Chapter 101 Infants as a medicinal ingredient
"Mo Qing, go and bring the person up."
"yes."
Mo Qing already regarded Jiang Wan Ning as his princess consort, and he obeyed her orders just as he did with the King of Langya.
soon,
Mo Qing then led a man in.
"Mr. He, do you recognize this person?"
He looked up, opened her mouth, and glanced at the two men who were leading the disturbance in the crowd.
"Just say whether you know them or not. Why are you looking at them like that?" The prefect slammed his gavel.
He was so frightened that she trembled and lowered her head even further. "Reply...Reply to my lord, he is my man."
"It's good that you admitted it, so you won't have to suffer any physical pain." Jiang Wan Ning continued, "Sir, this He family is poor."
"But her husband has been gambling away fortunes at the casino these past few days. Where would a poor family get so much money?"
"I think the adults should give this a proper hearing."
"What does this have to do with her being beaten?" shouted the man leading the commotion in the crowd. "Besides, isn't it possible for someone to suddenly become rich?"
"Yeah yeah..."
"Silence!" The prefect slammed his gavel again.
“Mrs. He, the clothes you two are wearing are not made of good materials, which shows that you are not well-off.”
"But where did this betting money come from? Tell me."
He's eyes darted away, but her husband Liu Wang said, "Sir, this is all my personal savings, all painstakingly accumulated over the years."
"I was originally thinking of taking a gamble and seeing if I could win a game."
"Sir, it's not unreasonable for a young man to save money, is it?"
The prefect frowned slightly, glanced at Pei Yanchuan, and then looked at Jiang Wanning.
Jiang Wanning said, "As far as I know, you frequent various gambling dens and even owe them a lot of money."
"Who would believe that a person who gambles year-round could save so much money?"
“My lord,” Jiang Wan Ning turned around and said, “why don’t we ask the owner of the gambling den to come and ask him?”
The prefect glanced at the He couple and said, "If they don't confess honestly, they'll be severely punished later."
Seeing the hesitation on Madam He's face, Jiang Wanning continued, "Madam He, if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your child."
"If you hadn't been lucky enough to run into me today, it would have been a double tragedy, with both you and your unborn child dying."
"Neither the other party nor your husband cares about your and your child's lives at all."
"If you confess honestly, I can plead for you and spare you punishment. But if you continue to conceal the truth..."
Not only will you not escape responsibility, but your child will also become an orphan, destitute and helpless, with no idea what kind of life they will lead in the future.
"He was just born."
“Chunhua, don’t listen to her stirring things up,” Liu Wang said. “I love you and the child.”
"Since you love her, why did you squander all the money she earned while she was pregnant in such a short time?"
“If someone is unwilling to give you even a penny, how can you expect him to take care of you and your child?”
"You...you're lying, I didn't, I just had bad luck."
“Mrs. He, think about it carefully. I saw the injuries on your body when I delivered you. You know in your heart how she has treated you in the past.”
"This lady is the Princess of Xixia. They asked you to frame her, not only to implicate me and the Prince, but also because they didn't care about your life or the child's."
He's legs went weak, and tears streamed down her face like a burst dam. "He said he would give me a sum of money and let me find an opportunity to cause a scene here."
"I originally just wanted to make your business suffer, I didn't know the situation was so serious."
Madam He wiped away her tears, "Sir, please spare me and my child."
“It was all Liu Wang’s fault. He forced me to do this, saying that this way I could get a sum of money and my child wouldn’t have to suffer.”
"You shameless woman! Stop talking nonsense!" Liu Wang said, and was about to step forward to beat He Shi.
Mo Ran deftly extended one foot and tripped Liu Wang.
"How dare you! You dare to assault someone in front of me?" the prefect said sternly. "He, tell me, who instructed you?"
Madam He shook her head. "This humble woman truly knows nothing. It was he who contacted these people. I beg Your Honor to see the truth!"
"No one instructed her; it was this vile woman who made baseless accusations. She wanted to earn money, and she's the one who gave me the money."
"Your Honor should thoroughly interrogate this vile woman!"
"Slap! Slap!" Jiang Wan Ning couldn't hold back any longer and slapped Liu Wang hard across the face twice.
"She just gave birth to your child, and this is how you treat her?"
“If I hadn’t sent people to investigate your background and bring you here, she would be dying for you right now.”
When the incident occurred, Jiang Wanning sent Liu Zhuang to investigate the pregnant woman's background.
Liu Zhuang, who also lived at the bottom of society, quickly found out about it.
"Now that Madam He is dead, will you sell her children too?"
"I didn't! Don't make things up without evidence!"
“Unfortunately, I have a witness here.” Jiang Wanning glanced at Liu Zhuang. “Bring the person up.”
"yes."
Liu Zhuang went to the back kitchen and brought a man forward. "Sir, this man is the human trafficker who discussed buying and selling babies with Liu Wang."
“A friend of mine overheard their discussion.”
"If both mother and child die, Liu Wang will return the deposit; if the child is alive, he will sell the child for five taels of silver."
"It is said that the head of a wealthy family fell ill and needed a newborn baby as a medicinal ingredient."
Because of the urgency of the situation, Liu Zhuang only said a few words casually, which is why even Jiang Wan Ning didn't know that the baby was bought as a medicinal ingredient.
"My lord, please spare me. It was Liu Wang who came to me on his own initiative."
"He came to us on his own initiative after hearing about the medicinal ingredient."
"Liu Wang, do you have anything else to say?"
Liu Wang looked up at the two men behind him who were leading the disturbance. "I... I sold my own child, it's not illegal."
"He is my child, I can do whatever I want with him."
The buying and selling of people was not uncommon in the Dongling Kingdom; many impoverished families ultimately chose to sell one or two children to survive.
But most of them were sold to wealthy families as maids or concubines.
Such cruelty is unheard of.
"Liu Wang, you are unworthy of being a husband! Even if you hadn't broken the law today, I would still punish you with a beating!" the prefect said, pointing at Liu Wang.
"Guards, beat him!"
Everyone around applauded and cheered.
Liu Wang's buttocks were covered in blood and gore from the beating. "I was wrong, sir, please spare my life. I will never dare to do it again."
"Now can you tell me who ordered you to do this?" Jiang Wan Ning said. "Think carefully, if this beating continues, it could kill you."
“No one really instructed me,” Liu Wang said.
"Keep fighting!" the prefect ordered.
The shopkeeper immediately raised the board high, about to bring it down, when Liu Wang immediately said, "I'll talk, I'll talk."
"They gave me the money," Liu Wang said, pointing to the two men leading the group.
"Their teeth are poisonous!" Jiang Wanning warned.
Two tea lids flew into the mouths of the two men.
Pei Yanchuan shook his wrist and continued to sit calmly.
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