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

Chapter 69 Verdict
"Cai Lian!" Fang Bao waved away Xiao Fei and ran over to pick up his younger sister.

"Hurry up and take it to the back room." Lord An pointed to a yamen runner to lead the way for Fang Bao. Doctor Sun picked up his medicine box and followed. The other three doctors also quickly followed.

The courtroom was completely silent as the onlookers digested the shocking news; no one uttered a word.

Shang Wan glanced at the pool of blood on the floor tiles, then at Lu Chengjing who seemed completely unsurprised, and leaned closer to ask in a low voice, "You knew all along?"

Lu Chengjing responded softly. From the moment Fang Cailian mentioned "Qingfeng Pavilion," he had a vague idea of ​​what Fang Cailian was going to do.

At first, he thought that Ge Shunliang had tricked Fang Cailian into framing him, and that Fang Cailian was at least willing. He never expected that Fang Cailian was the one who was forced from beginning to end.

What made her decide to tell the truth was probably the child in her womb.

A child whose biological father is unknown.

Lu Chengjing sighed inwardly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

His good brother wanted to ruin his reputation and let him rot in a remote and impoverished place. Could he have foreseen such an accident?
Lord An was in a terrible mood. His face darkened, and he slammed his gavel angrily, "Ge Shunliang, Wang Fei, if you two don't confess immediately, don't blame me for subjecting you to severe torture!"

He doesn't like to use torture when he's on trial, but that doesn't mean he won't.

Manager Ge managed to remain calm, but Wang Fei had already panicked. "My lord, spare my life! I was just following orders. He was the mastermind."

He pointed at Manager Ge beside him, "I was just a messenger. I never forced Fang Cailian. It was Fang Cailian who seduced me. I'm innocent!"

Manager Ge was so angry he almost fell over backwards. What an idiot!
"Still trying to argue!" Lord An threw down the tally sticks. "Drag him away and give him a beating!"

"Sir, spare your life!"

"Ah!! I wouldn't dare!"

"Spare my life!"

Wang Fei's screams rang out, terrifying the rice shop workers to the point of turning pale. Immediately, some couldn't hold back and confessed, and then all the perpetrators turned against him.

"My lord, I saw Lu Xiucai being carried into the side room by the shopkeeper."

"I saw it too."

"There was a sleeping potion in the tea."

"The shopkeeper said that as long as you help testify, you can get a reward of ten taels of silver when you go back."

"I threw away the jujube paste cake."

"The tea set is in the kitchen; I can't bear to throw it away."

The men started talking all at once, and one or two who were originally able to keep quiet started talking too when they saw that everyone else was talking.

Shang Wan clicked her tongue. These people weren't stupid. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they could get a lighter sentence by confessing.

Manager Ge was furious, his face turning ashen, and he hated Fang Cailian to the core. Even when confronted with a beating by Lord An, he stubbornly refused to admit his guilt.

Whether he acknowledges it or not is no longer important.

The people who testified against him were different from those who had previously testified against Lu Chengjing. Apart from Fang Cailian, there were only people from the rice shop, so there was a lack of conclusive evidence and the testimonies were vague.

Now, Fang Cailian's testimony, the child in her womb, Manager Qi's identification of Qingfeng Pavilion, Wang Fei and the other employees' betrayal, the glass beads in the jujube cake, and so on, are enough to convict him.

With a slam of the gavel, the verdict was announced.

“Ge Shunliang falsely accused Lu Chengjing. According to the law, his crime was three degrees more serious, and he was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the cane, with no possibility of redemption. He raped a virtuous woman, resulting in Fang Cailian becoming pregnant. The circumstances were heinous, and he was sentenced to hanging, followed by caning before execution.”

"Fang Cailian falsely accused Lu Chengjing. According to the law, her crime is three degrees more serious, and she shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane. However, because she is pregnant, she may redeem herself from the punishment. If she does not redeem herself, she may give birth to her child and then receive the punishment one hundred days later."

"Wang Fei raped a virtuous woman, acted as an accomplice to evil, and showed no remorse. According to the law, he shall be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and hanged. The punishment shall be carried out after the caning."

"The rice shop gang, having acted as accomplices in the fraud, are shown remorse and are to be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and fined three taels of silver." "Fang Bao pushed Lu Chengjing, causing him injury, and is to be fined five qian of silver, which shall be paid to Lu Chengjing."

“Ge Shunliang was injured by a stone and fined five qian of silver, which will be paid to his family by the government.”

As for Shang Wan hitting the rice shop worker, since Shang Wan acted in self-defense and didn't break any of the worker's limbs, he wasn't punished.

The constables busied themselves, arresting people and beating them one by one. For a time, the yamen was filled with the cries of pain from the crowd.

Fang Cailian lost her baby. Upon hearing that Ge Shunliang and Wang Fei had been sentenced to death by hanging, she wept with joy. Despite her weakened state after the miscarriage, she insisted on going to see the two scoundrels being executed.

Fang Bao felt both guilty and remorseful. Upon hearing that he could redeem himself from punishment, he hurriedly ran home and scraped together six strings of cash to give to the government so that Fang Cailian would not be flogged.

After the court session ended, Shang Wan and her family were invited to a small back room to talk.

Qiao Yu'an also came over, and like an old mother, she kept asking about Lu Chengjing's recent situation.

Lu Chengjing would sometimes answer and sometimes not, and Qiao Yu'an could talk happily no matter what his reaction was.

Xiao Huan said, "Sister, Shi Tou and I want to go to Lu's Rice Shop first and bring back the rice and flour."

They had already paid the money, but then this whole thing with Manager Ge happened.

Shang Wan noticed that the two men were uncomfortable in the county government office, so she nodded in agreement and instructed them, "While you're at it, try to find out more about the bricklayers."

"Okay." The two left one after the other.

Shang Wan poured a bowl of water, let it cool down, and fed it to Yuan Yuan. She then pondered where to buy a ewe to take home.

The little one is only one year old, so we need to make sure he gets enough nutrition.

After Shang Wan mentioned this to Lu Chengjing, before Lu Chengjing could speak, Qiao Yu'an said, "No need to buy, I have some on my estate. I'll deliver them to your home when I visit you in a couple of days."

Shang Wan: "That's so embarrassing."

"It's not a gift for you." Qiao Yu'an pouted. "I gave it to Yuanyuan, there's no share for you."

Lu Chengjing frowned. "Yu'an, I consider you a close friend and have never slighted your family."

He was at most a little cold towards Qiao Weiwei, which was good for both of their reputations. But Qiao Yu'an showed obvious disrespect towards Shang Wan.

Qiao Yu'an understood his implied meaning and said with displeasure, "Don't be fooled by this woman, she actually..."

Two coughs suddenly came from outside the door. Lord An changed into casual clothes and walked in. Qiao Yu'an had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words.

Seeing that the three seemed to have something to discuss, Qiao Yu'an made an excuse to leave.

As soon as he left, a look of anxiety appeared between Lord An's brows. He looked at Shang Wan and asked bluntly, "Madam heard that an earthquake occurred in Dongning County. She was worried and her old illness relapsed, causing her unbearable pain. Have you finished making the medicine?"

"Originally, I made one bottle." Shang Wan looked troubled. "But there were many injured people in the village. I used it to save people, and only the bottom layer of the bottle, about three drops, is left."

"Three drops will do," Lord An said happily. "Will you carry them with you?"

Shang Wan nodded and took out the small porcelain bottle.

Lord An happily accepted it and ordered someone to send it to the prefectural city at full speed.

Lu Chengjing finally understood why Lord An was so polite to Shang Wan. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and listened quietly to their conversation.

Lord An asked worriedly, "Madam Shang, is there any chance that my wife's illness can be cured?"

“Madam suffers from a mental illness; it’s easier to cure the body than the mind,” Shang Wan said truthfully. “Even if the physical ailments are cured, as long as the mental illness remains, Madam’s old ailment will still relapse.”

While the spiritual spring water is indeed powerful in restoring the body, it can at most soothe the mind, which is merely a temporary solution.

(End of this chapter)