Chapter 42
Another woman was brought out. The moment she came out, she wailed in front of Pang Yu,""Lord Marquis, please seek justice for me. My father died unjustly ~"
"Tell me first, who are you? Who do you want to sue? Why?"
Pang Yu said helplessly. The moment you came out, you cried injustice and didn't say anything. Do you really think I'm a god?
Pang Yu finally understood what was going on. This woman was called Chen Lili. After her mother passed away ten years ago, her father remarried a young and beautiful woman.
Who knew that this woman had married her father with a motive? She wanted to kill her father. One night, when she was sleeping soundly, her father's scream woke her up. She hurriedly ran to her father's room and saw her stepmother smash a seven-inch-long nail into her father's head. Then, her stepmother ran out of the house.
At that time, although she was young, she was determined to avenge her father. She followed the woman all the way from Bashu to Zhongmou County. Who knew that after a few years in Zhongmou County, when she saw that she had grown up and was about to take revenge, she was captured by the local bully Hu Xiba and brought to Niannu Jiao to receive guests.
And that woman's name was Zhang Yinhua. She had never forgotten this name.
From what she said, Pang Yu knew that she and the woman named Zhang Yinhua were from Ba Shu. This gave him a headache. This thing was like finding a needle in a haystack. It required time.
"It seems that the wife of my lord is called Zhang Yinhua…"
At this moment, a bailiff beside him said in surprise. These words seemed to have awakened Pang Yu, and he turned his gaze to Li Chengnan.
"Lord Marquis, this official's wife is indeed called Zhang Yinhua. However, this might just be a coincidence. My wife and I have been very close all these years, and she doesn't seem to be a vicious person.”
Li Chengnan was stunned as he cupped his hands towards Pang Yu.
Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Pang Yu didn't pursue the matter any further. Instead, he looked at Chenli and said,""If Zhang Yinhua were to appear in front of you again, would you be able to recognize her?”
"Replying to Lord Marquis, even if she turned into a grey woman, she would still recognize her.”
Chenli kowtowed.
"Then get up first and follow me to the county office.”
Pang Yu thought for a moment and said.
After everyone returned to the county office, Pang Yu looked at Li Chengnan and said,""Call your wife out. Although I also believe that you won't lie. However, the outside world doesn't know. Ask her to come out and confront her face to face. It's also good to clear your wife's name and prevent rumors from damaging your wife's reputation.”
" Alright! I'll go now!"
Li Chengnan nodded. He also believed that his wife would not do such a thing. He believed that it must be someone with the same name. After all, there were many people with the same name in this world.
"Lord Marquis, do you think the murderer is County Magistrate Li's wife?”
After Li Chengnan left, the commander beside Pang Yu asked curiously. His trip out of Beijing was really interesting. One case after another.
"It's hard to say, but I hope not. Li Chengnan was not a bad person. Although he was a little muddle-headed when it came to settling cases, overall, he was still a good official. He didn't have a sedan chair or carriage to travel, which was enough to show that he was at least incorruptible.”
Pang Yu shook his head slightly, but he knew in his heart that his hope was very slim. He seemed to recall Li Chengnan saying that his wife had a nightmare and that he had driven a seven-inch nail into her head.
If it was a normal person, who would think of this? Why would he have nightmares? He probably had something on his mind, but he didn't think too much about it at that time.
Li Chengnan had been gone for a long time and had not returned. This made Pang Yu frown.
"Lord Marquis, did Li Chengnan run off with his wife? Why didn't he come back after such a long time? It's been almost an hour."
The commander of the military capital looked at Pang Yu and said. It was almost an hour. In the future, it would be an hour. He hadn't returned for so long, so he couldn't blame others for having other thoughts.
"He can't run. He's an official of the imperial court. Where can he run? Besides, where could he run to? Another weak scholar. If he runs for a day, we can catch him. Don't worry, I'm afraid things have changed ~"
Pang Yu sighed in his heart as he spoke. It was indeed as he had expected.
About an hour later, Li Chengnan and his wife, Zhang Yinhua, walked out with tears on their faces.
"Looks like I was right. Zhang Yinhua, Li Chengnan's wife, is also a murderer.”
Pang Yu looked at Li Chengnan and sighed as he spoke indifferently.
"This lowly official is guilty of failing to live up to the expectations of the Imperial Court. Lord Marquis, please punish me!"
Li Chengnan knelt on the ground and cried.
"Punishment? Li Chengnan, if you don't know, how can you punish her? If you want to punish her, it's your wife. It was only right and proper to pay for a life and a debt.”
Pang Yu looked at his wife as he spoke and said softly,""I didn't expect you to admit it so easily. I think you've already told Li Chengnan. Forget it, I think you're prepared to suffer. Then I'll…"
"Lord Marquis ~"
At this moment, Li Chengnan suddenly called out. Under Pang Yu's puzzled gaze, he took off the black veil on his head and handed it over with both hands, tears streaming down his face as he said,"This lowly official has betrayed the Imperial Court's trust and deceived Lord Marquis.
I've known you for ten years. How can I stand by and watch you punish me?
I'm willing to resign from the black veil on my head ~"
At this point, Li Chengnan turned to look at his wife before continuing,""I only beg Lord Marquis to show mercy and let this lowly official's wife off. This lowly official earnestly implores Lord Marquis ~"
As he spoke, Li Chengnan's head hit the ground heavily. This was the Song Dynasty. The scholar-bureaucrats believed that they were equal to the emperor, and that the scholar-bureaucrats and the emperor ruled the world together. This was why the status of the literati was revered.
As long as one was able to obtain an official rank and become an official, no matter how low one's rank was, even a seventh-grade county magistrate would not have to kneel before the emperor.
But now, in order to protect his wife, Li Chengnan had knelt down and kowtowed to Pang Yu. This could be said to be very rare in the Great Song Dynasty.
"No ~ Lord Marquis, this is the sin of a commoner's daughter. I beg Lord Marquis."
A couple knelt before him and kowtowed continuously, both hoping to let the other off. This made Pang Yu sigh.
It was one thing to sigh, but what to do was another.
"Get up first and tell me what is going on. What is your wife's motive for killing? Why did you harm your husband?"
Pang Yu said in a deep voice.
Then, Li Chengnan told him everything in detail. It turned out that Chenli's father was a local bully in a certain county of Ba Shu, just like Hu Xiba. One night, Chen Li's father rushed into Zhang Yinhua's house and killed her family. She was the only one who managed to hide and survive.
After Zhang Yinhua survived, she went to the local county government three times to complain. Who knew that the county magistrate and Chen Li's father were in cahoots and did not seek justice for Zhang Yinhua. A few years later, Zhang Yinhua gradually grew up. He gradually got closer to Chenli's father, looking for an opportunity to avenge his parents.
Finally, after Chenli's first wife died, she married Chenli's father. One day, Chenli's father asked Zhang Yinhua to leave Bashu and come to Zhongmu County. He found a blacksmith to forge a seven-inch-long iron nail. He wanted to use this iron nail to kill Chenli's father's sworn enemy without anyone knowing.
In the end, this nail was used by Zhang Yinhua to kill Chen Li's father. After she had gotten her revenge, she left Ba Shu and went to Zhongmu County alone. Chenli had also followed them at such a young age.
Who would have thought that Chenli would follow him and gradually grow up. When she was a beautiful girl, she would be sent to Nian Nujiao by Hu Xiba to receive customers.
After Pang Yu heard this, he looked at Li Chengnan and his wife, Zhang Yinhua, who were kneeling on the ground. Then, he looked at Chenli, who was standing beside him.
"Prepare the brush and ink ~"
Pang Yu gave the order, and the Imperial Army went to prepare. Soon, a piece of paper was spread out in front of him, and a brush was prepared.
Pang Yu picked up his brush and wrote on it for a while. It took him about an hour to finish writing. After he was done, he handed it to Li Chengnan and said,"Li Chengnan, I deeply sympathize with your wife. To put it bluntly, Chenli's father died a worthy death, but how innocent was Chenli? It's unfortunate to lose your father when you were young like your wife.
Take this letter with your wife to the Grand Preceptor's Residence in the capital and give it to my father. Afterwards, you and Zhang Yinhua will temporarily return to Zhongmu County to work. Before I return, you are not to leave Zhongmou County.
As for how to deal with your wife, the Imperial Court will issue a decree soon. You will know then.”
Li Chengnan was still in a daze. He looked at Pang Yu and asked dumbly,""Lord Marquis, is my life in danger?”
"Hehe, don't worry. Your wife avenged her father for the sake of filial piety. Although she is a murderer, there is no worry about her life or banishment.”
Li Chengnan was happy. The couple knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously.
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