Shi Xiaomei was so frightened that she sat down on the ground. It was the first time she had seen such a terrifying woman. She collapsed and cried out, "I don't know anything. I really don't know anything. It has nothing to do with me."
County Magistrate Zhao waved speechlessly at the guards beside him. Two guards stepped forward and dragged Shi Xiaomei away.
Mr. Shi stood there in a daze as he watched this sudden scene.
Jiang Tuantuan didn't even give him a chance to respond. "Master Shi, how dare you lie to your superiors and subordinates in court? You're ignoring our country's laws, ignoring the county magistrate, and bullying the common people!"
Master Shi jumped up and pointed at Jiang Tuan Tuan with a trembling hand, "Don't spit bloody words at me."
Jiang Tuantuan started to act out. She sat down on the ground with tears streaming down her face. Li Jingchen was heartbroken and helped her up. "My Lord, County Magistrate, Master Shi ordered his housekeeper to come to my house and throw things around. He was practically tearing it down. He even smashed the flowers along the wall. He also threatened me to pay a thousand taels of silver and to hand over the recipe for pearl cream. If I don't listen to them, they will... take my life."
County Magistrate Zhao frowned after hearing this and said, "Bring the housekeeper up here."
After the butler entered the court, he was still smiling and didn't realize the seriousness of the matter at all. He walked straight to Mr. Shi.
But Master Shi kicked him away. "County Magistrate, this guy acted on his own and lied to me that I had an allergic reaction to the pearl cream. I was going to tell him to forget about it and not use it anymore, but he actually went to the Jiang family to cause trouble. It's all my fault for not managing my men well. I'll give him thirty lashes when I get back."
"How can thirty lashes of the cane be enough? Breaking into a private residence, maliciously provoking trouble, lying about the truth, and intentionally extorting money. He should at least spend some time in jail."
Mr. Shi immediately changed his words, "You are the one who has thought it through. Whether to kill or chop him up is up to you."
The housekeeper was horrified. He didn't expect that after working for the Shi family for so many years, he would end up like this and be kicked out to take the blame. He wanted to expose the dirty deeds done by the Shi family over the years, but his whole family worked for the Shi family and he was in the hands of the Shi family, so he could only force himself to swallow his anger.
He was eventually sentenced to three years in prison.
Mr. Shi originally thought that the case was over and wanted to go home quickly, but was stopped by Li Jingchen. "I will also file a complaint, accusing Mr. Shi of premeditated murder. He almost killed someone."
"This is all a misunderstanding. I was just shooting the arrow for fun, but I didn't expect it to hit Miss Jiang." After saying this, Master Shi glanced at Master Song. After all, he received so much money from the Shi family every year, and he couldn't bear not to say a few words.
"Sir, maybe this arrow was really shot by Teacher Shi accidentally. After all, Miss Jiang was not injured."
"Yeah yeah!"
County Magistrate Zhao glared at him, "Has Chief Clerk Song also been blinded by lard?"
Song Zhubu panicked and quickly hit his mouth with his hand.
Magistrate Zhao slammed the gavel. "Master Shi, formerly known as Shi Jin, committed intentional homicide. However, considering no casualties, he is sentenced to three years in prison. In addition, he must pay one thousand taels in compensation for the losses caused to the Jiang family."
Jiang Tuantuan immediately jumped out, "Sir County Magistrate, in addition to compensation for the property damage, you must also compensate me for the emotional damage of one thousand taels. After all, I was almost scared to death by the Shi family."
County Magistrate Zhao held his forehead and glanced at Li Jingchen. "Then the total compensation for the mental damage and property loss is two thousand taels."
Li Jingchen nodded at County Magistrate Zhao with satisfaction.
After receiving instructions from the county magistrate, a servant took a team of people and went directly to the Shi family to get the money.
Mr. Shi was dumbfounded. He didn't expect such a thing to happen, and he didn't know why County Magistrate Zhao would favor his Jiang family. However, he was arrested and could be released after paying some money. He thought the matter was over, but he didn't expect a woman to rush in regardless of the guards' obstruction.
"Please, sir, make the decision for my daughter!"
County Magistrate Zhao said coldly, "Let her in."
"Just tell me what grievances you have."
The woman pointed at Master Shi and wailed, "I just married my husband two years ago, but this bastard wanted me to be his concubine. I refused, so he broke into my home, killed my husband, raped me, and finally had me killed as well. Luckily, I escaped death and have survived until today. I've been waiting for the opportunity to punish this bad guy. Please, sir, help me."
The woman coughed several times on the ground, and blood oozed from her forehead.
Mr. Shi shouted, "Impossible, this is not true. I don't even know this daughter."
The woman brushed away the loose hair on her forehead and tucked the messy hair behind her ears. "Do you remember me?"
An expression of horror appeared on Master Shi's face. Hadn't he ordered his men to deal with this woman back then? How come she was still alive?
Back to that night two years ago, after Master Shi had his fun, he ordered two of his men to kill the woman and bury her, and then he patted his butt and left.
After the two men took the woman to a deserted place, they untied the ropes and let her go. The woman was puzzled, and the two men just said, "We hate him too," and then left.
These two men were sold to the Shi family by their parents when they were young. They did the dirtiest and most tiring work. After finally gaining the trust of Master Shi, they thought their lives would be better. However, they did not expect that Master Shi would always send them to do some sneaky and shameful things. If they did not complete the task well, they would be whipped by him. Because they had signed a contract to sell themselves, if they ran away, they would not only implicate their families, but would also be beaten to death if caught. The two men worked for him while collecting evidence of Master Shi's evil deeds, hoping that one day the Shi family would be punished and they would get their freedom back.
After receiving the two thousand taels of silver, the sun had already set, and County Magistrate Zhao announced that he was leaving the court.
The matter of the woman finally came to a conclusion after seven days. Not only was Shi Jin's murder confirmed, but the two subordinates also handed over evidence of the Shi family's evil deeds over the years. Master Shi was sentenced to death, and all the Shi family's property was confiscated. The case was also submitted to the court, and after waiting for the official document, the execution would be carried out. Except for Shi Xiaomei and some relatives, they were only sentenced to co-criminal punishment because they were unaware of these things and did not participate in them.
Before his death, Mr. Shi finally found out that Jiang Tuantuan’s husband was Lieutenant General Li. No wonder she was in trouble this time. No wonder.
This incident caused a sensation in Fujiang County and everyone knew about it. Within half a month, teahouses and restaurants were all telling stories about the Shi family's evil deeds. Even half a year later, it would be brought up from time to time.
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