With only a quarter of an hour left before the court session began, the Wu family finally arrived.
Chen Danian was somewhat displeased: "Why are you only arriving now? Don't you know what day it is today? Master Wu, do you even want to avenge your son?"
"Of course I want to!"
Mr. Wu quickly said, then glared at Gan Tao Niang:
"It's all her fault for wasting time. Why does she have to have an upset stomach this morning of all days? If she had delayed my important business, I'd have dealt with her!"
Gan Tao Niang didn't dare to raise her head or argue back, and stood aside with her neck hunched over.
Seeing her frightened and timid appearance, Chen Danian's anger subsided somewhat, and he even tried to persuade Wu's father instead:
"Forget it, she didn't want this to happen either. After all, she's in the same boat as us. If something really goes wrong, do you think she'll be the one who suffers?"
These words are both a reminder and a threat.
Remind Wu's father that Gan Tao's mother is now a key figure in testifying against Gan Tao. If he scolds her too harshly, she might suddenly turn against him, and things would be terrible.
She also threatened Gan Tao's mother, saying that since she stood up to testify against Gan Tao last time, there was no turning back. Going back now would not only fail to save her daughter, but the Wu family would also not let her off easily.
In short, if Chen Danian initially approached the Wu family and helped them, it was only for the benefits promised by Wu's father.
But now, besides all that, he wants to make that pear look good!
Therefore, he absolutely cannot allow anything to go wrong!
Sure enough, after he reminded him, Wu's father understood and toned down his bad attitude, even saying a few kind words to Gan Tao Niang.
"Little sister, don't mind me, I was just anxious. After all, today's matter is very important, and I was worried that something might go wrong... See, I was overthinking it. What could possibly go wrong? Right, little sister?"
Both of their gazes fell on Gan Tao Niang.
Gan Tao Niang's heart tightened, her eyes darting around, unable to meet their gazes, inwardly groaning!
There's been a mishap! A mishap has occurred!
Her fourth son has disappeared!
Actually, she only found out about this yesterday. Ever since the Wu family arranged for the two of them to stay in that house, she slept with her youngest son, while her other four sons each slept in two separate rooms.
The eldest and second eldest were of similar age and slept together, while the youngest three and four naturally slept in the same room.
She had always known her two sons. The third one was shrewd, while the fourth one was honest. The two brothers always had some friction when they were together, but the fourth one always silently endured it, so she didn't take it to heart at first.
Until yesterday, when the mistress came running to her in tears, saying that the fourth brother was missing, she realized that the two brothers had argued the night before, and the usually good-natured fourth brother had actually lost his temper and ran away in a fit of anger.
The mistress didn't take it seriously, thinking that since it was late at night, her younger brother would be scared and come back on his own!
He rolled over and fell asleep on the bed. But when dawn broke, Xiao Si still hadn't returned. Xiao San panicked and rushed over to tell her.
When Gan Tao Niang learned of this, she panicked. Her first thought was that she couldn't tell the Wu family—when the Wu family sent them there, they had told them not to wander off. If they found out that Xiao Si was missing...
Thinking of the vicious Wu family members, Gan Taoniang decided to keep the matter a secret and secretly go out to look for them herself.
Since the Wu family only comes over when they deliver meals, she can find the person without anyone noticing as long as she avoids that time.
But soon she realized she had been too optimistic. She and her sons searched all day but couldn't find Xiao Si.
At that time, the best thing to do would have been to tell the Wu family about it, but she still held onto a sliver of hope—maybe Xiao Si would come back on his own that night?
Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen.
But she still had a chance to tell the Wu family about this. All the way, she was considering how to bring it up, but she didn't dare to. This delay has dragged on until now.
Now, seeing the two of them staring intently at her... she felt even more afraid!
However, Gan Tao Niang wasn't that foolish. She was worried that this matter would affect the outcome of today's trial, so she decided to speak out to avoid any unexpected problems.
She took a deep breath, preparing to tell him that her fourth son was missing.
Just then, a yamen runner came running over and impatiently greeted them: "So you've arrived? Why aren't you going in? Court is about to begin!"
"Coming, coming! Let's go in." Chen Danian nodded and bowed with a smile, then called out to them and followed the constable inside.
Wu's father followed closely behind. Gan Taoniang opened her mouth, then closed it weakly as she followed them inside. The little courage she had mustered vanished completely.
...
In the courtroom, Chen Danian, as the lawyer, stood in the center, while Wu's father, as the aggrieved party, listened to Chen Danian's impassioned speech and occasionally wiped away tears.
Gan Taoniang waited in the side hall, listening to the sounds coming from the courtroom, her heart pounding with anxiety.
With trepidation, it was time to summon witnesses.
Gan Taoniang took a deep breath and let the bailiffs help her push her wheelchair into the courtroom.
—Maybe Xiao Si is just being mischievous and hiding. It's such a remote place, what are the chances of him running into Gan Li there?
She comforted herself in her heart.
In court, she heard the official ask her to describe what had happened again.
Gan Tao Niang wiped away her tears and said weakly:
"She despised me for being a useless person, and that having several younger brothers would only be a burden to her, so she wanted to go to the capital. I knew she wanted to abandon us, so I resolutely refused. Then she came up with this vicious plan, deliberately seducing Young Master Wu and tricking him into coming to our house, so that she could falsely accuse me of conspiring with the matchmaker to sell her to someone else."
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