Chapter 96: The Wronged Lolita

  Yue Yun saw that the case was solved so quickly, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised. However, when he saw Huang Xiuli's beautiful eyes filled with tears, her face etched with a sorrowful expression, he felt a pang of sympathy.

  He couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "General Meng, now that the jade pendant has been recovered, what should be done with this Huang...Huang young lady?"

  Meng Bangjie turned his head to ask Xu Shiyeye, and then replied in a low voice: "According to the master, according to the Great Song Dynasty's criminal law, thieves are sentenced to exile and military service, with men serving from 30 years to several years. Women are punished as official slaves, with a similar length of time to men's exile and military service. If someone wants to buy them out and take them as slaves, the government will also agree to sell."

  Is there still such an old-fashioned rule in this era? Yue Yun couldn't help but have a few more doubts about the facts of the case.

  At this time, Meng Bangjie suddenly slammed the shock wood: "Well! Now that the case has been settled and the truth has been revealed, I will announce the adjournment of the court. The defendant Huang Xiuli will be temporarily detained in prison, all evidence will be sealed, and a formal verdict will be announced tomorrow!"

  Huang Xiuli heard this and suddenly burst into tears, feeling extremely wronged. She let out a heart-wrenching wail and cried out: "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I didn't steal his jade pendant!"

  Her wailing cry also moved Yue Yun. But Meng Bangjie had apparently seen similar situations many times before, and although he felt some compassion in his heart, he still waved his hand to let the bailiffs take Huang Xiuli away.

  At this time, Bai Guangren nodded his head in satisfaction and said to Meng Bangjie: "General Meng's case is indeed efficient and accurate, and successfully recovered the stolen goods for the people. The people thank General Meng here!"

  He then bowed respectfully to Meng Bangjie and asked: "I don't know if, as the host, I can have priority in buying official slaves?"

  Meng Bangjie nodded and said: "According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, there is no restriction on this. After the verdict tomorrow, you can participate in the auction again."

  Bai Guangren was overjoyed in his heart and deeply bowed to Meng Bangjie before leaving with a face full of joy.

  Yue Yun felt a bit disappointed, and Meng Bangjie invited Yue Yun to join him for dinner at the wine tower, saying it was a welcoming party for his arrival in Cai Prefecture. Yue Yun didn't like this kind of occasion, but he also thought that if he refused, Meng Bangjie would misunderstand that he looked down on him. So he had no choice but to follow Meng Bangjie and a group of Cai Prefecture generals out.

  A group of people arrived at a wine house called "Welcoming Spring" in the center of Cai Prefecture, and sat down in a private room. The owner of the restaurant saw that it was Governor Meng who had come to entertain guests, and hastily ordered the kitchen to add several dishes beyond what Meng Bangjie had originally ordered.

  After three rounds of wine, everyone had a drunken intention. At this time, outside the private room came the soldiers' shouting and a woman's clear cry: "Let me see General Meng! My young lady is really innocent!"

  Meng Bangjie was furious when he heard this, thinking to himself that it had only been a short time since the last incident, and now there were two more cases of people coming to report grievances, one about theft and the other about injustice, and both times the young master happened to be present. He couldn't let him misunderstand and think that the people in Cai Prefecture were suffering under his rule, or else it would surely reach the ears of the commander-in-chief and he would be dismissed from office immediately.

  Yue Fei's military discipline is extremely strict, requiring his subordinates to treat the civilians well. Now that someone has come to cry injustice and Yue Yun is also here, not seeing him is not an option either.

  He had no choice but to order the soldiers guarding the door: "Let that woman in, I'll ask her what grievances she has."

  A moment later, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old walked into the private room under the escort of two soldiers. Everyone looked over and saw that she was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her small face was not made up, simple and elegant, she wore a pale green skirt with floral edges, her black hair still had a cyan wooden pin inserted, a pair of shiny black eyes still had some crystal tears hanging on them, probably because she had just cried. Now that she has walked in, seeing so many generals, she couldn't help but reveal some fear on her face again.

  Yue Yun saw the girl's delicate face and shy expression, and couldn't help but feel a surge of sympathy. He thought to himself: such a young and lovely little loli, could it be that she has encountered some scoundrel who is bullying her?

  At this time, the little loli finally gathered up her courage and asked loudly: "Excuse me... which one is General Meng?"

  Meng Bangjie stroked his chin whiskers and said, "I am Meng Bangjie. I don't know how to address this young lady. What grievances does she have to report?"

  The little loli heard this and immediately knelt down in front of him, saying: "My name is Yao Wanyu. I am Miss Huang Xiuli's personal maid, and Minnuo can testify for my mistress that she really did not steal the white young master's jade pendant, she was wronged!"

  Her voice was crisp but also carried a sense of desolation and helplessness. Although Yue Yun didn't understand, Meng Bangjie did - as one of Huang Xiuli's personal maids, her fate was tied to Huang Xiuli's. If Huang Xiuli were to be punished as an official slave, her own fate would likely be to be taken by the brothel to entertain guests, and turned into a flesh trade. It was unlikely that she could continue to do things like serving people, singing and dancing as before.

  Although Meng Bangjie also had some sympathy for her, he could only sigh and say: "Miss Yao, I understand that you are concerned about Miss Huang's safety, but as her personal maid and close relative, you cannot serve as a witness. Now that we have both eyewitnesses and material evidence, and the stolen jade pendant was found in Miss Huang's room, how can I make a judgment? This matter is irreversible. You'd better go back!"

  Yao Wannier raised her head, seeing that everyone had a sympathetic yet helpless expression. Her heart was filled with indignation, and she furrowed her brow in anger, saying: "This Bai Guangren is simply motivated by lust, and when he couldn't force my family's young lady into marriage, he intentionally framed her. If my family's young lady were to be punished as an official slave, he could then buy her at a price. Isn't this obvious? Can't all of you see it?"

  Meng Bangjie's face turned red with anger upon hearing this, wasn't Yao Wanyi implying that he had mishandled the case and was even shielding Bai Guangren?

  He slapped the table and said with a stern face: "Miss Yao, I was going to let you off for your impertinence because of my concern for Miss Huang. But now, I must warn you that I will not tolerate your reckless remarks on this case!"

  He suddenly exerted his official authority, which frightened Yao Wan'er greatly. She immediately came to her senses and realized that her previous words had indeed offended the official greatly, so she was scared into repeatedly knocking her head on the ground.

  Yue Yun finally couldn't bear it, got up and comforted her with kind words: "Miss Yao, your family's affair is indeed difficult to handle, General Meng also had no choice but to do so. You should not blame General Meng anymore."

  His words, however, made Yao Wanyi's eyes light up instantly. Most of the people at this table were generals in their thirties and forties, only Yue Yun was relatively young, plus he looked handsome, no matter how you look at it, he seemed more approachable than Meng Bangjie with his bushy beard.

  Moreover, Yao Wanyi had long followed Huang Xiuli to see guests and had a good understanding of observing facial expressions. She saw that Yue Yun was young in years, but the military leaders of the Yue family who were present all showed great respect for him, obviously his status was extremely high.

  Then, Yao Wanyi suddenly hugged Yue Yun's leg as if she had found a savior and sobbed: "Sir, you must have a way to save my young lady, right? Even if it's difficult, as long as you say so, I'll definitely try."

  As soon as she said this, the seven or eight generals present turned their eyes to stare at Yue Yun, thinking that our great general was first-rate in bravery and martial prowess, when would he also be able to solve cases?

  Although Meng Bangjie is a military general and not familiar with handling cases, he also sees that Huang Xiuli is likely to be wrongly accused. However, Bai Guangren has solid evidence, and his current 3,000 troops still rely on the White family for supplies. How can he thoroughly investigate and offend the White family? Now it seems that Yue Yun intends to intervene in this case, which makes him secretly delighted.

  So Meng Bangjie immediately asked: "Young Master, how about you handle this case?"

  Yue Yun heard this and shook his head repeatedly: "This can't be done, I have to leave for Zhu Xian Town tomorrow, where will I find the time to investigate carefully..."

  However, he did not refuse outright, but instead turned to Yao Wanyu and said: "Miss Yao, please wait outside for a moment. I have some matters to discuss with General Meng."

  Yao Wanyi had already guessed that he must be referring to the young lady of their own household. She hastily bowed and, after making a curtsy, only then did she leave.

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