“Could it be that I have wronged you? Today is my birthday, but you only gave me rotten vegetable leaves stewed with rotten carrot soup, while you yourself ate a lot of meat and fish in your room, do you think you are not disobedient and unfilial?!”
The old woman questioned her daughter-in-law He Wangshi with a handful of snot and a handful of tears, after saying this, she once again patted the ground and begged Zhu Pingan with tears in her eyes, “Zhixian Daoliang, I haven’t seen meat and fish for months, please Zhixian Daoliang give me the right to do it, and sentence my son to repudiate this disobedient and ungrateful daughter-in-law, and return my family to peace ah.”
Hearing the old woman say that she hadn’t seen meat and fish for months, the onlookers and melon eaters took pity on the old woman.
“Grandmother-in-law, oooooooo……”He Wangshi looked at the old woman incredulously, tears streaming down her face.
“He Wangshi, your mother-in-law’s accusation of disobedience and unfiliality, can you hear it clearly? Quickly tell the truth with this official.”
Zhu Pingan asked He Wangshi in the hall.
“Wooooooooo……”He Wangshi ignored it and just lowered her head and cried more than once, refusing to say anything.
“He Wang Clan? Can you hear my official’s words clearly?”Zhu Pingan asked again.
If not for the fact that He Wangshi had just spoken to her mother-in-law, Zhu Pingan would have thought that He Wangshi was mute.
No matter how Zhu Pingan asked, He Wangshi under the hall just bowed her head and cried, not saying anything for sure.
“Look at her head is lowered to the crotch of her trousers, she also knows that there is no face ah? If I had known this, why did I bother.”
“No face to open up ……”
“In the future, can all bright eyes ah, can not find such a daughter-in-law, or old have you suffer.”
The onlookers and eaters scoffed at He Wangshi and spat in whispers.
Zhu Pingan rubbed his head in the lobby, He Wangshi didn’t say a word, how can this case be tried.
The trial also can not rely on the plaintiff’s word alone to make a judgement ah.
Evidence, testimony …….If you don’t have one, it will be hard to avoid wrongful convictions.
Zhu Pingan once again carefully observed the plaintiff and defendant in the hall, eyebrows slightly raised, and then the corner of his mouth pulled on a smile, gently said to the old woman in the hall, “The lady, this official as a parent official of Jingnan, for the people in the territory of the responsibility of indoctrination, your daughter-in-law disobedient and unfilial, the official also has a certain degree of responsibility. Today is your birthday, but only ate rotten vegetable leaves turnip soup, really shabby. In this case, this official will make up a birthday banquet for your old man in this public hall how?”
“Ah? How can this be. The county magistrate has a lot of work to do, how can I cause you trouble because of this trivial matter. You only need to sentence my son to repudiate this disobedient and unfilial daughter-in-law on the line …….”
The old woman politely refused.
“Where, no trouble, no trouble. We won’t make a big deal of it, just two bowls of longevity noodles. One bowl for your old man, well, one bowl for your daughter-in-law, you will eat longevity noodles together in this public hall. Firstly, to make up for your old man’s birthday; secondly, after all, we are a family, let’s see if eating a bowl of longevity noodles together can resolve your conflicts and make your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reconcile as before. Of course, if you still can’t make up after eating, it’s okay. After you finish eating, this official will then continue to hear the case and pass judgement according to the law.”
Zhu Pingan said gently.
“I don’t dare to trouble the magistrate, I don’t dare to trouble the magistrate ……”The old woman excused herself.
“It’s not troublesome, there is a noodle shop near the courthouse with good craftsmanship. After you have eaten the longevity noodles, this official will continue to examine the case.”Zhu Pingan said gently.
“Big Dagger.”
Zhu Pingan summoned Liu Dazhou and whispered a few instructions to him before patting his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Your Excellency, I will go to the noodle shop and bring two bowls of longevity noodles.”Liu Dazhou nodded vigorously and led the way.
Not long after, Liu Dazhou returned with a steaming food box that smelled of noodles.
Zhu Pingan caused a table to be set up under the hall and two chairs to be placed facing each other, inviting the old woman and He Wangshi to take their seats facing each other, placing two bowls of steaming longevity noodles in front of the two of them and inviting them.
The old woman and He Wangshi took their seats and looked at each other.
“No need to be polite, please use it.”Zhu Pingan looked at the two with a smile and reached out to make a gesture of invitation.
The old woman and He Wangshi both looked up to see Zhu Pingan looking at them with a smile, making a gesture of invitation.
“Thank you, Great Master Zhi Xian.”
The governor was so gracious that the two of them had no choice but to thank him, pick up their bowls, pick up their chopsticks, and eat the longevity noodles.
While the old woman and He Wangshi were eating the noodles, the onlookers outside the public hall were all staring at each other, dumbfounded.
“What is this situation? This is a trial, how come the magistrate invited someone to eat noodles?”
“Is this the Chief Magistrate? Why do I feel like a new person? Our county magistrate is a divine judge of cases, solving cases like a god, even the last case of monks and nuns, our county magistrate that is also a clear, clear, justified. How is it that this daughter-in-law is not filial to her mother-in-law case, but the trial is invited to eat up the noodles ah? How to see, how to feel some ridiculous it. This daughter-in-law disobedient and unfilial mother-in-law, invite them to eat a long life noodles, they can be reconciled! Will she change her ways? Even if she says she’s reformed, she can’t be trusted.”
“What do you know, our governor big old man is kind-hearted, this is sympathetic to the old lady, see the old lady pitiful ……”
The melon eating crowd whispered.
In the crowd’s murmur, He Wangshi quickly finished the longevity noodles, but the old woman only ate half.
“Auntie, don’t worry about the noodle money, this official has already paid for it. You old man just eat.”Zhu Pingan looked at the old woman and said gently.
“Ai, thank you, Great Master Zhi Xian.”The old woman continued to eat under Zhu Pingan’s gaze.
As she ate and ate, the old woman felt an unpleasant sensation in her stomach and a strong feeling of vomiting rushed up her throat.
Then, the oldest woman could not control herself and vomited on the spot.
Beside her, He Wangshi’s stomach also felt an unbearable sensation, and a strong feeling of vomiting also surged up her throat, and she also followed suit and vomited out.
“Eat ……Eat vomit?!”
“This, this noodle is afraid of unclean it, both of them vomited, which noodle shop did this noodle ah? Detain the noodle shop owner ……”
Outside the public hall, the melon eating crowd looked dumbfounded.
“Go and see what the two vomit up?”Zhu Pingan seemed to have expected this and was not surprised by the vomiting of the two, calmly ordering the left and right yamen to go and check the vomit of the old woman and He Wangshi.
Upon hearing Zhu Pingan’s order, the eating crowd outside the hall froze for a moment, and some of them reacted as quickly as if they were enlightened, their eyes widened at once, and despite the regurgitation, their eyes looked straight at the old woman and He Wangshi’s vomit.
“Back to County Honour, the plaintiff old woman vomited fish, meat, eggs, noodles, He Wangshi vomited green vegetable leaves, radish strips, noodles ……”The yamen covered their noses to check the two people’s vomit and reported back.
“Ah? Really ah, what the oldest lady vomited was really fish, meat, and eggs, and what He Wangshi vomited was green vegetable leaves and radish strips ……What’s going on, didn’t the oldest lady say that on her birthday today, He Wangshi only gave her rotten vegetable leaves stewed with rotten radish soup? Didn’t she say that He Wangshi ate a lot of fish and meat?!”
“This ……If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I really can’t believe it ah, the oldest lady even lied?!”
“So that’s why the Governor’s Grand Master invited them to eat noodles?!”
“The magistrate’s judgement is divine!”
It was only then that the people outside the hall came to a realisation, worshipping Zhu Pingan in their hearts and looking at the old woman in disbelief.
The truth of the case had thus been revealed.
The truth was diametrically opposed to what people thought.
