"Have I wronged you?! Today is my birthday, but you only gave me rotten vegetable leaves and rotten carrot soup, while you yourself were eating delicious food in your room. Tell me, are you disobedient and unfilial?!"
The old woman questioned her daughter-in-law He Wang with tears in her eyes. After she finished speaking, she slapped the ground again and begged Zhu Ping'an with tears in her eyes, "Master Magistrate, I haven't had sex for several months. Please, Master Magistrate, make a decision for me and let my son divorce this disobedient and unfilial daughter-in-law, and bring peace to my family."
The old lady said that she had not eaten meat for several months, and the onlookers felt very sorry for her.
"Mother-in-law, wuwuwu..." He Wang looked at the old woman in disbelief, tears streaming down her face.
"Ms. He Wang, did you hear clearly what your mother-in-law said about your disobedience and unfilial behavior? Tell me the truth immediately."
Zhu Ping'an asked He Wangshi in the lobby.
"Wuwuwu..." He Wangshi turned a deaf ear and just lowered her head and cried, refusing to say anything.
"Ms. Wang? Did you hear clearly what I said?" Zhu Ping'an asked again.
If He Wangshi had not just talked to her mother-in-law, Zhu Ping'an would have thought that He Wangshi was a mute.
No matter how Zhu Ping'an asked, He Wangshi in the hall just lowered her head and cried, not saying anything affirmatively.
"Look at her head, it's almost down to her crotch. Does she know she has no face?! If she had known this, why did she do it in the first place?"
"I am too embarrassed to speak..."
"You better be careful in the future. Don't marry a daughter-in-law like this, or you will suffer when you are old."
The onlookers sneered at He Wangshi and spat at her in low voices.
Zhu Ping'an rubbed his forehead in the lobby. He Wangshi said nothing. How can this case be tried
When trying a case, one cannot make a judgment based solely on the plaintiff's statement.
Evidence, testimony... none of them can be missing; otherwise, false and wrongful convictions will be hard to avoid.
Zhu Pingan carefully observed the defendant in the court again, raised his eyebrows slightly, and then smiled, and gently said to the old woman in the court, "Auntie, as the parent official of Jingnan, I have the responsibility to educate the people in the territory. I also have a certain responsibility for your daughter-in-law's disobedience and unfilial behavior. Today is your birthday, but you only ate rotten vegetable leaves and carrot soup, which is really shabby. How about this, Auntie, I will hold a birthday party for you in this court?"
"Ah? How can I do that? Master Magistrate, you are so busy with all kinds of things. How can I trouble you with such a small matter like mine? You just need to order my son to divorce this disobedient and unfilial daughter-in-law..."
The old woman declined.
"No, it's not a big deal. We'll just serve two bowls of longevity noodles. One bowl for you, and one bowl for your daughter-in-law. You can eat the noodles together in this court. First, we'll celebrate your birthday. Second, we're a family after all. Let's see if eating a bowl of longevity noodles together can resolve your conflict and make you two reconcile. Of course, if you still can't reconcile after eating, that's fine. After you finish eating, I'll continue to try the case and make a judgment according to the law."
Zhu Pingan said gently.
"I dare not trouble the magistrate, I dare not trouble the magistrate..." the old woman declined.
"It's not a problem. There is a noodle shop near the government office. They serve delicious food. After you have eaten the longevity noodles, I will continue to try the case." Zhu Ping'an said gently.
"Big knife."
Zhu Ping'an called Liu Dadao over, whispered a few instructions to him, and then patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, sir. I'll go to the noodle shop and bring back two bowls of longevity noodles." Liu Dadao nodded vigorously and left.
After a while, Liu Dadao came back with a steaming food box, which smelled of noodles.
Zhu Ping'an had a table set up in the hall, with two chairs placed facing each other, and asked the old woman and He Wangshi to sit facing each other. He placed two bowls of steaming longevity noodles in front of them and invited them to sit.
The old woman and Mrs. He Wang took their seats and looked at each other.
"You're welcome. Please enjoy your meal." Zhu Ping'an looked at the two of them with a smile and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation.
The old woman and He Wangshi looked up and saw Zhu Pingan looking at them with a smile and gesturing for them to come in.
"Thank you, sir."
The magistrate was so hospitable that the two men had no choice but to thank him, pick up their bowls, pick up their chopsticks, and start eating the longevity noodles.
While the old woman and He Wangshi were eating noodles, the people watching outside the court looked at each other in amazement.
"What's going on? Why is the county magistrate inviting people to eat noodles while the case is being tried?"
"Is this our county magistrate? Why do I feel like he's a different person?! Our county magistrate's judgments are divine, and he solves cases as if with divine help. Even in the case of the monk and nun last time, our county magistrate also tried it clearly and thoroughly, with reason and evidence. How come in the case of this daughter-in-law being unfilial to her mother-in-law, he invited people to eat noodles?! No matter how I look at it, it feels a bit absurd. This daughter-in-law is disobedient and unfilial to her mother-in-law. Can they reconcile if we treat them to a meal of longevity noodles?! Can she change for the better?! Even if she says she has changed for the better, we can't believe her."
"What do you know? Our county magistrate is kind-hearted. He is just sympathizing with the old lady and feels sorry for her..."
The onlookers began to discuss in low voices.
Amid the discussions among the crowd, Mrs. He Wang quickly finished her longevity noodles, but the old woman only ate half.
"Auntie, don't worry about the money for the noodles. I've already paid for it. You just eat." Zhu Ping'an looked at the old woman and said gently.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Magistrate." The old woman continued eating under Zhu Ping'an's gaze.
As she was eating, the old lady felt uncomfortable in her stomach and a strong urge to vomit came up in her throat.
Then, the old lady couldn't control herself and vomited on the spot.
He Wangshi, who was standing next to her, also felt uncomfortable in her stomach. A strong urge to vomit rose up her throat, and she vomited as well.
“Eat… vomit?!”
"This noodle is not clean. Both of them vomited. Which noodle shop made this noodle? Arrest the owner of the noodle shop..."
The onlookers outside the court were stunned.
"Go and see what the two of them vomited?" Zhu Ping'an seemed to have expected this and was not surprised at the vomiting of the two. He calmly ordered the yamen runners on his left and right to check the vomit of the old woman and He Wangshi.
When the onlookers outside the hall heard Zhu Ping'an's order, they were stunned for a moment. Some of them reacted quickly as if they had been enlightened. Their eyes suddenly widened, and regardless of their nausea, they stared straight at the old woman and He Wang's vomit.
"Your Excellency, the plaintiff old woman vomited fish, meat, eggs, and noodles, and Mrs. He Wang vomited vegetable leaves, radish strips, and noodles..." The bailiff covered his nose and checked the vomit of the two people, and reported back.
"Ah?! Really? What the old lady vomited was fish, meat, and eggs, and what He Wangshi vomited was vegetable leaves and radish strips... What's going on? Didn't the old lady say that today was her birthday, and He Wangshi only gave her rotten vegetable leaves stewed with rotten radish soup? Didn't He Wangshi eat a lot of fish and meat?!"
"This... If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed it. The old lady actually lied?!"
"So this is why the county magistrate invited them to eat noodles?!"
"The county magistrate is really good at judging cases!"
The onlookers outside the hall suddenly realized what had happened. They bowed down to Zhu Ping'an in their hearts and looked at the old woman in disbelief.
The truth of the case was now revealed.
The truth is quite the opposite of what people think.