"I, I—" Feng Changchao stammered for a long time, then suddenly found himself speechless.
After all, he was completely unprepared for this and never thought that Lin Qixia, a mere commoner, could actually sue him.
The evidence is now in front of Tong Xuewei.
And Tong Xuewei was indeed as upright and incorruptible as the rumors said.
"Stop with the 'you, you, you'! You're just a corrupt official!"
“We are the merchants recorded in the ledgers as being forced to trade with Magistrate Feng, helping him sell the disaster relief grain he obtained!”
At this moment, many businessmen, including Chen Baoge, stepped forward to testify for Lin Qixia.
"Sir, you don't understand. We were coerced and bribed by Feng Changchao; we had no other choice—"
"This guy not only demanded a large sum of interest, but also forced us to pay a lot of taxes."
"So that's how it is." Upon seeing this, Tong Xuewei ordered his men to write down their testimonies one by one.
Everyone then signed and affixed their fingerprints.
"Therefore, the facts of this case are clear, and the evidence is conclusive." Tong Xuewei slammed his gavel: "Thus, this judge hereby pronounces the sentence: The criminal, Feng Changchao—"
"According to the records, the amount of disaster relief grain you embezzled was not small, in addition to a number of other crimes such as exorbitant taxes."
"All his illegal gains shall be confiscated, he shall be imprisoned, and hanged three days later, to make this a public example!"
As Tong Xuewei finished speaking, Feng Changchao knelt on the ground, his face turning ashen.
"My lord—my lord, spare my life—" He kept kowtowing, pleading for mercy even though he knew no one would believe him.
Lin Qixia stood not far away, her eyes filled with sorrow.
If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
"Court adjourned!" Tong Xuewei had already stood up and was about to leave.
Kneeling on the ground, Feng Changchao felt extremely unwilling.
He's the county magistrate!
Why would someone as insignificant as an ordinary citizen end up like this?
"It's all your fault! You're the one who ruined me!" Feng Changchao suddenly turned his head and glared at Lin Qixia, roaring angrily.
Then he pounced directly on Lin Qixia.
Before Lin Qixia could react, he grabbed her arm and pulled her hair with his other hand.
Because of the other person's immense strength, she staggered and almost fell, and a sharp pain shot through her instantly.
"Ah! Xia'er!" He Zhilan exclaimed from not far away.
Huo Yanqing rushed over quickly and kicked Feng Changchao away!
With a thud, Feng Changchao was kicked to the ground, his head hitting a nearby pillar, his hat falling off, and his hair coming loose.
He was enraged and tried to rush towards Lin Qixia.
Unable to stand it any longer, Tong Xuewei shouted, "What are you all standing there for?"
The constables then realized what was happening and restrained Feng Changchao.
"Miss Lin, are you alright?" Tong Xuewei asked her.
Lin Qixia smiled slightly and said, "It's alright, thank you, Lord Tong."
Ultimately, the reason this matter went so smoothly is thanks to Tong Xuewei's impartial handling of the situation, which gave them justice.
"Oh, right." Lin Qixia remembered something and called out to Tong Xuewei, "There's another problem that needs an adult's help."
"Just tell me what it is," Tong Xuewei replied, showing she was easy to talk to.
Lin Qixia said, "Feng Changchao previously sealed off an entire street of shops on Hongfang Street in an attempt to prevent me from filing a lawsuit, causing everyone to be unable to do business. This—"
Upon hearing this, Tong Xuewei's face showed anger: "That Feng Changchao is truly a scoundrel!"
"Uh." Lin Qixia was startled, not expecting the usually polite Tong Xuewei to swear in front of her.
The next second, Tong Xuewei promised her, "Don't worry, young lady, I will have someone remove the seal today so that you can operate normally."
"Thank you!" Lin Qixia smiled and cupped her hands in thanks.
Afterwards, Lin Qixia left the yamen and prepared to leave, and Tong Xuewei also left the court.
Just then, a heart-wrenching cry rang out from outside: "Your Honor! We beg you to do us justice!"
"Your Honor! My entire family was murdered by Magistrate Feng's son! Please, Your Honor, seek justice for us!"
"My daughter was kidnapped last month by Feng Xiao, the son of the county magistrate, and has not returned since. Please, Your Honor, save my daughter!"
"Please, sir, help us!"
Lin Qixia walked to the door and chuckled upon seeing this: "Oh, there's going to be some excitement."
Tong Xuewei also stopped in her tracks, "It seems I can't leave today."
No one expected that Lin Qixia's successful improvement today would trigger a series of butterfly effects.
Many people who heard the news came to the government office to appeal their grievances.
Everyone only learned today that the Feng family is truly wicked and their crimes are too numerous to count.
Tong Xuewei acted swiftly, and Feng Xiao himself was arrested and put on trial.
Like his father, he was sentenced to death by hanging.
“This father and son deserve it!” He Zhilan stood next to Lin Qixia.
Since their matter was settled and Lin Qixia was unharmed, she felt very relaxed and joined the crowd in cursing.
This can also be seen as a way to vent their anger over what they have suffered during this period.
Lin Qixia patted her arm and advised, "Alright, it's over, we should go back now."
“Okay! Xia’er, let’s go.” He Zhilan said, taking Lin Qixia’s arm.
They left the county government office and returned to Xiahe Village.
Tong Xuewei acted quickly, and someone came to remove the seal for them in the afternoon.
It was still Li Yuan, Hua Xiaoguo, and a few other familiar faces.
"Congratulations, Boss Lin!" Despite her injuries, Hua Xiaoguo greeted Lin Qixia with a smile.
Lin Qixia stood at the door with her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow, "Congratulations on what?"
Hua Xiaoguo: "Congratulations on being able to reopen your shop!"
"We were just following orders from our superiors and had no other choice," Li Yuan said to Lin Qixia. "Please forgive us if we have offended anyone."
Lin Qixia scoffed, "No choice? Helping Zhao Shao besiege me in Xiahe Village, helping Feng Xiao kidnap Miss Cheng Yuerong, and kidnapping me with malicious intent, are all things you had no choice but to do?"
Her sarcastic remarks left Li Yuan and the others speechless for a moment.
The group exchanged glances, and after a moment, Li Yuan took the lead and knelt down in front of her: "Miss Lin! We were sorry for what we did to you before, consider it an obligation!"
"If you spare our lives, we will follow your lead!"
"That's right! Please, Miss Lin, have mercy!"
Including Hua Xiaoguo and Ruan Pang, the three of them stood in front of Lin Qixia's Xiahe Manor, weeping and begging for mercy.
It immediately attracted a lot of attention, drawing curious glances.
Lin Qixia was slightly surprised to see them like this.
They are government officials, after all; under normal circumstances, they wouldn't be so subservient to her.
Lin Qixia squatted down and asked them directly, "Why are you doing this? Did Lord Tong punish you?"
To everyone's surprise, when she mentioned Tong Xuewei, the group cried even harder.
"Waaaaah, Miss Lin! Miss Lin, please forgive us!"
"Please don't report us to Lord Tong!"
Lin Qixia, "..."
Oh, I see.
She successfully sued Feng Changchao, which indirectly served as a warning to others.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
