TGCFNM -Chapter 245 How Should I Sentence Him?

As soon as Chu Ling finished speaking, her gaze swept over all the citizens, sharp and intense, waiting for their response.

It was the waiter who spoke first. He trembled as he raised his hand, tears streaming down his face: “He should.”

“Killing a person deserves death. He should.”

“Master Chu, killing a person deserves death. He should!”

“He should!”

Every citizen felt the same, that he deserved it, yet their faces were already streaked with tears, hearts aching so much they could barely breathe, their eyes red as they stared at Xu Wangshui’s back.

Chu Ling exhaled heavily, feeling the weight pressing down on her own heart.

“Master, there is one more thing I haven’t confessed,” Xu Wangshui said slowly, lifting his head to look at Chu Ling. His eyes were already bloodshot, tears streaming down. “Although Cheng Dian’s mother’s eyesight was poor, she had already realized I wasn’t Cheng Dian, and she also died because of me. As for Sister Song Yu, I think she must have realized long ago that I am no longer myself.”

“Yes, I realized it a long time ago,” Song Yu said.

He suddenly turned and looked toward the courthouse entrance.

A middle-aged woman, her hair tied up in a woman’s bun, stepped inside. She bowed slightly to Chu Ling: “Greetings, Master Chu. I am commoner Song Yu.”

Chu Ling felt a cold wind sweep past her, and in an instant, a ghostly figure appeared beside Sister Song Yu.

Ghost Cheng Dian looked at her with grief, lifting his hand several times as if to wipe the tears from her face—but, as expected, his hand passed right through her.

He could no longer wipe her tears. He had promised to treat her well for a lifetime, to never let her cry.

But now he was a ghost. He could no longer touch his Yu Jie.

Sister Song Yu dabbed her tears with a handkerchief and looked at Chu Ling: “Master Chu, I have something to say. May I speak?”

Chu Ling raised her hand: “Please, speak.”

Song Yu swallowed and her voice trembled slightly: “After receiving a letter from my future husband, Cheng Dian, I came with my future mother-in-law. We sold our old house and came to Yuchuan County, renting a place to stay. My mother-in-law and I waited day and night, often too happy to sleep. My mother-in-law said Cheng Dian should compensate me, that I should be properly clothed and fed. When Cheng Dian arrived, she would drag him by the ear and tell him to treat me well for the rest of his life.”

“And then we waited… and in the end, a man and a woman returned.”

“The man’s features were very similar to Cheng Dian’s. At that time, he was exhausted and thin from the journey, so my mother-in-law and I both mistook him for Cheng Dian. The woman, Sister Lingshao, became his sworn sister and lived with us.”

Chu Ling frowned, looking at her with concern. “When did you realize?”

Song Yu let out a bitter smile: “Poor me… I grew up with Cheng Dian, so I didn’t immediately notice the difference. I just thought he had been tired from his journey. Later, it was my mother-in-law who discovered he was not Cheng Dian—long before I did.”

As she spoke, Song Yu turned to look at Xu Wangshui.

“Look at me.”

Xu Wangshui slowly turned, his eyes bloodshot as he returned her gaze.

“My mother-in-law’s eyesight was poor, so she would reach out and touch your face. The moment she touched it, she knew you weren’t her son. She even guessed that her son might have met with misfortune, and that very night, she told me. We, mother and daughter-in-law, were weak and powerless. Against a grown man like you, we certainly could not win. But to find out Cheng Dian’s whereabouts, we decided to stay put.”

“And at that time, you had already assumed your post, serving as the magistrate of Yuchuan County.”

Xu Wangshui stared at her in disbelief. “So you knew so early that I wasn’t Cheng Dian?”

Sister Song Yu continued, looking at him steadily: “After you took office, Sister Lingshao came to us. She was worried that since you had killed Cheng Dian, you might also harm us—mother and daughter-in-law—so she told us that Cheng Dian was dead, hoping to help us escape. But my mother-in-law refused; she wanted to avenge her son herself.”

“Coincidentally, that day, Xiao Linghua came to see us.”

The young woman at the door walked in straightforwardly and grabbed Sister Song Yu’s arm. She looked at Chu Ling: “My lord, it’s me… I’m Xiao Linghua.”

Tears welled up in Sister Song Yu’s eyes as she held Xiao Linghua’s arm tightly. She looked at Chu Ling, letting the tears fall down her cheeks.

“She… such a tiny girl, her shoes had holes, her face was slashed in several places by thorns, her clothes were covered in mud and leaves. In her arms, she carried a little gray cloth bundle. She looked up at me with bright eyes, saying it was wild fruit she had picked for my lord.”

“She said, my lord chased away the bad men and saved her grandfather. She said my lord was a good lord, that all the bad men had been dealt with, and no one would dare bully us poor people anymore. My lord is so good… my lord is… the magistrate of our Yuchuan County.”

Sister Song Yu choked on her words, looking at Chu Ling with a mixture of resentment, anger, and sorrow.

“Lord Chu, we all come from humble backgrounds. People like us, the common poor, often say, ‘Don’t fight with officials.’ Even when we’re wronged or bullied, we dare not report it. Will the magistrate care for us? We have no money, and we dare not offend anyone.”

“But there was such a person—he helped the common people. He feared no authority. He stood up for us, the people. How could we bring ourselves to harm someone like that?”

“That day, after Xiao Linghua left, my mother-in-law pulled me aside and talked with me the entire night. My mother-in-law was an extraordinarily kind woman. She said that killing him would be vengeance for Cheng Dian. But if we killed him, what would happen to the people of Yuchuan County? For the sake of one dead person, could we forsake so many living ones?”

Chu Ling looked at Sister Song Yu in awe. “Cheng Dian’s mother… she was a truly kind-hearted person.”

Sister Song Yu, still choked with emotion, continued: “My mother-in-law grew old, and knowing her son was gone, she slowly lost her will to live, and within half a year, she passed away. Sister Lingshao suffered daily, feeling that if not for her, Cheng Dian wouldn’t have died, and my mother-in-law wouldn’t have died either. Within a few years, she fell ill and also passed on.”

“I married the current fake Cheng Dian, but we lived in separate houses, doing our own things. The reason I’ve endured all this is to see whether he truly works for the people day after day. If one day he abuses his position to exploit the people, that’s the moment I will take his life!”

“Lord Chu, I will not hesitate!”

Chu Ling understood. Even though she hadn’t encountered the ghost of Cheng Dian or unearthed his remains to avenge him, here in Yuchuan County, there was someone who remembered Cheng Dian. She upheld her loyalty to him and kept watch over the fake Cheng Dian.

For the sake of the people, she would not hold back!

She was a remarkable woman—a strong, unyielding, and resilient woman.

Chu Ling nodded heavily and returned to stand beneath the plaque. Sitting behind the judge’s desk, she struck the gavel and looked at everyone.

“Cheng Dian, guilty for causing the death of Xu Wangshan through his perverse desires!”

“Lingshao, guilty for poisoning and harming others!”

“Xu Wangshui, guilty for avenging his brother by killing Cheng Dian!”

“Xu Wangshui, guilty for taking Cheng Dian’s place and becoming magistrate of Yuchuan County!”

“Xu Wangshui, having served Yuchuan County diligently for seventeen years, merits recognition for his contributions!”

Chu Ling paused, her gaze shifting from Sister Song Yu’s face to Xu Wangshui’s, then to the people outside, who could no longer hold back their tears.

“So, Heaven above, tell me… how should I sentence them?”

Her eyes finally rested on the ghost of Cheng Dian, waiting for his answer.