Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

In addition, with so many officials present, no one dared to even breathe loudly, except for Guangliang and Biqing.

At this moment, a man dressed in official robes and wearing a tall hat walked out from the high hall. He had a long beard and looked at the people below.

This man was the county magistrate of this area. The Zhou family was very prestigious in the local area, and the death of Master Zhou naturally alarmed everyone.

The magistrate sat high on his grand chair, slamming his hand on the table with a loud thud, and shouted, "Who is that kneeling brat?"

As he spoke, he glared at the people below.

Madam Zhou, her son, and her niece all knelt on the ground. Only Guangliang and Biqing, being people outside the secular world, were exempt from this grand ceremony.

"This humble woman, Zhou, greets Your Excellency!"

As she spoke, Madam Zhou responded softly, still immersed in her grief.

"Zhou Wencong greets Your Excellency!"

Zhou Wencong, who was standing next to him, also nodded in agreement.

"This humble woman, Ru Ping, greets Your Excellency!"

The young girl, Ru Ping, also responded.

"This humble woman, Zhu Fengxian, greets Your Excellency!"

As she spoke, Zhu Fengxian, who was standing next to her, nodded in agreement.

All of them were present, so they all needed to be there when the case was heard.

“Mrs. Zhou, I ask you, did you cook the noodles that Master Zhou ate?”

With that, the magistrate began to interrogate the case.

"Your Excellency, it was this woman who cooked it."

As she spoke, Madam Zhou nodded in agreement, confirming that she had indeed cooked the noodles at the time.

"Then, let me ask you again, did you serve those noodles?"

The magistrate asked again.

"Your Excellency, it was also brought over by this humble woman."

As she spoke, Madam Zhou nodded in response, saying that none of this was false and that she couldn't lie even if she wanted to. Moreover, she would not hide anything in order to know the cause of her husband's death.

Madam Zhou certainly wouldn't have killed her husband, but the noodles she served were cooked and served by her, so who was responsible?

"I'm asking you, when you were cooking the noodles, did anyone else help you?"

As he spoke, the magistrate inquired again.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou recalled the scene of cooking noodles herself. She had done everything herself from start to finish. Guangliang and Biqing were also eating noodles in the kitchen at that time, but they were fine. Obviously, it wasn't the noodles that caused the problem.

Madam Zhou replied, "I did it all myself."

As she spoke, she became dejected, because at this moment, she still hadn't figured things out.

Snapped!

After hearing Madam Zhou's admission, the magistrate couldn't help but slap the wooden block, and the loud 'bang' startled everyone.

The magistrate shouted, "Now that the case is clear, it is undeniable that Madam Zhou bears responsibility. I have decided to temporarily detain her."

With that, he prepared to leave the courtroom.

"Sir, no, my mother would never kill my father."

It was Zhou Wencong who, upon seeing the county magistrate about to approve Madam Zhou's case, immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. Moreover, he said that if the magistrate were to keep Madam Zhou in the county office and find out anything, he would also be unable to protect himself.

Therefore, if Zhou Wencong wanted to kill Madam Zhou, no one would know that he had chatted with Madam Zhou for a while on the way, and he would no longer be a suspect.

"Yes, sir! My aunt and uncle have always had a very good relationship. She would never kill my uncle."

At the same time, Ru Ping also pleaded on Zhou's behalf, saying that if Madam Zhou were left in prison, she would surely suffer.

"Ok?"

After listening to the two men's conversation, the magistrate frowned. The Zhou family's influence in the county was considerable, and it would be unwise to provoke their resentment.

“Sir, my Zhou family is a respected family in this county. It is inappropriate for my mother to be imprisoned. I hope you can let my mother go back. I am willing to temporarily keep her in prison in her place.”

As he spoke, Zhou Wencong pleaded. This was a perfect opportunity to play the role of a filial son, and he wouldn't miss it.

"Ok!"

After hearing what Master Zhou said, the magistrate found it very polite and nodded in agreement, "Very well! Considering that your Zhou family is a prominent family in this county, I will not detain her."

He paused and then said, "However, before this case is resolved, no one in the Zhou household is allowed to leave at will."

With that, he made up his mind.

As the saying goes, "If the monks can run away, the temple can too!"

As long as the Zhou family still exists, it's unlikely that Madam Zhou will simply run away. After all, they are a prominent family in the county, and it's impossible for them to give up such a large family business.

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed and thanked the county magistrate, saying, "Thank you, Your Honor."

Meanwhile, Guangliang and Biqing had unintentionally gotten involved in a case and were thinking of leaving as soon as possible, not wanting to get involved in this mess.

Madam Zhou was in a daze and had to be helped back by her son and niece.

Zhou Wencong said, "Mother, you should rest well! We don't believe that you killed Father."

As he spoke, he tried to comfort his mother, but his next words made Madam Zhou feel even more guilty, clearly indicating that he had no good intentions.

But Madam Zhou, being among them, naturally didn't notice.

Chapter 337 Interrogation of the Monk

"Yes, Aunt! Uncle is gone now, please take good care of yourself!"

As she spoke, Ru Ping walked over and carefully comforted Madam Zhou.

Madam Zhou looked exhausted. She nodded and replied, "Yes, you can all go now! I want to get some rest."

After saying that, she waved her hand. She had been in a daze since noon, and her husband's death had been a huge blow to her.

"Yes!"

After seeing that Madam Zhou had spoken, everyone naturally wouldn't disobey her; for now, she was still in charge of the household.

Seeing that Zhou was exhausted, the wet nurse said, "Madam, you haven't eaten all day. Let me go and cook you some meat porridge!"

After saying that, she prepared to go into the kitchen to cook porridge for Madam Zhou.

"En!"

Madam Zhou nodded, indicating that the wet nurse could leave.

Meanwhile, not far away, Guangliang and Biqing, after leaving their room, returned to the guest rooms prepared for the two of them at the Zhou residence.

Guangliang said in a deep voice, "We'd better leave first!"

Having said that, he prepared to pack his clothes. Seeing the great calamity that had befallen the Zhou family, he wanted to leave first and get out of this mess.

"But the magistrate said that no one in the Zhou family is allowed to leave."

As he spoke, Biqing felt a little worried, sensing that nothing good was coming.

Guangliang and Biqing had been living in Lingyin Temple for many years, but they were not familiar with the ways of the world and were completely unaware that if they left at this time, it would give people the impression that they were fleeing from their crimes.

"The county magistrate refers to the people of the Zhou family. You and I are monks from Lingyin Temple, so we are not included."

As he spoke, Guangliang pointed at Biqing and began packing his clothes.

"En!"

Upon hearing this, Bi Qing wholeheartedly agreed. He also wanted to leave as soon as possible, since a confrontation in court was really not a good thing.

The two had made up their minds, so they packed their bags and secretly left. Although it was night, the sky was bright, and the bright moonlight shone down from the sky, as if covered with a layer of frost.

"Come here! Come!"

Suddenly, a series of urgent cries startled the two people who were about to run away.

"The lady is dead! Someone come quickly!"

This was the voice of the wet nurse, Zhu Fengxian. Both Guangliang and Biqing were very familiar with it, simply because she had cooked them a delicious bowl of noodles, leaving a deep impression on them.

Upon hearing the wet nurse's cries, everyone rushed over. The two women had originally intended to leave, but since Madam Zhou had an accident, they naturally ran over as well.

When Guangliang and Biqing arrived at the scene, they saw Madam Zhou lying on the ground, with a white silk ribbon hanging from the rafters, which she had used to hang herself.

"Mother, mother!"

"Auntie, Auntie!"

When Zhou Wencong and Ru Ping saw that Madam Zhou was in trouble, they couldn't help but cry anxiously. At this moment, even if Zhou Wencong was just putting on an act, he still needed to put on a show for everyone.

It turned out that after the wet nurse left the house, she was going to the kitchen to prepare food for Madam Zhou, but on her way back, she found that Madam Zhou had hanged herself.

After asking around, everyone finally learned the whole story.

Zhou Wencong held his mother's body and wept bitterly, but in his heart he was recalling what had just happened. After the wet nurse left, he quietly went into the house and told her about how he had caused his father's death, which made Madam Zhou furious.

Zhou Wencong then strangled his adoptive mother to death and prepared a white silk ribbon to create the illusion that she had hanged herself, which led to the scene involving the wet nurse.

"Wow!"