Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

After thinking it over, Zhang found that he had no way to escape except to respond to the lawsuit.

No matter how bold she was, she would not dare to affect Marquis Jingnan's future because of her behavior.

The person behind this is so vicious!

He actually took advantage of a small matter and pushed her to such a point.

Zhang was secretly filled with resentment, but she could only quickly pack up and go to respond to the lawsuit immediately.

When the carriage arrived at the door, we heard a commotion outside:

"Come out, come out!"

"Who is this person from the Marquis' Mansion? You are not allowed to leave until Madam Jingnan goes to respond to the complaint!"

Qing Liu, who was standing next to him, frowned and shouted angrily:

"How dare you! The wife of Marquis Jingnan is in the car! Go to the government office to respond to the lawsuit according to the law! Why don't you get out of the way!"

This move made the onlookers outside even more disgusted.

"So that vicious woman was in the car!"

"Bah, you vicious woman with a heart of a snake and scorpion. You are still so arrogant even now! I'm afraid you are used to bullying others by taking advantage of your power!"

"Come on, follow me to the government office to watch this vicious woman go on trial!"

Hearing these words, Zhang couldn't help but clench her fists in the car.

Although they were just a bunch of untouchables, she still felt very uncomfortable being criticized by so many people.

Under the escort of the yamen runners, he finally made his way through the crowd of onlookers and entered the lobby.

Tongzhi Yan went up to the hall, found out that both edicts were there, and then began to attack Zhang.

"How can you be so secretive in a courtroom? Why don't you take off your veil and prove your identity?"

It is hard to say how the case will be judged.

But since Zhang had angered the abbot, he would naturally do everything he could to embarrass her within the scope of etiquette and law.

The veil was Zhang's only remaining dignity, ensuring that her appearance would not be seen by those untouchables.

However, Yan Tongzhi didn't even give her this little bit of decency.

Qingliu, who was standing by, wanted to protect his master, but was stopped by Zhang in a low voice.

After what happened at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion just now, she already understood that the more condescending their attitude was, the louder the scolding from those untouchables would be.

She couldn't bring any more criticism to the Marquis' Mansion.

No matter how humiliating it is today, she has to endure it.

Zhang gritted her teeth and took off the veil that covered her face and half of her body.

The onlookers outside the hall made another commotion, commenting on Zhang's appearance in various ways.

They said her nose was flat, that she put on too much makeup, that she didn't dress modestly, etc.

Some people also scolded her, saying that even though she had a good appearance, she had a vicious heart underneath.

Zhang had never suffered such a great humiliation, and her palms were almost pinched to bleed.

On the surface, she tried hard to stand upright and not to bring disgrace upon herself as the mistress of the Marquis's Mansion.

Yan Tongzhi knew very well that these noble ladies cared a lot about their own reputation.

He deliberately let Zhang be pointed at and criticized for a long time before he slammed the gavel and began the trial.

Zhang tried hard to calm herself down and respond to Yan Tongzhi's questioning.

When asked whether she had instructed her servant He Wang to go to Cihang Temple to kill people and burn people, Zhang firmly denied it.

He also said that he had always been kind to others and would never order anyone to kill or burn something just because of such a small matter.

"That Cihang Temple is rude and arrogant. I don't know why they hold a grudge against me. Maybe they tortured the servants into confessing, so they deliberately framed me with this bad reputation!"

Yan Tongzhi still looked dignified and fair.

"In that case, bring the prisoner He Wang to court for confrontation!"

At this moment, Zhang was still confident that she would win, thinking that even if He Wang, that spineless man, gave her away under torture in Cihang Temple, he would still change his statement when he saw her in the court.

In this way, she can clear herself of all blame.

Who could have thought that He Wang would hold on to her as soon as he entered the classroom.

He rolled and crawled to the ground at Zhang's feet, crying:

"Madam! Help! I led people to set fire to Cihang Temple only under your orders. You can't abandon me!"

He kowtowed to Yan Tongzhi in the hall:

"Your Excellency, please understand! Without Madam's order, even if I had ten thousand guts, I would not dare to commit such a capital crime!"

The people outside the hall immediately started talking.

"See, she is indeed the mastermind! Even her servants admitted it!"

"Just now you were still quibbling about how you confessed under torture! Pah! You are such a sweet-talking, vicious woman!"

Zhang was shocked and angry.

He Wang, this damn dog slave, is he crazy?

How could she know what He Wang had encountered in the mountains.

When the people from the yamen arrived, he thought he had met a savior, and quickly told them how he was forced to set fire and how he was tortured.

However, the coroner who went to investigate said that outside the wall of the house where the fire broke out, there were only footprints of the arsonists, and no one else.

The claim that they were forced to set the fire is simply not true.

He Wang added that someone with a bow and arrow remotely drove them to set the fire.

However, he had no evidence and his words could not be believed in court.

After seeing the losses at Cihang Temple, He Wang became even more desperate.

Because the leading officer told him:

The laws of the time followed the Tang laws, and arson was a serious crime.

Any arson is punishable by a minimum of three years in prison.

If the damage caused by arson was more than five pieces of silk, the offender would be exiled 2,000 miles away; if the damage caused by arson was more than ten pieces of silk, the offender would be hanged.

More than a dozen rolls of high-quality silk and five boxes of premium tea offered by pilgrims were burned in Cihang Temple. In addition to the damage to the house, the market value of these goods was at least over five hundred taels.

That's much more than ten pieces of silk.

Moreover, He Wang and others were carrying knives, and it was obvious that they intended to kill people, which was extremely bad in nature.

Forget about hanging with an intact body, and even execution after the autumn is impossible.

As the main culprit, he will be sentenced to immediate execution!

Immediate execution means that there is no room for movement and the person will be dragged away and beheaded soon.

After hearing this, He Wang realized how serious a sin he had committed and was terrified.

The leader looked concerned for him and said to him in a low voice:

"Master Tongzhi is fair and strict. Don't think your master can rescue you. Don't think of making up some nonsense to justify yourself, such as being coerced into arson. That will only make your guilt worse!"

"Given the loss of Cihang Temple, if you want to survive, you must not be the main culprit."

He Wang thought that his mother had loyally served the lady for many years and knew that the lady had done many shameful things.

He suffered this misfortune because he was working for his wife, and it is neither right nor reasonable for his wife to abandon him.

As long as he is not sentenced to immediate execution, he should be able to be rescued after the matter is over.

As for Madam, she is a lady of the first rank. Even if such a small matter is pushed onto her, it will not cause any harm.

Therefore, he spoke the truth without any psychological burden.

Zhang was terrified, but knew she couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

She tried to calm herself down and shouted:

"You little dog slave! What nonsense are you talking about!"

"How could I possibly order you to kill people and set fire? It's obvious that you hold a grudge against Cihang Temple because of your mother's incident, so you took people to set fire in the name of my wife!"

"If you say that this lady ordered you to go, then you must produce evidence! If there is no evidence, it is a false accusation!"

She even turned around and asked Mr. Yan to help her and punish the slave for his false accusation.

Yan Tongzhi sighed in his heart that this woman was indeed cunning.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, he could not appear to be biased towards Cihang Temple, so he could only follow the procedure and ask He Wang whether he could produce evidence.

This was a shameful matter, and her most trusted confidant, Matron Liu, was not around, so Zhang dismissed her attendants and gave instructions to He Wang alone.

At this moment, He Wang couldn't even point out a witness.

He has no evidence.

Zhang immediately took advantage of the situation and pursued the enemy:

"My lord, it's clear that this lowly slave went out to cause trouble in the name of the Marquis of Jingnan's Mansion. I failed to discipline my subordinates and caused such a great loss to Cihang Temple. I am willing to pay double compensation!"

As if he was very sensible.

She described the serious crimes of murder and arson as lax discipline of subordinates.

At this point, without solid evidence, Yan Tongzhi cannot make a random conviction.

Otherwise, not only would it fail to help the master vent his anger, but the Jingnan Marquisate would also be able to seize the opportunity to use him against them and launch a counterattack.

Although he was unable to convict Zhang, he used very subtle words to pronounce He Wang's crime:

"Criminal He Wang, you said you were not the mastermind, but you couldn't produce any evidence, so I can only treat you as the principal offender!"

As he spoke, he announced that He Wang would be executed immediately and the execution would be carried out ten days later.

All other accomplices were exiled two thousand miles away.

However, the Marquis of Jingnan’s Mansion failed to discipline his subordinates strictly and was fined according to the law and ordered to pay double compensation for the losses of Cihang Temple.

He Wang collapsed on the spot, crying and shouting that he was innocent, and scolded the wife of Marquis Jingnan for being heartless. He committed a capital crime because he followed her instructions, but she just watched him die without saving him!

The people outside the door were also very dissatisfied with the result.

Some people even felt sympathy for He Wang.

It was obvious that he was made a scapegoat for the wife of Marquis Jingnan.

But without evidence, the magistrate could not convict Zhang.

Everyone cursed Zhang as a treacherous and vicious woman with a heart of a vicious snake.

Because of a little negligence, dozens of lives will be lost.

Yet, he committed such a heinous crime but received no punishment at all.

How can the people not be angry?

Zhang escaped unscathed and just heaved a sigh of relief. Under the protection of her servants, she squeezed through the crowd and prepared to leave.

I don't know who started it, but an egg hit her head.

"what!"

Zhang screamed and her face was covered with fishy-smelling eggs.

"How dare you! How dare you attack a lady of the first rank!"

Qingliu shouted angrily.

However, what greeted them was even more violent smashing and looting.

Without the order from the Tongzhi, the yamen runners present were unwilling to get involved in this matter.

"what!"

"what!"

"Help!"

D.

In the eyes of the angry people, her title of Marquis's wife was of no use at all.

Even though she was protected by servants, Zhang was still beaten and pushed many times.

When the guards outside the Marquis' Mansion heard the noise, they rushed in and dragged Zhang out of the crowd with great difficulty.

She had no idea what a mess she had become.

All I heard was the untouchables laughing:

"Wow, who did this? The Marquis's skirt was ripped off!"

"Oh my god, no one will take advantage of the Marquis's wife!"

"Nonsense, look at her, she's dirtier and smellier than a beggar on the street, who would want to take advantage of her!"

But at this time, Zhang didn't dare to get angry and punish them.

Her clothes were disheveled and she was covered in rotten leaves and rotten eggs. She wished she could just burrow into the ground and hide herself. She didn't dare to stay here and embarrass herself.

He could only escape in a panic onto the carriage and ask the driver to quickly ride away.

Seeing this, the people cheered happily.

Zhang Liu, who had been hiding in the crowd and controlling the course of events, was somewhat worried about the outcome.

Although Zhang will definitely be ridiculed by the noble ladies in the circle after today, she has not been severely punished by the law. I don’t know whether the master of the temple will be satisfied with this result.

No, we can't just let it go.

The carriage of the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion drove away quickly, but the onlookers had not yet dispersed.

His eyes rolled and he immediately had a brilliant idea!