Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 679 Framing Evidence (4)_1

Chapter 679: Chapter 679 Framing Evidence (4)_1

Yang Bao, the village elders, and many villagers who were concerned about the Mo Family were sweating bullets for Mo Yan and thought she had misspoken in confusion. They all looked towards Mo Qingze, signaling him to quickly step in and salvage the situation.

Mo Qingze took a deep breath and remained seated without moving.

The leading government officer came back to his senses, staring at Mo Yan as if he was looking at a fool. Originally, he had been considering how to resolve the situation so that the Mo Family could extricate themselves and, in turn, curry favor with Second Master Han. But now, the strategy he had thought of was useless.

The six "victims" leaped out, ecstatic, and shouted at the leading government officer, "See, the girl has admitted it herself, what else is there to say? Hurry up and arrest those five vicious beasts. The household that raised them is also to blame, and they should be arrested and thrown into jail to prevent them from raising any more vicious animals to harm others!"

"Exactly, they must be arrested, and none should be let go! This family is utterly reprehensible for raising vicious animals to harm others. If it weren’t for us brothers catching them, who knows how many more people they would have harmed!"

"Not only should they be taken to squat in jail, but we also need to be compensated. Each person should receive five hundred pieces, not a copper coin less!"

...

The six "victims" began to cause a ruckus in the Mo Family’s hall. Every word and sentence were either slandering the Mo Family’s malice or clamoring to arrest the Mo Family, incarcerate them, and demand silver.

At this point, if Mo Yan didn’t realize that there was someone else behind these six people, deliberately setting up this plot to severely damage her family, she would truly be a fool. Otherwise, her family had no acquaintance with these six people and, if they were only extorting silver, would not go to such lengths to smear her family and insist on having her entire family thrown into prison.

The first suspect Mo Yan thought of was King Heng, but she immediately dismissed him. Despite King Heng’s detestable nature, there was no way he would use such despicable means to eliminate her, and besides, such methods would not withstand scrutiny. It was also unlikely that Chen Ji had played dirty; a person as ruthless as him would not act unless he aimed to take lives.

However, if her family really ended up in jail, Chen Ji might not miss this golden opportunity. Given the poor conditions in prison, it would be nothing unusual if one or two people died.

After excluding these two individuals, the range of suspects narrowed significantly. Mo Yan went through her past conflicts with others in her mind and ultimately suspected Wang Dali, Mo Hong’s family, Mo Yongxi, Mo Erni, and Chen Shanshan, with Mo Yongxi and Mo Erni having the strongest suspicions.

As for how they knew about the five beasts, Mo Hong’s family and members of Wang Dali’s household lived in the village, and all the recent rumors disadvantageous to the five beasts were spread by them. Chen Shanshan had a motive, and it was not impossible for her to keep it from Chen Ji and carry out this scheme. In any case, now that an opportunity for revenge had come along, it was unlikely that these few people who probably hated her family to the bone would miss it.

As she reached this conclusion, a cold smile played across Mo Yan’s lips. Just when the six "victims" were most vociferous in their accusations, she suddenly spoke up, "Didn’t you all unanimously say that the beasts injured people? When did I admit it? Besides, even if The Fair and Upright God were to convict a criminal, there would be an open trial granting the accused a chance to claim innocence, whereas you directly condemned my Mo Family! Are you more formidable than The Fair and Upright God, or is this all a false accusation against the beasts with the goal of harming my Mo Family, hmm?"

The six accusers, who were passionately speaking, were stunned by Mo Yan’s barrage of questions and momentarily became befuddled. If they denied it, they would be contradicting themselves; if they admitted it, that was even less acceptable! In short, no matter what they said, they couldn’t escape the trap she had laid out for them.

Under the scrutiny of all present, the six accusers were anxious, cold sweat forming on their brows. Quick-wittedness clearly wasn’t their forte, and after struggling for a long time, one person finally pointed at Mo Yan and cursed with widened eyes, "You, you-you-you, you sly girl, you’re quibbling, you quibble..."

"Heh!" Mo Yan laughed as if she had heard a funny joke, her disdain clear as she looked at the evidently guilty six. Yet she spoke earnestly, "So tell me, how am I quibbling? In all matters, one needs personal and material evidence. Let’s just assume you are the personal witnesses. If you can produce material evidence, no matter whether the five beasts are innocent or not, my Mo Family will accept the responsibility..."

As she spoke, Mo Yan deliberately paused, noticing the looks of concealed joy on the faces of the six. The smile at the corner of her mouth grew even colder, "However... if you can’t produce it, an accusation of extortion will be inevitable! According to the laws of Great Chu, anyone who attempts extortion of five hundred pieces or more will not only be beaten with planks but also sentenced to years of hard labor. With your frail bodies, if you are sent to the quarry, I wonder if you will still have lives to return!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than one person anxiously jumped out, shouting loudly, "Who says we don’t have material evidence? If we brothers do produce the evidence, will your Mo Family truly accept responsibility for this matter?"

The last sentence, however, was addressed to Mo Qingze.

Mo Qingze’s expression darkened, and he coldly said, "If you can produce material evidence today, my Mo Family will accept this matter! Similarly, if you cannot produce it, or if it is a false evidence, then it is defamation and extortion!"

Upon hearing the initial part of his statement, the six men were still beaming with pride. At the last sentence, though, their expressions stiffened and their gazes shifted away. However, with so many witnesses around, they were in too deep to back out now and had to persist despite their reluctance.

But recalling the evidence they held, the six men’s confidence returned. After all, they had come prepared this time. Once they produced the evidence, was there any chance for the Mo Family to turn the tide?

Should they succeed, they would not only receive the five hundred pieces of compensation from the Mo Family but also a hefty reward from that person. The six men were inwardly elated, eager to present their evidence...

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