A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

The next morning, Nie Qianqian, along with Liu Yan, Gu Xiao, and Tuantuan, headed to the village entrance. The Nie family members were already there, waiting for them.

Nie Erzhuang didn't know who treated him last night; his back and right arm were wrapped with white cloth strips, almost turning him into a mummy.

Led by Liu Lizheng, both sides had their own thoughts on the way and did not exchange a single word. They arrived at the county government office smoothly, where the village head rang the petition drum.

The drumbeats of petition sounded, their resounding thuds striking the hearts of everyone present. Old Madam Nie, usually arrogant and domineering, had never been to the yamen before. She was filled with unease, and her hatred for Nie Qianqian intensified. If it weren't for this girl causing trouble, she wouldn't have to suffer like this.

Nie Qianqian thought to herself that there would inevitably be some wrangling over the money later. She wished she could find that uncle. She wondered if there was a process in ancient times where the court adjourned to allow time to find witnesses.

As the group entered the county government office, they were immediately tense by the solemn atmosphere. They followed the example of the village head, lowering their heads and not daring to look directly ahead.

Grandma Nie shrugged her neck, lowering her somewhat hunched body even further. Nie Erzhuang's heart pounded, and he tiptoed inside like a cat.

Soon, the magistrate arrived. The gavel slammed shut, and the bailiffs standing on either side of the courtroom struck the ground in unison with their gavel, drawn-out chants: "Majesty... Martial..."

Grandma Nie was so frightened that she almost knelt down, but luckily Nie Erzhuang was quick-witted and caught her.

The magistrate's deep, resonant voice rang out, "Who is here in court, and what is your complaint?"

Nie Qianqian was taken aback. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Old Mrs. Nie's legs were already weak, and she couldn't bear it any longer. She knelt down on the ground with a thud and wailed, "Your Honor, please uphold justice for this old woman! These two are my daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I'm going to sue them for disrespecting their elders, stealing money from our house, and even injuring my son! My son! He was almost crippled!"

Nie Qianqian was speechless; she hadn't expected her grandmother to be such an exaggerated actress.

Before Nie Qianqian could speak, Gu Xiao spoke first, his voice firm and resolute, "Your Honor, I am Gu Xiao. What Old Madam Nie said is not true. My mother, Liu Yan, and my wife, Nie Qianqian, have long suffered domestic violence and humiliation at the Nie family's hands. Unable to endure it any longer, we moved out of the Nie family home and returned to the Liu family's old house, intending to divorce and establish our own household. However, the Nie family came to the old house without any explanation and robbed us of our belongings, even beating the old woman and the young woman. My wife had no choice but to act in self-defense. The matter of theft of money is completely fabricated. I beg Your Honor to see the truth."

Old Mrs. Nie wiped away her tears and continued to wail, "My lords, they dared to lie to you! That bitch Nie Qianqian... no, that girl moved out of the Nie family, where would she get the money to live? Erzhuang and I went to her house and found all that stolen goods, and she lied and said that she rescued an uncle in the county and that the uncle gave her the money to buy them! That's pure bullshit!"

When the magistrate heard Old Madam Nie blurt out the word "bitch," he frowned slightly and reprimanded her, "Old Madam Nie, watch your words! This is the county government office!"

Grandma Nie shuddered again in fright. She had become more and more agitated as she spoke, and had started using the same swear words she used at the village entrance.

Nie Qianqian found the magistrate's voice increasingly familiar, and she couldn't help but look up at the magistrate sitting in the hall. The magistrate also saw her face.

Both of them were momentarily stunned.

Nie Qianqian's expression suddenly became incredibly interesting; it's true that nothing in this world is more coincidental than a story.

A smug smile crept across her face, and inside she was laughing triumphantly. "Trying to mess with me? You're asking for it! This round looks like a sure win!"

Is it her?

Tang Jincheng couldn't help but be surprised. The Nie Qianqian standing below was actually the female doctor who had rescued him and given him acupuncture that day.

After she treated him that day, he asked his men to keep an eye out for any new female doctors in town, but they reported back that they had searched without success.

I never expected to see her again in this kind of situation.

Tang Jincheng had been dealing with official business until midnight last night and was attending morning court today. He was quite tired, but seeing that the person in question was this female doctor, he became more alert.

Nie Qianqian was no less shocked than Tang Jincheng. She never expected that the middle-aged man in fine clothes she had treated that day was actually the magistrate of Fulin County.

The Nie family didn't notice the brief exchange of glances. Old Madam Nie swallowed hard, suppressing her fear. Now that they were in court, she was determined to have the magistrate punish this young vixen and imprison her to vent her anger.

Old Mrs. Nie rallied her spirits, tears welling up in her eyes, and continued to sob, "My lord, Nie Qianqian stole money from our house. It's not easy for a poor family to save even an ounce of silver. She's going to kill me!"

After saying this, she pounded her chest with both hands, her face full of sorrow and tears streaming down her face, truly portraying a desperate and helpless old woman to the extreme.

Nie Qianqian was confident and remained calm on the surface, adopting a composed and self-assured demeanor as she said lightly, "Oh? Grandmother, how can you prove that I stole your money?"

Grandma Nie stopped crying abruptly, wondering why Nie Qianqian seemed so calm.

She stared intently at Nie Qianqian, insisting, "It's you! Who else could it be but you! When you and your mother moved out, you only took a few quilts. Where would you get the money to live? Yesterday when we went to your house, we found all that white rice, white flour, and pork. That's called, that's called, yes, that's called catching someone red-handed."

Nie Qianqian nodded in agreement, "We did only take some bedding, because Grandmother, you wouldn't let us touch any food at all, would you?"

One sentence revealed Old Mrs. Nie's meanness, but she herself was completely unaware of it.

Old Mrs. Nie: "My lord, look, Nie Qianqian has admitted that she has no money at all!!"

Nie Qianqian shrugged. "I admit that I only took the bedding when I moved out of the house, but I didn't steal the money to buy food."

Old Mrs. Nie spat fiercely, "Bah! Your things are worth a tael of silver, where did you get the money to buy them?"

Nie Qianqian feigned surprise, "Grandmother, your memory is really bad. Didn't I tell you that I accidentally rescued an uncle in the county? The uncle was kind-hearted and gave me some money as a reward."

Old Mrs. Nie was so angry that her chest ached, and she cursed loudly, "Bullshit! You shameless woman, you dare to lie in front of the county magistrate? You've got a death wish!"

Nie Erzhuang: "You say someone gave you money, but what evidence do you have? Do you have any witnesses?"

He had heard that the county government always sought evidence in its judgments.

Nie Qianqian finally heard these words. She curved the corners of her mouth into a smile and said calmly, "The witness is right here."

Grandma Nie was bewildered and suddenly panicked. Here? But there were only a few of them here; where were the witnesses?

Grandma Nie turned around, her suspicious gaze sweeping over the crowd of onlookers. Could it be among these people?

Many of these people were villagers from Qinghe Village who happened to be in the county on business today. The Nie family's incident yesterday had caused quite a stir, so they came to the county government to see what was going on.

Unlike Old Madam Nie, Nie Qianqian did not turn around. Instead, she raised her head and quietly looked at the hall.

After a long conversation, Tang Jincheng finally understood that the young doctor had been mistreated at home and had moved out with her mother, penniless. She happened to meet him and he gave her some money so she could barely survive. However, it was this money that led the Nie family to accuse her of stealing it, and the matter was taken to court.

No wonder she was dressed in rags and patched clothes when I last saw her; she must have been living such a miserable life. I never expected that the money I gave her would cause her such a mess.

The scales in his heart had unknowingly tipped in favor of Nie Qianqian.

Tang Jincheng cleared his throat twice, stood up, and slowly said, "Ahem, then the witness is me."

Everyone present, except for Nie Qianqian, froze, their expressions like frozen ice sculptures, including Liu Yan and Gu Xiao.

The entire area fell silent, as if a mute button had been pressed. After a long while, the soft murmurs of the onlookers could be heard.

"The witness for Nie Qianqian is actually the county magistrate??? When did she get to know such an important person?"

"Is this really fake?"

“You old man, you can’t keep your mouth shut. The magistrate himself said it, how could it be false?”

"Good heavens, Nie Qianqian is so lucky to be able to save such an important person."

"I've always thought that the second daughter of the Nie family is a lucky one. Look at her beautiful and delicate appearance, she's no ordinary person."

"No wonder Nie Qianqian agreed to come to this courtroom yesterday; she had already made up her mind."

Upon hearing this, Nie Qianqian blinked innocently. This was a misunderstanding; she had no idea yesterday that her witness would be sitting in court.

Grandma Nie and Nie Erzhuang were dumbfounded. In this era of clear class distinctions, the county magistrate was probably the highest-ranking official they had ever met, a figure of immense power. Yet this high-ranking official knew Nie Qianqian, which was something they found utterly unbelievable.

Grandma Nie's eyes were vacant as she murmured, "This is impossible, this is impossible."

Tang Jincheng: "Madam Nie, do you think I am deceiving you?"

Grandma Nie quickly waved her hand, "I wouldn't dare, sir, this old woman would never think that way."

Tang Jincheng looked at the two people on the stage and the villagers whispering behind the hall, and said loudly, "In front of so many people, I can solemnly promise that what I said is true. It was indeed Nie Qianqian who saved me. I will give her two taels of silver as a reward."

Old Mrs. Nie gritted her teeth in hatred. Two taels of silver?!

Nie Qianqian is incredibly lucky; she managed to save the county magistrate and even received two taels of silver as a reward.

Seeing the Nie family's disgusted expressions, Nie Qianqian felt a surge of smugness. This was what they meant by "the wicked will get their just desserts."

Liu Yan and Gu Xiao were equally surprised by such a coincidence. Gu Xiao bowed to the magistrate and said slowly, "Your Excellency, Nie Erzhuang said something good earlier: everything requires evidence. We have already presented our evidence. Similarly, what evidence do Old Madam Nie and Nie Dazhuang have to prove that Nie Qianqian stole the family's money?"

Tang Jincheng: "Old Mrs. Nie, Nie Dazhuang, where is your evidence?"

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with panic.

They have no evidence at all; no money was lost.

Tang Jincheng: "Madam Nie, I'm asking you a question."

Old Mrs. Nie was so frightened that her back was covered in sweat. She replied timidly, "This, this, sir, this may have been stolen by someone else. Anyway, money has indeed gone missing from my house."

Gu Xiao: "Oh? Then Old Madam Nie has no evidence to prove that Nie Qianqian took the money, so she's just talking nonsense?"

Having solved cases for many years, Tang Jincheng had already discerned most of the facts from Old Madam Nie's reaction.

As the old saying goes, "Poor mountains and bad waters breed ugly women and wicked people."

The villagers are used to making unreasonable demands and accusing others, and they even brought these tricks to the courtroom.

Tang Jincheng slammed his gavel, "How dare you! Without any solid evidence, you're making baseless accusations!"

Grandma Nie had never seen such a situation before. She thought that since neither side could explain themselves clearly, she would eventually gain the upper hand by crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Nie Erzhuang looked like a burly man with a fierce face, but he wasn't actually a reliable person; otherwise, he wouldn't have been controlled by Old Madam Nie for so many years. He hadn't expected that his words earlier would put them in a passive position; he had truly shot himself in the foot.

He tugged at Old Madam Nie's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Mother, what should we do?"

Grandma Nie had no idea what to do; she was completely at a loss.

As everyone watched, Old Mrs. Nie couldn't catch her breath, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted to the ground.