After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

Just as Lord Cen said, Chen Er thought that his sister was pregnant, and if she didn't marry Lai Cai, she would have no way to make a living in the future.

He had never fed the horse anything else. Lai Cai told him to take responsibility for the incident, as the master would be the culprit.

These slaves were only following orders and would most likely be sold. Lai Cai had already arranged for someone to redeem them.

By then, if they could get away from the capital and get a good place to live, the three of them would be able to live a good life.

Laicai, who had been beaten with twenty boards, was dragged up.

He said stubbornly, "Your Excellency, he is talking nonsense. I gave him the Drunken Horse Grass with my own hands."

"I still have the prescription for the medicine."

Lord Cen said coldly: "Yes, you not only have the bill from the pharmacy, but also the deposit slip of 100 taels from Dabao Money House."

Laicai was stunned.

I saw a man dressed as a waiter being invited up.

He identified Lai Cai on the spot and said, "Yes, I saw him ten days ago. He came to the money house to deposit a hundred taels."

"My Lord, the red mole on this man's nose is so conspicuous that I remembered it immediately."

Lord Cen slammed the gavel heavily: "Laicai, at this point, why don't you tell the truth?"

Lai Cai lowered his head and whispered, "Sir, I am the master's personal servant. I have always been favored and have received many rewards. The hundred taels of silver are what I have saved over the years."

Master Wu bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I am only a small merchant. No matter how generous I am to my servants, my monthly salary is only 500 coins, and the rewards I give are no more than one coin at a time."

He is a businessman, not a big complainer.

"Since you don't want to say it, then I will say it for you." Lord Cen said in a sharp tone.

"Someone offered you a hundred taels of silver and told you to frame Master Wu. They promised to clear your name if you did. You were blinded by the money, but you still had concerns. Plus, the person said they could get Master Wu to cooperate with you, so you agreed."

"Mr. Wu was threatened to confess his crime in exchange for the lives of his entire family. Therefore, he had no choice but to admit it in court."

A few days ago, the entire Wu family was arrested for interrogation, and Wu Dongjia was imprisoned. It was all a show.

Lord Cen had already sent people to secretly protect Wu Dongjia.

That night, Wu Dongjia handed the threatening letter directly to him through the guards.

They took advantage of the situation and staged a play to paralyze the people behind the scenes and buy time to find the real murderer.

"My Lord, please make a decision for me."

Wu Dongjia kowtowed to the ground and squeezed out tears.

God knows how hard it has been for him to perform these past few days. In prison, he didn't dare to say anything, after all, walls have ears.

Fang Tong, that unreasonable guy, harasses him every day.

He spent money to buy chicken legs to eat, and threw the bones into his cell to attract cockroaches.

Used urinals were also placed on the side of his cell, and the smell made him vomit every day.

He is too difficult.

The Fang Tong couple looked suddenly enlightened. They had never doubted Old Wu, but they were just annoyed that he was playing dumb.

Laicai turned pale and didn't know how to tell the difference for a moment.

Lord Cen has already given the order to take him and Chen Er away to await their fate.

Wu Dongjia was uncuffed on the spot and listened to the trial with Fang Tong and his wife.

Seeing this, the victim, the Zhang brothers couldn't help but jump out.

"Sir, you mean they are not the murderers? Then when can my father be buried?"

"Sir, our father died tragically. You must make the decision for us."

"Don't worry, Old Man Zhang can be buried today." Lord Cen changed the subject and said in a heavier tone.

"Someone, take it!"

The four yamen runners suddenly moved, pushed the four Zhang brothers down, and put handcuffs on them regardless of their struggles.

"Sir, what are you doing? We are the victims!"

"Officials protect each other. Are you trying to protect Lord Fang and frame us?"

Zhang Si and Zhang Wu were so flustered that they couldn't help shouting.

"What a sharp tongue you have, Zhang Si and Zhang Wu! You poisoned your own father, don't you feel the slightest bit of guilt or regret?"

Lord Cen's words were shocking.

The onlookers were all shocked.

"What do you mean, the old man didn't die of fright, but of poisoning?"

"My own son poisoned me to death. That's impossible, right? Is there any humanity left?"

"Hush, maybe it's really just officials protecting each other."

Zhang Si's face turned pale, but he still insisted: "Sir, my brother and I have always been filial. Killing someone must have a motive, right?"

"Yes, sir, judgments must be based on evidence, right?" Zhang Wu also shouted.

"It seems you won't give up until you get to the Yellow River." Lord Cen was too lazy to waste words: "Bring the coroner and witnesses to the court."

The coroner was called in, followed by a man dressed like a waiter from Wanbaolou, and then a burly man with a scar on his face.

Seeing the last person, the Zhang brothers widened their eyes and stammered, "Second brother."

Zhang Er looked at his two younger brothers with complicated eyes, retracted his gaze, took a step forward, and knelt on one knee to salute.

"Captain of the An Family Army, Zhang Er greets you, sir."

Ceng Gong nodded: "No need to be polite."

"With Zhang Er's consent, I asked the coroner to conduct a further autopsy and discovered something."

As he spoke, his eyes fell on the coroner.

Brother Zhang Si disagreed with the autopsy, so he went to the An family on purpose, hoping to facilitate the autopsy through General An.

General An Xiao wrote a letter to General An. Although General An was grief-stricken, he could not leave his post without permission, so he simply sent Zhang Er back to Beijing to take full charge.

Zhang Er arrived a few days ago. General An Xiao personally met him, but he did not make a public appearance to avoid alerting the enemy.

The coroner cleverly took over the conversation: "The deceased's pupils were dilated, his skin was bright red... and poison residue was found in his stomach."

"After preliminary examination, it was arsenic."

The onlookers opened their mouths wide. Did he really die of poisoning?

Zhang Si was shocked and asked, "Sir, even if my father died of poisoning, it doesn't prove that it is related to my brother."

"Yes, sir, you must be mistaken. My father was poisoned to death. You should look for the real murderer."

Zhang Wu also shouted.

The two of them will not give up until they reach the Yellow River.

"Second brother, please help us to speak up for us. You are not at home all the time, but we two brothers take care of dad."

Zhang Er's brows were filled with fatigue, and his voice was hoarse: "Fourth and Fifth Brothers, I'm giving you a chance. Tell the truth now, why did you kill Dad?"

How could the Zhang brothers admit this and kept crying out that they were innocent?

Lord Cen has arranged a public trial today and has all the evidence.

"Bring up Zhang Si's wife."

A pale-faced woman wearing coarse linen was brought up and knelt in the hall.

Zhang Si glared at her fiercely, but his tone was gentle: "Runiang, why are you here? How are the children at home? Don't talk nonsense, think more about the children."

Runiang trembled all over and didn't dare to look at him.

Lord Cen gave a look and the yamen runners pulled Zhang Si away and blocked his mouth.

"Mrs. Zhang Si, according to my investigation, the last time Mr. Zhang ate before he died was at home. Was it you who cooked that day?"

"Yes, I and my sister-in-law take turns cooking each day. That morning, I made porridge and egg custard."

Runiang is an honest person.

"But I didn't poison her. I was cooking when the head of the household said there was no water in the vat and asked me to fetch some. He watched the fire for me for a while."

"Wuwuwu!" Zhang Si struggled hard. If the yamen runners hadn't held him down, he would probably have bitten Runiang.

Runiang clenched her fists. She had figured it out before coming here.

The adults were right. Zhang Si was unreliable. Even his own father could do this to him, and it wasn't good for the children either.

He despised her for giving birth to three daughters and didn't like them at all.

She had to tell the truth and protect herself so that her children would have someone to rely on in the future. She couldn't make mistakes for the sake of a man.

"It's rare for the head of the household to take the initiative to work and put breakfast on the table."

"As soon as Dad left the house, he disappeared. That night, I woke up and saw the head of the family's brother secretly burning something in the backyard. I was afraid of being beaten, so I didn't dare show up."

Runiang didn't know much and didn't actually see the poisoning, but it was enough for people to infer something.

"Woo woo woo!" Zhang Si was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Zhang Wu was able to speak: "Sir, that night, my two brothers were just burning paper for Dad. His body was in the county government office, so we could only burn paper in the yard to express our gratitude."