Gongsun Liangce looked at Granny Wang. "Mrs. Wang, do you have anything to say?"

Before coming, Granny Wang had been coached by Ming Lingyi on what to say in court. She had already silently rehearsed it several times on the way.

Now, being questioned by the Lord Governor of Jingzhao Mansion, she was a bit intimidated by the high official and stuttered for a moment. But she managed to recite every word Ming Lingyi had told her without missing a single one.

"Re-replying to Your Lordship, I-I have something to say. This Liu Hao is spouting nonsense. Back when my daughter, Wu Niang, was still alive, Liu Hao was already involved with his cousin. His family didn’t have much silver, so he wanted to use Wu Niang’s dowry to buy an official post."

"Wu Niang was my and my old man’s only child. When my daughter married, we gave her a generous dowry. Liu Hao tricked my daughter, coaxing her into giving up her dowry while keeping his cousin as a mistress in an outer chamber in Xinghua Alley. Everyone in Xinghua Alley can testify to this. I am not lying."

"A year later, that mistress had a child—Liu Hao’s current son, Liu Xun. The midwife, Cheng Erpozi, can testify to this! Liu Hao, wanting to seize my daughter’s dowry, used my poor daughter Wu Niang’s severe illness as an opportunity to rush that bastard into the household under the guise of adoption!"

In the end, Granny Wang couldn’t contain her rage and spat right in the face of Liu Hao, who stood frozen in utter shock.

Liu Hao had never imagined that one day, his deeds would be exposed.

’Even if that old hag from the Wang family did suspect something and managed to find a place like Xinghua Alley,’ he’d thought, ’no one would dare to step forward and testify.’

After all, he held an official post now. The difference between him and those lowly commoners was like that between the clouds and the mud. If any of them dared to make false accusations against him, he had plenty of ways to make them regret it.

But now...

Liu Hao’s pupils trembled.

Today, almost all the neighbors from Huaided Fang who weren’t busy with work had come to support Granny Wang. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Whenever Jingzhao Mansion held a public trial, many passing commoners liked to watch the excitement, and a large crowd would gather outside the courtroom.

But today, the crowd was even larger.

Half were the people of Huaided Fang, and the other half were other residents of Shangjing City, drawn over by the first group.

"Hey, what’s going on here?" someone who had arrived late asked, curious about the situation.

The neighbors from Huaided Fang were very "enthusiastic" to explain.

"That dog of a man inside seized his dead wife’s dowry, had an illegitimate child with someone else, and then brought the child home for his dying wife to recognize as the legitimate heir."

"And he used his dead wife’s dowry to buy himself an official post! A man that shameless should be struck by lightning and killed!"

"That’s not all! I heard from the folks in Xinghua Alley that while his mistress was pregnant, this Liu fellow, hehe, spent several nights with prostitutes. Tsk tsk, it’s a wonder he didn’t catch a venereal disease!"

"So that’s what happened! What a piece of scum! Utterly shameless!"

"People like him should be thrown in prison!"

"Isn’t he just a freeloader? Using his wife’s dowry to buy a post, and then bringing home a bastard child from an affair... What a heartless son of a bitch!"

The crowd outside, having heard only Granny Wang’s testimony without even seeing the witnesses, was already filled with righteous indignation.

Cases that stirred up such public outrage were rare. Gongsun Liangce had to pick up his gavel again and signal for silence.

"Bring in the witnesses."

Soon, Yang Pozi, Old Hu, and Cheng Erpozi, the midwife who had delivered Lady Bai’s child, were all brought forward.

Liu Hao never expected to see these "lowlifes" he’d always looked down on in a courtroom. For a moment, his eyes widened with fury, and he wanted to kick these "impudent" commoners to death.

However, the surrounding government officials were faster. Liu Hao was quickly subdued.

With the testimony of so many witnesses from Xinghua Alley, Liu Hao had no way to defend himself.

The facts were irrefutable, and he had no defense.

When the current Madam Liu, formerly Lady Bai, was also brought into the courtroom, Liu Hao saw his son in his cousin’s arms, and his eyes filled with despair.

’It’s over.’

’It’s all over.’

Mrs. Bai had never imagined that now that she was Madam Liu, her past deeds would come to light.

"...Having investigated the case brought by the commoner Zhang Wang against her son-in-law, Liu Hao, for the misappropriation of her deceased daughter’s dowry, and having verified the marriage contract, dowry inventory, and witness testimonies, this court confirms that Liu Hao did conceal the dowry and refuse its return to the maternal family. In accordance with the ’Household and Marriage’ Chapter of the Dayan Law, which stipulates, ’Upon a wife’s death, should she have no heirs, her wealth shall be returned to her maternal family,’ I hereby sentence Liu Hao to return the entire dowry immediately."

When Mrs. Bai heard the stern-looking, unapproachable official on the bench coldly announce that the Liu Family had to return Wu Niang’s dowry, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

She and her cousin had never realized how vast Wu Niang’s dowry was. Over the years, they had squandered an unknown amount.

’How could they possibly pay it back?’

But what would make Mrs. Bai wake up only to faint again was yet to come.

"It is also found that Liu Hao, motivated by greed, fraudulently passed off his illegitimate son as the legitimate heir, adopting him under his deceased wife’s name. This is a violation of the law against ’passing off an illegitimate son as the legitimate heir.’ In accordance with the ’Household and Marriage’ Chapter of the Dayan Law, which stipulates, ’He who falsely presents an illegitimate son to claim the inheritance of a legitimate one shall be sentenced to one year of penal servitude,’ I hereby sentence him to sixty strokes of the cane and one year of penal servitude!"

Liu Hao’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in the courtroom.

The gavel struck again. Gongsun Liangce’s voice turned severe. "If any part of the dowry is damaged or missing, you are given ten days to sell your lands and properties to make up the difference and deliver it to Mrs. Wang. If you fail to repay by the deadline, in accordance with the law regarding ’failure to repay debts,’ you will receive an additional twenty lashes, and your assets will be forcibly seized and liquidated to cover the debt!"

As the final verdict was delivered, the commoners outside the courtroom erupted in cheers.

Granny Wang bowed gratefully to the Lord Governor on the bench, then stood up and stared at Liu Hao and Mrs. Bai with cold disgust.

Her heart was a maelstrom of emotions.

If you could call it joy, it wasn’t the thrill of winning a lawsuit. This was justice, a result for her daughter who was already buried deep in the earth. But even with justice served, it couldn’t bring her daughter back to life.

Granny Wang walked out of Jingzhao Mansion. Seeing Ming Lingyi in the crowd, she couldn’t help but smile at her.

Without Ming Lingyi, she knew the wish she had buried in her heart for so long would have never come true. She wouldn’t have been able to face her daughter, who had been tormented to death, in the afterlife.

After returning home, Granny Wang took to her bed and did not get up again.

Back at the clinic, if Ming Lingyi hadn’t said she could help get justice for Wu Niang, she likely would have already succumbed to her illness and been bedridden.

The confrontation with Liu Hao in court had been like a final burst of energy before the end.

No one had expected things to turn out this way.

When Ming Lingyi was called into the tailor shop next door, she was surprised to find the Fang Zheng was also there, along with many familiar neighbors.

Ming Lingyi was a little surprised. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who had been summoned.

"Miss Ming, come quickly." The Fang Zheng offered a relatively gentle smile when he saw Ming Lingyi.

As soon as Ming Lingyi walked over, she heard the Fang Zheng say, "It was Mrs. Wang who called us all here. She wants to gift this house to you and asked us to act as witnesses."

Ming Lingyi: "...???"

’How can this be?!’

Ming Lingyi instinctively wanted to refuse.