A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 162 The Truth Revealed to the World (48)

The mother and her two children embraced and wept bitterly, making Liu Changqing, standing nearby, seem like an outsider and quite out of place.

Mu Qingcheng slowly took out the handwritten note from the evidence box, turned to the first page, cleared his throat, and read with great emotion: "There is a beauty, whom I cannot forget once I see her; if I do not see her for a day, I am driven mad with longing. I wish I could avoid the pain of unrequited love; but after careful consideration, I am willing to suffer the pain of unrequited love."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall blushed with embarrassment.

"Stop reading! Stop reading!"

Liu Changqing was furious and tried to tear at the guards, but the guards had a backup plan and twisted his arms to prevent him from moving.

Madam Liu was bewildered for a moment, then suddenly shifted her gaze to Liu Changqing's face and asked hesitantly, "Master, is this... something you wrote?"

Liu Changqing pursed his lips and did not answer.

Mu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Madam Liu, this handwritten note is entirely in General Liu's own handwriting. Haven't you seen it?"

Madam Liu glanced at the cover and shook her head, saying, "I have never seen it before."

"It's alright, let me read a few more passages, so that Madam Liu and the Liu brothers can fully appreciate General Liu's touching journey of unrequited love and longing."

Mu Qingcheng continued turning the page with great interest. Liu Changqing, his face exposed, disregarded all consequences and unleashed a torrent of profanities, his eyes blazing with fury: "You bastard, surnamed Mu, if you dare read again, I'll skin you alive and throw you into the army camp..."

"Snapped--"

Mu Qingcheng raised her arm and delivered a resounding slap, interrupting Liu Changqing's incompetent barking!

Song Shuyu grabbed a handful of red-headed tallies and slapped them across Liu Changqing's face with a "whoosh," his eyes filled with murderous intent. "Guards! The criminal Liu Changqing has insulted the presiding official and roared in court. His crimes are heinous! Drag him out and beat him severely!"

The constable rushed in, picked up the red-tagged tokens, counted them—there were five—and then shouted outside, "By order of the magistrate, the criminal Liu Changqing shall be given fifty strokes of the cane!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu became extremely anxious, crying out, "Lord Song, please spare my life! My husband is old; fifty strokes of the cane might kill him!"

"Please have mercy, Your Excellency!" Liu Pei and Liu Xiao hurriedly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.

Song Shuyu rebuked, "Once the official document is signed, there is absolutely no turning back!"

"Wait!"

At this critical moment, Mu Qingcheng spoke up, saying carefully, "Sir, could you perhaps give him ten strokes of the cane first, to leave him with some strength, lest he be reduced to a bloody mess and unable to answer questions?"

Song Shuyu nodded. "Alright, as Counselor Mu has said, the remaining forty strokes will be added after the case is closed!" "Yes, sir!"

The constables obeyed, grabbed Liu Changqing, and roughly dragged him out of the courtroom. They pressed him onto the bench for torture, swung the board, and used all their strength to deliver a series of heavy blows!
Liu Changqing was a military officer, so he neither begged for mercy nor cried out in pain, but gritted his teeth and remained silent!
The reactions of Madam Liu and her son were also interesting. Liu Pei remained silent, Liu Xiao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and although Madam Liu was anxious and distressed, she did not cry and wail. Instead, she would occasionally look at the note in Mu Qingcheng's hand, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Mu Qingcheng, with his keen observation skills, immediately asked, "Madam Liu, would you like me to continue reading?"

"Where...where did this come from?" Madam Liu asked softly.

“Liu Changqing hid them in the secret compartment of his private outhouse.” Mu Qingcheng said, taking out several exquisite little items from the evidence box. “These things must be tokens between Liu Changqing and the woman he loves! He treasured them. If my martial arts skills weren’t slightly better than his, he would have taken them back long ago!”

Madam Liu was shocked. "He...he wrote it for someone else?"

“I’ve read the whole thing. I saw Liu Changqing’s unrequited love and his guilt towards his wife. So I’m certain that Liu Changqing harbors feelings for another woman deep in his heart!” Mu Qingcheng said, handing over the note. “Why don’t you take a look, Madam Liu?”

Madam Liu took the note and quickly flipped through it. The more she read, the more desperate she became. Tears blurred the last glimmer of light in her eyes. After Liu Changqing had finished receiving ten strokes of the cane and was dragged back, she slammed the note down on him and hysterically demanded, "Why did you lie to me? What about your kindness and how you said you couldn't repay such a great debt? I never imagined you would have such despicable intentions!"

"That's not true, Madam, don't listen to people's nonsense!" Liu Changqing was sweating profusely, forcing himself to try to calm her down.

However, once a woman suffers heartbreak, it is comparable to the hatred of killing her father and mother, and there is no way to resolve it. She laughed maniacally: "I was stupid. I believed your sweet words. For so many years, in order to help you repay your kindness, I was willing to be driven by you, letting my Pei'er bear the identity of a bastard, be trained and controlled by you, and do all kinds of evil for you!"

"Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!" Liu Changqing roared, "Are you trying to ruin your whole family? Think about Xiao..."

Mu Qingcheng slapped him again and ordered the constable, "Gag him!"

It's rare that Madam Liu has opened the door; we can't let it be closed again!
The constable took off the handkerchief from his waist and forcefully stuffed it into Liu Changqing's mouth!

Madam Liu had already given up all hope. She waved her hands wildly, slapping Liu Changqing, and angrily rebuked him: "How could you do this to me? How could you do this to Pei'er? He is clearly your own son, but just because I encountered bandits and stayed in their den for one night, you assumed I was violated by them and that the child in my womb is a bastard. From then on, you despised me and Pei'er, taking advantage of my guilt to make me work for you, using my and Xiao'er's lives to threaten Pei'er into serving you! Liu Changqing, you are a beast!"

Liu Changqing couldn't dodge or speak, and his eyes were almost bleeding with anxiety!
"Mother, I...I'm not a bastard? I'm Father's biological son?" Liu Pei was shocked, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Liu Xiao was completely unaware of the situation and was utterly dumbfounded.

Madam Liu lowered her limp hands. Through her blurred vision, she saw Liu Pei's face and slapped herself hard across the face. "Pei'er, I'm so sorry! I know perfectly well that you're not a bastard. You and Liu Xiao are brothers from the same parents, but Liu Changqing doesn't believe my innocence, and I can't find a way to prove it. I can only watch helplessly as Liu Changqing calls you a bastard, beats you, and bullies you. I'm so weak, I can't even protect my own child..."

"Ha, haha..." Liu Pei laughed for no reason. His eyes were full of tears, but he laughed unrestrainedly. He looked at Liu Changqing, who was lying on the ground like an old dog, and murmured, "You are my father, you really are my father. How ridiculous, how ridiculous... I took the blame for murder for you, I committed many evil deeds for you, I am such a filial son!"

(End of this chapter)