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“Whack!” Lu Xuan smacked the gavel and declared with a penetrating gaze and clear voice, “In my opinion, it’s clear that you, Wang Pan, stole Han Xian’s child during the Lantern Festival and then conspired with your concubine and servants to weave this lie. In truth, this infant is not your child at all.”

“I am naturally aloof in disposition. Even if I feel sadness, I cannot cry,” Wang Pan stubbornly argued. “As for the Lantern Festival, I never attended it. My household servants can testify for me!”

Lu Xuan sneered, “I expected your denial. Bring in the evidence!”

With the magistrate’s command, the yamen runners escorted two individuals forward a man and a woman. The man appeared to be in his sixties, dressed as a servant, while the woman, in her thirties, was quite attractive. “I am Xu Er, a humble servant, greetings, lord,” the old servant bowed.

“I am Lin Shi, greetings, lord,” the woman greeted Lu Xuan.

“Wang Pan,” Lu Xuan began, pointing at Lin Shi, “Do you recognize this woman?”

“I do not, lord,” Wang Pan replied.

Lu Xuan then turned to Lin Shi, “And do you recognize him?” “Yes, your honor, I do know him,” Lin Shi responded.

“How did you come to know him?” Lu Xuan asked.

“I sell zongzi in the west of the city. On the day of the Lantern Festival, this man bought zongzi from me,” Lin Shi explained.

“There must have been many customers that night. How do you remember him?” Lu Xuan inquired.

“Because he was very particular when buying the zongzi, fussing over the wrapping and haggling over the price,” Lin Shi huffed, clearly irritated. “He even complained about the excessive wrapping string, demanding a discount. The zongzi were wrapped with high-quality colored silk thread, more expensive than the rice. I wouldn’t have used such expensive material if it wasn’t for the Lantern Festival. Remembering such a stingy and fussy customer was inevitable.”

“Wang Pan, you just claimed you never attended the Lantern Festival. How do you explain this?” Lu Xuan asked with a hint of amusement.

Wang Pan stuttered, unable to respond.

“Li Ming, have you brought the evidence?” Lu Xuan asked.

“Reporting to the lord, it has been brought,” Li Ming stepped forward, holding a wooden plate with a set of children’s clothes and some torn fabric.

He pointed to the old servant, “Lord, this was handed over by him.”

Lu Xuan’s tone was stern, “Xu Er, explain the circumstances clearly. If you dare to lie, you will be punished!”

Xu Er immediately knelt down, “I dare not, I dare not!”

“We have already inquired at the local fabric stores. The fabric in this plate uses a new technique from Qinghe County,” Lu Xuan explained. “This technique has not yet reached our county, and you are not from Qinghe County. How did you come by these clothes?”

“Reporting to the lord,” Xu Er confessed, “These clothes were given to me by…

by Wang Pan. I am a cook in the Wang household. Over a month ago, Wang Pan handed me these clothes and told me to burn them. Seeing the good quality of the fabric, I thought it a waste to burn them and secretly kept them…”

Lu Xuan nodded and turned to Wang Pan, “With both witness and evidence present, how can you still deny?”

“I… I admit my guilt,” Wang Pan, with a defeated look, finally confessed his crime.

A month ago, he attended the Lantern Festival in the west of the city and found Han Xian’s son adorable. Approaching fifty and still childless, he harbored malicious thoughts. At that time, Han Xian was eating at a noodle stand and left his son in the seat while he went to pay. When he returned, his child had already been taken by Wang Pan.

Coincidentally, Wang Pan had a concubine who had given birth to a daughter a few months prior. She naturally became the “mother” of the stolen child.

“Take the accused, Wang Pan, to the jail. After signing the confession, he shall be dealt with according to the laws of the Great Kang Dynasty,” Lu Xuan pronounced the sentence.

In the hall, Han Xian, though vindicated, appeared numb. He looked at the dead child, seemingly unable to hear or see anything, cut off from the world.

At that moment…

“Wah ” a cry erupted.

Han Xian rubbed his eyes, then saw something move under the white cloth on the ground. Liu Huaiyuan’s daughter smiled slightly, picked up the swaddling clothes, and said, “Uncle Han, we didn’t mean to play a trick on you. For the sake of the case, we had to put you through this.”

She wiped the baby’s face, removing the paint. The unnatural blue-purple hue disappeared, revealing the infant’s rosy, healthy skin.

This was all arranged by Lu Xuan.

Pretending the infant had died was a test.

While summoning Zhang Shi and Zhao Shi, Lu Xuan had also instructed Li Ming and Lu Ping to undertake another task.

The two split up; Li Ming went to Wang Pan’s house in the south of the city, gathering the servants for questioning. Li Ming, keen and perceptive, noticed some servants’ unusual behavior and detained them for individual interrogations.

Xu Er, not worldly wise, quickly revealed the truth under the intimidating presence of Li Ming.

Lu Ping, on the other hand, went to the west of the city. His friendly demeanor made it easy to gather information from small vendors and shopkeepers.

Eventually, he learned from Lin Shi that Wang Pan had been in the west of the city on the night of the Lantern Festival.

In reality, Lu Xuan could have directly presented the evidence and applied legal pressure to make Wang Pan confess.