Chapter 62 Recognized by People in the Capital
Magistrate Li was taken aback and quickly called out to the eldest son of the Li family, "You stay put and behave yourself!"
Young Master Li dared not disobey his father's orders, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his anger.
Zhou Ruiyuan walked to Du Wanchun's side and continued to say to Magistrate Li, "Whether Young Master Li has anything to do with this matter or not, Liu Lanzhi has already said that it was Young Master Li who asked her to find a way to bring my wife to the mansion. From the beginning, he had the wolfish ambition to forcibly abduct a woman! How dare he deny it now!"
Magistrate Li was speechless for a moment.
Zhou Ruiyuan continued, "If Magistrate Li cannot handle this impartially, then we will appeal to Qingzhou Prefecture and have Prefect Zheng personally interrogate him."
Prefect Zheng was known for his integrity and incorruptibility; if he were allowed to do so, he would be punished with a beating.
After hearing this, Magistrate Li frowned and pondered deeply. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table and said, "How could I, a dignified magistrate, possibly show favoritism? Rest assured, I will definitely give the Zhou family justice."
Having said that, he sternly said to Young Master Li, "Tell me the truth right now!"
Young Master Li gritted his teeth, refusing to say a word no matter what.
In his agitation, Magistrate Li waved to the bailiffs beside him and said, "If you don't tell the truth, use torture!"
Young Master Li suddenly looked up at him, "Father, you're not really going to torture me, are you?!"
Magistrate Li said sternly, "I'm not your father here! Tell the truth now, or you'll be punished with caning!"
Young Master Li was now terrified and immediately knelt down, saying, "Father, I did have that idea, but I really didn't ask Liu Lanzhi to kidnap anyone!"
Zhou Ruiyuan snorted coldly and said, "It seems that Young Master Li has admitted it himself."
Magistrate Li, his face dark with resignation, ordered the bailiffs, "Drag Li Maosheng away and give him twenty strokes of the cane as punishment!"
"Yes, sir."
The constables stepped forward and lifted up Young Master Li.
Young Master Li was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he cried out at Magistrate Li, "Father, I know I was wrong, please don't let them beat me, Father!"
Soon, cries of pain from Young Master Li and Liu Lanzhi could be heard from the courtyard of the yamen.
Twenty strokes of the cane were no small amount; they left both men with bruised buttocks, unable to even get out of bed.
Seeing that things were about right, Du Wanchun led the Zhou family away from the yamen.
No sooner had they left than Magistrate Li had someone write a letter of divorce and deliver it to Liu Lanzhi, and then sent someone to pack her up and send her back to the Du family.
The Du family's situation is also in complete disarray.
Hongxiang became pregnant and took over as the mistress of the Du family.
Liu stubbornly stayed at the Du family's house, serving tea and water to Hongxiang.
When she saw her daughter being brought back, she cried her heart out.
The news spread quickly, reaching several nearby villages.
Du Wanchun and her family did not rush to leave Cheng'an County. They bought some everyday necessities, such as oil and cloth, at a nearby shop.
Aunt Zhou calculated the money and decided to buy Du Wanchun a better wooden comb.
She turned to Zhou Ruiyuan and called out, "Ruiyuan, do you see any rouge shops nearby?"
Zhou Ruiyuan looked up and pointed ahead, "There's one there."
Aunt Zhou whispered, "Your wife hasn't had a decent comb since she came in. Go inside and buy her a sandalwood one. Give her a surprise when you get back."
Zhou Ruiyuan nodded. Actually, even without Aunt Zhou saying anything, he had already planned to buy it for Du Wanchun.
While Du Wanchun went to buy oil, Zhou Ruiyuan secretly went to the rouge shop.
In addition to wooden combs, the rouge shop also sells a wide variety of rouge.
After buying the comb, Zhou Ruiyuan hesitated for a long time before finally taking out the only copper coin he had to buy a small box of rouge.
As he was about to leave with rouge and a comb in his hand, he bumped into someone.
A tall man, dressed in a long black robe, looked cold and aloof.
Zhou Ruiyuan was startled and quickly lowered his head, brushing past him.
The man eventually spotted Zhou Ruiyuan and quickly turned to chase after him, calling out, "Your Highness!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
