Xiao Si frowned, trying hard to recall what had happened before, and then recounted it word for word.
The little boy's mind was simple; he thought that as long as he told the truth, he could save his older sister. He didn't realize the impact his words would have on his mother.
So after he finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked Ganli with a relaxed expression:
"Aunt Ganli, I'm telling the truth. My eldest sister shouldn't be dead this time, right?"
Little did he know that his words would cause a huge uproar.
Gan Tao Niang's face turned deathly pale. She wished she could rush over and cover his mouth, but the constables beside her seemed to have seen through her thoughts. As soon as she tried to get up, they grabbed her on both sides and pressed her down, making her unable to move. Her mouth was also gagged, and she could only watch helplessly as Xiao Si finished speaking.
Fortunately, as soon as Xiao Si finished speaking, the hand covering her mouth was removed, and as soon as her mouth was free, she quickly retorted:
"My lord, this is all Ganli's trick! She kidnapped my child and tricked him into saying these things. She has ill intentions! She wants to frame me!"
Seeing that she was still not giving up at this point, Ganli shook her head with a cold smile.
"Framed you? Fine, so you said Xiao Si was kidnapped by me, and that you don't keep your word, right?"
She turned to Magistrate Lu and said, "Your Honor, I have another idea. Since she says that Xiao Si was tricked into saying these things by me, Your Honor might as well interrogate her other sons."
They were with her the whole time; I had no chance to speak with them. If what they said was exactly the same as Xiao Si's, then it would be enough to prove that this is the truth behind the case.
Gan Tao Niang's face stiffened upon hearing this.
As Ganli said, Ganli didn't have the opportunity to collude with her other sons, but neither did she herself!
They were brought back from the Wu family, so they certainly wouldn't give me any chance to spend time with them privately, not even a word of advice!
Now, she can only hope that those boys will be smart enough to know what to say and what not to say.
Gan Tao Niang prayed silently.
As she wished, her sons were indeed clever.
After the constables took Wu's father away, they quickly found out the whereabouts of the children and brought them back to wait outside.
Except for the youngest one, who was taken away by the suddenly appearing yamen runners, the children were all very uneasy and completely unaware of what was happening in the courtroom.
When asked, they shook their heads like rattles, saying they knew nothing.
However clever they were, they were still just inexperienced children, while the constables were seasoned veterans who easily tricked them into revealing the truth.
The constables pretended that Gan Taoniang had already told the truth, and if they denied it again, they would be deceiving the magistrate and would be imprisoned! Then they repeated what Xiao Si had said to the others.
The youngest one didn't understand anything yet, but the other three were tricked into thinking that their mother had really confessed, so one by one they told the truth.
Another team of constables had already gone to Gan Tao's house with the coroner, and indeed found the sleeping potion in a pile of filth.
The yamen runners quickly reported the matter, causing an uproar throughout the hall.
One of the key reasons they initially believed Gan Tao Niang's words so readily was that they thought no mother in the world would mistreat her daughter like that.
But now, upon closer inspection, this outrageous thing is actually the truth!
The onlookers were stunned and speechless. Fortunately, Magistrate Lu, having served as an official for many years, was no stranger to the world. He stared intently at Gan Tao Niang and asked sternly:
"With witnesses and physical evidence right here, what else do you have to say?"
Gan Taoniang had no more arguments to make and collapsed to the ground in despair.
The onlookers finally realized they had all been fooled!
In their hearts, Gan Tao was a promiscuous, unfilial, and unjust woman. They condemned her with words and wished she would confess her sins and commit suicide on the spot, so that they could fulfill their sense of justice.
They are gathered here today to witness Gan Tao's fate.
However, when the truth came out, they discovered that they had been used as pawns!
This realization angered them, but after only a moment of reflection, they vented their anger at Gan Tao Niang—if she weren't so good at deceiving people, how could they have been fooled?
Then, a barrage of insults rained down on Gan Tao Niang as if they were free, and rotten vegetable leaves and eggs were thrown at her. It was as if the events of a few days ago were repeating themselves, only this time the one suffering the abuse was Gan Tao Niang instead of Gan Tao.
Ganli looked at everything before her, but she didn't feel as happy as she had expected.
Justice has indeed been served, but before that, everything that the wronged suffered was also real.
But can she say that these misled people are at fault?
But... what did Gan Tao do wrong?
She sighed secretly behind everyone's back.
...
The case of Gan Tao was finally solved, and Magistrate Lu pronounced his verdict on the spot, acquitting and releasing Gan Tao.
Gan Tao was exonerated, and since she was innocent, those who made the accusations were false.
Magistrate Lu, upholding the law, spared no one and punished them all.
The Wu family lost their son, and the parents were naturally heartbroken. However, this also led them to feel compassion for other people's children. Yet, in order to vent their anger, they framed innocent people and plotted against them. Fortunately, no serious consequences resulted. To serve as a warning to others, Wu's father was sentenced to three years in prison for false accusation.
Although Chen Danian was involved, as a lawyer, he could not convict him. He only offered a fine of one hundred taels of silver as a deterrent, thus exempting him from other punishments.
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