I was wrong! I shouldn't have lied! Ahhh, it hurts so much—"

One was tortured with clamps, the other was whipped.

They confessed everything in less than fifteen minutes.

The people outside the hall all raised their eyebrows and pointed at them.

He was still muttering curses under his breath.

"Grandma, Grandpa, I want to go home, waaaah, I want to go home, I don't want to kneel anymore, I'm hungry, I want to eat meat buns."

Before Magistrate Lu could speak...

Zhu Guijiu, who was forced to kneel to the side by the constables, was so frightened that he burst into tears.

Although she is already ten years old, her body is still chubby and strong, but when she cries, she looks like a three or five-year-old child. That sense of incongruity makes people feel slightly uncomfortable.

"You audacious brat, do not make a sound in the hall! If you cry again, the rod will fall on your head!" Magistrate Lu, dressed in a dark blue official robe, raised his voice to frighten him.

Zhu Guijiu had never seen such a scene before. He trembled and immediately fell silent.

"Let them go."

With a wave of his hand, Magistrate Lu ordered the constables to release the instruments of torture binding Tian Shi and to untie the iron shackles binding Zhu Ershi. The two men collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless.

It hurt so much I was trembling.

"Why did you cause such a scene at Yan's shop? And how dare you harass Yan's daughter in broad daylight, spewing vulgarities? I think you're tired of living. According to the laws of the time, I sentence you to twenty strokes of the cane and five years of hard labor!"

"And Zhu, you............"