Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 901: A Letter

This statement was practically a threat, making Magistrate Gu and Judge Tang extremely angry.

Judge Tang quietly said to Magistrate Gu, "My lord, why don’t you let me handle this case? If we can’t convict Lai Zhi, at least you can extricate yourself."

Magistrate Gu shook his head, "If I back down now, won’t it make certain people who rely on rhetoric to make a living even more complacent? This is a courtroom, not a storytelling tavern, where we rely on more than just rhetoric."

The voice of Magistrate Gu was quite loud. Lawyer Wu heard it but wasn’t too afraid. He was a scholar, a person with an official position, and had met many officials in the Capital. Although Magistrate Gu was the chief official of the prefecture, it wasn’t enough to scare him into trembling legs.

However, a storyteller who arrived after hearing the news would not stand for it and shouted, "Lawyer Wu, a servant from Lord Lai’s residence, is relying on his master’s power and threatening the Magistrate openly in court, which is outrageous!"

This shout was indeed loud, making Lawyer Wu very angry. When he looked into the crowd, he couldn’t find the speaker. That person had bent over, shouted at the top of their lungs, and merged into the crowd, making it impossible to see them.

Lawyer Wu could only angrily say, "Magistrate, this is a courtroom, and these people are gathering to cause trouble, disturbing the court. You should immediately have the officials drive them away!"

Magistrate Gu replied in a tone like a father, "They are all citizens of He’an Prefecture, and I am their parental official. How can I drive them away? Besides, they are not causing trouble inside the courtroom; they are standing outside. Lawyer Wu, make sure you can see clearly before you speak, and don’t wrongly accuse the people of He’an Prefecture; they are all good people."

A few days ago, he was nearly vexed to death by this group of "good people," shouting until his throat hurt for two days.

Lawyer Wu understood then that Magistrate Gu was unwilling to let this group of people leave, wanting to keep them to support himself.

He gritted his teeth in anger. If he had known that the storytellers of He’an Prefecture had such a use, he would definitely have advised Lord Lai to keep a few storytellers. At critical moments, they could spread stories around the city.

Judge Tang took the opportunity to call over an official and said a few words to him, after which the official ran off.

Magistrate Gu no longer paid attention to Lawyer Wu and instead asked Lord Lai, "Lord Lai, let me ask you, did you know Mrs. Gu Pan when you were young? You said her parents saved you and were your saviors. What kind of life-saving grace was it exactly? Are you using this grace to cover up your illicit relationship?"

Lord Lai looked after Gu Youwen and his family, using the excuse that Granny Gu’s parents had a life-saving grace for him. But what if this life-saving grace was fake?

In that case, it would be an excuse to cover up his relationship with the illegitimate child.

Upon hearing this, Lord Lai’s heart missed a beat. Had the thing he tried so hard to hide been discovered?

Lawyer Wu was livid and angrily said, "Magistrate, please watch your words. This is a courtroom, and Lord Lai is a fifth-rank Vice Magistrate. How dare you slander his private conduct in court! What is your intention?"

Judge Tang said, "Why are you so anxious? Today, Yuan Jiagui is accusing Mrs. Gu Pan and Lord Lai of committing murder to silence a discovered affair. Since this case is about that, isn’t the Magistrate allowed to ask?"

He continued with, "Lawyer Wu, let me remind you, you are merely a litigation lawyer, not an official. You can debate for your lord in court, but if you dare to question the chief official of a prefecture again, you’ll be punished."

Do you really think they dare not punish a litigation lawyer?

Magistrate Gu mused that Judge Tang was indeed worthy of specializing in presiding over cases; his rhetorical skills were sharper than his own.

Lawyer Wu had nothing to say, and instead looked at Yuan Jiagui, pointing at him as he asked, "You came from Linhe Prefecture? In just a few days, how did you learn about Mrs. Gu Pan’s situation, prepare the petition, and accuse Lord Lai? Tell me, were you instigated by someone to specifically slander Lord Lai?!"

Then, turning to Magistrate Gu, he said, "Magistrate, don’t you find it odd that Yuan Jiagui appeared neither early nor late, but right now? It’s clearly a deliberate plot by someone, and it must surely be Dashan’s family. They deeply resent the Old Gu Family and can’t stand Lord Lai’s kindness towards the Old Gu Family, so they devised this vile plot to frame Lord Lai. Please order the immediate arrest of Dashan’s family and throw these ruffians into prison!"

Lawyer Wu, being a litigation lawyer, keenly sensed the suspicious timing of events today and immediately turned the focus towards Dashan’s family, attempting to take the opportunity to destroy them.

Lord Lai was very pleased to hear this, saying tearfully, "Magistrate, I know that because of the matter with the Old Gu Family recently, you have some complaints about me, but I didn’t do it. It’s Dashan’s family who are too malicious, unable to tolerate my taking care of Youwen and them. That’s why they devised such a sinister plan."

Heh, if he could manage to convict Dashan’s family, as the wronged party, he might be able to claim all of Dashan’s family’s property as compensation.

How could a mere peasant hope to topple an official like him? Impossible!

Magistrate Gu tightened his grip on the gavel. Truly a cunning old dog, he sure knew how to bite. But Yuan Jiagui and their arrival was too coincidental to not arouse suspicion.

Tian Xiwang’s family was getting nervous, knowing they had indeed been brought by Qin San Lang and Gu Daya. If this got revealed, would they also be doomed?

Tian Xiwang was very frightened, tugging on Yuan Jiagui’s sleeve, just about to speak when suddenly a porter arrived at the government gate and shouted, "My lords, I have a letter here from a steward, instructed to deliver it to the Prefecture Government Office for the Magistrate."

This shout startled everyone present.

A letter from a steward?

Who was this steward?

Lord Lai immediately thought of Steward Yue and anxiously gestured to his men to grab the letter.

But in front of such a crowd, how could they?

The gate officials immediately took the letter and led the man into the courtroom.

"My lord, the letter," the official handed the letter to Magistrate Gu.

Seeing the two words ’Yue Chong’ on the envelope, Magistrate Gu was overjoyed, immediately opening it to read. After reading it, he laughed and said, "Lord Lai, didn’t you want to know how Yuan Jiagui and his people came here? Steward Yue has said, he secretly sent for them. He did this because he despises your numerous evil deeds and wants you to repay your karma."

Steward Yue’s letter was short but revealed two things: first, that he was the one who brought Yuan Jiagui and the others, and second, that he was disgusted by Lord Lai’s numerous evil deeds and had already left for Jiangnan to seek a new life.

The second matter was hinted at subtly, but for someone like Steward Yue to flee indicated that Lord Lai’s downfall was imminent.

And for Steward Yue to dare to go to Jiangnan meant he had backing over there, a powerful one, significant enough for him to risk tearing faces with his former patron openly.

Actually, Steward Yue did not want to fall out with Lord Lai, who had once been his master. To serve Lord Lai and then turn against him upon leaving was something to be scorned.

But it was a condition of exchange, with people on the other side promising to save his family, while he had to testify against Lord Lai at the right moment.