Xiangzhou Arc: Soul Transmigration to Another World Chapter 39: A Tongue Sharpened by Venom
The burly man looked thick-set and coarse, with a face full of fleshy jowls; he certainly did not appear to be the type easily manipulated by others.
Why would he obediently follow Zheng Qianjuan’s orders?
There must be some hidden story behind this.
Thinking of this, Ye Qiaoqiao frowned and asked him, "Why did you let her instigate you?"
Upon hearing this, the burly man began to cry even harder, sobbing as he said, "That Zheng Qianjuan came before my thatched hut and tried to seduce me. She said that as long as I could control you and force you to kneel and beg her, she would give her body to me. I... I was momentarily blinded by greed and listened to her, and that is how I committed such a grave mistake."
"Is that so?" Ye Qiaoqiao’s expression tightened slightly.
She never imagined that this old woman would resort to such despicable means just to deal with her!
It was truly shameless to the extreme!
The burly man continued to cry, saying, "I didn't know you were a person of the Crown Prince at first. I always thought you were just an ordinary woman; how could I have imagined that I would provoke someone I shouldn't? I was truly pig-headed and blinded! I deserve to die! Young Lady, please spare my life!"
As he spoke, he kept kowtowing.
The "thud, thud" sounds echoed through the courtroom, and in no time, his forehead was swollen and bruised.
"My Lord, what do you think?" Ye Qiaoqiao turned her gaze toward Dong Feiguang, who was seated in the courtroom.
She hoped he would give her an answer.
To her surprise, Dong Feiguang only wore a stern expression and struck the gavel once more.
He then spoke loudly to the bailiffs: "Bring in Zheng Qianjuan!"
Immediately after, Zheng Qianjuan, covered in scars and with her hands bound by ropes, was dragged in by two bailiffs, one on each side.
Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn in several places, and her face and hands were covered in bruises, some blue and some purple.
She looked utterly wretched.
It was evident that she had been through quite an ordeal before being brought to the courtroom.
Her gaze was originally unfocused and wandering.
However, the moment her eyes landed on Ye Qiaoqiao, a flash of intense hatred crossed them, as if she wanted to tear Ye Qiaoqiao limb from limb.
"Ye Qiaoqiao, you really are a little mongrel!" Even in her fallen state, Zheng Qianjuan wore a vicious expression.
Her words were extremely vile, sounding particularly jarring in the solemn courtroom.
Seeing that Zheng Qianjuan had no intention of repenting, Ye Qiaoqiao helplessly rubbed her forehead.
She did not know why, but from the bottom of her heart, she truly looked down on people like this.
Especially the fact that to disgust her, she had even sold herself to someone else to deal with her.
She was already at an advanced age; she should have been enjoying her twilight years, yet she used such base tactics.
It was truly shameless to the extreme.
Thinking of this, Ye Qiaoqiao refused to yield and used her sharp tongue to the very end: "It is even more shameful that you, at your age, would rather take off your trousers to take revenge on others than wipe your face clean to see where you went wrong. Who is the mongrel? You know that in your own heart!"
The words struck Zheng Qianjuan like a sharp blade, sparing no feelings.
Knowing how venomous Ye Qiaoqiao's tongue was, Zheng Qianjuan trembled with rage, her face turning crimson.
She spat out bitterly, "Not managing to kill you was my biggest mistake!"
Her words were filled with deep, poisonous resentment, as if Ye Qiaoqiao were her irreconcilable enemy.
"Yes, and that is the only way you are capable of dealing with me—by trying to kill me," Ye Qiaoqiao curled her lips.
Seeing this, Dong Feiguang, seated above in the courtroom, frowned, his expression growing increasingly stern.
He struck the gavel again and asked Zheng Qianjuan sharply: "The burly man has already identified you as the one who seduced and instigated him to cause trouble. Do you plead guilty?"
His gaze, sharp as a hawk, stared fixedly at Zheng Qianjuan, allowing no room for her to quibble.
"This woman pleads guilty, but this Ye Qiaoqiao is also intolerable to the heavens!" Zheng Qianjuan accused, dripping with snot and tears.
She looked truly pathetic, yet even on the verge of ruin, she did not forget to accuse Ye Qiaoqiao.
It was as if Zheng Qianjuan herself were the victim who had suffered all the grievances.
Ye Qiaoqiao was puzzled—how had she provoked her?
Coming to her Divine Calculation Pavilion to cause trouble time and again—was that not enough?
She frowned and said, "What do you mean?"
Zheng Qianjuan glared viciously at Ye Qiaoqiao, her eyes looking as if they wanted to gouge two holes into her.
She shouted loudly, "You little mongrel, you hit my son that day, you were disrespectful to me, and you cursed my unborn grandchild!"
"Is that all?" Ye Qiaoqiao’s voice was flat.
In her view, these so-called reasons from Zheng Qianjuan were far-fetched and ridiculous, merely excuses to justify her own evil deeds.
The bruised woman nodded, righteous and indignant: "Do you mean to say you still won't admit your heinous crimes?"
It was as if Ye Qiaoqiao were the one who had committed the most atrocious sins.
"So, because I was 'disrespectful' to you, combined with other fabricated charges, you resorted to seducing others to take revenge on me, all to satisfy your own sordid thoughts and fulfill your own desires?" Ye Qiaoqiao analyzed clearly and asked calmly.
Zheng Qianjuan wore an expression of "I am right, and you are wrong."
She nodded vigorously again and even raised her voice: "Isn't that the case? You actually think that with your pittance of property, you are worthy of climbing into my family and becoming the wife of a Tanhua?"
Her words were filled with contempt for Ye Qiaoqiao.
She felt that Ye Qiaoqiao was completely unworthy of her son and had the audacity to commit those "rebellious" acts.
Therefore, she believed that it was Ye Qiaoqiao who deserved to be punished, not herself.
"So, it is my fault after all?" Ye Qiaoqiao curled her lips again.
She truly could not have imagined that Zheng Qianjuan could twist black and white to such an extent, taking those trivial, everyday matters of 'disrespect' and grandiosely categorizing them as heinous crimes, and even inventing an absurd charge of cursing an unborn grandchild.
It was unreasonable to the extreme.
"Yes, it is all your fault!" Zheng Qianjuan’s eyes were bloodshot, and she spoke like a madwoman.
As she spoke, she used all her strength to struggle up from the ground.
Because her body was bound by ropes, movement was difficult, but the hatred driving her urged her on. She made a move as if to ram her head into Ye Qiaoqiao, looking as though she intended to perish together with her.
However, before she could throw herself at Ye Qiaoqiao, she was apprehended by the quick-witted bailiffs behind her.
The bailiffs held her tightly, preventing any further extreme actions.
But Zheng Qianjuan seemed to have gone completely insane, screaming at the top of her lungs: "Ye Qiaoqiao, go to hell! Go to hell!"
The sound echoed through the courtroom, sharp and ear-piercing.
It was filled with such thick, poisonous resentment that everyone present could not help but frown.
Listening to those vicious curses, Ye Qiaoqiao actually began to doubt herself for a moment.
In her daily life, she was just a bit sharp-tongued and liked to talk back, but surely that wasn't enough to make Zheng Qianjuan hate her this much!
Could it be that she really had been too excessive in her daily conduct, leading this old woman to hold such a grudge that she was determined to see her dead?
But it was clearly Zheng Qianjuan who had been difficult and provocative at every turn, while she had merely defended herself.
This wicked woman truly refused to admit her guilt even at the end!
At that moment, Dong Feiguang took the gavel and struck it down, delivering the final verdict: "Take this woman away and deal with her according to the laws of Nanli!"