Chapter 26 Conviction

In the hall, Shen Yuandao, dressed in official uniform, sat in the main seat, with the county magistrate, county lieutenant, and chief clerk on his left and right, presiding over the case together. He picked up the petitions on the desk, which were from Xu Kun's wife Fang Chunhan and Qi Cheng's father Qi Changsheng. After they finished reading the case on the petition, the court servants beat the drum three times and shouted in unison: "Open the court!"

Shen Yuandao said solemnly: "Call Fang."

Fang Chunhan, dressed in plain clothes and with a sad expression, knelt down In the hall, she burst into tears: "I greet the county magistrate! I beg you to make the decision for my husband!"

Shen Yuandao said calmly: "Just tell the truth, I and you will make our own judgment."

"Yes." She wiped her tears , and said slowly: "My husband went to Yanchunlou to drink with a prostitute yesterday. Although I didn't want him to go, I couldn't disobey him, so I had to let him go. I didn't expect that this trip would be a separation between the living and the dead. Never seeing him again."

At this point, she began to cry and continued, "The servant who followed the master came back and said that it was Qi Cheng, the son of the Qi family, who stabbed my husband to death! Everything I said is true, please judge for me, my lord!"

Shen Yuandao frowned and said, "Call Fang's witnesses."

Several servants came in trembling, stood behind Fang Chunhan, and bowed their heads and said, "Greetings, my lord, the county magistrate."

"Tell me what you saw."

The leading servant replied, "Yes. Last night we followed my master to Yanchun Tower. He asked us to make trouble downstairs, and then he went upstairs alone. After a while, the servant came down from the second floor and shouted that someone was dead. I hurried upstairs to see, and saw my master lying in blood, no longer breathing. I panicked, because the madam called people to find the officials, and we went back to the mansion to tell the lady about this."

The two confessions matched each other. After listening, Shen Yuandao called the coroner to examine the body. It was indeed stabbed in the vital parts by a sharp object. The sharp object was the hairpin on Xu Kun's head.

He asked, "Hairpin? Whose is it?"

The yamen runner who went to Yanchun Tower last night replied, "My Lord, that hairpin belongs to Yunchan of Yanchun Tower."

Shen Yuandao was silent for a moment, and then called Qi Changsheng and The people from Yanchun Tower also asked someone to bring Qi Cheng out.

When Qi Changsheng came in, he saw Qi Cheng's eyes were blank and listless, and he said with heartache: "My son! How did you become like this?"

Qi Cheng heard the familiar voice, turned around slowly, and called weakly: "Dad."

Qi Changsheng burst into tears when he was called "Dad". After all, he only had one son. If he died, there would be no one to succeed him.

Shen Yuandao shouted: "Silence!"

Qi Changsheng stopped crying and said respectfully: "I have met the county magistrate. My son has been studying hard since he was a child. His behavior is never beyond the rules and he abides by his duties. He passed the examination and became a scholar when he was young. He is an ambitious child, he would never have the intention to harm others!"

Fang Chunhan lowered his head and sneered, a scholar can still be in a place like a brothel.

Shen Yuandao nodded, looked at the madam and Yun Chan in the hall, and asked, "Who is Yun Chan?" Yun Chan walked forward slowly and knelt down properly.

He asked again: "Did you give the hairpin to Qi Cheng?"

Yun Chan leaned forward and said: "The hairpin belongs to me, but I dare not give it to anyone as a murder weapon. I dropped it in a panic." She spoke calmly and repeated the story as she told Wu Gui yesterday.

After Shen Yuandao heard this, he asked other witnesses in Yanchunlou, and they all said it was true. He still had one thing unclear, and said, "If it's Xu Kun who caused trouble without reason, it doesn't sound credible. You must tell the truth."

The madam did not dare to hide it, and said, "My lord, Yunchan caught a cold a few days ago and was coughing badly, I followed the doctor's advice to let her rest well, so I didn't let her receive guests. But the day before yesterday, Xu Kun got drunk and insisted on seeing her. I was worried that Yunchan's sickness will worsen, so I told him that she couldn't receive guests, but Xu Kun didn't listen, pushed me aside and went straight into her room. Fortunately, he was drunk and fainted. I dare not ignore it, so I asked someone to send him back home. As a result, he came again yesterday. There is trouble in the building, I really have no place to complain!"

Fang Chunhan said nothing. If it is true, Xu Kun ran to Yanchunlou yesterday because of her threat. She knew Xu Kun's temper best. After being frightened, he will surely become angry and embarrassed.

Shen Yuandao asked Fang Chunhan: "Madam Fang, do you have any explanation for what she said?"

She lowered her head and said: "It is common for my husband to have an impatient temper. Maybe he got into trouble because he was drunk."

"He haven't drunk any wine yet." Yunchan said.

Shen Yuandao said: "It seems that Xu Kun was holding a grudge and deliberately causing trouble, and even wanted to persecute you, but Qi Cheng blocked it for you."

"Is there anything untrue in what I said?"

No one in the hall be opposed to. As for what crime Qi Cheng should be charged with, Shen Yuandao discussed with the county magistrate and others and agreed that he accidentally killed Xu Kun during an argument with him, which was considered a fight, so he asked Qi Changsheng to pay Fang Shi 200 taels of silver as compensation. Qi Cheng was sentenced to exile, which could be executed after a year.

Fang Chunhan didn't care about Qi Cheng's final outcome, and said in a calm voice: "Your Excellency is wise."

Qi Changsheng immediately panicked. Although he saved his life, he could no longer take part in the imperial examinations, and he didn't know when he would be able to come back.

He kowtowed and begged for mercy: "My son's crime is not this serious! Please give him a chance to live!"

Shen Yuandao thought that the punishment was lenient, and he was dissatisfied when he heard it, so he said: "Murder should be punished with death, but this official took into account that he killed someone because he was blocking for someone else, so he dealth with it at his discretion and left him a chance to live. but Xu Kun died in his hands and cannot be resurrected."

Qi Changsheng was about to say something, but Wu Gui behind him gently pulled the corner of his clothes and whispered "Saving his life is the most important thing." He had no choice but to agree: "Thank you for your magnanimity."

Shen Yuandao slammed the gavel, making a sound, "The case is closed, the prisoner stays, everyone leave the court."

The court servant beat the drum three times again , the bailiffs shouted in unison: "Adjourn the court!"

Only when everything was settled did Yun Chan dare to relax. She suddenly felt sore and weak all over, as if she had been run over.

At this time, Qi Sui asked passers-by along the way and finally arrived at the government office. She found a large group of people gathered in front of the eight-character wall. The yamen runners posted a notice on the wall to close the case. She was tall and only needed to stand on tiptoe to see the words on the notice.

During the scuffle, Qi Sui bumped into someone and she quickly said, "I'm sorry."

The man looked up and said, "It's okay."

She saw the man's face clearly and felt that he looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was.

Yan Dong was shocked and called her, "Second Miss!"

Qi Sui was stunned, and her memory gradually came back. She remembered that he was the servant beside Qi Cheng, "Yan Dong!" She pretended not to know and asked, "Why are you here?"

Yan Dong looked very embarrassed, hesitating: "Nothing important, just wandering around, why are you here?"

She smiled and said: "I am waiting for someone."

Someone around said: "Isn't that Yan Chun?" "Is that the madam of the building?"

"Isn't that Miss Yun next to her?"

"Yes."

Qi Sui looked in the direction of the voice and saw the madam and Yun Chan slowly walking out of the government office. Both of them looked very bad. She hurried over to them. She asked with concern, "How is it?"

Yun Chan's eyes curved slightly, as if she wanted to smile at her, but her eyebrows and eyes were full of fatigue, "It didn't involve me."

Seeing this, Qi Sui said, "Don't smile if you are tired." Then she took out a few loquats and gave them to her, "Eat something sweet, and you'll feel better." She also gave some to the madam.

Yun Chan responded softly, and the madam sighed heavily, "After this, I will go to the mountain to pray for blessings and ask the gods and immortals for protection."

Qi Sui rubbed her nose and echoed her, "Okay, I will go too."

There was a wailing sound from the hall. It was Qi Changsheng who was holding Qi Cheng tightly and crying, "Son!" Qi Chen lowered his head. For him, it wasn't easy to survive.

When Qi Sui saw this scene, she felt an indescribable feeling in her heart. The system asked, "Host, do you regret it?"

Her eyes were dim. Qi Changsheng was now experiencing the pain of separation from his family. Didn't the original owner also experience the same pain? So she replied to the system: "No."

On the other side, Fang Chunhan came out and no longer pretended to be weak and pitiful. She said to her personal maid: "Today, I will ask someone to find a Feng Shui treasure land, and then ask a skilled carpenter to make a coffin to bury the master properly." Thinking that the Qi Mansion would need another 200 taels, she said, "The money will be paid from the Qi Mansion."

Before she left this morning, she received a letter from Wu Gui. He was very humble and said, "Whatever you ask for, my master will agree to it."

Fang Chunhan touched the jade ruyi, which was warm and smooth, and not cold in her hand. "I have no selfish motives, I will tell say what I know, just wait and see how the county magistrate judge it."

Wu Gui said, "As long as the lady can tolerate my master, it will be fine."

She smiled and said, "He is a scholar, how could he kill someone?"

Everyone had left, and was busy with their own things, as if nothing had happened. Fang Chunhan sat in the carriage, yawned, and fell into a deep sleep.