A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chapter 372 Something big is going to happen

An Qing was taken aback.

At this moment, someone squeezed through and stood next to He Jinglan.

The three stopped talking and turned to look.

Anqing was pleasantly surprised, "Meng..."

Meng Chengping quickly gave him a wink.

An Qinghe understood; with so many people around, he certainly couldn't address General Meng directly.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan disguised themselves specifically to avoid attracting attention.

So he smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, "Young Master Meng, it's been a long time."

Meng Chengping returned the greeting politely, "Boss An, how have you been?"

When he looked up, he glanced at the two girls next to him.

All the faces were completely unfamiliar.

Meng Chengping stood up straight again, still right next to He Jinglan.

He Jinglan moved closer to Gu Xixi, her face stern, clearly indicating "don't get involved if you're not familiar with her."

She whispered to Gu Xixi, "Indeed, there are still suspicious points about this person, suspicious points related to the Fan family."

"I just don't know what Mu Nanzhao will do next."

Gu Xixi said, "Given his personality, he either doesn't act or he doesn't act at all."

"Now that they've made a move, they probably won't let the Fan family off the hook again."

The mystery of the illegitimate child may be the key to it.

He Jinglan seemed to be deep in thought.

At this moment, they saw Mu Nanzhao's accompanying guards deliver something to the prefect.

The prefect unfolded the letter; it was a piece of paper.

His expression changed drastically at first, then he quickly finished reading the contents.

No one in the hall knew what had happened.

The prefect's face was grim, and this time he did not pass the note on to anyone else.

Instead, he directly slammed the wooden stick down, saying, "It's past noon today, not a good time for execution. Take the prisoner back to jail first!"

He paused, and when he looked at Fan Dongping, a gloomy look flashed in his eyes.

"Fan Dongping is a death row inmate and must be held in solitary confinement. He will be publicly executed on a later date!"

"Court adjourned! Close the doors!"

Lü Jing was stunned.

Other judges, clerks, and constables were also slow to react.

I thought Fan Dongping was doomed today, but unexpectedly the execution was changed from immediate execution to scheduled execution at a later date.

Why did the Prefect change his mind at the last minute?

There is indeed a specific time to behead someone and display their head in public; noon is when the yang energy is strongest and can suppress evil spirits.

However, there are exceptions, such as immediate execution. In our dynasty, there have been examples of executions that were carried out without hesitation.

Therefore, the prefect's actions were definitely not solely due to the wrong time.

The real reason must be what the regent showed him.

The constables took the prisoners away.

The gates of the Jingzhao Prefecture were slowly closing.

Everyone in the hall had their own thoughts, but because it concerned the Regent, no one dared to ask directly.

Only Lü Jing, after a moment of change in expression, raised her head and stared straight at the prefect.

The prefect said solemnly, "I know what you want to say."

"What I can tell you is that no one is going to protect him, so you can rest assured about that."

"As for your family's case, it has already been settled."

"The court's judgments are not child's play, and I personally guarantee that today's verdict will not be changed overnight."

Lu Jing remained silent for a moment, then bowed deeply, saying, "This humble woman is willing to trust the imperial court and to trust you, sir."

"I await the day when justice will be served!"

No sooner had Lü Jing left than the Prefect stood up, cupped his hands to Mu Nanzhao, and said, “This matter is of great importance. I will immediately go to the palace to request an audience and explain the case to His Majesty in detail!”

Mu Nanzhao nodded slightly.

So the prefect has been busy since the beginning, and he left without even having time to eat lunch.

The officials present at the hearing exchanged bewildered glances, secretly wondering what was going on.

Impeaching the Fan family is no small matter.

Furthermore, as is customary, investigating and punishing a high-ranking official like Grand Secretary Fan is not something that can be rushed.

But the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture did not hesitate or wait and see at all.

So they rushed off to the palace to meet the emperor?

Is something terrible about to happen...?

The officials remained seated, but their minds were already elsewhere.

Finally, Mu Nanzhao left Jingzhao Prefecture.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly left without even saying goodbye.

Outside the Jingzhao Prefecture, the people had gradually dispersed.

Only then did Meng Chengping dare to openly speak to He Jinglan, "Even if you're going to pretend you don't know me, you shouldn't have ignored me completely."

These words sounded aggrieved, and even a little resentful.

Gu Xixi and An Qinghe both laughed when they heard this.

He Jinglan found it both amusing and helpless, "Everyone's watching the trial, who's going to look at you?"

"But I've already dressed like this, how did you recognize me?"

Meng Chengping truthfully replied, "I searched for quite a while before I arrived. It was thanks to Boss An's special eyes that they were particularly striking against the sunlight."

Gu Xixi glanced at An Qinghe, "He is indeed outstanding and easy to recognize."

"But how did you distinguish between me and Jinglan?"

This morning, the two of them put on masks and stood together in the mirror, only to find that their body shapes were very similar.

After disguising oneself and changing one's face, one should not speak or act.

It's really hard to tell who's who.

Meng Chengping, however, stood precisely next to He Jinglan as soon as he walked over.

It's clear that he has some unique insight.

However, Meng Chengping asked doubtfully, "Distinguish? Isn't it obvious at a glance?"

He Jinglan raised an eyebrow, "When did you learn to tell these kinds of lies to please women?"

Meng Chengping was taken aback, and hurriedly clarified, "I didn't, I said I would never lie to you."

"But the way you look to me is completely different from how Boss Gu looks."

He Jinglan was frustrated. "It seems my disguise skills are still lacking."

Meng Chengping quickly reassured him, "It's not bad, it's not bad. If it weren't for Boss An here, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to find you and Boss Gu in the crowd."

He Jinglan turned her head to look at him, "Really?"

Meng Chengping chuckled, "How could I dare to lie to you?"

……

Anqing and Jingjing watched for a while, then whispered to Gu Xixi, "Are these two...?"

Gu Xixi said meaningfully, "Perhaps, who knows?"

An Qinghe understood, “Don’t worry, as long as they don’t say anything, you don’t say anything, and I won’t say anything either.”

Several people waited near the side gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

When they saw Lü Jing come out, they all went to greet her.

Gu Xixi said, "Thank you for your hard work, you did a great job."

Since burying her parents, Lü Jing has never shed a tear again.

She gritted her teeth and endured the most dangerous and difficult times in the capital.

Hearing Gu Xixi's words at that moment brought tears to her eyes.

"Happy!"

Lu Jing took two quick steps, grabbed Gu Xixi's hand, and after a long while, choked out:

"You always said I could do it, and thankfully, I didn't let you down!"

Gu Xixi smiled gently, "You didn't let yourself down."

Lu Jing nodded vigorously, "Yes! Fan Dongping, Magistrate Chen, and those others have all been convicted."

"It's a pity that I couldn't witness Fan Dongping's beheading today, to comfort my parents' spirits in heaven."

An Qinghe said, "Just now the prefect still said that Fan Dongping was a death row inmate."

"This means his death sentence is unlikely to change."

"Perhaps they discovered he had committed other crimes, which is why they had to delay it."

Lü Jing nodded. "I hope so."

Gu Xixi introduced He Jinglan and Lü Jing.

Lu Jing said, "Although I had never met Miss He before, I had already heard of her great reputation."

"Seeing you in person now makes me feel even closer to you."

As she spoke, she suddenly knelt down without warning.