Chapter 64: Reveals One’s True Intentions
“The officials are here!”
The crowd parted to make way, and a team of constables walked in.
They were patrolling the streets and heard that someone was making trouble at the Lufeng Rice Shop, so they hurried over to take a look.
Shang Wan turned her head to look. Among the five people, there was actually a familiar face.
Dan Dajun also recognized Shang Wan. He had a good impression of her, and after their eyes met, he nodded to her.
“Officials, save us! Officials!” Shopkeeper Ge finally saw his savior. Clutching his head, he staggered up to Dan Dajun and pointed at Shang Wan and the others. “They want to kill to silence!”
Dan Dajun saw the blood all over his face and distastefully stepped back half a pace. He sternly asked, “What exactly happened?”
Shopkeeper Ge took the opportunity to embellish his complaint, making Dan Dajun frown repeatedly.
Didn’t Lu Xiucai Scholar have a leg injury that made it hard for him to walk? How could he still bully a good woman from a respectable family?
“My brother-in-law is innocent.” Shi Tou glared fiercely at Shopkeeper Ge, speaking up for Lu Chengjing. “They deliberately set up a trap to frame my brother-in-law.”
Shopkeeper Ge was about to retort when Dan Dajun coldly scolded him. “Save your words for the court hall. Come, take them all back for Lord to interrogate!”
County Yamen lobby.
The rice shop people stood together. Shopkeeper Ge’s head wound had been simply treated, wrapped thickly with gauze. Some blood stains remained uncleaned on his face, making him look quite pitiable.
The woman had also put her clothes back on properly. Her disheveled hair was combed up, and several red marks were clearly visible on her fair neck.
Lu Chengjing was leaning on the wheelchair in a coma, Yuan Yuan curled up in his arms also sleeping soundly. Shang Wan, Shi Tou, and Xiao Huan stood behind the wheelchair.
Shang Wan’s gaze fell on the woman not far away. The marks on her neck didn’t look fake. That dog had bitten hard enough.
The commoners who had followed to watch the excitement surrounded the court hall, craning their necks to look inside and pointing at the people within.
“Lord has arrived.”
With the announcement, Lord An emerged from the back hall in crimson official robes and black gauze hat. His gaze briefly passed over Shang Wan and the others, his expression somewhat complicated.
This Lu Xiucai Scholar really was beset by misfortune. Even with a broken leg, he still attracted people’s attention.
Shang Wan cleverly pressed on Lu Chengjing’s head to wake him up.
Lu Chengjing had slept a bit. Apart from his wound still hurting, his head was no longer as dizzy as before. Seeing that they were in the county yamen lobby, he roughly understood their current situation.
“Ascend to the hall!”
The gavel slammed down, followed by the prestige staff knocking.
Shopkeeper Ge and the others immediately knelt. Xiao Huan and Shi Tou also knelt. Lu Chengjing was exempt from kneeling due to his xiucai scholar official rank. As for Shang Wan, Lord An specially permitted her not to kneel.
Everyone looked at Shang Wan in surprise, secretly guessing the reason for Lord An’s special treatment.
Shang Wan calmly allowed the crowd to scrutinize her.
Lord An asked solemnly, “Who is the plaintiff, and what are they accusing?”
Shopkeeper Ge immediately said, “This humble one is Ge Shunliang, shopkeeper of the Lufeng Rice Shop. The plaintiff Fang Cailian was bullied by Lu Chengjing. I beg Lord to uphold justice and severely punish the villain.”
Lord An stared at him. “What is your relationship to the plaintiff?”
Shopkeeper Ge lowered his head deferentially. “Fang Cailian’s brother Fang Bao is a shop assistant in my store. I have always treated Fang Cailian like a niece. Now that my niece has been bullied by this villain, I am indignant. I beg Lord to give her justice.”
“Once this official has investigated clearly, justice will naturally be given to the plaintiff.” Lord An swept his gaze over the hall below. “Where is the plaintiff?”
“This common woman Cailian pays respects to Lord.” Fang Cailian knelt forward two steps and kowtowed to Lord An.
Lord An frowned as he glanced over her red and swollen eyes and the red marks on her neck, then said sternly, “Recount the details of this matter truthfully.”
“Yes. This common woman went to the rice shop to deliver clothes to my brother. Because I stayed up late last night doing needlework and didn’t rest well, I felt dizzy. Shopkeeper Ge was understanding and had my brother take me to the side room in the backyard to rest for a moment.”
Fang Cailian’s voice was soft and faint, somewhat hoarse from crying for so long earlier.
“In a daze, I heard the sound of the door opening. I thought it was my brother coming to wake me, but the person who came suddenly pressed down on me…”
Her words paused. She quickly glanced at Lu Chengjing, shrank her shoulders, and lowered her head. When she spoke again, her voice was choked with sobs.
“I was startled awake. He covered my mouth to stop me from shouting and tore at my clothes, on my body…”
She raised her hand to cover the red marks on her neck, her face filled with shame and fury, almost unable to speak through her sobs.
After a moment, she continued, “This common woman couldn’t push him away. I finally broke free of his hands and cried out for help, but no one came. I was still… still gotten by this villain…”
The rest of her words turned into sobbing cries. Fang Cailian collapsed on the ground weeping bitterly, her whole body trembling nonstop from fear.
Even though she hadn’t finished, just seeing her state, everyone could guess what happened next.
“Pah! Beast!”
“Bulling a weak woman, a disgrace to scholars!”
“What a waste of a fine appearance!”
“Lord, you must severely punish the villain!”
The excited voices of the commoners came from outside. If not for the constables blocking them, some righteous person might have rushed in to personally teach a lesson to Lu Chengjing this beast.
“Silence!” Lord An slammed the gavel with a stern face and asked Fang Cailian, “Do you have any evidence for what you just said?”
Before Fang Cailian could speak, the rice shop’s shop assistants all chimed in.
“Lord, this humble one can testify for Cailian.”
“I personally saw Cailian crying as she ran out of the side room.”
“This humble one also saw it. Cailian hadn’t even put her outer garment on properly at the time.”
“There was only Cailian and Lu Chengjing in the side room. Cailian must have been bullied by this fellow!”
“Lord, my younger sister is only sixteen and not yet betrothed. Now that this has happened, which family would still marry her?” Fang Bao’s eyes were red as he kowtowed to Lord An, his voice full of regret and self-blame. “Cailian has been ruined for life by this beast. I beg Lord to uphold justice for Cailian.”
Shopkeeper Ge chimed in, “I beg Lord to take pity on my niece.”
“Shopkeeper Ge, your words sound so nice.” Shang Wan’s tone was mocking. “If you truly cared about your poor niece’s reputation, why did you make the matter known throughout the city and attract so many commoners to watch?”
“At the time, your good niece wasn’t even fully dressed. As her uncle, you sure are generous, as if you couldn’t wait for others to know she’d been bullied, right?”
In this world, a woman’s chastity and reputation were of utmost importance. The normal way to handle it was to minimize the impact on her, settle it privately, the fewer people who knew the better.
Shopkeeper Ge, on the other hand, was just short of using a megaphone to shout “Come take a look.”
“Don’t distort right and wrong! By your logic, we should help Lu Chengjing cover it up? A villain like this should be punished by law to prevent other women from being unprepared and falling victim to him!” Shopkeeper Ge rebuked. “You are the one with ulterior motives, what a vicious heart!”
Shang Wan was about to retort when Lord An suddenly coughed dryly twice and looked at her, as if reminding or warning. “In the court hall, this official questions, and only the questioned answers. The rest are not to speak casually. This time it’s overlooked, but not again.”
Shang Wan: “…”
Fine, she would stay silent.
Only then did Lord An look at Lu Chengjing. “Lu Xiucai Scholar, is what Fang Cailian said true? You must answer truthfully. If you dare conceal even half a bit, this official will show no mercy!”
