All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 96 If Apologies Were Useful, What Would We Need to Do with the Police?

After the detectives found You's gold bracelet under the bed sheets, the chain of evidence was complete by the standards of that era.

Without any surprise, Third Sister You was immediately taken to the county government office.

The magistrate quickly went to court to investigate the case, enforced the law impartially and carefully reviewed all the evidence.

The order from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, the order form and receipt from You Sanjie, the two gold bracelets that were picked up at the same time, the testimonies of the goldsmith and his employees in the gold shop, the testimonies of the detectives who seized the stolen goods on the spot, and so on.

The judge immediately slammed the gavel and said, "Third sister of the You family, you stole a gold bracelet. The evidence is irrefutable. Do you have anything else to say?"

Third Sister You was completely dumbfounded at this point. She was so flustered that she could not make any excuses. She could only say that she was wronged.
"All the prisoners who came before the court cried out that they were innocent."

The county magistrate sneered and said, "Let her sign and seal her name."

Third Sister You was not stupid either. She was unwilling to sign the contract and started to struggle.

The county magistrate has seen too many things like this.

The order was thrown down and he was immediately prepared to be tortured.

Third Sister You was so frightened that she confessed her guilt before the tongs were even put on.

After signing and sealing, the magistrate pronounced the verdict in court.

". The criminal, You's third sister, stole other people's property. She will be caned 80 times and sentenced to three years in prison!"

Third Sister You almost fainted.

After being beaten with eighty sticks, even if he is not killed, he will become disabled.

As for the three years' imprisonment, it means three years' imprisonment.

Everyone in the world knows that for a woman in prison, life is worse than death.

Not to mention whether he can get out after three years, even if he does, he will definitely be humiliated beyond recognition.

Thinking of this, she almost fainted.

"Your Excellency." Chen Ran, who had been watching from the sidelines, spoke up at this moment, "I am the victim of this tragedy, and I beg you to do me a favor. As long as she can compensate for the loss, can you spare her from the caning and imprisonment?"

The magistrate stroked his beard and nodded, "Since the victim doesn't want to pursue the matter, it's not impossible. Then sentence the woman to pay a gold bracelet of equal value and fine her another gold bracelet of equal value."

The gold bracelet as compensation is given to the victim, and the gold bracelet as fine is naturally fined to the government.

After all, you're busy in and out of the yamen, so you can't make a wasted trip.

Compared with the previous horrific endings of eighty strokes of the cane and three years of imprisonment, the fact that she only had to pay compensation of silver made Third Sister You nod her head repeatedly.

After he signed and sealed again, the bailiffs came forward and prepared to send him to jail.

Until the compensation is paid, he will definitely stay in jail.

Third Sister You struggled again. She knew very well what terrible things a woman would face if she was thrown into prison.

"Your Excellency," Chen Ran spoke again, "Since this concerns a woman's reputation, how about I be her guarantor and order her to go home and raise money?"

The county magistrate stroked his beard with emotion and said, "You are a good man, who cares about the criminal woman. Well, I will give you this face."

After saying a few polite words about not being allowed to escape or else it would be a capital crime, the county magistrate stood up and left the court, returning to the back house.

"Master~~~"

The concubine ran over happily, stretched out her wrist and smiled sweetly, "This gold bracelet is so beautiful~~~"

"As long as you like it."

"Thank you, sir~~~"

Third Sister You returned home in a daze.

After a long while, she wiped her tears and suddenly raised her head and screamed, "I was cheated!?"

"I told you not to blackmail them." You Erjie, who was soft-hearted, couldn't help but complain, "What should I do now?"

Before, when she was at the county government office, You Sanjie was almost frightened to the point of losing control of her sphincter.

Now back home, facing the ball-like You Erjie, he immediately perked up, "What's on your mind, you're so mean? What am I doing this for? It's for our family's food and clothing."

After such a long lecture, You Erjie was moved to tears.

There is no way. The family has no female pillar. If it weren’t for Sister You marrying into the Ningguo Mansion, how could they have survived until now.

"Don't talk about her." Old Lady You was heartbroken. "Tell me what you are going to do first."

"What else can I do?" You Erjie gritted her teeth and said, "I can only ask my eldest sister for help. Ask her to give me some money first. When I find a suitable husband from a wealthy family in the future, I will pay her back double."

In her opinion, Sister You was the legitimate lady of the Ningguo Mansion.

What are just two gold bracelets?

Someone like my eldest sister could marry into a wealthy family like the Ningguo Mansion and become the main wife.

You Erjie believed that with her beauty, it would not be difficult for her to marry into a noble family.

I'll repay her favor when the time comes.

The idea was good, but the result was unexpected.

When I went to Ningguo Mansion, I was not even allowed to enter.

"Our grandmother said," Yindie, the maidservant beside Youshi, said bluntly, "Don't come to ask for anything that violates the law. You don't have to return the gold bracelet I borrowed before. It should be regarded as my duty as a sister. In the future, don't come to our house again, whether you have something to do or not."

After saying that, Yindie turned and entered the corner gate, ignoring You Erjie's shouts of "I am innocent", and asked the doorman to close the corner gate directly.

When she returned home again, Third Sister You was furious, "If you are not born from the same mother, you just have no good intentions!"

You Sanjie and You Erjie are the biological daughters of You Lao Niang.

Afterwards, Old Lady You remarried to You's father with her two daughters.

In terms of relationship, Youshi and the three of them were stepmothers and step-sisters. "Don't say these useless words." Youshi's hair turned white with worry. "If your eldest sister doesn't pay, how are you going to compensate her?"

Confused, You Erjie whispered, "Didn't my eldest sister say that she didn't want her bracelet anymore? Let's use your bracelet to pay the fine first, and then we can slowly discuss it with Mr. Chen."

"What the hell!" You Erjie's pretty face turned red. "Those two bracelets were taken away by the government as stolen goods a long time ago!"

"Ah?" You Erjie knew that the government office was shady, but she had never thought it was so shady. She clutched her handkerchief tightly and said anxiously, "What should I do? How about you run away?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Old Lady You slapped her in anger. "If she runs away, we will be caught and taken to task! When the time comes, we will be sent to the Imperial Music Bureau and our lives will be in vain!"

"okay."

Third Sister You was hurt by what the old lady said. She gritted her teeth and stood up and walked out. "I will figure out a way to deal with this matter myself. You don't need to worry about it!"

In the past few years, she has met some backup guys. Although she looks down on their family background, she has to grit her teeth and seek help from them when the situation becomes urgent.

I never thought that as soon as they heard the price was several hundred taels, they just waved their hands.

The rude ones would just shut the door and ask her to get out, while the polite ones would tell her, "A beauty in the pawnbroker can be bought for a hundred taels. For someone like you, I'll give you two hundred taels. Are you willing to be my slave?"

Third Sister You came here to ask for the betrothal gift, but she never expected that these middle-class people, who were not even from wealthy families, would treat her like a slave!
Not only did I get nothing out of a day's work, but I was also humiliated.

When I returned home exhausted, I heard Old Lady You muttering in the yard, "What sin have I committed? Such a troublesome thing crawled out of my intestines, causing such a big disaster, and even alienating my eldest daughter. What a sin~~~"

Sister You San, whose face was pale, shook her body and turned away.

Seeing that it was getting dark and there were hooligans following her, she gritted her teeth and headed straight for the jewelry store.

The jewelry store was about to close. Chen Ran, who was checking the accounts, saw Third Sister You come in and immediately said with a smile, "Have you raised the money? Take out the money and we'll settle the debt."

"Why are you trying to hurt me!"

Facing the question, Chen Ran stopped smiling and said, "You asked for it. The first time you extorted ten taels of silver from me, I was already magnanimous enough not to bother with me. But you are greedy and keep coming here to extort money. Do you think this is a charity?"

If blackmailing someone succeeds once, it will happen countless times.

There are so many lessons and examples in the modern world, and Chen Ran has never forgotten them.

The best way to deal with blackmailers is to teach them a lesson!
"Please, sir~~~" Under tremendous pressure, Third Sister You finally lowered her proud head and said, "Please, sir, don't bear grudges and let me go."

"Are you apologizing?" Chen Ran raised his head and laughed. "If apologies were useful, what would we need constables for?"

Third Sister You really regretted it. She regretted that she had chosen the wrong person. She thought Chen Ran was a fool who could be blackmailed at will, but she never thought that he was a tiger that would eat meat without spitting out bones.

That's right, what she regretted was not that she did such a thing, but that she found the wrong person.

She simply gave up and said, "I don't have any money."

"If you don't have money, just sell the house." Chen Ran doesn't care about that. "If it's still not enough, the door of the dental office is always open."

"You~~~"

The house belongs to Old Lady You, and she would never sell her home that protects her from the wind and rain just for herself.

As for the dental practice.
She had lived in the capital since she was a child, so she naturally knew what would happen to a young woman if she joined the pimping business.

Rich and powerful families usually have children born at home who can be trusted, while the girls from pimping houses are basically sold to brothels!

“I’m not going!!”

"Then wait for the government to arrest you." Chen Ran spread his hands indifferently. "Go to jail for a few years, and you won't have to pay the money."

Third Sister You was so frightened that she couldn't speak. She just kept wiping her tears and shaking her head.

"Sir." Xiangling, who was standing beside her, said softly, "I have an idea."

"You said."

"It would be a shame if this girl went to jail." Xiangling suggested in a low voice, "Why don't we lend her some money to pay the compensation and fine first?"

Chen Ran turned his head and looked at her. "You want to be a saint? Why should I lend her money?"

Xiangling, who didn't know what a saint was, continued, "Before this girl pays off the debt, she can work at home to repay it. The master is busy with the imperial examination, and I am busy with the shop. There must be someone in the house to wash clothes, cook, make beds and sweep the floor."

Third Sister You looked up in confusion, unable to react for a moment.

"It's up to you to decide."

After saying that, Chen Ran packed up the account books, got up and left the shop.

Xiangling was left behind to have a kind conversation with You Sanjie, who looked very sad.

Seeing a few hooligans hanging around outside, Chen Ran called the shop assistants and beat them all up with a beating.

I went home, washed up, and went straight to bed.

The next morning, I got up and prepared to wash up and go to the academy. When I opened the door, I saw Sister You San who was sweeping the floor seriously.

Xiangling came out of the kitchen and invited Chen Ran to have breakfast.

At the dinner table, Chen Ran asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"I borrowed four hundred taels of silver from her to settle the matter, and two taels of silver per month. When she pays back in full, I will give her the indenture."

The government set the gold-silver exchange rate at 1:10, but the actual value of gold is much higher than this ratio.

Of course, even if the ratio is one to ten, the bracelet would not weigh more than one kilogram.

A large part of it is labor cost, and the craftsmanship of master craftsmen in carving is very valuable in this era.

"Two taels of silver? That's almost as much as the monthly salary of a young lady from a wealthy family."

Xiangling responded in a low voice, "If I don't offer a higher price, I won't be able to persuade her. But even if it's two taels a month, it will take more than ten years to pay it off."

Chen Ran smiled and pinched Xiangling's pretty face, then after eating and drinking, he got up and went to Meishan Academy.

(End of this chapter)