Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

Most of the cases of murder committed by servants of the Zhang family were related to Zhang Shide's rape of women, so Zhang Shide was dragged out of the prison where he was temporarily detained.

A basin of cold water was poured on him to wake him up. The miserable Zhang Shide seemed to have lost his soul. No matter what was said, he just nodded in agreement.

"I questioned Zhang Shiliang's decision to raise the tax on tea merchants last year, and then had my legs broken by Zhang's evil slave! Zhang Shide is guilty of a heinous crime, but this has nothing to do with him!" The victim obviously did not admit that Zhang Shide was the mastermind.

Madam Zhang said calmly, "I don't know the details, but those servants have always been ordered by the Second House, and the people in the Second House have accepted it."

Seeing the look in the first lady's eyes, the second lady lowered her head and stammered, "Those are the people that the second house often uses. I don't know whether Zhang Shide has sent them to fight the tea merchants..."

Zhang Shide could only nod, and the magistrate had no choice but to ask the summoned slaves: "Who ordered you to beat up the tea merchants?"

Several evil slaves knelt on the ground trembling with fear, and pointed at Zhang Shide and said in different voices, "The Second Master sent us there."

"Bang!" The gavel made a loud noise, frightening the evil slaves. The county magistrate asked sternly, "Don't lie in court! Why did Zhang Shide send you to beat up the tea merchants?"

"I don't know..."

"The Second Master asked us to go... so we all went, without asking why..."

"I am guilty! Please show mercy, sir!"

The evil servants of the Zhang family talked a lot, but none of them mentioned the people from the eldest branch of the Zhang family. The victim, the tea merchant, disagreed, but could not produce any evidence to point out who the murderer was.

"You dare to talk nonsense and disturb the public. These evil slaves will be beaten with a stick! Let's see if you can still be stubborn!" The magistrate threw down a few orders.

Madam Zhang suddenly became nervous and asked anxiously, "Will the county magistrate torture me into confessing?"

"Don't talk nonsense! It is a foregone conclusion that these evil slaves are guilty. It is legal and compliant to punish them with caning first!" the magistrate said sternly.

Madam Zhang refused to give in and said, "Didn't the county magistrate promise His Royal Highness Prince Duan that he would enforce the law impartially? If you torture someone before questioning them, what else could it be but forcing them to confess?"

Chu Shiyu snorted coldly and said, "The law does not specify whether those with irrefutable evidence can be executed first. As for whether they were tortured into confessing, you can ask the people outside the hall."

With a Tai Chi move, the matter was thrown to the people. The people did not suspect anything, but they were happy to see the Zhang family suffer misfortune, and they all shouted: "No!"

"It doesn't count as a confession under torture!"

"Torture them first! See if they can keep their mouth shut!"

Listening to the people's cries, the magistrate felt inexplicably inspired. With a wave of his hand, several servants were pinned to the ground, and the sticks "crackled" on their buttocks!

After more than a dozen blows, one of them couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "I said! It was the master who assigned us! The master asked us to teach a lesson to the tea merchants who dared to question the tax policy!"

Madam Zhang's face turned pale, but she knew the reason clearly: the man they hired was a bachelor with no ties and no family to rely on.

Only that one person changed his confession, and the others did not give up even when they were knocked unconscious. One testimony could not convict the eldest wife of a crime, and Zhang Shiliang was already dead. Even if the father's crime was to be passed on to the son, since Zhang Shiliang was an official, he had to be transferred to the Dali Temple for punishment.

But the magistrate was already content. His purpose was to obtain this testimony so that he could transfer the case to the Dali Temple. In this way, he would have expressed his determination, and the Zhang family's troubles were not over yet. This would at least satisfy Prince Duan!

As soon as one case is finished, we start the next one directly.

It was Yang Xuefei who sued the Zhang family for allowing their servants to beat Yang's father to death. There was no doubt about this case. It was indeed the evil servants assigned by Zhang Shide, and those evil servants are now under the name of Zhang Shide.

Liu Rusi was watching from behind the screen. Although Yang Xuefei's family feud had been cleared, her face did not show the joy she had when she slapped the Second Madam that day. Perhaps it was because Zhang Shide had committed so many crimes that this extra slap did not make much of a difference.

"Are you looking for someone?" Chu Shiyu saw her eyes moving around the court.

Liu Rusi retracted her gaze, paused, and sighed: "Ruan Qing doesn't seem to be here, Xue Fei..."

"There is no suspense in this case. Yang Xuefei is the victim. She can handle it herself." Chu Shiyu unconsciously put himself in the role of Yang Xuefei, and the corresponding Ruan Qing was equivalent to...

"Ruan Qing may need some time to heal the pain of the past."

Liu Rusi remained silent as she watched the most suspicious case, the case of the thirteen corpses of slaves, begin to be tried in court.

"Those thirteen corpses are servants of your Zhang family, right?" the magistrate asked in his opening words.

The coroner had already verified the body's features and cause of death, and the family members had also identified it, so it was undeniable. Madam Zhang first looked at Madam Er, and when Madam Er saw it, the two women nodded together.

"Who gave the order? Who were the people sent to do the burial? And why did you execute these slaves? Tell the truth!"

There was silence at the scene. Madam Zhang looked at Madam Second without saying anything, while Madam Second tried to speak tremblingly but no words came out for a long time.

The magistrate pointed at the eldest lady and said sternly, "Confess everything! You speak first!"

Madam Zhang held her breath and said in a deep voice, "My husband Zhang Shiliang passed away a few days ago, and my old lady fell ill. I have no time to do anything else, so the household affairs have been temporarily handed over to the second wife..."

"Bang!" The gavel rang, and the magistrate shouted, "How dare you lie?! Don't you think I don't know? At that time, the second wife was still in bed recovering from her injuries, how could she take care of the household affairs?!"

Madam Zhang looked at the speechless Madam with disgust, and said aloud, "It is Zhang Shide who is in charge of the household."

"Zhang Shide again?! Do you want to put all the sins of the Zhang family on Zhang Shide?" The tea merchant who was still watching suddenly shouted.

The other victims and the people watching also felt something was wrong and started to scold and curse! Suddenly, a white object flew into the court and landed on Madam Zhang!

With a "pop" sound, the yellow and green sticky stuff was stuck on Mrs. Zhang's body. It turned out to be a rotten egg!

"Who threw it?!" Mrs. Zhang could no longer maintain her calm appearance, she turned her head and glared at her, but rotten eggs and vegetable leaves were thrown at her again!

She couldn't dodge or stop him, so she could only turn around and hug her head.

Zhang Dizi, who had been acting like a wooden man, reacted after the third egg. He immediately stepped forward to block the rotten vegetables and stinky eggs for Madam Zhang, and asked loudly in confusion, "County Master! Is it allowed to throw things in the court?"

"Ahem!" The magistrate coughed lightly, slammed the gavel, and then shouted, "No littering in the court! If you do it again, you will be punished with twenty lashes of the cane for contempt of court!"

The throwing of rotten eggs outside the hall stopped.

Madam Zhang was born into a family as famous as the Zhang family. She had never suffered such humiliation before and she started to cry. Zhang's son was in a hurry to wipe the dirt off his mother with his sleeves. He didn't know how to comfort her. He just kept repeating, "Don't cry, mother."

This scene made some soft-hearted people feel uncomfortable, and the shouting people gradually fell silent.

"Do you... feel sorry for it?" Chu Shiyu looked at Liu Rusi with a vague look.

"These thirteen lives are most likely related to her, and she is very likely to get away with it. A few rotten eggs and vegetable leaves won't hurt..." Liu Rusi said, and suddenly turned around to look at Chu Shiyu's expression seriously.

After a few breaths, she suddenly sneered and scolded, "Childish!"

Seeing her expression, Chu Shiyu relaxed, narrowed his eyes and smiled. Being childish can make people laugh, so what's wrong with that?

In the court outside the screen, the bailiff simply cleaned up the ground and the interrogation began again.

"You said that it was Zhang Shide who took over the management of the family. Do you have any evidence? The coroner examined the bodies of thirteen slaves, and they all died before the Zhang family split up! Are you in a hurry to split up the family in order to escape punishment?!" The magistrate pointed out several doubts.

Madam Zhang was still sobbing, but she said firmly: "Other members of my Zhang family can prove that it was Zhang Shide who was in charge during those days. It was because they found that there were fewer servants in the house and questioned Zhang Shide that they felt something was wrong, so they decided to divide the family and draw a clear line with him!"

The argument was coherent and the county magistrate was a little confused. Zhang Shide nodded when Mrs. Zhang spoke, and the so-called other members of the Zhang family must also be on the side of the Zhang family...

"Let those from your Zhang family who can testify come up first! I will question them one by one!" The magistrate wanted to try harder to let Prince Duan see his dedication! If Prince Duan was dissatisfied, he would write a memorial to report his past abuses of power, and he might be the one to lose his head!

There were more than a dozen servants from the Zhang family, including the butler Zhang, so the number of witnesses seemed sufficient.

Generally speaking, the higher the status of a servant, the more loyal he is. The magistrate first asked the servants who did the rough work, but as expected, they all testified one after another that Zhang Shide was the head of the household.

The magistrate let them continue speaking one by one, thinking in his heart whether to drag out the guilty slaves assigned to Zhang Shide and beat them up...

"The Zhang family has always been run by Madam Zhang and Old Lady Zhang. Those thirteen people were controlled by the two mistresses. They asked me to send people to kill them and bury them alive in the master's grave."

There was silence.

After a few breaths, Madam Zhang shouted in disbelief: "Zhang Xiaowei! What are you talking about?!"

Zhang, the chief steward, lowered his head and continued, "I remember who was sent to execute the thirteen people. We can interrogate the servants who lived with the murderers and ask them when they saw the murderers go out that night. They should be able to verify it one by one."

The whole room was in an uproar, and the magistrate could not contain his joy. He immediately asked the steward Zhang to confess, and then summoned people to interrogate him based on the clues!

Some of them were given to Zhang Shide's evil servants, and the magistrate had them interrogated separately in prison. Some of them had to be summoned from Zhang's house, but Zhang's farm was not far away and it would be quick to get there.

The court was temporarily stalled.

Madam Zhang looked pale and confused, and needed the support of her eldest son Zhang to stand steadily.

The people were talking noisily and marveling at the news. Not only did they not leave, but more and more people gathered because of this strange news.

Inside the screen, Liu Rusi was also surprised by the plot: "Did you arrange this?"

Chu Shiyu frowned and thought about something, then shook his head and said, "I rarely send spies, and it's hard for me to reach the Zhang family. Those who can become the chief steward are all those who are confirmed to be loyal by the master."

"Although it is a righteous act, it is quite different from being loyal, isn't it?" Liu Rusi looked at Butler Zhang. She remembered how proud this man was of being a member of the Zhang family. How could he suddenly betray his master?

The evil servants belonging to Zhang Shide kept giving their confessions, and the magistrate confirmed and verified them one by one. Half an hour passed in a rather boring manner.

It was already getting dark, but the magistrate wanted to finish the case in one go, and everyone wanted to see what happened next.

The other members of the Zhang family who were summoned came, not only the servants, but also the trembling old lady Zhang with silver hair.

The old lady was helped into the hall, and she let the servants go. She knelt on the ground with her wrinkled face full of regret. She said with tears in her eyes, "It was my order! It has nothing to do with my eldest daughter-in-law. It was because I lost my beloved son and was confused for a moment! Zhang Xiaowei persuaded those people who touched my son's body and might have the plague, so they could be sent to my son to serve..."

"Mother!" Madam Zhang cried bitterly. She knew that the old lady had learned about the situation in the court and realized that it would be difficult to clear herself of the matter, so she decided to take the blame herself!

She knelt down and supported the old lady, then turned to Zhang Xiaowei with red eyes and asked angrily: "It was you who proposed to kill those slaves and bury them in your husband's grave! I was against it at that time! How dare you betray your master?!"

The onlookers began to talk about the situation and different opinions began to emerge.

Some people said: "The Zhang family is not a royal family. Beating a slave to death and burying him alive with his master is too much!"

Some people said: "The old man was confused and was instigated by the evil slave when he lost his beloved son. It is understandable that he made a wrong decision. Although he is guilty, his crime cannot be considered a heinous crime."

"The most despicable one is that Zhang Xiaowei! He was a servant! He instigated the incident and betrayed his master afterwards. He was so treacherous and sold out his master for personal gain. He is so ugly!"

Behind the screen.

Liu Rusi sighed with mixed feelings and asked quietly, "What do you think?"

Chu Shiyu narrowed his eyes and looked at the court, and replied softly: "This matter may have more unexpected changes, we can wait and see."

Liu Rusi was stunned for a moment, then realized that Chu Shiyu didn't care about these ethical and moral right and wrongs at all. He was focusing on the subsequent development of the matter.

The truth seemed to have been revealed, but the old lady was a second-rank lady and it was not something that a county court could judge.

The magistrate had a chair brought to the old lady and asked her to sit on it to show respect for her. At the same time, he asked his subordinates to interrogate more people involved, collect enough confessions, and make a complete case file, which would be handed over to the Dali Temple together with the case of the tea merchant.

The county magistrate stroked his mustache and secretly glanced at the position of the screen. At this time, because it was dark and the lights in the hall were brighter, he couldn't even see the figure behind the screen. But the county magistrate was relieved. This was an over-fulfillment of the task, and Prince Duan should be satisfied.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A sudden drum sound came from the darkness!

The magistrate sat up straight in his official chair, frowned and asked, "It's already the 11:00 p.m.! The county office only accepts new cases from the 11:00 p.m. to the 15:00 p.m.! Who is beating the drum to appeal for justice at this time?"

The gatekeeper rushed in and reported: "It's the second daughter of the Zhang family!"

The magistrate was stunned for a moment and looked at the Zhang family members in the room, only to see that they also looked confused.

At this time, the second daughter of the Zhang family had walked in and knelt down. She put the stack of things she was holding on the ground and held up a petition with her trembling hands.

"I, your humble servant Zhang Rujin, am suing... Prince Kang... Chu Shikun..."

The trembling sound was like a loud thunder, which stunned everyone inside and outside!