The Little Lucky Girl

A scholar from Pingyang City shouted, "Sir, we have some poems written by Brother Qi here. They were written a year after their marriage. They all describe the deep love between husband and wife. How could Brother Qi have the heart to kill his wife when he was so deeply in love? I hope you can see clearly."

Magistrate Tao allowed them to read aloud in public. Ming Youyou understood a small part of it, but she felt her teeth ache. However, many people at the scene were moved. Even Madam Zhang wiped her eyes and said, "Maybe Miss Jiang is really unlucky..."

Ming Youyou also saw the storyteller rushing out, muttering, "Hurry up and bet your money, otherwise the odds will drop again."

Feng Xu came closer again, carefully avoiding the elders, and whispered in Ming Youyou's ear: "Should we place a bet as well?"

"Which side do you plan to bet on to win?"

"Of course he is a scholar."

"Hey, weren't you sure he was murderous for money?"

Feng Xu coughed lightly and said, "That's just my guess. Look at the scene, more than half of the people are on his side. Look at the attitude of Lord Tao, he is obviously moved as well, and he speaks to him much more gently. He was not so polite to that young lady just now."

Ming Youyou frowned and said, "But I don't think solving the case will be that easy."

"That's right. Fortunately, you are not the judge. Otherwise, if you let someone use his acting skills to deceive you, I don't know how many false cases would be caused." Zheng Huan pushed Feng Xu away, "And you are not allowed to mention gambling again in the future."

Lu Tai was also puzzled, "Although such cases lack evidence and are difficult to judge decisively, there are many precedents. At most, the family will be sentenced to half of the dowry. Even if the Pingyang County Magistrate is considering his own political achievements, he should have made a decision early. Why did it become an unsolved case?"

Dean Pei was very satisfied as he listened at the side. He felt that these silly kids were worthy of having taken the courses of Master Cen and Master Guan. They had also learned to think more deeply.

He pointed at the increasingly excited crowd and asked, "Have you seen anything?"

Ming Youyou felt that everyone was arguing so fiercely that it felt like they were about to fight again, "Master Tao, don't you want to do anything about it?"

Zheng Huan and the others were also looking at them in confusion. This scene had just happened in front of the county government office. What could it mean?

Seeing this, Principal Pei sighed inwardly. He thought that he had not attended enough classes. He could only think of one step more, but not the second step.

He reminded: "This case has caused such a big stir, not just because it is a wife-killing case. Think about why they are opposed to each other."

That was naturally because of different opinions, but when they looked at President Pei's meaningful gaze, they knew the answer would definitely not be that simple.

They saw that those who were making the most noise were no longer standing in the order in which they entered, and they automatically split into two groups. One group was dressed gorgeously and had many accessories on their bodies; the other group was mostly dressed in moon-white student uniforms, all dressed like scholars.

Zheng Huan asked tentatively, "Are you saying that the Jiang family and the scholar represent a group of people, and if the judgment is not made well, it will cause dissatisfaction among many people?"

Principal Pei nodded, "This matter has now become a conflict between the rich and the scholars. Otherwise, why do you think it attracted so many people? The rich originally wanted to rely on marriage to sponsor a potential scholar. If he passed the imperial examination in the future, he would have more support in the court. But if this scholar passed the examination and became a scholar, and began to disobey, and even wanted to kill his wife and seize the property, what do you think the rich will do?"

Ming Youyou was shocked. "Hearing this, it feels like that young lady has nothing to do with it. It feels like she is just an object, tying the two parties together."

Pei Shan sighed, "It is said that this scholar named Qi Ming was chosen by the young lady herself, but he was engaged to his cousin before. For some reason, the cousin died mysteriously, so Qi Ming married Miss Jiang."

There is a lot of stories here. Ming Youyou felt a chill down her spine. "I wonder if Qi Ming likes his cousin. If he doesn't, it's understandable that they got married so quickly and wrote so many sour poems. But if he does..."

Feng Xu also understood, "You said he was seeking revenge on purpose and suspected that the death of his cousin was related to the Jiang family?"

"Let me tell you one more thing," said Pei Shanchang, stroking his beard. "The Jiang family did not investigate the cause of death when the young lady passed away. Instead, they took almost a year to file a complaint, which resulted in the loss of a lot of witnesses and evidence. Why do you think that was?"

Lu Tai pondered: "Could it be that Qi Ming was quite obedient before and his interests were still tied to the Jiang family, but later he was unwilling to do so?"

Pei Shanzhang continued to ask: "After understanding these circumstances, if you were in the position of Magistrate Tao, how would you judge this case?"

After thinking for a while, several people were about to express their thoughts, but Lu Tai suddenly said, "No, what you just said is not evidence related to the case, and it still doesn't count."

Zheng Huan also understood, "No wonder I always feel like something is wrong, are you deliberately misleading us?"

Several people stared at him with sharp eyes. Principal Pei looked at them with satisfaction and said calmly, "Everyone has a standpoint. Those who make statements in the hall will narrate in a direction that is beneficial to themselves, and those who listen will also accept it according to their own understanding."

Several people suddenly felt that they had just received too much information and were having difficulty digesting it. They all began to ponder in silence.

After a while, they sighed and said, "If we still can't find evidence, I'm afraid no matter how we judge it, we won't be able to convince everyone."

Lu Tai was extremely worried. "So, the magistrate of Pingyang agreed to help Mr. Tao with the case, not only for his own political achievements, but also to put Mr. Tao in a difficult position."

Ming Youyou couldn't help but snort, "My Lord, you are such a jerk. You have to mobilize so many people. Even if you want to smooth things over, you can't do it. If you don't judge it well, I'm afraid you will offend many people."

They all looked towards the hall with some worry, only to see Magistrate Tao repeatedly asking Miss Scholar about some details about the day she died. He asked someone to tell it first, then asked again in a chronological order, and also asked about other things in between.

After going back and forth like this several times, the scholar's voice became a little hoarse, but the content of his answers remained the same.

Magistrate Tao also had some items that the young lady used to use during her lifetime presented to them, mostly jewelry and books. If there was anything special about them, it was that there was also a parrot. However, this was also a popular trend nowadays, and it was common for wealthy families to keep talking parrots and starlings.

The scholar was reminded of the girl by the things she saw. Under the guidance of Magistrate Tao, he told the story of the items, especially the parrot, which he bought to cheer up the girl because he was afraid she would be lonely. At that time, they came together to teach her to speak...

Time passed little by little. The morning's official business was slower than usual, and the case was discussed for a long time in the afternoon. Before he knew it, it was already the afternoon, the most tiring time. Suddenly, the parrot flew up, fluttered in front of the scholar, tilted its head, and stared at him with its huge black eyes.