Divorced woman with child travels through time

Sun Zheng looked at the large group of people and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's all speak."

Li rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Cao Xiangru glanced at her, sighed softly, and thought that she was indeed still petty. Thinking of her usual obedience, he felt a little reluctant, so he said, "Lord Sun, the matter has been solved with the evidence, and I have already questioned her. It was my fault for not teaching her properly, which led to my wife being a bit too heavy-handed. I am willing to compensate you for the medical expenses, and since the shop has already been sold, consider it a gift to you. Let's just settle this matter like this, how about it?"

Sun Zheng glanced at Li Shi. He had taken her money and was naturally willing to smooth things over, so he said, "What do the three of you think?"

Liu and Wang had been dragged into this mess by merchant Li, so they readily agreed to stop while they were ahead.

Sun Zheng then looked at merchant Li. He hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to nod, the man sitting on the left with his eyes closed spoke.

"Lord Sun, is this how you handle cases? This woman is so vicious. Although she is a merchant, she can rob and beat people at will. Where does she put the law?"

Merchant Li seemed to have his spiritual roots unlocked, and immediately replied, "This sir is right. I do not accept compensation. The Li family can do whatever it wants."

Sun Zheng was in a dilemma. Although this Lord Xu was not his direct superior, they were still somewhat related. It seemed that he clearly did not want to let Li Shi go. What should he do?

"Bang bang bang!" Suddenly, the sound of drums came from outside the mansion.

"My lord, someone outside is beating a drum to appeal for justice! They are accusing Li Wan of murder!"

Everyone was shocked! Li Wan's face turned ashen, and she was covered in cold sweat. Suddenly remembering what she had said to Xiang Nu yesterday, she collapsed to the ground.

"Send word!" Sun Zheng glanced at Li Shi with extreme indifference, his meaning clear: he would not let them off this time.

Li looked at her younger brother, her face pale. It was all over. This time, it was really all over. She couldn't protect him anymore.

Soon after, a young man who looked to be a male prostitute in his early twenties entered the hall.

"Your Honor, my name is Liannu, and I am a member of the Liuxia Clan. Today, I heard from my fellow clan member Xiangnu that last night, Li Wan, a guest he was with, accidentally told me while drinking and flirting with him that he had killed one of our fellow clan members, Henu. We were just fellow villagers who came out to make a living together. Henu has been missing for more than five years. I beg Your Honor to investigate thoroughly and give Henu justice!"

Liannu cried uncontrollably, her bloodshot eyes pointing at Li Wan as she accused her.

Why is there so much trouble? Sun Zheng looked down at the courtroom with some impatience, and then tapped the gavel again. "Li Wan, do you have anything else to say?"

"I, I, I didn't. Those were just drunken ramblings, don't take them seriously." Li Wan waved her hands haphazardly and kowtowed repeatedly. "It really wasn't me, I didn't, I didn't."

"Someone, summon the incense burner!"

Xiangnu was outside when she heard the voice and gracefully walked over.

"Xiangnu, is what you said true?"

"My lord, I swear to heaven that everything I have said is true. If I am lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death. Li Wan also said that he strangled the person and buried him behind the artificial hill in his own garden overnight. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to dig it up."

Xiangnu glanced at Li Wan with disdain and rolled her eyes.

"You wretch! Actors are truly heartless! I've treated you so well, giving you so much money, and you still try to blackmail me! Sir, he sent someone to tell me this morning that he wants a thousand taels, or he'll report me. He did it on purpose, sir!" Li Wan grew angrier and angrier, lunging forward to hit him, but was forcibly restrained by the officers beside her.

"Pah! Who's heartless? You murderer! I just couldn't stand by and watch!" Xiangnu turned away, preventing him from touching her.

"Men, a few of you go to the Li residence and take some tools to dig around. See if what he's saying is true!"

"Yes!" The constables were just about to leave.

"I have nothing to do, so I'll go with you to take a look! It'll be good for me to get some exercise!" Lord Xu, who had been sitting comfortably watching the show, suddenly stood up.

"Well, then I'll go with you!" Since the leader had already set off, Sun Zheng had no choice but to accompany him.

They went to the Li residence together.

Behind the artificial hill, several officials dug for more than half an hour with hoes and other tools, but found nothing. Li Wan and her brother relaxed a little.

Sun Zheng, already impatient with the scorching sun, concluded, "Those two scoundrels, how dare they lie! I'll give them a good beating when we get back."

Xiangnu and Liannu initially watched the scene with schadenfreude, but their expressions grew increasingly serious, and beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.

"My lord, it's not my fault. He said it himself," Xiangnu explained in a panic.

After breaking out in a cold sweat, Liannu calmed down. "My lord, He Nu has been missing for five years and has not been found since. He now admits to having an entanglement with He Nu, and everyone in the brothel saw him trying to cause trouble for He Nu. After being rejected, he even threatened to make He Nu regret being born. In short, He Nu's disappearance is inextricably linked to him!"

Sun Zheng squinted, shielding his eyes from the increasingly bright sunlight with his hand, and frowned as he said, "Then do you have any evidence? You can't just spout nonsense without evidence!"

"Since we can't find it, let's call it a day and head back." Sun Zheng waved to signal his men to prepare for their departure.

"Wait!" Lord Xu, now clean and sweat-free, spoke again. "Go and dig up that pond. I sense something is amiss!"

The officials had no choice but to take off their clothes and go into the pond again.

"What's wrong with this?" Sun Zheng asked, puzzled. The lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom, except that there were more birds lingering there.

"Your bird?" Lord Xu pointed. "Can't you see it?"

"This... this subordinate does not know." Sun Zheng's face was covered in even more sweat. He was already a bit fat, and now he was practically drenched in sweat.

"Hmph! As a criminal official, you don't even have this much common sense? Those birds are crows, they like to eat carrion. I see that the Li family has few servants, there must be some inside story!" Lord Xu gave him an unpleasant look. What a good-for-nothing, his official position is probably questionable.

"Hehe, you're right, sir! There is indeed a problem." Sun Zheng wiped his sweat and happily agreed.

The crowd waited around the pond, but no one made a move. Li Wan's face turned pale, and her hands trembled involuntarily.

Lord Xu glanced at him sideways, then nodded slightly at the two officials he had brought with him.

The two men, understanding each other perfectly, quietly shifted their positions, positioning themselves to encircle the enemy.

Sure enough, a discovery was made in the pond soon afterward.

"Sir! There's a child's corpse here!"

"Ah!!~~~" Everyone was shocked and wanted to step forward to see what was going on.

This was the perfect opportunity. Li Wan, for some reason, mustered up some strength and tried to sneak away by lifting her robe.

"Trying to run? No way!" Two constables slapped him on the shoulder with one hand each.

Li Wan suddenly lost all her strength, becoming lifeless as if she were dying.