The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 290 Foreign Spy (9)_1

Chapter 290: Chapter 290 Foreign Spy (9)_1

Upon entering the Yamen’s hall, Sir Magistrate Meng Dinglun clapped the Clapper-board and demanded, "Who stands below? Why do you not kneel upon seeing the Magistrate!?"

Sun Lizheng had already knelt down swiftly and introduced himself as the Lizheng of Taiping Town.

Pei Qian also tugged at Pei Qin, urging her to kneel quickly. They say a man’s knees have gold beneath them, but it seemed like there was a mountain of gold under her older sister’s knees. She wouldn’t even kneel to burn paper for their mother, and yet she didn’t kneel upon meeting Sir Magistrate, a Fourth-rank official! Not some Seventh-rank Master County!

Pei Qin grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up, then pulled Sun Lizheng to his feet as well.

All eyes in the hall were fixed on her unexpected actions.

Sun Lizheng thought Pei Qin so clever, yet for some reason, she lost all sense at the Yamen. Was she terrified stiff? He was about to remind her to kneel quickly when he saw her calmly smiling at the Magistrate above.

"Sir Magistrate summons us from afar, surely not to bestow rewards upon us. You are an official, and we are but commoners. If there’s any accusation, just say it. If it’s something I can accept, then I will! No need for me to suffer through forced confessions, and it’ll save you trouble too, won’t it?" Pei Qin said with a smile.

Sun Lizheng was taken aback upon hearing this.

Pei Qian, who had been about to pull her into a kneel, froze and stood up, "Weren’t we summoned to discuss the matter of sweet potatoes?"

Meng Dinglun’s gaze narrowed slightly as he regarded Pei Qin with a hint of admiration for the young girl’s courage. She wasn’t afraid upon seeing him and outright said she was summoned not to receive rewards but to be accused. He clapped the Clapper-board again, "How audacious!"

An arrest officer at his side coldly reminded, "Upon entering the Yamen’s hall, failure to kneel before an official merits ten heavy strokes of the paddle!"

Pei Qin sighed and knelt down, maintaining a straight posture, "Sir Magistrate, please ask your questions! I shall cooperate with anything required. However, do consider carefully when assigning blame. In my home, we extended and legitimated a concubine, my own mother was driven to death, and my siblings and I were driven out. We depend on farming sweet potatoes to avoid starvation! There are several young ones at home relying on me to support them! If there are any accusations of being spies of a foreign country, involved in heinous treachery or conspiracies requiring collective punishment, Sir Magistrate, I beg you to show leniency!"

Sun Lizheng’s face changed dramatically, and cold sweat dripped from his brow.

Upon hearing "spies of a foreign country" and "treason that required collective punishment," Pei Qian’s face turned deathly pale, and she clutched at Pei Qin desperately, "We are not any kind of spies! Nor have we ever conspired in rebellion! This is an injustice!"

Pei Qin patted her hand, "We are discussing it, aren’t we?"

Initially, Meng Dinglun thought he was dealing with a timid village girl, at most a reckless ignoramus. He never expected this slight girl, upon seeing an official, to exhibit no fear and articulate the issues so clearly. He suddenly felt annoyed, "How dare you! You may answer when I ask you questions! Do not disquiet the court! Do not make noise in the hall!"

"You are the Magistrate, the master of the house – ask away!" said Pei Qin with a smile.

Meng Dinglun’s gaze turned sharp as he barrage her with questions about her family name, the truth of the sweet potato farming, and he prompted Sun Lizheng to reply about the printed land markers and the sweet potatoes that had been brought in by the servants.

In the biting cold, kneeling in the hall of the Yamen, an experience new to Sun Lizheng made him shiver from head to toe, while sweat layered on his forehead. His answers stumbled out, "Sir! Speaking of spies from foreign countries, we are truly aggrieved! Planting sweet potatoes is solely because... because of their high yield, the villagers don’t go hungry! The County Magistrate commended this matter, and he was there at the time of the harvest!"

Pei Qin glanced at him, then her gaze settled on Magistrate Meng Dinglun, "Sir Magistrate! Charges of being spies of a foreign country and engaging in rebellion are not trivial. If you judge incorrectly and try to rectify it afterward, we commoners will have already suffered wrongfully, and it would tarnish your career. Even if we were to be imprisoned for a few days, to clarify the situation and find no treasonous intent and then release us, it would still affect your reputation among the officials. For now, the sweet potato has already been accepted by most people as food that can fill bellies and save lives. It’s a trend that will inevitably spread throughout Chu Nation. By then, I, the first to plant sweet potatoes, would bear an undeserved stigma; beneficence towards the populace would result in imprisonment, maiming, or potentially an untimely death. How many would curse you, Sir Magistrate? You wouldn’t want your name to live in infamy, would you?" If imprisonment was unavoidable, she could only try to avoid torture as best as possible.

Having said all her piece, Meng Dinglun was internally fuming and flustered, "This matter is not to be taken lightly. I shall see that it is thoroughly investigated and not a single person wronged!"

"That’s good! That’s very good! As long as there is no torture to extract confessions, that’s all I ask!" Pei Qin smiled.

Meng Dinglun’s gaze turned frosty as he issued a succinct command to the three, "Imprison them in the dungeon! Pending further investigation!"

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