Li Shenshi couldn't bear the pain, so he gathered all his strength, turned over suddenly, and pushed Yang Qiaoer who was riding on him down. Then he struggled to get up, reached out his hand and carefully touched his injured ear, put it in front of his eyes and saw - there was blood!
Li Shenshi was immediately furious and said with a grin, "Beat this ungrateful little girl! Beat her to death!"
The bailiffs around him heard the order and shouted as they were about to rush forward and commit the crime.
At this critical moment, someone outside the door suddenly shouted, "Stop it!"
The group of yamen runners were used to bullying others, so they immediately responded, "We are just doing our job! Don't meddle in other people's business!"
The voice said, "What government errands? Weren't you all fired by me during the day?"
Li Shenshi and his yamen runners were shocked when they heard this, and they dared not commit any more crimes. They all left the house. As expected, they saw Qiu Yizi, guarded by a dozen personal soldiers, appear in the alley in front of the Yang family's cottage.
But Qiu Yizi said with a smile on his face: "Master Li, I was patrolling the streets late at night and passed by here. Why are you here? What can I do for you? Oh, Master Li seems to be injured!"
Li Shenshi rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, it turns out that Lord Qiu is here. This... These yamen runners were expelled by the Lord today and lost their jobs. They are inevitably depressed. I think they have been with me for a long time and have a lot of friendship with me, so I will pay for them to eat and drink to comfort them. These people are all rough people, and it is inevitable that they will make noise and disturb the people after drinking. I will let them go home to sleep and sober up. Please forgive me, Lord Qiu!"
After Li Shenshi finished speaking, he felt that the lie he had told was very perfect, and he felt very proud of himself. Even the pain in his ears seemed to have eased a little.
But how could he know that Qiu Yizi had arranged Zhao Chengxiao to guard beside Yang Qiaoer's cottage, waiting for Li Shenshi to come and cause trouble, and only come out to stop him after leaving solid evidence.
Qiu Yizhi sneered and said, "Master Li, you and I are both sensible people, why do you have to pretend to be so righteous? Does this girl Yang Qiaoer's family run a restaurant? You clearly want to kill her to silence her!"
Li Shenshi was exposed by Qiu Yizhi, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was racking his brains to think of how to shirk responsibility, but a drop of sweat happened to flow to the wound on his ear, bringing a pain that went straight to his brain, which made him unable to bear it and fainted immediately.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi sneered again and said to the group of yamen runners, "Master Li has fainted, why don't you carry him to the lobby of the county government office?"
Although Li Shenshi's behavior was improper, he usually spoke and acted in a refined and elegant manner. These yamen runners had never seen him look so embarrassed before, and they all looked at each other in confusion.
Qiu Yizi saw this and said coldly: "What? You can't even lift a person? Do you need my personal soldiers to teach you?"
The yamen runners had experienced the methods used by Qiu Yizhi's men, and they were so scared that they rushed forward, some lifting the legs, some holding the arms, and carried Li Shenshi, who was as unconscious as a corpse, to the county government office.
Qiu Yizi sent two or three people including "Iron Head Jiao" to monitor and escort the group of yamen runners to the county government hall to await trial, while he himself brought Zhao Chengxiao into the house to visit them.
Yang Qiaoer had already heard the noise outside the house. When she saw Qiu Yizi coming in, she hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted, "Sir, you really are the great Lord of Heaven! Since you saved Qiaoer's life today, I beg you to rescue my sister as well!" After that, she burst into tears.
Qiu Yizhi heard that she was still thinking about her sister at this moment. This sisterhood was really moving, so he personally helped her up and said, "I came here for this matter. Now I have to go to the government office to re-examine the case. Let me ask you one question: Do you dare to expose Li Shenshi in person?"
"Dare! Of course I dare! Why not!" Yang Qiaoer said this in a decisive tone.
"Okay!" Qiu Yizi praised, "Then follow me to the county government office, and I will also conduct a night trial!"
Yang Qiaoer agreed and tidied her clothes, but said timidly to Qiu Yizi: "Sir, this is a piece of Li Shenshi's ear that I just bit off. I wonder what I should do with it?" After that, she stretched out her palm and placed it in front of Qiu Yizi's eyes.
Qiu Yizi saw a piece of bloody human flesh the size of a broad bean in her petite palm. She immediately said with disgust, "This piece of stinky meat can be considered as evidence. Brother Zhao, please help me wrap it up."
Zhao Chengxiao was stunned and looked around. He found half a piece of straw paper from some corner, then took half an ear from Yang Qiaoer, wrapped it up randomly, and then held it in his hand with just two fingers.
The lights were already bright in the Shanyin County government office. Qiu Yizhi had dismissed all the yamen runners who were supposed to stand in front of the hall, and replaced them with his own soldiers. These men were strong and fierce, but they were dressed in neat imperial military uniforms, which made them look even more awe-inspiring and inviolable.
No one knew who had leaked the news that the new county magistrate was going to hold a court session overnight to investigate this long-standing unsolved case in Shanyin County. All the people in the county who heard the news were surprised and curious. They immediately got out of bed, hurriedly put on their clothes, shoes and hats, and gathered in the county government office to listen to the trial.
Qiu Yizhi was a little excited when he saw this scene, so he stood up from his seat and walked slowly to the plaque "A Bright Mirror Hanging High". He bowed to the crowd and said, "I am Qiu Yizhi, a Jinshi who was selected by the emperor as the county magistrate. You are all Shanyin people and my parents. Although I am stubborn and stupid, I dare not deceive my parents. Please listen quietly and don't make noise. Okay?"
The crowd said in unison: "Good!" The yamen runner who had been kneeling in front of the hall was so frightened that he shuddered all over, and even Li Shenshi, who had fainted, was awakened by the fright.
Qiu Yizhi waited for the hall to regain its composure before saying loudly, "Bring Yang Ying'er to the hall!"
The hall had already been prepared. As soon as Qiu Yizhi finished speaking, a female prisoner was brought to the hall. She immediately knelt on the ground, mumbling weakly: "Master, please make a decision for me! Please make a decision for me!"
Yang Qiaoer, who was standing nearby, heard her sister's voice and could not help herself. She immediately went forward and hugged Yang Yinger. The two sisters had a very good relationship on weekdays. After not seeing each other for several months, they unexpectedly met in the county government hall and could not help but hug each other and burst into tears.
After letting them vent for a while, Qiu Yizhi said, "Yang Qiaoer, I know that you two sisters have a deep bond, but redressing your grievances is the most important thing. Please stand aside and don't waste time."
Yang Qiaoer knew that Qiu Yizi had good intentions, so she whispered a few words to Yang Yinger, then stood up and stood aside, still sobbing and wiping her tears.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi continued, "Who is kneeling in the hall? Look up and speak to me."
Hearing this, Yang Ying'er slowly raised her head and said, "I am Yang Ying'er, I am innocent, please help me, sir!"
Yang Ying'er was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and looked quite similar to her younger sister Qiao'er, but she lacked her younger sister's heroic spirit, and instead had more charm.
Qiu Yizi was a man who had already begun to fall in love. Seeing her beauty, he could not help but feel distracted, but he calmed down a little and said, "Since the identity has been verified, I will try the case. Yang Ying'er, you just said that you had a grievance, what is the reason? Tell me in detail!"
Yang Ying'er was not as bold and calm as her sister Qiao'er, so she spoke incoherently, and when she talked about her sorrows, she began to sob. She talked for more than half an hour before the people in the hall could hear the general idea.
Qiu Yizi was a clear-minded person. He had read the petition before and naturally knew the whole story:
It turned out that Yang Ying'er had already married a scholar in Shanyin County named Bi Xiuwen. The couple had always had a good relationship and were well-known far and wide. But unexpectedly, starting from the third day of the twelfth lunar month last year, Bi Xiuwen suddenly did not return home for several consecutive nights. Yang Ying'er was anxious and looked for her everywhere and reported to the authorities, but there was no trace of her. It was not until the late night of the twelfth lunar month that Bi Xiuwen returned home, but she was already terminally ill and looked like a skeleton. She died in just an hour.
Yang Ying'er felt that there must be something fishy going on, so she reported it to the police again.
Shanyin County was a place of education, and there had not been a major case for a long time. The deceased was a dignified scholar, so the county magistrate Li Shenshi took it very seriously and specially invited a coroner from Yuezhou to examine the body. However, the result of the examination was that Bi Xiuwen died of blood and energy depletion!
Yang Ying'er knew her husband's character, so how could she accept such an outcome? She started to complain about her grievances. Who would have thought that after she made such a fuss, she would become a suspect, charged with murdering her husband, and locked up in death row, waiting for the emperor to approve her decision and then execute her!
Yang Ying'er was heard crying, "I and my husband have always been respectful to each other, and we have never quarreled or argued. The villagers can all testify to this. How could she kill my husband for no reason?"
Qiu Yizi already knew that Yang Ying'er was wrongly accused, but she didn't know how her husband Bi Xiuwen died, and was thinking about it with her head down.
Li Shenshi, who had regained consciousness, answered without being asked, "This is the judge's decision. Bi Xiuwen has always had a good reputation, and the people in Shanyin County are simple and honest, and there are no brothels. It must be that Yang Ying'er indulged in promiscuity day and night, which killed her husband. There is nothing wrong with this official convicting her of murdering her husband!"
Although Li Shenshi's words were unbelievable, they were not completely impossible, which made Qiu Yi speechless for a moment.
Yang Ying'er cried, "My father is also a scholar, and he taught me to be a good wife since I was young. Last year, I heard that the emperor had defeated the rebellion and would hold an imperial examination. The whole family hoped that my husband would pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the family. We hadn't had time for him to prepare for his studies, so why would he have such thoughts?"
When Qiu Yizi heard this, he was moved: he had known the test questions in advance from his adoptive father, the current emperor, Zheng Rong, and had two examiners to look after him, but he was still busy reviewing; he, Bi Xiuwen, was a powerless and insignificant juren, so naturally he had no time to be distracted.
So, Qiu Yizhi said to Yang Ying'er, "So, if your husband hadn't suffered this misfortune, he might have been my age! I've also passed the imperial examination, and I know the heavy workload, so I must have..." At this point, he suddenly thought of Princess Yiran, who had taken the test with him, and was distracted for a moment. He quickly calmed down and continued, "What you said is reasonable."
Li Shenshi, who was lying on his knees, heard that Qiu Yizi had been persuaded by Yang Ying'er. He was at a loss and said hurriedly, "Sir, don't be deceived by her evil words. From the look of her, you can tell that she is a lewd talent. On the surface, she is gentle and respectful, but who knows what she has done in private!"
Yang Ying'er's pretty face flushed red when she heard this. She turned her head and glared at Li Shenshi, saying, "Master Li, do you still have any conscience? Do you dare to talk about what obscene things I have done here?" (To be continued)