Chapter 554: The Evil of a Scoundrel (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang was shocked and said she couldn't understand it.

But clearly, she was the only one who couldn't understand it.

Upon hearing this, the onlookers were filled with rage. Judging from their emotional state, if the occasion weren't so inappropriate, they would probably have dragged this vicious woman, Zhuo, into the street and paraded her through the streets. They pointed and whispered about Zhuo, making no attempt to hide their contempt.

"That's absolutely vicious!"

"How could there be such a vicious woman in the world!"

"Shen Jun should be sentenced to all five punishments!"

"I've long heard that this Zhuo woman is promiscuous and flirts with every man she sees. I guess she wanted to be this man's concubine, but he didn't agree, so she had these wicked thoughts? That's a child, after all. Doesn't she fear divine retribution for doing this?"

There wasn't much entertainment in this era.

I spend all my free time gossiping.

The more sensational and outlandish the content, the wider it spreads. Everyone can gossip about the neighbors and their children.

Those who become the subject of gossip are all easy targets.

Widow Zhuo lived alone with her daughter. Without a male member to command respect and maintain order, she was easily targeted by anyone who wanted to pass the time. Regardless of the truth of the matter, even if it were false, would this mother and daughter dare to come to her door demanding an explanation?

Even if they dare to come to our door, we're not afraid.

"Yes! Shen Jun should be sentenced!"

"That slut deserves to die!"

Widow Zhuo's daughter was deathly pale, and Widow Zhuo herself was trembling under the public scrutiny, looking miserable and dazed.

He kept saying, "I didn't mean to..."

She was just trying to be helpful by getting a knife.

How can someone have the intention to harm others?

Hearing suggestions from the crowd to punish her daughter as well, her fear reached its peak. She tightly hugged her daughter's still rather thin body, trying to shield her from the accusations and harsh words. Ning Yan stood in front of the mother and daughter, about to speak.

The room fell silent in an instant.

The young scholar turned to look at Qi Shan in surprise.

Qi Shan looked at her lord with a dark expression.

[Silence and silence]

Shen Tang looked indifferently at the crowd of commoners and asked in a low voice, "Are you the prefect or am I? Are you here to judge the case or am I? Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. Don't you know what the crime of disturbing the peace is?"

Although the old woman and her family didn't know what had happened, the strange sight of the crowd who had just been supporting them now looking anxious and frightened, their mouths open but unable to make a sound, filled them with unease. Shen Tang glanced at the baby in her arms and had it taken away.

He then gave Ning Yan a meaningful look.

Ning Yan asked Widow Zhuo softly.

"Which blacksmith shop did you order the knife from, Madam?"

Whether the young woman was lying or not can be found out with a simple investigation.

Widow Zhuo told him the location and sign of the blacksmith shop, and Shen Tang waved his hand. A minor official then went down to invite the blacksmith shop manager over.

Upon hearing this, the young woman lowered her head guiltily.

The old woman, shrewd as she was, knew exactly how to smooth things over: "My daughter-in-law is young and doesn't understand, she doesn't know any taboos, but how could a woman surnamed Zhuo who has given birth not know these things? Is it appropriate to hand this knife directly to my daughter-in-law? If you really meant well, you could have done it while either my daughter-in-law or my son was home... Mr. Shen, please have pity on my grandson... He's still young, and he's the only son in our family for generations. How will he live after being harmed like this?"

Besides, her daughter-in-law didn't lie either.

It was indeed Widow Zhuo who delivered the knife to her door.

Widow Zhuo whispered in protest, "I really don't know..."

Shen Tang barely understood the so-called taboo. Simply put, pregnant women cannot use sharp scissors or knives because these objects will damage the protective barrier of the fetus and may even cut the fetus's mouth, causing the child to be born with deformities.

She chuckled inwardly, but said aloud with admiration, "It seems that the old woman truly treats your daughter-in-law like her own daughter."

"Of course, once she entered our family, my daughter-in-law was just like my own daughter. She's my flesh and blood too." The old woman said emotionally, wiping away tears as she felt sorry for her daughter-in-law, who had finally given birth to a child but was poisoned by a villain. The crowd felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.

Shen Tang then asked, "Oh, so you mean you take care of your daughter-in-law's daily washing, dressing, and grooming?"

The old woman didn't know why Shen Tang asked this.

"Well, not this one..."

Ning Yan seemed to understand something.

He chuckled and said, "Once you're in the family, it's only the daughter-in-law who serves her mother-in-law morning and evening, never the mother-in-law who humbles herself to serve her daughter-in-law."

Shen Tang nodded, indicating that he understood, and then sent someone to invite several of the old woman's neighbors to be witnesses.

Then we waited for the witnesses to arrive.

The first to arrive was the manager of the blacksmith shop.

"Did Widow Zhuo order two knives from you?"

The blacksmith shopkeeper shook his head: "Only one."

Shen Tang then asked, "Does this family have any knives they've ordered?"

The blacksmith shopkeeper recognized the old woman's son.

Pointing at him, she said, "This is the man who placed the order."

Shen Tang glanced at the man indifferently, and the latter shrank back timidly, turning slightly to try and block Shen Tang's view with the old woman's body. Not long after, three more people came up: a woman the same age as the old woman, a young married woman, and a strong young man. It was the first time the three had been brought to the hall, and they looked timid and fearful, only relaxing after a while.

"There are some questions I need to ask the three of you in this case. Just answer truthfully." Shen Tang first asked the elderly witness, "You and the plaintiff in the courtroom have been neighbors for many years. Her daughter-in-law is pregnant. Do you usually serve the mother and son tea and water and take good care of them?"

The witness was so amused by the question that he almost burst out laughing.

"No, no, no."

A triple denial.

The mother-in-law serves tea and water to her daughter-in-law?

I haven't even dreamed about it.

"She often says that her daughter-in-law is lazy and slacks off at work..."

Shen Tang then asked the witness, the young wife, "I heard you two have a good relationship. Who does the laundry and cooking at their house?"

It's her.

The young wife pointed at the young woman.

Shen Tang asked, "Is it her too, even when it's cold?"

The young wife laughed and said, "When you're working, you don't care about the temperature. Even if your hands and feet get chilblains, you still have to do the work..."

Shen Tang: "You did it while you were pregnant?"

Young wife: "Even if I have to give birth, I still have to keep working."

"We're short of firewood at home, who chopped it?"

Young married woman: "Her?"

"She cooks all the meals for the family?"

"Yes, but her mother-in-law always complains that she uses too much oil, cuts the meat too big, and steals vegetables, saying she's wasteful and a thief in the family..."

The young woman came from a poor family; her maiden family was very poor.

After marrying into the family, she can at least enjoy some meat.

She couldn't resist dipping her finger in oil to taste the food while cooking, and her mother-in-law and husband caught her several times.

The young wife also revealed...

Before she discovered she was pregnant, her mother-in-law once caught her secretly eating a piece of rendered pork fat and slapped her several times, leaving her cheeks swollen beyond recognition. The mother-in-law then complained to her son, and the young woman was severely beaten by her husband that very day, screaming pitifully. She was then kicked out in the dead of winter and left to freeze outside for over an hour, nearly freezing herself to death.

The young bride looked sympathetic, but also somewhat self-pitying. The old woman beside her blushed, then declared righteously, "I'm teaching her how to be a daughter-in-law... She's married in and still hasn't changed her thieving ways; a petty thief now, a big thief later!"

The onlookers nodded in agreement.

They can't speak for the time being, but they can still move.

Stealing oil is indeed a bad habit!

Her mother-in-law was teaching her, and there was nothing wrong with that?

Who does the mending in this family?

The young wife answered decisively: "It's her too."

Shen Tang then questioned the witness man.

This man and the old woman's son were coworkers.

Further confirmation was made that the statements of the other two witnesses were true.

so--

Shen Tang's expression was playful: "Old woman, your daughter-in-law is young and doesn't know any better, but you are a woman who has given birth. How could you not know that pregnant women shouldn't touch knives or needles? You use an axe to chop wood, right? You use a knife to cut vegetables and meat, right? You need a needle to sew, right? A woman carries a child for ten months, coming into contact with these things every day. Was your grandson killed by Widow Zhuo's knife, or was it persecution by your whole family? Come and explain to me!"

\(￣︶￣*\))

In this situation, promoting science is useless; only magic can defeat magic.

P.S.: I've added a small section. Remember to refresh the page to see the complete version.

P.S.: Due to the special circumstances, comments and reviews in the comment section are currently disabled, but they can still be viewed through the backend system. They will be available again after this period.

PPPS: I checked today and found a bug. Although both "老妪" (lǎo wù) and "老媪" (lǎo wāo) refer to elderly women, "老妪" is mostly used to refer to oneself, while "老媪" is used by others. It has been replaced.

(End of this chapter)