Chapter 57: Interrogation

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Interrogation

At the entrance of the county yamen, many commoners saw that the Magistrate was going to hold a trial today, so they gathered at the entrance to watch the excitement.

It wasn’t even the end of the first lunar month yet; who was already courting death?

This was the scene that greeted Mr. Xiao when he arrived on the ox cart with Village Chief Gu Chang’an, Gu Dalin, and Ms. Wu.

Mr. Xiao stopped the ox cart, alighted, and went to tether the ox.

Meanwhile, Gu Chang’an and Ms. Wu hurriedly helped Gu Dalin toward the public court.

“Please make way, please make way!”

Seeing two people supporting a man who had difficulty walking trying to enter the courtroom, the crowd parted to let them through.

“Dashuang, Xiaoshuang.”

Entering the courtroom, Ms. Wu let go of Gu Dalin and rushed towards her two kneeling sons.

“Dad, Mom, Second Grandfather, why are you all here?” The two brothers turned their heads and saw their parents and Second Grandfather.

“Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, my children, BOO HOO… It’s good that you’re alright.” Oblivious to her surroundings, Ms. Wu hugged her two sons, crying as she checked them over for injuries.

“Mom, don’t cry. This is a public court,” Xiaoshuang said softly, looking at Ms. Wu’s haggard appearance.

“Oh, oh, Mom knows.”

Ms. Wu took out her handkerchief, wiped her tears, then stood up and, carefully supporting Gu Dalin, knelt.

Gu Chang’an also knelt and kowtowed to Magistrate Xu, saying, “This commoner, Village Chief Gu Chang’an of Qinghe Village, pays his respects to the Magistrate.”

Gu Dalin said, “This commoner, Gu Dalin, pays his respects to the Magistrate.”

Ms. Wu, sobbing, said, “This common woman, Gu Wu-shi, pays her respects to the Magistrate.”

Magistrate Xu, seated above, was accustomed to such scenes in the courtroom. He said to them, “Mm, all of you wait for a moment.”

Then, his gaze fixed on Mr. Xiao, who was still outside the entrance.

This man looks so familiar,

he thought.

I’ll ask my older brother about him later.

Mr. Xiao, who was outside, had originally intended to follow them in. However, when he saw the person presiding over the court, he quietly withdrew the leg he was about to step forward with and instead stood at the entrance with the other commoners.

Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, Captain Han led a group of people into the courtroom.

“MIGHTY!” the yamen runners shouted again as they saw the prisoners arrive, striking their staves on the ground.

The few people who entered shivered.

“Kneel!” Captain Han roared sharply.

THUD, THUD…

Gu Dahe, Gu Qingming, Gu Qingyan, and Chen Erlang’s legs went weak, and they immediately dropped to their knees.

Only Master Qi remained standing. He bowed to Magistrate Xu and said, “Qi Hongyuan pays his respects to the Magistrate.”

Magistrate Xu nodded at him. Seeing that Master Qi looked as if he was about to collapse, Magistrate Xu said, “Bring Master Qi a seat.”

Immediately, a yamen runner brought a stool. Master Qi wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and sat down, trembling.

He was furious.

What on earth possessed Gu Dahe,

he fumed inwardly,

to risk his reputation so late in life?

“Who is below? State your names,” Magistrate Xu ordered, slapping his gavel.

“This… this commoner is Gu Qingyan.”

“This commoner is Gu Qingming.”

“This commoner is Chen Zihao.”

“This… this commoner… is Gu… Gu Dahe.” When Gu Dahe saw his two nephews, he genuinely broke out in a cold sweat.

“You are Gu Dahe?”

Gu Dahe’s heart pounded wildly. He replied, “Yes, yes, this commoner is Gu Dahe.”

“Do you know what crime you have committed?”

“This… this commoner does not know.” Gu Dahe wiped the sweat from his brow.

“You don’t know? Take a good look at the man on the ground,” Magistrate Xu said, pointing to the black-robed man.

The black-robed man glared resentfully at Gu Dahe.

If he hadn’t come to us and made us abduct those two children, how could we have messed up so badly?

Looking at the black-robed man, Gu Dahe saw it wasn’t the Second Shopkeeper he had dealt with directly. Gritting his teeth, he decided to deny everything. “Your Lordship, this commoner does not know him,” he said.

Magistrate Xu sneered.

This good-for-nothing probably thinks he can get away with it just by denying everything, doesn’t he?

“You don’t recognize him?” he said. “It’s enough that he knows you.”

Magistrate Xu looked at the black-robed man. “Speak,” he said. “Member of the Blue Clouds Gang, how did you and Gu Dahe connect and conspire to buy and sell Gu Qingyun and Gu Qingyang?”

Captain Han immediately went over, pulled the black-robed man up to a kneeling position, and ordered, “The Magistrate is questioning you. Answer honestly.”

The black-robed man licked his dry lips and said, “Your Lordship, if I confess everything clearly, can I receive a lighter sentence?”

Magistrate Xu said, “If you confess clearly, there may be a sliver of hope.”

If you don’t tell the truth clearly, you won’t have a shred of a chance. It all depends on whether you’ll talk, kid,

Magistrate Xu thought.

Kid, I’ve given you your chance, anyway.

Gu Qingli and Xiao Yunjing listened, inwardly delighted.

This Magistrate is so devious!

they thought.

Gu Dahe is in for major trouble this time, even without us lifting a finger.

Gu Qingming, his brother, and Chen Erlang stared at the black-robed man, desperately urging him in their hearts,

Spill it! The clearer you are, the less likely we are to be implicated! We also want to know what on earth Gu Dahe did to drag us into this mess!

Especially Chen Erlang; when he saw Gu Qingli in the courtroom, he was so agitated he nearly rushed over to her.

Master Qi, beside them, also pricked up his ears to listen.

Only Gu Dahe stared daggers at the black-robed man.

I wish a knife would fly out of nowhere and finish him!

he seethed.

If the witness is gone, what damn crime can they convict me of?

“Hurry up and speak! If you tell the truth, the Magistrate will give you a lighter sentence!” one of the onlookers outside, unable to bear the suspense, shouted at the black-robed man.

“That’s right! Our Magistrate is a good official; he won’t wrong an innocent person!”

…

The uninformed commoners were very agitated, chattering excitedly.

“Silence!” Magistrate Xu slapped his gavel, and the crowd of onlookers outside finally quieted down.

The black-robed man bit his lip. He and the Second Shopkeeper had spent years on the road; he wasn’t just skilled in martial arts, he was also intelligent and smooth.

Hearing what Magistrate Xu said, along with the comments from the crowd, a desperate urge to survive surged within him.

If I don’t talk, I might not leave here alive today. If I do, at least I can save my own skin first. That’s what matters.

The black-robed man straightened up. “Your Lordship, I will speak,” he declared. “It was this Gu Dahe who approached us. He said he knew of two ’prime goods’—his second elder brother’s children. He even took us to see them first, and we agreed. Then, he had someone lure the two children to us. We bought them for fifty taels of silver each, a total of one hundred taels. We even drew up a contract on the spot; the goods were exchanged for silver, and the transaction was complete.”

The moment the black-robed man finished speaking, Ms. Wu, like a woman possessed, lunged at Gu Dahe. She grabbed his hair and began to pummel him fiercely. “You heartless, ungrateful fiend!” she shrieked. “We took care of you for so many years, and you sold my children! You’re worse than an animal! Worse than an animal!”

Ms. Wu struck him repeatedly, crying and cursing, stunning everyone in the courtroom.

“Mom!” The two boys reacted and quickly moved to pull Ms. Wu away.

The yamen runners, also stunned by Ms. Wu’s ferocity, recovered and helped to restrain her.

Gu Dahe was even more stupefied. He stood there like an idiot, not even resisting. Ms. Wu, who usually wouldn’t dare to say boo to a goose, was actually thrashing him!

He… How could he bear such humiliation?

“Don’t pull me away! Let me die with this animal! Why does such a vile-hearted person exist in this world? Heavens, my children, why do you have such an uncle…” Ms. Wu flailed her arms and kicked, her words a torrent of grief and rage that made listeners’ hearts ache and brought tears to their eyes.

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