Xiangzhou Arc: Transmigrating into Another World - Chapter 40: This Humble Woman Knows Nothing

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qianjuan seemed to have all her strength instantly drained from her body.

Immediately afterward, she plunged into a state of extreme terror, becoming even more deranged.

Her eyes widened, filled with horror and resentment, and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "No! I refuse! Why don't you let Ye Qiaoqiao die instead? Would I have ended up like this if it weren't for her?"

Her voice had already turned hoarse from screaming, yet she still yelled at the very limit of her breath.

It was as if she believed that by shouting loudly enough, she could somehow alter this predetermined fate.

However, no matter how she struggled or cried out, the bailiffs paid no heed to her entreaties and clamor.

Several bailiffs grabbed her aged body from left and right, ruthlessly dragging her out of the courtroom.

Zheng Qianjuan kicked her feet wildly against the ground, attempting to break free from the bailiffs' grip, but it was all in vain.

She could only watch helplessly as she was pulled further and further away from the courtroom, awaiting the punishment dictated by the laws of Nanli.

That desperate and frantic appearance was truly sigh-inducing.

Once she was dragged away, the courtroom instantly grew somewhat quieter, yet the tense atmosphere still lingered in the air.

Before Ye Qiaoqiao could speak, the burly man in the courtroom was already scared ashen.

He knelt on the ground, kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic, and while kowtowing, he tearfully pleaded for mercy, "My lord, this humble villain was wrong! I beg your lordship to spare this villain's life!"

Ye Qiaoqiao raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling upon the burly man.

With just that single glance, her mind became as clear as a mirror.

Judging purely from the ferocity hidden within the burly man's fleshy face, and the cunning that flashed through his eyes,

she knew he must have committed numerous misdeeds in ordinary times and was by no means a kind-hearted soul.

Therefore, she simply stood quietly to the side without uttering a word.

She decided to suppress her own thoughts and quietly await Magistrate Dong's verdict for the burly man.

Magistrate Dong struck the gavel once more, speaking with a resolute and resounding voice to the burly man below the dais, "Relying on your brute strength, you usually act as a tyrant and commit all sorts of outrages. A few days ago, you accepted instructions to break into a private residence in broad daylight and cause a disturbance. This is utterly unforgivable! Drag him down and administer fifty heavy boards, just to teach you a lesson so you will not dare to commit such wrongdoings again in the future!"

Fifty board strikes...

Wouldn't that cripple a man?

Ye Qiaoqiao muttered inwardly.

Upon hearing the order, the bailiffs immediately stepped forward, grabbing the burly man by the left and right.

They dragged him toward the execution grounds at the back of the courtroom.

Hearing that he was to receive fifty board strokes, the burly man was so terrified that his limbs turned weak, and he continuously cried out, "Spare my life, my lord! Spare my life, my lord..."

Yet the bailiffs paid no attention to his entreaties, dragging him forward straight away.

The courtroom returned to silence once more, leaving only the thief cowering on the floor.

Ye Qiaoqiao cast a sidelong glance at the thief, only to see that the area beneath him was thoroughly soaked.

It seemed he had been scared out of his wits by this solemn scene, losing control of his bodily functions.

Ye Qiaoqiao thought to herself that Zheng Qianjuan, dealt with according to the laws of Nanli, would be sentenced to lifelong imprisonment.

Which was essentially a modern-day reform-through-labor prisoner.

Her days ahead would all be spent in that dark and sunless cell, which could be considered retribution for her myriad evils.

As for that burly man dragged off to receive fifty board strokes, whether he could survive this ordeal remained to be seen.

Even if he managed to survive, he would likely be bedridden for quite a long time.

I wonder what kind of punishment this thief will face?

Clad in a green robe, she stood there quietly, awaiting Magistrate Dong's ensuing verdict.

"Who instigated you? Confess honestly!" Magistrate Dong maintained his imposing demeanor.

Yet by this time, the thief had long since been scared out of his soul, and the foul-smelling incontinence emitted a wave of repulsive odors.

His lips trembled, and though he opened his mouth several times, he failed to utter a single complete sentence.

His appearance was utterly wretched.

Silence.

The courtroom was enveloped in a prolonged silence.

Shen Jianzhou sat upon the dais, quietly observing this little drama.

A subtle, hard-to-detect curve appeared at the corner of his lips, and inwardly he marveled at Ye Qiaoqiao's composure and calmness.

After all, given such a grand scene where even the thief had wet himself from fright, Ye Qiaoqiao still maintained her usual expression, standing there unhurriedly.

This level of mental fortitude was truly not something an ordinary person possessed.

Seeing that the thief was now in a state where he could no longer speak, Ye Qiaoqiao knitted her brows slightly.

She stepped forward, bowed slightly toward Magistrate Dong, and said softly, "My lord, seeing as this criminal can no longer speak, questioning him in his current state will likely yield nothing. It might be better to suspend the interrogation for now; we can continue questioning him once he recovers his composure."

Her tone carried a consultative nuance.

Inwardly, she figured that the thief was practically frightened out of his wits at the moment.

Forcing an interrogation now would probably get nothing out of him, so wouldn't it be a pure waste of time?

It would be far better to give the thief some time to calm down; perhaps useful clues could be extracted then!

The most important thing was that she had previously heard from the thief that the person who instigated the matter was a noble lady from the capital.

Aside from Xiang Ling'er, there was no one else.

Yet if it truly was Xiang Ling'er...

She might not be easy to deal with either.

Dong Feiguang seemed somewhat surprised, not expecting Ye Qiaoqiao to make such a suggestion.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up Ye Qiaoqiao as if trying to see through whether there were any hidden motives behind her proposal.

Then he looked again at the thief, who was reduced to a frightened heap on the floor with his lips still trembling continuously.

It was indeed a wretched state from which nothing could be asked.

After a moment of silence, Dong Feiguang nodded slightly and said, "What Miss Ye says does make sense, except..."

Just as he was about to grant the request, he seemed to recall something.

He then turned his respectful gaze toward Shen Jianzhou and asked softly, "Crown Prince, what is your honorable opinion?"

Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was present, major decisions in the courtroom still required deferring to His Highness's wishes first.

However, Shen Jianzhou's gaze was fixed straight upon Ye Qiaoqiao.

His deep eyes held a hint of probing, as though he wanted to see right through Ye Qiaoqiao's thoughts, and he frowned as he asked her, "Do you know something?"

Just now, he had noticed Ye Qiaoqiao rolling her eyes to the left and then to the right.

In his heart, he felt that Ye Qiaoqiao's suggestion might not stem solely from considering the thief's inability to speak.

Perhaps she had already caught wind of some hidden details, which was why she spoke thus.

Ye Qiaoqiao was startled; she did indeed know a thing or two.

For instance, before the thief lost his ability to speak, he had told her that a noble lady from the capital had instigated him to steal.

Yet under the current circumstances, even if she spoke of it, she had no proof.

What use were empty words without evidence?

It would be completely unconvincing, and worse, people might suspect she was falsely implicating others at random.

Thinking of this, Ye Qiaoqiao pressed her lips together.

With a calm demeanor, she replied, "Replying to Your Highness, this humble commoner also wishes to know certain things. However, under the present circumstances, we can only rely on questioning this thief. This humble commoner knows nothing else."