Chapter 43: From now on, we are no longer friends
The next day, in the county court.
The atmosphere was completely different from the tense atmosphere of yesterday. The people in the hall were whispering to each other, waiting for the final conclusion of this ups and downs case.
Wang Zhihuan sat upright in the hall with a calm expression. He glanced at Feng Lan's family kneeling in the hall, then glanced at the haggard Chen family members who were being escorted by yamen runners on the other side, and slammed the gavel.
"Bring witnesses."
Soon, a coroner and two yamen runners were brought into the courtroom.
The coroner bowed and reported, "Your Excellency, I have examined the body. The deceased, Zhang Quezi, reeked of alcohol and was clearly intoxicated. While the knife wound to his chest was fatal, it was straight and single-handed, unlike a struggle. Based on the on-site investigation, the deceased was likely intoxicated and chasing someone with a knife when he tripped and fell, lunging forward with such force that the knife pierced his own chest, causing him to bleed to death. This was an accident, not human error."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall.
Wang Zhihuan nodded, this basically aligned with his deduction. He turned his gaze to Daya, his voice gentler, "Daya, did you hear what the coroner said? Zhang Quezi's death was an accident and had nothing to do with you. I hereby declare you not guilty and release you immediately."
Daya was stunned, and then tears welled up in her eyes. This time, they were tears of joy and relief. She kowtowed heavily, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, Lord!"
Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo also kowtowed repeatedly in excitement.
Wang Zhihuan waved his hand and was about to announce the adjournment of the court when a cold and firm voice rang out.
"Sir, please stay! I have something to ask of you!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Feng Lan who was speaking.
She helped her daughter to her feet, stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Kangbo, and bowed deeply to Wang Zhihuan. "Your Excellency, my wife and I were once close relatives of the Chen family, but our bond has ended. Now, my parents-in-law, driven by profit, are selling my daughter, and my uncles are accomplices, plotting to have my wife and me killed. In this situation, any kinship remains."
She paused, her voice was not loud, but every word was weighty and resounded throughout the courtroom.
"We, Chen Kangbo and Feng Lan, are humbled and humbled. Today, in front of the County Magistrate and all the villagers, we earnestly request your permission to allow my wife and I to separate from the Chen family of Pingjiang Village! We must sign a document to sever all ties and ties from each other, living in separate households and having nothing to do with each other's weddings and funerals!"
With a loud "bang", the whole court was in an uproar.
Splitting up a family is common, but "severing ties" is a truly devastating event! It means completely leaving the clan. From then on, they can't even enter the ancestral tomb or place the memorial tablet on the ancestral tablet. This is more painful than killing them.
Old Man Chen, Chen Kangzhong, Chen Kangshu and the others had assumed that with Cripple Zhang dead, they would at most be imprisoned for a few days, fined, and the matter over. Who would have thought that Feng Lan would be so decisive and directly cut off the source of the trouble?
"You...you vicious woman!" Old Man Chen was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at Feng Lan and said, "You are trying to cut off the roots of our Chen family!"
"Brother! Sister-in-law! You can't do this!" Chen Kangzhong was also anxious. "No matter how wrong our parents are, they are still our elders! If you do this, you will be struck by lightning!"
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the hall. Second Aunt Liu and Third Aunt Qian rushed in with a group of people. Leading them was Liu Dazhuang, the man with a face full of flesh from yesterday.
"Sir! Please help us!" Liu knelt and wailed as soon as she entered the room. "Feng Lan is so cruel! Not only did she send my parents-in-law and my husband to jail, but now she wants to take all the family property and kick us out! How are we, an orphan and a widow, going to survive in the future?"
"That's right, sir!" Qian also started to throw a tantrum. "My husband is locked up too! Why should their family be happy while ours is torn apart? It's unfair! This is so unfair!"
Liu Dazhuang stiffened his neck and shouted at Wang Zhihuan, "Sir, we are all from Pingjiang Village. Everyone knows that all the money Chen Kangbo earns is from our Chen family's public treasury! Now he wants to divide the family, fine! The three hundred taels of silver must be taken out and divided equally among the several families! Otherwise, we won't agree!"
The courtroom instantly descended into chaos. The relatives of the second and third branches of the Chen family were all arguing and vying for their own interests, their faces like a pack of hungry wolves.
Wang Zhihuan frowned and slammed the gavel: "Silence! Anyone who dares to make a noise in this court will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"
The courtroom suddenly became quiet, but everyone's eyes were greedily staring at Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo, as if they were two pieces of fat meat.
Feng Lan looked at the ugly scene in front of her and found it amusing. She was not in a hurry, but instead showed an embarrassed look and turned to Liu and Qian.
"My two younger sisters-in-law, and this...big brother," she said in feigned confusion, "you all say that our family's money is public and should be divided. But as you can see, I only have one husband, and he only earns so much. When it comes to dividing the family property, there has to be a first come, first served order, right? So, should I give the money to the second wife first, or to the third wife first? Or should we all just listen to this big brother from the Liu family and divide it among us all?"
She asked this question cleverly, it sounded like a question, but in fact it was a poisoned hook thrown directly into the wolf pack.
"Of course! They'll give it to our second wife first!" Mrs. Liu jumped up immediately. "My husband is the second child, the elder brother! We have two sons who need to go to school, and the expenses are huge!"
"Why?" Qian immediately refused to listen, and cursed with her hands on her hips, "Your son is a treasure, but my son is just a piece of shit? My husband is the third son! Besides, hasn't our third branch helped the family enough over the years? Most of the money that the eldest brother earns goes to subsidize your second branch!"
"You're talking nonsense! Qian, you're a troublemaker, you're slandering me!"
"Liu, you gossipy woman, you're the one who farted!"
"Stop arguing!" Liu Dazhuang shouted as he saw the situation was about to get out of control, "I said it's an equal split! No one wants to take more!"
"Why should we divide it equally? As an outsider, what qualifications do you have to point fingers here?" Liu and Qian immediately turned their guns around and united against the outside world.
Seeing these parties fighting in court over money they hadn't even received, the surrounding people all showed contempt. A subtle sneer also curled up at the corner of Wang Zhihuan's mouth.
At this moment, Feng Lan winked at Erya and Sanya in the hall.
The two little girls understood immediately and pulled out a booklet from their small cloth bag. It was a small booklet, and the cover was frayed, showing its age.
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