The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 824 - 802: Confession 2 (Extra - for the birthday of the reader "Mo Yan")

Chapter 824: Chapter 802: Confession 2 (Extra Chapter for the birthday of the reader "Mo Yan")

Old Madam Liu paused before speaking, "Can you understand that feeling, Lord? They acted strangely, unwilling to let me inquire further, and even forbidden me to stay long in my son’s study. If I stayed too long, someone would come to check, so I had the vague feeling that my son did not die fighting bandits, until I sent someone to find Erji."

County Magistrate Tang sat up straight.

"Erji is alive, only he..." Old Madam Liu paused before continuing, "was severely injured. He told me that my son was killed because he discovered that the Prince of Yizhou had conspired with officials of Yizhou to embezzle funds meant for the repairs of the Jiaowei Dams."

"They pursued him relentlessly, and my son fled to Luojiang County. Unfortunately, he encountered Zhou Yin and his wife on the road," Old Madam Liu paused here and looked at Zhou Yin and his wife and Manbao, "Erji said that they were already injured by then, with pursuers endlessly behind them, carrying evidence with them and fearing that they couldn’t escape, they happened to meet a couple who were driving their cart home."

"My son sought their help; the couple was enthusiastic and wanted to take my son with them, but he refused and handed over the items to them, asking them to take them away and later find a way to deliver them to a patrolling Lord Tang."

Old Madam Liu finished speaking and looked towards County Magistrate Tang.

County Magistrate Tang’s eyebrows twitched and he asked, "My father?"

He counted back the years; indeed, during the third year of the Dazhen era, his father was inspecting outside.

"Correct, it was Lord Tang." To overturn her son’s case, Old Madam Liu was extremely familiar with the ministers in the court, especially those her son had mentioned years ago; she kept a close eye on all of them.

This was also why she quickly trusted County Magistrate Tang and decided to drag him into the matter, since she was very familiar with the magistrate’s father and naturally kept track of the magistrate as well.

"Due to the urgency, the couple only told my son that they were from Luojiang County, the husband being Zhou Yin, and the wife Ms. Xia. Erji said that he was very forthright when he mentioned that he was a celebrity in the area, and in the future, should they come, mentioning the name of Zhou Yin would be enough for recognition."

Old Madam Liu glanced at Manbao again, "After that, they split up. My son and Erji led the pursuers away, but sadly, it wasn’t long before they were caught. The two then decided to separate and flee; Erji was being chased when he rolled down a slope and fell into a large hole, narrowly escaping death. However, he was crippled, especially his legs, and will have to lie in bed for the rest of his life."

"As for my son, as County Magistrate Tang also knows," Old Madam Liu said, "After that, I just kept waiting for someone to bring forward the evidence, but no one did."

Tears began to fall from Old Madam Liu’s eyes, "After that, things calmed down, and although people occasionally came to investigate our family, no one mentioned this matter again. Lord Tang never reported anything about Yizhou Prefecture; it seemed he also didn’t receive anything special, and the couple just disappeared."

"So I couldn’t help but send people to Luojiang County to investigate cautiously. After a long time, I learned that in May of the third year of the Dazhen, a warrant was posted at the city gate with portraits to apprehend a bandit, but the magistrate quietly said that the bandit was actually already dead; they were just seeking his accomplice, and the person who died with him appeared to be his wife; they seemed to be a couple." Old Madam Liu apologetically looked towards Ms. Qian, who sobbed endlessly, "At that time, I vaguely guessed that they might also..."

Old Madam Liu paused before she continued, "Afterward, even though I sent people to frequently scout in Luojiang County, nothing was found. Not until four years ago, after the Jiaowei Dam broke, did Lord Yan’s people come here, and I learned from Lizhi about Zhou Yin’s case. It turns out there was also a Zhou Yin in the Zhou Family..."

"Four years ago..." Ms. Qian slightly startled, remembering those three men who were said to be swindlers, she looked at Old Madam Liu in surprise.

Old Madam Liu nodded slightly, "They came for Zhou Yin because, apparently, they had not obtained those items from him back then. So when the Jiaowei Dam broke, they were so anxious to find those items."

County Magistrate Tang then asked, "What about those people?"

"Lord Wei took them away."

County Magistrate Tang asked, "Did they say they were sent by Governor Yan?"

"Yes."

County Magistrate Tang then said, "But Governor Yan was executed, his entire family exiled. Why would he bother to look for evidence from several years ago? Whether found or not, wouldn’t he still be executed?"

County Magistrate Tang shook his head and asked again, "Other than the letters from County Magistrate Bai and the statements from the servants, does Old Madam have any other evidence?"

Old Madam Liu remained silent for a long while, then said, "I also have a ledger."

Having said this, she looked towards Nanny Liu.

Nanny Liu quickly took out a well-wrapped ledger from her bosom, which Manbao and the others immediately recognized as the one they had found at Governor Yan’s residence, and were momentarily stunned.

County Magistrate Tang flipped through the ledger, shook his head, and said, "This was not recorded by County Magistrate Bai."

"Yes, this came from Governor Yan’s residence."

County Magistrate Tang raised an eyebrow, "Old Madam is quite capable, to get something so important from Governor Yan’s residence?"

Old Madam Liu did not explain that it was Manbao and the others who had found it.

After pondering for a moment, County Magistrate Tang shook his head and said, "This item is useless for this case."

"How can it be useless..." Old Madam Liu was somewhat anxious.

County Magistrate Tang placed the ledger on the table and said, "To overturn this case, we need evidence left by County Magistrate Bai himself; this was recorded by Governor Yan after County Magistrate Bai left, it’s useless."

After a silence, Old Madam Liu said, "But the Prince of Yizhou is corrupt..."

"With just the things in this ledger, the Prince of Yizhou could at most be demoted and stripped of some of his lands. Remember the breach at Jianwei Weir? Even after Lord Wei found so many pieces of evidence and the imperial censors impeached him, wasn’t he only censured and stripped of one township’s worth of land?"

Seeing that everyone in the room remained silent, County Magistrate Tang smiled and said, "No need to be so pessimistic. Perhaps County Magistrate Bai left behind something vitally important that could lead us out of the darkness and into the light?"

Having said this, he looked towards Old Madam Liu.

Clearly, he did not believe that Old Madam Liu had revealed all her cards.

Old Madam Liu looked down and remained silent.

Unable to contain his anxiety, Old Zhou blurted out, "Old Madam, if you know anything else, please tell County Magistrate Tang. Your son’s revenge must be avenged, and my younger brother’s injustice must be rectified. I... I’m even thinking of transferring Manbao to my younger brother’s name so she can marry and carry on the family line."

Ms. Qian couldn’t help but glare at him secretly.

Bai Shan also couldn’t resist looking at Manbao, whispering, "Your father is thinking too far ahead, isn’t he?"

Old Madam Liu then sighed and said, "There are just some letters, in the letters, something is written..."

Those things, Old Madam Liu hadn’t dared to hand over to Lord Wei, and naturally, she also hesitated to simply hand them over to County Magistrate Tang, thus she looked at him with a pair of suspicious eyes.

County Magistrate Tang then smiled and said, "If Old Madam didn’t trust this county, she wouldn’t have deliberately waited here for me. As the saying goes, do not suspect one who is employed, and do not employ one who is suspected. Since Old Madam has already made a decision, why hesitate now?"

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