Chapter 168 - 168 Tattle on Someone Else's Behalf?
168 Tattle on Someone Else’s Behalf?
Imperial Doctor Tian didn’t know what had happened between Constable Liao and Mo Ruyue, but he didn’t say anything when he saw that she was more cautious than usual. He just watched quietly from the side.
“Naturally we will invite her to the court. Madam Qin’s question is really puzzling.”
Constable Liao replied indifferently and easily resolved the problem that Mo Ruyue had thrown at him. Then, he did not continue to pester her and turned to leave.
Imperial Doctor Tian then asked softly to Mo Ruyue, “Madam Qin, what are you doing?”
“Elder Tian, I’ll explain this to you later. Let’s go in first.” Imperial Doctor Tian shook his head.
The people in the county city had long been waiting for Imperial Doctor Tian to come and submit a complaint. Along the way, there were many people who called out to watch the show. After all, it was a pity to miss something that could enrage the kind Imperial Doctor Tian.
Seeing that the crowd outside was growing in number, the magistrate could no longer sit still. He only wanted to make things difficult for Mo Ruyue, but why did it turn into a situation where he was stuck in a dilemma?
No, I can’t panic. I can’t show my fear.
He told himself that when he asked the Grand Master to arrange this matter, he didn’t reveal his identity, so the man who was brought here had no evidence even if he wanted to accuse him.
He became much calmer when he thought of this.
Very quickly, after he finished asking for the identity of the plaintiff and accepted Imperial Doctor Tian’s accusation, according to the procedure, it was time to interrogate the defendant. However, before he could interrogate the man who had lost his soul, Mo Ruyue spoke again.
“Old Master, may I ask, after I submitted my complaint, why has there been no reply even now?”
She didn’t plan to let the magistrate get away with it, and also added the defendant to the list.
As expected, it came!
The magistrate’s heart trembled. Although he already knew that Mo Ruyue would definitely ask this question, but his mind still buzzed when he really heard it.
“Madam Qin, I can explain this.”
After he finished speaking, he felt that he was an official after all, and his attitude just now seemed a little too humble. He coughed again to adjust his mood.
“I’ve handled a case before, and it was of an extremely bad nature. Just your testimony alone had been sorted into several files. For some reason, your accusation at the time was mixed in, so I couldn’t see it in time.”
“It was only yesterday that this official was free and reorganized the files. Only then did I find out that even if Madam Qin did not come to find me today, I would also have asked you to quickly accept the case.”
When the county magistrate spoke, Mo Ruyue’s lips were slightly upturned. The arc of her smile that was not a smile made his eyes hurt, but he could not say anything. He could only endure it, but in his heart, he cursed Mo Ruyue’s ancestors.
In the end, he still adopted the advisor’s suggestion and attributed the reason for ignoring Mo Ruyue’s accusation to another “adultery case.” Although it was inevitable that people would find fault with it, this was already the best reason in comparison.
“Since it’s such a coincidence, I would like to add another defendant. You wouldn’t mind, would you, Old Master?”
Mo Ruyue followed the magistrate’s words and pointed at the man she had “led” to the government office.
“Madam Qin, I have no objection to you adding the defendant, but isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to tie him up and drag him to the government office?”
Magistrate Liu frowned and started to pick on Mo Ruyue’s behavior.
“May I ask, My Lord, what is wrong with my actions?”
Mo Ruyue’s brows raised, and the ridicule in the corners of her eyes became even more obvious.
“I’ve always seen official complaints, and it’s not uncommon for the accused to be tied up. I was just afraid that he would run away, so I only tied his wrist. How is that inappropriate?”
“The people of Huichun Hall can testify that this person spoke vulgarities the moment they met, destroyed my innocence, and tried to escape again and again. I don’t even know his name, if he runs away, Where can I find him?”
“Old Master, don’t tell me that when I want to seek justice, I’ll have to search the entire county for people?”
Her words were reasonable, and they made the magistrate feel uncomfortable. He hadn’t even told her everything, and her four, five, and six were already in front of him. Was she the magistrate or was he?
“Madam Qin, even if that’s the case, send someone to keep an eye on him. First, explain the situation to me and add him as the defendant. Then, I will send people to lock him up. Tying him up and imprisoning him is lynching. Don’t you understand this?”
The county magistrate really did not want to continue being so passive. He was a dignified official of the imperial court. How could he be controlled by a woman? Thus, his eyes widened and his tone of voice when speaking to Mo Ruyue suddenly became stern.
“If tying one’s wrist is lynching, then what’s the one that’s tied up? Please enlighten me, My Lord.”
Mo Ruyue’s words almost made the magistrate fall over in anger. She was referring to the previous adultery case where a woman had raped her husband. The woman had been tied up and dragged all the way here. The person had already been lynching, and she was only on her last breath to be interrogated.
At that time, the magistrate didn’t even care that the criminal was about to be beaten to death. But now, because Mo Ruyue had tied one of the accused’s hands to him, he didn’t want to let her off. Wasn’t he clearly looking for trouble?
This time, Magistrate Liu did not know how to respond. The advisor beside him was squinting his eyes so hard that they were about to cramp. He wanted him to stop dwelling on this issue. The more he said, the more mistakes he would make. Wasn’t this clearly giving Mo Ruyue a chance to speak?
However, even if the magistrate wanted to find a way out now, it would not be easy. Mo Ruyue had already talked him to death, so there was no way out for him.
Why else would they say that the one who tied the bell needed to untie the bell?
At this critical moment, Mo Ruyue had to speak for herself.
“Old Master, instead of dwelling on some insignificant matter, why don’t you add this person’s name first and accept Elder Tian’s case?”
Mo Ruyue thought that one afternoon would definitely not be enough. It would take nearly two hours to summon Qin Shi. In addition, the county magistrate had deliberately made things difficult for them and delayed them. Today’s case could be accepted because she had urged them.
“Hmph, don’t tell me that Madam Qin knows how to handle a case better than me?”
Although Magistrate Liu accepted Mo Ruyue’s offer, he still had to fight for his reputation. However, Mo Ruyue only smiled coldly and did not continue to argue with him.
In order to prove that he wasn’t being led by the nose of Mo Ruyue, the county magistrate deliberately went to receive Imperial Doctor Tian’s complaint first.
“Imperial Doctor Tian, you’re accusing someone tainting Madam Qin’s innocence. This is a complaint on behalf of someone else?”
When the county Magistrate saw Imperial Doctor Tian’s state, he was first stunned.
“That’s right, I introduced Du Zhongheng to Lady Qin as a private tutor. Originally, I just wanted to let the babies learn more knowledge. Such a simple little thing has caused so many rumors. I can’t sit by and do nothing.”