If the handkerchief were taken out in public, given the similarity between the two handkerchiefs, people wouldn't be able to examine them closely and would certainly believe the bodyguard's words more. In such a noisy environment and with such an unclear dispute, there would be no way to calmly prove that the bodyguard was lying. If the bodyguard then ran away in great distress, things would become even more complicated, and Lin Ruonan would definitely be blamed. Ancient times were so unfair to women.
Now that Xu Zifan has brought the matter to court, no one is allowed to leave until the matter is resolved, and no one is allowed to make a sound. With a special embroiderer to assess the situation, everyone can listen to their confrontation and see how things develop.
The embroiderer carefully compared Lin Ruonan's and the bodyguard's handkerchiefs, and quickly pointed out many differences. Even the embroidery techniques were similar, but not identical. After a moment, the embroiderer asserted, "Sir, these two handkerchiefs were not made by the same person. The embroidery on this one looks more like a forgery."
The one that was copied was naturally the one worn by the bodyguard. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he forced himself to say, "Your Honor, this embroidered handkerchief was indeed given to me by Lin Ruonan. Otherwise, how could I have obtained such a handkerchief and then wrong her? This is completely unreasonable."
Xu Zifan snorted lightly, "It is indeed unreasonable for strangers to do such a thing, which is why I suspect that you have other plans, or even accomplices, and that your ambitions are very great."
The county magistrate was greatly troubled by his explanation and frowned, saying, "Xu Zifan, do you have any evidence to support your suspicions?"
Xu Zifan bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I have encountered such a strange event today and am deeply puzzled by this man's accusation against my wife. After much thought, I have two guesses. First, this man has devised a foolish plan to exploit people's concern for a woman's reputation, to slander her and leave her destitute, homeless, or even driven to suicide. Either way, it would make it easy for him to secretly abduct her and stage a scene of her committing suicide out of shame. Surely no one would investigate, and he could profit from it. Judging from the embroidered handkerchief he produced and his words, he must have accomplices."
Secondly, I suspect this person's malicious slander is instigated by someone to deliberately ruin my wife's reputation, sow discord between us, and prevent us from having a happy life together in the future.
The bodyguard hurriedly cried out, "I didn't! My lord, I didn't! What I said is true!"
The magistrate slammed his gavel. "Silence!" He looked at Xu Zifan and asked, "Have you and your husband made any enemies recently?"
Xu Zifan and Lin Ruonan exchanged a glance. Lin Ruonan immediately thought of Lin Ruoshan. "Your Excellency, I was adopted before my marriage and did not get along well with my original parents and siblings. A few days ago, my sister Lin Ruoshan made a fool of herself in front of the cloth shop. If we are talking about enemies, I suspect Lin Ruoshan the most."
A gasp went up in shock outside the door. They couldn't believe that a young girl like Lin Ruoshan would go to such lengths to frame her own sister and ruin her reputation. If Lin Ruoshan truly did it, then she was truly a viper!
The magistrate inquired again about Lin Ruoshan's farce that day, determined to investigate any clues. Moreover, Xu Zifan's suspicions were reasonable, and his exaggeration made a hasty conclusion inappropriate. With so many people watching, the truth had to be revealed.
The head of the escort team where the bodyguard worked, along with several other bodyguards who were familiar with him, were all summoned for questioning. All of them stated that they did not know that the bodyguard had a relationship with the Lin family's daughter, and that they had never heard of the bodyguard having a lover. On the contrary, they often heard him say that he had no stable property and could not get married.
Soon, the officers found twenty taels of silver notes in the bodyguard's house, and Lin Ruoshan and her family of four were also brought to the court.
Besides Lin Ruoshan, the other three members of the Lin family were furious. Lin Yaozu, upon seeing Lin Ruonan, immediately yelled, "What are you up to? What does your trouble with the law have to do with us? You always said you were adopted and wouldn't associate with us, but now that you're in trouble, you're dragging us down with you! If you want to die, go die yourself, don't drag us down with you!"
"Silence!" The county magistrate frowned. Lin Yaozu's attitude confirmed the rumors of a feud between the Lin family and Lin Ruonan, which made him even more suspicious of the Lin family.
Lin Ruoshan was pale. She had never been to a courtroom in her two lives, and as the mastermind, she was terrified. The bodyguard cried out for his innocence while glancing at the four of them, trying to figure out which one of them had given him the silver notes. However, their appearance did seem quite suspicious to the county magistrate.
The county magistrate questioned the bodyguard about where he got the twenty taels of silver. The bodyguard had previously claimed that he had saved the money by working hard as a escort, but when the head of the escort's team and the other bodyguards were present, it was clear that he had never suffered any hardship. He lived alone, and as long as he was fed, his family was not hungry. When he was out, he would drink and eat meat, and he never deprived himself.
This made his words untenable, and even the onlookers whispered among themselves, deepening their suspicions about him.
Twenty taels of silver was no small sum; for ordinary people, it was a large amount of money. The bodyguard couldn't explain where the silver notes came from and was sweating profusely with anxiety.
Lin Fu suppressed his anger and said respectfully, "My lord, this matter is a dispute between this person and Lin Ruonan. Lin Ruonan is my niece. This matter has nothing to do with my family. Please see the truth, my lord."
The county magistrate glanced at Lin Ruoshan, whose head was lowered, obscuring her expression, but her collar was soaked with sweat. Why was someone unrelated so nervous? This certainly didn't seem like someone completely unaware.
He slammed his gavel down and demanded an answer of the bodyguard: "What are your true intentions? Is it really as Xu Zifan said, that you've set a trap to sell women for money? Those twenty taels of silver must be stolen money. Confess now! Where are your accomplices?"
This is a serious crime, punishable by imprisonment! The bodyguard finally couldn't take it anymore and prostrated himself on the ground, stammering, "My lord! My lord, I know I was wrong, I did indeed wrong Lin Ruonan, but I was acting under orders... someone..."
"He gave me twenty taels of silver in exchange for ruining Lin Ruonan's reputation, and promised to give me another thirty taels afterward. I was blinded by greed and, without thinking, agreed. I wanted the money to marry, have children, and settle down. My lord, I truly know my mistake; please forgive me."
The magistrate shouted, "Who is the mastermind? Summon them immediately!"
"This humble servant truly knows nothing, sir. That person was wearing a veiled hat that day, and all I know is that she was a woman. I know nothing else." The bodyguard confessed everything anxiously, telling all that he knew, no longer daring to conceal anything.
While he was speaking, the magistrate kept an eye on the reactions of the Lin family of four. He noticed that Lin Fu, Wang Shi, and Lin Yaozu all seemed to be gloating, as if they knew something was wrong. Lin Ruoshan, on the other hand, was tense and kept her head down, which was very suspicious.
He asked the bodyguard when, where, and on what day he met the veiled woman, and then asked him to describe in detail what she was wearing that day. The bodyguard, who had been unexpectedly asked to do this, was very curious about the veiled woman and had indeed observed her carefully, describing her in great detail.
Xu Zifan bowed and said, "My lord, I have a presumptuous request: I wish to paint a picture to depict the woman mentioned by this person, so that it may be easier to find her."
"Granted." The county magistrate waved his hand in approval, and immediately someone brought over a desk for Xu Zifan to paint.
Xu Zifan sketched the general image with a few strokes. At the same time, Shao Hua projected an image of Lin Ruoshan wearing a veiled hat and giving the bodyguard a silver note onto the virtual screen. Xu Zifan copied the image, and how could it not resemble her perfectly? The bodyguard was startled when he saw the completed portrait and hurriedly pointed at it, shouting, "It's her! The woman in the painting is the one who ordered me around, without a doubt!"
Lin Ruoshan's face turned even paler. How could she not know that Xu Zifan was such a skilled painter, able to draw her based on just a few words of description? If the woman in the painting hadn't been wearing a veil, she probably would have fainted!
The magistrate suddenly asked Lin Ruoshan, "Ms. Lin, where were you at the time, and who can testify to your case?"
Lin Ruoshan was startled, not understanding why the question was directed at her, and stammered, "This humble woman...this humble woman on that day..."
Wang was taken aback upon seeing this, her expression changed slightly, and she guessed that it was the woman who was behind it. She quickly smiled and said, "Sir, my daughter was with this woman that day..."
"I didn't ask you anything. Silence. Lin Ruoshan, did you instigate someone to maliciously frame Lin Ruonan? Tell the truth!"
"I, I didn't! I'm innocent! I'm innocent, Your Honor!" Lin Ruoshan had never seen an official before. She was overjoyed to learn that she had sold her wine to the county magistrate, but now, facing the magistrate's questioning, she was so frightened that her hands and feet went limp and her face turned pale.
Solving cases relies on clues, but experience is also crucial. Considering the cause and effect, the county magistrate couldn't help but think Lin Ruoshan was the most suspicious. Seeing that Lin Ruoshan was quite frightened, he simply ordered his officers and the embroiderer to search the Lin family home.
The officers quickly brought back a dress and veil that matched the portrait drawn by Xu Zifan. The embroiderer also found scraps of fabric and embroidery thread that matched the embroidered handkerchief the bodyguard had. Furthermore, the officers found an ordinary purse in Lin Ruoshan's room containing thirty taels of silver notes.
These would have been irrefutable evidence in ancient times. The county magistrate snorted coldly, "Lin Ruoshan, what else do you have to say?"
To clear his name, the bodyguard recklessly pointed at Lin Ruoshan and shouted, "That's right, it was her! She's the one who ordered me! I'm just an accomplice; she's the mastermind! She came up with all the ideas, and she even gave me the handkerchief. And... she made me say that Lin Ruonan and I had been secretly engaged for over three years, and she told me several things about Lin Ruonan that I never had a chance to say. If we weren't family, who would know so much about Lin Ruonan? It was her! My lord, I misunderstood for a moment, I'm wrong, but she's the real culprit, my lord..."
The bailiffs on either side of the court tapped the ground with their wooden sticks to silence him. The bodyguard dared not utter a sound, and the people outside who had been exclaiming and discussing fell silent as well. Only Lin Ruoshan remained, trembling on the ground, her teeth chattering as she said, "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I didn't do it! It wasn't me! I didn't! I'm innocent..."
The magistrate said in a deep voice, "Lin Ruoshan and Lin Ruonan have a long-standing feud. Lin Ruoshan is malicious and instigated others to ruin Lin Ruonan's reputation. She is sentenced to twenty taels of silver to compensate Lin Ruonan and to be severely beaten with twenty strokes of the cane. Execute her punishment!"
Two constables stepped forward to pull her away. Lin Ruoshan screamed and fainted, but she was immediately brought back to her senses by a beating, and her screams and wails continued.
Wang burst into tears, crying, "What a tragedy! How could this happen? How could this happen?"
Lin Fu covered his face with his sleeve, feeling deeply ashamed and wishing he could disappear into the ground. Lin Yaozu, on the other hand, was overjoyed and secretly delighted, wishing he could personally strike him with the board in the bailiff's hand.