Chapter 31: Courtroom "When the Imperial Censor comes, he must kowtow three times to his father"...

Zhou Tinglan stopped beating the drum. She saw two men in official uniforms walking out of the county magistrate's mansion looking at her, so she turned sideways and saluted them.

"It's me. I'm standing here today, beating the drum, hoping for peace for the women of this town, and for the justice they've suffered. I hope you two will grant me this!"

One of the men in official uniform signaled the soldiers to take Zhou Tinglan and others to the court.

Before leaving, Zhou Tinglan looked down at the people below. She locked eyes with Xie Zechuan, who was hiding in the crowd. Xie Zechuan's lips moved slightly, and Zhou Tinglan recognized what he said, "Lan'er, I'll be waiting for you outside."

A determined smile appeared on her lips, and she helped the men in green and blue to support the two seriously ill men in orange, and followed the officers and soldiers into the court.

On both sides of the court stood a row of officers and soldiers. They were dressed in dark purple official uniforms, with solemn expressions on their faces, and their eyes followed the few people who had just entered.

The two men in official uniforms who had walked out of the county magistrate's mansion earlier sat upright in the court.

Lan Yi had never seen such a scene before, and she was a little nervous: "Miss Zhou, I'm a little scared..."

Zhou Tinglan grasped Lan Yi's hand and declared, "Lan Yi, the guilty are not you, but the Wu family father and son. You should not dwell on such a dark past. After today's court hearing, the guilty will receive the punishment they deserve, and you will be truly free."

Human nature is fickle. Zhou Tinglan has seen remarks that blame the victim in both the past and the present Da Zhao Kingdom. However, she dared not imagine, nor did she want to think about how many people were poisoned by this wrong idea.

Lan Yi gradually calmed down after Zhou Tinglan's persuasion.

Yes! What had she done wrong? Did she have to be bullied by the Wu family father and son just because she was pretty?

Officially announced the start of the court session.

One of the men in official uniform spoke up, "I am Magistrate Xue from the County Magistrate's Office. May I ask what grievances do you ladies have that you would like to file?"

Zhou Tinglan walked forward and faced the two people sitting in the court.

"My Lords, I came from this town and brought four other innocent and pitiful women to the county magistrate's mansion to beat the drum to report my case. This was not a momentary impulse, but rather I was deeply harmed by the father and son of the Wu family in this town. I hope your Lordships will understand!"

County Magistrate Xue placed his hands on the table, raised one hand, and asked suspiciously, "Who are the Wu family father and son?"

"Mr. Wu is the official in the town. He and his son have been committing crimes in the town for many years, forcibly abducting young girls from the town to be concubines. Anyone who dares to disobey their orders will be subjected to endless beatings and verbal abuse!"

Zhou Tinglan raised her hand to wipe her eyelids, as if wiping away tears. She continued, "The poor girls were beaten and covered in wounds. The Wu family father and son refused to call a doctor for them, thinking their frail appearance was unlucky. They drove them to the woodshed to fend for themselves. These scars are the evidence!"

She rolled up her sleeves in green, showing the dense scars on her arms to the people present. The three people in blue also rolled up their sleeves.

The scars were shocking to see. County Magistrate Xue was furious. The government in the town was under his jurisdiction, but now such a thing happened.

"The poor girl, forced to leave her family, was abandoned by her father and son in the woodshed in winter, gasping for breath and dying. To cover up the truth, they used a rolled-up straw mat as the last covering for the dead girl. The girls were thrown into a mass grave outside the town, where they were eaten by stray dogs, leaving no trace of their bodies!"

"How could this happen!" County Magistrate Xue was furious. He stood up angrily and slapped the table in front of him hard, but was stopped by the man beside him.

"County Magistrate Xue, don't be anxious. Let's listen to what this girl has to say next."

County Magistrate Xue sat back in his chair and motioned Zhou Tinglan to continue.

"If that were all, it would be fine. But the Wu family father and son even coveted the money from the government accounts for their own use, squandering it recklessly!"

"What!"

This time it was no longer Magistrate Xue who spoke, but another person sitting on the high hall.

He walked down the courtroom and came in front of Zhou Tinglan, staring at her intently: "Miss, is everything you said true?"

"I promise that everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to the town to see for yourself. Last night, Mr. Wu tried to do something indecent to me, but fortunately he was rescued by a young man in black clothes." Zhou Tinglan said half-truthfully.

She seemed to think of something else: "Even after being beaten, Master Wu still refused to give up. He declared that he would punish that young master, saying that he was the son of an official and his father would never let him go. He also said..."

Zhou Tinglan paused and secretly looked at his unhappy expression.

"What else did he say?"

"He also said that everyone in Dazhao knew the reputation of Master Wu, and that even the imperial censor would have to kowtow three times to his father."

"I want to see what kind of person his father is. How dare he make me kowtow to him!"

Zhou Tinglan looked at his furious expression and was shocked. He was actually the censor!

She was a fake meeting the real thing. Fortunately, before she left, she told Xiao Ruo and the others that if anyone went to the town to investigate the Wu father and son, they should not mention her and just treat her as a stranger.

County Magistrate Xue advised: "Reply to the Imperial Censor, anger is harmful to your health."

Censor Lai snorted coldly and angrily scolded: "If it weren't for your lax governance, how could such a thing happen in the town below?"

He looked at Zhou Tinglan and the others and said, "We are all aware of the girls' complaint. We will go to the town with you to investigate this matter. If it is true as you said, I will personally report the matter of the Wu family father and son to His Majesty."

Zhou Tinglan nodded with satisfaction and passed the matter to the old emperor to solve. There was no reason why the Wu family father and son would not be doomed. However, she was afraid that the emperor would be confused for a moment. If another person like Master Wu came, what would the people in the town do?

"Your Excellency, may I make an unwelcome request?"

Censor Lai turned around and looked at Zhou Tinglan: "What do you want to say?"

"After Master Wu was imprisoned, could you please inspect the new official in the town?"

"Why? Do you not trust the man chosen by His Majesty?"

Zhou Tinglan smiled and said, "How dare a humble woman question His Majesty? The people of this town have been oppressed by the Wu family father and son for several years. We finally have a new hope. If the replacement is still not suitable, I am afraid that another change will happen."

Censor Lai thought for a moment before speaking.

"I understand what you mean, young lady. I will personally recommend several suitable candidates to Your Majesty."

Zhou Tinglan felt relieved.

When walking out of the government office, Zhou Tinglan and Xie Zechuan across the street looked at each other from afar. The sun was shining brightly and a breeze was blowing, bringing with it a hint of sweet floral fragrance.

It was already afternoon when Censor Lai and County Magistrate Xue arrived at the government office with Zhou Tinglan and others.

The people in the town surrounded the government office so tightly that no one could get in or out.

Censor Lai walked in and saw the Wu family father and son tied up at the government gate. "What happened?"

When Xiao Ruo saw Zhou Tinglan beside Censor Lai, he knew that the two must be the nobles that Miss Zhou had brought from the county town.

He took the initiative to step forward and said: "My two nobles, you don't know that the two people tied up at the gate of the government office are the official and his son of our town."

Although Mr. Wu did not know Censor Lai, he knew Magistrate Xue.

"Xue County Magistrate, please help me! These unruly people are trying to rebel and have tied my son and me up at the government gate for a whole day and night. Come and save us!"

"Imperial Censor Lai, let's go into the government office quickly to check the account books." Zhou Tinglan suggested.

"Yeah." Censor Lai agreed. He didn't look at the father and son of the Wu family at the door, but walked towards the government gate.

Seeing this, County Magistrate Xue ignored Mr. Wu's shouts and followed Censor Lai.

At that moment, Master Wu, his eyes red with rage, began to curse: "County Magistrate Xue, don't trust that woman beside you! She was the one who injured my son last night and then came to your house, claiming to be a secret visitor sent by the emperor. Unexpectedly, she knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I found myself tied up here with my son!"

Hearing Master Wu's yelling, Censor Lai stopped and looked back at Zhou Tinglan: "What is he talking about?"

Zhou Tinglan thought to herself that this was not good. If she had known earlier, she should have asked Xiao Ruo to shut up the Wu father and son.

"Imperial Censor Lai, there's not a single truth coming from either of them. I told you in court that I was saved by a certain Young Master Mo Yi. Last night, Young Master Mo Yi was also angered by Young Master Wu's arrogant words and beat him up to vent his anger. But thinking that Young Master Wu was a descendant of the Wu Mansion after all, I decided to help him send him back to the Wu Mansion. Who knew..."

Zhou Tinglan walked up to Mr. Wu and slapped him hard.

Master Wu exclaimed, "Father! You vicious woman, what are you going to do to my father?"

Zhou Tinglan ignored Master Wu. Her voice rose as she continued, "Who would have thought that when Master Wu saw Master Wu being beaten, he actually asked me to stay with him! I refused and was about to attack him, but Master Mo Yi came to my rescue again. I think the Wu father and son are now tied up at the door because they are evil and deserve to be punished. They deserve it!"

"County Magistrate Xue, don't believe what that vicious woman says!"

Master Wu roared, "Poisonous woman, did you give Magistrate Xue some kind of drug?"

Censor Lai held his forehead with his hand. He glanced at Mr. Wu calmly and looked towards the government gate: "We'll know after we check."

The government office gate was closed, isolating the Wu family father and son from their angry curses.

Censor Lai asked the officers and soldiers in the government office to bring the government account books of recent years. He personally checked them. The more he read, the darker his face became. He slammed the account books on the table.

"Good, Master Wu! Good! Good!"

County Magistrate Xue hurriedly handed tea to Censor Lai. He glanced at the contents of the account book on the table and was shocked. The amounts in the account book obviously did not match, and there were many loopholes. There was even suspicion of false accounts.

Afterwards, Censor Lai took the officials and soldiers from the government to the mansion and confiscated a large amount of unknown financial funds.

The Wu father and son were immediately thrown into prison by Censor Lai and were to await their sentencing on a later date.

That night, Censor Lai wrote a thick memorial and ordered someone to send it back to the capital at full speed.

Soon, an imperial edict of appointment was sent back to the town. Zhou Tinglan was surprised when he learned the candidate chosen by the emperor. He actually asked this year's champion to come to the town to take over Mr. Wu's position.

The four women in Qingyi were very grateful to Zhou Tinglan for rescuing them from the Wu Mansion and ensuring that the Wu father and son received the punishment they deserved. They volunteered to come to Zhou Tinglan's knife shop to help.

Although Zhou Tinglan said no, the four of them insisted and she couldn't stop them.

Qingyi and Chengyi's parents are still alive. They have been trapped in the Wu Mansion for many years and have never seen their parents. When their relatives are reunited, they burst into tears.

When the new official took office, Censor Lai said that he would stay in the town for some time to observe the new official.

Without the Wu father and son in the town, the people felt as if the mountain pressing down on their heads had been removed, and they felt relieved. Their loved ones would never be harmed by that father and son again.

The business of Zhou's knife shop was getting better and better, and it became famous in the town. The news gradually spread out of the town and spread to the surrounding towns.

Zhou Tinglan and Xie Zechuan thought that they would stay in the town for a long time this time, so they planned to stay in the village to rest for two days before setting off for the capital.

Just then, a group of uninvited guests came to the gate of the village.

"I heard you're making a lot of money selling kitchen knives now!"