Chen Bochong was a top scholar and spent three years in the Hanlin Academy. Later, he worked in the Dali Temple, where he usually dealt with various criminal cases.
This time, Chen Tingjian still let his eldest son preside over the case.
Considering that the case involved the woman's unspeakable secrets, Sun, Huayang, Chen Jingzong and others did not follow and chose to wait for news in the front yard. Chen Jizong's wife Guo had already been unable to bear the damage to her reputation and ran back to the east yard crying. Sun hurriedly sent her eldest daughter-in-law Yu Xiu to comfort her, so that Guo would not do something stupid.
Ancestral hall.
Chen Tingjian let his eldest son sit in the main seat, and he and his younger brother Chen Tingshi sat beside him.
The Zhao couple and Chen Jizong were all kneeling on the ground.
Zhao's words were filled with tears. Ever since she was insulted by Chen Jizong, she had been suffering from nightmares every night. Later, her husband broke his leg, and the couple's life became even worse. They no longer had the love and sweetness they once had.
They were afraid of the Chen family's power and were ready to give in, but luckily God had eyes and Lord Chen came back!
Yesterday, when Zhao went to buy groceries, she heard someone say that Lord Chen was secretly investigating whether Qi had done anything else wrong, and was going to take this opportunity to purge her all at once. The resentment that Zhao had suppressed for a year suddenly rekindled. After discussing with her husband, she would rather ruin her own reputation and endure the neighbors' gossip than not come to the Chen family to seek justice!
Chen Jizong refuted every word she said and refused to admit it.
Because the incident happened last year, the so-called scratches and bite marks on the body cannot be used as evidence.
When Chen Bozong asked Zhao if he had any other evidence, a hint of pride flashed across Chen Jizong's eyes. For something like this, how could there be any traces left unless someone caught it in the act
Zhao cried and took out a bundle, inside of which were two broken jade pendants: "This was the first time he came to my house, and he dropped it when I resisted!"
Chen Jizong sneered: "I lost this jade pendant a long time ago, and it turned out that you found it. You are so greedy."
Zhao: "You have a gray birthmark the size of a copper coin on your lower back!"
Chen Jizong: "When I was a child, I often bathed in the river. Your husband saw me and now he is using it to slander me."
Zhao was so angry that she was shaking all over!
Chen Tingshi looked at his son, then at Zhao, his hands on his knees shaking. He didn't want to believe that his son had done something so beastly and heinous, but Zhao's tears and anger didn't seem fake.
Just when Chen Jizong insisted that Zhao was slandering him, Zhao looked at her husband, suddenly lowered her head, tears silently rolled down her cheeks, and her voice was sad and desperate: "Lord, there was a servant named Liu Sheng beside Chen Jizong. When he bullied me by the stream for the first time, Liu Sheng was his accomplice."
Her husband suddenly raised his head and rushed towards Chen Jizong with bloodshot eyes!
Chen Jizong was about to fight back when Chen Tingjian slammed the table!
Chen Jizong was startled and was punched in the face by Zhao's husband. At this time, Chen Bozong rushed over, pulled Zhao's husband aside, and said to the outside: "Quickly bring Liu Sheng here!"
Hearing this, Chen Jizong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Zhao with contempt. What a joke! Liu Sheng had been with him for seven or eight years, how could he betray him? If he really testified and confirmed his crime of rape, Liu Sheng, the accomplice, would not have an easy life.
A quarter of an hour later, Liu Sheng was brought in. He knelt behind Chen Jizong and tried to argue at first. But when Chen Bozong asked him sternly what he had done at noon on the ninth day of the sixth lunar month last year and his two answers did not match, Liu Sheng finally broke down and kowtowed to Chen Jizong's beastly behavior.
Chen Jizong still wanted to deny it, but Liu Sheng mentioned a servant who had also followed Chen Jizong to the Zhao couple's home and was responsible for reporting the news from outside.
Together, the two servants gave a clear account of how Chen Jizong had bullied Zhao several times.
"Uncle, don't listen to them, they are all wronging me!"
Chen Jizong was no match for three mouths, so he crawled to Chen Tingjian on his knees and shouted his injustice until his throat was about to break.
Chen Tingjian just looked at him expressionlessly: "According to the law, anyone who rapes a woman should be hanged. If you feel wronged, go and tell the prefect."
"Come here, escort him to the prefectural government office!"
Chen Tingshi slumped in his chair.
When Chen Jizong saw that the people outside were actually going to come and tie him up, he was so frightened and angry that he shook off the two servants and ran out for his life.
In the front hall, Sun was handing Huayang the letter Chen Tingshi had sent them. She said helplessly, "The capital is 2,500 miles away from Lingzhou. Apart from sending people to the ancestral home to deliver gifts during festivals, we really have no way of knowing what happened here. Even so, if what Zhao said is true, then your father and I cannot shirk the guilt of negligence. We are really ashamed of the people in the town and the emperor."
Huayang: "Mother, you don't have to blame yourself. According to historical records, many wise ministers and generals were implicated because of their relatives' crimes. Because people have limited energy, it is difficult to control some relatives who are right in front of them, let alone those who are thousands of miles away. As long as we can investigate and deal with it in time and impartially, and prevent the people from being wronged and the evil relatives from running rampant, the good reputation of father and the Chen family will not be damaged."
Chen Xiaozong showed admiration and was glad that the princess was sensible and did not look down on them because of the East Courtyard's affairs.
Chen Jingzong looked at Huayang's moist and delicate lips, but he was thinking that this man's lips were as sweet as honey when he coaxed the two elders, but he was always picky about him.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside.
Chen Jingzong was the first to rush out of the hall. Seeing Chen Jizong's figure escaping like a beast out of a cage, he guessed that the case had come to a conclusion. He sneered and chased after him.
Not long after, under Sun's worried gaze, Chen Jingzong twisted Chen Jizong's arm and took him back.
Chen Jizong's hair was disheveled, and the left half of his face had obvious marks of having been rubbed on the ground.
Chen Bochong brought the Zhao couple over, and he would personally accompany them to the prefectural government office.
Ancestral hall.
Chen Tingshi knelt in front of his brother, holding onto his brother's clothes with both hands, crying more miserably than ever before: "Brother, although Qi is hateful, Jizong is my son, the flesh and blood of our Chen family. How can you watch him die!"
Chen Tingjian looked at the yard with a cold gaze: "There is no family affection before the law. What's more, the blood flowing in his bones may not be the blood of the Chen family."
Chen Tingshi paused in crying and looked up in disbelief.
Chen Tingjian pulled out his clothes and sat in the main seat. He was angry and didn't want to say anything.
But Chen Tingshi still looked at him with tears in his eyes, looking stupid and foolish.
Chen Tingjian paused, and said to the tear marks on his clothes: "When Qi was in trouble, I asked Bozong to interrogate all the servants in the East Court. As you know, Bozong works in the Dali Temple. It is difficult for those vicious people outside to hide anything in front of him, not to mention these servants at home. Two of them looked wrong. After Bozong's careful interrogation, they confessed that Qi and Manager Yang had a private affair and often spent time together alone under the pretext of settling accounts."
Qi and Manager Yang are cousins, and they are also the mistress of the house and the accountant. It seems nothing for them to be alone together for a while, but if they do it too often, there will always be one or two times when clues are revealed, making people guess that they are doing something improper.
Of course, there is no need to tell my brother this.
Chen Tingshi opened his mouth in shock. At first he didn't believe that Qi dared to do that, but then he recalled some scenes. Qi gave Manager Yang more smiles than she gave him.
But, he had slept with Qi so many times, so was Ji Zong really not his son
When his eyes rolled, Chen Tingjian knew what he was thinking, and his face darkened a little: "Based on appearance alone, Ji Zong looks like Qi Shi, it's hard to tell them apart, but look at Hu Ge'er, with a pointed nose and fat earlobes, he looks almost exactly like Manager Yang!"
Chen Tingshi's eyes were filled with tears, but he said, "Manager Yang is Qi's cousin and Hu Ge'er's uncle. Is it normal for them to be similar?"
After all, he couldn't accept that his wife had been cheating on him for more than 20 years, and he couldn't accept that his children and grandchildren were not his!
Chen Tingjian: "No matter how much we argue about this matter, we can't come to a conclusion. Don't worry, I have already told Bo Zong to ask the prefect to lock up Ji Zong and Yang Guanshi together, and he will observe secretly. If Ji Zong is Yang Guanshi's son, Yang Guanshi will definitely know about it, and he will definitely be anxious about his son's imprisonment. If Ji Zong is your child, Yang Guanshi hates you and me, and will only gloat over Ji Zong's imprisonment."
This is indeed a good idea. Chen Tingshi could not deny it, and holding on to the last glimmer of hope, he asked: "If it is proven that Ji Zong is my son, can you rescue him?"
Chen Tingjian lowered his eyes: "The death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped."
In fact, the death penalty is inevitable, but I just say this first so that my brother won’t feel too sad for the time being.
Not to mention his fake nephew or his real nephew, even if his sons dared to rape women, he would send them to jail personally!
.
Lingzhou City, the prefectural government office.
When Magistrate Li heard that the eldest son of Lord Chen had arrived, he came out to greet him enthusiastically.
Chen Bochong didn't beat around the bush with him. With such a thing happening in his family, he wasn't in the mood to do that. He just explained the whole story and asked Magistrate Li to re-examine the case impartially and give justice to the Zhao couple.
Magistrate Li's mind turned several turns. Did the Chen family really want to sacrifice their own relatives for the sake of justice, or were they just pretending
Chen Bozong glanced at him and said, "According to the law, what Zhao said matches the testimony of Liu Sheng and the other two, which is sufficient for a verdict. If you feel that the evidence is insufficient, I will find other witnesses to assist you."
Magistrate Li immediately understood that the Chen family really wanted to kill another relative!
He hurriedly said, "That's enough. The eldest son works at the Dali Temple and is a god at solving cases. We have heard that he is a god at solving cases. Since the eldest son said so, it must be true."
Chen Bozong didn't like his flattering attitude, but there was no need to ruin the relationship, so he suggested that Chen Jizong and Manager Yang be locked up together.
That night, Chen Bochong came to the prefectural prison.
He hid in the dark, observing Manager Yang and Chen Jizong in the cell.
Chen Jizong was locked up at noon. He had already scolded Chen Tingjian's family with Manager Yang. As a wicked man, he naturally did not think that forcing a common woman was a big mistake. Instead, he believed that Chen Tingjian looked down on these useless relatives and would rather send them to death cruelly than keep them to embarrass him.
Manager Yang did not dare to underestimate Chen Tingjian. He guessed that Chen Tingjian had already discovered that he had an affair with Qi.
Plus, Tiger's kid actually inherited some of his facial features...
He and Qi were guilty of a capital crime, and his son's rape was also a capital crime. Since they were both going to die, it would be better for the father and son to recognize each other before they died.
Manager Yang hugged his son and whispered something.
Chen Jizong was stunned. After a while, he suddenly grabbed Manager Yang by the collar and punched him!
He hated it. If he was a real descendant of the Chen family, how could Chen Tingjian be so cruel as to take his life
Manager Yang did not resist, but endured his son's anger with a loving and distressed look.
Chen Bozong left quietly just as he had come.
The next morning, Chen Bochong rode out of the city on horseback and arrived at the Chen residence half an hour later.
Chen Tingjian called his younger brother to listen to the eldest son's report together.
In order to make his uncle give up completely, Chen Bochong depicted the scene of Yang Guanshi and Chen Jizon recognizing each other as "hugging and crying".
Chen Tingshi lowered his head deeply, and his exposed profile was as white as paper.
Chen Tingjian motioned his eldest son to leave. He held his younger brother's shoulder and said, "Guo did nothing wrong. It was our Chen family who wronged her. If she is willing, I will write a letter of divorce and send her home with generous gifts. As for Ji Zong, he violated the ancestral teachings and the law, and is no longer worthy of being a descendant of the Chen family. You write a letter of severance of favor and righteousness to expel him from the family. This way, you can sever his relationship with the family and cover up what Qi did, without damaging your reputation."
Chen Tingshi had not thought that far, but his elder brother had considered everything for him.
The care from his brother made Chen Tingshi feel alive again. Tears welled up again and he knelt down in pain.
Chen Tingjian: …
He looked out the door irritably.
Chen Tingshi cried enough and sobbed, "I will listen to my elder brother. Whether that bastard lives or dies has nothing to do with me. Guo is still young, so it's fine for her to go home and remarry. What about Tiger? I don't want to raise him, but I can't just abandon him. He doesn't know anything."
Chen Tingjian: "The Yang family lives in the city. I will send someone to quietly send Hu Ge'er there. They will naturally understand and tell others that Ji Zong's sins are too great. You send Hu Ge'er to the temple to practice, chant sutras every day to reduce his father's sins, and report his death in two years."
Chen Tingshi nodded repeatedly, thinking that his elder brother was so smart and was born to be an official.
He left with red eyes. Chen Tingjian sat down on the chair tiredly, pinching his forehead with one hand.
Sun came out from the side room and silently poured him a bowl of tea.
Chen Tingjian let out a long sigh.
Sun didn't feel sorry at all, and said in a sarcastic tone: "Now you realize how good our fourth child is. He doesn't commit crimes, and he doesn't need you to help him clean his butt even though he's already grown up."
Chen Tingjian: …
(End of this chapter)