Chapter 184 Confrontation in the Main Hall
Jiang Mi realized she had been too harsh, so she immediately calmed down and said, "Do you have any way to prove the prince's innocence? He's being framed by a scheming woman and is about to be imprisoned."
She was genuinely worried about Huo Ran's safety.
After calming himself down, the beggar said, "This humble one...this humble one does have some evidence, but young lady, I have a wife and children to take care of, I cannot be beheaded!"
He was so frightened that he knelt down, leaving the guards beside him bewildered.
Jiang Mi said confidently, "You should bring the evidence and come with me to the court to prove that the young master is innocent. The young master will naturally protect you and your family, and will also give your family enough gold and silver."
"Thank you, Miss. You have saved my life. I am willing to go through fire and water for you, Your Highness."
"Alright, come with me."
Jiang Mi hurriedly took the beggar and the evidence in her hand to the court.
Jiang Mi had just arrived at the door with the beggar when she saw the magistrate throw the bamboo skewers on the chopping board to the ground and order the guards to take Huo Ran away.
"Wait!"
She opened her eyes slightly and shouted loudly.
The magistrate was startled by the sound and looked angrily toward the source of the noise.
"Who goes there?!"
Jiang Mi calmed herself down, lifted her skirt, and led the beggar into the main hall.
"Your Honor! You cannot make a hasty decision! This matter is not as it appears on the surface!"
Jiang Mi bowed to the county magistrate, then raised her eyes and said sternly.
The magistrate looked at Jiang Mi, who had shown no fear, stroked his beard, and laughed in anger.
"Young ladies, what does this mean? Could it be that I have wronged you?"
Jiang Mi raised her neck, calmly nodded, and then spoke.
"That's right, Your Honor! I'm reporting the county doctor for framing us. I implore Your Honor to investigate thoroughly!"
Jiang Mi clenched her fist, looked at the county magistrate with an upright expression, and her tone left no room for compromise.
The doctors standing nearby watched coldly. When they heard Jiang Mi say that they had framed her, they were initially flustered, but then they calmed down.
They exchanged a glance, wanting to see what kind of evidence Jiang Mi could produce!
"Young lady, you can't just accuse someone without any evidence!"
One of the doctors spoke first, then looked at Jiang Mi with disdain.
The other doctors echoed this doctor's words, nodding in agreement.
"That's right! Magistrate Meiji was a man of brilliant judgment; how could he possibly wrong someone!"
"Could it be that this young lady and..." a doctor asked first, his expression surprised, his mouth slightly agape, "are in cahoots?"
Instantly, the lobby erupted in chaos.
The magistrate was furious and slammed the chopping board down on the table.
"How dare you! This is an unseemly noise in the main hall!"
Seeing that the county magistrate was angry, the doctors all fell silent and dared not say another word.
The magistrate frowned, turned to look at Jiang Mi, and scrutinized her with his eyes.
"Young lady, you say you've been framed. Perhaps you can produce some evidence. A case is judged based on evidence!"
Even under the scrutinizing gaze of the county magistrate, Jiang Mi remained calm and slowly began to speak.
“Of course I brought witnesses with me.”
After saying this, Jiang Mi looked at the trembling beggar next to her and gave him a look, indicating that he could speak now.
The beggar nodded shakily.
"Your Honor, these are the medicinal herbs I collected..."
After the beggar finished speaking, he took out the medicinal herbs wrapped in paper from his pocket and handed them to the magistrate's desk.
"These medicinal herbs are the cause of the poisoning among the common people. However, I was the first to receive Miss Jiang's kindness, so my medicine was not poisoned. This proves that Miss Jiang's medicinal herbs were not wrong; on the contrary..."
The beggar didn't continue speaking. He glanced at the doctors beside him, whose expressions had changed drastically, and then shrank back.
The implications are self-evident.
The magistrate opened the paper package handed to him by the beggar and found several medicinal herbs inside. He then squeezed the package a few times with his hands.
A hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes.
He then summoned his guards and gave them instructions.
"You few take your men and search the girl's house and the pharmacies of these doctors to see if you can find these medicinal herbs."
The guard clasped his hands in agreement and then led his men to investigate.
However, the doctors on the side were exchanging frequent glances; they dared not speak out of turn in the hall, and could only remain silent.
In contrast, Jiang Mi remained calm, looking at Huo Ran with concern in her eyes.
Huo Ran smiled and shook his head, indicating that she should not worry.
The guard was quick and returned in no time.
"Sir, these are the medicinal herbs found in the pharmacy, and they all match the herbs in the paper package."
The guards presented the medicinal herbs collected from the pharmacy to the magistrate.
The magistrate compared the medicinal herbs in the two paper packages and, upon closer inspection, confirmed that it was indeed the case.
The magistrate was at a loss when he saw the result, since he had both witnesses and physical evidence.
Huo Ran was clearly wronged, so he tapped the chopping board on the table and said in a stern voice.
“In that case, Young Master Huo is innocent.”
Just as the magistrate was about to release Huo Ran, the doctor next to him suddenly started making a fuss.
"Your Honor! You can't release Young Master Huo!"
"yes!"
The magistrate was so shocked by the noise that his head felt like it was going to explode. He shouted sternly.
"Silence!"
"I ask you, why can't you release Young Master Huo?!"
The doctors spoke with an air of righteous indignation, as if they were ridding the people of a scourge.
"Your Excellency, you are the ruler of this county! You cannot allow your people to be harmed. If you release Young Master Huo, the lives of the people will be in danger!"
Jiang Mi scoffed at these words, staring intently at the group of doctors. "I don't understand why Young Master Huo would threaten the lives of ordinary people."
The doctors looked at Jiang Mi's eyes and felt uneasy, but they couldn't come up with a solution.
His face turned bright red.
"because…"
"As long as we lock you up, nothing will happen in the whole county!"
Seeing how determined the doctors were, the magistrate was in a dilemma. After all, these doctors were all prominent figures in the county, and if what they said was true, losing the support of the people would be a greater loss than gain.
The magistrate frowned deeply, and Jiang Mi looked worried upon seeing the situation.
At this moment, the system spoke.
[Host, host! I have a way to help you overcome this difficulty.]
Jiang Mi was having a headache when she saw the system offer a solution, and her eyes lit up. She urged it to do so.
"What method?"
I have a way to develop an antidote!
Jiang Mi was shocked. The people were being poisoned en masse, and without an antidote, the situation would be disastrous. If she could provide the antidote…
Thinking of this, Jiang Mi stepped forward and said.
"Your Excellency, I have a way to help the people of the county detoxify!"
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