80: A familiar case! Did you agree to this beforehand?

Hiss…

Why did Li Shengyuan find these words so familiar?

Who had said that before?

Li Shengyuan gasped, looking at the weeping Mrs. Zhang. Before, when he was with Aunt Shen, he had thought it was fortunate that Great Qian didn't have the saying 'prior consent, post-disagreement'.

But he didn't expect that it wouldn't be long before he encountered this very situation…

Are there really women who use this to extort money?

No wonder those Silver-Robed Demon Suppression Envoy had headaches; it was already a clear-cut case of rape, with irrefutable evidence. What could they do if this woman insisted the Butcher raped her?

Before Li Shengyuan could think further, the woman, Mrs. Zhang, continued to wail:

"A woman's reputation is most important in this world. Besides, even if I falsely accuse you, what would I gain?!"

"I'm not getting married. If I really marry a beast like you, what will I do for the rest of my life…"

"You… you're simply going too far…"

Butcher Wang, trembling with rage and pale-faced, pointed at Mrs. Zhang, unable to offer a defense.

Li Shengyuan now understood the woman's trick. He looked at her coldly and asked:

"Then what do you want?"

Mrs. Zhang said self-righteously: "I want to break off the engagement with him. Not only that, but he also has to compensate me with a sum of money, because he scared me. Now I'm afraid when I see men, afraid they'll rush over and force me…"

"Otherwise… he'll have to be thrown into prison and locked up for several years!"

Li Shengyuan said coldly: "How to judge this is this official's business; it's not for you to interfere!"

"Moreover, this official cannot arrest someone based solely on your word!"

"Yes, Your… Your Excellency…"

Feeling the cold aura emanating from Li Shengyuan, Mrs. Zhang nodded tremblingly.

Seeing this, Li Shengyuan said indifferently: "You can break off the engagement with him; that's between you two. But you must return the hundred taels of betrothal gift given to you previously!"

A hundred taels of silver was no small sum. Even in the capital, it was enough for a long time of eating, drinking, and living lavishly.

However, for entertainment, a hundred taels of silver would certainly not be enough.

But for an ordinary family, it was a huge sum, many families would have to work for several years to earn that much. For a butcher to be able to offer so much silver as a betrothal gift, this Butcher Wang must have some skill, butchering meat and deboning were second nature to him.

However, upon hearing Li Shengyuan's words, the previously weeping Mrs. Zhang immediately bristled.

She shrieked with a distorted face: "No! These hundred taels of silver are mine; no one can take them away! And it's impossible to return them to this beast."

Li Shengyuan slammed the table with a cold face and shouted: "Watch your words! The matter has not been finalized yet; whether he is a beast or not is not for you to decide!"

Mrs. Zhang's arrogant demeanor instantly vanished, and she stammered, not daring to look up at Li Shengyuan.

"I'll ask you one more time: did he truly force you or not!" Li Shengyuan asked coldly.

"If the matter you reported is false, you will be punished with the same crime!"

"This…" Mrs. Zhang paused, then quickly said:

"It's definitely true that he forced me. Could it be that Your Excellency also suspects a common woman like me would use her reputation to frame him?!"

Facing Mrs. Zhang's counter-accusation, Li Shengyuan said coldly:

"Then I ask you, did he force you, or were you seducing him!"

"If you were seducing him and then turned around and accused him, this official will not let you off lightly!"

"This…" Mrs. Zhang's gaze began to flicker.

"Speak quickly! Do you need to think about what actually happened?!" Li Shengyuan angrily slammed the table and shouted.

"It was him… it really was him who forced this common woman. To ensure the evidence was solid, this common woman didn't even dare to wash or bathe." Mrs. Zhang bit her lip and said.

Then she started wailing pitifully: "Wuwuwu… What kind of world is this… Even the chief judge sent by His Majesty in the capital thinks this common woman would use her innocence to frame someone. Are women in this world truly so lowly?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the onlookers immediately began to point and whisper.

Among these people were also noble and cultivated women.

Seeing Mrs. Zhang, a fellow woman, being so humiliated, they couldn't help but feel some pity for her.

If an ordinary woman resisted fiercely, it would be difficult for a man to rape her. However, Mrs. Zhang was delicate and had never done any heavy labor.

Butcher Wang, on the other hand, was burly and tall. Although he had no cultivation, his strength was much greater than that of an ordinary man. If he truly wanted to use force, he could certainly do it.

Therefore, the Marshal's method of having witnesses confirm on the spot whether rape was possible was not applicable.

Regarding the public opinion stirred up by this woman, Li Shengyuan indeed sneered coldly and slammed the table, shouting:

"Silence!"

"Whether he forced you or you seduced him, this matter cannot be judged by your words alone, as there were no other people present and no images!"

"However, it's also very simple; we just need to make you tell the truth. Come, go invite Chief Ye Hangzhou here!"

"As you command!"

The Silver-Robed Demon Suppression Envoy beside him responded respectfully, then flew off to the yamen gate to find Ye Hangzhou, who was currently painstakingly setting up formations.

Mrs. Zhang, however, was greatly alarmed by Li Shengyuan's words and quickly said:

"Your Excellency, the Great Qian criminal law stipulates that confessions obtained through torture are not allowed, and there are still common people watching!"

Li Shengyuan glanced at her indifferently, "Who told you I was going to coerce a confession?"

"Besides, that's the business of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple; what does it have to do with my Demon Suppression Division?"

"Since you came to my Demon Suppression Division to report the case and seek justice, then naturally, you must follow the rules of my Demon Suppression Division!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhang's face suddenly turned pale.

The criminals arrested by the Demon Suppression Division were not ordinary common people; they dealt with evil demons, and they had many methods for interrogating them.

The crowd didn't wait long before a white-robed figure suddenly appeared in the public court.

Everyone's gaze also turned to this handsome man, who was fanning himself and had an indifferent expression.

Ye Hangzhou's gaze was resentful, and he subtly glanced at Li Shengyuan.

He realized that this guy, by having him come to the Northern Border, was treating him as a versatile tool!

First, super long-distance teleportation, then helping to kill people, setting up formations, and now he even had to help him interrogate criminals…

Simply shameless to the extreme!

Li Shengyuan first offered him an apologetic smile, then introduced him to everyone:

"Everyone may not know him, but he is the second Chief of the Imperial Observatory, a department that benefits the country and the people of our Great Qian. With his assistance, the truth of the matter will surely come to light!"

Then he instructed Ye Hangzhou: "Chief Ye, I apologize for the trouble, but please control these two and make them tell the truth."

"Mm." Ye Hangzhou nodded coldly.

Then he looked at Mrs. Zhang, whose face had changed drastically, and Butcher Wang, who looked calm.

Ye Hangzhou extended his index finger and lightly pointed at the two, and a profound formation enveloped them.

The eyes of the two gradually became dull.

Li Shengyuan nodded with satisfaction at the sight. It was much easier to judge cases in this world.

Stubborn?

There were plenty of ways to make you speak!

But just as Li Shengyuan was about to open his mouth to inquire, a woman in the audience stood up and shouted at him:

"Your Excellency, wait!"