My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

Li Chengyuan was arrested and brought to the court. Under the plaque "A Clear Mirror Hanging High", the county magistrate in his official uniform was already sitting. Next to him was a woman in white clothes, who was pregnant and looked familiar.

At this moment, he caught a glimpse of a man and a woman sitting on the left side of the mirror, and was immediately startled. Marquis Dingkang and Lady County were here? At this moment, there were some people watching the excitement at the entrance of the government office. Some people even recognized the three people in the lobby.

"Could it be because of the book I wrote?"

Just as he was thinking this, the county magistrate picked up the gavel and slammed it on the table, asking, "Who is here and why do you want to complain?"

At this time, Zhang Aiyu was about to kneel down, but was interrupted by the lawyer beside her: "My lady, there are three things you cannot kneel in court: the elderly, the dead, and the pregnant."

So Zhang Aiyu stood there and said, "Your Excellency the County Magistrate, I am a commoner who wants to appeal for justice."

"What's the matter?"

"I want to sue the author of the Dingkang Cewen, Mr. Li Chengyuan," Zhang Aiyu said. "I want to sue him for defamation and slander. The book he wrote has tarnished the innocence of Marquis Dingkang and me."

"Oh? Li Chengyuan, can you tell me if this is true?"

"My Lord, it is true. I did write a book about Marquis Dingkang," Li Chengyuan replied, "but I did not spread rumors or slander him."

At this time, the county magistrate turned his attention to Zhang Aiyu and asked, "He said he did not slander or spread rumors. What do you think, Zhang Aiyu?"

"My Lord County Magistrate, if you didn't spread rumors or slander, why did you write in the book that I had a close relationship with Marquis Dingkang? Doesn't this prove that the bad guy is innocent?"

Zhang Aiyu was different from Gu Li, she had read the whole book, and the ending of the book was about her and Chang An. Although it was only mentioned briefly, if someone with ulterior motives took it to make an article, it would be a big deal.

When Gu Li heard this, he frowned, obviously unhappy. When the people outside heard this, they began to whisper.

"My Lord County Magistrate, I have never met Marquis Dingkang before. I only met him a few days ago. I have never met Marquis Dingkang before."

The county magistrate frowned at this time and said, "Zhang Aiyu, would you be willing to tell me the whole story and the injustice you have claimed?"

"My Lord County Magistrate, I was sold to the Pingqu Restaurant in Pingkangfang when I was young, and later was sent to the Jiaofang and became a dancer in the restaurant. It was only because of the face you gave me that I became the oiran."

"After the Lantern Festival this year, I was diagnosed with pregnancy. Since I have a child, I don't want to be a dancer anymore, just to leave a good place for the child in my belly to grow."

"Since I redeemed myself in the first month of the lunar year, I have been using my skills to earn some money to support my life. Originally, it was my wish to live a life like this, but a while ago, a new book was published in the bookstore, saying that it was written by Marquis Dingkang. I have admired Marquis Dingkang for a long time, so I wanted to buy it and take a look."

"Just from reading it, I feel that this book is a fabrication and there is almost no truth in the things in the book."

"Then I saw in the book that I had a close relationship with Marquis Dingkang. The incident in the book happened in the twelfth month of last year, and Marquis Dingkang had already married his wife, and I was pregnant. This is a well-known fact, so why did you say it like this?"

As she spoke, Zhang Aiyu suddenly became a little agitated, and tears suddenly covered her eyes.

"The child in my belly is cursed every day. People say that he is... a child without any roots. Since we don't know who his father is, what the neighbors say is not a rumor. We can just bear with it."

"But such fabrication is not just spreading rumors about the fetus in my belly and Marquis Dingkang? Although this child was born accidentally by me, he is also my child. This statement is not only destroying my child's reputation and disrupting his foundation, but also making him a laughing stock and unable to stand firm."

As the county magistrate listened, he couldn't help but feel some pity for Zhang Aiyu. A woman who redeemed herself would be penniless once she left Pingkangfang. Life was already difficult, and she had to endure abuse every day. Now her unborn child might have to bear the influence of certain rumors in the future.

"Li Chengyuan, do you have anything else to say?" Seeing Zhang Aiyu's current condition, the county magistrate knew it would take a long time for her to speak.

He could also roughly guess what might happen later. After all, the storybook was about characters. What if someone really believed it? And if the child believed it, he would definitely be treated as a fool when he went to recognize his relatives, and he might even be punished for offending.

"This is just a story I wrote because I admire the great name of Marquis Dingkang..."

"Does Marquis Dingkang still need your admiration?"

At this time, another voice came from the door of the court. The county magistrate slammed the gavel and asked, "Who is coming? Tell me your name!"

"My name is Su Meng, and I'm a friend of Madam Zhang." Su Meng knelt down as she said this.

"Why do you come to court today? If you don't tell me the reason, I can sentence you to caning." said the county magistrate.

"I came here today to testify for my friend, Madam Zhang."

The county magistrate frowned slightly and asked, "Testify, what do you want to testify?"

"Li Chengyuan, the author of Dingkang Cewen, testified to the slander and defamation of Madam Zhang and Marquis Dingkang." Su Meng said, "I am not only a friend of Madam Zhang, but also a friend of Marquis Dingkang and his wife."

"As for the matter between Marquis Dingkang and Madam Zhang, I am the only one in Chang'an who knows the most."

The county magistrate twirled his beard and said, "Then go ahead and tell me what else you can say. For example, do you know whether Marquis Dingkang and Zhang Aiyu knew each other?"

"Marquis Dingkang and I have known each other for more than four or five years. Every time he came to Pingkangfang, he would only come to Xinluan Restaurant where the common people stayed, get drunk at You or Mao, and then go home. Occasionally, when he had some leisure time, he would go to Zuiyun Tower, and the rest of the time he would stay at home reading. So he didn't know Madam Zhang, let alone the content of two women fighting for one man."

"Since the beginning of October last year, after Marquis Dingkang got married, his wife would always be by his side whenever he went out or at home, except when he went to the Imperial College. It can almost be said that the two of them were inseparable."

"Since his marriage, he has been to Pingkangfang no more than ten times. And whether he goes to Zuiyunlou or Xinluan Restaurant where the commoner girl is, the Marquis's wife is always by his side, without exception."

The county magistrate nodded, and then said: "I have also heard a little about Marquis Dingkang, and he and his wife have been in love until now. Now there is Madam Su Meng's words as circumstantial evidence, which shows that everything in your book is fabricated."

"It also affected the baby in Madam Zhang's womb and slandered the reputation of the nobles of the court. Do you admit your guilt?"

"The little... the little people know their sins."

Li Chengyuan also wanted to defend himself, saying that this was just a story and not true, but now the Marquis Dingkang was sitting there. If he did not admit his mistake and insisted on his words, spreading rumors might become an offense, and his crime would be punished by death.

"I admit that I wrote this book simply because I admire Marquis Dingkang, so I wanted to have fun... I just didn't know that such a bad thing would happen. I hope the county magistrate will spare my life."

After all, I am just a small writer...

Chang An glanced at Li Chengyuan, and then heard the county magistrate's voice: "Li Chengyuan, you spread rumors and slandered the nobles of the court, which is a capital crime, but I think you can correct your mistakes, so I will change your punishment to a fine and 15 strokes of the cane. At the same time, you are prohibited from continuing to write the book "Dingkang Cewen". "

"Do you have any objection?"

"I dare not."

Then the county magistrate looked at Chang An again and asked respectfully, "Marquis Dingkang, what do you think of this punishment?"

The underlying meaning of this is to ask you "Do you think it's fair?" Chang An nodded and said, "Forget it, he is also a scholar. Although he doesn't have to farm, he is weak, so let him be punished."

"Let's change the fifteen strokes of the cane into a fine of silver."

The county magistrate thought for a moment, looked at Li Chengyuan who was kneeling below, then pulled out a wooden sign and asked, "Li Chengyuan, do you have any objections now?"

"Thank you, Marquis Dingkang, for your mercy!" As soon as Li Chengyuan finished speaking, a wooden sign was thrown in front of him, which was equivalent to his verdict.

The people who were watching the excitement at the door saw that the incident was over and there was no more excitement to watch, so they left one after another. Chang An glanced at Zhang Aiyu who was standing there dropping golden beans, and felt that it was the first time that he had been so disrespectful and oppressed an ordinary citizen.

This is probably what Gu Li said before, "If you want to get something, you have to sacrifice something else." Because of his selfish desire to help others, he did something he didn't want to do.

Chang An stood up at this time, took Gu Li by the hand, and said to the county magistrate: "Thank you very much today, Mr. County Magistrate. We will take our leave first."

"Where."

There were two carriages going back to Anrenfang, one for Chang An and his wife, and the other for Su Meng and Zhang Aiyu. When they returned to the gate of Dingkang Marquis's Mansion, Chang An breathed a sigh of relief - the matter was finally over.

Just as he was about to step into the palace, he suddenly heard Zhang Aiyu's voice from behind him: "Marquis Dingkang."

Chang An and Gu Li turned around and saw Zhang Aiyu kneeling in front of Chang An, ignoring her eight-month-old belly. Chang An quickly reached out his hand to help her up, but Su Meng stopped him.

Not only did he ask Su Meng what was going on, he also heard Zhang Aiyu say, "I would like to thank Marquis Dingkang for helping me today. I would also like to thank Marquis Dingkang for restoring my child's good name."

"Here, please accept Ai Yu's greetings!"