Chapter 134: Tan Bawang Incurs Public Wrath
Very soon, Cai Qing came out with Jin Qiao. The moment she saw Magistrate Zhao, she hurriedly bowed.
“Greetings, Magistrate Zhao.”
When Tan Bawang saw that Cai Qing was truly safe and sound, he could not help glaring at her viciously. That little bitch must have turned against him at the last moment. Since she had broken faith, that girl Lier need not go on living either.
The moment Cai Qing saw Tan Bawang, she shrank back involuntarily and moved a little closer to Mu Yunyao’s side.
Seeing this, Magistrate Zhao’s thoughts shifted slightly. He asked,
“Cai Qing, did you willingly agree to become Tan Bawang’s concubine?”
Cai Qing immediately shook her head.
“Magistrate Zhao, please see clearly. Tan Bawang lusted after me when he saw me and had my two younger brothers beaten in order to force me into submission. Fortunately, my younger brother Nan’er had some acquaintance with Miss Mu, and while Tan Bawang was threatening me, he slipped out to beg for help. Miss Mu is kind-hearted and rescued me. Only because of that was I not violated by him.”
That little bitch!
Tan Bawang was gnashing his teeth with hatred, yet he quickly produced a written contract.
“Magistrate Zhao, this contract bears Cai Qing’s thumbprint. Please have someone examine it. Whether it is genuine or false can be determined at once.”
Once he had finished dealing with Mu Yunyao, he would come back to deal with Cai Qing. Not a single person who had dared plot against him would escape unscathed.
A constable took the contract and brought it to Magistrate Zhao. The writing and thumbprint on it were both clear and unmistakable.
“Cai Qing, you clearly pressed your mark to this contract. Why do you now refuse to acknowledge it?”
Cai Qing glanced at Tan Bawang, her eyes full of anger.
“Tan Bawang, I never expected you to be such a shameless creature! Magistrate Zhao, please judge fairly. My hands are injured. I could not possibly have pressed a thumbprint at all. How, then, could I have signed any contract?”
As she spoke, she held out both hands. Her fingers were covered in wounds that had already scabbed over. The pads of her fingers, in particular, were full of crusted blood; there was no way she could have left a proper print.
Tan Bawang froze, then barked out sharply,
“Good, very good, Mu Yunyao! You actually coached Cai Qing to falsify evidence and deceive Magistrate Zhao. Why, this very morning, her hands were perfectly fine. How is it that now they are injured and unable to leave a print? Unfortunately, such tricks cannot deceive Magistrate Zhao. I request that a physician be called to examine the injuries. Her hands must have been wounded only recently. That will prove their guilty conscience and show that they are fabricating everything.”
Inside, Tan Bawang was gloating. He had never expected Mu Yunyao to leave behind such an obvious flaw. Once the examination was done, he wanted to see how she would continue arguing. Yet when he turned to look for the panic on Mu Yunyao’s face, he found her perfectly calm. Cai Qing, too, appeared remarkably composed.
Magistrate Zhao ordered the coroner to inspect the wounds on Cai Qing’s hands.
“Reporting to Your Excellency: the injuries on Cai Qing’s hands are burns. Judging from their appearance, they are already five or six days old.”
“What? Impossible!”
Tan Bawang rushed forward at once, seized Cai Qing’s hands, and rubbed at them hard. Yet the injuries showed no sign of being fake.
Cai Qing gave a startled cry, then raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
“Shameless! Magistrate Zhao, I beg you to uphold justice for this commoner!”
When Mu Yunyao had falsified the injuries on her hands, Cai Qing had feared that the deception would be discovered. She had never expected that even the coroner would fail to distinguish truth from falsehood.
“How dare you, Tan Bawang! To behave so wildly in this official’s presence!”
Noticing Mu Yunyao’s expression, Tan Bawang was suddenly seized by a surge of panic. All of this must have been arranged by that little wretch from the start. He had been led by the nose the entire time. That damned girl—that cursed little bitch!
“Magistrate Zhao, please see clearly. That contract truly was signed by Cai Qing…”
Cai Qing at once prostrated herself on the ground and burst into tears.
“Magistrate Zhao, that day my younger brother Little Mao accidentally blocked the road. Tan Bawang ordered his attendants to beat him, then falsely claimed that Little Mao had dirtied his clothes and demanded one hundred taels of silver as compensation. This commoner could not bear such injustice and went forward to argue, but Tan Bawang, failing to molest me by force of words, later brought Matchmaker Liu to coerce and lure me, insisting on taking me as his concubine. I resisted to the death, whereupon he ordered his attendants to beat both me and my two younger brothers. At this very moment, Nan’er and Little Mao both lie unconscious in Miss Mu’s home. Their injuries may be examined at once. Moreover, many townspeople saw him come to the Charity Hall with his men, and they can testify for me.”
“That is true. I happened to be passing by when Tan Bawang was beating that child Little Mao, and I even tried to persuade him to stop. Instead, Tan Bawang was so arrogant that he threatened to beat me as well.”
“What Miss Cai Qing says is correct. Early this morning, I saw Tan Bawang lead men into the Charity Hall.”
Cai Qing bowed deeply to those who had spoken up for her.
“Many thanks to all of you for testifying on my behalf. Cai Qing is deeply grateful. Magistrate Zhao, Tan Bawang ,also seized my younger sister Lier and is using her to force me into submission. Heaven only knows what has become of my poor little sister by now. I beg Your Excellency to save her!”
Mu Yunyao, who had remained silent until this point, finally spoke.
“Magistrate Zhao, by now I believe the truth of the matter is clear to you. Saving the child is the urgent thing. If there is any further delay…”
Magistrate Zhao nodded and turned toward Tan Bawang, his gaze now severe.
“Tan Bawang, confess honestly at once. Where have you taken the girl?”
“I—I never seized anyone. What Lier, what Ping’er—I know nothing about any of them!”
Tan Bawang had truly begun to panic. If Magistrate Zhao were to search out Lier now, then Cai Qing’s entire accusation would be proven true.
Just then, a shout rang out from the crowd.
“I saw Tan Bawang’s attendants carrying a sack into the inn where they’re staying!”
Magistrate Zhao’s eyes sharpened.
“Men, go to Tan Bawang’s inn immediately and conduct a search!”
The people watching all wore dark expressions. Tan Bawang had claimed to be the young master of Caiyue Pavilion, which meant he was not from Jingling City. Before this, the Caiyue Pavilion manager had lent money at usurious rates, causing deaths and leaving the people of Jingling City with a very poor impression of Caiyue Pavilion. Now the young master of Caiyue Pavilion had come here to seize a young woman by force, which only fanned their anger higher. If Caiyue Pavilion were not already closed down, some of them might well have gone directly to smash up the place.
Soon, two constables came hurrying back. Behind them, a woman carried a little girl in her arms. The child was covered in injuries, her face deathly pale, and it seemed she had far more breath going out than coming in.
The crowd grew even more furious. Tan Bawang had not only tried and failed to seize a young woman by force, but he had also harmed an innocent child’s life. Did he take the people of Jingling City for easy prey?
“Magistrate Zhao, this villain must be punished severely!”
“Magistrate Zhao, please uphold justice for these poor children!”
Cai Qing threw herself down before Lier, utterly panicked.
“Miss Mu, please, I beg you, save my little sister!”
By now, a physician had stepped out from the crowd.
“I am Physician Zhang of Ren Shan Hall. Let me see how this little girl fares.”
Cai Qing looked in alarm toward Mu Yunyao. Only after Mu Yunyao gave a slight nod did she let go and allow the physician to examine Lier.
“This…”
After taking the girl’s pulse, the physician from Ren Shan Hall shot Tan Bawang a furious glare.
“If the blows had been any harsher, this little girl would already have died on the spot!”
Magistrate Zhao’s face turned as hard as ice. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the constables to seize Tan BContentsnd his men.
“Forcibly seizing women, maliciously beating commoners—this official will question each and every one of your crimes until the truth is made clear!”
The people around them were beside themselves with anger. Some could not help stooping to pick up pebbles and bits of debris from the ground and hurling them at Tan Bawang and his attendants.
Once one person started, more and more of the crowd began throwing things. Someone even brought over a pot of hot tea and splashed it straight over the faces of the two attendants who had been lying on the ground, covered in blood.
That one splash was enough. The two attendants, scalded by the hot tea, leaped up instantly and hurriedly raised their sleeves to wipe at their faces. With one wipe, the blood on their faces came off cleanly, revealing skin beneath that was wholly uninjured.
“They were faking it!”
wow these people should all pursue careers in theater, both as actors and doing stage makeup, haha
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