Chapter 218: The Twenty Big Boards
Yu Hongxiu was shocked, "That ruthless?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "I will try to transfer the child under my parents’ name tomorrow. If they refuse to release him, I won’t let things go easily."
"Are you sure you don’t need my help?" Yu Hongxiu asked again.
"Not for now. If there is indeed any trouble, I won’t hesitate to bother you," Bai Ruozhu said smilingly.
Yu Hongxiu thought that Bai Ruozhu was already being courteous enough. She brainstormed and considered a good plan, but she didn’t discuss it further with Bai Ruozhu.
After a bit more conversation, Bai Ruozhu took Dengdeng home to sleep, blissfully unaware that Yu Hongxiu that night had already discussed the nefarious deeds of the Bai old mansion with Mr. Xie, asking him to attend the court session the next day to lend a helping hand in case of any trouble.
Mr. Xie adored his wife dearly, how could he refuse her request? Moreover, Yu Hongxiu was not a person who would cause a fuss about trivial matters. Furthermore, Mr. Xie was extremely angry after hearing about this matter—such people deserved to be stripped of their titles and were not befitting of a scholar.
The next morning, Bai Ruozhu took Xiaosi and her second brother to the courthouse, while the rest of the Bai family went to their stall to do business. Guizhi helped look after Dengdeng in the West Courtyard while preparing some ingredients.
Unexpectedly, not only Judge Li appeared in the court, but also Mr. Xie. Judge Li introduced Mr. Xie as a respected scholar of Anyuan Town who was there to observe the proceedings.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at her second brother, and seeing his surprise too, she understood that her second brother hadn’t told the scholar about this. He wouldn’t dare to trouble the scholar. It must have been Yu Hongxiu who informed the scholar. Thinking of Yu Hongxiu’s kindness towards her, Bai Ruozhu...
Of course, there was another unexpected thing for Bai Ruozhu—the old mansion hadn’t sent anyone at all. Their absence wouldn’t be of consequence since they weren’t daring enough to affect the proceedings—the officer could still forcibly take them to the County Government Office, and they would be beaten there.
With this in mind, it was more likely that there was a complication that resulted in a delay at the old mansion’s end.
Judge Li was greatly displeased and instructed Wan Minglu below, "You and the Wang family are from the same village, go and fetch them for me."
After Minglu official accepted the task and left, Judge Li didn’t rush to call Niu Pazi. Since everyone present knew each other, he started a conversation instead.
"Scholar, I am sorry to bother you," Bai Zepei greeted Mr. Xie with a nod.
Xie Dun waved his hand, saying with a smile, "Coming here to seek justice is simply doing the right thing. I am only here to contribute a little."
Bai Ruozhu also bowed to thank Mr. Xie and Judge Li. Just as they were about to hang out a bit more, Wang Luji arrived back with the people. He said that he met them right at the entrance of the town.
Only the members of the Wang family and Bai Yibo had arrived today. Since the County Government Office required Madame Wang to appear in court that morning, it wouldn’t matter if the rest of the Bai family did not attend. The head of the Bai Family was determined not to lose face anymore and refused to come. The Old Madam had fought with Madame Wang the night before and all the neighbors knew about it, so she wouldn’t accompany her either.
Bai Ruolan excused herself by saying she had to cook for the elders at home, so she couldn’t attend. No one knew what she was thinking—it seemed like she was afraid of going to the Public Hall, but she also seemed to care about her reputation even more.
Bai Yobo and the children from Madame Wang were selfish and self-serving, just like their parents. It’s often said that children tend to emulate their parents, so it’s not surprising that the kids from the main room were this selfish too.
Currently, Madame Wang looked bitter and there were dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she didn’t sleep well the last night. No sooner had she entered the room, she saw Xiaosi standing next to Bai Ruozhu. She showed a displeased expression on her face and muttered, "Wicked child, didn’t come home all night, it’s truly difficult to raise him!"
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes narrowed, preparing to retort, but then she heard Judge Li knocking the courthouse wooden block hard and sternly asked, "Does Madame Wang not know the timing decreed by me yesterday? Those who do not obey the court timings will be beaten!"
Madame Wang was frightened and quickly knelt down to kowtow, "I beg for leniency, I didn’t sleep well last night and accidentally lost track of time."
Bai Yibo also greeted Judge Li, saying, "Please let my wife off lightly considering that it’s her first offense."
Judge Li glared at Bai Yibo. He had a poor impression of him and probably knew that Bai Zepei was not on good terms with his uncle, "Bold! You think we have multiple opportunities to appear in the Public Hall? Bailiff, give Madame Wang five raps of the paddle!"
Madame Wang cried out, "I beg of you, I was wrong, I am pregnant now, I cannot be beaten!"
Her words stunned Bai Ruozhu and the others. Madame Wang was pregnant? Why hadn’t they heard anything about it?
Judge Li kept a stern face and said, "Good, I will call a doctor to feel her pulse. If it’s true, I will let her off. But if it’s false, she will have lied to me in the court, and will receive an additional twenty raps of the paddle! If someone can fetch a doctor from Fushou Hall to come and feel her pulse."
Upon hearing this, Madame Wang panicked, her eyes rolling in their sockets. Suddenly she kowtowed to Judge Li again, "Sir, I didn’t mean to deceive you. I have recently been experiancing stomach discomfort and my monthly cycle was delayed. I speculated that I was pregnant, but I didn’t get a chance to confirm with a doctor. I don’t know if I was wrong."
A smile creeped up on the corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth. She said to herself, wasn’t it a coincidence that Madame Wang was now backpedaling? Didn’t she think whether such a falsehood could deceive people?
"In that case, we can bring in a doctor to confirm," Judge Li frowned, seemingly highly disgruntled by Madame Wang’s shameless act.
"There is no need to find a doctor. I have medical skills. I will feel her pulse." A cool voice echoed. Jiang Yichun, wearing a mask, had already emerged from the rear hall and appeared before everyone.
Judge Li was about to rise from his seat, but seeing the look in Jiang Yichun’s eyes, he retracted the bow he was about to offer and sat back down. However, his expression had become tense, contrasting with his earlier composed demeanor.
Bai Ruozhu stared at Jiang Yichun in surprise. Why had he come? To join in the fun?
Jiang Yichun walked up to Madame Wang, without uttering a word, and suddenly grabbed her wrist. Madame Wang was startled, recalling how she had been reprimanded by this man at the stall before, she became nervous. Frantically, she tried to retract her hand but found herself unable to move in the slightest.
Soon after, Jiang Yichun let go of Madame Wang, his voice even colder, "No pregnancy, and her monthly cycle was just less than two weeks ago."
Nobody expected him to directly reveal a woman’s cycle in public, resulting in an awkward silence in the court.
Bai Ruozhu looked at Jiang Yichun with even more surprise. She never thought that he was also versed in medical skills and was even more proficient than her. She wouldn’t necessarily be able to determine when anyone’s last period was by just feeling their pulse.
"Bold wicked woman! Daring to lie in the court, bailiff, take her away and give her twenty raps of the paddle!" Judge Li struck the courtroom wooden block once again and yelled sternly.
Madame Wang started crying out of fear, "I beg of you, I did not lie. I must have somehow offended this gentleman. I beg for forgiveness, please, let me off this once!"
Seeing Madame Wang trying to involve Jiang Yichun, Judge Li again pounded the wooden block, "Nonsense! Additional twenty raps of the paddle!"