Chapter 179: The Final Verdict

Seeing there was more excitement to watch, everyone followed along with a *huala*.

"My Lord, I know the person in the portrait." The woman knelt down with her child and said, looking up.

Jiang Li and Du Ruo exchanged a look.

Gui Sao?

Gui Sao, like Rong Sao, was a jailer responsible for managing the women's prison. The super VIP cell that Du Mingzhu had lived in before was managed by Gui Sao.

The Magistrate naturally knew Gui Sao as well. Hearing this, his eyes lit up, "Oh? Who is it?"

Gui Sao hesitated for a moment, but finally said it, "She is a servant of the Du family. Lady Du and Miss Mingzhu call her Nanny Kang."

When Du Mingzhu was in prison, Nanny Kang had come two or three times.

The reason she had an impression of Nanny Kang was that the Jiang mother and daughter treated Nanny Kang very differently—much more politely and intimately than they did other servants. If the address hadn't been wrong, Gui Sao would have once thought Nanny Kang was Jiang Shi's mother and Du Mingzhu's biological grandmother.

Du Ruo couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She had guessed that the mastermind behind the scenes had something to do with the Du Fu. With the Lin family's strength, it was impossible for them to bribe Bao Pi.

Aside from Jiang Shi, there was no one else who had a grudge against her and had the power to do this.

Jiang Li bowed toward the hall, "My Lord, since we already know who is playing tricks behind the scenes, we must not be lenient."

The Magistrate was also very angry. This Du family was truly rotten to the core; why was there no end to it?

First it was Liu Jinu, then Du Mingzhu, and now a Nanny Kang had popped up. And every time, the one they wanted to harm was Lady Du. It was as if they wouldn't stop until they killed her.

This was going too far.

"Men, go to the Du Fu and bring Nanny Kang here for questioning," the Magistrate said with a dark face.

"Yes, this subordinate will go right now!" Wang Bujiu responded loudly, led a bailiff, and ran toward Qingshi Lane.

They came aggressively, and the servants of the Du Fu didn't dare to stop them. Soon, Nanny Kang was brought back under arrest.

Jiang Shi came along as well.

Jiang Shi's extremely ordinary face was pulled tight at this moment, and her tone was aggressive, "Lord Li, what is the meaning of this?"

The Magistrate slapped the gavel, "Jiang Shi, this is a courtroom. Why do you not kneel when you see this official?"

Jiang Shi was furious, "You!"

According to the laws of Da Zhao, unless one held an official title, had a rank higher than the Magistrate, or was a royal relative, everyone else had to kneel when seeing an official.

This was etiquette and also the rules.

Jiang Shi took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, then slowly knelt beside Nanny Kang, squeezing the words out through her teeth, "Greetings, My Lord."

Nanny Kang tilted her head to look at her and smiled bitterly, "It is all because I implicated the Young Miss..."

"Nanny, don't say that. No one can frame you for things you haven't done." As Jiang Shi said this, she gave the Magistrate on the hall a warning look.

The Magistrate acted as if he hadn't seen it.

He didn't want to make things difficult for Jiang Shi; after all, she was from the Beian Marquis Mansion, and it wasn't worth offending them.

But this case not only concerned Jiang Li, but also involved a living human life, and all the people of the county were watching. He had to take a stand.

"Lü Xiue, Bao Pi, look carefully—is the person who bribed you the one before you?" the Magistrate asked.

Lin Pozi didn't want to speak, but unfortunately, her mouth wouldn't listen.

"It's her, it's her! She came to the prison to see me and said she would help me get out if I framed Du Shi."

Bao Pi nodded like a garlic-pounding pestle, "Yes, yes, yes, it's definitely her! My Lord, you can look at the scar on the back of her hand. This time, the little one is absolutely not lying!"

"What 'it's her'? Nanny Kang has been bedridden these days and hasn't left the house at all. You two lowly people are making false accusations against others; be careful of trouble coming from your mouths." Jiang Shi squinted at the two, her words carrying a hidden threat.

Bao Pi didn't dare to look her in the eye and slumped his shoulders like a quail.

Lin Pozi also remained silent.

Du Ruo smiled and suddenly interjected, "Lü Xiue, do you think Lady Du is right?"

"Right my ass! What kind of thing is she? My man is a village head, no matter what; how am I a lowly person? If we're comparing who is low, who can be lower than her? Don't think I haven't heard—relying on her family's power, she forcibly snatched someone else's husband, and on top of that, she divorced the original wife, and then tried every possible way to kill the daughter born to that original wife."

"Pah! What 'Marquis Mansion young lady'? How much better is she than a country village woman like me? They're all goods that covet other people's men; stop pretending to be so high and mighty."

"Saying I'm framing you? If you hadn't sent yourselves to my door, would I be able to bite you? I even find your meat sour!"

Lin Pozi said this while shedding tears of fear.

It's over. She had offended an official's wife. What if she retaliated against Shuang'er in the future?

Help! Who on earth was messing with her!

The onlookers exploded, discussing it one after another, pointing at the few people inside.

Those who knew started to popularize those old stories to everyone, speaking with such excitement that spit was flying everywhere.

Jiang Shi was so angry she felt like she was ascending to heaven, and she said loudly, "My Lord, this lowly woman is so rampant in the courtroom, insulting this lady—will you not slap her mouth?"

The Magistrate slapped the gavel.

"Enough! This is not a vegetable market, and it is certainly not a place for you to quarrel. Since the case has come to light, my verdict is as follows."

The whole place went silent.

"Bao Pi gave false testimony to frame others; sentenced to the punishment of tongue-cutting, and fined two taels of silver, to be paid to the Second Branch of the Jiang Family!"

"Lü Xiue poisoned and attempted to murder Jiang, causing serious injury and endangering his life; sentenced to be beheaded in the vegetable market in two days!"

"Nanny Kang had malicious intentions and obstructed justice, nearly causing a miscarriage of justice; sentenced to thirty lashes to serve as a warning to others!"

As the words fell, Lin Pozi slumped straight to the ground and fainted.

Immediately, bailiffs stepped forward to drag her to prison, waiting for the execution in two days.

"Mother! Mother!" Lin Qingshuang cried and rushed forward, but unfortunately, she was blocked by the bailiffs with their staves and couldn't get close at all.

Lin You Tian also had tears streaming down his face, but he was powerless.

He could only watch helplessly as his wife, with whom he had shared life for many years, was dragged away by those people without mercy, like dragging a dead dog.

Bao Pi was scared out of his wits, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing incessantly, howling as he kowtowed, "My Lord, spare me! The little one will never dare again, spare the little one..."

Sparing him was impossible. People with dishonest mouths would eventually suffer the backlash.

Soon, bailiffs came over and dragged Bao Pi to the torture room. With a scream, Bao Pi's tongue was pulled out by the root.

He would never be able to speak again in this life.

Next, it was Nanny Kang's turn.

Everyone looked at the old woman kneeling in the field.

Nanny Kang was still relatively calm; the one who was truly not calm was Jiang Shi, "My Lord, Nanny Kang is old and has always been in poor health. How can she survive thirty lashes? This will cost her her life!"

The Magistrate's gaze was heavy, "Lady Du, you should know that this is already the lightest punishment."

He had already given enough face to the Beian Marquis Mansion.

If he were to truly investigate further, Jiang Shi, the master, might not be able to escape the consequences, and even the entire Du Fu would be implicated.

Did she really think he didn't know? If it weren't for the master's instruction, how could Nanny Kang, a mere servant, have the courage and financial resources to bribe Bao Pi?

Jiang Shi wanted to say more, but the Magistrate had already given the order, "Execute!"

The bailiffs immediately dragged Nanny Kang to the torture room and laid her face down on a wooden board.

One of the bailiffs raised a bamboo stick and was about to do it when Wang Bujiu leaned over, patted his shoulder, and smiled, "I'm familiar with this thing; let me do it. You just count on the side." ===== CHAPTER 180 =====