Chapter 686: Everything is under control (Thanks to the book friend "Zi Zi!!" for the reward)
Ji Hao was fighting for his life under the hands of four doctors, and County Magistrate Tang was not one to just stand by and watch. He found the girl from Chunfeng Tower who had been redeemed and had also locked her up in jail.
Combined with the confessions of Wei Ting, Jiao Yong and others who were traveling with him at the time, and the confessions of Man Bao and others, a complete chain of evidence can be pieced together.
This proves that the initial dispute was instigated by Ying Wenhai.
Manbao and Baishan Baijilang stood in a corner of the lobby. Because the trial lasted too long, the three of them were tired of standing and quietly sat cross-legged on the ground, just under the window near the lobby, and no one noticed them.
Although it was County Magistrate Tang's duty to discover the truth, Manbao felt something was wrong while listening to him trying the case.
Bai Shan didn't think anything was wrong and simply said, "County Magistrate Tang is truly remarkable. He's been thorough and has investigated everything. But it seems the fault still lies with Ying Wenhai. I don't see how he's innocent. Why did he say that at our house the other day?"
Manbao shook his head and whispered, "But I always feel that he has bad intentions... Well, not really. He has bad intentions towards them, not us."
As soon as he finished speaking, County Magistrate Tang asked, "Ying Wenhai said that the reason he came up with the idea of applying something to the silver hairpin was because a little girl in his courtyard accidentally injured her hand with the hairpin, and the injury never healed. But when I checked, I found that the girl was sold not long ago because she accidentally broke something."
Ying Wei's eyes widened.
County Magistrate Tang continued, "Ying Wenhai and Ji Hao squandered their years of savings when they first went to Chunfeng Tower. Bribing and redeeming people requires a lot of money. Madam Ying, Ying Wenhai suddenly withdrew so much money from the account, and you didn't even ask a question?"
Mrs. Ying clenched the handkerchief in her hand and quickly explained, "I asked, and Wenhai said he liked an ancient painting. I thought buying a painting was a serious matter, so I agreed."
County Magistrate Tang asked Ying Wenhai, "Ying Wenhai, do you like collecting ancient paintings?"
"I don't like it, but that's what I told my mother."
County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and said meaningfully, "Mrs. Ying believed it so readily when you said it. You two really have a deep mother-son relationship."
Ying Wenhai was not that stupid. Even if he hadn't heard it before, he now had a vague idea of it.
Ying Wei's face darkened. He glanced at Mrs. Ying obscurely and said to County Magistrate Tang unhappily, "What does this mean, Lord Tang?"
County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly, took a cup of tea from his lawyer, and moistened his throat before saying, "The little girl who was sold off isn't hard to find..."
Seeing Mrs. Ying's face turn pale, County Magistrate Tang changed the subject and said, "However, it will take some time for her to come back, but I have a witness here. Come, please invite Miss Hongzhi up."
The bailiff immediately dragged up a woman in chains and made her kneel beside Ying Wenhai.
County Magistrate Tang said with a smile, "This is the girl from Chunfenglou who Ying Wenhai bribed to scratch Ji Hao. I'm curious because Ying Wenhai only said he wanted to teach Ji Hao a lesson, just poke him to make his wound heal more slowly, but this girl Hongzhi actually hit Ji Hao's chest hard."
County Magistrate Tang picked up Manbao's confession and said, "Here is the confession of a young doctor. She was the one who treated Ji Hao's wound. Although the wound was small, it was deep and in such a dangerous place as the chest. Ying Wenhai also said that they were startled by the wound and made a noise in the side room, which was discovered by Ji Hao."
"Hongzhi, why did you hit Ji Hao so hard, instead of just poking him once as Ying Wenhai ordered?"
Hongzhi lowered her head, bit her lips and said nothing.
County Magistrate Tang laughed and said, "If you don't tell me, do you know what will happen to a lowly person who murders a noble son?"
Hong Zhi raised her head and said, "Sir, I have already been declassed and am no longer a slave."
"Really? But I see you haven't gone to the yamen to cancel your registration. The county yamen only recognizes red seals, not white papers."
Hongzhi's face turned pale instantly.
She was panicking at the time, fearing that the Ji family would come knocking on her door, so she took the indenture and hid away. She had originally intended to wait until the storm had died down before coming out to escape, but...
County Magistrate Tang was waiting for her to make a decision. He didn't like hitting people, as that was the most brutal way of questioning.
Hongzhi couldn't help but look up in the direction of Mrs. Ying.
Mrs. Ying kept her head down, but Ying Wei kept staring at her. Once he saw her gaze, what was there for him to not understand?
So before Hong Zhi could speak, Ying Wei suddenly slammed his palm on the table, stood up and said, "Sir Tang, this woman's attempt to frame my son is my family affair, so please don't worry about it."
Lord Tang smiled slightly and looked at Ji Xiang.
Ji Xiang also slammed the table and said angrily, "Ying Wei, your Ying family is in turmoil, and you're using my son to make trouble for them. Is this your Ying family's affair? I must get to the bottom of this today."
Madam Ji also said, "If the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked. I think your Ying family really needs Mr. Tang to help you sort it out. Your mother is old, so why don't you let her worry about these things?"
County Magistrate Tang then said, "Sir Ying, this is no longer just your family's business."
He looked at the clerk who was taking notes. The clerk stood up and said, "Sir, please record all the details of the case. I will review it again afterwards to ensure there are no mistakes or omissions."
Mrs. Ying's face was pale, and Mr. Ying reached out and gripped the back of the chair tightly, with veins bulging on his arms.
The teachers and students from Fuxue and Dacheng Academy who came to testify were all stunned. They just came to testify about the conflict in Qixia Mountain, so why did they suddenly know such explosive content?
County Magistrate Tang slammed the gavel and said, "I'm hungry. Let's end the trial here for today and continue tomorrow."
This was a very abrupt statement, but everyone quickly recovered and nodded in agreement. It was best to disperse quickly. They didn't want to hear about this kind of thing anymore.
Manbao and Baishan Bai Erlang looked at each other, all feeling a little unsatisfied, but seeing that Wei Ting and the others were already retreating and winking at them as if they were about to kill a chicken, the three of them followed him out with regret.
Manbao turned around and glanced at County Magistrate Tang, and saw him looking at her. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her and nodded.
Manbao hurried out with Baishan. After they left the county government office, he whispered, "See, I was right. He just had bad intentions."
Bai Shan also noticed it, but still said: "But he did nothing wrong. As a county magistrate, isn't it my duty to find out the truth?"
Bai Erlang asked, "County Magistrate Tang has suddenly become so aggressive. Will the Ying family take action against him? Isn't it said that officials all like to fight?"
Bai Shan said, "Before, County Magistrate Tang was so strong-willed that he must have angered the Ying family and the Yizhou Palace."
Manbao looked around and said, "Forget it. We are still young and can't control anything. We are free today, so why don't we go shopping?"
Wei Ting came over to them and said, "We are going to the Ji family to visit Ji Hao, do you want to come with us?"
Good night
(End of this chapter)
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