Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Everyone in the eldest branch had their own thoughts. The people in the old residence were already kneeling on the ground. County Magistrate Shen walked to the âgenius doctorâ. âAre you going to treat my mother-in-law?â
The âgenius doctorâ trembled and bit his tongue nervously. County Magistrate Shen continued to scare him with a straight face. âDo you know what happens when you lie to the Imperial Courtâs officials?â
The âgenius doctorâ immediately cried bitterly. âSir, please spare me! Iâm not a doctor at all. Iâmâ¦â
Just as he raised his head to look at Second Uncle Ning, the latter punched him. âYou liar!â
Second Uncle Ning tried his best to act pitiful. âSir, I was deceived by him. My wife is very sick. I fell for it in a moment of anxiety. Please understand!â
This swindler remembered the promised reward and did not dare to part ways for the time being.
County Magistrate Shen didnât expect that he had to work overtime for free meals. He could only sigh and listen to his nonsense.
Second Uncle Ning spoke passionately and realized that no one paid attention to him. Thinking of his brotherâs relationship with the county magistrateâs family, he hurriedly endured the pain and tried to please Ning Fengnian. âBig Brother, Big Brother, you have to believe me. 1 was just deceived.â He grabbed Ning Fengnianâs clothes tightly and pretended to be as pitiful as possible.
âBrother, youâve watched me grow up. You have to believe me!â
Ning Fengnian pried open his fingers and pulled back his clothes. âDo you take me for a fool?â
County Magistrate Shen walked to the swindler genius doctor with a straight face. âIs it really as Ning Fengcai said? You did everything today and he didnât know anything?â
The liarâs eyes flickered. County Magistrate Shen chuckled. âIf thatâs the case, then you have ulterior motivesâ¦â
Yun Yi presented the bloody rake at the right time. âCounty Magistrate, this is the murder weapon found in the woodshed. The womanâs injuries should be caused by this.â
County Magistrate Shen nodded. âOh, we also need to add a premeditated injury. I just heard that itâs very serious. Itâs almost an attempted murder. Itâs a serious crime of imprisonment or exile or even beheading.â
The swindler couldnât take it anymore. He was afraid of being locked up for a few days and could tolerate being flogged. However, how could he casually take the blame for exile and beheading?
âSir! Sir, youâre wise! Iâm innocent! Where did I get the guts to hurt someone? This woman was nailed by Ning Fengcai himself! 1 just listened to him and lied. 1 acted as a genius doctor to trick his brotherâs family into taking out money!â
Second Uncle Ning panicked and raised his hand to strangle him. âNonsense! Youâre clearly lying to me. 1 donât know anything!â
With his life in front of him, how could the swindler be a scapegoat obediently? âForget it. If I injured your wife, would she cooperate with me obediently?
Wouldnât she have scratched my face long ago? Itâs all because you took a fancy to your brotherâs family businessâ¦â
The two of them talked about almost everything. There was no sense of achievement in the trial at all, and County Magistrate Shen was not excited at all.
The more the two of them spoke, the uglier Ning Fengnianâs expression became. Xiaoxiao did not disturb her father, but it did not mean that others were tactful. Even with Old Madam Ningâs limited intelligence, she realized that her family had gotten into trouble. She did not dare to plead with the county magistrate and only came to plead with her eldest son.
âFeng Nian, look at this misunderstanding. Anyway, you guys have nothing to lose. Itâs Feng Cai who was beaten up badly by you. 1 wonât argue with you. Why donât we let this matter go?â
She made it sound like she was magnanimous and her family was the one who did not mind. Xiaoxiao really admired her shamelessness and her unreasonable but strong aura. Did she think that no one in this world could subdue her?
Xiaoxiao asked her, âGrandma, if mountain bandits cause trouble and want to kill people to snatch their treasures, will they be innocent if the people didnât die?â
Old Madam Ning was stumped. She could feel that Xiaoxiao was scolding her, but she couldnât find the words to scold her back. She didnât dare to scold her in front of the county magistrate, nor did she dare to attack her as usual.
She simply ignored Xiaoxiao and continued to look for Ning Fengnian. âFenggnian, I see that youâre familiar with the county magistrate. Why donât you plead with him and ask him not to fuss over it?â
Ning Fengnian was so angry that he laughed. âMother, youâre mistaken. Iâm just a farmer. 1 didnât even know that he was the county magistrate before today, let alone have the face to get involved in the case.â
He was telling the truth, but how could Old Madam Ning believe him? âThink about it carefully. If you donât save him today, donât expect your third brother to help you in the future!â
She made it sound like things would be different after helping them today. Oh, no, she made it sound like the Ning Familyâs Third Brother was really promising!
Ning Fengnian felt that these words were funny, but Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and reminded her, âGrandma, donât worry. We still remember what you said just now about our families severing ties.â
Old Madam Ning smacked her lipsâshe didnât know that they were actually familiar with the county magistrateâs family!
Second Uncle Ning and that swindler exposed each other and tricked each other. Second Uncle Ning shouted that this person was a habitual offender who seduced women. He was originally an opera actor, but he was found out by the husbandâs family and had nowhere to go, so he scammed everywhere. The swindler also exposed that Second Uncle Ning was jealous of his Big Brotherâs familyâs money and hit it off with him to swindle them. He even spilled the beansâ
âNing Fengcai asked me to cooperate with him to keep everyone from the eldest branch here. He even asked others to go to the eldest branchâs small courtyard and break through the door. They will share with me as many good things as they can find!â
Xiaoxiao recalled Second Uncle Ningâs gaze when he saw the gift boxes in the courtyard just now. âSecond Uncle, youâre so scheming. Whatâs this called? Youâre attacking from both sides, creating a diversion, luring the tiger away from the mountain, killing two birds with one stone?â
Ning Anshengâs anger was half extinguished by his sisterâs words. He raised his hand and rubbed his sisterâs head. âYouâre spouting nonsense again.â He thought for a moment and said, âBut youâre right. Our Second Uncleâs greed is getting bigger and bigger. I thought that he was just trying to scam some consultation fees. Who would have thought that Second Uncle has a valley in his chest and is thinking about emptying our entire family?â
Ning Anhui was extremely anxious. âBrother, Sister, you already know. Why arenât you anxious at all? What if he really succeeds?â
Xiaoxiao looked at Rong Yan and smiled. âDonât be afraid. Little Big Brother Ah Yan left someone at home. The intruder should have been caught by now.â
Speak of the devil. Yun Er carried a person and jumped in from outside. âMaster, Miss Ning, this person stuck his head out of the Ning Familyâs courtyard. I saw him steal the things in the courtyard with my own eyes. Heâs still hiding them in his clothes.â
Oh my, he was caught red-handed.
Xiaoxiao carefully sized up this personâs face and realized that she didnât know him. Instead, Ning Fengnian and Ning Ansheng frowned. âButtface?â
The person who came was Buttface, who had been sarcastic when they dug the canal. He didnât know who the people present were and struggled to scold them. Ning Ansheng hurriedly covered Xiaoxiaoâs ears. Before Rong Yan could move, Yun Er had already stepped on his face. âWatch your mouth. 1 caught you trespassing and stealing.. Where did you get the confidence to shout?â