Hu Fan was also a bit confused. What's going on? Has Chen Xiaobei become the tyrant of the village?
He looked at He Lao Qi in confusion.
He Lao Qi was equally puzzled, as he wasn't familiar with Chen Xiaobei either; he was introduced by the Liu family.
He cleared his throat and spoke, "Jia Shi, this is the courtroom. If you dare to speak nonsense, you will be punished."
Jia Shi sobbed and cried, "Officer, it's because he scared my son so much that he won't return home. I... I'll fight him!"
Saying this, she stood up and tried to lunge at Chen Xiaobei.
Fortunately, He Lao Qi was quick and stepped in front of Chen Xiaobei to block her.
Jia Fan also quickly slammed the gavel down.
"No shouting in court, otherwise, I'll have to punish you!"
He Lao Qi looked at Chen Xiaobei, "Is this true?"
Chen Xiaobei shook his head.
"Then do you have any witnesses?"
Chen Xiaobei slapped his forehead. Yes, witnesses! Chen Ping was right outside; he was a ready-made witness.
"To Seven Sir, the ones sleeping on the donkey cart outside are from the village guard. They can all testify for me."
He Lao Qi exchanged a glance with the nearby officers, and soon, Chen Ping and the others were brought in.
As soon as they entered, the three of them knelt and kowtowed to Hu Fan. Perhaps they hadn't expected that, after coming to eat the meat buns, they would also be summoned to answer questions.
When the three of them entered, Chen Yutian was slightly stunned. He gently tugged at Jia Shi's sleeve.
Jia Shi, the one who started the false accusations, pointed at the three men, "Yes, it's them! They're in cahoots with Chen Xiaobei and framed my son as a thief."
At first, she had only tried to smear Chen Xiaobei's name, perhaps still holding out hope, but now that she didn't spare Chen Ping either, they certainly wouldn't spare her.
Chen Ping clasped his hands and bowed to Hu Fan, saying loudly, "County Magistrate, I am the captain of the village guard in Hetou Village. My name is Chen Ping."
"This old woman is clearly the one who made false accusations. Her son, Chen Ermao, broke into Chen Xiaobei's house to steal last night, and we caught him red-handed."
"We planned to detain him until morning and send him to the county office, but he managed to escape in the middle of the night. To our surprise, this woman had bad intentions and hired a killer to kill Chen Xiaobei. Luckily, it was exposed, and we captured him first."
Chen Ping finished speaking, and if the matter ended here, the most she would get is a charge for attempted murder with hired help.
But at this moment, Jia Shi had completely lost her mind. She pointed at Chen Ping and shouted at him.
"What do you mean by saying I had bad intentions? Isn't it your grandfather, the village head, who forced us to do this?"
Hearing this, Chen Yutian quickly grabbed Jia Shi's arm, realizing that the truth was about to come out.
"Are you out of your mind? You dare to say such things in court?"
Chen Ping, who was completely unaware of the matter behind this, naturally defended his grandfather.
"You are slandering us! How dare you put the blame on my grandfather? I think you're really crazy."
He then turned to Hu Fan and said, "County Magistrate, her son, Chen Ermao, is a good-for-nothing in the village. He idles around, stealing chickens and dogs. You can ask the villagers about him."
"Chen Xiaobei recently married a wife and brought some dowry with him, and Chen Ermao set his sights on it. When he went to steal, we caught him red-handed at his house. The villagers can testify to this."
Hu Fan nodded.
"Jia Shi, if you tell the truth now, it might still be okay. But if you keep insisting on this lie and I find out, do you know what consequences await you?"
Jia Shi kowtowed twice to Hu Fan. "County Magistrate, I am telling the truth. It was indeed the village head, Chen Anbang, who told us that only by killing Chen Xiaobei could our son return to the village."
Hu Fan nodded. "So your son really did steal from Chen Xiaobei's house?"
Jia Shi wanted to argue, but Chen Yutian quickly stopped her. "My lord, this is truly our fault. My son did steal from Chen Xiaobei's house. Later, the village head said to send him to the county office, and I took advantage of the fact that the village guard was asleep and secretly released him."
"It was my dissatisfaction that led me to hire a killer. The village head had nothing to do with it."
These words from Chen Yutian were very insincere. But he had to say them because he understood the meaning behind the village head's words when he left.
Just then, a commotion was heard from outside, and a few officers hurriedly ran in.
"Report to the County Magistrate, a group of people from Hetou Village has arrived."
Hu Fan glared, "Nonsense! What kind of behavior is this, making so much noise?"
"They said they caught a mountain bandit and brought him to the county office."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei immediately remembered the scene from last night.
Wasn't the person who ran into him in the village not from Hetou Village? Could it be him?
Chen Xiaobei's guess was entirely correct. The man had been hiding in Qingniu Mountain all night.
He only returned to the village at dawn, acting as if nothing had happened, and went straight to Chen Yutian's house.
At this point, Chen Yutian had already been taken by He Lao Qi.
Seeing that Chen Yutian's house was empty, the bandit pretended to ask the neighbors about their whereabouts.
Eventually, the village defense team was alerted.
As soon as the man saw the village defense team, he immediately turned and fled. Clearly, this indicated that he had something to hide.
After Chen Daqiang caught the man, he ran into Chen Anbang.
It was perfect timing, as Chen Anbang had just returned from the countryside and was eager to know the progress of the situation. With a guilty conscience, he proactively offered to help escort the man to the authorities.
…
After hearing the report, Hu Fan waved his hand, and soon another officer brought in a different mountain bandit.
The bandit, upon seeing Yang Dazhi covered in blood with his body beaten and bruised, was immediately frightened into a stupor. He dropped to his knees with a thud, pleading for mercy.
"County Magistrate, please spare me. I beg you, please spare me."
Hu Fan slammed the bench with the gavel. "What is your name? Why did you come to Beishan Village, and what was your intention? Speak the truth."
The bandit quickly responded, "My name is Ding Laosan. I came to Hetou Village with Yang Dazhi to map out the route to Qingniu Mountain, and we were supposed to…"
He turned to look at Yang Dazhi before continuing, "And we were also supposed to kill someone named Chen Xiaobei."
Ding Laosan then recounted the events of the previous night. As Chen Xiaobei had suspected, this man had heard Cui Hongyu's shout and rushed out, only to run into Chen Xiaobei.
Hu Fan glanced at Jia Shi. "Hiring a killer, and the evidence is clear. What do you have to say for yourself?"
At this point, Jia Shi lost all composure. She glared and shouted, "My lord, I already said it! It was the village head, Chen Anbang, who instructed us to do this!"
Chen Ping, upon hearing this, was furious. "County Magistrate, my grandfather is outside. You can call him in and have him confront this scoundrel directly."
Hu Fan nodded and gestured to He Lao Qi.
Soon, Chen Anbang was brought in.
Though he was nervous, he forced himself to remain calm. He bowed to Hu Fan. "I am Chen Anbang, the village head of Hetou Village. It is an honor to meet you, County Magistrate."
Hu Fan pointed to Chen Yutian and Jia Shi. "Do you recognize these two?"
"Yes, County Magistrate, they are villagers from my village. Of course, I recognize them."
"Well then, they claim that they hired someone to kill Chen Xiaobei at your instruction. Is this true?"
At this, Chen Anbang's heart sank. His gaze turned cold as he glanced at Jia Shi and then at Chen Yutian.