Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 900: Arrogant Litigation Lawyer

In those years, everybody in Long’an Prefecture knew of the miracle child from the illustrious Lai family. At three, he studied literature; at four, he could recite the Three Character Classic; at five, he could recite the Thousand Character Classic; and by thirteen, he passed the student exam.

The title of Miracle Child Lai was called until Lai Zhi became a father and went abroad to study, and then it stopped.

After the common people had witnessed the trial where Granny Gu was accused of murdering Mrs. Fei, their interest in Granny Gu’s alleged plot against her husband was actually not that substantial, but when they heard the illicit lover was Lai Zhi, they went crazy with excitement.

"What, what are you saying? The person involved in the plot against Granny Gu’s husband is Lai Zhi? Our prefecture’s Lord Lai?!"

"My God, could it be? Granny Gu really shared a bed with Lord Lai. So are Gu Youwen and Gu Youlu truly descendants of Elder Gu?"

Someone replied, "Nonsense! Gu Youwen was born less than seven months after Granny Gu entered the Gu Family household; he must definitely be Lord Lai’s child. Among the three sons of the Old Gu Family, only Gu Youfu resembles Elder Gu; Gu Youwen and Gu Youlu look identical to Lord Lai, as if carved from the same mold, clearly father and son."

Actually, Gu Youwen and Gu Youlu do not resemble Lord Lai at all, but look like Lord Lai’s uncle.

But the common people of He’an Prefecture did not care, excitedly chiming in, "Indeed, indeed, I’ve long thought Gu Youwen and Gu Youlu look like Lord Lai. Oh gosh, the first time I saw Gu Youwen, I even mistook him for Lord Lai, such a likeness!"

With a slap, Magistrate Gu couldn’t stand it any longer and chastised the excited crowd, "Silence, any further noise, and this office will not be gentle with you!"

Magistrate Gu didn’t know how many times he had said these words. The people of He’an Prefecture were unafraid, but they quieted down because they wanted to hear the gossip.

Servants from various inns and storytelling clubs rushed back to inform the storytellers of the events at the government office.

Magistrate Gu saw this and did not stop them, letting them go as he continued questioning Yuan Jiagui, "These are merely your one-sided words. Just with one-sided words, you want to report to the authorities; it’s impossible. Do you have evidence? I remind you, if you don’t have evidence, you are slandering a court official, and according to the law, your entire family could be executed."

Tian Xiwang’s family, upon hearing, grew somewhat anxious and looked at Yuan Jiagui, "Uncle Yuan, do you have evidence? If not, we are doomed." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Though they did not bear the surname Yuan, they were there to testify with Yuan Jiagui, and the evidence they held couldn’t imprison Lai Zhi but merely tarnish his reputation.

Yuan Jiagui’s grandson felt somewhat afraid but clung to Yuan Jiagui, laughing, "Grandpa, it’s okay, we will be with you."

He and his sister only had their grandfather left. Regardless of whether his grandfather succeeded in the accusation, they would stay by his side and never part.

Yuan Jiagui looked at his grandson and felt quite comforted... previously this grandson was the most rebellious, but after witnessing several cousins perish along the journey of their escape, he became notably sensible, understanding how to consider for the family.

Yuan Jiagui patted his grandson’s head and said, "Brother En, don’t worry, grandpa has evidence."

With that, he took off the string around his neck and pulled out a fist-sized pouch from inside his clothes. The pouch was thick, composed of layer after layer, tightly sealed with threads and required a knife to open.

Yuan Jiagui handed the pouch to Magistrate Gu, saying, "Inside is a small piece of a jade pendant. I woke up to hear my full-blooded cousin was gone and felt guilty. That night, I secretly searched by the pond and found it in the mud among a patch of grass. There’s more than half a character on it. I had people look, and it’s mostly the character for Zhi. It can prove it belongs to Lai Zhi."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Gu immediately instructed the officials to cut open the pouch and publicly took out that half piece of jade pendant, which indeed had a diagonally broken character Zhi from left to right.

It was clearly recognizable, though the right side of the character for mouth in Zhi was missing half.

Everyone present was shocked; the civilians exclaimed, "My lord, Lord Lai really is Granny Gu’s lover, conspired with Granny Gu to murder Yuan Jiaman; quickly apprehend this evil man!"

Judge Tang also said, "My lord, the witness and material evidence are complete, you can order the arrest."

Even though Lai Zhi is an official, having committed a major capital offense under such conclusive evidence, he should also be arrested.

Magistrate Gu contemplated... The Emperor is in good health and keeps producing heirs, but the Eldest Imperial Prince dares to form factions and is courting disaster, estimating he won’t live long.

"Men, carry out my prefecture order; Lai Zhi has committed murder, the evidence is clear, immediately apprehend him and bring him to justice!" Magistrate Gu declared.

"Understood." Squad Leader Zhang responded and immediately led a group of officials to apprehend, feeling extremely joyous; he had apprehended people twice these days, boasting more accomplishments than Squad Leader Ma.

Half of the curious crowd followed Squad Leader Zhang and the others to witness the arrest.

Lord Lai had already received the news, dressed neatly, and sat at home waiting. When Squad Leader Zhang arrived, he didn’t resist and directly followed Squad Leader Zhang.

However, he brought along a group of people.

Among this group was a staff named Wu, specialized in litigation, an exceptionally skilled lawyer.

As soon as Lord Lai arrived at the government office, he did not kneel but said, "Lord Magistrate, I wish to counter-sue Yuan Jiagui for slandering a court official."

Coming right in with a counter-accusation surprised all the onlookers.

Magistrate Gu knew Lord Lai wouldn’t submit easily, didn’t panic excessively, and accepted Lawyer Wu’s petition paper, saying after reviewing it, "Lord Lai, you claim Yuan Jiagui slandered you, do you have evidence proving he slandered you? He has evidence proving you conspired with Granny Gu to murder Yuan Jiaman."

Lawyer Wu smiled, "Lord Magistrate, can a person’s one-sided words be considered evidence? Can a small and broken jade pendant be considered material evidence? Many people are named Zhi, who can prove the jade pendant belongs to Lord Lai?"

Lastly, he said something insightful, "Lord Magistrate, you are the chief officer at the government office, though able to judge cases, should you not refrain from handling a case of petty citizens prosecuting a colleague of the government office?"

And then added, "My lord, unfamiliar with Great Chu’s criminal law, I could remind you a bit. When the chief officer of a prefecture encounters a case where petty citizens prosecute a colleague official, he can delay judgment, sending the witness and material evidence to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, where the court will dispatch personnel to scrutinize Lord Lai. But why don’t you do so? Is there deliberate..."

"Silence, Lawyer Wu, slandering a prefecture chief officer in court is a grave offense." Judge Tang interrupted Lawyer Wu, "What you mentioned is only one instance; according to Great Chu Criminal Law, when it involves major or urgent cases, as long as there is evidence, even if they are colleagues of the same prefecture, the chief officer can immediately interrogate the assistant officer, before reporting to the Capital thereafter."

This criminal law was established by the first Emperor of Great Chu, a necessity when Great Chu was newly founded with too many cases in different regions; by the time the Capital was informed, fresh corpses would turn into white bones.

Therefore, the first Emperor of Great Chu made this law: as long as the evidence is conclusive, it doesn’t matter who the person is, even officers can be interrogated by colleagues, and much less when it’s a chief officer interrogating an assistant officer like Lord Lai here.

Lawyer Wu remained calm, continuing, "Judge Tang is well-versed in Great Chu Criminal Law, and I’m impressed. However, the witness and material evidence at present are quite unconvincing; if the government office fails to produce new evidence to interrogate Lord Lai, then the Lai family certainly will appeal to the Capital, and not only Yuan’s family, but even Judge Tang and Lord Gu will fare unfavorably."

Lawyer Wu was extremely arrogant, firmly denying that Yuan Jiagui was a witness and that the character Zhi on the jade pendant represented Lord Lai.