This time, not only the onlookers, but even Ah Mei and the others who had been waiting at the small door at the back of the hall and watching the situation inside shouted "Good!"
Everyone felt that this question had hit the nail on the head of the Feng family, and they all pricked up their ears, waiting for the Feng family's answer.
At this point, Feng Ming finally realized the situation and knew that his son had probably gotten himself into serious trouble. The woman who was questioning him was clearly no ordinary person, and the attitudes of everyone in the hall towards her further suggested her unusual background.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Ming could neither agree nor admit his guilt, but he also knew that his son was not a good person, so he dared not agree.
Feng Ming was caught in a dilemma, and could only kneel on the ground staring at the floor, not daring to say a word.
He still held onto a last glimmer of hope that he, as the elder brother-in-law, could help them and save his son from imprisonment.
Seeing that neither the Feng couple would speak and the situation was at a stalemate, the clerk, realizing this couldn't continue, asked Magistrate Sun, "Sir, what do you think...?"
What could Magistrate Sun do? He immediately told the constable, "Go to the Feng residence and summon all of Feng Ruichuan's concubines."
The constable simply obeyed orders and left immediately.
When Madam Feng saw that the yamen runner had really left, she thought to herself that things were going to get bad.
He knew his own family affairs best. Apart from his legitimate daughter-in-law, who was married into the family through proper matchmaking, his son's other concubines were all women he had accidentally encountered outside the home and who had been coerced and lured into the household. Once they were brought into the house, nothing could be kept secret anymore.
Thinking of this, Madam Feng's earlier arrogance vanished, and her heart began to pound. She now only hoped that those despicable women would recognize the situation and conceal the truth for the sake of their reputations.
In the alley, the Lin couple's lives improved considerably after they met Min Yueqing and received a large sum of money.
As the weather gradually turned cold, Min Yueqing had almost finished selecting all of Lao Lin's paper-cuttings. He hadn't gone out to set up his stall these past two days, but instead had taken the time to renovate his house, mainly patching up the drafty parts, otherwise it would be difficult to endure the winter.
That day, Old Lin was mixing mud in the yard when he heard the neighbors in the alley start to commotion, shouting things like "county government office," "court hall," and "trial," and rushing towards the alley entrance.
Old Lin opened the door suspiciously, called out to a neighbor, and asked, "What are you all rushing off to do?"
The neighbor quickly replied, "The county magistrate is currently presiding over a case. I heard it's quite a spectacle; almost half the county has gone."
Old Lin was getting on in years and had lost interest in these irrelevant matters. He was about to close the door again when he suddenly heard someone at the alley entrance say "Feng family son." The word "Feng" instantly struck a nerve with Old Lin, and he shouted towards the alley entrance, "Which Feng family?"
The person who shouted at the alley entrance had long since run away, little did he know that someone else was still asking him questions.
But the power of the masses is immense. There was no need for that person to answer. As soon as the people running heard Old Lin's shout, they all chimed in, "Which Feng family is there? The Feng family that the county magistrate's sister married into, the Feng family of Master Feng Ming!"
Upon hearing the name "Feng Ming," Old Lin was struck dumb. He immediately rushed into the house with a speed far beyond his years, and said to his wife, "Wife, hurry, let's go to the county government!"
Seeing him panting heavily, the old lady scolded, "Why are you running like that? What if you fall? What are you doing at the county office?"
Old Lin gasped for breath, "Feng Ming, it's Feng Ming! That bastard might get his comeuppance."
In fact, Lao Lin didn't know the specifics. He just thought that a heartless person like Feng Ming would likely not have a good time once he entered the county government.
Moreover, he had been hoping for Feng Ming to be punished for far too long, so long that he often worried whether he would be able to witness Feng Ming being taught a lesson before he breathed his last.
Upon hearing this, the old lady immediately stood up and followed Old Lin out the door. The two of them hurried towards the county government office.
Along the way, I encountered many pedestrians hurrying along the road, and judging from their directions, they were mostly heading towards the county government office. Because Tongcheng rarely holds court hearings, everyone was paying close attention to this unexpected case.
In the main hall of the county government, Feng Ruichuan's concubines were quickly brought in. A rough count revealed that there were as many as seven. Adding Yan Hong, who was already in the hall, there were eight in total. Feng Ruichuan looked to be only around twenty years old. He was truly a lecherous man.
When these people arrived in the lobby, they were visibly nervous.
Once the men were kneeling, the clerk asked, "Tell me how you all entered the Feng residence. Tell the truth, without a single lie, or you will be severely tortured."
The women exchanged glances, initially intimidated by the scene, but since this was the question, they had no intention of hiding anything from Feng Ruichuan. They were all originally respectable women from good families, but had been forced into the Feng family to live a life worse than that of animals, and they had long harbored resentment.
One by one, the seven people recounted how they met Feng Ruichuan and how the Feng family forced them into the mansion. The onlookers sighed in disbelief, and even the clerk couldn't bear to listen anymore.
Without exception, all of these people were snatched by the servants of the Feng family and sent directly to the Feng family.
Strangely, none of these families went to the county government to file a complaint. The clerk couldn't help but ask, "Where are your family members? Why didn't they come to the government office to file a complaint?"
None of the women answered the question.
They simply glanced silently at Feng's mother, then turned to look at Magistrate Sun, their gazes turning away with a hint of desolation and resentment.
Going to the yamen to file a complaint sounds so easy. Not to mention that they all come from humble backgrounds and are mostly struggling financially, lacking the means and funds to file a complaint, their families would mostly be unable to withstand the threats from the Feng family.
Although these women never saw their families again after arriving at the Feng family home, and were confined to the backyard of the Feng family home all day, watched by maids and servants, and unable to even send out a message to keep them quiet, they still knew their family well. Even if their family wanted to rescue them, they didn't have the ability to do so.
More importantly, they even hoped that their family wouldn't fight the Feng family to the death, otherwise, if their parents and relatives were killed by the Feng family, they would really have no hope left.
Even today, if they still held a sliver of hope when answering the question just now, after seeing Magistrate Sun, they couldn't help but worry that even that hope had become faint.
After observing the behavior of the women, the clerk couldn't help but feel remorseful. Ordinary people often find themselves helpless when faced with such bullying and abuse of power.
The advisor, unable to bear pressing the poor women any further, turned to Mr. Feng and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
If one person's words are not credible, then the sight of eight women kneeling here, all with the exact same experience, makes it impossible not to believe them.
Feng Ming was speechless. He only secretly resented his wife for her foolishness. Since they had already barged into the house, why didn't she treat them better? If the Feng family had treated them well, they wouldn't have all been pointing the finger at the Feng family.
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