Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Snapped--

The gavel was slammed down heavily.

"Shen Qing, confess the truth!"

The loud shout startled everyone present, and even the onlookers outside dared not make any noise.

Shen De and Shen Mao were extremely nervous, their hearts pounding in their throats. They couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety for Shen Qing.

But then Shen Qingping spoke calmly: "This humble woman knows nothing about gold and silver jewelry, but the land deeds and house deeds of the Shen family are indeed in my possession, including those of the Shen family restaurant and the old Shen family residence."

"My lord, please listen! She herself has confessed that she was the one who secretly sabotaged things. I beg you to handle this matter impartially and return the Shen family's property to Shen Chengzong, as well as those recipes for the delicacies—those are also part of the Shen family's property and should not fall into the hands of outsiders!"

Shen Gao shouted anxiously, a hint of joy in his eyes, feeling that what he was doing was about to succeed.

"I haven't finished speaking yet," Shen Qing sneered.

"Even if you shout to the heavens, you'd better hand over your family fortune and the recipe!"

Snapped--

Another gavel struck.

"Shen Gao, shut up! Another word and you'll be dealt with in court for shouting! Shen Qing, continue."

This time, Shen Gao dared not interrupt again. Roaring in court would get him a beating, and at his age, he couldn't take it.

Shen Qing continued, "Those land deeds and house deeds were all sold to me by Shen Chengzong..."

"Impossible! You're talking nonsense!!"

Before Shen Qing could finish speaking, Shen Gao shouted loudly.

Why would Chengzong sell those land and house deeds to Shen Qing out of the blue? Absolutely impossible!

"The restaurant and the old house are so valuable, Shen Chengzong won't sell them. You're just spouting nonsense!!"

Snapped--

"Shen Gao is roaring in court! Give him ten strokes of the cane!!" Li Duan said sternly.

Shen Gao was terrified. He wanted to tear his mouth apart. How could he not help himself?

"Sir, I won't say anything anymore, I won't say anything more, please don't hit me, please don't hit me, I beg you..."

Before he could finish pleading for mercy, he was dragged onto a bench by the constables.

Snapped--

Snapped--

Snapped--

Without saying a word, they beat him up.

The constables had long disliked Shen Gao, and they showed no mercy, delivering every blow with full force.

"Ouch!"

"Ouch, my butt!"

"It hurts so much..."

Shen Gao cried and regretted it. He should have kept quiet. He was sure to win, but he got beaten up for talking too much.

No, once things are settled, he'll have to ask Shen Chengzong for some compensation.

His butt is really burning hot right now.

After the beating was finished, Li Duan continued his questioning: "Shen Qing, since you claim that those land deeds and house deeds you possess were purchased, do you have any proof?"

"Of course." With that, Shen Qing pulled out a stack of documents from his pocket. "These are sales contracts; you'll understand once you take a look, sir."

A contract? ? ? How could there be a contract? ?

Shen Gao was completely dumbfounded, but out of fear of being beaten, he desperately held back and didn't make a sound.

Shen De and Shen Mao were equally puzzled, and all four of their eyes were fixed on the pile of documents.

Huh? This looks familiar. Those two constables brought a bunch of documents when they went to deliver a message to Shen Qing.

So it is...

"This contract is indeed a sales contract signed between Shen Qing and Shen Chengzong, and it even bears an official seal," Li Duan said solemnly after looking at it for a while.

Shen Gao was even more shocked, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

But remembering the punishment from earlier, he really didn't dare to speak.

"Shen Gao, what else do you have to say?"

Shen Gao was practically bursting with rage: "My lord, it's impossible, absolutely impossible! That contract must be fake! Impossible! My lord, please don't be fooled by Shen Qing!!"

"Sir, you must look closely! That contract is definitely fake, it's fake!"

Shen Gao was almost in tears.

Shen De and Shen Mao, who were standing nearby, sighed softly, and neither of them said anything.

So what if it's fake, or so what if it's real? It's obvious that, apart from Shen Gao, all the officials in the courtroom and all the diners outside the courtroom are on Shen Qing's side.

"I have already examined it, and the contract is genuine."

"Show these contracts to Shen Gao!"

Li Duan had his men bring the contract to Shen Gao.

Shen Gao took it incredulously and examined it carefully. The handprints, signatures, and official seals of both parties were all perfect and flawless.

"...It's actually true..."

Before he could finish a sentence, Shen Gao rolled his eyes and fainted.

"Go and fetch a doctor immediately," Li Duan hurriedly ordered.

These contracts, while not real, are certainly not fake either.

Previously, when Xie Bantou led his men to beat Shen Chengzong, just in case, they used Shen Chengzong's bleeding finger to press his fingerprint on a piece of white paper.

Today, as soon as someone filed a complaint, Xie, the head constable, brought a pile of white paper with fingerprints on it to Li Duan.

Li Duan already knew the whole story and felt sorry for Shen Qing and her daughter, so he wrote a contract on a piece of white paper, affixed the official seal, and sent it to Shen Qing.

Shen Qing's handprint was naturally the one he made at Zhiweixuan earlier.

Therefore, this contract is perfect, without any problems, and cannot be considered fake.

"Madam Shen, keep these contracts safe. No one will have a chance to compete with you for these things anymore." Li Duan walked up to Shen Qing and returned the pile of contracts to her.

Shen Qing bowed to Li Duan to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Magistrate."

If it weren't for the county magistrate, Shen Gao might have actually succeeded this time.

"Thank you, Magistrate." Shen De and Shen Mao also cupped their hands in thanks to Li Duan.

They did not want the Shen family's assets, especially the Shen Family Restaurant, to fall into Shen Chengzong's hands again.

Upon seeing this, the diners outside knew that Shen Qing had won, and they all cheered.

"Great, at least that old bastard didn't get his way!"

"It has to be Madam Shen; she actually bought up all of Father Shen's fields and houses long ago."

"In my opinion, we shouldn't have bought it. Shen Chengzong is shameless; he took someone's property and then bullied them. People like him deserve to be struck by lightning!"

"..."

Xue Buhuo staggered out from the cheering crowd, shouting, "I'm a doctor!"

He quickly walked into the courtroom and pinched Shen Gao's philtrum hard.

Shen Gao woke up instantly.

As soon as he woke up, he heard cheers.

"It's good that you're awake. Now that you're awake, let's hear the magistrate's verdict. You made false accusations against others, so you deserve some punishment." Xue Buhuo said with a wicked grin.

Shen Gao was almost in tears; he wanted to faint again.

But just then, Li Duan's voice rang out:

"Shen Gao maliciously framed someone; he is first sentenced to three years of hard labor!"

Hard labor? He's so old, why would he do hard labor?

That's suicidal!