Chapter 25

  White light cut down, red juice flowed out instantly.

  With a few swift cuts of the knife, a large round watermelon was cut into uniform pieces.

  Lu Xiaofeng warmly greeted everyone, "Come on, don't be polite, eat melon and eat melon." On a hot day, eating a chilled watermelon is simply a pleasure.

  The young lady wiped off the melon juice that had gotten on the dagger and re-sheathed it.

  660 yuan for a fruit knife, is this really okay?

  Bai Yutang has really become numb now. When Lu Xiaofeng first used that dagger to cut fruit, he was really shocked. Later, when he saw her cutting wood, paper and melon... he really felt there's nothing surprising anymore.

  Six hundred and sixty taels spent on a watermelon knife, it's no wonder that someone who can make such an extravagant purchase is considered by Master Pong to be his adopted daughter!

  Bai Yutang suddenly enlightened.

  He shouldn't have questioned Pang Laoze's IQ, Bai Yutang said: He was really wrong!

  "White brother, eat melon." Northern Knight Ou Yang Chun handed over a piece of melon.

  Bai Yutang accepted and thanked him.

  "That dagger is pretty good." Ouyang Chun suddenly said in a low voice.

  Bai Yutang turned his head to look at him.

  Ouyang Chun ate melon while saying: "Does Brother Bai think that Miss Lu is too wasteful?"

  Bai Yutang by default.

  Ouyang Chun smiled, "It's not a bad thing that she uses it as a fruit knife, at least it's better than falling into the hands of a Jianghu guest and being stained with blood."

  Bei Xia's words are full of wisdom about life.

  Bai Yutang suddenly burst out laughing.

  Yes, it is indeed a divine weapon of war and slaughter, but that was not their original purpose at birth.

  War is just a means of pursuing peace! Killing is not necessarily for the sake of killing.

  Suddenly, Bai Yutang remembered a sentence that Lu Xiaofeng had inadvertently said before, which shocked him at the time.

  Lu Xiaofeng wiped away the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief. To be honest, if it weren't for Xiaohe insisting that he not give in, he actually preferred dressing up as a man.

  Nowadays in this weather, wrapping up with three layers inside and three layers outside, one layer after another of women's clothing, Little Phoenix felt it was simply self-torture.

  Xiaohe held a round fan in one hand and fanned her with it, occasionally reaching out to wipe the sweat from her face.

  Only when wearing women's clothing would the young lady from her household pay more attention to her words and actions, and since there was an additional northern knight traveling with them, she insisted that the young lady not change clothes.

  Even if Miss was already not very popular, as a personal maid she still wanted to help her mistress gain a bit more.

  Lu Xiaofeng finished eating two pieces of iced watermelon at a relatively elegant speed, wiped his mouth and looked out towards the outside of the wine building.

  They are on the way to Changzhou, now having a meal at a wine house. Before ordering, they asked the owner to put the watermelon in the well for them, and took it out after dinner, cool and refreshing.

  To be honest, Bei Xia and Bai Xiao Wu took good care of her. Considering the bumps she experienced on the horse-drawn carriage, they didn't rush along the way and had a leisurely tour.

  Bai Xiaowu's family was indeed quite wealthy, and he covered all the expenses on the way. Little Phoenix said: This is absolutely acceptable!

  The sun outside is big, there are few pedestrians on the street, and the cicadas on the roadside trees are calling out happily.

  This is the summer street scene of Northern Song Dynasty...

  "In two more days, we will arrive at Zhan Zhao's home."

  Lü Xiao Feng turned his head to look at Bai Xiao Wu who was speaking, "Is it almost here?"

  "Uh-huh."

  Xiaohe smiled and said, "That's really great." The complaints about the weather from their family's young lady would finally come to an end. Once they arrived at Zhan Huwei's home, it wouldn't be as hot and inconvenient as it was on the road.

  Bai Yutang suggested: "In such weather, it would be better for Miss Lu to stay at the Zhang residence for a few more days and wait until the weather cools down before heading elsewhere."

  Lu Xiaofeng strongly agreed, "Yes, the weather is getting hotter and it's really not suitable for long-distance travel."

  "Let's take a break for a while, the sun won't be so scorching later, and we should get going." said Beixia.

  Lu Xiaofeng nodded and said to Xiaohe: "When we leave later, remember to take the iced sour plum soup that the shopkeeper helped prepare."

  "I know."

  The travelers rested for a while and then continued on their journey.

  Lu Xiaofeng reluctantly got into the car again, even with the window open, he felt stifling and unbearable, unfortunately Xiaohe didn't allow her to ride a horse.

  "Your Honor, it's a miscarriage of justice... Your Honor, I'm an innocent woman..."

  As the car passed through a street, it heard such a cry, with a voice that was hard to suppress sadness and anger, implying despair and begging.

  Bai Yutang sprang up from his horse and rushed straight towards the source of the sound.

  Bei Xia still rode his horse alongside Lu Xiao Feng's carriage.

  Feng Si also instinctively turned the carriage around and rushed towards the source of the sound.

  Things are usually not too difficult to get results if you just want to ask. So, Bai Yutang soon got the news and then came back to tell Lu Xiaofeng.

  A peasant woman, Chen Ermei, was bringing lunch to her husband who was working in the fields. After eating, he died of poisoning. His uncle accused his nephew's wife, Chen Ermei, of murdering him with poison. However, Chen Ermei's mother-in-law, Wang Lishi, defended her daughter-in-law, saying she couldn't have poisoned her own son. Because Chen Ermei was pregnant, she wasn't executed immediately. She would be put to death after giving birth. During this time, her mother-in-law, Wang Lishi, had been running around and shouting for justice, which annoyed the county officials.

  "Didn't King Li report it to the prefecture?"

  "Of course, but after autopsy, Chen Ermei's husband was indeed poisoned to death, and the prefecture had to return to the original place."

  Lu Xiaofeng thought of an ancient case he had seen before and couldn't help but sigh.

  Bai Yutang stood outside the carriage with his sword in hand and looked at her, "Does this official want to take care of it?"

  Lu Xiaofeng hummed at him, "How dare you say you didn't take it for me?"

  "I don't dare." Bai Yutang said with a straight face and a confident tone.

  "What makes you think Chen Ermei is being wronged?"

  "Intuition."

  "Not reliable at all."

  Bai Yutang said seriously: "If you see Chen Ermei's mother-in-law, Wang Li Shi, she will also believe that her daughter-in-law was wronged."

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "Wait until I've seen it before saying anything."

  "That county official is still waiting over there to pay his respects to you." said Bai Yutang with a hint of nonchalance.

  "What a nuisance." Lu Xiao Feng let out a breath and sat up straight in the car, "Let him come over."

  "Alright." Bai Yutang smiled and went to inform the county magistrate.

  The local county magistrate came over quickly and paid his respects outside the carriage, "Your subordinate has seen you, sir."

  "Guixian is exempt from courtesy fees."

  The county magistrate was taken aback, looked up through the bamboo curtain towards the carriage and found it was a woman's voice.

  Bai Yutang said on one side, "What's strange? This is the Phoenix Lord who was specially appointed by His Majesty to review and commute sentences of various prisoners. Don't you know that?"

  As soon as he said that, the county magistrate immediately didn't think it was strange. After looking at the imperial gold plaque handed over from inside the carriage, he sincerely and solemnly said: "Your subordinate was rude."

  "Never mind, let's go to the county government office first."

  "Lead the way."

  "Uh-huh."

  Although the weather is hot, the enthusiasm of the common people's gossip is even more enthusiastic than this weather.

  Although this was an era without internet or mobile phones, the news still spread like it had wings and soon a crowd gathered in front of the county government office.

  Lu Xiaofeng was helped down from the carriage by Xiaohe when a big commotion broke out among the onlookers.

  Is this girl an official?

  Such a beautiful girl is an official?

  After Lu Xiaofeng changed into his official uniform and came out, the crowd quieted down. This girl actually had an air of authority too. That delicate face, once stern, was quite impressive.

  "Wang Chen's wife is summoned to the court." The bailiff shouted in the hall.

  Chen Ermei was indeed pregnant, and her belly had already become quite round, at least four or five months along. However, she looked extremely haggard, with only a glimmer of hope for life in her eyes.

  Lu Xiaofeng felt that it was because of the child in her belly that she had given birth to her strong vitality, and maternal love can create miracles at times.

  "Isn't that Chen Ermei under the hall?"

  Chen Ermei subconsciously raised her head to look when she heard the questioning voice from the hall, and immediately a stern voice came from the hall "Hear ye! Hear ye!" She was so frightened that she immediately lowered her head, "It's just a civilian woman."

  "Because your mother-in-law has been running around and shouting grievances on your behalf, this official wants to re-examine your case in detail. You can describe the situation on the day of the incident one by one. Someone, bring her a stool and let her sit down and speak."

  The bailiff brought over a high stool for Chen Ermei to sit on.

  "Thank you, sir... " Chen Ermei slowly recounted the events of that day, and as she spoke, tears streamed down her face. "The commoner's wife really didn't harm her own husband, the commoner's wife was wronged! Poor commoner's wife, this child in her belly hadn't even been born yet had already lost its father, and as soon as it was born would lose its mother..."

  Guixian

  "Report to Your Honor, after autopsy, it is confirmed that her husband died of poisoning."

  Lu Xiaofeng held the autopsy report made by the coroner and read it carefully, the contents were clear and logical. Then he took out the case closing statement to read, but his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  "Ah..." The county official's forehead inadvertently broke out in sweat, he thought he had done nothing wrong, but looking at the lady's expression, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

  "Take the woman who committed the crime and bring her to my quarters, tomorrow we will go together on the path where she delivered food that day, and then return."

  "Hurray"

  Until he returned to the government inn, Bai Yutang was still unclear and couldn't help but run to Lu Xiaofeng's side to ask her, "You just interrogate like this? It is said that the county official had also personally walked on that road."

  Lu Xiaofeng glared at him, "Or would you like to interrogate?"

  "I just want to be able to preside over cases."

  "Then don't waste words, I have my reasons for doing so."

  "What?"

  "Reconstructing the scene."

  "It's unlikely you'll find anything new at the scene this time, after all, it's been several months since the incident." Bai Yutang was skeptical.

  Lu Xiaofeng raised his chin, "Just follow me and you'll see."

  "No need for you to say it, Wu Ye will naturally follow." Also have to ensure your personal safety.

  A night without words.

  The next day, early in the morning, a group of people followed Chen Ermei's guidance to personally experience the route she took when delivering food that day.

  Today, Lu Xiaofeng naturally wore men's clothing.

  There were county officials as escorts, yamen runners clearing the way, and even Bei Xia and Jin Mao Shu serving as bodyguards following her, to say that the treatment was not much different from that of Judge Bao!

  Lu Xiaofeng asked Chen Ermei to carefully recall every word and action, every detail that had occurred on the way, and then restore them.

  Under a tree shade, Chen Ermei demonstrated how she put down the clay pot and took a short rest that day, then continued walking forward.

  All the way back to their home, seeing where her husband died that day, Chen Ermei burst into tears again.

  The journey ended, Chen Ermei was escorted back to the government office, and Lu Xiaofeng told the county official to choose a day for the trial.

  On the third day, the county government building was packed with people, a sea of humanity.

  Many of them were there specifically to see the female judge preside over the case.

  Lu Xiaofeng wore an official robe, with a jade-like face and crimson lips, his appearance was as handsome as Pan An and Song Yu.

  And she took the grass leaves that she had picked up from under the tree where Wang Chen's family rested, and used them to demonstrate in the hall. She found a sick dog and fed it hot soup soaked with the grass leaves. In an instant, the sick dog became a dead dog.

  Another old doctor was invited to the medical institution, who carefully identified the grass leaves and confirmed that this kind of grass leaf, which looks extremely similar to ordinary grass leaves, is a highly toxic plant. It was precisely because of Wang Chen's ignorance of medicinal herbs and her carelessness that led to her husband's innocent and tragic death.

  Thus, Chen Ermei's grievances were finally redressed.

  However, Wang Jia's elder brother was sentenced to 50 lashes, imprisonment for three months, and a fine of 20 taels of silver, with the full amount of the fine given to Chen Ermei and her mother-in-law Wang Li to supplement their family expenses.

  Because Wang's elder brother was greedy for the fields and houses left by his younger brother, he took the opportunity to falsely accuse his sister-in-law of murdering her husband. Otherwise, as the saying goes, "the people do not report, the officials do not investigate", the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would have continued to rely on each other and live a hard life after burying their relative, and there would not have been this disaster of imprisonment.