Chapter 67: Brother-in-law, Are You Confused?
“Silence!” Lord An’s face was stern, “This case still has doubts and cannot be judged lightly. It should…”
“What did you say?!”
A cry of surprise interrupted Lord An’s unfinished words. He looked over with a dark face and saw Fang Bao staring at Old Doctor Sun in shock, his eyes nearly bulging out.
Fang Cailian looked dazed, her face deathly pale, comparable to a corpse.
Lord An displeasedly shouted, “What is there to make a commotion about?”
Old Doctor Sun cupped his hands in salute, “Replying to Lord, this young lady is already one month pregnant.”
Everyone: ???
Wasn’t she only bullied today? How is she already pregnant?
Shopkeeper Ge anxiously said, “Impossible, it must be a misdiagnosis!”
“This old man has practiced medicine for forty years; a mere pregnancy pulse is something I can diagnose accurately.” Old Doctor Sun was unhappy at being questioned about his medical skill in person, “If you don’t believe this old man, you can certainly invite other doctors to diagnose together.”
Shopkeeper Ge did not wish to offend Old Doctor Sun and awkwardly smiled in apology, “I spoke too hastily for a moment; please don’t take offense, Mister. Your medical skill is superb, and I naturally believe it.”
He secretly glanced at the slender Fang Cailian, a mix of joy and worry flashing in his eyes.
Old Mister Sun coldly snorted, “This old man cannot accept your trust. Better to have Lord invite a few more doctors to examine the pulse together, so as not to mishandle the case due to this old man’s error.”
Lord An had already sent people to invite them. He wanted to see what other surprises this case held for him today.
Three reputable resident doctors from the city were brought back by the constables. The three took turns examining Fang Cailian’s pulse, and the final conclusion matched Old Doctor Sun’s—it was undoubtedly a pregnancy pulse.
If not for Fang Bao supporting her quickly, Fang Cailian would have collapsed to the ground.
She gently stroked her still flat abdomen, biting her lower lip tightly, her heart full of panic and helplessness.
This child shouldn’t have come.
“To be pregnant out of wedlock, who is the adulterer?”
“Immoral behavior, shameless!”
“What innocent young lady? Turns out she was already a worn-out shoe! This Xiucai Scholar Lu picked up someone else’s broken shoe; I feel bad for him.”
“Maybe that adulterer is Xiucai Scholar Lu?”
“Oh my, were the two entangled that early? That Xiucai Scholar’s Wife is too unlucky.”
The commoners whispered among themselves, all speculating about the identity of that adulterer.
Lord An was also curious.
Ahem, he wasn’t gossiping; it was purely for investigating the case.
“Fang Cailian, this official asks you: who is the father of the child in your belly?”
The commoners instantly fell silent. Whether outside the court hall or inside, everyone uniformly stared at Fang Cailian, waiting to hear the answer.
Fang Cailian’s hands at her sides gripped her skirt hem tightly, her heart struggling and hesitating.
Shopkeeper Ge looked at her with concern and persuaded, “Cailian, don’t be afraid. You were just deceived by someone. Just name that person, and Lord will surely see justice done for you.”
Fang Cailian raised her eyes to look at him, clear teardrops welling in her eyes and sliding down her cheeks, her voice light as willow fluff, “Do you really want me to say it?”
“Naturally.” Shopkeeper Ge’s eyes flickered, and he slightly averted his gaze, saying righteously, “That villain who deceived you cannot be allowed to escape punishment.”
Fang Bao observed their expressions and felt something was off.
Fang Cailian wiped away her tears, raised her head, and took a deep breath, “Alright, I’ll say it.”
“It’s him!” She pointed at Lu Chengjing, “He is the father of the child.”
Lu Chengjing: “…”
With so many people present, was it hard to find someone else to take the blame?
Always picking on him alone, huh?
Shang Wan whistled, teasing, “Not bad, you have an heir now.”
“Had one for a while.” Lu Chengjing pinched Yuan Yuan’s chubby cheeks, completely unconcerned about Fang Cailian’s accusation.
He might not care, but others did—especially Fang Bao, her brother, who hated so much he wanted to pounce and bite Lu Chengjing to death.
Shopkeeper Ge took the opportunity to badmouth Lu Chengjing in front of Lord An, fiercely denouncing Lu Chengjing as worse than a beast and how pitiful Fang Cailian was, and so on.
The commoners no longer dared to take sides easily and silently craned their necks to watch.
After Shopkeeper Ge finished his long, parched complaint, Lu Chengjing said, “Lord, this student has a question and would like Miss Fang to clarify.”
Lord An was annoyed and waved his hand for him to get on with it.
“Miss Fang, you say the child in your belly is my flesh and blood. Dare I ask when and where we met?”
Fang Cailian lowered her eyes and said, “The beginning of last month, on the ninth, at Qing Feng Pavilion.”
Hearing the three words “Qing Feng Pavilion,” Shopkeeper Ge was startled, a bad premonition surging in his heart.
Lu Chengjing’s eyes darkened slightly as he deeply looked at Fang Cailian.
Shi Tou’s eyelids twitched. That day, his brother-in-law really had gone to Qing Feng Pavilion; he hadn’t followed because he went to the study room to deliver a painting.
Oh no, oh no, could it really be true?
Xiao Huan saw his unusual expression and suspiciously looked at him.
Shi Tou quickly adjusted his expression, not daring to glance at Shang Wan, his mind already picturing Lu Chengjing beaten half to death by Shang Wan and thrown to feed the wolves.
Boo hoo hoo, brother-in-law, how could you be so foolish!
“The beginning of last month, on the ninth, I did go to Qing Feng Pavilion,” Lu Chengjing said slowly, “But before I could enter the gate, I was pulled away by a friend to Yun Shui Zhai for tea.”
Lord An: “Who can verify this?”
“Besides the friend, Yun Shui Zhai’s shopkeeper and shop assistant can testify for me,” Lu Chengjing said. “Moreover, that day the two of us brewed tea and discussed poetry. The friend wrote the title of our collaborative poem on the wall screen, with date and year. Lord can send someone to Yun Shui Zhai to check and know.”
Lord An immediately sent for Qiao Yu’an and dispatched Dan Dajun and Shen Qi respectively to Yun Shui Zhai and Qing Feng Pavilion to investigate clearly.
Xiao Fei felt uneasy inside, turned his head to seek comfort from his own shopkeeper, but saw that Shopkeeper Ge was actually breaking out in a sweat.
Qiao Yu’an arrived very quickly.
Hearing that Lu Chengjing was on trial at the county yamen for adultery with someone, he rushed over like his pants were on fire and happened to run into the constable sent to summon him at the doorway.
“Lord, this student can testify for Lu Chengjing.” Qiao Yu’an’s voice was loud, “On the ninth, the two of us stayed at Yun Shui Zhai for most of the day. After lunch, we went to the Lu Family until dusk approached before I left the Lu Family.”
“Lu Chengjing did not leave the house midway and could not possibly have gone to Qing Feng Pavilion to meet this young lady. Many students from the county school saw us that day; they can also testify for Lu Chengjing.”
He rattled off a bunch, afraid that Lu Chengjing would be wronged.
After speaking, he glared at Shang Wan. That day Shang Wan had clearly come to the study room looking for Lu Chengjing—why just stand there watching without helping say a word?
Shang Wan was baffled by his glare and rolled her eyes at him.
Qiao Yu’an: Hmph! This woman is useless; saving Chengjing still depends on him.
Dan Dajun returned not long after, holding a pile of date paste cakes in his hands.
A constable reached out to take one.
Dan Dajun dodged, “Go away, these aren’t for you.”
Lord An thought Dan Dajun had slacked off during duty and even brought pastries to the court hall. He was about to reprimand him when he noticed many date paste cakes were stained with mud, which puzzled him, so he held back without speaking.
“Lord, when this subordinate was returning, I encountered a group of wild cats surrounding me, insisting I bring these date paste cakes back to the yamen before they’d leave.” Dan Dajun handed them over for Lord An to examine closely, “This matter is strange; please decide, Lord.”
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