Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 263 - 263 264 How to Spare You_1

Chapter 263: Chapter 264 How to Spare You_1 Chapter 263: Chapter 264 How to Spare You_1 Mrs. Liang originally had no knowledge of this matter; after all, Xiangcai had only seen Honghai and Hongde being beaten in town before, which had nothing to do with her, so naturally, she told her nothing. It wasn’t until the government officers showed up to conduct a search that she realized her son had gotten into trouble at the academy, and she rushed over in a panic.

Lord Lu banged the shocking hall wood and shouted sternly, “Impudence! Is this a place for you to make a racket at will?”

Mrs. Liang’s legs went weak with fright from the sound of the shocking hall wood, and she dared not speak out of turn, knowing well that this was not Tupo Village. Should she offend the County Chief and find herself thrown into the gaol, who would she have to weep to?

Lord Lu snorted coldly, “This matter will be judged fairly by this official! This official has ordered the search of your house; if you truly wish to prove your innocence, then cooperate obediently. If you are indeed clean, what is there to fear?”

When Mrs. Liang saw the government officials come to search the house, she was indeed frightened. She knew her son’s character better than anyone, especially when she heard from the government officer that it was a theft, and her heart tightened in fear, worrying that they might actually find some incriminating evidence. Fortunately, they found nothing.

Mrs. Liang immediately burst into tears and pleaded, “Your Honor, you must stand up for our Shitou. Nothing was found in our search, yet there are still those who want to frame him, truly heartless and unjust!”

Lord Lu listened with irritation and snapped, “The verdict isn’t out yet, what’s all the fuss?”

Mrs. Liang wiped away her tears, “Nothing was found in our home, but I’ve heard that the Qiao Brothers’ book bags turned up a purse that held the Jade Pendant. If not them, then who? The truth lies clear before us, yet you still advocate for those two brothers. Are you not satisfied until you pin the blame on us? Just how much did the Qiao family bribe you with?”

The complexion of Lord Lu turned incredibly dark, and he slapped the shocking hall wood in anger, “Impudence! This officer seeks nothing but the truth, and here you are, spouting nonsense and slandering a court-appointed official. Do you have a death wish?”

Mrs. Liang had always been used to arguing forcefully in Tupo Village, her mouth was sharp, able to turn black into white and vice versa. Most people were often left speechless by her, but clearly, she had picked the wrong place today, and Lord Lu had metaphorically slapped a heavy hat on her head—this was a matter of life and death!

Mrs. Liang fell to her knees with a “thump”, her face going pale, “I was just talking nonsense, Your Honor, please calm your anger!”

Lord Lu snorted coldly and gave her a harsh stare before letting it go.

Suddenly, a government official hurried in, bowed with a fist and said, “My Lord, the underling has just completed a search of all the pawnshops in Chatu Town.”

Wang Shitou’s heart skipped a beat, and his face suddenly worsened.

Lord Lu asked gravely, “What did you find?”

“In Wangji Pawnshop, I found the pawned Hetian jade.”

Lord Lu glanced at the expressions of the Hong brothers and Wang Shitou; the former looked innocent, while the latter’s face had turned pale. With a notion in his mind, Lord Lu said, “Bring the pawnshop attendant responsible for receiving goods, let him identify the person himself.”

“Yes!”

As the government officer left, Lord Lu said with a stern face, “That attendant can identify people, and soon everything will become as clear as day. Whoever did it knows it in their heart. This official has said before, confessing the truth from the beginning is better than any alternative.”

Wang Shitou’s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground with a mournful face, “My lord, I was wrong, please spare me!”

Everyone was startled, as the scene had completely changed.

Lord Lu’s expression showed no great surprise, only a faint voice saying, “How should I spare you? Before the case was established, I already said what the consequences of this affair would be. Why did you not plead then?”

Wang Shitou started wailing, “No, I don’t want to go to jail, my lord, please spare me! The jade was stolen by me, but I have confessed voluntarily now, please spare me, my lord!”

Muniang was speechless, this man’s skin was as thick as his mother’s; now he calls it voluntarily confessing?

Mrs. Liang also changed her previously righteous stance, directly kneeling on the ground begging, “My lord, he’s just a child, he doesn’t understand anything, it’s inevitable for him to be momentarily possessed by a devilish whim. Please do not hold the ignorant accountable; just spare him. Going to jail would be the death of him. Our family has only this single seedling, the one to carry on the family lineage. If something really happens, it would absolutely break our hearts.”

This was turning into a pathetic sob story.

Although Lord Lu was quite displeased with this woman, he couldn’t help but feel a bit soft-hearted now. After all, it was just a child, right?

Mrs. Liang was truly bawling now, clutching Shitou with a death grip, crying with her face smeared with snot and tears, “My lord, he’s our only child, please let him go. We will compensate for the stolen jade; we’ll sell everything we have to pay for it; please just don’t punish him. It really would be the death of me!”

The government officials had intended to take Shitou away for detention, but Mrs. Liang clung on desperately, making it impossible to pull her away. This created quite the dilemma.

Seeing the scene, Lord Lu was also unwilling to proceed. He had announced such severe punishments mainly to frighten Shitou since he, too, couldn’t bear to be so harsh on just a child. But as per the criminal law, he indeed deserved that sentence.

For such an inexperienced child, if he rendered a harsh sentence, it would sit heavy on his conscience. If he went too lightly, he feared it might dishearten the Qiao family, as their two children had been wronged so grievously because of Wang Shitou, right?

Lord Lu furrowed his brow and contemplated for a moment before saying, “The matter of Wang Shitou will be put aside for detention today and revisited tomorrow.” This was obviously buying time for Wang Shitou.

After pausing, he continued, “As for the Qiao Brothers, they have indeed been framed and are naturally innocent.”

Madam Liu, holding her two children, started crying out of injustice, “They were innocent to begin with, yet they were unfairly beaten. Are my children so easy to bully? They aren’t orphans; why should they suffer such indignities?”

Muniang glanced at Mr. Gao and directly spoke in a cold voice, “My lord! Since the Qiao Brothers have been proven innocent, those previously confused individuals who falsely accused them and beat them, forcing confessions, should also receive their due punishment, shouldn’t they?”

No sooner had Muniang spoken than Mr. Gao staggered, his conscience already heavy since hearing Wang Shitou’s confession. Now he was even less inclined to speak, frightened to attract further blame to himself, but it seemed Muniang was not about to let him off the hook easily!

Mr. Gao stiffened his neck, saying, “I was merely disciplining students who erred, nothing improper about that. Everyone can have a moment of misguided judgment. Besides, how could I know that Wang Shitou would be so cunning? I really shouldn’t have admitted students from a small village like this. In just a few months, they have disrupted the school’s atmosphere entirely!”