The wonderful life of modern women in ancient times

Chapter 503: Zhao Ting'er is sentenced to be beheaded in public

At this time, Cao Fangruo and Lin Xi, mother and daughter, who were being muttered by Wang Siruo, were standing in the yamen, waiting for the prefect to pronounce the verdict on Zhao Ting'er.

"Zhao Ting'er, I have sent people to the temple to investigate. Now we have all the evidence. Do you have anything else to say?"

The prefect slammed the gavel heavily and spoke loudly to Zhao Ting'er who was kneeling in the hall.

"Zhao Ting'er, I'm asking you a question! Do you plead guilty?"

Seeing that Zhao Ting'er didn't say anything, the prefect raised his voice and asked again.

"Sir, there seems to be something wrong with Zhao Ting'er!"

Seeing Zhao Ting'er's empty eyes, kneeling on the ground blankly without any reaction, the old prime minister frowned and said.

"Come on, go and invite the imperial physician!"

The prefect also noticed that Zhao Ting'er seemed to have mental problems. He was not sure whether Zhao Ting'er was pretending to avoid punishment, so he ordered his subordinates to call the imperial physician.

"Sir, this Zhao Ting'er has lost her mind and has become stupid!"

Not long after, the imperial physician hurried over. He examined Zhao Ting'er carefully and finally bowed to the prefect and said.

"I understand. Thank you, Imperial Doctor!"

The prefect stood up and bowed to the imperial physician. The imperial physician smiled and waved, then left in a carriage.

"Old Prime Minister, Old General Cao, what do you think of this?"

The prefect looked at the idiot and silly Zhao Ting'er, and there was no way he could get her to confess her crime in person.

"Your Excellency, regardless of whether Zhao Ting'er is mentally retarded or not, or whether she can cooperate with the trial, we have all the evidence, so just ask her to sign it."

"The Prime Minister is right. Since she is already mentally retarded, there is no need to try the case. Just sign the name directly!"

After listening to the words of the old prime minister and General Cao, the prefect thought that since his mentor had already drawn a line between them, he didn't have to worry about anything, so he loudly pronounced the verdict: "Zhao Ting'er caused her elder sister Zhao Yan'er to die of hemorrhage during childbirth many years ago. According to the laws of Daxia, Zhao Ting'er is sentenced to immediate execution! Come, take her away and execute her at noon tomorrow!"

"Your Excellency, this Zhao Ting'er is so vicious. Please order someone to parade her through the streets and make her crimes known to the public as a warning to the world!"

Seeing that the police were about to take Zhao Ting'er away, General Cao suddenly stepped forward and made this request to the prefect.

"Well! Let's do as the old general says! Come on, put Zhao Ting'er in the prison van and parade her through the streets!"

The prefect thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Who is this? What crime did he commit that he is being paraded through the streets?"

"I know, I know. She is the second wife of General Cao, the assistant general of the country. In order to marry General Cao, she caused the general's original wife to die of hemorrhage. The original wife was her cousin!"

"What! This woman is so vicious? No, I have rotten eggs at home, I have to throw a few at her!"

......

Soon the crowd knew what crime this charming but silly looking woman had committed, and rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, small stones and even manure were thrown all over Zhao Ting'er's head.

Zhao Ting'er didn't react at all and remained in a daze.

"Master! Don't stop me! These people are too much. They actually treat our daughter like this! I'm going to go out and ask that lousy prefect, has he forgotten how you helped him? Beheading Pan Ting'er is fine, but he humiliated her like this. He is trampling on the face of our Shangshu Mansion!"

The door of the Minister of Rites' residence was closed, and an old woman's voice was heard from behind the door.

At this time, the onlookers happened to follow the prisoner cart past the gate of the Shangshu Mansion. Someone with sharp ears heard the voice coming from inside the door and deliberately said loudly: "Why did our Minister of Rites teach his daughter to be so cruel?"

"That's right. He's the Minister of Rites, but he can't even teach his own daughter well!"

......

The common people, who normally did not dare to offend these high officials, took advantage of the large crowds and made loud noises.

Looking at his daughter's miserable appearance through the crack in the door and listening to the people's sarcasm, the Minister of Rites felt like gritting his teeth. He was afraid that his wife would get angry and something bad would happen if she continued to watch, so he and the servants half persuaded and half pulled her back to the backyard.

"Xi'er, accompany me to buy some yellow paper, incense and candles. I want to go and pay respect to your grandmother!"

Cao Fangruo, who was following Zhao Ting'er's prison van from a distance, let out a breath and said to Lin Xi who was holding her arm.

"Okay, Mom, I just saw a shop selling paper money and incense over there, let's go over there!"

Lin Xi agreed and walked towards another street with Cao. Lin Dayong followed with his three sons. Seeing this, Cao Zhu also hurriedly followed.

When Cao Zhu and Lin Xi's family arrived near Zhao Yan'er's grave, they saw a man sitting in front of the tombstone from a distance. When they got closer, they found out that it was General Cao.

When General Cao saw his son and daughter coming over, he wiped his eyes in panic, then forced a smile and said to Cao Zhu and Cao Fangruo: "Zhu'er, Fangruo, you are here, come and have a good talk with your mother. She must miss you."

General Cao made great contributions in avenging Zhao Yan'er and Cao Fangruo so smoothly this time. Cao Zhu and Cao Fangruo both had a different opinion of him, so their attitude towards him was no longer as cold as before. Although they still didn't call him dad, they finally smiled at him.

When General Cao saw his son and daughter smiling at him, he was so happy that he didn't know what to do. He stood aside with a grin on his face, looking at his two children.

"Mother, your daughter is here to see you. Zhao Ting'er, who killed you, will pay for your life tomorrow. Rest in peace! Over the years, your daughter..."

Cao Fangruo knelt in front of Zhao Yaner's tombstone, burning paper money and choking up as she spoke to her mother who had passed away.

Cao Zhu knelt beside her with his head lowered, silently handing her paper money. If you look closely, you will find tears dripping from his dark face from time to time.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the ashes of paper money swirled around and surrounded Cao Fangruo and Cao Zhu.

"Mother, did you hear your daughter talking?"

Cao Fangruo looked around with tears in her eyes. She stood up, pulled Lin Dayong over, and knelt down in front of the tombstone again. She said to the tombstone: "Mother, this is my husband. He treats me very well!"

After that, she waved to the four Lin Xi sisters and said, "Mom, these are my daughter's four children. They are very considerate and obedient!"

"Mom, don't worry, my son-in-law Lin Dayong will definitely treat Fang Ruo well and won't let her suffer any grievances!"

Lin Dayong kowtowed three times in front of the tombstone and said solemnly.

Lin Xi's four sisters also kowtowed respectfully towards Zhao Yan'er's tombstone, saying that their mother was living well now and asked their grandmother not to worry, as they would definitely protect their mother.

The group paid tribute in front of Zhao Yan'er's tomb for an hour before they decided to leave.

"Fang Ruo, Zhu'er, come back to the General's Mansion with Daddy for dinner today. I have prepared many gifts for the children!"

General Cao looked at Cao Zhu and Cao Fangruo with a face full of love, his eyes filled with a desire to be close to his son and daughter.