Upon hearing this, Wang Er and Zhao San thought that Magistrate Duan was going to torture them. Wang Er immediately turned around and shouted to the crowd, "Come and see, the magistrate is going to force a confession!"
The noisy chatter made Magistrate Duan want to jump down and slap him a few times. Suppressing his anger, Magistrate Duan slammed the gavel and reprimanded him, "Wang Er has disregarded the law and made a scene in court. He should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane, but considering that this is his first offense, he will be temporarily exempted from punishment to observe his future behavior!"
Upon hearing that he was to be flogged, Wang Er immediately quieted down, but he was still unconvinced. Although his expression was one of fear and trepidation, he was inwardly cursing the ancestors of Magistrate Duan for eighteen generations.
"Guards! Blindfold Wang Er and Zhao San!" Magistrate Duan ordered the constables again when he saw that the two had calmed down.
Wang Er and Zhao San had no idea what Magistrate Duan was up to, so they could only anxiously let the two bailiffs blindfold them.
The feeling of temporary blindness is unsettling. The two of them felt the same way; within seconds, beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on their foreheads. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the occasional sound of footsteps, after which all other sounds ceased.
After an unknown amount of time, someone came to their side and removed the blindfold from their eyes.
Suddenly seeing the sunlight, Wang Er and Zhao San were not used to it and squinted as they looked around. When they saw the angry expression on Magistrate Duan's face, Wang Er felt a sudden jolt in his heart and broke out in a cold sweat!
"Wang Er and Zhao San, do you two know your crimes?" Magistrate Duan slammed his gavel again and shouted!
"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask what crime I have committed?" Wang Er asked defiantly.
"You, Wang Er, you really won't shed a tear until you see the coffin! Look at this!" With that, Magistrate Duan threw a pile of things in front of Wang Er.
Upon seeing these things, Wang Er's face paled with fear. His lips trembled, and his whole body began to shake. After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "M-Master, I...I was wrong..."
"You're wrong? Wang Er, I gave you chances before, but you didn't cherish them. Now you know you're wrong? I think you only admitted your mistake because you had no other way to deny it!" Magistrate Duan rebuked angrily.
"Wang Er, Zhao San, is it true that you forcibly collect money from small vendors as a service fee, and then forcibly take away girls and sell them into brothels if they can't pay?"
"When coercion failed, they even threatened the elderly couple, saying they would burn down their entire family's house if they dared to expose it! Are they framing you?"
"You stole someone else's life-saving money, ultimately causing their loved one to die of illness and resentment... Wang Er and Zhao San, how dare you do this!" By the end, Magistrate Duan was trembling with rage. He threw the charges at Wang Er and Zhao San's faces and berated them.
Seeing that the evidence was irrefutable, Wang Er and Zhao San immediately began to frantically kowtow and beg Magistrate Duan for forgiveness. However, with the bloody accusations written on black and white paper, how could Magistrate Duan possibly forgive them?
"Take him into custody and let the Prefect make a second judgment! Court adjourned!"
"My lord...my lord...spare us! Spare us!" Wang Er and Zhao San, seeing that there was no way to turn the situation around, kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy.
But Magistrate Duan had already returned to the inner hall, and several yamen runners forcibly dragged Wang Er and Zhao San away and locked them in jail.
“Sister, I will report your losses to the prefect. The approval process may take a while, so please be patient and wait! If you need anything, just let me know, and I will definitely help you if I can!” Magistrate Duan said to Jiang Ling as he returned to the inner hall.
After hearing this, Jiang Ling nodded her thanks and turned to leave. Magistrate Duan was a little reluctant to see her go, so he quickly followed and said, "Why don't you stay for dinner? I'll send someone to take you home!"
"Brother, you're joking. I still have a lot of work to do, so I won't stay for dinner. Besides, it's not appropriate for a lone man and woman to be out so late at night!" Jiang Ling refused directly.
"Well... by the way, regarding your daughter Suihe's schooling, I have a good relationship with the direct students of Linghui Academy. If you want to send your daughter to the academy, just ask, and I can make it happen for you!" Magistrate Duan said hurriedly.
"Thank you, brother. Your help is really helpful, but there's no need to break the rules for Suihe's sake. I believe that with Suihe's hard work, she will definitely pass the winter exam!" Jiang Ling refused again.
After being refused twice, Magistrate Duan could not say anything more and could only reluctantly order his yamen runners to send Jiang Ling to Lu Family Village.
As soon as Jiang Ling got out of the car, Jiang Yaojie rushed over, his face full of worry, and asked, "Mom, are you alright?"
"It's alright, I didn't mean to worry you, Yaojie! Are you hungry? Mom will make you dinner right away!" Jiang Ling smiled and pulled Jiang Yaojie back to her own courtyard.
While the children's attention was focused on Jiang Zhishan, Jiang Ling quickly opened the online store and bought two pounds of pork ribs. Tonight, Jiang Ling planned to show off her skills to the children.
The sweet and sour aroma wafted from the kitchen to the outside, and even Jiang Zhishan, let alone the three children, found the smell of sweet and sour food appetizing.
The children were already hungry, and the sour taste made their stomachs rumble even more.
"When will Mom serve dinner?" The three children discussed it for a while, and finally had the youngest, Nianci, run to the kitchen to ask.
Jiang Ling stood by the window and glanced at the hungry crowd. With a smile, she said, "Are you hungry? These ribs need to simmer a little longer!" As she spoke, she picked up a potato from the pot, blew on it, and placed it near Nianci's mouth.
Nianci smelled the aroma, opened her mouth and took a bite, swallowing it without even chewing it a few times.
"Delicious, delicious! Mom, this is so delicious!" Nianci clapped her little hands and said with a look of pure delight.
"Okay, go out and play with your older brother and sister first. Dinner will be ready in a bit!"
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