Anke couldn't bear it any longer and helped her sit down to the side. The boss covered her face with a handkerchief and sobbed.
Little Swallow only heard the gist of the story and hadn't even heard the details before she couldn't stand it anymore. She stormed over and started punching and kicking the person who was pinned to the ground, yelling, "So, you're the one who tricked him into coming here. You're like a frog trying to eat heavenly meat."
Ziwei stood to the side, her brows furrowed, her expression unreadable – was it anger or pity? Erkang silently moved closer to Ziwei. Ziwei's swollen eyes clearly showed she had been crying the night before. Erkang thought to himself that even if he couldn't offer Ziwei comfort now, he could still let her know that someone was supporting her.
Whether it was telepathy or something else, as soon as Erkang moved next to her, Ziwei turned her head and smiled at him as if by telepathy, as if to comfort him that she was alright.
Unfortunately, the two of them were right across from Anke. Anke really didn't want to watch them being so lovey-dovey. It's like the protagonist's halo; even like this, the master could concentrate on the case without any distractions.
In the show, they were just separated by a wall, and they were plotting so loudly on the other side, yet the master couldn't hear a single sound. What, was that wall made of noise-free material? It's practically magical. Anke simply doesn't believe they didn't have the protagonist's halo.
The master sat upright in the center of the front hall on a pearwood chair, scrutinizing the two men intently. The shopkeeper's words could be considered verbal evidence, but a conclusion couldn't be drawn so easily. However, seeing Xiao Yanzi beating the man like that, the master felt it wasn't quite right. He coughed heavily, as if warning Xiao Yanzi.
Little Swallow had no idea that the master's cough was a warning to her, and she continued to punch and kick the man. The man also sustained many injuries.
Seeing that the man was panting heavily, almost breathing out more breaths than inhaled, An Ke quickly stepped forward and stopped Xiao Yanzi.
Xiao Yanzi was still in a bad mood, the kind who would get angry at anyone who tried to stop her. Her hand probably lost its grip and almost landed on An Ke's face, but An Ke simply turned her head away.
Little Swallow was still chattering on, completely unaware that she had almost hurt Anke. "Why are you stopping me? The boss just said it was because of this man who lured her here. Shouldn't we stand up for the boss now? Anke, are you going to stand up for this man? You…"
If it weren't for preserving witnesses, An Ke wouldn't have bothered stopping the erratic Xiao Yanzi. "Can the truth of the matter be determined solely by one side's story? Is such a judgment truly just? What if this man is wronged? How will you repay that? The magistrate is here; justice will be served. Lord Fu Heng has already gone into the village to find witnesses. If you kill him now, there will be no way to prove anything. Solving things isn't just about force." Seeing Xiao Yanzi gradually calm down, An Ke hesitated before releasing her.
The master, seated at the head of the table, nodded approvingly at Chong Anke. His niece had done the right thing. If they had killed the man now, even if the shop owner's story was true, there would be no way to verify it. With both verbal and witness testimonies collected, the shop owner could still return to his home in the capital. Those who deserved punishment would not escape; the net of justice is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it.
After seeing the master nod to An Ke, Ziwei bit her lip and stepped forward, silently restraining Xiaoyanzi. She also felt that Xiaoyanzi's actions were inappropriate. What if the man was truly innocent, and the boss was lying? What then? Why didn't she say it sooner or later? Was there no one in the village to stand up for her? Couldn't she appeal to the capital? Ziwei secretly pondered these questions.
Most importantly, Ziwei didn't want to see the master praising Anke the whole way; she also wanted the master to acknowledge her this time.
The shopkeeper didn't say anything. If it weren't for the people they brought, he probably would have been dead that night. Since he had a chance to seek justice, he naturally wouldn't let it slip away. Besides, a case couldn't be solved based solely on one person's account. He could only rely on the villagers' ability to distinguish right from wrong.
Seeing that Ziwei had come over and restrained Xiaoyanzi, Anke didn't want to stay there and watch them. She turned around and sat down next to the master.
Anke tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She finally managed to fall asleep, but then heard noises downstairs in the early morning. Startled awake, she sprang out of bed and quickly got dressed. Qing'er, who shared a bed with Anke, also heard the commotion and got up to check on her.
Anke hadn't even had a sip of water since she woke up. After sitting down, she picked up the teacup next to her and, not caring what kind of tea it was, gulped down several mouthfuls. It was a way of perking herself up.
Qing'er then leaned over and said something to An Ke, and the two began to talk quietly.
Fortunately, Fuheng didn't keep the Emperor waiting long. Soon after, he brought over several villagers. There were men and women, dressed very simply, their faces haggard and stern. To verify the truth of the matter, Fuheng also brought along a few elderly people.
"Master, these are the residents of Luoyun Village." Fu Heng pointed to the group behind him and nodded to his master. He then stood beside his master. His job was only to investigate and bring the people over; the rest of the trial was up to his master.
The master had a general idea of what was going on. Those commoners were probably seeing wealthy people for the first time, especially since they were from this place who had brought them here; they were momentarily flustered. Sensing the oppressive atmosphere of the inn, their legs went weak, and they immediately knelt down.
The magistrate coughed lightly and began the interrogation without saying a word, slamming his hand heavily on the low table beside him. "Are you people from the nearby village? Do you recognize this man beside you?" After speaking, the magistrate stared intently at the expressions on the people's faces, while An Ke casually glanced at them as well.
The common people, unaware of what had happened, looked at the man beside them with fear and trepidation. One or two older men squinted, trying to make out his features.
They exchanged a glance and then kowtowed heavily to the ground. "We know him, we know him. He's a notorious scoundrel in our village. He's always up to nothing but petty theft." He was a little nervous as he finished speaking. How had this scoundrel managed to offend these important people? Just by looking at their clothes, they knew they were people these villagers couldn't afford to mess with.
"Oh? Then why didn't anyone report him to the authorities?" The master was completely puzzled. Since everyone knew what kind of person he was, who only did petty theft, could it be that no one reported him to the authorities?
Upon hearing this, the people's faces showed fear, and their bodies trembled as if they were sieves.
Something's not right, something's very wrong! The master and An'an exchanged a glance, and An'an nodded.
"Please get up, everyone. We're just asking. If you know anything, please tell us everything. We'll reward you accordingly," An Ke said softly, then took out a few pieces of silver from her beautifully embroidered purse. After all, to get the truth out of you, you have to use a combination of persuasion and pressure, don't you?
Several of the strong young men, seeing the loose silver coins on the table, were itching to try and resist. "It's not that we haven't tried reporting it to the authorities," one of them said, "but look around, where is there a government office for miles around? As for the capital, we've never been that far. Besides, it's just a small matter. If they won't help, how can we abandon our crops to report it to the authorities? The people of Luoyun Village are all farmers, toiling in the fields from dawn till dusk, relying on their harvests for a living."
After saying that, as if afraid they wouldn't believe him, the young man added a few more words, "Besides, petty theft isn't done by one person alone. It's always a group of people, with their faces covered and knives in their hands. We all have elderly parents and young children to support. As long as our lives aren't in danger, we just turn a blind eye." After saying that, the young man lowered his eyes.
An Ke knew there was more than one person involved. Just the fact that he could lure someone's daughter from the capital all the way here by himself showed that it wasn't something one person could do alone. An Ke was furious, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that the veins on her hands were faintly visible.
Ertai glanced at Anke's tightly clenched fist with heartache, somewhat relieved that the princess never kept her nails too long, otherwise she would definitely have scratched herself. Even if she hadn't scratched herself, she would certainly have had pinch marks now. Ertai thought of the medicine he had brought, and decided to secretly give it to the princess when they got on the carriage later.
Ertai, blinded by concern, never considered that Anke was a princess, so how could her maids not carry a medicine chest with her?
The old man probably sensed the low spirits emanating from Anke. He glanced at her and gently patted his clenched fist. Anke then snapped out of her daze, exhaled, and slowly loosened her grip.
Although the old man felt sorry for his niece, the most important thing now was to close the case. "Do you know this woman?" The old man pointed to the boss sitting to the side.
Seeing that the young man had almost finished explaining, they had nothing more to hide. "I know him. This boss was lured here by this scoundrel. Most of the young ladies in the capital are naive and inexperienced. He pretended to be pitiful, and this woman was drugged. He originally wanted to marry her, but he didn't expect her to be so strong-willed. That night, she almost bit her tongue and committed suicide." The older man couldn't bear to see such things and sighed as he spoke.
"And then what?" Little Swallow hadn't expected this man to be so despicable. She only wanted to know what happened next and didn't care about her boss's feelings, blurting out the question.
Anke looked up at her boss, who was sitting in his chair, trembling slightly. This world is still more harsh on women. Regardless of whether he touched this woman or not, once she was abducted and brought home, how could the world believe she was innocent?
Anke strode over to her boss and gently patted her shoulder. Her hand slowly reached out to touch the boss's clasped hands, trying to offer her some comfort. This wasn't her fault; those bad people had taken advantage of her kindness. Kindness is never wrong.
The shopkeeper, whose body had been trembling, gradually calmed down thanks to Anke's comfort. Her bloodshot and tear-filled eyes turned to look quietly at Anke, at the person who had offered her solace, who hadn't slandered her, and who seemed to be leading her away from this barren land. At that moment, in the shopkeeper's eyes, Anke seemed to have a pair of glowing little wings, illuminating her chaotic and bleak life since her abduction.
The old man answered every question. "Later, when he couldn't force her, he planned to take her jewelry and extort money from a businessman in the capital. But the businessman refused to admit his daughter was missing and even sent his servants to beat him up. From that day on, the scoundrel forcibly took the girl's money and spent it on drinking, gambling, and whoring. Whenever he came back and was in a bad mood, he would beat the girl up." As the old man spoke, tears streamed down his face. He himself had children, so how could he bear to see such a thing happen? However, he was powerless to help the girl and could only maintain an attitude of "it's none of my business."
"And then what happened?" Ziwei also wanted to know how things went.
"Later, as the money dwindled day by day, Er Laizi remembered that this girl was the daughter of the grain store owner and must be skilled in business. So he built an inn for her here. Thinking that money could make more money, he took money from her every day to gamble." The young man added from the side, also finding Er Laizi's behavior utterly despicable.
“But look around, this is just our village. Everyone here has a home, so why would they stay at this inn? It’s just that sometimes one or two caravans come by and stay here for a while. Business is usually not good. Er Laizi doesn’t care about that. If he doesn’t have money, he’ll beat up this girl. We’re willing but unable to do anything about it.” The young man sighed and lowered his head in shame.
"Alright, then let's take this matter to the capital for processing." The master made the decision directly. "Fu Lun, have you finished recording everything?" From the beginning, the master had Fu Lun record their statements.
"Sir, I've written it all down." Furen said respectfully, holding up several sheets of paper.
"Take it to them, and have them sign what needs to be signed and put their fingerprints on what needs to be put on their fingerprints." The old man waved his hand.
"Yes," Furen handed the pen to those who could write and those who couldn't, and had them put their fingerprints on it.
At this time, Lord Li also arrived at this place with the couple from the grain store in the capital and Wang Shou from the Ministry of Justice.
"The rest is up to you." The master stopped Lord Wang from bowing.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly investigate thoroughly." Wang Shou wiped the sweat from his brow. This place also belonged to the capital and was within his jurisdiction.
As agreed beforehand, An Ke distributed all the loose silver on the table to the few commoners who had just spoken.
As for the couple who owned the grain shop, they rushed forward to embrace their daughter and wept bitterly. They had thought they were separated from their daughter forever, never expecting to see her again. The innkeeper, who had initially harbored some resentment towards his parents, saw their graying hair and said nothing more. He silently embraced his parents and sobbed quietly.
"Thank you so much, kind people, for helping me find my daughter. If you ever need our grain store, please don't hesitate to ask. We will go through fire and water for you," the woman said, kneeling with tears streaming down her face.
An Ke quickly helped them up and whispered a few words to the innkeeper. Then she watched them head towards the capital.
As expected of the Ministry of Justice's top officer, Lord Wang arrested the remaining petty thugs who had committed the crime with him in no time. After bidding farewell to the master, he escorted them to the capital for further processing.
The villagers of Luoyun Village were overjoyed to see them off all the way.
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