TMBIABHL: Chapter 33

 Glossary

·Liu Si (刘四): Zhou Shi's husband. A servant in the Cao household. Confessed to murdering Cao Chengwu and is sentenced to execution.

·Yang Zhen (杨真): The Magistrate of Jiangling county.

·Cao Deping (曹德平): Owner of Caoji Restaurant. Father of Cao Chengwen.

·Cao Chengwen (曹成文): The Eldest Young Master of the Cao family.

·Ye Chutang (叶初棠): Female protagonist. Heir to an ancient medical family. Runs the Ye Clinic.

·Little Five / Xiao Wu (小五): The youngest Ye sister.

·Wu Xu (吴旭): A yamen runner who owes Ye Chutang a favor.

---

Chapter 33: A Banknote

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.

After a brief, deathly silence, the crowd erupted in an uproar!

"What did he say? The one who ordered him to kill Cao Chengwu was actually Cao Chengwen!?"

"How is that possible? They're brothers!"

"Half-brothers, not from the same mother. Didn't Liu Si's wife publicly expose this before, but it ended up going nowhere? Now Liu Si himself is biting back—this matter is far from certain!"

"That's right! I remember Cao Chengwen was even taken to the magistrate's office for questioning but was released without charges. Now this…"

Everyone was talking over each other. The executioner's blade hung in mid-air, poised but not falling, as he looked back hesitantly at Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen himself was stunned. He never imagined Liu Si would retract his confession at the execution ground!

What was he to do?

Under the watchful eyes of the public, with Liu Si crying injustice, if he ordered the execution to proceed, he would inevitably face criticism. If word of this reached his superiors, it would damage his official reputation!

Therefore, no matter how much he wanted to conclude this case immediately, it could not end smoothly now!

His expression grave, he demanded in a deep voice, "Liu Si, what is the meaning of this!"

At the same moment, the Cao father and son at Caoji Restaurant were caught completely off guard by Liu Si's move.

Cao Deping practically leapt from his chair, both shocked and furious. "Has he gone mad!?"

Cao Chengwen's heart was pounding wildly, a wave of panic washing over him.

"Father! He… he's slandering me! You have to help me, Father!"

A knot of fury stuck in Cao Deping's chest, making his face turn ashen.

Of course he knew the whole story of this incident, but he absolutely could not allow Liu Si to expose it all!

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to save this, his only remaining son!

Cao Deping gritted his teeth. "Let him shout. As long as he has no proof, it's all slander! Last time, didn't they fail to do anything to you? This is nothing but the futile struggle of a dying man!"

Hearing this, Cao Chengwen finally felt slightly reassured. Yet, for some reason, looking at Liu Si's frantic expression, he couldn't shake a lingering sense of unease.

He muttered to himself, "It won't. Nothing will go wrong. I promised him, as long as he kept quiet, I'd guarantee his wife and child's safety— Wait!"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Cao Chengwen suddenly remembered something, his eyes widening as he frantically scanned the crowd.

But after looking back and forth several times, he still couldn't spot Zhou Shi's figure.

"Zhou Shi didn't even come to the execution ground to see him off!?"

Cao Chengwen murmured in disbelief.

This was their final chance to see each other. By all logic, Zhou Shi should have been here. But now—

Just where had things gone wrong!?

...

On the execution ground, Yang Zhen pressed on. "Liu Si! You claim Cao Chengwen ordered you to kill Cao Chengwu. Do you have any proof!?"

Hearing this, everyone perked up their ears, straining forward to hear more clearly.

Ye Chutang stood behind the crowd, watching this scene quietly, her expression calm and composed.

The next moment, they heard Liu Si shout through gritted teeth, "Yes! I have proof!"

The crowd buzzed with astonishment.

—Liu Si actually had proof!?

Yang Zhen was also secretly startled, his eyelid twitching.

During the previous interrogation, Liu Si had clearly stated he acted alone. But now, not only had he retracted his confession, he even claimed to have evidence!

Given the circumstances, Yang Zhen had no choice but to brace himself and continue. "What evidence?"

Liu Si spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, his voice filled with hatred. "Cao Chengwen had long been jealous of Cao Chengwu. When he heard the master planned to hand the restaurant over to Cao Chengwu, he decided to act. Because Cao Chengwu was allergic to river shrimp, Cao Chengwen specifically called me over that day. He ordered me to catch shrimp from the lake, mince the shrimp meat into a paste, and mix it into the congee before serving it to Cao Chengwu."

He took a deep breath and continued, "At first, I didn't dare. He promised me a rich reward, saying that in a few years when my child was older, he would even send my child to the academy. To make me commit fully to helping him, he gave me a two-hundred-tael banknote and one of his jade thumb rings. That jade ring is buried under the third bluestone slab at the corner of West Street! If you don't believe me, Your Honor, you can send someone to retrieve it now!"

Yang Zhen frowned. "A jade thumb ring? What kind of jade thumb ring?"

Liu Si sneered, "A dark green jade ring. His father gave it to him a few years ago. He always treasured it."

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Hearing this, Cao Chengwen's legs went weak.

He had deliberately given that ring as a token to secure Liu Si's cooperation. But everything happened too quickly. Before he could find an opportunity to retrieve it, Liu Si was arrested.

Later, when he was taken for questioning at the magistrate's office, he had specifically asked Liu Si about the ring. Liu Si said he had lost it while in the lake and couldn't find it.

Although annoyed, Cao Chengwen could do nothing and had to let it go. Coupled with the fact that he had threatened Liu Si using Zhou Shi and the child, he was even more convinced Liu Si wouldn't dare speak out of turn.

Who could have known—

Cao Deping kicked Cao Chengwen. "What are you standing there for! Go down there and explain yourself!"

...

By the time Cao Chengwen arrived at the edge of the execution ground, Yang Zhen was already preparing to send someone to search for the jade ring.

He wanted to stop them but held back in the end. Instead, he hurried forward, shouting, "Your Honor! I've been wronged! Wronged!"

The crowd turned, and seeing it was him, exchanged glances before quickly parting to make a path down the middle.

Cao Chengwen gasped for breath. "Your Honor! I lost that jade ring quite some time ago! I never imagined Liu Si stole it! He's slandering me! He's slandering me!"

This explanation didn't sound entirely implausible. After all, a single ring wasn't exactly ironclad proof.

Yang Zhen's frown deepened.

Unexpectedly, Liu Si spoke up again at that moment.

"Your Honor, I have another piece of evidence! When Cao Chengwen first ordered me to do this, the banknote he gave me was freshly withdrawn from the bank. At the time, he was reviewing the restaurant's account books and had ink on his hands. That banknote unfortunately picked up a half fingerprint from him. The banknote is also hidden in my house. You can have someone fetch it and compare it on the spot!"

Cao Chengwen could hardly believe his ears.

He pointed at Liu Si and yelled, "You're lying! When did I ever give you a banknote!?"

Liu Si simply closed his eyes, refusing to look at him again.

Yang Zhen grimaced. "Go! Fetch that banknote as well!"

The matter was serious, so the runners moved quickly. Before long, they returned.

"Your Honor! The jade ring and the banknote!"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Yang Zhen looked at Cao Chengwen. "Come and compare. Is this your fingerprint?"

Before Cao Chengwen could speak, Wu Xu and another officer had already swiftly stepped forward, grabbed his hand, pressed his finger onto paper, and presented it.

"Your Honor, please examine this."

Yang Zhen picked up the banknote and compared it with the freshly made fingerprint in his hand.

Then, he snorted coldly.

"The fingerprint on this matches the pattern of your left index finger perfectly!"

Without thinking, Cao Chengwen blurted out, "Impossible! What I gave him that day were silver ingots! This banknote is fake!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the surroundings plunged into dead silence.

Cao Chengwen's mind suddenly went blank. A bone-chilling cold rose from the soles of his feet.

What had he just… said?

...

Meanwhile, at the Ye Clinic.

Little Five pinched her now-empty money pouch, propped her chin on her hand, and sighed.

Ai.

—The banknote she had worked so hard to save up was just gone like that!

(End of Chapter)

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