Part 1: A Dream Within A Dream / Rebirth of Ill Fated Concubine

Chapter 024 Witness

A sudden voice interrupted everyone's discussion. Censor Wang waved his hand: "Bring her in!"

The person who spoke was brought in by the yamen runners. She was also a girl dressed as a maid. She knelt down as soon as she came in, but she spoke very eloquently: "To answer your words, I know that Miss Jiang was wronged."

"What do you mean?" Censor Wang asked anxiously.

The girl raised her head, revealing a round face that was still childish. It was Luzhu, who had a little friendship with Lian Qiao. She scratched her head and said, "On the night that Chen Zhao said Sister Chun Ying died, I was carrying the washed clothes back from the yard outside and passed by Miss Jiang's yard. At that time, I heard a noise in the well. I was very scared at first, but later I thought it was a cat's cry, so I ignored it." 

Luzhu thought for a while and said, "I wanted to talk to Sister Lian Qiao at that time, but there was no one in the house. Miss Jiang was not in the yard, and it was even more impossible that she threw Sister Chun Ying into the well."

As soon as Luzhu finished speaking, another voice came from outside: "I can also testify for Miss Jiang. I met Chen Zhao outside that day. At that time, Chen Zhao was in a hurry and it was late. He looked very flustered. I didn't understand at first, but now I think he might have just killed someone and wanted to throw this basin of dirty water on Miss Jiang!"

This time, it was Xiao Yuan who spoke.

The situation seemed to be reversed, and all the evidence pointed to Chen Zhao. Chen Zhao did not expect that so many maids would come out to identify him at once, and his mind was in a mess for a while. He looked at Jiang Ruan in confusion, and he really couldn't think of when these maids were bribed by Jiang Ruan.

Chen Zhao was at a loss, but Zhang Lan outside was anxious and wanted to break through the blockade of the yamen runners and rush in. She kept cursing, and when her life was at stake, she didn't care about the identity of the master and the servant. A series of vulgar words were all about Jiang Ruan. 

People around looked at her sideways frequently, but they admired the young lady of the Jiang family who was not surprised by the favour or the disgrace.

Qian Wanli could see that Chen Zhao would not be able to get any benefits today, but Jiang Ruan didn't know whether she was lucky or had the help of a noble person, so she could survive in such a desperate situation. He looked at Wang Yushi: "Sir, look at this..."

Wang Yushi waved his hand and said: "Qiu Yan, you said you saw Chen Zhao kill someone with your own eyes, do you have any physical evidence?"

Chen Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. He did his job very properly that day and was absolutely sure that he would not leave any clues. Even if he asked someone to investigate, they would not find anything.

Qiu Yan nodded: "Yes!"

Chen Zhao was stunned, and Wang Yushi asked: "What is it?"

"To answer your words, I saw it with my own eyes. Chen Zhao grabbed Chun Ying's neck. Chun Ying must have fought desperately because Chun Ying scratched Chen Zhao's neck. You only need to see if there are any scratches on Chen Zhao's neck, and then see if there is blood in Chun Ying's nail shells, and you will know the truth."

Chen Zhao was shocked and subconsciously covered his neck. Censor Wang waved his hand without hesitation and ordered several yamen runners: "Go forward and check!"

Chen Zhao wanted to struggle, but his body was not as strong as the runners in the yamen, and he was subdued in a few moves. Li Mi went forward to check and reported to Censor Wang: "My lord, there are indeed scratches."

Censor Wang nodded: "Come, check if there is any blood on Chun Ying's nails."

Chen Zhao knew that the situation was hopeless, and his body softened and fell to the ground. Soon the inspector came back and confirmed the blood on Chun Ying's nails.

Wang Yushi shouted: "Bold Chen Zhao, you killed people to silence them, destroyed the body and covered up all traces, and even slandered others. You are crying thief, but now there are witnesses and evidence, and you cannot deny it. Do you plead guilty?"

Chen Zhao knelt down anxiously and kowtowed, saying: "Sir, please spare me, sir, please spare me. I was just confused for a moment, no, I just missed it. I didn't think of killing her on purpose. She threatened me, and I was so angry. I didn't mean it. Sir, please spare me..."

Zhang Lan, who was outside, saw this scene, and her eyes suddenly turned black and she fainted in the crowd.

Wang Yushi ordered people to take Chen Zhao away. The trial had reached this point, which was a climax. 

People on East Street had not seen such a wonderful case for a long time. The son of the housekeeper cried thief, killed someone himself and falsely accused the young lady. It was really a heinous crime.

They thought the matter was about to be settled, but an inappropriate voice sounded again. The yamen runner came to report: "Sir, someone is complaining again."

"Ah, complaining again?" Qian Wanli almost jumped up, and looked at Wang Yushi, feeling even more guilty. For some reason, people complained frequently today. In Wang Yushi's opinion, it was because of his lax governance that so many unjust cases came out. Thinking of this, Qian Wanli had to say seriously: "Bring her up!"

The one brought up was also a maid. The crowd couldn't help but talk about it. What day is today? Why are the maids complaining?

The maid was brought up, and Wang Yushi asked: "What grievances have you had?"

The maid kowtowed: "To answer your lord, I am complaining for my girl."

"Who is your girl?" Qian Wanli asked curiously.

"My girl is Miss Jiang," said the maid.

Jiang Ruan smiled at Lian Qiao, and Lian Qiao smiled back at her, her eyes reddened. She turned around and kowtowed to Wang Yushi again: "I dare to ask you, sir, as a servant, I treat my master harshly and even deliberately murder her. What should I do?"

Wang Yushi stiffened his neck: "The country has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. Although the affairs of servants are governed by the family rules, the law can be applied to one thing. The family rules follow the country. Murder is a serious crime and should be severely punished."

"Okay." Lian Qiao nodded: "Then, sir, I will appeal for my daughter and sue Zhang Lan and her son. My daughter has been in the manor for six years and has been subjected to harsh abuse. She lives worse than a servant. Zhang Lan's family bullies my daughter's kindness, seizes my daughter's property, and abuses her at every turn." 

"She is forced to go up the mountain to chop firewood in the coldest days of winter and go down to the river to wash clothes in the cold winter. She has simple meals and cold clothes and thin quilts. My daughter has been in the manor for six years and has never had a full meal or a good day." 
 
"She sews clothes and embroiders to make money. She lives with rats and ants. She has no medicine to cure her illness and withers like weeds..." 

Lian Qiao spoke every word, and the people around her were all sad and crying. There were many soft-hearted women in the crowd who had already cursed Zhang Lan's family for their viciousness and felt sorry for this little girl. Even Qian Wanli couldn't help sighing. 

The lives of ordinary children were still three points better than Jiang Ruan. Lian Qiao hadn't finished her words yet. She raised her head and said, "If you can ignore all these, I can only blame the injustice of heaven and earth. I have nothing to say." 

"But if you kill someone, you must pay with your life. Even if you fail to kill someone, you still have to pay the price. Chen Zhao pushed my girl into the water and attempted to murder her. Who knew that my girl was lucky enough to come out alive from the hands of the King of Hell. Please, sir, make a decision for my girl and punish those evil people with evil intentions!" 

(End of this chapter)

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