Chapter 56: Court appearance]
Qin Mengyue was still a little hesitant: "This...will those officials really agree?"
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. I've given them a lot of benefits along the way. Besides, we are two women with three children, so they shouldn't be completely unsympathetic."
Qin Mengyue nodded and said with a smile, "If we can really buy a cart, it would make the journey a lot easier. Yichuan, Xing'er, Hao'er, and the others have calluses on their feet. It really makes me sad to see them..."
After the two of them had discussed it, they went to bed.
After another day's journey, at dusk, before the city gates closed, they finally arrived at the city wall of Daming Prefecture.
The yamen was closed at night, but temporary accommodation was still arranged for the exiled prisoners.
The next morning, Chen Wu and Yuan Xun first escorted Lai Hu and the bandits who robbed prisoners to the county government office and handed them over to the county government. They also reported the matter of the murdered official and asked the county government to issue a certificate. After they returned to Beijing, they would report it to the directly affiliated government office and apply for funeral expenses and pensions for the family of the deceased official.
Then, they took the list of exiled prisoners to the county government to sign it, and reported the names of the prisoners who had died from eating mulberry fruits, and officially removed these people from the list.
These are all official procedures that must be followed.
By the time these matters were dealt with, the county magistrate had already opened the court to try Lai Hu's case.
Chen Fenghe and some of the prisoners who went up the mountain with him were also brought to the court as witnesses.
Qin Huanhuan was disliked by the Qin family because of her loss of virginity. She was one of the people who entered the mountain at that time and was therefore also one of the witnesses.
She glanced at Shen Fenghe with some complacency, a sneer on her lips.
Just wait! She will ruin Shen Fenghe's reputation in a moment!
As for the previous mention of using 100 taels of silver to bribe the county magistrate to save Lai Hu...
How is that possible?
When she thought about how she was a delicate and noble lady who almost became the Crown Princess, but ended up like this, and was actually captured by Lai Hu, a smelly bandit, she felt so disgusted that she wanted to vomit!
Asking him to help her take revenge on Chen Fenghe was just a small price for her to pay!
Now he wanted her to spend a hundred taels of silver to save him? Pah! She wished he would be torn into pieces!
The interrogation proceeded step by step, and soon it was Qin Huanhuan's turn to testify.
"Qin, you went into the mountains with me. These bandits dared to rob the imperial court. You must report what you saw truthfully! If you lie, you will be severely punished!"
Qin Huanhuan immediately kowtowed and recounted what had happened in general. The content was similar to what the other prisoners had said.
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Chen Fenghe, but suddenly kowtowed again, prostrating herself on the ground, and said, "My lord, I suddenly remembered a detail, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."
The county magistrate said sternly, "How can you hide anything in this court? Tell me!"
Qin Huanhuan then said, "Sir, when those bandits killed the official and were about to kidnap Lai Hu, Lai Hu said he wanted to rescue an exiled female prisoner and take her away with him to be his wife... All of us who went up the mountain with him can testify to this!"
Shen Fenghe narrowed her eyes slightly.
The county magistrate frowned: "How could this happen?"
Qin Huanhuan then continued, "I dare not speak nonsense! Moreover, I have seen this female prisoner and Lai Hu flirting with each other, so I believe they have done something shameful! I am afraid that the female prisoner also knew about this robbery in advance! If you don't believe me, you can torture the female prisoner and Lai Hu!"
The county magistrate slammed the gavel and said sternly, "You mean to say that these bandits and the traitors have accomplices among the exiles?"
Qin Huanhuan quickly kowtowed again and said, "I dare not speak nonsense. I will leave it entirely to your Excellency's judgment!"
Lai Hu looked at Qin Huanhuan in shock.
The female prisoner she was referring to was naturally Shen Fenghe. It would have been fine if she had the county magistrate torture Shen Fenghe, but why did she drag him into this?!
What the man in black said that night, that this woman wished he would die without a burial place, could it be... true?!
The county magistrate then continued, "Qin, who is the female prisoner you are talking about? Is she in this court?"
Qin Huanhuan smiled triumphantly and said, "Your Excellency, the female prisoner is in court. She is Chen Fenghe!"
As she spoke, she suddenly stood up, stretched out her arm, and pointed at Chen Fenghe!
The county magistrate was startled and looked at Chen Fenghe according to Qin Huanhuan's pointing!
Shen Fenghe
Isn’t she the Crown Princess who was executed by the Fifth Prince for treason?
A secret letter from his superiors just came the day before yesterday, asking him to find a reason to execute the Crown Princess, the Queen and the Ninth Prince. How could he be so lucky now?
The county magistrate coughed twice and said coldly, "Shen, do you have anything to say?"
Chen Fenghe lowered his eyebrows and replied calmly, "Sir, this is all Qin Huanhuan's wishful thinking. It's pure nonsense. I am innocent and have no affair with Lai Hu!"
"Bang!" The gavel rang out, "Bold Shen, how can you lie in court? I'll teach you a lesson, or you won't surrender! Come on! Give me a severe punishment!"
Chen Fenghe suddenly raised her eyes and looked at the county magistrate with a cold gaze.
Just based on a few words from Qin Huanhuan, without even asking Lai Hu, he was so eager to punish her? That was... too hasty!
Could it be... that he did this on purpose with instructions from someone?
Qin Huanhuan couldn't help but be stunned.
She hadn't expected her plan to go so smoothly? The county magistrate had already concluded that Shen Fenghe was guilty without even listening to Lai Hu's words?
It’s true…God is standing in front of her.
She wanted to see how Chen Fenghe could escape!
Chen Wu and Yuan Xun standing by widened their eyes in shock.
This... the county magistrate is too arbitrary!
"Sir, it's not too late to talk about the punishment after we have learned everything clearly, right? Shen Xiao... Shen said no, and we have seen it all along the way. If there is anything shameful, we will never..." Chen Wu quickly knelt down and said.
The county magistrate glanced at him coldly and said, "You are the official in charge of escorting the exiled prisoners, right?"
Chen Wu said, "Yes, sir, my name is Chen Wu!"
"Bold Chen Wu! How can a petty clerk like you interrupt in the court? Come on, give him twenty lashes of the board immediately..."
As he said this, he was about to throw the token on the table to the ground.
Yuan Xun also knelt down and said, "Think carefully, sir! Beating us with a stick is fine, and punishing Shen is entirely up to your word. But if today's incident gets out, you'll be branded as someone who abuses torture and coerces confessions. Wouldn't that be bad? In my opinion, it's best to try Lai Hu first, and then make a final decision!"
After hearing this, the county magistrate also became hesitant.
He had been too hasty just now. After thinking for a moment, he coughed a few times, took back the token, and said, "Chen Wu, Shen, I'll keep this in mind for you. Lai Hu, why don't you tell the truth? Did you have an affair with Shen?"
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