Before Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi could speak, Madam Cheng stepped in to defend them.
"Punish her for what! Wanwan is only five years old. Hitting someone is hardly a major offense! Besides, she was protecting her brother, and that Tutor Zhong truly deserved a beating! So Wanwan did nothing wrong this time, and you are not allowed to punish her!"
"However, Wanwan, in the future, when you encounter such situations again, you mustn't be so impulsive, understand? Remember your aunt's words, there are many ways to handle things, and we must choose the most stable method."
Jiang Wan nodded seriously, "I remember."
Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi immediately felt a headache, fearing that Madam Cheng would lead Jiang Wan astray.
The topic had veered off course completely.
Jiang Wan pulled it back, "Uncle Cheng, what will be Zheng Cui'er and her parents' fate?"
Magistrate Cheng said, "If it is proven that they conspired to obtain that medicine to harm Master Wan, then naturally they will be executed after the autumn assizes. But if it was merely a coincidence, they should be sentenced to exile three thousand li."
Jiang Wan was quite satisfied with both outcomes.
She truly detested the Zheng family to the extreme.
If she had known they would do such disgusting things, she should have killed them back in that town.
At that time, she thought that Second Brother had not suffered any substantial harm, so giving them a lesson and driving them out of the caravan would suffice. She hadn't expected them to resent the Jiang family and seize the opportunity to frame them.
Since that was the case, she would no longer show them any mercy.
Chen Yuezhi sighed, "I never expected the Zheng family to do something like this. They lived good lives relying on Master Wan, yet they were still not content."
Madam Cheng's eyes held disdain, "Man's greed knows no bounds. The Zheng family's ambitions are not small, yet they are all incredibly stupid. It's not surprising they ended up like this."
Magistrate Cheng, however, said, "This case is truly a bit strange. Zheng Cui'er and her parents had no motive to harm Master Wan. Because their family lived good lives relying on Master Wan, killing Master Wan would bring them no benefit."
"If it were a coincidence, that would be even more far-fetched. The medicine was bought. The medicine from the brothel madam had no issues. It's impossible that only the bottle sold to Zheng Dayou had a problem. The probability of such a coincidence is too low."
Madam Cheng yawned and said, "Then it only shows that Wan Fulin was destined to face this calamity. He encountered such a low probability event, if it's not fate, what is it?"
"It's also not impossible that Zheng Dayou, in his cleverness, added some other medicine to it. The drugs interacted, accidentally turning it into a snake-attracting medicine."
Magistrate Cheng, having stayed up all night, had a muddled mind and couldn't figure anything out.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Everyone has been up all night. Let's wash up and get some sleep."
Since the person was dead and the suspects were caught, they could be interrogated slowly.
As it turned out, after Magistrate Cheng woke up from his sleep, he discovered that the case had been taken over by the prefect.
Wan Fulin had extensive connections and a complex background. His death involved the interests of multiple parties.
Madam Wan, seeing that Magistrate Cheng was not executing Zheng Cui'er's family immediately as she wished, immediately sent people to pull strings after returning to the yamen.
Wan Fulin had just died, and his influence was still felt, so the case was taken over by the prefectural yamen that very day.
Simultaneously taken away were the three members of the Zheng family.
Magistrate Cheng was also quite helpless, "Originally, the Zheng family might not have died, but with the prefectural yamen's intervention, they have no other path but death."
Madam Cheng pouted, "That's their fate. Whether it was murder or coincidence, they are inseparable from this matter anyway."
Magistrate Cheng sighed, "Those are three lives. Such a haphazard judgment will lead to a miscarriage of justice."
Madam Cheng spread her hands, "What can be done about it? They can only blame themselves for their wicked intentions, harming others and themselves."
With the matter having reached this point, Magistrate Cheng could do nothing to change it. He could only sigh a few times and then put the case out of his mind.
Madam Cheng was not concerned about the fate of the Zheng family at all. She turned to discuss the matter of Sanlang finding a new school with Chen Yuezhi.
Chen Yuezhi was a bit worried, "After this incident, I'm afraid no school will be willing to accept him."
Although Tutor Zhong was immoral first, in the eyes of the world, hitting a tutor was wrong, regardless of the reason.
Even if a tutor had a thousand faults, a student must not talk back, let alone resort to violence.
The four characters "respecting the teacher and valuing the Tao" were not just for show.
Madam Cheng was also a little worried. Seeing Chen Yuezhi like this, she comforted her, "Don't worry, there will always be a tutor who understands righteousness."
If it weren't for the fact that Cheng Sinian's tutor did not accept students for enlightenment, she would have been willing to help connect them, allowing Cheng Sinian's teacher to take Sanlang in.
Jiang Wan looked at her worried parents and then at Sanlang, who was biting his lip, and had her own idea.
It's just finding a tutor!
The world bustles, all for profit!
Don't talk to her about how noble scholars are. Even saints would bend for five pecks of rice. As long as she offered enough money, she wasn't afraid of not being able to find a reliable tutor.
As for money, it was really not a difficult matter for her.
So Jiang Wan took on the task herself.
After returning home with her family, Jiang Wan ran into Sanlang's room and said to the somewhat dejected Sanlang, "Little brother, don't be sad. There will definitely be a discerning tutor waiting for you ahead."
Sanlang forced a smile, ruffled her soft hair, "I'm not sad. I believe there will be tutors willing to accept me."
Jiang Wan saw him trying his best to comfort her with no confidence at all, and her heart ached.
Damn Tutor Zhong! If it weren't for him, why would her little brother have to endure such grievances!
Knowing that nothing would be accomplished until the matter was resolved, Jiang Wan stopped talking and went out to dispatch a little subordinate, asking it to check the back mountain to see if the master and disciple had returned.
After receiving the news that they were home, Jiang Wan slipped out of the house and went to the back mountain.
Upon seeing Uncle Yan, Jiang Wan asked, "Uncle Yan, you've lived in this Yaoxian for a long time, haven't you? Do you know which tutor in the private schools here is the most reliable?"
Yan Li glanced at her, "Now you know to be anxious. When you were hitting people, why didn't you consider the consequences?"
Jiang Wan raised her eyebrows, "It seems Uncle Yan is quite well-informed."
Yan Li chuckled, "An incident of a student hitting a tutor is rare, perhaps not even one in decades. It's hard for me not to know."
Jiang Wan shook her head, "Then does Uncle think I hit him correctly?"
Yan Li tapped her forehead, "Although that Tutor Zhong deserved a beating, your method of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred is too impulsive and reckless. There are many ways to deal with incompetent teachers like Tutor Zhong who mislead students."
"But none of them are as satisfying!" Jiang Wan waved her little fist. "If I had to do it again, I wouldn't fight him in the private school. Instead, I would drag him into the street and beat him, letting everyone know that it was I who hit him, not my little brother!"