"I am blind and have offended the Empress and the Prince. Please forgive me!" pleaded the yamen servant Qian.
"Empress, please spare my life!" Li, the yamen runner, was so scared that he wet his pants.
[Oh, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place! ]
Xia Miaoyuan sighed as he looked at Li Yayi's cowardly look.
The villagers standing by were so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths.
Qian, the yamen runner, gave them a look of disappointment, reached out and grabbed two villagers who were closest to him, signaling them to kneel down.
"Kneel down quickly, it's the Queen!" he said in a low voice.
Seeing this, the other villagers also knelt down in a hurry.
Upon learning the identities of the queen and the prince and princess, the bailiffs did not dare to delay and hurriedly led the way, bringing the queen and her entourage to the county government office.
In the lobby of the county government office, the county magistrate respectfully invited the queen to sit in his seat, and he stood in front of the queen with a bow and a smile.
[The change in his face, tsk tsk tsk.]
Xia Miaoyuan covered her mouth with her little hands and laughed secretly.
"Your Majesty the Queen, Your Highness the Second Prince, I would like to ask you to make the decision on Han Qingbo's case." The county magistrate's tone was full of flattery.
The Queen restrained her expression and said, "Lord Sun, you don't have to be like this. You are the official in charge here, and the cases here belong to you."
After saying that, she stood up holding Xia Miaoyuan and sat on the armchair beside her.
"This palace and the Second Prince can just sit in as observers."
Magistrate Sun nodded hurriedly and agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, I will obey your majesty."
Immediately, County Magistrate Sun ordered the court to proceed.
Han Qingbo and the village chief and his gang all went into the hall and knelt on the ground in a crowd.
Then, Magistrate Sun asked the plaintiff and defendant to explain the situation in the usual order.
"Wang Dabao, you said Han Qingbo raped your daughter after drinking. Do you have any evidence?" asked County Magistrate Sun.
"Sir, do you even need to ask this? A single man and a single woman are in the same room, lying on the same bed. There must be something wrong. What evidence do you need?" Wang Dabao, the village chief of Laowang Village, looked righteous.
The Queen frowned and said, "You are the head of the village, how can you be so confused! Everything requires evidence. Just because a man and a woman are alone in the same room doesn't mean anything happened between them."
"Whenever a man forces a woman, there will definitely be traces left, either by the environment or by the person involved." After the queen said this, she gave Magistrate Sun a look.
[Mother is so majestic! I never thought that even though she has lived in the deep palace for so long, she is also so good at judging cases.]
Xia Miaoyuan looked at the queen with admiration.
Magistrate Sun smiled apologetically and nodded to the empress. He slammed the gavel and said righteously, "Wang Dabao, stop talking nonsense!"
Then he shouted again: "Come here, go to Wang Dabao's house immediately. Go to Wang Caifeng's room and check."
"Call Liu Wenpo and Liu the Coroner to the back hall to examine Wang Caifeng and Han Qingbo separately."
Half an hour later, the yamen runners who were responsible for checking Wang Caifeng's boudoir, as well as the midwives and coroners who were responsible for examining the men and women involved, all came to the court to report.
The yamen runner said, "In Wang Caifeng's boudoir, everything is neatly arranged, and the bed is also tidy, without any traces."
Liu Wenpo said: "Wang Caifeng has no scars on her body, her lower body is intact, and she is still a virgin."
Coroner Liu said, "Han Qingbo's entire body was covered in bruises and blood."
Magistrate Sun slammed the gavel and said to Wang Dabao, "Now that the evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to say?"
"It's obvious that you wanted to marry off your silly daughter, so you deliberately set up a trap to frame Han Qingbo."
"Han Qingbo didn't want to and wanted to run away, but you beat him half to death."
Wang Dabao and several other people all knelt with their heads bowed, not saying a word.
Magistrate Sun looked at the queen flatteringly, seeking her advice.
"Yes, Lord Sun is clear-minded in his investigations and handles cases impartially." The Queen gave Lord Sun a thumbs up.
Lord Sun's mouth immediately turned to the back of his head.
"Come here, Wang Dabao and his son are guilty of false accusation and leading the assault and injury. They are sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of one hundred taels of silver. The fine will be given to Han Qingbo for his treatment. Han Qingbo is acquitted." Lord Sun pronounced the verdict with a righteous look on his face.
[That’s more like it!] Xia Miaoyuan muttered.
Wang Dabao and his companions were so frightened that they turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
Several yamen runners came forward and dragged Wang Dabao and his son out of the hall.
Lord Sun looked at Han Qingbo with a smile and said, "Qingbo, take this hundred taels of silver back and take good care of your injuries. You can spend the rest slowly."
"You have good talent and are a good student. I remember your last imperial examination. You answered very well, but you were so hungry that you knocked over the oil lamp and stained the test paper."
"If it weren't for the accident, you would have definitely been a high school scholar last time."
"This time you don't have to worry about your livelihood. Rent out your land and concentrate on studying. If you can pass the imperial examination, I, the county magistrate, will also be proud of it."
[Wait, wait! I lost my score during the imperial examination because I spilled the lamp oil!]
I remember this part!
Xia Miaoyuan's eyes lit up.
[He really is the counselor under Liang Chaozong in the book.]
[Mother, please take him back quickly. You can't leave him in the countryside. This man must not fall into Liang Chaozong's hands!]
Xia Miaoyuan was so anxious that she climbed onto the queen's shoulder and babbled baby talk in her ear.
[The book doesn't mention that Han Qingbo was set up by the village chief and forced to marry a fool. Han Qingbo appears on the official road.]
Liang Chaozong happened to pass by and saw him fainting from hunger on the road. He rescued him and put him in his carriage, taking him to the capital.
Han Qingbo told Liang Chaozong that he was unhappy as a live-in son-in-law in his hometown, so he divorced his wife and wanted to go to Beijing to make a living.
Now I finally understand. In the book, Han Qingbo was forced to marry a fool. Judging by the reputation of the village chief's family, Han Qingbo must have had a difficult life after marriage.
[He couldn't stand it anymore, so he ran away from the village chief's house.]
The queen listened attentively to her daughter's thoughts. At this time, Han Qingbo, who was kneeling in the hall, had already finished expressing his thanks and polite words to Lord Sun.
"Your Majesty, I would like to express my special gratitude to you and the Second Prince for your great kindness today!" Han Qingbo moved his knees and kowtowed three times to the Queen.
"When I return home, I will burn incense for the Emperor, you, and the Second Prince, praying for all your success and good health."
The Queen curled her lips and said in a kind tone, "The Emperor and I usually value scholars like you who come from humble backgrounds the most."
"It's really not easy for you to study hard despite the lack of food and clothing."
"I rarely leave the palace. Meeting you here today is fate given by God."
"Would you like to go to the capital with us?"
Han Qingbo was stunned and murmured, "Going to the capital?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
