Chapter 65 Maintenance
Baili Yunzhou, standing nearby, shouted angrily, "Bullshit! Clean your mouth!" Turning to Zhao Yan, he said, "Sir, that night we discovered Chen Juezi had some malicious intentions, so we took Miss Yu's junior apprentice and ambushed him in the courtyard. Sure enough, the filthy fellow showed up. We took pity on Miss Yu, a woman unarmed, so we helped teach him a lesson. But Chen Juezi couldn't produce any ivory from his mouth and slandered Miss Yu. My lord, Miss Yu's junior apprentice and I can testify that Chen Juezi is full of nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Chen Juezi continued to argue, "Look, look, I was right when I said she was a slut. Baili was one of the adulterers, and maybe her apprentice was the second one!"
Xu Fu, standing by, was furious and rushed over to beat them up without hesitation. Zhao Yan saw that the two sides were about to fight again, so he immediately separated his subordinates and said coldly, "Whether it is true or not, I will decide."
At this time, Zhao Yan asked again, "How do you know how many men are in her room? In my opinion, you are from Chenjia Village, and your motives for coming to town are not pure. Everyone in this town knows that Master Baili wants to marry Miss Yu, but Miss Yu doesn't want to. According to what you said, if Miss Yu wanted to marry, why would she choose a rogue like you?"
"Miss Yu is a famous lantern maker in this town. Her income is definitely enough to support herself. As far as I know, your family is a farming family in the countryside. Your family of five can't even afford a few dozen carts of silver. Why would Miss Yu be interested in you?"
After saying this, he looked towards Wang Zhubu, who immediately opened the book in his hand and explained to the crowd, "According to the clues provided by the Gao family gambling house, Chen Juezi lost all the remaining 18 taels of silver in his hometown in June of this year. To repay the money, he asked Gao Zhuang of the Gao family gambling house to tie up a woman to pay off the debt."
"That woman is Miss Yu."
Everyone was horrified when they heard this, and they all cursed, "I was just saying, how could Miss Yu fall for this kind of stuff? This person is so cruel..."
Wang Zhubu continued to explain, "Chen Juezi originally wanted to kidnap Miss Yu, but Miss Yu had a fellow apprentice with her, so it was difficult to kill him. So he took advantage of the situation and planned to go to her house one day and tie her up. However, Master Baili and his fellow apprentice learned of this, so they ambushed him outside the courtyard and beat him up."
"This matter can be witnessed by Gao's gambling house and Gao Zhuang."
Zhao Yan continued, "Send it to Gaozhuang."
Gao Zhuang stepped forward and knelt down, "Sir, I can testify for Miss Yu. Miss Yu is innocent. It was all this ruffian who came up with a vicious plan to force an innocent woman to death."
Zhao Yan said, "Tell me the details in detail."
The crowd fell silent again, and Gao Zhuang continued, "This summer, Chen Juezi used a portrait of a woman, saying he wanted to use her to pay off a debt. At the time, I didn't take a close look at her appearance. It wasn't until half a month ago that I remembered this incident. Your Excellency, please see, it was this portrait that Chen Juezi used that day."
Everyone looked and saw that the painting was indeed of Miss Yu.
"It wasn't until I heard that Chen Juezi had been beaten that I realized how vicious this thug was. I originally testified on behalf of Miss Yu, but I knew it was all Chen Juezi's evil intentions, intending to murder her. Fortunately, with the help of Miss Yu's friends and fellow apprentices, I was spared from being murdered by this vicious man. I beg you, sir, to severely punish Chen Juezi and clear Miss Yu's name!"
By now everyone understood that the Chen family was taking advantage of Miss Yu's small family background and wanted to use her to pay off their debts.
Many people in the town had received favors from Miss Yu, and some of them picked up stones and threw them at Chen Juezi.
At this time, Xu Fu said, "Sir, it wasn't just Chen Juezi that night. There were two men there. I was irritated by this man just now, but now that I think about it, he looks like Chen Juezi's cousin, who is also here. Please look, sir, it's him!"
Xu Fu stepped forward and ripped the man's clothes open, revealing several footprints and dark purple marks from being beaten with a wooden club. Wang Wanzi immediately cried and begged for mercy, pointing the finger at Chen Juezi and saying, "Sir, please spare my life. This is all the work of my cousin Chen Juezi. He lost money and was wandering the streets all day. One day, he saw Miss Yu. He thought that Miss Yu had no family and was married before, so no one would seek justice for her. So he dragged me along and said that if I tied Miss Yu up and brought her over, I would give her five taels of silver. Sir, I admit my mistake. Please spare my life."
After saying this, he kowtowed violently.
Zhao Yan immediately had Wang Wanzi arrested. He glanced around and sternly addressed Chen Juezi, "What makes you think you're kidnapping a woman for no reason and selling her off to pay off a debt? Is it because she has no family? Or do you think she was married before? You're slandering her innocence like this, wanting her to be unable to defend herself and do evil things. What a vicious and scheming mind!"
"Or maybe you think the government won't handle these minor cases, that the officials above you are just paid to do nothing, that they are blind and heartless! As long as no one gets killed, they will turn a blind eye?!"
At this point, Zhao Yan once again looked around, finally stopping his gaze on Chen Juezi's family. He solemnly said, "Today, I will severely punish you, the criminals who lied and slandered others. All those who caused trouble today will be detained, and anyone who slandered Miss Yu as a leper will be imprisoned for six months."
"As for the principal offender, Chen Juezi, for attempted kidnapping, attempted murder, and then stirring up trouble, he should be sentenced to six years in prison according to the law. I am personally examining the case, and with the witnesses gathered, there is no need for another hearing. Come, take him away and take him into custody!"
He added, "If the prisoner's relatives were merely accompanying him, they must go to the government office and give a confession, proving their innocence. Each will receive fifty lashes of the cane as a warning to others! Worse cases, like Chen Juezi's mother and sister, will receive eighty lashes of the cane, to be served within five months!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers all applauded and cheered.
Now that the matter has finally come to an end, everyone knows that the Chen Juezi family is truly despicable. They dared to kidnap a powerless woman by relying on their numbers. If this happened to me, I would probably be skinned alive by the Chen family!
At this time, some big men who followed Chen Juezi suddenly cried and shouted, saying that they were wronged and were deceived by Chen Juezi to come here to give him courage.
Seeing that these villains were about to cause trouble again, Wang Zhubu immediately asked for permission to take all of them away.
At this point, the onlookers also slowly dispersed along with the escort personnel. Not long after, the originally bustling streets became quiet again.
The tightly closed door finally opened, and Zhao Yan glanced over, as if by telepathy. Yu Huatang's eyes were bloodshot, clearly from crying. She was still a little frightened, leaning against the door alone as she slowly glanced over.
She walked cautiously, stopping just outside the door.
When Zhao Yan saw her, he felt a pain in his heart and wanted to say a thousand words to her.
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