Hong Fanger's words were like a bombshell dropped in the court. After the explosion, the court fell silent.
Mingyu was shocked and angry, looking at Hong Fanger in disbelief. Hong Fanger turned her head away and didn't look at Mingyu. Lu Hao was also surprised, turned around and looked at Hong Fanger, frowning and saying nothing.
"Who is..." Jingzhao Yin was surprised and confused. According to his understanding, Lu Hao's trip should be to help the Xu family, and the people Lu Hao brought should also be on the side of the Xu family. Why did this girl ruin the Xu family's girl's plan as soon as she opened her mouth
Hong Fang'er gritted her teeth. She was determined to go all out today. No matter what, she was destined to be her cousin's aunt. If Xu Mingyu became her cousin's wife, she would be in trouble. Anyway, she had already spoken, and words spoken could not be taken away. She had already made a grudge with Xu Mingyu, so she might as well go all the way.
"I am Lord Lu's cousin." Hong Fang'er spoke, her voice trembling with excitement. "I testify that yesterday afternoon, I ran into Miss Xu outside the silver shop. We went to the teahouse and drank tea and talked for the whole afternoon. She... She is giving false testimony!"
The Jingzhao Yin sat there, somewhat undecided, not knowing how to judge the case.
Ming Yu swallowed the anger in his heart and said, "My Lord, Miss Hong and I have always had some disagreements. We even had an argument over some trivial matters a few days ago..."
"Who had an argument with you?" Hong Fang'er shouted anxiously, "It was obviously you who was faking it..." Before she could finish her words, Lu Hao stared at her. That look made her heart go cold, and she kept silent in fear.
The Zhao family members shouted, "Sir, the Xu family is clearly giving false testimony and confusing right and wrong. Sir, please see clearly!"
The crowd outside watching the excitement also started to talk. For a moment, Jingzhao Yin felt overwhelmed. He couldn't bang the gavel in his hand.
Bai Hao glanced at Sima Hong's expression and immediately shouted, "Why? Lord Lu is a high-ranking official, so what his sister said is true. But what Lord Xu's sister said is not true?"
"Sir!" Mingyu was anxious and knelt down in a fit of rage.
Sima Hong sneered on his face, and in his heart he wanted to go forward and pull Mingyu up. How could his wife endure such humiliation and kneel down to a small Jingzhao Yin
"This..." Jingzhao Yin was in a dilemma. He really didn't understand Lu Hao's attitude. He was afraid of offending Lord Anxi. He was even more afraid of offending Lord Lu.
At this moment, a girl yelled, "Wait!" and pushed through the crowd and rushed into the court. She ran too fast and her breath was a little unstable. After she stood still, her chest was still heaving. Two men in brocade robes followed behind her and tried to catch her, but failed.
Since everyone had rushed into the courtroom, the two men could no longer arrest anyone and could only stand aside.
Mingyu looked at the girl in surprise, "Lemei, why are you here?"
Fu Lemei glared at everyone in the courtroom, glared at Hong Fanger, and pulled up Mingyu who was still kneeling on the ground. She said to the stunned Jingzhao Yin: "Don't try him anymore. I testify that Lord Xu was with me yesterday afternoon! In the suburbs, not in the capital!"
Fu Lexin covered his forehead and sighed deeply.
Jingzhao Yin did not recognize this bold and aggressive girl, but he recognized the two men next to her, the eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Lexin, and the second son, Fu Leqian.
When Fu Lemei said this, everyone was surprised. Mingyu came to her senses, pulled Fu Lemei and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! How can you say such things casually? Do you still want your reputation?"
If the news of an unmarried woman secretly meeting a man were to spread, Fu Lemei's reputation would be ruined. Even though she was a rich lady, her life would be over.
Fu Lemei moved her lips and glanced at Mingyu. Her eyes were already red, but she did not look at Xu Mingye. She held Mingyu's hand and repeated what she had just said to Jingzhao Yin.
"You were alone with Lord Xu?" Jingzhao Yin found it unbelievable. Was this girl crazy to say such things in public
Fu Lemei held back her tears and nodded, "Yes, I asked Lord Xu to come out and talk to him alone."
Fu Lexin and Fu Leqian looked at each other and wanted to die.
Xu Mingye also looked at Fu Lemei silently, with a dark look in his eyes. The little girl raised her head stubbornly but did not look at him.
"Who is this girl..." asked Jingzhao Yin.
Fu Lemei raised her chin and said, "My father is Fu Guang, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, my second uncle is Fu Jian, the Grand Secretary of the Baohe Hall, and my eldest brother is Fu Lexin, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat." In terms of family background, can Hong Fanger beat her? After thinking for a while, she added, "I will not use my reputation as a false witness."
Jingzhao Yin didn't want to deal with such a headless case. He was just a small Jingzhao Yin, how could he afford to offend these people? The officials in the girl's family could crush him to death. When the girl from the Xu family proved that she was with Xu Mingye, he wanted to close the case, but who knew that Lord Lu's cousin jumped out again, she was really a troublemaker!
Now that Miss Fu had come out to testify, it was none of his business no matter what. Jingzhao Yin had a way out, so he quickly slammed the gavel, prepared to happily close the case, and went back to the backyard to hug his new concubine.
Hong Fanger was anxious. She had risked everything but Mingyu still didn't get anything done. She was unwilling to give up and shouted, "Aren't you a great judge? You don't care about the orphans and widows who are so pitiful? Even if Lord Xu was really with Miss Fu yesterday afternoon, and Xu Mingyu just gave false testimony and deceived the court, why didn't you punish her?"
Fu Lemei could no longer bear it, rushed to Hong Fang'er, raised her hand and slapped her without any hesitation, raised her chin and looked at Hong Fang'er with contempt, "Mingyu is just trying to protect my reputation, how can you, a dirty-minded villain like you, insult her at will?"
Hong Fang'er was slapped in the face in public. She felt so ashamed and angry that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Even the family of the troublemaker forgot to cry and shout, and just stared with wide eyes at the unexpected scenes.
“You…you…” Hong Fang’er covered her face, pointed at Fu Lemei, and was so angry that she couldn’t speak.
Fu Lemei was so angry that her teeth itched. She slapped away Hong Fanger's hand that was pointing in front of her and was about to raise her hand to slap her again. At this time, Lu Hao blocked in front of Hong Fanger and said in a deep voice: "Miss Fu, calm down. It was my sister who was ignorant today and caused you to suffer injustice. I apologize on her behalf and ask for your forgiveness. If you need me in the future, just let me know."
Fu Lemei was so angry that Lu Hao couldn't get rid of her anger with just a few words. What a joke, would the Fu family ever beg him? She thought of the court hearing today, when she saw Hong Fang'er stabbing Mingyu with a knife, and Brother Xu was about to be charged. She was so anxious that she rushed in, and her elder brother couldn't stop her.
For Xu Mingye, she even threw away the most important thing for a girl - her reputation and face. It was all because of this hateful Hong Fanger!
"Then you'd better keep a close eye on her." Fu Lemei's eyes widened, holding back tears, her face full of arrogance, "If I catch her again next time, beating her to death would be the least of my punishment!"
Lu Hao looked at the little girl who was stubbornly maintaining her self-esteem, sighed, and bowed to Fu Lemei as an apology. Then he told Hong Fanger to go back first. It was his cousin who went too far today. Not to mention the Xu family, the Fu family might also hate him. Lu Hao smiled bitterly in his heart. He thought everything was under control, but he forgot how strong a woman's jealousy was.
When things got to this point, not only the Jingzhao Yin, but also the people outside who were watching the fun were all satisfied with the show. What do you call this? A beautiful woman saving a talented man!
Jingzhao Yin struck while the iron was hot and closed this chaotic case. Someone proved that Xu Mingye was not in Mindonglou at the time. There was insufficient evidence of murder, so for the sake of the victim's family, he was not held responsible. Zhao Liyou swallowed gold and filed a separate case. The cause must be found out and justice must be done to the deceased.
The Xu family, who had been worried, finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, the victim's family was not so easy to deal with. For a moment, the women and children in mourning in the court began to cry again, and they were unwilling to leave the court and demanded that the Jingzhao Yin give them justice.
The Jingzhao Yin was so angry that he slammed the gavel and announced that anyone who dared to cause trouble again would be beaten with a hundred sticks. Only then did he suppress the voices of the troublemakers.
Just as Jingzhao Yin was about to announce the adjournment of the court, Qi Su helped Lord Qi into the court and said to Jingzhao Yin in a deep voice: "Wait a minute, Lord! Zhao Liyou's death has nothing to do with Lord Xu."
Jingzhao Yin immediately said, "That's right, I have already checked it out."
Qi Su shook his head, his face showing a seriousness that was inconsistent with his usual gentle image. "Zhao Liyou's suicide by swallowing gold is another case. It is also a case that I am investigating in accordance with the emperor's order. Now I can borrow your court to thoroughly investigate the case of Zhao Liyou's suicide by swallowing gold."
When this was said, not only Jingzhao Yin, but also Zhao Liyou's family members were stunned. Jingzhao Yin knew that Qi Su was the prosecutor of the Ministry of Justice, and the cases that could be handled by him were definitely not so simple cases of petty theft, quarrels, and murders.
Xu Mingye was anxious, "Qi Su!"
Qi Su waved his hand at Xu Mingye and smiled, as if relieved of a heavy burden. He said loudly in the hall: "Twelve years ago, Zhao Liyou followed an official as his personal attendant and was appointed to a post in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He knew a lot of evidence of corruption and bribed him to keep his mouth shut. He also had the life of a fourth-rank official sent by the court to investigate corruption in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Now that I have investigated the case against him, he is afraid and swallowed the golden gourd pendant on his waist."
After looking around the silent lobby, Qi Su continued, "I was the first one to enter the private room of Mindong Building. I waited for Zhao Liyou inside and took his confession. However, after I left, he was afraid of retaliation and committed suicide by swallowing gold. This matter has nothing to do with Lord Xu. He was implicated innocently."