The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 64: Their Intentions Are Clear

"The officials are coming!"

The crowd parted to make way for a group of yamen runners who entered.

They were patrolling the streets when they heard that there was trouble at the Lufeng Rice Shop, so they rushed over to see what was going on.

Shang Wan turned her head and saw that there was a familiar face among the five people.

Dan Dajun also recognized Shang Wan. He had a good impression of Shang Wan and nodded to her after they made eye contact.

"Sir, help! Sir!" Manager Ge finally saw his savior. He staggered to Shan Dajun, clutching his head, and pointed at Shang Wan and the others, "They tried to kill us to silence us!"

Seeing the blood all over his face, Shan Dajun took a half-step back in disgust and demanded, "What exactly happened?"

Manager Ge took the opportunity to embellish his complaint, which made Shan Dajun frown deeply.

Isn't Lu Xiucai disabled by a leg injury? How could he still bully respectable women?

“My brother-in-law is innocent.” Shi Tou glared at Manager Ge, feeling indignant on behalf of Lu Chengjing. “They deliberately set a trap to frame my brother-in-law.”

Manager Ge was about to retort when Shan Dajun coldly rebuked him, "Let's talk about this in court. Guards, take them all back to be interrogated by the magistrate!"

The main hall of the county government office.

The people in the rice shop stood together. Manager Ge's head injury had been treated simply, wrapped in a thick bandage. There were still some bloodstains on his face that hadn't been wiped clean, making him look rather pitiful.

The woman had also dressed, combed her disheveled hair back, and several red marks were clearly visible on her fair neck.

Lu Chengjing was fast asleep in his wheelchair, with Yuanyuan Tuan also fast asleep in his arms. Shang Wan, Shi Tou, and Xiao Huan stood behind the wheelchair.

Shang Wan's gaze fell on the woman not far away. The marks on her neck did not seem fake; a dog had chewed on her quite badly.

The crowd of onlookers lined the perimeter of the courtroom, craning their necks to peer inside and pointing at the people inside.

"My lord is here."

As the announcement was made, Lord An, dressed in a scarlet official robe and wearing a black gauze hat, walked out from the back hall. His gaze swept over Shang Wan and the others, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

This scholar Lu is truly unlucky; even with a broken leg, he still attracts attention.

Shang Wan used a clever touch to press down on Lu Chengjing's head, waking him up.

After taking a nap, Lu Chengjing felt less dizzy than before, except for the pain in his wound. Seeing that he was in the main hall of the county government office, he roughly understood his current situation.

"Ascension!"

The gavel struck, followed by the sound of the disciplinary rod.

Manager Ge and the others immediately knelt down, and Xiao Huan and Shi Tou followed suit. Lu Chengjing, having the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), was exempt from kneeling. As for Shang Wan, Lord An granted her special permission not to kneel.

Everyone looked at Shang Wan in surprise, secretly wondering why Lord An was giving her special treatment.

Shang Wan remained calm and allowed everyone to scrutinize her.

Lord An asked solemnly, "Who is the aggrieved party, and what is the complaint?"

Manager Ge immediately said, "I am Ge Shunliang, the manager of Lufeng Rice Shop. The aggrieved party, Fang Cailian, has been bullied by Lu Chengjing. I beg you, sir, to do justice and severely punish the villain."

Lord An stared at him. "What is your relationship with the victim?"

Manager Ge bowed his head respectfully and said, "Fang Cailian's elder brother, Fang Bao, is a shop assistant in my shop. I have always regarded Fang Cailian as my niece. Now that my niece has been bullied by evil people, I am indignant and beg you, sir, to give her justice."

"Once I have investigated the matter thoroughly, I will deliver justice to the aggrieved party." Lord An glanced around the hall. "Where is the aggrieved party?"

"This humble woman, Cailian, greets Your Excellency." Fang Cailian crawled two steps on her knees and kowtowed to Lord An.

Lord An frowned as he glanced at her swollen eyes and the red marks on her neck, and said sternly, "Tell me the whole story." "Yes. I went to the rice shop to deliver clothes to my brother. Because I stayed up late doing needlework last night and didn't get enough rest, I felt a little dizzy. Manager Ge was understanding and asked my brother to take me to the back room to rest for a while."

Fang Cailian's voice was soft and low, and it was a little hoarse because she had been crying for a long time.

"I vaguely heard the sound of the door opening. I thought it was my brother coming to call me, but suddenly the person who came in pressed down on me..."

She paused, glanced quickly at Lu Chengjing, shrugged, lowered her head, and spoke again with a sob in her voice.

"I woke up in fright. He covered my mouth to stop me from screaming, and started tearing at my clothes, all over my body..."

She raised her hand to cover the red marks on her neck, her face filled with shame and indignation, almost bursting into tears.

She paused for a moment before continuing, "I couldn't push him away. I finally managed to break free from his grasp and cried for help, but no one came. I was still... was taken by this villain..."

The rest of her words turned into sobs and weeping. Fang Cailian lay on the ground, wailing, her whole body trembling with fear.

Even though she didn't finish speaking, just by looking at her expression, everyone could guess what happened next.

"Pah! You beast!"

"To bully a weak woman is unworthy of a scholar!"

What a waste of such a beautiful face!

"My lord, you must severely punish the villains!"

The excited voices of the people could be heard. If it weren't for the yamen runners stopping them, some righteous people would probably have rushed in to teach Lu Chengjing, that beast, a lesson themselves.

"Silence!" Lord An slammed his gavel on the floor, his face grim, and asked Fang Cailian, "Do you have any evidence for what you just said?"

Before Fang Cailian could speak, all the shop assistants at the rice shop started to chime in.

"My lord, I can testify on behalf of Cailian."

“I saw Cailian run out of the side room crying with my own eyes.”

“I saw it myself; Cailian hadn’t even put on her outer garment properly at the time.”

"Besides Cailian, Lu Chengjing was in the side room. Cailian must have been humiliated by this scoundrel!"

"My lord, my sister is only sixteen years old and is not yet betrothed. Now that such a thing has happened, which family would be willing to marry her?" Fang Bao kowtowed to Lord An with red eyes, his voice filled with regret and self-reproach. "Cai Lian's life has been ruined by this beast. I beg you, my lord, to do justice for Cai Lian."

Manager Ge chimed in, "Please, sir, have pity on my niece."

"Manager Ge, that's a very nice thing to say," Shang Wan said sarcastically. "If you really cared about your poor niece's reputation, why did you make such a big fuss and attract so many onlookers?"

"Your dear niece wasn't even properly dressed back then. You, as her uncle, were really willing to let her go like that. You wanted everyone to know that she was being humiliated, didn't you?"

In this world, a woman's innocence and reputation are of utmost importance. The proper way to handle this is to minimize the impact on the woman and deal with it discreetly, with as few people as possible knowing about it.

Manager Ge, on the other hand, was practically shouting through a megaphone, "Come and see for yourselves!" His true intentions were obvious.

"Don't try to twist the truth! According to you, we should help Lu Chengjing keep it a secret? Such a villain should be punished according to the law to prevent other women from falling victim to his evil deeds when they are not on guard!" Manager Ge scolded, "You are the one with ulterior motives and a vicious heart!"

Just as Shang Wan was about to retort, Lord An suddenly coughed twice, looked at Shang Wan, and said in a manner that was both a reminder and a warning, "In court, only those I ask can answer, and no one else is allowed to speak casually. This time, I'll let it go, but this will not be allowed to happen again."

Shang Wan: "..."

Okay, she remained silent.

Lord An then turned to Lu Chengjing, “Scholar Lu, is what Fang Cailian said true? You must answer truthfully. If you dare to lie in the slightest, I will show no mercy!”

(End of this chapter)