Chapter 69 Verdict
"Cai Lian!" Fang Bao waved Xiao Fei away and ran over to pick up his sister.
"Hurry up and send it to the back hall." Lord An pointed to a yamen runner to lead Fang Bao. Doctor Sun picked up the medicine box and followed. Seeing this, the other three doctors also hurried to follow.
There was silence in the courtroom as the onlookers digested the big melon they had eaten, and no one spoke.
Shang Wan glanced at the pool of blood on the floor tiles, then looked at Lu Chengjing who was not surprised at all, leaned in and whispered, "Did you know this a long time ago?"
Lu Chengjing responded softly. From the moment Fang Cailian mentioned "Qingfeng Pavilion", he vaguely guessed what Fang Cailian was going to do.
At first, he thought that Ge Shunliang had tricked Fang Cailian into framing him, or at least Fang Cailian was willing to do it. However, he didn't expect that Fang Cailian was the one who was forced from beginning to end.
What made her decide to tell the truth must be the baby in her belly, right?
A child whose biological father is unknown.
Lu Chengjing sighed secretly, with a cold light in his eyes.
His good brother planned to ruin his reputation and let him rot in a remote area, but did he ever expect such an accident to happen?
Lord An was in a terrible mood. His face darkened as he slammed the gavel in anger, "Ge Shunliang, Wang Fei, if you two don't come forward quickly, don't blame me for punishing you severely!"
He doesn't like to use torture when trying cases, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to use it.
Shopkeeper Ge was barely able to remain calm, but Wang Fei had already panicked. "Please spare my life, sir. I was only following orders. He is the mastermind."
He pointed at the shopkeeper Ge next to him and said, "I'm just a messenger. I never forced Fang Cailian. It was Fang Cailian who seduced me. I'm innocent!"
Shopkeeper Ge made him so angry that he fell backwards, what an idiot!
"You still dare to quibble!" Lord An threw the chips, "Drag him away and give him a beating!"
"Sir, spare your life!"
"Ah!! I don't dare anymore!"
“Have mercy!”
Wang Fei's screams rang out, frightening the shop assistants so much that they turned pale. Some of them immediately confessed and gave false testimony, turning against him.
"Sir, Mr. Lu was carried into the wing room by the shopkeeper. I saw it with my own eyes."
"I saw it, too."
"There's drugs in the tea."
"The shopkeeper said that if you help testify, you can get a reward of ten taels of silver when you return."
"I lost the date paste cake."
"The tea set is in the kitchen and I can't bear to throw it away."
The guys were talking at once, and one or two who had originally been able to hold back started to speak out after seeing that everyone else was talking.
Shang Wan clicked his tongue, these people were not stupid, seeing that the situation was hopeless, they could get a lighter punishment by confessing voluntarily.
Shopkeeper Ge was so angry that his face turned blue, and he hated Fang Cailian in his heart. When faced with the rebuke of Master An, he refused to admit his mistake even when beaten with a stick.
But it doesn't matter whether he admits it or not.
The people who testified against him were different from those who had previously testified against Lu Chengjing. Apart from Fang Cailian, there were only people from the rice shop. There was a lack of hard evidence and their testimonies were vague.
Now, Fang Cailian's testimony, the child in her belly, the identification by Manager Qi of Qingfeng Pavilion, the betrayal by Wang Fei and his employees, the glass beads in the jujube paste cake, etc., are enough to convict him.
The gavel was banged and the verdict was announced.
"Ge Shunliang falsely accused Lu Chengjing, and according to the law, his crime is three times more severe, punishable by 100 strokes of the cane, with no redemption allowed. He also raped a woman, Fang Cailian, and caused her to become pregnant. The circumstances are so egregious that he is sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out after the caning."
"Fang Cailian falsely accused Lu Chengjing. According to the law, her crime is three times more severe and she is sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane. However, because she is pregnant, she is allowed to redeem her sentence. If she does not redeem herself, she can wait a hundred days after giving birth to receive her punishment."
"Wang Fei raped a good woman and was an accomplice to evil. He showed no remorse and shall be punished by 30 strokes of the cane and hanging. The punishment shall be carried out after the caning."
"The rice shop staff, accomplices in the forgery, have shown remorse and will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and a fine of three ounces of silver."
"Fang Bao pushed Lu Chengjing, causing him injury. He is fined five cents of silver and handed it over to Lu Chengjing."
"For injuring Ge Shunliang with a stone, a fine of five cents of silver shall be imposed, which shall be paid to his family by the government."
As for Shang Wan beating the people in the rice shop, it was self-defense and he didn't cause any damage to the rice shop staff, so he was not punished.
The yamen runners got busy and arrested people and beat them with sticks one by one. For a while, the yamen was filled with screams of pain from the crowd.
Fang Cailian lost the baby in her belly. When she heard that Ge Shunliang and Wang Fei were sentenced to death by hanging, she cried with joy. Despite her weak body from miscarriage, she insisted on watching the two scumbags being punished.
Fang Bao felt guilty and remorseful. Upon hearing that he was allowed to redeem his sentence, he hurried home and scraped together six strings of cash to hand over to the government to prevent Fang Cailian from being caned.
After the court adjourned, Shang Wan and his family were invited to the small hall in the back hall to talk.
Qiao Yu'an also followed over and, like an old mother, kept asking about Lu Chengjing's recent situation.
Lu Chengjing sometimes answered and sometimes didn't. No matter how he reacted, Qiao Yu'an could still speak happily.
Xiao Huan said, "Sister, Shitou and I want to go to Lu's Rice Shop and bring back some rice and flour."
They had given the money, but who knew that something like this would happen to Manager Ge.
Shang Wan noticed that the two were feeling uncomfortable in the county government office, so he nodded in agreement and instructed them, "You can also ask about the bricklayer's news."
"Okay." The two of them went out one after the other.
Shang Wan poured a bowl of water, shook it cool and fed it to Yuanyuan, while thinking about where to buy a ewe.
The little guy is only one year old, so he needs to keep up with the nutrition.
Shang Wan told Lu Chengjing this, and before Lu Chengjing could say anything, Qiao Yu'an said, "No need to buy it, I have it on my farm. I'll send it to your house when I come to visit you in a couple of days."
Shang Wan: "That's so embarrassing."
"It's not a gift for you." Qiao Yu'an curled his lips, "I'm giving it to Yuanyuan, there's no place for you."
Lu Chengjing frowned, "Yu'an, I treat you as a close friend and have never disrespected your family."
He was at most a little cold towards Qiao Weiwei, which was good for both of their reputations. But Qiao Yu'an was clearly disrespectful towards Shang Wan.
Qiao Yu'an heard his hidden meaning and said dissatisfiedly: "Don't be fooled by this woman, she actually..."
Suddenly, two coughs were heard outside the door. Lord An came in after changing into casual clothes. Qiao Yu'an had to swallow the rest of her words.
Seeing that the three seemed to have something to discuss, Qiao Yu'an found an excuse to say goodbye and leave.
As soon as he left, Lord An's brows lit up with anxiety. He looked at Shang Wan and said straight to the point, "Madam heard about the earthquake in Dongning County, and out of worry, her old illness relapsed and the pain was unbearable. Have you made the medicine yet?"
"I originally made one bottle." Shang Wan looked embarrassed, "But there were many injured people in the village, and I used it to save people. Only the bottom layer of the bottle is left, about three drops."
"Three drops is fine," Lord An said happily, "Do you have them with you?"
Shang Wan nodded and took out the small porcelain bottle.
Lord An took it with joy and ordered his men to send it to the provincial capital at full speed.
Lu Chengjing finally understood why Lord An was so polite to Shang Wan. He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and listened quietly to the two of them talking.
Lord An asked worriedly, "Madam Shang, is it possible to cure my wife's illness?"
"Madam is suffering from a heart disease. It's easy to cure the body but difficult to cure the heart." Shang Wan said truthfully, "Even if the physical symptoms are cured, as long as the heart disease remains, Madam's old illness will still relapse."
Lingquan water is indeed very effective in repairing the body, but in terms of the spirit, it can only soothe people's minds, which is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.
(End of this chapter)
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