Chapter 57 Confrontation in Class
"Yes! We have witnesses!" one of them said anxiously.
Pu Qiongzhi gave him an ambiguous look.
Di Jin on the stage said, "Spread it."
"Call the witnesses!"
Soon, someone walked up to the hall.
Pu Qiongzhi looked back and saw that it was the gangster who had kidnapped Ning Xiaobao that day.
Her eyes were as dark as ink, staring straight at him.
Unlike the last time I saw him, he was blind in one eye and walked with a limp.
The man swallowed, rubbed his hands subconsciously, and moved to the side.
"Witness, please tell me what you know." Di Jin's eyes with three white spots seemed to be able to see through people's bones.
"Sir, my name is Zhuang Er, and I'm from Lin'an. On the day the owner of the Chaoxia Cloth Shop got into trouble, I happened to be drinking nearby. I saw with my own eyes someone from the Pu family strangle the old owner to death and then hang him in front of the door..."
When Pu Qiongzhi heard him say this, she sneered inwardly, "Then tell me, which of the Pu family members did you see strangling him to death? What did they use? Where did you drink the wine, and what kind of wine did you drink?"
Her series of questions made Zhuang Er stunned, but he was well prepared.
"Your Pu family has a fellow named Xiao Xingzi! It was him who strangled me with a hemp rope! I was drinking raw wine at the Tao family restaurant that day!"
Pu Qiongzhi paused and said, "If you saw it, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you call for help and report it to the police immediately?"
"I was just about to shout when your guys grabbed me and beat me up like this!"
“…Hehehe…” Pu Qiongzhi seemed to be amused and couldn’t help laughing softly.
Zhuang Er was startled, then shouted, "Sir! Look at her! She doesn't even take you seriously!"
"Who instructed you to slander me?" Pu Qiongzhi asked.
Zhuang Er stiffened his neck, raised his hand, and swore to Di Jin, "Sir! Every word I say is true. I dare not lie!"
"Sir, this Zhuang Er was originally a hooligan in Lin'an. He stole things all day long and disturbed public order. His words cannot be trusted." Pu Qiongzhi turned around and introduced Zhuang Er's identity to Di Jin, and then continued to add -
"First, the Jiangnan area is bustling and lively at night, with brightly lit tile houses. Therefore, the curfew in Lin'an is later than in other places."
"But most of the Pu family's shops are located in prosperous areas of Jinxiu. If it weren't for the curfew, there would be people coming and going in front of the Pu family's door. How could you see them? And there was no one else?"
Zhuang Er retorted, "That day I accidentally drank too much and collapsed on the road..."
"But if it happened after curfew, that's even more impossible. Pu's shop has a record of night watch, and the shop assistants won't go out after curfew."
"Even if Pu and Chaoxia Cloth Shop had some disagreements, if Pu had killed someone, why would they have done so much fanfare, hanging the body in front of Pu's door and even reporting it to the authorities? Aren't they just asking for trouble?"
"Also, Xiao Xingzi was indeed on guard that night. But he was assigned to the cloth shop as a clerk because of his thin frame. Not to mention how he could fight against the taller and stronger Mr. Qian, just one thing is that his hands were used to spinning and separating the threads. If he used the hemp rope to strangle someone, it would probably leave obvious scars."
"As for Zhuang Er's talk of drinking at Tao's Bistro... you probably don't have the money to spend every day drinking, so you don't know."
"The Tao family closes shop early one day every month, and the incident happened on that day. Pu's rouge shop will have new products that day, and the Tao family's proprietress is a regular customer of the shop, so she always buys the new products."
"You stayed on the street after curfew. According to Daliang law, you should be flogged." Pu Qiongzhi looked at Zhuang Er and said.
"Sir, whether what Zhuang Er said is true or false, the above information can be verified by Pu family."
Pu's business was all about these industries, which were closely related to the lives of the people. She also maintained a strict management of the Pu family, so everything was recorded in detail. Pu Qiongzhi speculated that although Pei Wanqing had prepared a lot of evidence to incriminate her, she had overlooked these details.
Zhuang Er panicked and turned to Di Jin, saying, "Sir! The Pu family has absolute power in Lin'an, and the prefect is in cahoots with them! Not long ago, she even sent a lot of gifts to the Gao family! Even my leg and my eye were beaten by the Pu family! And yet no one stands up for me!"
The Qian family members next to them were not willing to give in at this time and also rushed to speak.
"Sir! Don't listen to this vicious woman's unreasonable arguments!"
"Yes, sir! She killed my father and beat this little brother like this. You can't let her off easily!"
"Please, sir, help us! This vicious woman must be brought to justice!"
The chattering of several people made the entire courtroom as busy as a busy market.
Di Jin slammed the gavel. "Silence! Pu family, do you have anything to say in defense of your Pu family's collusion with Gao Zhicheng?"
"Sir, the Pu family is just a small merchant family. How can they cover up everything? If you have any doubts about the relationship between the Pu family and Master Gao, you can send someone to investigate. As for Zhuang Er's legs and eyes... I know nothing about them either."
"Besides that, I have something else to report." Pu Qiongzhi replied.
"Zhuang Er kidnapped a child a month ago and took him to a pawnbroker. I happened to see him. I can send a certificate to prove his actions."
"This is another case." Di Jin asked.
"If it's as you say, why wasn't Zhuang Er arrested? Were there any documents or files kept from that time?"
Pu Qiongzhi said frankly, "Sir, the Pu family has never reported such matters to the officials."
"Oh? Why don't you report them to the authorities? If we allow people like this to run rampant, won't it lead to more disasters?" Di Jin frowned, disapproving of this approach.
"Could it be that most of the pawnbrokers under the Pu family's name are engaged in illegal pawning?"
Pu Qiongzhi then replied, "Your Excellency, it's not that the Pu family is trying to profit from this, there are indeed reasons for this."
"This is an unwritten rule of the Pu family. The Pu family will pay to pawn these abducted people and help them return home."
"Are you so kind?" The old woman from the Qian family immediately became alert when she heard this.
Pu Qiongzhi shook her head. "There are also prerequisites. They or their families need to do some work for the Pu family to offset the money."
"I was wondering, how could your Pu family be so kind? It turns out you're making dirty money from this! You're tricking people into doing work for you!" the old woman from the Qian family said sarcastically.
Pu Qiongzhi glanced at her and then reported to Di Jin, "Your Excellency, if Pu reported it, these people would be wary."
"Over time, they would send these abducted people to places where they never see the light of day. Or even worse, their lives might be in danger... Too many things like this happen in Lin'an every year."
"Perhaps this is against the laws of Daliang, but the Pu family can save at least thirty people every year by doing this."
"All of the above statements have evidence. Please allow me some time, my lord. I will have them sorted and submitted."
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