Evil will be punished
Said acted swiftly, and the president of the Hu Chamber of Commerce was furious when he heard about it.
Liang Jingshan's actions not only slandered Pei Qingwu, but also challenged the credibility and foundation of the entire Hu merchant community in Qinzhou.
The Chamber of Commerce immediately expressed its full support, and soon, a lawsuit signed by the Hu Merchants Association, along with the individual lawsuits of Pei Qingwu and Said, was submitted to the case of Prefect Zhao of Qinzhou Prefecture.
Zhao Jue had already heard about the rumors that were spreading in the city recently. Now that he saw the aggrieved parties jointly filing a lawsuit, which involved the Hu merchants, he knew that this matter was no small thing. He immediately issued a summons and summoned Liang Jingshan and related people to court for trial.
On the day the court session was held, the area outside the government office was packed with people who had come to hear the trial, and they were all talking about it.
When Liang Jingshan was brought to court, he was initially able to maintain his composure, even with a hint of mockery on his lips. He was clearly certain that Pei Qingwu could not produce any substantial evidence and would be trapped in the quagmire of proving his innocence.
Little did anyone know, Pei Qingwu had no intention of getting involved in proving whether she had committed adultery; her goal was clear: to sue Liang Jingshan for assault.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhao Jue slammed his gavel and asked in a deep voice, "Liang Jingshan, the Pei family and Said have jointly accused you of setting a trap by drugging, kidnapping, and imprisoning someone with malicious intent, and also of spreading rumors and ruining people's reputations. Do you plead guilty?"
Liang Jingshan cupped his hands, feigning grievance: "Your Excellency, please understand! This is a complete fabrication! That day, it was clearly Pei who was having a secret rendezvous with Saiyide, which I unfortunately stumbled upon. Fearing their affair would be exposed, they conspired to frame me! As for drugging and kidnapping, those are completely unfounded! Please, Your Excellency, do justice for me!"
He turned the tables and threw the dirty water back at them.
Pei Qingwu sneered, stepped forward, and confronted him, saying, "My lord, Liang Jingshan's words are full of loopholes. If it were truly a secret meeting, why are we both disheveled and delirious? Manager Sai still has a head wound, and the bruise on my wrist hasn't faded. Is this the state of affairs for a secret meeting? Furthermore, that secluded hut is neither my nor Manager Sai's property. If you, Liang Jingshan, were not the mastermind, how could you have happened to be there?"
Said chimed in, speaking in slightly broken Mandarin: “My lord, I was invited by Liang Jingshan to discuss the price of a batch of spices that day. After drinking the tea he offered me, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in that small house with a splitting headache. If it wasn’t Liang Jingshan’s scheme, how could it be such a coincidence?”
Liang Jingshan argued, "Well, perhaps the two of you arranged to meet somewhere else, got into a fight, and that's what I have to do with it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jue sneered and asked, "Liang Jingshan, since you claim to be unrelated to this matter, why did you go to that hut that day? And who can testify for you?"
Liang Jingshan stammered. The people he had arranged beforehand were all his trusted confidants, but now that he was testifying in court, he was bound to be questioned and his inconsistencies would be exposed. He could only bite the bullet and say, "I... I was just passing by..."
"Just passing by?" Pei Qingwu seized on the flaw and immediately pressed on: "That place is located deep in a secluded alley in the west of the city, not a main road. Why would Manager Liang choose to pass by such a dead end instead of taking the main road?"
Seeing Liang Jingshan stammering, she pressed her advantage: "Could it be that you have some kind of premonition, knowing there's a love affair waiting for you to stumble upon?"
A low chuckle immediately rose from the crowd listening in.
Liang Jingshan's face flushed red, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
At this time, the yamen runners arranged by Zhao Jue had also presented the investigation results.
According to the shop assistants at Hu Xiang Ji, after Pei Qingwu bought cloves and other ingredients that day, he was bumped into not long after leaving the house. Pei Qingwu chased after the person and soon disappeared.
Later, another witness came forward and confirmed that he had seen Liang Jingshan's trusted servant leading two seemingly unconscious people inside that day.
Meanwhile, a drug was also found in the Liang family's house. After being identified by knowledgeable officials in the government office, it was found to match the symptoms of Pei and Sai.
Furthermore, witnesses invited by the Hu Chamber of Commerce testified that Liang Jingshan had indeed contacted Said multiple times recently, inviting him under the guise of business discussions.
As witness testimonies and physical evidence gradually emerged, a complete chain of evidence was formed.
At first, Liang Jingshan was able to offer some excuses, but gradually he became stammering and incoherent in the face of irrefutable evidence.
He tried to shift the blame to his subordinates, claiming that he was unaware of the situation and that it was merely the subordinates' misbehavior.
Zhao Jue was not going to tolerate him. He sternly questioned, "Liang Jingshan! You instructed your servants to use drugs to kidnap innocent civilians and foreign merchants, and spread rumors to ruin people's reputations and disrupt the market. The facts are clear, how can you deny it! According to the law of theft and robbery, anyone who uses drugs to drug people is treated as a robber. If no money is obtained, the sentence is three years of penal servitude; if someone is kidnapped as a slave, the sentence is hanging; if they are taken as a servant, the sentence is exiled three thousand li; if they are taken as wives, concubines, children, or grandchildren, the sentence is three years of penal servitude."①
"Although your actions did not involve buying or selling, kidnapping and imprisonment resulting in injury already constitute the heinous crime of kidnapping! Furthermore, you have been falsely accused and imprisoned, so you are to be punished for multiple crimes. What else do you have to say?"
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Liang Jingshan was speechless. He collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, utterly speechless.
Zhao Jue pronounced the verdict in court: "Liang Jingshan set up a trap to drug people, kidnap and imprison them, causing injury, and spread rumors to defame their reputations. His heart is despicable and his actions are heinous! According to the law, he is sentenced to sixty strokes of the cane and exiled three thousand li to the malaria-ridden land of Lingnan to serve hard labor! Part of his confiscated property shall be used to compensate Pei and Said for the damage to their reputations and bodies! The other accomplices shall be punished according to the law without any leniency!"
The verdict caused an uproar among the onlookers outside the courtroom, with many expressing their satisfaction.
The rumors that had been rampant these days were dispelled without a trace by the clear judgment of the government.
Pei Qingwu and Sai Yide bowed and thanked Magistrate Zhao.
“Another accomplice, Sun Cheng, although not the mastermind, spread rumors and slandered people's innocence. He is sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and one year of imprisonment!”
Upon hearing this, Sun Cheng turned ashen-faced and knelt down with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing and begging, "My lord! My lord, spare my life! I was momentarily bewitched! I cannot go to jail..."
However, Zhao Jue ignored his rebuttal, waved his hand, and had him dragged away.
The pitiful cries for help faded into the distance.
"You two have suffered this misfortune without cause. Now that things have settled down, you can rest and recuperate in peace," Zhao Jue said gently, turning to Pei Qingwu and Sai Yide.
"Thank you for your magistrate's decision!"
As I stepped out of the government office, the sun was shining brightly, dispelling the gloom that had shrouded me for days.
The people in the shop immediately came to greet them, their eyes filled with concern and relief.
"Master, is everything alright now?" Gu Heng asked excitedly.
Pei Qingwu nodded and said softly, "Yes, it's alright now. Liang Jingshan and Sun Cheng have both been imprisoned."
"What goes around comes around. That heartless bastard didn't even realize how brilliant our boss is. He just asked for his own death."
Qiantao proudly tilted her head back, looking extremely smug.
"Yes, I said I'm fine, and I mean I'm fine." Pei Qingwu smiled.
"Now that everything is alright, boss, come back with us quickly and have a good meal to get rid of the bad luck."
Pei Qingwu waved his hand: "It's alright, no rush, I have something else to take care of."
She holds grudges and will never let them go unpunished.
Previously, the attitude towards Sun Cheng was to be lenient and not push things too far, hoping that there would be a chance to meet again someday.
Unexpectedly, this guy is not ambitious and has teamed up with others to throw such a mudsling at her.
This is truly... intolerable.
She went out of her way to find the jailer, took out a few taels of silver, and quietly handed it to him: "Brother jailer, this is a little money for you to buy some wine."
The jailer understood and took it with a wink.
“That Sun Cheng was my late husband’s younger brother. You must have heard about what he’s done, brother. I hope you will take good care of him, after all…”
"Don't worry, I understand. Leave it to me."
Having received the promise, Pei Qingwu nodded and left.
After resolving the matter, Pei Qingwu returned home and devoted himself to making pastries for the princess.
This has delayed our important business.
The princess now craves spicy food, but spiciness is a painful sensation, and even ordinary people cannot eat too much of it, let alone pregnant women.
After much deliberation, Pei Qingwu rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
First, take half of the glutinous rice flour, mix it with finely ground walnut pieces and a little honey, knead it into a small ball, flatten it, and wrap it in mashed jujube paste and Sichuan ginger powder. Sichuan ginger is mildly spicy, mixed with the sweetness of jujube paste, which is just right for pregnant women.
Then he placed the round cake in the steamer and instructed Wu Niang, "Don't rush the heat. Steam it for another 15 minutes after the steam rises."
Then he turned to deal with the other half of the dough.
This time she added some milk, kneaded it to make it softer, rolled it into a thin sheet, rolled in chopped dried tangerine peel and pepper powder, sprinkled on a layer of toasted sesame seeds, rolled it into a strip, cut it into small pieces, and slowly fried it in a pan with warm oil.
The oil sizzled softly, and the aroma of pepper mixed with the rich flavor of milk spread out.
Shi Dayong, who had just returned from outside, lifted the curtain and sniffed: "What is the boss making? It smells so good and pungent, quite fresh."
Pei Qingwu stirred the pastry rolls in the pot and smiled, "These are new desserts for the princess to try. They're mildly spicy and won't cause heartburn."
Shi Dayong said "Oh" and went to help add firewood. Suddenly remembering something, he casually said, "By the way, boss, I went to the rice shop to buy glutinous rice just now. The shopkeeper said that the Tibetan army has been stockpiling on the border for quite some time. The Longyou army has been confronting them for a long time. I heard that the grain supplies are almost running out, and the grain transport team is stuck on the Qilian Mountains and can't get through."
He came from the Longyou Army, so naturally he was very concerned about these things.
Pei Qingwu paused, holding the shovel in his hand, and looked up at him: "Really? How badly can the food supply be?"
It seems that Zhao Xu has been gone for quite some time now.
“I don’t know the specifics,” Shi Dayong sighed. “The shopkeeper’s distant nephew works as a cook in the Longyou Army. A few days ago, he sent a message saying that he only dares to give the soldiers two meals of thin porridge a day, and they have to eat wheat cakes sparingly. If this continues, they may not be able to hold on.”
Steam was rising from the round cakes in the steamer. Pei Qingwu turned off the heat, lifted the lid, and the aroma of glutinous rice mixed with a faint spicy ginger scent wafted out.
She picked one up with bamboo chopsticks, blew on it, and held it to Wu Niang's lips: "Try it, how spicy is it?"
Fifth Sister took a bite. The glutinous rice was soft and sticky, and the jujube paste was sweet with a hint of spice. She nodded and said, "Perfect! It's not pungent at all, and it gets more fragrant the more you chew it."
Pei Qingwu didn't reply, her fingertips tracing the edge of the pot, her brows slightly furrowed.
The Longyou army is short of food, and Qinzhou is not far from the border. If war breaks out, the people in the city will also be affected.
Just as he was pondering, Yu Yi poked her head in: "Master, the pancakes in the steamer are ready."
"I understand." Pei Qingwu came back to her senses, picked up a piece of fried crispy roll and took a bite. The spiciness of pepper spread on the tip of her tongue, but it was not harsh.
"Both kinds of pastries are ready. Pack them up and send them to the princess's residence... By the way, Brother Shi, could you go and find out where the grain transport team from Longyou is stuck? Did they encounter bandits, or are they being blocked by the Tibetans?"
Shi Dayong responded with an "okay," and seeing her serious expression, he knew she had a plan in mind. He added, "If you want to help, you'd better be careful. Military rations are no small matter. Don't get into trouble."
Pei Qingwu smiled and handed the box of pastries to Gu Heng: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Send the princess's pastries first, and we'll discuss it later."
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