A car accident, our family of three crossed

"Sister Song, the government has posted a notice that your husband's case will be heard in court tomorrow. Do you want to go to the government to listen in?"

"Did you come here just to ask me this?" Song Ning was a little amused.

"Not really. I came here mainly to see you and Yangyang." Zhou Ru was a little embarrassed when her little secret was exposed. "I just wanted to ask if you will go into the city tomorrow. If you do, I will send a carriage to pick you up."

After that, she seemed to have thought of some good idea, and said: "Or, you can come back with me today, stay in our house for one night, and go to the government office tomorrow morning..."

"Stop, stop, stop." Seeing that she was getting more and more outrageous, Song Ning interrupted her quickly.

She didn't like staying overnight at other people's homes, and what's more, she didn't think they knew each other that well enough.

"I appreciate your kindness, but I don't plan to go into the city." Song Ning explained, "I think there will be a lot of people going to the government office tomorrow to watch the excitement. It's not appropriate for a woman like me to squeeze into the crowd."

"makes sense."

Zhou Ru felt it was a pity. She was very curious about Hang Tongsheng, who had once become a prominent figure in the county, just by hearing the rumors outside.

I originally wanted to stick to Song Ning so that I would have a suitable excuse to see the elegance of Hang Tongsheng up close. But now it seems that this is not possible. After all, what Song Ning said makes sense. We can't let them squeeze into the crowd.

But on second thought, well, as long as she and Song Ning remain good friends, it is only a matter of time before she can meet Hang Tongsheng.

"Meow~meow~"

"Huh? Why is there a cat's meow?" Zhou Ru's attention was immediately distracted by the cat's meow and she looked around.

Song Ning smiled and said, "It's a kitten that Yangyang raised."

Following a few meows, the kitten slowly walked into the yard. The kitten had been in their home for many days, and now it looked a little bigger than when it was first brought home, and it could already run out to play by itself.

When Yangyang saw Xiao come back, he ran to play with the kitten. Zhou Ru and Xiang Huan, the master and servant, were at an innocent age and could not resist their love for the small animals, so they all came over to watch.

"Yangyang, does the kitten have a name?"

"Its name is Xiaoli. I named it."

"Little raccoon, little raccoon!"

Over there, two adults and one child were playing like three kids, and Song Ning was rocking leisurely in the rocking chair, like a parent watching the children play.

She glanced at the invisible guy who had been standing there like a stake since he entered the room. It was a different guy today. "I remember your name is Zhou Yin?"

"Yes, Madam Hang, what instructions do you have?" Zhou Yin replied.

"No instructions." Song Ning leaned back in his chair. "I'm just curious. Don't you want to know why your master gave me that sign?" They have never raised any questions since they received the sign. Aren't they afraid that she might have stolen or picked it up?

"Working under the master, we know what we should and shouldn't ask about." Zhou Yin's eyes flickered. Of course he wanted to know! But they couldn't just ask about the master's affairs.

"You are quite professional." Song Ning said something ambiguous, which was unclear whether it was a compliment or criticism, and then fell silent.

No matter how long a day is, it will eventually pass. The day of the court session that the students in the county have been looking forward to has arrived. Today is not a day off, but many students still skipped classes and came to the government hall early to wait for the court session.

"Powerful and powerful"

As the yamen runners banged their clubs in unison, the county magistrate slowly walked into the courtroom, and the irrelevant people outside the hall fell silent.

"Crack~"

"Open the court." The county magistrate slammed the gavel in his hand, "Call the plaintiff and the defendant to the court."

"Call the plaintiff...Call the defendant..."

Soon, Hang Shuheng and Wan Baolu were brought out from both sides of the back hall of the yamen by yamen runners.

At this point, Hang Tongsheng, who had been praised by many students in the county in recent days, finally appeared in public.

He walked towards them step by step, as if he had his own aura, and stood tall in the hall, like an evergreen pine, tenacious and unyielding.

"So this is Hang Tongsheng!"

"Look at this demeanor, no wonder he can write such poems."

The people outside the hall quietly discussed Hang Shuheng, and there was inevitably some noise.

"Crack~"

"Silence." The county magistrate slammed the gavel and asked the two people in the hall according to the procedure: "Who is here? Tell me your name."

Wan Baolu was used to being domineering and overbearing, but this was the first time he had seen such a scene. His legs immediately went weak and he knelt on the ground: "I, your humble servant Wan Baolu, pay my respects to Your Excellency."

When the people outside the hall saw how cowardly he was, they couldn't help but boo, and the county magistrate had to bang the gavel again to warn him.

Hang Shuheng was somewhat resistant to this act of kneeling, but as a person of this era, he could only follow the local customs. He gracefully brushed aside the hem of his clothes and knelt down. Even when kneeling, he remained as upright as before. He bowed to the court and said, "Student Hang Shuheng, I pay my respects to you, Your Excellency." This short sentence was neither humble nor arrogant, and it was very powerful.

The county magistrate asked, "Defendant Hang Shuheng, Wan Baolu has accused you of stealing the Wan family's ancestral secret manual. Do you admit it or not?"

"Your Excellency, I have never done this and I deny it."

The county magistrate then turned to ask Wan Baolu: "Plaintiff Wan Baolu, you are suing Hang Shuheng for stealing your Wan family's ancestral secret manual. Do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?"

Wan Baolu fell to the ground, not knowing how to respond for a moment. He looked up at Peng Desheng who was standing on the side of the hall, and received a look from the other party.

He pondered for a moment, and then said as they had discussed before: "Reply, reply sir, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, I misunderstood Hang Tongsheng."

"How dare you." The county magistrate angrily slammed the gavel. "How can you speak nonsense in the court? You first sued Hang Tongsheng for theft, but now you say it was a misunderstanding. What do you think the court is?"

Wan Baolu was startled by the county magistrate's anger and quickly explained: "Please forgive me, sir. I was kept in the dark before because there was a thief in my family who stole the secret book and put the blame on Hang Tongsheng. I have now captured the thief and am waiting for your punishment."

"Where is that thief now? Bring him to the court immediately."

Soon, the bailiffs came up with a man dressed as a servant of the Wan family. The county magistrate slammed the gavel and asked the people in the hall to tell their names.

"I'm Lai Fu, the little one, paying my respects to you, my lord..." After the servant gave his name, he fell to the ground and trembled.

"I want to ask you, do you admit that you stole the secret manual handed down from the Wan family and put the blame on Hang Tongsheng?"

"Your Excellency, I plead guilty. I did everything."

"Tell me how you stole the secret book and why you put the blame on Hang Tongsheng. Don't hide a single word."

The servant stumbled over and recited the story he had made up in advance, which was full of loopholes.

Hang Shuheng watched all this coldly and couldn't help but sneer. This play was too perfunctory. The audience was completely treated as fools!

The county magistrate in the court didn't care about all this. As long as someone pleaded guilty, he just wanted to close the case as soon as possible to shut up those scholars.

"The prisoner Lai Fu confessed to stealing the Wan family's secret manual and then framing others. I sentence you to thirty strokes of the cane and three months of hard labor. The execution will be carried out immediately."

"Hang Shuheng from Shangtang Village was released without charge."

As the county magistrate threw an order into the court, several yamen runners took the servant to the yard outside the hall and beat him with a stick.

Just as the county magistrate was about to bang the gavel and announce the adjournment of the court, Hang Shuheng spoke.

"Your Excellency, I have something to say."