Mr. Zhao is a well-known figure in Anyang City. He has a distinguished family background and a noble status. Even the officials have to give him some face.

When he reported to the authorities, the prefect did not dare to neglect it and hurried to deal with the matter.

The prefect sent his subordinates to the Meng family to inquire and confirmed that the eldest son of the Meng family had indeed been away from home for several months and had not shown up in Anyang City recently.

Miss Zhao has been married to the Meng family for more than two months and has never seen her husband once.

How can someone not come out to see his wife after two months of marriage and not be willing to be intimate with his wife?

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something fishy about this marriage.

Although Madam Meng claimed that Meng Zhao was recuperating in a temple on Mount Tai'an, the prefect secretly sent people to investigate and found no trace of Meng Zhao. He also asked the monks in the temple and they said that the eldest son of the Meng family had not been here recently.

After verification, the next day, the prefect sent people to summon Madam Meng to the court.

Madam Meng and Mr. Zhao were both big figures in Anyang City. The prefect was still quite polite to Madam Meng and did not use force on her. Rather than summoning her, it was better to say that he respectfully invited her to come.

On the day of the interrogation, Madam Meng and Mr. Zhao symbolically knelt in the hall.

The prefect was sitting in the hall and asked loudly, "Meng Shen's Ah Mei, Zhao's Silang sued your Meng family for using marriage to cheat tiger bones. Meng Zhao, the eldest son of the Meng family, was engaged to Zhao Wan, a daughter of the Zhao family. On the day of the wedding, Meng Zhao ran away, violating the contract. As his mother, you concealed this matter, took Zhao Wan back to the mansion, deceived her with sweet words, and trapped her in the mansion for dozens of days. Is this true?"

The prefect's words were true, but Mrs. Meng did not admit it immediately. She cried out, "Your Excellency is wronged. My son Meng Zhao went to the temple on Mount Tai'an to recuperate on the second day of the wedding due to health reasons. How can he run away from the marriage?"

With a "bang", the prefect picked up the alarm wood and slammed it heavily on the table. He shouted fiercely: "How dare you! I have already sent people to investigate. Your son Meng Zhao has not been to Tai'an Temple recently, and there are witnesses to testify to it."

"Come here, call the witness." The prefect called outside the court.

After a while, a young monk in a yellow cassock walked in slowly. After he stood still, the prefect in the court bowed and said respectfully: "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

The prefect asked him: "Who are you?" The monk

replied: "I am a monk from Tai'an Temple, and my Buddhist name is Zhizhen."

The prefect asked again: "Since you are a monk from Tai'an Temple, I want to ask you, has the eldest son of the Meng family, Meng Zhao, been recuperating in your temple recently?" Monk

Zhizhen shook his head: "The eldest son of the Meng family, Meng Zhao, has not come to the temple recently, let alone recuperated in the temple."

After the monk finished speaking, the prefect turned his head to look at Madam Meng, and said in a deep voice: "Auntie Meng Shen, now that there are witnesses and evidence, do you still want to make excuses?"

Madam Meng's eyes flickered, knowing that the matter could not be concealed.

But she was someone who had experienced many ups and downs, so she would naturally not be frightened by this. She replied calmly, "I plead guilty, and what you said is all true."

The prefect said, "Since you have already pleaded guilty, I will punish you to pay ten thousand taels of silver to the Zhao family to compensate for the loss of the tiger bone. Your son Meng Zhao escaped from the marriage and violated the contract. He was unjust. His engagement with Zhao Wan is hereby annulled. You are not allowed to keep the girl from the Zhao family trapped in your house anymore. Set her free from today, and she has nothing to do with your Meng family anymore."

This matter between the Meng and Zhao families was a civil dispute, so Mrs. Meng did not have to accept punishment. As long as the compensation was appropriate and the head of the Zhao family had no objection, it would be fine.

Mrs. Meng didn't care about the compensation. Ten thousand taels of silver was not a big deal for the Meng family.

It was worth spending ten thousand taels of silver to get Meng Zhao a pair of healthy legs.

At first, Mrs. Meng was afraid that tiger bones were hard to find, and she couldn't buy this precious medicine even if she had money.

If she could directly spend ten thousand taels of silver to buy tiger bones, she would be willing to buy it.

However, the old man of the Zhao family didn't mention the money at the time, but only asked to send Qingying away, so Mrs. Meng had to do it.

Mrs. Meng was not afraid of the compensation, but she didn't agree to let Zhao Wan go home and have nothing to do with the Meng family.

Zhao Wan was pregnant with the eldest grandson of the Meng family. The relationship between the two families was very close, so how could there be no relationship?

However, Mrs. Meng could not bring the fact that Zhao Wan was pregnant openly for the time being.

This was related to the reputation of the girl, so as a mother-in-law, she naturally had to consider it for her.

Whether she could take her grandson back depended on the consent of Zhao Lao Si.

Mrs. Meng rubbed her brows outside the government office and felt a little pain in her head. Zhao Lao Si was very difficult to deal with, and she had no choice but to let Xun Er negotiate with him.