Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 867: Tonic or Poison?

"What? What are you saying? You want to accuse Granny Gu of murdering your biological mother? How did this escalate to a murder case?" The onlookers were bewildered, never expecting the Old Gu Family’s case to take such a turn.

The storytellers were extremely excited, shouting with all their might, "A shocking turnaround, Gu Dashan countersues Granny Gu for murdering his biological mother! Granny Gu is suspected of murdering Elder Gu’s original wife!!"

The voices of the storytellers were well-practiced, as loud as a bell, and their shouts were audible for half the street.

The people on the street were in an uproar. A murder case had arisen, which was no trivial matter, and they all desperately squeezed into the government office, nearly breaking down its doors.

Squad Leader Zhang and a squad of officials couldn’t stop them and were squeezed in by a dozen or so people, who stared intently at Elder Gu, pointing at him and saying, "Is this the old bastard surnamed Gu? Looks like he’s truly no good."

Magistrate Gu and Judge Tang were also shocked and bewildered by Gu Dashan’s sudden counter-accusation against Granny Gu. They never imagined this turn of events. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Judge Tang was the first to react, pointing at the people who had squeezed into the courtroom and shouting, "What are you doing? The court is a serious place, how can you intrude? Get out quickly!"

Judge Tang had been in He’an Prefecture for more than two years and was still unable to adjust to the people’s love for gossip. The people of He’an Prefecture seemed particularly fond of gossiping, rushing in like a flood at the slightest disturbance.

Magistrate Gu silently wiped the sweat from his forehead, tapping the gavel and saying, "Silence, silence! This is a major murder case, how dare you cause a disturbance here? Idle onlookers must leave immediately. If you dare to make noise, I will charge you with disrupting the court, and at worst, you’ll be exiled!"

The people of He’an Prefecture loved gossip, but they feared death. Hearing this, they hurriedly retreated.

Squad Leader Zhang hurriedly brought the wooden barriers, placing them in front of the courtroom’s entrance, to prevent people from getting too close, and added sternly, "Do not come closer. Anyone who crosses the barrier will be immediately punished!"

The people finally stood obediently in their places, daring not to squeeze in further, but stretched their necks out long, continuously shouting inside, "Lord Magistrate, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and hear the case, this is a major murder case. Once it’s tried, you’ll gain credit for it."

Magistrate Gu felt frustrated, having never encountered such a crowd before in his years as an official.

Gu Jin’an and Brother Cheng knelt beside Gu Dashan and bowed to Magistrate Gu, pleading, "My father accuses Ms. Pan of murdering our grandmother. Please, Lord Magistrate, accept the case."

Third Grandma also produced a written statement, raising it above her head, saying, "Sir, I had a good relationship with Dashan’s mother back then and know some things, which are all written down here. I beg you to have a look."

Lord Magistrate hurriedly instructed the clerk, "Bring Dashan’s petition paper and Third Aunt Gu’s statement."

"Yes." The clerk went down to retrieve the petition and statement, just as Elder Gu lunged at them, and Third Grandpa quickly blocked Elder Gu, stopping his charge.

Luo Wu was startled, fearing Elder Gu might cause harm, and immediately grabbed Elder Gu by the back of the collar, dragging him back.

Elder Gu’s eyes glared fiercely, angrily staring at Luo Wu, "You brat, always opposing the old man since you were young. So many died while escaping famine, why didn’t you?"

He then cursed at Third Grandpa, "And you, the childless one, a castrated man who can’t father sons. You and your wife instigated Dashan to accuse his stepmother. You have such a vicious heart, just wanting to disrupt my family’s peace."

He then shouted to Gu Dashan, "Dashan, my son, don’t listen to Gu Shengxing and his wife talking nonsense. Your mother was not murdered. She had poor health after giving birth to you and died of women’s ailments, not because of Ms. Pan!"

But no matter how Elder Gu shouted, Gu Dashan firmly looked forward, ignoring Elder Gu.

Elder Gu was greatly afraid when he saw this, realizing that Gu Dashan was determined to accuse Ms. Pan.

The clerk, afraid of Elder Gu, quickly took the petition paper and Third Grandma’s statement from Gu Dashan while Elder Gu was dazed and presented them to Lord Magistrate.

The petition paper from Gu Dashan and Third Grandma’s statement were both narrated and written down by Gu Jin’an, making them very clear and detailed, and Lord Magistrate understood them quite well.

Especially in Third Grandma’s statement, it said that although Dashan’s mother, Mrs. Fei, was not in good health after childbirth, she was not ill to the point of dying. However, after consuming a red blood vine brought home by Elder Gu, her condition worsened, causing continuous menstrual bleeding, and she eventually died in severe abdominal pain.

At the time, they only thought Mrs. Fei died of women’s illness, but Gu Dashan’s second daughter recognized the herb, saying that the medicinal herb with small thorns brought back by Elder Gu was not a red blood vine, but a bloodthorn vine, which could weaken one’s blood and take lives.

Because the two things look very similar, people unfamiliar with herbs could easily mix them up.

Third Grandma once heard Mrs. Fei say that every time Elder Gu went to Yuanjia Town, he would bring back some red blood vine in hopes that her health could improve, and she could eventually have a pair of dragon and phoenix twins.

And Yuanjia Town is right at the village entrance of Yuan Family Village, which is where Granny Gu’s ex-husband’s village is located.

Later on, the affair between Elder Gu and Granny Gu couldn’t be hidden anymore. Everyone knew he was going to Yuanjia Town to meet Granny Gu.

When all these seemingly trivial matters were connected, it turned into a bloody murder case!

Magistrate Gu was greatly alarmed by what he read. If what’s written in the petition is true, then Granny Gu, a rural woman, is truly formidable, using Elder Gu’s hand to kill Mrs. Fei.

However, there was another possibility, that Elder Gu was also aware, making him an accomplice in Mrs. Fei’s murder.

But to avoid alerting the snake, Lord Magistrate didn’t immediately label Elder Gu as the murderer of his wife, but asked instead, "Gu Shengxiang, this court asks you, two months before your original wife Mrs. Fei passed away, did you ever give her something called red blood vine?"

Elder Gu was shocked, not daring to agree. Instead, he tentatively asked Magistrate Gu, "Lord Magistrate, why, why are you asking this?"

Bam! Magistrate Gu heavily slammed the gavel, angrily saying, "When this court asks, you answer truthfully. If you dare hide anything, you’ll face severe punishment!"

Elder Gu was terrified, not daring to test Magistrate Gu further, and replied, "I did indeed give Mrs. Fei red blood vine, but it was because her health was poor. The red blood vine was to replenish her blood and treat her. I only brought it for her to consume... Who knew her condition was so severe that even good medicine didn’t help, and she passed away within two months."

He couldn’t be blamed for that.

Gu Dashan, hearing these words, didn’t know whether to feel sad or glad... He wanted to avenge his biological mother but didn’t want Elder Gu to be the murderer of his mother.

Upon hearing this, Lord Magistrate whispered a few words to the steward beside him, who then hurriedly left with two officials.

The courtroom fell into an eerie silence.

Zhu Liu realized today’s incident was a major one, anxiously circling around, searching for his people in the onlooking crowd, hoping to send them to report to Lord Lai. But the strange thing was, the people he’d placed in secrecy suddenly all disappeared.

Again, it was that mysterious group, the ones who had been monitoring them from the shadows, quietly dealing with all their people.