Before the order was issued, the county magistrate saw the slight curve of Shen Qing's lips and felt that there must be something fishy going on!
As the saying goes, you must agree to what the enemy opposes, and oppose what the enemy agrees to!
The order was taken back, and the county magistrate squinted at Shen Qing: "Gao Shenshi, tell me, why did you insist on dragging Gao Yuanxiang down with you? If you think you and Gao Yuanxiang have a good relationship, then why did you have to drag her down with you?"
Shen Qing kowtowed and said loudly, "Everything is for the sake of the Qing Dynasty! Everything is for the peace and prosperity of the people!"
The county magistrate knew, of course, that she was talking nonsense, but he couldn't find any words to refute her.
However, the uninformed masses were completely incited and clamored to have Gao Yuanxiang beheaded as well!
The clerk whispered something in the magistrate's ear, and the magistrate nodded repeatedly. He quickly threw the decree in his hand to the ground, stood up, and announced: "Gao Shenshi, Gao Yuanxiang, and their children are sentenced to immediate execution!"
Shen Qing turned to look at Gao Yuanxiang.
Tears streamed down her face. She knelt down with a thud, her body trembling as she kowtowed repeatedly, crying, "I'm innocent! I was instructed by someone! Someone told me to steal Shen Qing's seal! She didn't betray the country, and neither did I! I'm innocent!"
The crowd gasped in astonishment, whispering amongst themselves, completely bewildered by the nature of the case.
The county magistrate immediately understood.
Gao Shen's earlier attempt to frame Gao Yuanxiang, and her willingness to be called a poisonous woman and drag Gao Yuanxiang's child down with her, was actually to force Gao Yuanxiang to tell the truth!
If everyone finds out the truth now, how can we kill Gao Shenshi?
The county magistrate, regaining his senses, immediately ordered his men: "Quickly! Drag Gao Shenshi and Gao Yuanxiang out and behead them! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
The bailiffs grabbed Shen Qing's arms and tried to drag her out, but she cried out in desperation, "You corrupt official, you've killed innocent people! You corrupt official, you've killed innocent people!"
The crowd looked saddened. Although they were full of doubts about the case, none of them had the courage to challenge the county magistrate.
Shen Qing's body had already been dragged to the entrance of the courtroom.
Gao Yuanxiang was also dragged out.
The execution ground was at the market entrance not far away. Once outside the county government gate, it was probably too late to save him.
The crowd standing at the door spontaneously parted to make way for them.
Shen Qing looked up, gazing at the crowd in despair.
Instantly, I met a pair of bright, righteous eyes.
"Wait!" The man looked directly into Shen Qing's eyes and said firmly, "The evidence in this case is insufficient, and a new witness has emerged! Please immediately transfer the case to the prefectural yamen for trial!"
There's hope!
Shen Qing wanted to cry!
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Qi Zhenheng with red eyes.
In that instant, she had already forgotten the man's past pedantry and indoctrination.
At that moment, he seemed like a god descending from the heavens, dragging her from the gates of hell to the human world.
"Insolence!" The county magistrate stood behind his desk and slammed his gavel down heavily. "Who dares to spout such nonsense?"
Qi Zhenheng, dressed in a light blue silk long gown and wearing a melon-shaped hat, walked out of the crowd with his hands behind his back.
He looked at the county magistrate with a serious and fearless expression.
Upon seeing his face clearly, the county magistrate was so startled that he dropped the gavel in his hand and immediately grabbed his long official robes, running down from behind the desk.
Qi Zhenheng cupped his hands in greeting and said tremblingly, "So it's Lord Qi. I was unaware that you were here to inspect the case. I apologize for not welcoming you properly..."
Qi Zhenheng glared at him with displeasure: "Now that a new witness has appeared in this case, why are you turning a blind eye, hastily closing the case, and making a hasty judgment? What's the hidden reason behind this?"
The county magistrate was startled and remained silent for a few seconds before hurriedly explaining, "Lord Qi! This case has both witnesses and physical evidence! Gao Shenshi colluded with outsiders, not only hiring Han Congzhi, a revolutionary, as a teacher at the school to infiltrate the children, but also openly bringing foreigners to Jiangzhou to secretly investigate! All of this can be proven by her own handwritten letters!"
"Has the letter undergone handwriting analysis? Does it bear her own signature?"
The county magistrate remained silent.
"You scoundrel!" Qi Zhenheng roared. "You judged this letter to be written by Gao Shenshi herself based on just one seal? How many wrongful convictions have you fabricated with such a careless handling of cases!"
He raised his hand, pointing his index finger directly at the county magistrate's bald head, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I will report this to the Court of Judicial Review today and have you thoroughly investigated!"
The county magistrate knelt down with a thud: "Lord Qi, you've been wronged! I only thought it was important to close the case quickly because of its serious nature... I've been wronged..."
Qi Zhenheng didn't bother to look at the man anymore. With a wave of his hand, his subordinates in plain clothes immediately emerged from the crowd and took Shen Qing and Gao Yuanxiang away.
Stepping out of the county government gate, Shen Qing looked up at the blue sky and breathed a sigh of relief.
He finally came back to life.
...
In the prefectural government office, in the courtroom.
Shen Qing and Gao Yuanxiang knelt down together, waiting for Qi Zhenheng to preside over the case.
At this moment, Qi Zhenheng had changed into a dark blue official robe and a black gauze hat.
He sat down behind the desk and quickly began the case hearing process.
"Someone, bring all the account books and books written by Gao Shen herself in the Gao family factory's accounting office and Gao Shen's room, along with the letter evidence in this case, and send them for handwriting analysis!"
The crowd that had been watching the case from the entrance of the county government hall also came to continue watching the progress of the case, and the entrance of the hall was crowded with people.
Everyone wanted to know if the widow of the Gao family had really colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and even more so, they wanted to know where the priceless jade pendant around Gao Yuanxiang's neck came from.
The clerk quickly presented the appraisal results.
The handwriting on the letter does not match Shen Qing's own handwriting at all!
Qi Zhenheng called the witnesses to the court.
Under his fair and impartial questioning, all the witness testimonies were proven to be irrelevant to the case.
There is no evidence to prove that Han Congzhi was a revolutionary or that he had worked as a teacher in the factory's school, and that Shen Qing was colluding with him.
Those who saw the German technician in Jiangzhou cannot prove that the foreigner's appearance was for collusion with Shen Qingxing.
However, some factory workers came forward to testify that during the time the German technicians spent in Jiangzhou, they spent all their time in the factory assembling and adjusting spinning machines.
All witness testimonies and physical evidence were overturned.
Next, it was Gao Yuanxiang's turn.
With a sharp "smack," Qi Zhenheng slammed the gavel on the table and looked at Gao Yuanxiang sternly.
"Gao Yuanxiang, tell me the whole story of how you stole the Gao Shen family seal! If you dare to utter a single lie, don't blame me for punishing you with a beating!"
Gao Yuanxiang immediately kowtowed and confessed everything while crying.
“A few days ago, my cousin Gao Yuanqi asked me to steal my sister-in-law’s seal from her room, and then gave me a sum of money…”
Gao Yuanqi is the son of Gao Laosan, the father of the child who was originally to be adopted by Shen Qing.
The third branch of the family harbored a deep resentment over the fact that Gao Laosan suddenly died at the hands of a prostitute after taking over the second branch's house, believing that Shen Qing had colluded with the prostitute to kill him.
Moreover, even after Gao Laosan's death, the third branch of the family did not give up on the second branch's house. They must still be plotting to kill Shen Qing and then seize the second branch's property again!
But all of this was just Shen Qing's speculation.
She knew Qi Zhenheng would uncover all the inside information.
She believed in Qi Zhenheng.
Over there, Qi Zhenheng asked Gao Yuanxiang, "How much benefit did Gao Yuanqi give you?"
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