"We cannot force a confession, and Doctor Leng has done nothing wrong. But you are different. If you don't want anyone to know, you shouldn't have done it," Ouyang Chen said meaningfully, looking at her.
Upon hearing this, Li Lianhua screamed, "How could it be my sister-in-law?"
Her brother also nodded repeatedly, somewhat uncontrollably saying, "My wife and I have a very good relationship. She couldn't possibly do such a thing. Besides, what would she gain from it?"
Ouyang Chen ignored them and waved his hand. Immediately, two yamen runners stepped forward, grabbed her, and forced her onto the stool. Although the Li family members wanted to stop them, they dared not move at the sight of the ferocious yamen runners.
When the plank truly fell upon her, the woman's face was covered in cold sweat from the pain. She cried out and defended herself, "How can I admit to something I didn't do? I don't accept this; you are forcing a confession through torture."
"If you don't accept it, just hold it in. Doctor Leng's medicine is to be a tribute, and there can be no mistakes. We must uncover the truth of the matter. It's better to kill a hundred by mistake than to let one go. If you don't speak properly today, this family of yours will not be able to leave the yamen," Ouyang Chen's gaze swept over each of them, making their hearts tighten.
When the woman heard this, she knew things were bad. Looking at his demeanor, she realized it didn't matter if she confessed or not; her fate was grim. She silently told herself to endure, just endure.
But what she didn't expect was that after twenty planks, other torture devices were immediately brought out. When her ten fingers were clamped in the press, she was in unbearable pain.
The thought that if this continued, her ten fingers would be ruined, and even if she were released from prison one day, she would be crippled. Moreover, the money left behind would surely benefit the Li family. If her husband used this money to live a life of leisure and remarry, the thought alone made her heart ache.
After so long, she hadn't heard them plead for her. The more she thought about it, the more restless the woman became. In fact, her body had reached its limit. Gritting her teeth, she said with some reluctance, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you."
As soon as she spoke, the torture instruments were removed, and the woman curled up on the ground in pain.
"Hurry up and confess. We don't have time to play games with you here," Ouyang Chen said sternly.
The woman's body shrunk, and she said weakly, "My cousin gave me one hundred taels of silver and the medicine. I did everything according to her instructions. The main purpose was to frame Doctor Leng. I don't know what grudge she has against Doctor Leng. Please, sir, be lenient."
Originally, Li Lianhua and her brother were angry that the officials were forcing a confession. But now, hearing these words from her sister-in-law's mouth, they stared at her with wide eyes, their eyes gradually turning red. They never expected the truth to be like this.
Soon, the cousin she mentioned was summoned. Upon seeing the official, she trembled and knelt down. Hearing that her cousin had already confessed to her, she quickly denied it, as there was no evidence.
The woman heard this and thought that if her cousin didn't admit it, all the blame would fall on her. She looked at her cousin with hatred, "Cousin, you can't harm me. You know, I was living a good life, and it was you who brainwashed me every day, telling me that if I just made a move, the hundred taels of silver would be mine. You also said that my father-in-law spent money on medical treatment every day. You guaranteed me that it would absolutely not be discovered, which is why I took this risk."
"Cousin, don't slander me. When did I ever do such a thing? You can't drag me down with you. Everything requires evidence. You can't convict me with just your words," the woman called cousin quickly distanced herself. Although she didn't understand why things hadn't gone as smoothly as the Zhou family had said, how could she admit to such a thing?
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Chen didn't play by the rules. Seeing them push the responsibility back and forth, he knew the case would drag on indefinitely. He immediately ordered them to be flogged until she confessed. Fearing for her life, and thinking that she wasn't the main culprit and wouldn't be sentenced to death, she quickly confessed. It turned out that a maidservant from the Zhou family had personally found her and set up the scheme.
Upon hearing this, Wu Caiwei knew the case would soon be over. Just as she had expected, when the maidservant was summoned to the yamen, she knew the game was up and confessed without being pressured, "I bought the medicine, and I was the one who instructed them to do it. We agreed then to have them do it discreetly and gave them three hundred taels of silver. Who knew they were so incompetent and were discovered so quickly. Su Dan Novel Network."
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman looked at her cousin in disbelief, "Didn't you say it was one hundred taels each? Why is he saying three hundred taels? Are you still my cousin? I feel like you're always trying to trick me!"
The woman called cousin shrugged helplessly and ignored her, regretting her decision to seek her cousin's help in the first place. Wasn't the most important thing now how to shift the blame?
"Where did you, a mere maidservant, get three hundred taels of silver? Hurry up and confess. Besides, you don't even know Doctor Leng. Why would you do such a thing?" The county magistrate, seeing a glance from the imperial guard, quickly interrogated her.
The woman answered without hesitation, "The madam's warehouse is under my care, and there are many things. If I secretly stole a little, it would be enough for me to enjoy for the rest of my life. As for why I targeted her, it's of course because of Young Master Xu! She is Young Master Xu's original wife. Every time I think about it, I feel unhappy. Of course, I'm not getting along with her."
Although they all knew that the mastermind behind the scenes was Madam Zhou, they were powerless. No matter how they interrogated the woman, she would not yield. Even under torture, beaten within an inch of her life, she refused to speak.
Wu Caiwei had no regrets about this. After all, she knew that Madam Zhou wouldn't be easily defeated. Otherwise, after being so rampant in the city for so many years and committing so many outrages, why hadn't she ever been brought down?
In the end, the maidservant was executed by beheading, and the other two accomplices were sentenced to ten years in prison. The Li family, who had come with such anger, were now dejected. They had never imagined that the truth would be like this. Even if she were released from prison in the future, they would never treat her the same way they did before without any reservations.
When her maidservant was summoned to the court, Madam Zhou's heart skipped a beat. She had originally set up this scheme thinking that, regardless of what happened, with the county magistrate in charge and Young Master Zhang absent, no one would support her. As long as the case was settled, she would have this person beheaded at the market before Young Master Zhang returned, thereby eliminating her completely.