As soon as I put it on, I met a sickly man

A subtle glint of viciousness flashed across Advisor Sun's eyes. He slowly spoke, "I can prove that Miss Jiang Yue is the true mastermind behind this." He pulled a stack of papers from his sleeve and handed it to Censor Lin. "This is the evidence I've collected, sufficient to prove Miss Jiang Yue's guilt."

Censor Lin took the paper and read it carefully.

The contents recorded on the paper were all testimonies that were unfavorable to Jiang Yue, and there was even a forged letter from Jiang Yue.

The onlookers began to whisper, and the voices of support for Jiang Yue gradually weakened, replaced by suspicion and accusations.

Jiang Yue's heart sank, she knew she had fallen for a trick. She looked at Ding Chen, and his expression also became solemn.

"Sir, these are all forged!" Ding Chen stepped forward and explained anxiously, "Master Zhao and his men must have framed Jiang Yue!"

"Shut up!" Strategist Sun shouted, "Do you have any evidence to prove that these are forged?" He looked around, his eyes full of provocation.

Among the onlookers, several people who had been bribed also began to agree with Strategist Sun and accused Ding Chen of shielding Jiang Yue.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense, and Jiang Yue felt a surge of despair in his heart.

She looked at the unfamiliar faces around her. Some of them were indifferent, some were sarcastic, and some were gloating, as if they were all waiting to laugh at her.

She felt like a prey trapped in a spider web, unable to struggle.

Ding Chen ran around trying to find new evidence, but all the clues had been erased in advance by Master Zhao and Advisor Sun. He was like a headless fly, but could not find a breakthrough.

He looked at Jiang Yue's increasingly paler face, feeling extremely anxious but helpless.

He knew that his power at the moment was too weak to compete with the power behind Master Zhao.

Qiu'er stood behind Jiang Yue, holding her hand tightly, her eyes full of worry.

She looked at those who gave false testimony and her heart was filled with anger.

Suddenly, she noticed that one of them had a flickering look in his eyes, as if he was deliberately avoiding Censor Lin's gaze.

Qiu'er's heart moved, and a bold idea emerged in her mind... She took a deep breath and stood up suddenly.

"Sir, I have something to say!" Qiu'er's voice was clear and firm, standing out in the noisy crowd.

Master Zhao and Advisor Sun's expressions changed. They didn't expect that this inconspicuous maid would dare to stand up.

Qiu'er pointed at a sly-looking man in the crowd and shouted, "Sir, I recognize him! He lost everything in the gambling den a few days ago, yet today he's wearing gold and silver and spending lavishly. He must have accepted money from Master Zhao. I'm giving false testimony here!"

The man's face changed drastically, his eyes avoided, and he stammered and couldn't speak.

The people around also began to talk, looking at Master Zhao with suspicion.

Cold sweat broke out on Master Zhao's forehead. He glared at the man fiercely and shouted, "What nonsense! How dare you, a little servant girl, slander me!"

Seeing this, Advisor Sun immediately stepped forward to smooth things over: "Sir, this maid is clearly Jiang Yue's accomplice. She is deliberately disrupting the court. She deserves death!"

County Magistrate Li was already incompetent and had accepted benefits from Lawyer Zhao, so he naturally favored Lawyer Zhao.

He slammed the gavel and shouted angrily, "How dare you, a wicked slave, slander an official of the imperial court! Come, arrest this servant as well!"

The bailiff immediately stepped forward and tried to arrest Qiu'er.

Jiang Yue was extremely anxious. She knew Qiu'er stood up for her. If Qiu'er was convicted for this, she would never be at peace for the rest of her life.

"Wait!" Jiang Yue shouted sternly, "Sir, everything Qiu'er said is true. Please take a closer look!"

"Jiang Yue, stop quibbling!" Master Zhao sneered. "Do you think you can still turn things around? Now that we have witnesses and evidence, what else do you have to say?"

Jiang Yue took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She knew that it was useless to say anything now, as County Magistrate Li had been completely controlled by Master Zhao.

She had to find another way.

At this moment, a bailiff hurried into the court and whispered a few words in Magistrate Li's ear.

Magistrate Li's expression changed. He stood up and said to the crowd, "This concludes the trial today. Court is adjourned!"

Jiang Yue's heart sank. She had a premonition that something was amiss. Sure enough, County Magistrate Li walked up to her and whispered, "Miss Jiang, someone wants to see you."

Jiang Yue followed Magistrate Li to the back hall, where she saw a man in black standing with his back to her.

Hearing footsteps, the man slowly turned around, revealing a familiar face.

"Xuanyuan Che?" Jiang Yue called out the man's name in surprise.

Xuanyuan Che nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Miss Jiang, come with me." Xuanyuan Che's appearance ignited a glimmer of hope in Jiang Yue's heart, but his words were like a basin of cold water that extinguished all her enthusiasm.

"Let me go with you?" Where to?

why?

A series of questions swirled in Jiang Yue's mind, but she knew that now was not the time to ask further questions.

Just as Xuanyuan Che was about to explain, a yamen runner ran in in a panic. After whispering a few words in County Magistrate Li's ear, County Magistrate Li's face suddenly changed and he immediately ordered people to prepare the horses.

"Miss Jiang," County Magistrate Li wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling slightly. "Censor Lin... has been recalled to the capital for urgent matters. He's leaving immediately."

a bolt from the blue!

Jiang Yue felt a buzzing in her head. Censor Lin was her greatest support, and now that he was suddenly recalled to the capital, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

She looked at Xuanyuan Che, hoping to get some explanation from him, but saw that he also had a serious expression on his face, obviously knowing nothing about the matter.

"How could this happen..." Jiang Yue muttered to herself. The hope that had been ignited was instantly shattered, and a feeling of powerlessness swept over her body.

Seeing this, Master Zhao and Mr. Liu showed smug smiles on their faces.

Advisor Sun even bowed to Magistrate Li and said, "Sir, since Censor Lin has left, this case..."

Magistrate Li gave Jiang Yue a meaningful look, then slammed the gavel. "Jiang Yue is disrupting the court. The evidence is irrefutable. He will be taken into custody immediately and the trial will be rescheduled for another day!"

The bailiffs rushed forward and took Jiang Yue and Qiu'er away.

Ding Chen wanted to step forward to stop them, but was stopped by several yamen runners. "Mr. Ding, this matter has been decided. It's best if you don't interfere."

Xuanyuan Che looked at Jiang Yue who was being taken away with a frown. He walked to Ding Chen and whispered, "This matter is strange. I will find out the truth as soon as possible." After that, he turned and left, his figure disappearing into the night.

In the cell, Jiang Yue held Qiu'er's hand tightly, feeling the coldness of her palm.

Qiu Er held back her tears and comforted her, "Miss, don't be afraid, we will be fine."

Jiang Yue looked at Qiu'er's worried eyes and felt full of self-blame.

She originally thought that she could control everything, but she didn't expect to get into trouble again and again.

Master Zhao, wealthy businessman Liu, counselor Sun... these people were like maggots on the tarsal bone, tightly entangling her and making her breathless.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the cell. A jailer walked to the cell door, opened a small window, and handed in a note.

Jiang Yue took the note and opened it. There was only one sentence on it:

"Someone wants to see you..."