You expect me to serve your mistress? The mistress is driving this scumbag and his entire family cra

Chapter 65 I suspect the child died of suffocation.
The Prefect of the Capital slammed his gavel, and all the bailiffs shouted in unison, instantly silencing the entire court.

"The two defendants are so ungrateful. I originally intended to give them a lenient sentence because I thought that perhaps their medical skills were inadequate and caused the child's accidental death."

But if you continue to deny your guilt, then I will have to subject you to severe torture.

Liang Jiang's temper flared up immediately, and she stood up abruptly: "The child's death has nothing to do with us, so why should we admit guilt?"

"A death with an unclear cause, and they're pinning this fabricated crime on us! They're trying to extract a confession through torture!"

"How dare you! How dare you roar in court and show such contempt for me! Guards! Give him the severe punishment!"

Lady Liang was startled and hurriedly grabbed Liang Jiang, but Liang Jiang was unconvinced: "Such an unclear and muddled judgment, I, Liang Jiang, will not accept it!"

The Prefect of the Capital didn't take her seriously at all and ordered his yamen runners, "Give her thirty strokes of the cane first! Give her a good beating!"

The yamen runners were about to swarm forward.

Liang Jiang was fearless and was about to make her move when she suddenly heard someone outside the hall shout:

"According to the laws of Chang'an, during an autopsy, the parties involved, related persons, relatives, etc., must be present, and the public may watch. The observation of the injuries and condition of the body can be made public and clearly understood by all parties. Therefore, the defendant's request is reasonable and justified, and Your Honor shall grant it."

The Prefect of the Capital's face darkened: "Who is making such a racket again? Throw them out!"

The crowd parted, and a scholar-like man dressed in a long robe and wearing a square scarf knelt before the hall with his hands clasped above his head and his head bowed.

"Replying to your question, sir, I am the lawyer recently hired by Miss Liangjiang. My name is Song Lv."

Liang Jiang was taken aback. When did she hire a lawyer?
Could it be that Lu Xingzhan learned of his predicament but was unable to personally intervene, so he hired a lawyer to lend him a hand?
Back then, Master Wen of Yuhua Mountain had a collection of books on the laws of Chang'an, but unfortunately, I couldn't settle down and preferred to practice martial arts. Although I had some knowledge of these subjects, I was a jack of all trades and master of none.

Now, in the hall, there is nothing but a bellyful of grievances, yet no amount of clever words can dispel them.

She turned her head to look outside the hall, but because it was already night and the crowd of onlookers had packed the area in front of the hall so tightly that she couldn't see Lu Xingzhan at all.

The Prefect of Jingzhao looked displeased: "The plaintiff has already written a statement of objection, refusing to have an autopsy performed."

The Song lawyer then respectfully stated, "According to the law, if the plaintiff writes a statement refusing an autopsy, the plaintiff may not file another lawsuit against the perpetrator."

How could the Prefect of the Capital not know these simple truths?

He glanced at Fang Chengxu discreetly.

Fang Chengxu steeled his heart and gritted his teeth, saying, "Let's test them then. If they can't come up with a coherent explanation, will they just obediently confess?"

Liang Jiang sneered: "What if you are making false accusations?"

The lawyer outside the courtroom, fearing she might act impulsively, quickly intervened, saying, "Justice and justice will be judged by the law. Once a life is lost, private settlements are out of the question."

Fang Chengxu was absolutely certain that his daughter's death was related to Madam Liang, and he said angrily, "We will never settle this privately, and we will make the murderer pay for his crime in blood."

Liang Jiang was even more certain that Fang Chengxu's special invitation for his mother to come for a consultation must be part of a conspiracy. Therefore, the child must have died from another cause.

He also angrily retorted, "If your Fang family is making false accusations and framing us, we will absolutely not accept any reconciliation!"

Neither side would yield. At the order of the Prefect of the Capital, servants from the Fang household brought the dead infant to the courtroom. The coroner stepped forward, unwrapped the baby, and examined it carefully once again.

Upon seeing the child, Tong Zhao'er immediately burst into heart-wrenching sobs, almost collapsing to the ground, a sight that brought tears to the eyes of all who heard it.

Madam Liang also stepped forward, holding up a lamp to examine the child's complexion, pupils, mouth, and even the child's fingernails and toenails, meticulously.

The child had no external injuries and showed no signs of poisoning.

The coroner shook his head repeatedly.

Liang Jiang looked at Lady Liang, who whispered, "There's nothing unusual about her appearance. If anything is suspicious, it's the child's complexion; it's not the paleness she usually shows when her heart condition flares up, but rather a bluish-purple. Also, there are bleeding spots in her eyes." "What does that mean?"

"This suggests that the child's death may have been due to a heart condition or suffocation."

Liang Jiang's heart stirred.

Seeing the two whispering to each other, Old Mrs. Fang incited the onlookers while making sarcastic remarks.

"Let's see what she has to say this time! My granddaughter was poisoned to death by them, and she's trying to shirk responsibility!"

Liang Jiang turned her head and looked at her coldly: "You said there was something wrong with my medicine, but I can say that the water you gave the children medicine was poisonous."

Grandma Fang immediately denied it: "The child didn't drink any water at all!"

Madam Liang's face darkened: "When I left the medicine, I instructed that the child is too young to take it by mouth; it must be dissolved in water and fed to her little by little. How did you administer the medicine without water?"

Grandma Fang choked immediately and glanced in a panic at Zhao Ma, who was standing next to Tong Zhao'er.

He stammered, "Yes, it was the tea I had just drunk half of. Since I'm fine, the water must be okay too."

Liang Jiang said in a deep voice, "Madam Fang's words are contradictory, and the cause of the child's death is suspicious. It is very likely that he died of suffocation."

Fang Chengxu, who was standing nearby, heard this clearly and said coldly, "The coroner hasn't made a conclusion yet, so what do you know? You're just spreading rumors and misleading the public."

Song Lu interjected: "As the defendant, if you raise questions about the facts of the case, the government cannot ignore them."

The coroner also stated with certainty, "The child did show signs of death by suffocation, but there were no external injuries or bruises on her neck or face. Some people with heart disease may experience lung failure and be unable to breathe, so your statement is rather arbitrary."

Madam Liang retorted, "I just examined the child today. Her breathing was even and her lungs were in good condition. She wouldn't have died from lung failure in such a short time. So there must be another reason for her suffocation, such as choking."

"Nonsense!" Old Mrs. Fang immediately denied it. "You really know how to make excuses to shirk responsibility. The child didn't cough at all. If you don't believe me, ask Aunt Zhao. She was here too."

The Prefect of the Capital ordered his men to bring Old Madam Fang and Zhao Ma forward together.

Zhao Ma naturally denied it outright: "What our old lady said is true. We did feed Miss Sun the tea that the old lady had drunk, and the child did not choke or cough at all."

"Then why did you initially deny that the child had drunk water?" Liang Jiang pressed on relentlessly.

"That's because I'm afraid of being looked down upon for being old and unclean!"

Seeing the panic on Old Madam Fang's face and the frequent glances she gave Zhao Ma, Liang Jiang began to have many doubts.

“I suspect that the child suffocated because of improper handling when Mrs. Fang was feeding the medicine, and the pill was given directly to the child.

Grandma Fang became increasingly flustered: "You're talking nonsense! You're trying to shirk responsibility!"

Liang Jiang pointed at the child and said, "As long as the coroner cuts open the child's airway, or finds a way to suck out what's in the child's airway, they will definitely find something to prove whether what I said is true or false."

"I won't agree, I absolutely won't agree!" Tong Zhao'er almost lost her mind: "If anyone dares to touch a hair on her head, I'll die with her."

For a time, there was a lot of discussion outside the lobby, like a pot of water boiling.

The Prefect of Jingzhao was also in a bit of a predicament. Liang Jiang's request was reasonable, and since the lawyer was there, he couldn't refuse.

But the General's Mansion is not one they can afford to offend.

Just as things were getting lively, someone outside the hall suddenly shouted, "Let this general see who killed my granddaughter! I will make her pay with her blood!"

(End of this chapter)