The man quickly pulled Dong Juan into his arms to protect her, completely disregarding whether his wife, whom he had spent his life with, would be affected.
The scene was extremely infuriating, and many people spontaneously joined the line to throw away the trash.
The man, protecting his lover in his arms, tried to push through the crowd and escape into the distance.
As a result, his words had already angered the crowd, and no one was willing to make way for them.
Before long, the two of them were covered in dirt.
The woman, seeing this scene, felt incredibly relieved and shouted:
"It's true what they say, 'What goes around comes around.' I really didn't expect that you two, you despicable couple, would get your comeuppance so quickly. It's truly gratifying!"
"Is there any kind person who can help me take them to the authorities?"
The little money I saved by working hard from dawn till dusk was meant for my children's education. I couldn't bear to eat or dress well for myself, but that bastard man took it to support that slut!
I'm going to report this to the authorities and have them all arrested!
Immediately, public sentiment was inflamed—
"Arrest them! Such adulterers deserve to be drowned in a pig cage!"
"That's right, we must make her return the money. We'll all go with you to the magistrate to seek justice!"
"Go, take them to the county government office."
The crowd surrounded the two and began to move in one direction.
Shen Xingmian lifted her foot to follow, but Xiao Yanyue grabbed her arm.
"Madam, haven't you seen enough?"
"How could I possibly get enough of looking at her? Didn't you recognize her? That woman is the magistrate's daughter!"
Her maid, the one who used to be incredibly arrogant and rude, the one who insulted me.
Only after she said that did Xiao Yanyue begin to recall.
He didn't even bother to look closely at what the master and servant looked like; they were unrelated people, and he couldn't be bothered to examine them closely.
It was only after this reminder that I realized it really was the same person.
"Remember now? Let's follow her and see. Aren't you curious how she ended up having to swindle money from men to make a living?"
Xiao Yanyue wasn't curious, but he knew his wife must be very curious.
So he obediently let her pull him along, and followed the crowd forward.
Forced to kneel before the county government hall, Dong Juan was terrified.
Regardless of whether she intentionally lied or not, the outcome is what it is now, and even if Brother Feng wanted to protect her, it would be difficult.
Why is that wretched woman so relentless?
What bad luck I had today! Why did I have to run into her?
The power of the crowd was too great, and no matter how much the two struggled, it was to no avail. Now that things had come to this, they could only kneel in front of the hall and frantically think of a way to escape.
The newly appointed magistrate had met Shen Xingmian at the military camp.
At that moment, his gaze inadvertently swept across the crowd and he saw a dazzling woman in the crowd. He immediately stood up, wanting to welcome her into the county government office.
Shen Xingmian quickly shook her head at him, indicating that he should continue and not worry about her.
The magistrate's heart immediately jumped into his throat upon seeing this.
Everyone knows the Shen family's ways. If he doesn't handle this case properly, his job as county magistrate might be over.
He immediately perked up and shouted:
"Who is standing below? What grievance do they have?"
The woman immediately kowtowed and briefly recounted the events. Occasionally, she omitted something, but other people hidden in the crowd loudly helped to fill in the gaps.
Soon, the county magistrate learned the whole story.
At the same time, he also recognized the woman kneeling below—
She's the daughter of the magistrate from the neighboring county!
However, after her father was found guilty of embezzlement and bribery and was beheaded and his family property was confiscated, she never saw any of the women in his family again.
Surprisingly, life has been going quite well.
Judging from his clothes and appearance, he doesn't seem to be the descendant of a criminal.
After hearing the woman's account, the magistrate had a clearer understanding of the situation.
"Do either of you have anything else to say?"
The magistrate spoke with an authoritative tone.
"My lord, I am innocent!"
Dong Juan knew that even if she cried out for justice, no one would necessarily believe her, but she couldn't just sit and wait to die.
"Oh? What are you wrong about? Is it that you didn't accept money from Chen Feng, or that you didn't have an affair with him?"
Dong Juan quickly defended herself:
"Your Honor, I have never had any romantic relationship with him!"
"Those coins were given to me out of sympathy because he saw how hard I worked to earn them. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."
Before the magistrate could speak, Chen Feng quickly nodded:
"Yes, sir, it was all given to her out of pity for her difficult life."
"Ridiculous! Your wife and children have patched clothes at home, and instead of showing them any sympathy, you empty your savings to help an outsider."
"You still claim there's no personal relationship? Are you trying to fool me like a fool?!"
"Guards! These two are truly despicable. Give each of them twenty strokes of the cane and see if they dare to cause any more trouble!"
The magistrate doesn't usually use the rod directly, but among those watching outside is the daughter of the Shen family, the goddess of the Northern Border!
Of course he wants to perform well.
If you beat up such a particularly despicable villain, the goddess will never think you've acted recklessly; she might even reward you.
See, the goddess makes no attempt to stop it.
I must have done the right thing.
The magistrate was secretly delighted.
Soon, the two were forced onto the stools, and the paddle struck their buttocks repeatedly.
Even Chen Feng, a man, couldn't bear it and cried out in pain.
Dong Juan couldn't take it anymore.
She screamed and begged for mercy, her previous weak demeanor gone, her voice louder than a man's.
The onlookers whispered among themselves.
"See? I told you she was faking it! Now she's yelling louder than a man."
"Yes, I thought she was genuinely weak and had a hard life, and I even felt sorry for her. But it turns out she was just faking it. She's such a good actress!"
"Make way, I'm her husband, let me in!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly made way for the person to go inside.
The new man suddenly knelt down on the ground, shouting:
"Your Honor, please understand! It's all my fault for being incompetent and unable to provide my wife with a good life. Please have someone stop this. The rest of the punishment can be given to me!"
These words truly stunned everyone.
A husband who can't bear to punish his wife for cheating on him—that's probably the only one like that in all of history.
Even the county magistrate was somewhat surprised, looking incredulously at the kneeling man wailing.
However, the person who was beating the victim did not stop and continued.
Upon seeing this, the man rushed forward without hesitation, using his body to block the board that was about to hit the woman.
He even lay suspended in mid-air, as if afraid of hurting the woman's badly beaten buttocks.
Shen Xingmian was shocked:
"My God, he really loves her so much..."
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