When the old lady heard that the little girl didn't admit it, she said, "Why don't you admit it? It was you who gave us the money and told me to teach Fang Xiaoxi's family a lesson. Who made Fang Xiaoxi offend your young lady?"
"I still remember it. It was five days ago. Yes, it was five days ago. You went to our village in person. There are many people in our village. Someone must have seen you. Don't try to deny it."
Five days ago? Wasn't that the day they were punished to kneel? It seemed that Shi Feixian was furious after returning home, and then tried to embarrass Fang Xiaoxi.
Maybe she found out that Fang Xiaoxi's family was not on good terms with her grandmother's family, so she came up with this idea. Bai Yuan looked at the maid's rebuttal and smiled, "Interesting, don't worry, old lady. Since you said that, then tell me who saw it? You can find someone to serve as a witness."
Shi Chenglin's face looked a little ugly: "Master Bai, it's not good for you to be so biased. What if this old woman is really making up stories?"
Bai Yuan was a little amused: "Is this just making up a story? We'll know once we find the witness. Why is Lord Shi so anxious? But I think Lord Shi should be anxious about something else, not this little thing!"
Shi Chenglin was stunned for a moment. Is there anything else? How come there are so many things he doesn't know? He frowned and looked at Bai Yuan: "Please, Lord Bai, remind me more."
Bai Yuan didn't want to offend Shi Chenglin completely, and seeing that Mu Yexiao didn't say anything to stop him, he directly warned him: "You asked the prefect not to report the merits of County Magistrate Mu. Deceiving the emperor is not a small matter."
Shi Chenglin was completely confused at this moment, and looked at Bai Yuan: "No, what happened during the Master's period? I don't know anything about it, are you kidding me?"
Bai Yuan rolled his eyes: "Why am I talking to you about this? Just because you didn't do it doesn't mean your family didn't do it."
Shi Chenglin was in a hurry to go back now. Compared with this incident, luring a peasant woman to complain was indeed a small matter.
He bowed to Bai Yuan and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Lord Bai. I will take good care of it when I get back."
Bai Yuan just laughed. This matter could not be concealed at all. When Shi Chenglin returned to the capital, he would naturally be able to find out the truth. He would also do something good by the way.
Moreover, Bai Yuan had already told him about bigger things, so it was difficult for him to refute such a small matter. He could only agree to go to the village to find witnesses.
Not to mention, Fangjia Village actually found several witnesses. They were all the people who saw Shi Feixian's maid go to the old lady that day. With witnesses, the maid could only quibble about what she said.
She knelt down directly and said, "My lord, it is my fault. I hate Fang Xiaoxi. She almost broke my hand that day. It is my fault. It has nothing to do with the young lady."
She was brought back from the capital by Madam Shi, and she was from Madam Shi's family. Her entire family was in Madam Shi's hands. What's more, it was agreed long ago that she would come out to confess her guilt.
If she doesn't agree, her family will be miserable. For the sake of her family, she can only grit her teeth and accept it.
Shi Chenglin also understood at this time. He glanced at the maid and then at Bai Yuan: "Sir, since it was someone from my house who did it and she admitted it herself, I will take her back and deal with her. As for the victim, we can make compensation here."
If she is brought back, she will probably not be punished but praised. Fang Xiaoxi glanced at Shi Chenglin. Doesn't this man intend to give up this maid
The maid gritted her teeth and looked at Shi Chenglin: "My lord, I wanted to cause trouble for Fang Xiaoxi, but I didn't threaten the old lady. She was willing to do it. I just provided a little help. I didn't force her."
Everyone believed this. For an old lady like this, if someone offered help, she would definitely follow them happily. Why would she need coercion or inducement
"Master Shi, this maid has made a mistake and needs a good beating. It's impossible for you to take her back. How about this maid! Although there was no coercion, she was indeed bribed. She made a mistake. Thirty lashes of the cane and exile are not too much, right?"
Originally, such a maid had made a mistake, but it would never be so serious. After thirty lashes of the cane, she was exiled. This was going to cost the maid her life.
But who was the one who offended Qian Jiujiu's apprentice? He will be a man of great achievements in the future, so it doesn't seem too much for him to curry favor with him in advance.
Shi Chenglin was a little angry. What did Bai Yuan mean by this? He actually sentenced him so severely. Seeing his serious expression, he said nothing more: "Okay, then there is nothing for me to do here, I can leave now."
Bai Yuan nodded: "Master Shi, take care."
Watching Shi Chenglin and his family leave, Bai Yuan turned his attention to the old lady: "Old lady, how do you think I should punish you for falsely accusing others?"
The old lady was also terrified at this time. Thirty lashes and exile, how scary it was. Not to mention exile, even thirty lashes would mean her death.
"Please have mercy, sir. It was my fault. I will never do it again."
Fang Dalang looked at Fang Dashan and played the emotional card: "Dashan, mother raised you, do you really want to force mother to death?"
Bai Yuan was worried about Fang Dashan. He didn't seem very smart. He looked at Fang Dashan and said, "How about this? I will make the decision. Your two families will sever their relationship. You don't even need to pay tribute to your parents anymore. You won't interfere with each other. As for the false accusation, I see that you can't bear a few strokes. How about letting your eldest son take thirty strokes for you to fulfill his filial piety?"
When Fang Dalang heard that he was going to be beaten, he was terrified. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Sir, please spare my life."
Bai Yuan snorted, "What are you talking about? Thirty strokes of the cane won't kill anyone. Fang Dashan, are you satisfied with this sentence?"
Fang Dashan certainly knew that this gentleman did all this for the sake of County Magistrate Mu's face, otherwise, he would not care about him! He nodded quickly: "Thank you, sir."
Bai Yuan nodded: "In that case, Master, you can sort out this contract of breaking off the engagement. Also, since the engagement has been broken off, remember to return the jade pendant to the other person."
Fang Dashan then remembered that he was a child picked up by the old woman, and that the jade pendant was the key to his regaining his identity. However, he felt that he was living a good life now, and did not plan to look for an identity for the time being.
The old lady was so frightened that she nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, okay, I will go back and find the jade pendant and give it to him."
Now no one even wanted to mention Fang Dashan's name. Bai Yuan waved his hand and asked the bailiff to take Fang Dalang out and beat him with a stick.
Fang Dalang's family is a celebrity in Fangjia Village, but they are not well-known in the town. However, after the beating today, they are probably famous.
After the thirty strokes of the cane, the exhausted men could finally go home. The first thing they did when they got home was to find the jade pendant.
"I'll give you the jade pendant. From now on, just treat it as if I never raised you as my son."
Fang Xiaoxi watched her father take the jade pendant and took a look at it. It looked like this jade pendant was not something that ordinary people could own.
After the old woman left, Fang Xiaoxi spoke up: "Dad, are you going to look for your relatives? If they can give you such a good jade pendant to carry with you, they will definitely not abandon you."
Fang Dashan smiled and said, "Let's talk about this later. Who knows what exactly happened? Anyway, we are living a good life now, so let's just go with the flow. I'll put the jade pendant away for now."
When Fang's mother heard what Fang's father said, she was instantly relieved. She was still a little worried. What if Fang's father came from a big family? Wouldn't he have many wives and concubines around him in the future? What would she do then
Fortunately, fortunately he didn't plan to look for his family. Fang Dashan seemed to know what Fang's mother was thinking, and looked back at Fang's mother: "I'll give you the jade pendant for safekeeping. Aren't all the valuables in our family kept by you?"
Fang's mother was stunned for a moment, then looked at Fang's father with tears in her eyes: "Okay, I will definitely keep it well for you."
After this family came back and something like this happened, the villagers would definitely come to inquire about it. Although Fang Dashan is not a child of the Fang family, after so many years, he had no choice but to settle down here before finding his relatives.
The children of the Fang family all have promising futures, and the village chief really doesn't want to let them leave. In this way, everything seems to have remained unchanged, the only thing that has changed is that some of the ambitions of the eldest wife have been interrupted.
Shi Chenglin also returned home and looked at his wife, brother and others: "Shouldn't you tell me what happened?"
Several people were silent, but Shi Chenglin just looked at them. Shi Chengyu couldn't hold it anymore and looked at his eldest brother: "Brother, the matter of asking someone to sue Fang Dashan is..."
Just as she was about to say that it was her own daughter who did it, Madam Shi Er immediately jumped out and said, "I asked her to go. That maid hated Fang Xiaoxi to begin with, so I asked her to go, and she went. That Beibei from County Magistrate Mu's family has always bullied my Feixian. She even ignored a peasant girl from the village. I was so angry that I just made trouble for her."
"I have implicated my eldest brother's servants this time, so please punish me. Feixian knows nothing, and it is because I, as a mother, am incompetent and cannot protect my own daughter."
Seeing Second Madam Shi crying miserably, First Madam Shi didn't know what to say for a moment. What's more, she had bigger problems to deal with, which were still to come!
Shi Chenglin was a man, and seeing his sister-in-law crying so miserably, he didn't care: "It's just a slave, it's fine if she died. But who did it to let the prefect take away the credit of County Magistrate Mu?"
After asking the question, he looked towards his wife.