"What happened?"
"Yeah, what's all the fuss about? Tell me!"
Everyone put down their teacups, their eyes shining.
Winter is cold and not as comfortable as spring, summer and autumn. Aside from staying at home or going out for tea, it's really boring.
It suddenly got quite lively, and everyone became interested.
This was the first time the newcomer had received so much attention, becoming the center of everyone's gaze. So he excitedly waved his hands and shouted, "Someone has committed murder in Qingmu Town! They wanted to kill and rob someone, seize their property, and even planned to kill them to cover their tracks. Luckily, the Earl of Zhongshan found them and saved them. They are being tried in the government office right now!"
Everyone was completely confused.
Murder to silence witnesses? Seize family property?
It sounds very serious, but how did it get involved with the Marquis of Zhongshan?!
Fearing a mistake, someone asked loudly, "The Zhongshan Bo you're talking about, is he the one from Suijintan?"
"Yes," the messenger nodded repeatedly, "it was Lord Li himself who brought the aggrieved party to the government office to file a complaint!"
"Oh dear, the Li family isn't the type to meddle, but this matter is probably quite suspicious."
"Yes, I heard that this Lord Li only comes to the capital once a year except for the grand court assembly. He is very low-key."
"Let's go see what's going on!"
"Together, I'll go too!"
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, then hurriedly tossed down their tea money and headed to the government office together.
The area in front of the government office was already completely blocked off.
In the courtroom, the prefect sat high behind his desk, with his clerk standing to the side.
Li Yusheng sat on a chair on one side of the hall, wearing a blue long robe and a dark cloak embroidered with green bamboo, exuding a calm and noble air.
The prefect and his advisor couldn't help but take a few more glances, feeling a mix of emotions.
The last time we met was when Wang Xinqiu sued the Wang family.
At that time, Li Yusheng was just a farmer who had just fled famine in the north. When he arrived at the court, he could only kneel.
But now, Li Yusheng not only has the right to sit firmly in court, but they even have to show him respect.
It must be said that fortunes change, and no one should be underestimated.
Fate is such a magical thing!
Thinking this, the prefect cupped his hands and asked, "Lord, is there something you need to do by bringing people to beat the drum today?"
Li Yusheng didn't presume to be arrogant. He stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, "My lord, a few days ago after court, I was walking on the street when I saw a brother and sister being chased and beaten to the point of death. I couldn't bear to see it, so I saved them."
"These past two days, the siblings had just started to feel a little better when they told us that their grandmother had been arrested, their family property had been seized, and that their grandmother might have already been murdered. They begged our family for help so they could seek justice."
"As you know, my family was also victimized before. We shared the same fate, and I couldn't bear to see it, so I helped them out. I had my servants capture the people who were chasing these two siblings, but as to whether they killed anyone, I'll have to trouble you to question them."
After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting again and sat down.
The prefect nodded, and everyone below understood.
The Li family simply couldn't stand by and watch, and wanted to fight for justice.
They did not stand up for the victims, nor did they interfere with the questioning of the case.
But Li Yusheng is sitting here, and he's the one who caught the bad guys, so in the end he's already helping the victim.
The prefect nodded and looked at Gong Yunshu and her brother.
Gong Yunshu was pale and knelt down, swaying precariously, as if she could collapse at any moment, but she held on with all her might, her right hand still supporting her younger brother.
My younger brother has a broken leg, his head is wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and there is a faint trace of blood on his forehead.
Then look at the four or five men who were tied up; each of them was burly and imposing...
The prefect frowned, and couldn't help but lean towards the Gong siblings.
The case wasn't complicated to begin with. Back then, Li Yusheng wasn't the only one who witnessed the Gong siblings being nearly beaten to death on the street; he just spoke up and saved them.
Therefore, the crime of the Gong family men injuring people has been established.
All they wanted to know was where the old lady of the Gong family was and whether she was alive or dead.
The men from the Gong family stammered, especially Gong Wu, who had been the leader that day; his words betrayed his guilty conscience.
So the prefect immediately ordered that he be given twenty strokes of the cane.
Gong Wu was beaten until he screamed and howled, and finally confessed that he had locked Old Lady Gong in a wooden house in the mountains.
A dozen or so constables immediately rushed to Qingmu Town.
As luck would have it, they ran into the mayor of Qingmu Town and his men as they left the city, who were escorting a cart.
Upon seeing the constables, the town mayor stopped them and hurriedly said, "Officials, you've come so quickly! Something has happened in Qingmu Town. The old lady of the Gong family has come back from the dead—no, she's been buried underground and then died on the mountain!"
His words were somewhat incoherent, and the constables found them difficult to understand. They simply examined the body and, after confirming that it was the old lady of the Gong family they were looking for, escorted the cart back to the government office.
The onlookers outside the government office quickly made way for them, all of them frightened but unable to resist standing on tiptoe to peek a few more times.
Soon, Old Lady Gong's body was carried to the courtroom.
The once plump and healthy old lady had become a human-shaped stick after only half a month. Not only were the Gong siblings heartbroken, but even outsiders couldn't help but sigh when they saw her.
"This is absolutely terrible!"
"Yes, they starved to death, otherwise they wouldn't have been so thin!"
"The Gong family was considered a prominent family in Qingmu Town, and I heard they were living a very good life. It's unbelievable that the old lady ended up like this."
The crowd discussed amongst themselves, and their hatred for Gong Wu and his group only intensified as they looked at them.
How cruel must one be to abandon an old woman in a small mountain hut and let her starve to death!
Gong Wu was also terrified. He had initially planned to hide the old lady there because he was afraid outsiders would see her, and would occasionally bring her some food and drink. After all, he still needed to use her to coerce Gong Yunshu and her brother into obeying him.
But he drank too much that night, and the next day he went into town to play, and slept in town. The third day...
In short, he never even cared about his own mother, so how could he possibly care about a "tool"?
It was seven or eight days later when he remembered.
Even a fool could guess that the old lady was probably dead, which made him even more afraid to go and see her.
Besides, the Gong siblings have already entered the Broken Gold Beach, so whether the old lady lives or dies is not a big deal...
He made countless excuses for himself and didn't even glance at the cabin.
The original plan was to bury the old lady after the New Year, once the matter was completely over.
Unexpectedly, Gong Yunshu and her brother went back on their word and actually colluded with the Li family to sue them in court, even bringing in the old lady who had starved to death.
He always felt that the old lady's eyes, which were not closed, were staring at him.
He desperately tried to find a place to hide, but his backside, which had been slapped open, was so painful that he couldn't move. So he broke down, howling, "It wasn't me, boohoo, I didn't want to kill her, I just forgot to bring her food, I really forgot!"
Seeing that the opportunity was rare, the prefect quickly pressed on, asking, "Why did you arrange for the old lady to fake her death, and then secretly lock her up in the mountains to starve to death? Wasn't that redundant?"
Gong Wu quickly explained, "No, I didn't want him to die, it was Liu Sanzi! Liu Sanzi wanted Yun Shu to seduce Master Li, and he promised me five hundred taels of silver!"
“I made the old lady fake her death. The Li family took pity on Yun Shu and her brother because they were helpless and alone, so they let them stay in their home. I didn’t mean to kill the old lady. I just wanted to hide for two days… but I forgot about it!”
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