After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 324 Confession
Sang Yong's wife, Zhou, began to sob, saying intermittently, "My sister-in-law was driven mad by the Ma family. When she came back, she made a scene and wouldn't let anyone touch her. If you scared her even slightly, she would run outside. Even in the freezing cold, she didn't care how much she was wearing, she would just rush out, crying and calling for her poor son."

Back then, her son went to war for the Ma family, and in the end, the child was lost, and my sister-in-law went insane. They're already so pitiful, do you still want to drive them to their deaths?

"Nonsense!" Ma Yujie stepped forward angrily, looking at Ma Yuqing who was holding the child and remained silent. "Sang Shi was your biological mother. She died such a tragic death. If you have any conscience, tell the truth!"

Ma Yuqing held the child silently the whole time, only wiping away tears.

The magistrate slammed his gavel down and looked at Sang Yong. "So you mean the Ma family beat Sang Shi so badly that she died from her injuries? Is that right?"

"That's right! It was the Ma family who did it!" Sang Yong was indignant and extremely excited.

The magistrate gave the yamen runner a wink, and the runner brought out a pile of things.

Sang Yong's expression changed drastically upon seeing the object.

Zhou was so frightened that she trembled all over.

The magistrate sneered, "Sang Yong, these things were all found in your house: shovels, axes, rattan whips, hemp ropes, sticks, some of them even have bloodstains on them. Aren't you going to explain?"

Sang Yong paused for a moment, then loudly protested, "Sir, those were just things my wife and I made accidentally while we were working. The rattan whip was used to beat rats, it wasn't human blood."

The magistrate laughed in anger, "How dare you, Sang Yong! The coroner has already confirmed that it is human blood, and you still dare to argue! Guards, bring them up here!"

Everyone turned their heads and saw that the newcomers were two unfamiliar-looking villagers. They were all confused, but Mo Laotian recognized them and his eyes widened instantly.

The two men stared at Sang Yong for a long time, then huddled together and whispered to each other. Afterwards, they said to the magistrate, "Sir, he looks just like him, exceptionally much like him."

The magistrate then showed them the axe and shovel.

Both men turned pale with fright and moved away from Sang Yong in great fear. "It's him...it's him! I recognize the knot on the axe, there's no mistake!"

When Mo Laotian realized what was happening, he quickly pulled his wife and daughter to kneel far away from Sang Yong, as far away as possible.

Su Tai and Shen Yi exchanged glances, then kept looking at Sang Yong intently.

Only the Ma family members remained, completely bewildered and unaware of what had happened.

Feeling guilty, Sang Yong glanced at the two men with a sinister look, but remained relatively calm.

The magistrate snorted coldly, "Sang Yong, tell me, how did you kill Xiong Kai? What grudge did he hold against you?"

"Hiss!" The onlookers gasped in shock at the dramatic turn of events. They had come for the Ma family case, but had stumbled upon a follow-up to the Xiong Kai case? The murderer was Sang Yong?
More and more people came to watch the trial, blocking the entrance to the county government office.

The magistrate ordered his constables to maintain order and continue the trial.

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely." The magistrate was calm and collected, clearly confident. Sang Yong, however, still gritted his teeth and argued, "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any Xiong Kai at all."

The magistrate, with a serious expression, slowly tapped the table. "The coroner examined the bodies of Xiong Kai and Sang Shi and confirmed that the whippings on their bodies were inflicted by the same person and the same instrument. Take a look at your rattan whip. Or, I'll have someone bring the bodies up here so we can compare them in front of you."
"Sang Yong, the evidence and witnesses are all there, you can't deny it. Speak! This is your last chance. If you still refuse to confess, I'll have no choice but to use torture!"

As he spoke, the magistrate looked at Zhou and said, "And you, you can't possibly know nothing about Sang Yong's murder. If you don't confess either, I won't be so lenient!"

Zhou was so frightened that she couldn't even kneel down and collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

Sang Yong looked up angrily, his face full of malice, "Yes! So what if I killed him? They killed my son, so they should be buried with him!"

"Wow! What's going on? Another death has been reported?" The people were discussing among themselves.

The magistrate frowned involuntarily. "How did they kill your son?"

Sang Yong was filled with righteous indignation, tears streaming down his face, his face full of resentment. "My son, Sang Rong, went to the battlefield with Ma Xingfei. Xiong Kai approached them and made a deal with them. He said that as long as they paid money, Xiong Kai would protect his fellow villagers. My son had no money, but Ma Xingfei did. Xiong Kai didn't care about my son's life or death, and Ma Xingfei didn't care about the bond between cousins. No one helped him, no one helped him! They just watched my son get shot to death by a hail of arrows. They were all accomplices! They deserve to die!"

"How did you know?" The magistrate leaned forward; matters concerning the battlefield were no small matter.

“So many people went to the battlefield, and many came back alive. What they did can’t be kept secret! I can find out about my son’s situation as long as I want to know!” Sang Yong raised his chin, his expression arrogant and fierce.

The Ma family members all stepped back, and Ma Xingteng angrily rebuked, "Sang is still your sister, what does what happens on the battlefield have to do with a woman like her? Besides, Ma Xingfei died in battle in the end, and Sang went mad. You still treat her like this? You have no humanity!"

Sang Yong laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face. "Ma Xingteng, what are you pretending to be a good guy for! Actually, you wanted her dead even more than I did, didn't you? If she hadn't forced us to fight, you wouldn't be crippled now. What a pity! You've actually benefited from this misfortune and avoided military service. Heaven is so unfair!"

"You...you finally admit that you plotted against me!" Ma Xingteng clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with fury.

Sang Yong was clearly going all out, saying whatever came to mind regardless of the consequences.

"So what if it is? It's not a good feeling to be a cripple for life! This is all my good sister's plan! She said that as long as we kill you, she will give us a large sum of money, and the Sang family will be even richer. Do you think my son and I can refuse?" Sang Yong looked smug.

Ma Rencai was so angry that he fainted.

The Ma family members looked extremely grim, but they did not lose their temper due to anger.

Ma Yujie knelt down and said, "Your Honor, we reported this case to the authorities back then, but it was dropped because the murderer couldn't be caught. Although my elder brother didn't die, it's a fact that he lost a leg. Please, Your Honor, do justice for my elder brother!"

The magistrate nodded. "Guards, Sang Yong's attempt to murder Ma Xingteng failed, leaving him crippled. He also murdered Xiong Kai and Sang Shi. The evidence is conclusive. Take him to prison and execute him on a later date!"

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this! They deserve to die, they deserve to die! Everyone who harmed my Sang family deserves to die! You all deserve to die, ah!" Sang Yong struggled incessantly.

The constables roughly pressed him to the cold ground, tied him up tightly, and took him away!

Sang Yong was taken away, and everyone looked at Zhou Shi and Ma Yuqing.