A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chapter 371 Decision

Is the Fan family really in dire straits?

The same thought flashed through the minds of everyone in the Fan family.

The servant was roughly dragged up, his legs trembling, and he said through tears, "That woman said she has evidence, and she wants to sue the Grand Secretary for protecting his illegitimate child, and for the Fan family, as Fan Dongping's backer, instructing Magistrate Chen to destroy evidence and kill... to silence him."

Grand Secretary Fan gritted his teeth, his kind and benevolent face contorting into a grotesque expression, like a demon stripped of its mask.

"What evidence? What evidence!"

The servant said, "It seems... to be an account book or something written by Fan Dongping."

Grand Secretary Fan flew into a rage, "Fool!"

"What an idiot! If there had been other options, why would I have spared his life!"

Grand Secretary Fan paced back and forth angrily for a few steps, then turned around and asked:

"Who did that bitch get the evidence from? Tell me!"

The servant's face turned ashen. "She took it herself."

“She said she just returned from Nan Yi County this morning.”

In court, the prefect asked Lü Jing how she obtained the evidence.

Lü Jing told him frankly.

She had already been targeted the day after she went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to submit her petition.

Fortunately, with the help of friends in the martial arts world, they evaded the eyes and ears of those watching them and moved her to several different places.

Lü Jing survived because of this, but she did not want to continue waiting for the Jingzhao Prefecture to open its court, day after day.

She needs to take the initiative and obtain the evidence herself.

In Nanyi County, Fan Dongping's home and the county government office were the most dangerous places, yet they were the safest at this time.

The Fan family and the assassins they sent could never have imagined that the person they were searching for all over the city yesterday had already obtained the evidence from Nan Yi County and was on his way back to the capital.

Grand Secretary Fan tilted his head back and sneered, "Hahahaha... What a fine saying, the more dangerous, the safer."

"I've spent most of my life playing mind games, and I've been outsmarted by a little brat!"

The servant collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

Everyone looked very unhappy.

Some people said, "Uncle, please calm down! How could a country girl have such a scheme? Someone must be helping her."

"The Regent! He's always been at odds with our family, and it was he who arrested Fan Dongping this time!"

Grand Secretary Fan slowly sat down, seemingly to reassure his family and perhaps to comfort himself, and murmured, "Don't panic, don't panic."

"It's not the worst-case scenario yet."

“I have never directly instructed Magistrate Chen to do anything, and he has no evidence to support this claim.”

"So it was he who made wild guesses about my meaning and acted on his own initiative to collude with Fan Dongping to oppress the people. I am far away in the capital, how could I know about these things?"

"Even if the Jingzhao Prefecture gives its verdict today, I will at most be guilty of failing to properly educate my son, spoiling him, and neglecting to supervise him."

"I will immediately go to the palace to plead guilty. His Majesty, considering the Fan family's contributions to the rise of the new emperor, may grant me leniency."

As Grand Secretary Fan spoke, he felt somewhat at ease.

The others looked at each other, some relieved, others with smug smiles.

A Grand Secretary is indeed a Grand Secretary.

As long as he is alive, the Fan family will not fall.

Even if the regent has always been eyeing the Fan family covetously, what can be the result?

There always need to be two heads to silence public opinion.

Magistrate Chen, and that "illegitimate son" who isn't even of the Fan family bloodline, let them be killed.

Outside Jingzhao Prefecture.

An Qing was very curious, "Miss Lü knows people in the martial arts world?"

"We're so worried about her, and she's keeping it all from us. That's really not fair."

"However... it's still understandable."

Gu Xixi kept an eye on the situation in the courtroom and said, "Actually, you know the friend she mentioned too."

"They are still our mutual old friends."

An Qinghe felt his brain wasn't working properly. "Huh? I can't think of anyone."

He Jinglan glanced at Gu Xixi and had no choice but to give the answer herself, "Meng Chengping."

"Meng Chengping served as a military advisor in the Jinwu Guard."

An Qinghe slapped his forehead. "Did I know he didn't go back to the Northwest? He actually stayed in the capital?"

He said unhappily, "Then he's really not being fair! Knowing we've come to the capital, he's been so slow to show up. Is he afraid I'll treat him to a meal?"

He Jinglan chuckled, "Recently, besides being on duty in the palace, he also has to take turns protecting Miss Lü with his friends from the martial arts world. How could he possibly find the time to eat and drink with us?"

"And this time, when Miss Lü returned to Nan Yi County to look for evidence, it was also his arrangement of the route and manpower."

“If he had publicly acknowledged his close relationship with us earlier, it would have been difficult to guarantee that someone with ulterior motives wouldn’t have noticed something amiss and caused further trouble.”

"So he'd better keep his public appearances to a minimum until the case is concluded."

An Qinghe suddenly realized, "This kid is secretly working on something big!"

Gu Xixi glanced at him and saw that he was still smiling, and asked, "Aren't you angry that we kept it from you?"

An Qinghe shook his head, "I understand! For Miss Lü's safety, the fewer people who know about this, the better."

"Firstly, you two have known General Meng for a long time and are more familiar with him than I am, so it's natural for you to step forward."

“Secondly,” he grinned, his smile as bright as the sun.

"How could you two deliberately keep it from me? The reason you haven't told me yet is simply that the time hasn't come to bring it up."

He Jinglan broke out in a cold sweat. This person really was something else; he could even soothe himself.

Although everything he said was correct.

The atmosphere in the courtroom was solemn.

The evidence presented by Lü Jing, along with the confession issued by the Regent Prince.

There is also a petition written in blood by a thousand victims and their surviving relatives.

Magistrate Chen and the officials in the county government had no way to deny it.

She could only tell him everything about her collusion with Fan Dongping.

This includes the deaths of Lü Jing's parents.

It was Fan Dongping who attempted to seize the Lü family's tea plantation and killed Lü Jing's father.

They then fabricated a charge of poisoning tea leaves and had Lü Jing's mother silenced in prison.

Because Magistrate Chen was once an official appointed by the imperial court, he needs to be transferred from the Jingzhao Prefecture to the Ministry of Justice for a thorough investigation to determine if he committed any other crimes during his tenure.

The remaining members of the county government were sentenced severely according to the laws of the Daye era, with punishments ranging from exile to caning.

As for Fan Dongping, all his accomplices have confessed, so whether he speaks or not is no longer important.

The prefect took a deep breath and delivered a resounding verdict: "Fan Dongping of Nanyi County forcibly abducted women, sold innocent children, and murdered people for money, directly or indirectly causing the deaths of thirty-two people. The evidence is conclusive, and his crimes are heinous."

"Sentence! Execute immediately!"

"All property and assets acquired through trickery and coercion shall be returned to their rightful owners after being counted and verified."

Fan Dongping barely managed to lift his head, his lips trembling, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"No! You can't kill me! My father is the most powerful Grand Secretary Fan!"

"He wields absolute power, and all of you officials have to bow and scrape before him. Do you dare to kill me?"

"My father will definitely, definitely come to save me!"

Looking at these sinners, Lü Jing felt a mixture of sorrow and joy, hatred and pain.

The injustice has been redressed, and the revenge has been avenged.

Her parents, however, would never come back.

The onlookers cheered as they witnessed firsthand that evil would be punished.

An Qinghe grinned, but when he looked down, he noticed that Gu Xixi didn't seem so happy.

"Xixi, you seem to have something on your mind?"

"Miss Lü has finally avenged her great grudge; we should be happy for her."

Gu Xixi said, "This case is not over yet."

"Fan Dongping may not die for the time being, at least... not today."