Chapter 189 Court Hearing
After the couple finished expressing their longing for each other, Xu Jinnian's long hair was almost dry.
He opened the bundle he had brought back and took out the gifts he had bought for Sheng An one by one: "This is a newly published storybook from Jinling, this is a ceramic figurine from Hongnifang, and this is a hairpin I bought for you; I heard it's the most fashionable one..."
There were seven or eight gifts of various sizes, and Sheng An was overwhelmed with them, soon piling them up on the table.
Seeing the man still taking money out, she couldn't help but ask, "You didn't spend all your money on gifts, did you?"
Xu Jin smiled and shook her head, taking out the last small box: "These are not valuable gifts, and there is still some money left."
Sheng An took the box and opened it, finding a pair of palm-sized wooden carvings of a man and a woman. Upon closer inspection, they found that the carvings resembled the man and woman by about eight or nine points.
The man coughed lightly and asked casually, "What does An'an think of the carving?"
Sheng An looked up at the man and clearly saw the expectation in his eyes, instantly guessing who had made the wood carving.
Intending to tease him, Sheng An revealed a somewhat dissatisfied expression: "So-so. The carving is a bit rough. The carver must be very young, with at most three years of carving experience."
Sure enough, the man's eyes shone even brighter, and he said modestly, "I do have many shortcomings and need to practice for a few more years."
Sheng An chuckled, tiptoed and wrapped her arms around the man's neck, kissing the corner of his lips: "But in my heart, Master's carving skills are superb, and no one will ever surpass him."
Xu Jinnian's eyelashes trembled as he pressed the back of her head to deepen the kiss.
After a long while, Sheng An nestled in his arms, breathing softly. She reached out and picked up the wooden carving on the table, praising, "Smart people achieve twice the result with half the effort. The first piece you've carved is so lifelike. You're truly amazing!"
These are Sheng An's true feelings, and he especially admires Xu Jinnian's intelligence.
Xu Jinnian gently patted his wife's head, a tender smile playing on his lips: "The time was a bit rushed, otherwise it would have been even more perfect."
Sheng An was delighted with the wood carving, her fingertips tracing the eyebrows and eyes between the carvings: "It's already perfect. I don't know how you managed to replicate our appearances so closely from memory."
Anyway, she can't do it.
Sheng An decisively placed the wood carving in the most conspicuous position on the display shelf and looked at it with an appreciative gaze for a while.
Xu Jinnian looked at her quietly, his eyes fixed on nothing else.
Grandpa Sheng and his two companions, who were busy in the shop, knew that Xu Jinnian had returned, so they specially closed the shop early so that the family could sit down together for dinner.
Sheng An prepared several elaborate dishes in the main kitchen and brought them back to the small building, while Xu Chenglin once again brought out his treasured wines that he had kept for many years.
For a moment, the hall was filled with the joy of reunion.
After the meal, Xu Jinnian took out the gifts he had brought for the three elders, all of which were bought according to their preferences, making the three elders very happy.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and even though Sheng An was well-prepared, she was still exhausted that night and didn't even know when she fell asleep.
When I woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky, and I almost missed the public trial of Liu Erleng and the others.
Fortunately, the two horses were capable and carried the two men to the yamen before the court session began.
Led by the constables, they had just entered the courtyard of the yamen when, by sheer coincidence, they encountered Xu Huaining.
After investigation by the authorities, it was found that Xu Huaining had no knowledge of Liu Huazhi's harboring of Liu Erleng. He spent one night in jail and was released the next day.
Although this matter had nothing to do with him, Liu Huazhi was his wife, and it was impossible for it not to affect his reputation and future.
In the past few days, Xu Huaining has tried every means to exonerate Liu Huazhi. He borrowed a large sum of money from Zhao Juren to smooth things over, but he did not go to Sheng An to plead for leniency.
He probably knew very well that no matter how much he pleaded, it would be a waste of effort.
Xu Huaining looked very haggard, as if he had been up for several sleepless nights, and his whole demeanor was quite gloomy.
Upon seeing Sheng An and Xu Jinnian, Xu Huaining did not approach them as she had done before, nor did she even greet them. She merely glanced at them before walking away.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian naturally didn't care about Xu Huaining's attitude. They continued walking inside with the constable without stopping, passing by Xu Huaining.
At this time, a large crowd of people had gathered in front of the court. They had all heard that Liu Erleng and his eight bandits would be tried today, and they had come early to secure good spots, eager to know how these people would be sentenced.
The onlookers were unaware that Sheng An was the victim. It wasn't until the couple walked straight into the courtroom and were seated on chairs that everyone turned to look at them and began to whisper among themselves.
"These two people are indeed extraordinary. No wonder they were targeted and dared to make a move in broad daylight."
"Tsk tsk, what can we do when they're rich? If we don't keep an eye on them, who are we supposed to be targeting? It's a pity those guys didn't succeed. Who knows how long they'll be in jail. Their lives are ruined."
"What are you saying? Does having money mean someone deserves to be targeted by bad guys? If your daughter is pretty, is it her fault that she was harmed by a womanizer?"
"Damn it, you little punk, are you looking for trouble? Believe me or not, I'll beat you to death!"
"You're getting desperate, you know you're not speaking human language."
"..."
Before the court session even began, a commotion broke out at the entrance, like a bustling market.
Officers promptly stepped forward to maintain order, driving away the most disruptive individuals and sternly warning the others not to cause trouble.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian overheard the conversation but paid no attention to the stranger's words, silently waiting for the court session to begin.
Not long after, the Qingzhou government officials walked in, surrounded by a group of subordinates.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian quickly got up.
When Lord Fang saw Xu Jinnian, he actually nodded to him, as if he knew him.
Not only did they know each other, they were quite familiar with each other. Before Xu Jinnian passed the imperial examination at the county level, Lord Fang had met him at the Jiang family's residence.
As the top scorer in last year's academy examination, Lord Fang is even more familiar with Xu Jinnian.
Facing the gentle gaze of the person above, Xu Jinnian bowed and watched him ascend to the high hall.
With a bang of the gavel, Liu Erleng and his eight companions, along with Liu Huazhi, were brought to the front of the court and forced to kneel awkwardly on the cold, hard stone floor.
In just a few days, Liu Erleng and his eight gang had lost their previous arrogance in blocking the road and kidnapping people.
Not only did he reek of a sour stench, but his exposed skin was covered in wounds, and his clothes were tattered, as if he had been tortured with whip marks.
The most horrifying thing was their faces, which were covered in blood and gore. Judging from the shape of the wounds, they had clearly been bitten by some small animal.
Sheng An guessed it was a rat.
The fact that a living person was bitten like this by rats shows how appalling the conditions in the prison cell were.
Sheng An imagined it and felt a chill run down her spine. She silently warned herself not to commit a crime; she didn't want to go in and become food for the rats.
At this moment, Liu Huazhi raised her head and looked around in a panic.
Seeing that none of her family members had come, and even her husband Xu Huaining was nowhere to be seen, her face was full of disappointment.
Upon seeing Sheng An, Liu Huazhi's eyes blazed with intense light. She staggered to her feet and lunged at Sheng An, pleading, "Please, I beg you, for the sake of our fellow villagers, please let me go!"
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