The witness was brought to the court soon. Zhang Dean took a glance and was stunned. His face changed drastically. He didn't care that he was in the court and shouted, "Ade, why are you here?"
The person who came was Zhao De, a servant of the Zhang family.
Zhao De was very different from his usual self when he saw Zhang Dean. He was not afraid of him as usual, and he even disdained to look at Zhang Dean. He strode forward, knelt down, and said to Chen Lun in the hall: "Zhao De, the humble man, greets the prefect."
"It's him, it's this voice." Zhao De had just spoken when the old woman standing nearby suddenly became excited. She trembled and held Bai Suzhen's hands tightly with both hands, and said anxiously: "Miss Bai, I recognize this voice. It's the man who gave the poisoned buns to me and Lian'er. It's him who harmed us, the grandparents and grandchildren... Miss Bai, you must take charge of us, the grandparents and grandchildren..."
"Old man, please be patient. The prefect is here, and he will naturally do justice for you two." Bai Suzhen shook the old woman's hand and said gently, glancing at Zhao De from the corner of her eyes and nodding slightly. It turned out that Zhao De had been possessed by Bai Fu, so that he could use him to tell Zhang Dean's evil deeds and make him unable to quibble.
After Bai Suzhen comforted her, the old woman's emotions slowly calmed down. She pleaded with Chen Lun in the hall: "Sir, you must uphold justice for me and Lian'er, and bring the evildoer who poisoned us to justice."
Chen Lun said, "Old man, please rest assured. I, Chen Lun, will handle the case impartially. Anyone who commits evil will be punished by law." He looked at Zhao De in the hall and asked, "Your name is Zhao De? What is your relationship with Zhang Dean?"
Zhao De replied, "In reply to your Excellency, I am Zhao De, a servant of the Zhang family. Zhang De'an is my master."
Chen Lun nodded and asked, "Just now the old woman said that you had poisoned her and her granddaughter with the poisoned buns. Do you plead guilty?"
Zhao De kowtowed and said, "Sir, I plead guilty, but I was forced into this. Everything was my master's will. I was just following his orders. Please understand."
Chen Lun nodded and said, "Don't worry, this government will make its own judgment. If you are really just instigated by others, this government will appropriately consider reducing your punishment."
Zhao De said gratefully: "Thank you, sir."
"Hmm." Chen Lun glanced at Zhang Dean who was standing beside him, and saw that Zhang Dean's face was pale, his forehead was covered with sweat, and his eyes were flashing with panic. Chen Lun shook his head secretly, snorted slightly in his heart, and looked back at Zhao De and said, "Zhao De, I want to ask you again, why did your master ask you to poison the old lady and her grandson? Is there any grudge between him and the old lady and her grandson? And what kind of poison did he put in the buns? Tell me one by one."
"Yes, sir." Zhao De glanced at Zhang Dean with a look of contempt on his face, but he heard him say, "Your Excellency, my master has no grudge against the old lady and her grandson. He poisoned the old lady and her grandson in the buns, and ordered me to carry the poisoned old lady and her grandson to the gate of Baoan Hall in order to put the blame on Baoan Hall—"
"Sir, please do not listen to the slander of this slave Zhao De—" Zhang De'an was very anxious and shouted. He glared at Zhao De and cursed: "Ade, you eat my food and wear my clothes, and now you are accusing me in front of the prefect. Tell me, who instigated you and what is your purpose?"
"How dare you!" Chen Lun slammed the gavel and shouted in a deep voice, "Zhang Dean, how can you be so presumptuous in the court?"
Zhang Dean was so frightened that he trembled and stammered, "Sir, I..."
Chen Lun raised his hand and warned in a serious tone: "Zhang Dean, you are not allowed to speak until I ask you a question. If you do it again, I will first charge you with contempt of court and punish you with caning. Don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Zhao De, please continue."
"Yes, sir." Zhao De nodded, and continued what he had just said, "Your Excellency, I have heard from my master that the buns were filled with the highly toxic Crane's Beak Red, which is so toxic that there is no medicine to cure it. If Bao'an Hall cannot save the old lady and her grandson, he can take the opportunity to sue Bao'an Hall for misdiagnosis and wrongfully killing people. Then Bao'an Hall will definitely close down, and our Ci Xin Hall will have one less competitor. I had to follow his instructions to make a living, but I have always felt guilty. Fortunately, God blesses me, and the old lady and her grandson have escaped the disaster. After repeated consideration, I finally mustered up the courage to explain everything to the prefect."
"Damn it!" Chen Lun was furious after hearing what Zhao De said. He shouted coldly, "Zhang Dean, you actually disregarded other people's lives for your own selfish interests. You deserve to be killed!"
Zhang Dean collapsed to the ground, his hands and feet trembling, and all the blood drained from his face.
Chen Lun said in a deep voice: "Zhang Dean, now we have all the evidence, you can no longer argue. You killed someone and deserve the death penalty. Come on, take Zhang Dean away and put him in jail. We will sentence him on a later date."
"Yes, sir!" A bailiff came forward from each side, lifted up Zhang Dean, and prepared to take him away.
"Wait!" Zhang Dean struggled to break free from the yamen runners, staggered forward, and shouted to Chen Lun in the hall: "My lord, I admit that I poisoned them and I admit that I deliberately framed Bao'an Hall, but the poison I put in the buns for the old woman and her grandson was an ordinary poison that could not harm their lives at all. And you have also seen that the old woman and her grandson are alive and well now. If they were really poisoned by the red-crowned crane, how could they be alive? Since the poison I put was not as incurable as the red-crowned crane, how can you accuse me of killing people and sentence me to death? I do not accept it, please sentence me again!"
"You, Zhang Dean, you still dare to argue after all this!" Chen Lun was furious, afraid of being charged, and said angrily: "Even if the last time you put the red-crowned crane poison in the buns you gave to the old woman and her grandson, but just because you sneaked into the ruined temple outside the city tonight and poisoned the water that the old woman and her grandson drank, this government can punish you. Moreover, this government has ordered people to test it, and the water contained the red-crowned crane poison, which is exactly the same as the red-crowned crane in the porcelain bottle found on you. You can't argue with this!"
"Your Excellency, even though I had the intention to poison, I did not actually harm anyone. You cannot sentence me to death, otherwise I will appeal to the court to seek justice." Seeing that his life was in danger, Zhang Dean simply admitted all his crimes, but denied to the death that he had put the highly poisonous thief in the buns he gave to the old woman and her grandson. As long as the prefect could not prove that he had put thief in the buns, then even if he had to go to jail, at least he could save his life.
Chen Lun was furious. He had never expected Zhang Dean to be so stubborn and quibbling. For a moment he didn't know what to do with him, and the court suddenly fell into a stalemate.
The author has something to say: Today is Labor Day~~ Everyone is on holiday, right? Unfortunately, I still have to go to work, so depressed~~
I recently watched a drama starring Xu Zheng called "Run, Dad". I really liked the somewhat cold and strong female character Yuan Shuiyao. You can watch it if you have time.
I would also like to recommend a song, "A Lifetime of Love and Sorrow" by Chen Rui. I really like songs with a more ancient style. Sharing good things is the best way. I hope you will like it too. :-D
Happy May Day!