Chapter 271
Chapter 271
Shen Lang said.
“Jin Mucong, tell His Honor Wang and everyone here. Did Mrs. Jin not take advantage of you while you were drunk and defile you?”
Jin Mucong shuddered, then spoke.
“That’s right. After two cups of wine, I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I was in bed with this woman.”
Ye Fangzhu, the owner of the Tianfeng Brothel, retorted.
“How ludicrous. To claim my wife defiled you. Then why, when we found you, were you on top of my wife’s body?”
Shen Lang asked.
“Jin Mucong, what position were you in when you woke up? Were you truly on top of her?”
Jin Mucong thought for a moment and said it seemed so. Since others had arranged him in that position, of course it would seem that way. Shen Lang asked him again.
“Wasn’t some part of her body pressing down on you as well? Perhaps her legs or arms were holding you down.”
Jin Mucong replied.
“Her legs were on top of my legs.”
“Did you all hear that? The woman was also pressing down on my brother-in-law’s body.”
Ye Fangzhu said.
“Shen Lang, don’t just spew nonsense. It was clear that Jin Mucong was on top of my wife.”
“Jin Mucong’s body is a body, but your wife’s legs are not? How can you say only that my brother-in-law was on top of your wife? They were completely entangled with each other.”
“Then look at my wife! Her body is covered in wounds, all marks of a struggle. Does this not prove she was forcibly violated?”
“Jin Mucong, do you have any injuries on your body?”
“I do. But… they’re down there.”
Shen Lang raised his voice.
“How horrifying. It sends a chill down my spine. What a vicious woman Mrs. Jin is. To injure my brother-in-law’s manhood, to draw blood. You… how could you do such a thing? Did you perhaps use your teeth? Where is the physician? Come quickly and examine my brother-in-law’s private parts. See if he’s been harmed. This alone is irrefutable proof! What man, in the act of forcing himself upon a woman, would allow his own manhood to be injured?”
The physician had no choice but to come forward and conduct an examination. Indeed, there was an injury to his private parts. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Jin, flushed with shame and fury, pointed at Shen Lang and screamed hoarsely.
“This beast has shamed me so! I cannot live! I cannot live!”
And with that, she slammed her forehead against the floor again.
“My lady, don’t! Stop…”
Ye Fangzhu rushed to stop her, but Shen Lang moved faster, blocking his path.
“Go on, smash it. Smash your head with gusto and die…”
*Damn it all, have you ever seen such a vicious bastard?*
Unable to get past him, Ye Fangzhu couldn’t stop Mrs. Jin. She slammed her head against the floor again, raising a lump. The pain was so intense she nearly fainted.
Shen Lang said.
“Keep going, with more force. Didn’t you want to die? Be more decisive. Why the hesitation? All that effort just for a little lump? A mosquito bite would be more impressive.”
*Damn it, this bastard’s words are even more venomous.*
Wang Jiegua, the Magistrate of Wannian County, suddenly flew into a rage.
“Shen Lang, how dare you cause such a disturbance and raise your voice in this court! This is an insult to all scholars. Guards, drag him out of here!”
“Wait! Shen Lang is currently acting as Young Master Jin Mucong’s advocate. He certainly has the right to defend him.”
Prince Ning Zheng said as he walked into the courtroom. Wang Jiegua could insult Ning Zheng in private, but not in front of everyone. Even if Ning Zheng had no power, he was still the king’s son. To insult Ning Zheng was to insult the king himself.
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Fifth Prince!”
Magistrate Wang Jiegua bowed. Ning Zheng found a chair and sat to the right of the court, providing cover for Shen Lang. Of course, the situation itself was rather humiliating. A prince, unable to protect a single person, had to come and stake out a spot himself. Any other prince would have simply sent a servant with a message; there would be no need for such a high-ranking person to appear directly.
Ye Fangzhu demanded.
“Shen Lang, you keep insisting my wife assaulted Jin Mucong. Do you have any proof? And why would she? Jin Mucong is fat and not at all handsome. Why would she do that? It defies all reason!”
Shen Lang spoke as if revealing a great secret.
“Because you… needed to borrow a seed! None of you know. Ye Fangzhu has an ailment and cannot father children. My brother-in-law, Jin Mucong, is of a noble lineage stretching back a century, the heir to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. How prestigious is that? So, he forced my brother-in-law to drink until he was intoxicated, even lacing the wine with an aphrodisiac. Then, he seized the opportunity to have his wife, Mrs. Jin, defile Jin Mucong. This was all for the sake of borrowing a seed to bear a son.”
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but marvel.
*You… you are truly something else.*
Ye Fangzhu looked as if he had suffered a great insult, his eyes blazing with fire as he roared.
“Shen Lang, you scoundrel! How dare you defame me! If I am incapable of fathering children, then where did my two daughters come from?”
Shen Lang clapped his hands with a sharp crack.
“An excellent point.”
He turned to Magistrate Wang Jiegua and Prince Ning Zheng, bowing with his hands clasped.
“Your Highness, Your Honor Wang. It seems this is not common knowledge. Ye Fangzhu’s two daughters are not his biological children at all. Both were born from other men’s seeds. Otherwise, how could it be that Ye Fangzhu, at thirty-five years of age, has one daughter who is merely three and another who is only two? In the past, the children he conceived by borrowing seeds were all girls, so this time he wanted a son. And he wanted a son of noble blood, which is why he sought out Jin Mucong.”
Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively nodded. Shen Lang’s words seemed to have a ring of truth to them. Ye Fangzhu, hearing this, flew into a rage and shouted.
“Shen Lang, you are maliciously slandering me! The reason we had children late is that my wife’s health was poor in the past. It was only after years of recuperation that she was finally able to conceive.”
Shen Lang berated him furiously.
“Bah! Don’t lie. It was clearly your body that was unwell, your inability to sow a seed that forced you to borrow from another. If you want to prove your virility, then go and impregnate a woman right now.”
*You damn bastard, it takes at least a month to confirm a pregnancy. Shen Lang, if you’re so capable, why don’t you impregnate someone right now and show me?*
Magistrate Wang Jiegua said.
“Shen Lang, your words are entirely without basis, pure speculation.”
“Proving it is simple. Bring Ye Fangzhu’s two daughters here and perform a paternity test by blood to determine if they are his kin!”
Of course, we modern people know that determining kinship by blood drops is not a reliable method. But in ancient times, it was the only way to confirm blood relations. Hearing Shen Lang’s proposal, Ye Fangzhu was secretly delighted and quickly said.
“Very well. Then let us proceed with the paternity test by blood.”
He agreed so readily because he often traveled for business, and his wife was very beautiful. He had his worries but had no choice but to trust her. Shortly after his two children were born, he had performed a blood test, and his blood had merged with his children’s. That had convinced him that his two daughters were indeed his own.
Magistrate Wang Jiegua couldn’t understand how the case had escalated to a paternity test by blood.
*This was clearly a trial about Jin Mucong forcing himself upon Mrs. Jin. How did it turn into a paternity test?*
To prove she had not been unfaithful, Mrs. Jin confidently agreed to the blood test. Wang Jiegua hesitated for a moment.
Ye Fangzhu said.
“I implore Your Honor to have my two daughters brought here to perform the paternity test with me. I must put an end to these rumors and prove my wife’s innocence.”
Wang Jiegua asked.
“Ye Fangzhu, are you certain you wish to do this?”
“I must prove my wife’s innocence and show everyone that Shen Lang is spouting baseless lies.”
Eventually, Magistrate Wang Jiegua sent men to fetch Ye Fangzhu’s two daughters. Prince Ning Zheng also sent four of his guards to accompany them, ensuring mutual surveillance so that neither side could tamper with the proceedings. Ning Zheng instructed them.
“Go, and move quietly. The children will be sleeping, do not wake them…”
***
In less than half an hour, the girls were carried into the courtroom. They were sleeping soundly, their features utterly adorable. It was no wonder Jin Mucong doted on them. Shen Lang’s heart softened. Ye Fangzhu, his wife, and his mother all had to die, so the two children would have to be sent to Raging Tide City to be raised. Fortunately, they were still young and would have few memories. They wouldn’t suffer from the pain of their parents’ deaths when they grew up and could still live as happy, joyful princesses. To take parents away from children so young was truly a great sin. When Ye Fangzhu and his wife committed their evil deeds, did they not think of their children’s future?
The paternity test by blood began. The physician took out a small knife. Shen Lang said coldly.
“Why use a knife on such small children? It will leave a scar. A needle will suffice.”
Hearing him, the physician produced a thin silver needle. Shen Lang moved forward, intending to take the two girls’ small hands. Seeing this, Wang Jiegua stopped him with a cool voice.
“Shen Lang, do not touch the two witnesses.”
“They say the ten fingers are connected to the heart. Children of two or three may not have fully developed senses of pain, but it will still hurt. Let me first rub their fingers to numb them. Then, if you prick them with the needle to make a small hole, it won’t hurt when you draw blood.”
Wang Jiegua thought Shen Lang was being overly meddlesome. What did a little pain matter? But Shen Lang rebuked him in a cold voice.
“Your Honor Wang, you are called a parent to your people, yet you show not a shred of compassion for a child?”
*Damn it, you’re trying to pressure me with righteousness again?*
Wang Jiegua said.
“I don’t know what mischief you’re planning. I absolutely cannot allow you to have contact with the two witnesses.”
Prince Ning Zheng said.
“If Shen Lang cannot, then surely I can.”
Wang Jiegua was reluctant to let the prince make contact either, but with everyone watching, how could he refuse?
*Is it wrong for me, Ning Zheng, a son of the king, to show love for the people? No, it is not. But for you, Wang Jiegua, to prevent it—what do you mean by that? Are you trying to make my Ning clan appear callous? Do you know which word His Majesty the King is most sensitive to? That’s right, the word callous.*