After Reincarnating into Ancient Times, She Bound a Express Delivery System Chapter 76

Chen the county magistrate excitedly unfolded the paper, but upon inspection, he realized it was not any written docunt - it was a painting.

The painting depicted two young girls hand in hand, standing under a peach tree in full bloom. Their smiles were as radiant as the flowers. In the bottom right corner was a line of small text: "My ho has daughters as fair as spring blossoms, their beauty fragrant on every branch." - A gift for my beloved daughters, Chunchun and Xiangxiang.

After reading the inscription, Chen the county magistrate looked again at i Chun standing below the hall, carefully comparing her features to the shorter girl on the right. Through the exquisite brushwork, he could discern that a younger i Chun had once been a beauty beyond compare.

But what did this have to do with the present case?

Chen the county magistrate casually set the painting aside on the table's corner.

"Hmm?... That face is awfully familiar," Qi Huan whispered as she leaned in for a closer look.

Seeing her lingering by the table, Chen the county magistrate waved her away impatiently.

Qi Huan took a few backward glances at the painting before suddenly exclaiming, "Ah, that's Lady i! When Mr. Lu was first injured, she ca to my ho seeking treatnt for him. I never imagined she was such a beauty in her youth. Her full na is i Xiang - 'i' for plum blossom, 'Xiang' for fragrance from bitter cold. What a lovely na."

Her words sparked a realization, and all the evidence linked together like a chain.

Stunned, Chen the county magistrate slamd his hand on the wooden bench, summoning guards to bring i Chun before him to face the painting.

"i Chun, Lady i is the concubine of Lu Baiian and your sister. So to help her nephew inherit the Lu family fortune, you conspired with her and Lu Baiian to poison Lu's wife surnad Du, intending to fra Lu Yueming. Do you admit to this, or not?"

"...No."

i Chun's dress was stained red from the blood seeping from her legs. She could barely stand, supported only by the guards. Uttering that single word seed to drain her of all strength, as blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

Gazing at the portrait that had sohow ended up in the magistrate's hands, i Chun let out a faint, flower-like laugh.

It was a painting her father had made of her at age thirteen and her sister i Xiang at fifteen.

Later, when famine struck their hotown and the streets were littered with corpses, only she and her sister had survived.

To save i Chun from starvation, i Xiang had sold herself to an opera troupe's master.

Sustained by her sister's sacrifice, i Chun lived, eventually becoming a maid at the Du mansion, then following Mrs. Lu to Mo County upon her marriage to Lu Baiian.

When i Chun reunited with her sister and learned she was Lu Baiian's concubine, she resolved to help i Xiang however she could as repaynt for saving her life.

First convincing Mrs. Lu to accept Lu Zhi Ming as the heir, then poisoning her - i Chun did everything in her power to honor her sister's selflessness.

So she gritted her teeth and refused to confess the truth.

Seeing her stubbornness, Chen the county magistrate stopped wasting ti and summoned Lady i instead.

Two quarters of an hour later, the guards brought in two disheveled figures.

Qi Huan chuckled rrily at the sight, turning to purchase so roasted peanuts from Peddler Shen to snack on.

Lady i's hair was tousled, her neck bore faint red marks, and the burly man trailing behind her was equally unkempt.

The adults present imdiately understood the implications.

Chen the county magistrate gaped at Lu Baiian. "But I thought she was your concubine?"

Lu Baiian blinked, then his face contorted in outrage. "You little...!" (Omitting 10,000 characters of traditional curses...)

Fearing his spittle, Qi Huan retreated while giving the guards who brought them a thumbs-up.

Well done!

Then her gaze shifted from the guards to Lady i and her paramour.

"Hey, doesn't that strapping fellow look a bit like your brother, Yueming?"

Before Lu Yueming could respond, the man cut in indignantly, "Nonsense, you silly girl! It's not who resembles Zhi Ming - he looks like !"

"Oh~" Qi Huan replied aningfully, eyeing Lu Baiian with an inscrutable smile. "Uncle Lu, that shade of erald green on your robe is quite fetching today. Don't tell Lady i tailored it for you herself?"

Lu Baiian turned crimson and fainted on the spot.

"Quick, slap his face!" ordered Chen the county magistrate, determined not to let him pass out during such a critical juncture.

As the sun began to set, the magistrate hoped to swiftly conclude the trial so he could return ho for dinner.

Once Lu Baiian ca to, Chen the county magistrate chastised him gravely, "Old friend Lu, these sisters have made a fool of you. You treasured that fickle woman, even raising her son all these years.

...Now that the truth is out, surely you won't still defend them?"

Blinded by his resentnt, Lu Baiian exploded, "Defend them? I want to flay them alive right now!"

In his fury, he shouted hoarsely, "It was her! i Xiang ordered i Chun to poison the wife, and the poison itself ca from an old opera troupe contact she enlisted. Just investigate and you'll know the truth, Your Honor."

Unwilling to be implicated alone, i Xiang retorted indignantly, "How dare you sully my na, you scoundrel Lu. What does this have to do with ? Didn't you say your fat wife Lu's wife surnad Du was beneath you, and demand I take her place?

Didn't you insist Lu Zhi Ming was the sole heir to carry on your family's legacy, destined for boundless glory and riches? So you ordered my sister to poison her and fra your daughter. This was all your vile sche!"

"Shut your filthy mouth, you scheming vixen!... And you still had the gall to take a lover behind my back, you little..."

"If you weren't so utterly useless in bed, why would I need another man? With your manhood, it's amazing Mrs. Lu even managed to bear you a daughter at all..."

As they bickered, their quarrel veered off course. Chen the county magistrate rapped his bench forcefully to silence them.

"Enough! Since you've both confessed, I shall pass judgnt swiftly!"

Glancing at the setting sun, the magistrate hastened his verdict. "The servant i Chun committed high treason by poisoning her master. Her cri is unpardonable - drag her out and beat her to death!"

As a servant, i Chun's life was as worthless as grass to Chen the county magistrate, so he condemned her to execution without a second thought.

As for the masterminds Lady i and Lu Baiian, since Lu's wife surnad Du had not died, their cri amounted to attempted murder.

"The accomplice Lady i plotted for wealth with attempted murder. Sentence: facial disfigurent and thirty years of hard labor."

Upon hearing her sentence of facial tattooing, Lady i collapsed to the floor, caressing her once beautiful face in anguish. To forever bear such a grotesque disfigurent was a fate worse than death for the forr beauty.

"Your Honor, is there no other punishnt?" she pleaded desperately.

"Do you think this is a vegetable market for haggling?" Chen the county magistrate scoffed, impatient to conclude the trial before nightfall.

With a dismissive wave, his guards stuffed a rag into Lady i's mouth to silence her protests.

"As for the mastermind Lu Baiian, sa cri and sentence: facial tattooing and thirty years of hard labor."

Just as the sentencing concluded, Chen the county magistrate noticed his son Chen Jinyou peeking in from outside - clearly sent by his wife to summon him ho for dinner.

Chen the county magistrate was about to leave when he noticed the foolish smile on his son's face, causing him to pause.

"Lu Baiian, ten more strokes! Strip his pants off and beat him!"

Years ago, Lu Baiian had spanked i Xiang's buttocks ten tis in the theater. Today, Chen was going to avenge his son.

The book says: A gentleman's revenge may take ten years, but it won't be late.

The book does not deceive either.

Chen the county magistrate was extrely satisfied. He said "Court dismissed" and walked towards Chen Jinyou, giving him a slap on the shoulder. "Go ho and eat."

Inside the courtroom, Lu Baiian was pressed down on the long bench. He looked resentfully at their father-son bond, almost vomiting blood.

Why was his punishnt heavier than i Xiang's?

Chen the county magistrate's judgnt was unfair! He would not accept it!

At that mont, Chen Jinyou suddenly turned his head and made a face at him, causing distant mories to flash through his mind.

Lu Baiian realized: Chen the county magistrate's judgnt was sowhat influenced by personal grievances.

Soon, his pants were stripped off, and the rods fell upon him.

Nearby, Li Shuchen and Xiu Wen covered the eyes of Qi Huan and Lu Yueming respectively.