Chapter 249 A Thorough Beating
The constables didn't give them another chance to talk. They grabbed the eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family by the arm and dragged her out.
"Stop! Stop it! I've been framed! I didn't do anything! Stop it!"
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family tilted her head back and struggled desperately, but no matter how hard she struggled, she was no match for the strength of these yamen runners.
Just then, a bird flew down from the sky and happened to poop on her head.
Bird droppings landed directly on the forehead of the eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family.
"Ah! What is this thing!" Sister-in-law Chu screamed.
One of the constables grew impatient, pulled her forward, and said sternly, "This is bird droppings! You're in big trouble!"
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family's face instantly turned from white to green.
Chu Jiao'er and the matchmaker followed them, and then they arrived at the county government office together.
When Chu's eldest sister-in-law saw Du Wanchun and Zhang Qiuhe standing unharmed in front of her, her eyes were filled with shock.
She had initially thought that the county officials had come to arrest her because the two men were already dead. But now that they were still alive and well in front of her, it meant that everything she had done was in vain.
The constables pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her to kneel before Zhou Ruiyuan.
"Yang, do you know your crime?"
Zhou Ruiyuan asked coldly and sternly.
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family knelt on the ground, head bowed, trembling.
"I am innocent. I did nothing."
Zhou Ruiyuan slammed the chopping board heavily on the table. "You still won't tell the truth in court? You have some nerve!"
"Today you delivered poisoned pastries to Zhou's Incense Shop, intending to poison Zhang, the shop's manager, and Du, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhou family!"
Chu Jiao'er and the matchmaker outside the courtroom were both startled.
The two women shouted at Zhou Ruiyuan, "Sir, my mother would never do such a vicious thing! Do you have any proof?"
"Evidence? Of course there is!"
After Zhou Ruiyuan finished speaking, he glanced at the yamen runner beside him.
Just then, an old man walked over; this was the owner of the pastry shop.
Du Wanchun said, "Aunt Yang, can you see clearly? This is the shopkeeper of the pastry shop you bought from. He clearly remembers that this box of pastries is the one you bought."
The old man looked at the box of pastries, then at Sister-in-law Chu: "That's right, it's her. I remember it very clearly. When she bought this box of pastries, it was clearly 32 coins, but she only gave me 30 coins. I remember it very clearly."
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family retorted, "You old fool, you can't come to court and frame me just because I gave you two less coins!"
Du Wanchun sneered, "Aunt Yang's words are really interesting. You say that someone wronged you, and that you gave him two coins less. In the end, you still bought these pastries."
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family was stunned for a moment, and had no words to refute it. She replied, "That's right, I did buy these pastries, and I gave them to Madam Zhang, but I did not poison them."
Du Wanchun's smile was tinged with coldness. "Aunt Yang, don't worry, we have witnesses."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhou Ruiyuan shouted, "Bring the pharmacy manager here!"
"Yes, sir."
Not long after, the constables brought in a middle-aged man wearing a gray overcoat.
This is the owner of the pharmacy, sir.
Zhou Ruiyuan said to Chu's eldest sister-in-law, "Take a closer look, isn't this the woman who bought arsenic in your pharmacy!"
The pharmacy owner looked up at the eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family carefully, and after looking for a long time, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "That's right, it's her!"
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family lowered her head and said sternly, "You're talking nonsense. I've never been to any pharmacy, and I've never bought any arsenic."
The pharmacy owner quickly said, "It's you. When you came to buy medicine, you were acting suspiciously, wearing a veil, but I noticed your ear. You have a black mole behind your ear."
He pointed behind her ear as he spoke.
Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed that she did indeed have a mole behind her ear.
Zhou Ruiyuan said coldly to her, "Yang, what else do you have to say?!"
The eldest sister-in-law of the Chu family kowtowed heavily to Zhou Ruiyuan, then cried and said, "My lord, I was wrong. I was bewitched, which is why I thought of poisoning Zhang Niangzi. But my lord, please forgive me since they weren't poisoned!"
Zhou Ruiyuan slammed his hand on the table. "Shut up! What do you mean by 'not because they were poisoned'?! Regardless of whether Zhang and the others were poisoned or not, you've been guilty of a heinous crime since you started poisoning them!"
This time, Sister-in-law Chu had nothing to say and kowtowed heavily to Zhou Ruiyuan again.
Zhou Ruiyuan waved his hand and said, "Men, drag Yang out and give her thirty lashes."
Fifty strokes of the cane in the yamen can be fatal, and Zhou Ruiyuan gave her thirty strokes, which is enough to take half her life!
"My lord, you mustn't! Please spare me!"
Zhou Ruiyuan's face darkened slightly, and he ordered the constables, "Hurry up and get to work!"
Upon hearing this, the constables replied, "Yes, sir!"
Soon, Sister-in-law Chu was dragged out, followed by a series of pitiful screams.
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