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

Chapter 369 Turnaround

The people grew increasingly indignant as they spoke.

"I doubt that magistrate's backside is clean either!"

"Of course! Officials protect each other. With such a powerful father, even a lowly county magistrate would be eager to curry favor with him!"

"Hmph! Let's watch them fight like dogs!"

……

In the courtroom, the expressions of the prefect and the officials presiding over the trial all became subtle.

Magistrate Chen lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.

"Fan Dongping! Don't bite people indiscriminately when you're in a hurry."

"Who is your father? Everyone knows your parents died early, you're an orphan with no parents!"

Fan Dongping was now completely flustered. "Who am I? Others may not know, but don't you know yourself?"

"You've forgotten how you used to fawn over me!"

When he got excited, he stood up and was about to pounce on Magistrate Chen, but was stopped in time by the bailiffs next to him.

Magistrate Chen was startled, his face turned pale, but he remained defiant.

"Nonsense! How can you believe the words of a murder suspect and a thug?"

Fan Dongping struggled and roared like a madman, cursing everything from Magistrate Chen's ancestors to other people in the county government.

Unfortunately, he didn't offer any useful evidence after all that, so it was just a way of venting his anger.

There was chaos in the hall.

Mu Nanzhao looked at the two kneeling on the ground with a half-smile, as if he were watching a huge joke.

"You think you're someone's own son, that you're a loving father and son, and that someone will come to your rescue."

"The other one feels that he is loyal, at least his master can protect him and get him out of there unscathed."

"I really don't have the heart to tell you this."

Among the crowd were two women dressed in plain clothes, with unremarkable appearances.

It was Gu Xixi and He Jinglan.

He Jinglan whispered, "Listen to him saying he can't bear it, but he's about to destroy his spirit."

Sure enough, Mu Nanzhao said, "Last night, in three separate raids, more than twenty assassins stormed the government jail."

"If they weren't all dead, you would all be in this state now..."

Like a cold wind carrying frost and snow, it chills one's heart.

Fan Dongping quieted down, and Magistrate Chen raised his head blankly.

Mu Nanzhao didn't care about their reactions at all, and didn't even bother to look at them.

"Regarding how to ensure that prisoners die a just death in prison."

"You two have been working together for many years and have plenty of experience. Why don't you think about how you will commit suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"Wrist-cutting? Poisoning? Hanging? Oh, dying suddenly from illness is also acceptable."

The more people like Fan Dongping and Magistrate Chen treat others like dirt, the more afraid they are of death.

Magistrate Chen lay on the ground, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Compared to Fan Dongping, he still has some brains.

With just a little thought, and knowing his understanding of the Fan family's ruthless ways, he knew that what the Regent said was by no means an exaggeration.

After he spent a time in the government jail, Grand Secretary Fan could no longer trust him.

Why not kill someone to silence them? What could be a cleaner way?

Magistrate Chen felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his mind became clearer than ever before.

If the Fan family can abandon even their own blood relatives, what is he anyway?

Mu Nanzhao lowered his eyes, as if looking at a disgusting pile of mud.

"I've changed my mind. I'll let you out now."

Magistrate Chen was shocked and crawled on his knees toward Mu Nanzhao like a madman.

The constables pinned him down, but he continued to struggle and shout, "No! I won't go out!"

"If I leave the capital, they will definitely kill me!"

Mu Nanzhao looked into Magistrate Chen's eyes and asked, "Speak, who wants to kill you?"

Magistrate Chen froze, as if he had thought of something terrible.

He didn't answer, but just wept bitterly, "Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, save me!!"

Fan Dongping finally snapped out of his daze, shaking his head in a daze, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"My father was very good to me. He gave me whatever I wanted when I was little."

"And my brother said he would help me find Lü Jing and let me get revenge!"

"They won't abandon me; they will definitely come to rescue me."

Mu Nanzhao turned his gaze away indifferently.

The prefect slammed his hand on the wooden clapper and roared, "Insolence!"

"The evidence against you for hiring someone to kidnap others is irrefutable! You are also charged with multiple crimes including murder, robbery, mutilation of a corpse, abduction of a woman, and bribery of officials. And now you still dare to think that someone will come to your rescue!"

"I'd like to know who he is! And if he has the ability!"

However, this was the only straw Fan Dongping had left, and he refused to speak until he was in utter despair.

The prefect then summoned the plaintiff, Ms. Lü.

Only then did they learn that Lady Lü had not arrived today, and her whereabouts remained unknown.

The court hearing immediately reached a stalemate.

Among the onlookers, an old lawyer sighed:

"He refuses to confess, and there's no other evidence, so I'm afraid we won't get a result today."

Everyone sighed with regret, lamenting that the evildoers had not been brought to justice sooner.

At this point, He Jinglan said, "I don't think so."

"Look at the Regent's expression, he's calm and collected. Perhaps the evidence will arrive soon?"

Seeing that she was not particularly attractive, someone asked, "How do you know? You don't look like an official's wife. You're not making this up, are you?"

He Jinglan smiled without minding, "Whether it's there or not, we'll know once we wait and see."

Gu Xixi looked at the position of the sun, calculating that it should be time by now.

Fan Mansion.

Grand Secretary Fan sat upright in the flower hall.

All the members of the Fan family present were restless and anxious.

Since it was inconvenient for them to go to the capital, they could only keep sending their servants to gather information.

Grand Secretary Fan closed his eyes, as if he were an old monk in deep meditation.

At times like this, he can only remain calm.

None of the assassins he sent out last night returned this morning, and he had a bad feeling.

I thought I still had time to make other plans.

But I never expected the Jingzhao Prefecture to open its court so quickly.

but……

still have a chance.

Then a servant ran in and said, "The two haven't confessed yet."

"The woman surnamed Lü who went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to file a complaint has still not shown up!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people even looked delighted, saying, "Although we didn't manage to kill anyone else, at least the plaintiff is dead."

"If we can get through today, we will have a chance to make further plans."

Lu Jing has yet to appear in court to make charges, and there is currently no concrete evidence.

As long as Fan Dongping and others stubbornly deny it.

According to the rules of the Jingzhao Prefecture, at this time, the court should announce a recess for the day and the trial should be postponed to another day.

Grand Secretary Fan opened his eyes and asked the servant, "When you came back, had Mu Nanzhao left? Had the Prefect already announced a recess for the retrial?"

The servant shook his head, "No."

Grand Secretary Fan's expression darkened slightly, and he ordered, "Go investigate again!"

Was the plaintiff really dead?

No assassin returned to report; they vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead...

At the Jingzhao Prefecture, a yamen runner quickly stepped forward and whispered a few words to the prefect.

The prefect's furrowed brows relaxed, and the gavel rang out.

"Bring the plaintiff!"

As a woman in white entered the courtroom, everyone in the courtroom, except for the suspect, was invigorated.

Fan Dongping exclaimed, "You're not dead? How could you not be dead!"

Lu Jing walked past him with a cold face, knelt down with a thud, and held a heavy bundle high above her head with both hands.

"I, Lü Jing, hereby sue Fan Dongping, Magistrate Chen, and others for their numerous crimes of harming the people!"

"We accuse Minister Fan of condoning his illegitimate son's evil deeds! We accuse Minister Fan and his family of instructing Magistrate Chen and others to repeatedly protect Fan Dongping in order to destroy evidence and silence him!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the hall were shocked.

Only the Regent's gaze remained indifferent, seemingly unsurprised.