"Bang!"
Magistrate Cheng heavily slammed down the gavel, then said in a solemn voice:
"Silence!"
Mother Zhang was startled. Intimidated by Magistrate Cheng's authority, her whole body shrank into a ball, and she knelt obediently.
"Continue," Magistrate Cheng said.
The yamen runner continued to state the entire process in a matter-of-fact manner. Finally, Magistrate Cheng summoned several other individuals from Lin Yuan Village into the court.
Looking at the tall, sturdy aunties kneeling in a neat row, Magistrate Cheng asked:
"Madam Zhang said that when you went to trouble Zhao Lele, you were also present..."
As soon as she spoke, Magistrate Cheng's tone shifted, her expression becoming threatening:
"You must understand, I don't care what you say outside the court, but if I find you lying in court, you will face even heavier punishment!"
These were just ordinary villagers. They were already apprehensive upon entering the yamen, and now they were utterly terrified. They kowtowed vigorously, saying:
"Your Honor, spare us! Your Honor, spare us!"
"Bang!"
The gavel sounded again, followed by a stern reprimand:
"Confess the truth!"
There was no other choice. The trembling individuals recounted the events of that day truthfully.
Meanwhile, Nian Jiaojiao, who was listening outside the yamen, was stunned, feeling the case had become even more convoluted.
It turned out that on that day, Madam Zhang and the others had indeed dragged Zhao Mazi to the riverbank. But for the sake of silver, they had pulled out the sock blocking Zhao Mazi's mouth, which gave Zhao Mazi a final chance.
Thus, to save his life, Zhao Mazi gave them all the money he had.
Having received the money, they naturally wouldn't do anything to Zhao Mazi. However, no matter how unpopular Zhang Jie was, he was still Madam Zhang's son. So, Madam Zhang only intended to punish Zhao Mazi.
The group used a thick rope to tie Zhao Mazi to a willow tree by the river. But as long as someone discovered him in the morning, they would surely untie him.
After speaking, they all kowtowed, begging for mercy.
"Your Honor, although we accepted money, we would never commit murder!"
"Yes, Your Honor, please help us!"
"Your Honor, we are wronged!"
"Wronged! Your Honor!"
"Bang, bang, bang!" The gavel sounded three times.
Magistrate Cheng again shouted loudly:
"Silence! Silence!"
The ones crying out in injustice quieted down again.
Magistrate Cheng was now somewhat troubled. She had been a magistrate for so long and had experience in judging cases. She could see that what the women were saying was indeed the truth.
However, the clues had ended here...
She rubbed her temples with a headache. Suddenly, her gaze swept over Nian Jiaojiao, who was watching the excitement from the yamen entrance. She beckoned to the person serving her.
The person bent down, and Magistrate Cheng whispered something in their ear. The person nodded and walked out.
When they reached Nian Jiaojiao, they whispered:
"Child Scholar Nian, the magistrate requests your presence."
Nian Jiaojiao followed the attendant into the hall and stopped not far from the magistrate.
"Your Honor, may I know why you summoned me?"
Magistrate Cheng nodded slightly:
"I saw you watching with great interest outside the hall just now. What are your thoughts?"
Before Nian Jiaojiao could speak, Madam Zhang looked up, saw Nian Jiaojiao's face, and recognized her.
"It's you!"
Hearing her exclamation, Magistrate Cheng asked:
"Oh? You know each other?"
Nian Jiaojiao nodded and said in a calm tone:
"We met at Zhang Jie's grave."
Magistrate Cheng did not question why Nian Jiaojiao was at Zhang Jie's grave. She merely continued to ask:
"Whatever thoughts you have, please speak them!"
In fact, Magistrate Cheng asked this simply because she couldn't resist the urge to test the other person. She didn't truly expect Nian Jiaojiao to uncover anything.
Nian Jiaojiao pondered for a moment and said:
"Actually, there are two points of doubt in this case."
Magistrate Cheng was surprised: "Oh?"
"The first is regarding Zhao Mazi himself. As everyone knows, Zhao Mazi was addicted to gambling and lust. Money never stayed with him. As Madam Zhang said just now, Zhao Mazi had over thirty taels of silver on him. How did he acquire this money?"
Hearing this, Magistrate Cheng's eyes lit up, as if she had found a direction.
Nian Jiaojiao continued:
"Secondly, if, as Madam Zhang claims, they only tied Zhao Mazi to the willow tree, and Zhao Mazi still died in the river, it means a third party, or rather, a third group of people, was involved."
Magistrate Cheng nodded as she listened.
But who were these third people?
Just as Magistrate Cheng was lost in thought, Nian Jiaojiao unexpectedly continued:
"Your Honor, I suspect Zhao Mazi's death is related to the silver he carried. Of course, this is just my speculation. You will need to verify the rest!"
Magistrate Cheng's eyes narrowed. After a while, she praised:
"Good!"
With that, she instructed the yamen runners below the hall:
"Go, follow the clues that Nian... um, Jiaojiao mentioned, and continue the investigation!"
"Yes!"
Four yamen runners received the order and immediately turned to carry out their tasks.
Nian Jiaojiao looked at the kind Magistrate Cheng, who was staring at her, and felt a sense of foreboding.
As expected, Magistrate Cheng first ordered the court to disperse and had Madam Zhang and the others taken to prison for safekeeping.
After all, they were involved in robbery, and it was still unclear how much Zhao Mazi's death was related to him being tied to the tree. Therefore, they could only be interrogated again after the case was solved.
Then, Magistrate Cheng smiled and said to Nian Jiaojiao:
"Jiaojiao, since you're here, come, go to the back with me for dinner!"
Nian Jiaojiao's head was full of black lines.
Had she meddled unnecessarily?
She wanted to politely refuse, so she said:
"Magistrate Cheng, I came out with my husband this time, so I won't trouble you."
Hearing this, Magistrate Cheng scanned the area outside the hall. Unable to find anyone who looked like Nian Jiaojiao's husband, she turned to Nian Jiaojiao and said:
"Jiaojiao, don't be polite. Haha, you and your husband can both come for a meal."
Since Magistrate Cheng had said so, Nian Jiaojiao couldn't refuse.
Thus, she nodded and called out to Xuan Yi.
Xuan Yi was still in shock.
If he heard correctly, did that person just call his wife "Child Scholar Head"?
So, his wife had really passed the Tong Sheng exam, and was even the Child Scholar Head?
Xuan Yi felt reality becoming somewhat surreal.
Nian Jiaojiao took Xuan Yi to Magistrate Cheng and introduced them:
"Your Honor, this is my second husband."
Magistrate Cheng frowned slightly as she looked at the somewhat dazed man.
How could such an ugly and dull man be worthy of their Shan Shui Town's Child Scholar Head?
Nian Jiaojiao, unaware of her thoughts, turned to introduce Magistrate Cheng to Xuan Yi:
"This is the magistrate of our Shan Shui Town. I'm sure you know, Magistrate Cheng has taken good care of me before."
After speaking, Nian Jiaojiao waited for Xuan Yi to pay his respects to Magistrate Cheng, but to her surprise, he remained frozen in place, as if petrified.
Nian Jiaojiao nudged Xuan Yi with her elbow and whispered in his ear:
"Xuan Yi?"