Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Talking Nonsense 1
Translator: 549690339
“I didn’t, how could I say such a thing.”
Little Miss Han was infuriated, pointing at Yingbao, she bellowed: “At such a tender age, yet you can spout such nonsense. Who taught you this?”
“You are the one talking nonsense! I dare swear to the heavens that everything I said is true, do you dare? Hmph! You and your sister even tried to kidnap children from my house before. Our neighbors couldn’t stand to see it, and they literally dumped shit on you, hence you bribed Chen Ergou to do the dirty work.”
Yingbao, taking advantage of her young age, jabbered eloquently to an extent that the clerks could not even keep up with their records.
Little Miss Han did not expect such a sharp tongue from such a small child, exclaimed, “Shut up! A child slandering others without any evidence, what terrible upbringing…”
“You are the one without upbringing, look at the things you did, which are any of those an act of propriety?” Yingbao stood her ground, hands on hips, confrontationally exchanging words with her.
“You… you… this…” Little Miss Han was so angry her hands shook.
“Silence! There must be no clamor in the court!”
County Magistrate Mei slammed the gavel, “Any more commotion and you’ll be disciplined with the wood clamp!”
Little Miss Han dared not say any more.
Yingbao rolled her eyes at her and obediently stood next to her father.
County Magistrate Mei turned to the defendant Chen Ergou, “Tell us everything about the crime you committed. If you miss a word, you’ll have to face flogging!”
Chen Ergou knelt on the ground, beginning to confess.
Finally he said, “I cannot bear Master Jiang’s abuse towards my family, his aggressive sentencing causing deportation and imprisonment. So, with my son-in-law, we planned to take away his child and left her to survive by herself in the wild.
Honored official, I was mistaken, I didn’t intend to harm anyone, I am a good citizen and I have never killed anything, not even a chicken. Honored official, please, spare me this once.”
Liao Qilin, standing next to County Chief’s desk, asked: “Your confession differs from Zhang Mazhi’s. He claimed that you were hired, and promised to be rewarded with a tael of silver afterwards. Is this true?”
“No, sir, I had never said that to him, he must be trying to swindle me out of my money. Think about it sir, if I were truly hired by someone, how would I have no money to even buy food?”
Chen Ergou continuously denied, which enraged Jiang Sanlang and Yingbao.
This rascal must have been bought off, but there was nothing they could do about it.
“You liar!” Jiang Sanlang yelled angrily: “Baobao was clearly handed over to the Han sisters by you. Now, you twist the truth. Are you expecting to gain some sort of advantage from them?”
“I didn’t, you must not unjustly implicate innocent people…” Chen Ergou averted his gaze.
“Silence!” County Magistrate Mei slammed the gavel, shouted: “Jiang Sanlang! This court has not asked for your response, no clamour! Or you will face twenty beats of the rod!”
Then turned to the accused, “Chen Ergou, this court asks you, do you know these two ladies standing witness here?”
Chen Ergou ducked his head scratching his neck, glanced at the Han sisters and loudly declared: “Honored official, I know both of these ladies, but they did not hire me. They truly did not, it was all me, I’m willing to take full responsibility, and I swear I will not blame any innocent people…’
Yingbao and her father were so mad they gasped for breath, turning to glance at the Han sisters, they could see a hint of satisfaction across their faces.
County Magistrate Mei was quite pleased with the rapid confession, and was eager to settle the case quickly so that he could focus on his resignation matters.
Then, he asked the prisoner to sign a confession and prepare for sentencing.
Jiang Sanlang was displeased, stepped forward and implored, “Honored official, my daughter was indeed kidnapped by the Han sisters who hired a thug, you can’t just close the case like this…”
“Insolent!”
County Magistrate Mei was furious, “When did this court ever need your opinion to judge a case? You believe the Han sisters hired someone which needs proof. You are baselessly accusing them based on senseless chatter by a small child. Are you treating the Imperial Court’s law as a joke? Or do you think this official is incompetent and can be manipulated by commoners like you?”
Jiang San protested, yet could only pay his respects, “I dare not.”
“Hmph!”
County Magistrate Mei banged his gavel, “The case is clear. According to the penal law of the Imperial Court, I sentence the principal offender, Chen Ergou, to forty strokes of the rod and five years in prison. The accomplice, Zhang
Mazhi, is sentenced to thirty strokes of the rod and three years in prison!”
Chen Ergou and Zhang Mazhi knelt and kowtowed, all feeling a sigh of relief.
At least they won’t be banished, their lives are spared. However, serving a few years in prison, they will still go back to the village work in the fields.
Jiang Sanlang clenched his fist in anger, and Yingbao quickly pulled her father’s hand and shook her head at him.
The sisters of the Han Family looked pleased and thanked the County Magistrate greatly for his mercy.
County Magistrate Mei took out his official seal and stamped it on the judgment document. He then asked Lin Zhuo, the chief clerk, to write up the verdict announcement and post it on the public notice board outside the
County Government.
Suddenly, Han Juniang said, “There’s something else I would like to report.” County Magistrate Mei, in a good mood, permitted her to speak.
Han Juniang said, “The truth is, that girl from Jiang Sanlang’s family is my biological child, and the Jiang Family has been refusing to return her. I implore the honorable official to help me retrieve my child.”
Jiang Sanlang could not contain his anger upon hearing this and was about to rush forward.
Yingbao quickly pull back her father, urging him to stay calm. She said to the Han Family, “I am not your child. You must be hoping to abduct me and sell me again!”
The Government Officials around them saw the situation and pounded their sticks on the ground, shouting “Silence!”
County Magistrate Mei also banged his gavel, and his face fell slightly. Yet out of curiosity, he asked, “Is there such thing? Han Family, can you explain?”
Han Juniang bowed to County Magistrate Mei, and said: “Three years ago, I gave birth to a child, but she was weak and seemed to stop breathing early. My mother-in-law thought she was dead and threw her away, but then she was picked up by Jiang Sanlang…”
County Magistrate Mei raised his hand when he got the gist, “This matter is unrelated to this case. If there are any disputes, you can wait for the new county magistrate to take office and appeal at that time. Dismissed!”
Jiang Sanlang was furious but knew he could not lash out in court. He picked up Yingbao and left.
As he passed by the Han sisters, he chuckled coldly.
Yingbao, resting her head on her father’s shoulder, said to the Han Family, “I am not your child, you wicked woman! Your child was killed by you a long time ago! Go to hell to find her.”
Han’s face stiffened.
Little Sister Han was also very displeased with her older sister’s actions, and scolded her in low voice. “What nonsense were you talking about? How could you bring this up at a time like this?”
Had it not been for the County Magistrate’s eagerness to close the case quickly, did this fool want to pull everyone down with her?
“In the future, never mention this matter again! The child is not yours, don’t make a big fuss!” little Han shouted angrily.
Han lowered her head, murmured in agreement, but she was not reconciled.
“Besides, we’ve spent quite a lot of silver on this, you must pay us back.” Little Han stared at her sister with disgust, “A total of two hundred taels, you must return it to me by the end of the year.”
Han shrieked, “What!? How can you ask for so much? I don’t have two hundred taels of silver.’
“Keep your voice down!”
Little Han quickly left the courtroom, reached her family’s carriage, and turned around to tell Han: “Are you pretending that we only bribed one person? Is this amount considered a lot? I don’t care whether you have money or not. You must pay this debt. If you don’t have money, ask for it from your brother-in-law or, worst comes to worst, from your in-laws.”
“Also, don’t ever bring up that child again. If anything goes wrong, no one can save you.” Then, Little Han got into the carriage, instructed the servants to set off, and left straight away.
Han became lightheaded and looked around. Seeing the Jiang Family’s people staring at her, she got terrified and hurried to find her husband, Chen Changping..
