I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality

In the Government Office, the County Magistrate sat at the head of the hall, with the Imperial Inspector sitting upright to his left, exuding an aura of authority without the need for anger. The head of the Ministry of Surveillance, the old eunuch, held a tea cup in one hand and used his other hand to delicately lift the tea lid with orchid fingers, blowing away the floating foam within.

This year the jury was quite different from those in the past. If any other county or prefecture official were to face such a scenario, they would at least sweat a few more pounds, if not be outright frightened.

But Chen Guangrui was different. He was the previous top candidate of the imperial examination's first class, and after two years of working as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, he was placed here in Linjiang by the Imperial Court.

During his time as an editor, Chen Guangrui was not afraid of conflict, as the saying goes, "a straight body fears no crooked shadow". At that moment in the hall, with both a Chief Eunuch and an Imperial Inspector present, or even if the emperor was listening in, he wouldn't sweat a drop more.

Otherwise, the merchant's daughter wouldn't have taken a liking to him, nor would she insist on marrying only him.

Compared to the County Magistrate Chen Guangrui, the assistant official to his right showed signs of fear, busy wiping sweat, fearing any unexpected troubles might arise in the court today.

For them, it didn't matter if a case was tried or not; the most important thing was to avoid making mistakes, striving for no merits, but no faults either.

Below, Shopkeeper Chen Feng still clung to the matter with Madam Jin. The pure-hearted, kind-faced farmer's wife never lost her temper, instead blaming herself for picking up the child and not thinking to search upstream. If she had found the child's parents, perhaps it wouldn't have caused such anxiety and distress.

Chen Feng, being a confused soul, even though he now realized that his wife's tragic death wasn't Madam Jin's fault, yet he didn't relent verbally.

For no other reason than for face.

Previously, when the court opened, he verbally abused Madam Jin harshly. Now with so many people watching, if he suddenly softened, wouldn't that mean losing face!

Last time when Chen Guangrui held court, he didn't question Chen Feng, and he didn't ask again this time.

"Madam Yin, this official is questioning you; you must answer truthfully."

"Let me ask you, the child is not yet a year old. Since you are the biological mother, why didn't you always stay by the child's side to take care, but only after losing the child you hurried to search?"

The concubine from the Chen Family held the child, tearing up and said, "The day the child was lost, Elder Madam found me early, asking me to deliver two rolls of silk to the fabric shop, saying the guest urgently needed them. I intended to have someone below deliver it, but Elder Madam said the guest was very particular, and those people were not clean enough, fearing that if the silk got dirty, the guest would be displeased. So she insisted I go personally. Having no choice, I had to leave the child to the wet nurse..."

Below, Chen Feng and others were puzzled. Why wasn't the County Magistrate questioning the cause of the Elder Madam's death, instead of asking about these matters?

Chen Guangrui called the wet nurse to the court and asked again, "Madam Yin asked you to look after the child; how did you lose the child? Tell me truthfully!"

The wet nurse trembled and said, "How could this happen? As soon as the young lady left, the Elder Madam found me, asking me to go to the Lady Baosheng Temple in Ziyun Mountain to offer an incense on her behalf, praying for good fortune and a son."

"Because I had to take care of the young master, I couldn't go, thinking to go the next day, or have someone else go on her behalf. But the Elder Madam insisted it was a private matter for a woman, and she claimed since I had given birth, I could bring her blessings, and insisted I must go personally."

On one side, Xu Qing raised his eyebrows.

The Chen Family's Elder Madam, resorting to drowning and infanticide, was one thing, but involving him in her schemes? Fortunately, the Elder Madam died timely, otherwise, upon Chen Feng's return, who knows how many good people would be wronged in a reversal of truth.

At the court's head, Chen Guangrui suddenly shouted, "Guards, bring the suspect Yuan Hu to the court!"

With his hair disheveled, Yuan Hu, wearing his prison garb, was brought in by two Government Officials who put the fire and water baton behind his knees, yet he remained motionless.

The two officials gritted their teeth, using all their might, and their faces turned as red as pig liver, yet they couldn't budge Yuan Hu.

At the head of the table, enjoying the tea and the commotion, Eunuch Liao Jinzong glanced down sideways, and gently flicked his orchid finger over the tea lid.

Like flicking a little snack, he flicked the knob on top of the tea lid.

Below, still struggling, the two officials suddenly found the baton loosen, and the suspect, once stubborn and hard as nails, abruptly knelt to the ground.

In the hall, there were many constables, with Martial Experts among them, and the constable Zhao Zhonghe was also a Martial Master of the Meridian Passage, yet not one among them understood what had happened.

Xu Qing's sharp eyes clearly saw everything. Eunuch Liao's little move was swift, incredibly so.

Among all the living people Xu Qing had seen before, this old eunuch had the highest level of martial arts cultivation.

It only takes an expert's move to see if there's real skill.

Lou Xiaowu, having one foot in becoming a Grandmaster, was quite formidable, yet his speed was nothing compared to the old eunuch in front of him.

A flick of the finger by Liao Jinzong had already returned to the original state, and anyone below a Grandmaster would only think he casually flicked the finger.

Yuan Hu let out a muffled hum, kneeling on the ground, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

Zhao Zhonghe and others, slow to react, looked closer and saw Yuan Hu's knees already damp and reddish, seemingly pierced by some hidden weapon.

"This house despises the ignorant," Liao Jinzong sneered, "Today, this house is in a good mood, teaching you this lesson, but if there's a next time..."

A cold hum echoed, intimidating the once unbridled Yuan Hu into not daring to move.

Riding the momentum, Chen Guangrui forcefully slapped the gavel and shouted, "Yuan Hu! This official asks you, why did you kill an innocent woman in Qu Shui Village!"