"Young people these days are really something else. Back in our day, giving someone a purse or handkerchief was a big deal, but now they're giving away even their underwear so casually!"
"Yes, the world is going to the dogs."
"I never expected this seemingly quiet young lady to be so flirtatious?"
"That's what makes it exciting! That young master Wu is having an affair with a young woman like that, he'd be a romantic even in death!"
As soon as Wu's father presented his evidence, the onlookers erupted in a frenzy, chattering excitedly about all sorts of things. Magistrate Lu had to bang his gavel several times to bring the scene under control.
"No noise is allowed in the courtroom! Anyone who violates this rule will be expelled!"
After issuing a warning, Magistrate Lu refocused his attention on the case.
The 'evidence' in Wu's father's hand had already been taken by the clerk and presented to him. Magistrate Lu glanced at it, frowned, looked at Gan Tao, and asked seriously:
"Gan Tao, is this yours?"
Gan Tao's face turned pale, and she froze as she looked at the pink color on the table.
"Is there even a question? Just look at her reaction, and you'll know it's hers!"
"Exactly! Look at how guilty he looks, he can't even say a word."
"The evidence is right in front of us, we have no choice but to admit it..."
When the people outside saw that she didn't speak, they started whispering among themselves again, but this time they were more careful and kept their voices very low.
Seeing Gan Tao's reaction, Gan Li understood. The undergarment did indeed belong to Gan Tao, but she hadn't given it away herself! Instead…
She turned to look at Chen Danian, her eyes filled with coldness, and immediately understood where his confidence came from.
Magistrate Lu also sensed that Gan Tao's silence was somewhat unusual, and he asked in a deep voice, "Gan Tao, is this yours?"
With tears in her eyes, Gan Tao nodded calmly under everyone's gaze: "It's mine."
Magistrate Lu frowned even more deeply.
Gan Tao added, "This is mine, but I didn't give it to Young Master Wu..."
Mr. Wu hurriedly interrupted her:
"Your Honor is wise, please don't listen to her excuses! Since she admits that this thing is hers, then she has admitted it! After all, no one would give away such a personal item so casually, would they?"
Magistrate Lu's eyes sharpened: "Since you say this thing is yours, yet you also say you didn't give it away, then how did it end up in Wu Gang's hands? Isn't this too suspicious?"
A flicker of pain crossed Gan Tao's eyes. She whispered, "It's not strange. I know who gave them this."
"Who is it?" Magistrate Lu asked in confusion.
"Yes...it's my mother."
Gan Tao's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap that left everyone stunned.
"Who? Her mother gave her undergarment to another man?"
"Does she mean that her mother is helping other men sleep in her daughter's room?"
"That's outrageous! Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so what mother would help outsiders harm her own daughter!"
Because they were so surprised, the discussion couldn't help but get a little louder.
Magistrate Lu had no time to tell them to be quiet, because he too found the matter quite horrifying.
"Was your mother involved in this as well?"
“That’s right.” Gan Tao said, recounting the whole story from beginning to end.
She didn't want to involve the eldest princess, so she only said that she had a great opportunity, but she had to go to another place. After she mentioned this to her mother, her mother not only strongly opposed it, but also put her under house arrest while she was sick.
She also mentioned the meal her mother brought her on the day Mr. Wu came.
"There was a sleeping potion in it. She watched me eat, but after she left, I hid behind the bed and secretly coughed up everything I had eaten!"
Even so, I felt drowsy and disoriented all afternoon. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I had been completely unprepared and they had succeeded; I would be the one dead right now.
Gan Tao gave a bleak smile.
At this moment, the courtroom was completely silent; everyone was so shocked by the story that they didn't know what to say.
Just then, a piercing scream suddenly rang out, almost shattering everyone's eardrums.
"You're talking nonsense!"
Magistrate Lu snapped out of his daze, frowned, and asked, "Who's making such a racket here?"
“Your Honor, she is a witness who can prove my son’s wrongful death, and she is also Gan Tao’s mother!” Mr. Wu said hurriedly.
Magistrate Lu nodded: "In that case, bring her up and let's see what she thinks of Gan Tao's explanation."
The onlookers were also very curious and craned their necks to watch. They saw an old woman being pushed in a wheelchair by a yamen runner, shakily entering the courtroom.
She was emaciated, with a sallow complexion, sunken eyes, and two streams of turbid tears slowly flowing down her deeply lined cheeks.
This scene was utterly tragic.
"My lord, I am innocent! I have been paralyzed in bed for many years, as all the villagers know. How could I have done such a despicable thing!"
Gan Tao's mother sobbed uncontrollably, recounting Gan Tao's 'crimes' in broken sentences.
"It was Gan Tao. Seeing that I didn't want her to go to the capital, she conspired with outsiders to come up with this vicious idea. She knows that Young Master Wu has a bad reputation, so even if something happens, everyone will only believe her!"
So she deliberately gave the undergarment to Young Master Wu to lure him to my house, which led to what happened next!
My lord, Gan Tao thinks I'm a burden to her and that her brothers are a nuisance, so she came up with this plan to get rid of us, a widow and her children, in a perfectly legitimate way!
It doesn't matter that I've been slandered; the poor one is Young Master Wu, who has suffered such an undeserved calamity!
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