Zhong Ziyuan looked at the old woman and the young man carefully, and found that the clothes they wore were all made of muslin cloth, although they were not rich, they were much stronger than the coarse linen clothes worn by ordinary poor families.

However, although the old woman was wearing a plain silver hairpin on her head and a pair of plain silver bracelets on her hands, she looked no different from an ordinary old lady with a wealthy family. But the joints of her hands are not only thick and deformed, but also covered with thick calluses. It is conceivable that this old woman has suffered a lot in the first half of her life, and even if she develops later, it should not be a long time, so the calluses on her hands have not yet thinned.

The young man was wearing a dark green muslin robe, but he still habitually pulled up the hem and tied it around his waist, and it seemed that he was accustomed to the short gown he used to wear, so he was not used to the robe that represented his status now.

After the two of them knelt down and saluted Fu Yin, who was sitting in the lobby, they saluted Mrs. Zhang. Mrs. Zhang wiped the corners of her eyes again, waved her hand and said, "Go and see Lan'er!" She, she's died so miserably" her voice was slurred, obviously still very sad.

"Yes." The young man arched his hand at the head, looking free and easy. But just the word that came out of his mouth was trembling uncontrollably.

The old woman was even more tearful, her whole body was weak, and she relied on the young man to drag and hold to walk in front of the corpse covered with a white cloth. The young man stretched out his trembling hands and slowly lifted the white cloth. Under the white cloth, Lan'er's bruised and swollen face, but still staring at her eyes, was finally revealed. Li Xiucai was timid, and immediately covered his eyes in fright, but Zhong Ziyuan opened his eyes for fear of missing a little bit.

Lan'er's death was very horrible, and her cheeks were not only bruised. There are also a few slender scars, and the old man who has not broken the skin but is bulging should have been caused by the merciless whipping of someone before his death. And her eyes, which were originally smart and affectionate, were staring at her upwards at the moment, as if she was complaining to God about the injustice of fate.

A trace of doubt rose in Zhong Ziyuan's heart, and she asked in a low voice, "Li Xiucai, when did this Lan'er girl die?" Have you inquired? ”

Li Xiucai thought about it. said: "When I saw them grabbing Brother Zhuang and going to the yamen, it was about half an hour ago. It is said that the time of death of this Lan'er girl should be an hour ago, and it will not exceed an hour and a half at most. "Huh! That's weird. Zhong Ziyuan thought secretly in her heart.

"Lan'er. My poor Lan'er, why are you so miserable" The old woman couldn't control the sadness in her heart anymore, and threw herself on Lan'er's body and cried hoarsely. The young man's face was also extremely distorted, and his eyes were red. His teeth clenched and gurgling, and his fists were clenched so hard that they burst out with green tendons.

He screamed. Punching and kicking Brother Zhuang who was kneeling beside him like crazy, his mouth was still roaring: "You brute, my family's good Lan'er will let you be ruined like this." I'm going to kill you, kill you"

Brother Zhuang was wearing shackles on his hands and feet. There is simply no way to dodge. He could only desperately cover his head with his hands, and shouted hoarsely: "Your sister was not killed by me at all, I didn't kill it."

But the young man turned a deaf ear. Just gritted his teeth and beckoned his fist to the vital point on his body, and he had the intention of killing him on the spot to avenge Lan'er. Li Xiucai and Zhong Ziyuan were in a hurry. They shouted at them to stop fighting, stop fighting, but no one paid attention. Those officials, masters, and government officials, including the beautiful Mrs. Zhang, all looked at this scene with ridicule, and no one stepped forward to stop it. Only the girl's hands covered her eyes, and her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she didn't dare to look.

Zhong Ziyuan and Li Xiucai watched this scene anxiously, but they were powerless to stop it. Zhong Ziyuan suddenly asked, "What about Sister-in-law Zhuang?" Didn't you say that Sister-in-law Zhuang walked in front of us, why haven't we seen anyone yet? ”

"I, I don't know! She can't find where the yamen is, right? Li Xiucai looked around blankly, his eyes were full of enthusiasm, applauding, and the idlers who were afraid that the world would not be chaotic did not see the shadow of Sister-in-law Zhuang.

Seeing Brother Zhuang spit out a few mouthfuls of blood, the person gradually withered. Fu Yin, who was sitting at the top, pinched the beard under his chin and glanced at the master on the side. Only then did the master pretend to reprimand those officials who watched the excitement: "You are all dead people!" If a prisoner is killed in the courtroom, you will not be able to finish your meal. ”

Only then did those officials shout and step forward to stop the angry young man and stop him from continuing to commit violence against Brother Zhuang. The lady Zhang was very dissatisfied, so she said arrogantly: "Lord Fu Yin, such a villain, what kind of mercy do you need to tell him." It doesn't matter if he is killed, he just wants to avenge poor Lan'er. ”

What ignorant women and children! Nafu Yin pinched his beard and secretly slandered. If the prisoner is beaten to death by his family in the court, then he, the Fu Yin, will wait to be the imperial historian! However, because Zhang Shilang held the selection, examination, appointment and dismissal, promotion, and transfer of these officials, he did not dare to offend this Mrs. Zhang, so he lost his eyes to the master beside him.

The master immediately understood, and with a flattering smile, he said to Mrs. Zhang: "Madame, just rest assured, now the human and material evidence is complete." Just waited for the report to the Criminal Department for review, and it is estimated that there is no problem in sentencing him to be beheaded in the autumn. At that time, Miss Lan'er was also a big revenge. Mrs. Zhang's charming face showed a satisfied smile.

Brother Zhuang was scarred all over his body, his shirt was soaked with sweat and blood, and the whole person was already in a semi-comatose state. The master quietly glanced at the officials, and he picked up the paper and ink on the table and walked to Brother Zhuang'er. Those conscripts also immediately came up and surrounded Brother Zhuang intentionally or unintentionally.

Zhong Ziyuan's heart tightened, she stood on tiptoe and looked inside, but she didn't see anything. I only heard the master's unique shrill voice from the crowd: "Since you have confessed your guilt, sign and draw a charge!" ”

It's not good, they want to make Brother Zhuang's crime true. I don't know if it's because of the hot weather, beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on Zhong Ziyuan's forehead, she was angry and anxious, but the yamen was stopped by those fierce and vicious servants, and she couldn't even get close, so she could only watch. But there is nothing to be done.

The young man who had been forcibly pulled away had red eyes and was panting heavily. If it weren't for being caught by the two officials, there would have been a posture of continuing to step forward and tear Brother Zhuang apart. The old woman was still lying on Lan'er's body and weeping. Suddenly, there was an exclamation in the crowd, and some people shouted: "She cried, she cried" and some people exclaimed: "The corpse is cheated" I saw that a red teardrop slowly slipped down from the corner of Lan'er's eyes.

The young man's eyes widened in surprise, and the old woman became more and more crazy and shouted, "Lan'er." What grievances do you have? If you die, you won't be able to live in peace. You sue sù me, you sue sù me"

At this moment, a thunderclap suddenly sounded in the sky, and a strong wind blew on the ground. Rolling up the sand and gravel dust and throwing it on the frightened onlookers, the bean-sized raindrops crackled down in an instant.

Zhong Ziyuan's heart moved, she let go of her throat and shouted: "The dead are crying, and the sky is warning." There is a great grievance in this case, and it is wronged! My lord," her words successfully made the master stop the movements of his hands. It involves the theory of ghosts and gods. After all, it made people feel uneasy, so he raised his eyes in embarrassment and looked at the head of the mansion.

Lord Yin in the hall was furious, his eyes widened, and he patted the shocked wood and shouted angrily: "Who is outside to confuse the public? Where are the officials? Go grab it. ”

I saw those servants coming towards Zhong Ziyuan like fierce gods. Li Xiucai was stunned at first, and immediately shouted with her. The theory of ghosts and gods has always been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and Lan'er's eyes are round. The scene of blood and tears dripping down has been seen by many people. This strange phenomenon. made them believe Zhong Ziyuan's words, so more and more people roared together: "The dead are crying, the sky is warning, this case has a great grievance, wronged!" Adult"

The wrath of the people is hard to do! The servants' footsteps suddenly hesitated, and they looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a while.

Suddenly, there was a terrible call from outside the crowd: "Wronged! My lord: "Why is there another one who shouts grievances?" Everyone followed the voice. I saw a young woman of twenty-five or sixteen years old, who was soaked in coarse linen clothes and soaked by the rain, but still could not hide her beautiful face, and pulled a beggar with ragged clothes and a beard, and hurried over.

"Sister-in-law Zhuang!" Zhong Ziyuan and Li Xiucai exclaimed together.

The lady of the dealer had no time to greet them, so she pulled the beggar and tried to break straight into the lobby, but was blocked by the officials with their killing sticks. The lady of the dealer clutched the killing stick in front of her, and called out bitterly: "My lord, I have witnesses who can prove that my father-in-law was knocked unconscious and taken away." Adults, adults"

"This?" Fu Yin pinched his beard and glanced at Mrs. Zhang, who was sitting below, in embarrassment. Mrs. Zhang's beautiful face tightened, she snorted coldly, and said, "My lord, is your lobby a teahouse, can anyone come and go at will?" ”

Fu Yin hesitated for a moment, seeing that the master was helpless to lose his eyes. He couldn't help but pull off two whiskers with a force on his hands, and couldn't help grinning in pain.

I heard that Mrs. Zhang continued to say angrily: "The sky will not cry out for such a villain. My lord, this is already a case with conclusive evidence, don't you know how to make a decision after listening to the nonsense in the mouths of those idle men outside? If you try the case like this, if our master knows, then you don't know how to write this year's assessment! ”

Such a naked-naked-naked threat made Fu Yin's heart soar with anger, so he accidentally pulled off a few more beards. It's just an aunt who has been corrected, and she is angry. However, these words can only be put in his stomach, he gritted his teeth, and said to the master below: "The evidence is conclusive, and he has not signed yet." ”

The master, who was waiting for this sentence, immediately picked up Brother Zhuang's thumb neatly, printed a seal on the ink, and stamped it on the confession. At this moment, a dazzling lightning streaked across the sky, and the mournful cry of the banker's lady and the passionate call of the crowd seemed to become erratic.

As soon as the dust settled, Mrs. Zhang stood up with satisfaction and said, "Since the matter here has been understood, I will not continue to disturb the adults to handle official business, and I will leave." The girl who was originally kneeling on the ground immediately got up to help her, and the sharp-eyed Zhong Ziyuan saw that there seemed to be a slender old scar on her arm. But before Zhong Ziyuan could see the real thing, the scar was quickly covered by her hanging sleeves.

With the support of the girl, Mrs. Zhang twisted her plump waist and hips and left quickly. Fu Yin also slapped the hall in shock, and shouted: "Put the traffickers in the prison, put the corpses in Yizhuang, and leave the hall." He pinched his mustache and walked back to the back hall in a figure-eight step.

Seeing Brother Zhuang drooping his head, he was dragged down by the officials. The young man also spat on him, and said viciously: "Killing a thousand knives and letting you die a happy death is really cheap for you." Sister-in-law Zhuang couldn't help but sit on the ground and said blankly: "How can this be? How so? ”

It was already dark, and the rain came and went as fast as it came, leaving only puddles of mud and a crowd of people who were poured like chickens in soup.

Seeing the lively crowd walk away in twos and threes, Zhong Ziyuan and Li Xiucai hurriedly stepped forward to help the depressed banker's lady. Zhong Ziyuan comforted: "Sister-in-law Zhuang, don't worry, this case will have to be reviewed by the Criminal Department before it can be judged, and we still have a chance to overturn the case." ”

The lady of the dealer grabbed her wrist violently, and asked with a worried face: "Doctor Jia, you also believe that my father-in-law is wronged, right?" ”

Zhong Ziyuan's wrist was scratched by her, but she still looked at the eyes of the Zhuang lady without changing her face, and said sincerely: "Yes, I believe that Brother Zhuang is definitely not the murderer who killed that Lan'er girl." ”

Li Xiucai also hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, I also believe that Brother Zhuang is definitely not a murderer." ”

The banker's eyes lit up, and then dimmed again. She said dejectedly: "What's the use, after all, the arms can't twist the thighs." ”

Zhong Ziyuan sighed and said, "Actually, just looking at it like this, there are many things wrong with that girl's body. It's a pity that I'm soft-spoken, and no one cares about what I say. If only I could take a closer look at the corpse, I'd be able to find the flaws in it. ”

"Yizhuang usually has only one person to guard, and the person who guards it is just acting like a person." A slightly old voice interjected abruptly. The one who spoke was actually the man who was dragged all the way by the banker's lady and looked like a beggar.

His words immediately attracted everyone's attention, Zhong Ziyuan's eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice and said, "That's right! In that case, then we can quietly go to Yizhuang to see Lan'er's corpse. ”

"What? Let's go to Yizhuang? Li Xiucai was full of excitement, and just thinking about it, he felt that his scalp was numb.

Zhong Ziyuan said in a deep voice: "Yes, not only do you have to go, but you must also be fast, otherwise the features on the corpse will disappear." At that time, Brother Zhuang really won't be able to turn over. ”

The beggar twisted the rain on his body and said with a sneer: "What if you find a flaw? You're not a fool, and no one will believe what you say. (To be continued) R640