Chapter 259 Trial 3
Xuanbing scoffed dismissively: "What's the rush, you old codger? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? Don't rush, sign this statement first, and then we'll do it again."
As he spoke, he picked up the confession he had just written, stepped forward and had Granny Wu put her fingerprint on it, then respectfully handed it to Lu Yunqi.
Lu Yunqi looked at it and, seeing that there was nothing wrong, told him to put it away.
Qiao walked over and squatted down in front of Granny Wu, her voice choked with sobs, "Granny, how could you be so foolish? You are my wet nurse. If anyone sees what you do, they will only think that I ordered you to do it. You have really implicated me to death this time."
"You've also ruined yourself. The saying goes, 'a life for a life.' You used arsenic to kill my sister. Not even I, your master, can plead for you, let alone the Lord and my sister. You can go in peace."
As Qiao Shi spoke, she was so heartbroken that she almost fainted. Wu Mama also listened with tears streaming down her face. Even though she was truly willing to die for her mistress, Qiao Shi's words made her feel terrible.
Qiao cried as she grabbed Wu Mama's hand and continued, "Mama, go in peace. I will take good care of your children and grandchildren. I will also ask my mother to release their indentures and find them good jobs outside. Your descendants will never have to be servants again."
How could Granny Wu not understand the meaning behind her mistress's words? Wasn't that exactly what she had just hinted at to Madam Tian?
Granny Wu had no way to express her suffering, so she could only let Madam Qiao hold her and cry.
An impatience flashed in Lu Yunqi's eyes, and he said loudly:
"Guards, take Granny Wu, Shengcai, Shengwang, and their signed confessions to the yamen. The evidence is now conclusive. Tell the officials to close the case as soon as possible. Those who should be executed should be executed, and those who should be exiled should be exiled."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wu and the others stopped crying abruptly.
Xuanbing added with a chuckle, "General, rest assured, I will send the mother and her two sons to where they belong. With these confessions, the crimes committed by the mother and her two sons are irrefutable evidence. Granny Wu's old life is definitely not going to be saved. Her two sons probably won't die, but they will definitely be sentenced to exile a thousand miles away."
I spoke with the officials and arranged for these two to be exiled to the coldest military camp in the north, to serve as laborers.
"Heh heh heh, the hard labor in the military camp isn't easy to endure. It's even worse than working in a coal mine. Very few prisoners sent there survive more than six months. It's practically worse than being beheaded. Tsk tsk tsk, I'm worried these two slender bodies won't last long over there."
Xuanbing looked at the two bloodied figures on the ground with a face full of reluctance.
The two brothers looked frighteningly covered in blood, but they only had superficial injuries and no serious broken bones. They were just too easily frightened, and after only a few lashes, they were crying and screaming and confessing everything.
The two of them had just recovered from lying on the ground when they heard Xuanbing's words, which made them want to roll their eyes and faint again.
Granny Wu looked at Xuan Bing in astonishment, then at Lu Yunqi.
"General, this old servant just confessed that the murder of the lady was my doing alone, and had nothing to do with anyone else. It has nothing to do with them. How can you hand over my two sons to the authorities as well? You can't do this!"
Madam Qiao: "Granny Wu is right. She did this all by herself. If you're going to send her to the authorities, just send Granny Wu alone. Why send her son along as well?"
Lu Yunqi: "Take the statements these two brothers just gave to Madam Qiao."
Xuanbing took Shengcai Shengwang's confession and walked up to Qiao Shi and Granny Wu, saying, "Look carefully, the two of them have just confessed that the arsenic was bought from outside the city by the two brothers. Here is not only their signed testimony, but our people also went to the pharmacy they mentioned and brought back the pharmacy's sales records."
"Since they're accomplices and the evidence is conclusive, of course they should be sent to the authorities for punishment. How could they be released so easily? What kind of good idea is that?"
Granny Wu and Madam Qiao were so angry that they didn't know what to say. They hadn't expected that these two good-for-nothings would confess everything.
Shengcai and Shengwang were in no better shape at the moment. The youngest son, Shengwang, cried out to Granny Wu:
"Mother, Madam, please save me! I just lost my wife, I don't want to die!"
Xuanbing kindly reminded him, "There is a way if you don't want to die. As long as you can confess something of value, proving that you were instructed by someone, you might be able to get a reduced sentence."
Shengwang immediately shouted, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything. This wasn't my mother's idea; it was all instigated by my great-aunt."
When my great-aunt took my mother back to the Vice Minister's residence, she specifically summoned my brother and me. My mother, in front of my great-aunt, instructed us to buy arsenic. My great-aunt even rewarded us with two hundred taels of silver. We had never seen so much silver before, and we were momentarily blinded by greed, which is why we agreed.”
Shengcai nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, yes, we had no idea why my mother wanted us to buy arsenic, and she wouldn't let us ask."
However, arsenic is a deadly substance, so my brother and I became suspicious and secretly inquired about the sudden illness of the Earl's wife. We guessed that our great-aunt might have harmed the Earl's wife.
"Gentlemen, believe me, what my brother and I are saying is true. This was all ordered by our mistress; we were just following orders!"
In order to save their lives, the two brothers spilled the beans, repeating what they had just said that was unclear.
"shut up!"
Qiao rushed over and slapped Shengcai hard across the face several times: "You lowly servant, how dare you slander your master? Who gave you the guts? Don't forget you still have a wife and children in the Vice Minister's mansion!"
Shengcai cried and said, "I'm about to die, why would I care about my wife and children's lives? You're the one who ordered this. You even told us that as long as we did this job well, you would give me your maid Xichun as my lover. Waaah, I'm about to die, what can't I say?"
"Sir, I'm telling the truth. Please, don't send me to the army for hard labor."
Qiao, Wu, and her two sons fought like dogs for a long time. Qiao refused to admit it, but she could not get rid of the crime of instigation.
However, at this point, she couldn't simply deny it and distance herself from the matter. So, Lu Yunqi stopped talking and ordered Qiao Shi to be sent back to Haitang Courtyard and placed under house arrest.
The matter was clear, so the servants of Mingyue Residence were all released, except for Madam Tian and her son, who were still imprisoned as witnesses.
Xuanbing kindly arranged for someone to lock the mother and son together.
As soon as she was freed, Tian Niangzi ran to her unconscious son's side. Despite her grief, she carefully examined his injuries and was surprised to find that his hands and feet were intact and had not been broken.
But I clearly heard my son scream just now?
Lost in thought, the unconscious son slowly opened his eyes. He looked around blankly for a moment, and after confirming that the face in front of him was his mother, he burst into tears.
"Mom, am I still alive? I was so scared! They were pinching my arm so hard, and I screamed and screamed, waah!"
Tian Niangzi: ...
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