Very Cooperative, Very Satisfied

Zhang Changshen was satisfied, extremely satisfied.

He knew these wealthy women couldn't endure the slightest hardship; a little intimidation would make them confess, especially when someone with special privileges wanted to pressure them into recanting their testimony. Confessions shouldn't be too easy to come by.

"Alright, tell me everything that happened back then honestly, without omitting anything. If I find that what you say is inconsistent with the facts, your punishment will be doubled," he said.

The clerk beside him immediately perked up and prepared to take notes.

Would Lady Wei honestly confess? Of course not.

Tears streaming down her face, she looked utterly miserable as she spoke, "I knew nothing about this. The adults know that I was giving birth, twins at that time. I was in so much pain that I was delirious, and I fainted from exhaustion after giving birth. When I woke up, my wet nurse had already switched the babies. She didn't tell me at the time, but only later, after everything was packed up and we were sent back to the second house, did she tell me that I had given birth to twins. She was worried that the old lady would drown one of them, so she secretly switched the first lady's daughter with one of my sons when no one was looking."

Upon hearing this, the midwife beside her immediately retorted angrily, "Pah! Nonsense! You were still conscious after giving birth. When you found out you had twins, you moved me aside and discussed it with your wet nurse for a long time before finally calling me over to help you switch the babies. You even gave me three thousand taels of silver as hush money!"

"You're the one talking nonsense!" Lady Wei finally came to her senses.

Remembering that the Court of Judicial Review seemed to have only one witness, she immediately changed her story, pointing at the midwife and saying to Zhang Changshen, "She must have been instructed by someone to slander me."

At that moment, she felt she had been ripped off. If she hadn't been so flustered when she saw the midwife, she should have denied everything.

Lady Wei was a hot-tempered person, and once she got angry, she couldn't control her temper. At this moment, she was filled with regret and became furious, pointing at the midwife and cursing her.

The midwife, remembering that it was this person's carelessness and slip-ups that led to her being found, her children and grandchildren being controlled, and her current predicament, with the prospect of imprisonment, was not to be outdone and began to hurl insults at Lady Wei.

Zhang Changshen didn't stop them, picked up his teacup and slowly drank, letting the two of them argue.

When a woman starts swearing, she's acting irrationally. She'll get all the information out of him while she's swearing, saving him the trouble of interrogating her.

That midwife used to go from street to street, delivering babies everywhere. She relied not only on her skills, but also on her quick wit and her very persuasive tongue.

Otherwise, if she encountered a family where the mother died in childbirth, a baby boy was born, a girl was born instead of a grandson, or even a family that got her wish but didn't want to pay for the delivery, she might not be able to leave that family alive.

Ever since she was forced to turn herself in and then sent to the capital, she knew very well one thing: as long as she could successfully drag Lady Wei into this mess, expose all her crimes, and even pin even bigger charges on her, the people behind it would be more satisfied, and their whole family's fate would be much better.

Therefore, she was very skillful in her arguments, deliberately arguing with Lady Wei about the details of the incident, leading Lady Wei to delve deeper and deeper into the matter, until in the end, she successfully pinned the deaths of Lady Wei nurse and the nanny who knew the truth on Lady Wei.

The Right Chancellor, the clerk who was recording the events, and a group of yamen runners stared at the two women in disbelief.

The Court of Judicial Review is not an ordinary government office. In some county government offices, it is common to see shrewish women cursing in the streets, but the Court of Judicial Review is a place to handle major, important, and difficult cases. Cases that are not of the level of serial murders will not be sent to the Court of Judicial Review.

This was the first time anyone had ever seen shrewish women arguing in court; it was truly an eye-opener.

Then he thought that one of the women was the daughter of Wei Qiu, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who had married into a noble family and become a noblewoman. The feeling was even more indescribable.

This was especially true for the yamen runners.

Emma, this is truly eye-opening. They thought only their own uncouth wives would wield a large spatula, hands on hips, spitting at people. So, it turns out noble ladies and mistresses are like that too? Looks like they've really misjudged their own wives.

Seeing the clerk staring Zhang Changshen quickly coughed lightly, signaling him to take notes. The clerk then snapped out of his daze and immediately began writing furiously.

Although he had never seen evidence presented in court in the form of arguing, he had been a clerk for many years and this was absolutely no challenge for him.

It's just two people's testimonies, right? Before, one person would speak at a time, and then they would sign their statement. Now, the two people speak together, taking turns. The format is a bit novel, but it's basically the same.

He took two sheets of paper, one containing Lady Wei's testimony and the other the midwife's testimony, and summarized and recorded the information revealed during their argument. He was busy writing on one side and the other side, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Seeing this, Zhang Changshen nodded in satisfaction.

When Lady Wei finally tired herself out and her mind cleared, realizing she was in court and had said too much, Zhang Changlin threw a stack of confessions in front of her. "Alright, sign and put your fingerprints on them."

"W-what?" Lady Wei was dumbfounded.

"What?" Zhang Changshen glanced at her sideways. "The clerk has written down everything you just said. You can read, right? If you can read, look at what you just said. But don't worry, everyone in the room heard what you said; they are witnesses. You can't deny it. We can't frame you either. Hurry up and sign and put your fingerprint on it."

Lady Wei's heart skipped a beat, and she knew she was in trouble. Recalling what she had just said, she broke out in a cold sweat.

She argued with the midwife, revealing everything she had ever done.

Zhang Changshen at handling cases and has an unparalleled grasp of human psychology.

Seeing the changing expressions on Lady Wei's face, he said at the opportune moment, "Once you sign and put your fingerprint on the document, this case will be considered closed. I can find some time later to inform the Wei Residence family that you are involved in a case and your family needs to be notified."

Upon hearing that she would soon be able to see her family, Lady Wei did not hesitate and immediately signed the document and pressed her fingerprint on it.

So what if she signed and put her fingerprint on it? When her father arrives, she can easily recant and say that these people forced her to sign. Then her father will handle the negotiations with them.

After receiving the confession, Zhang Changshen's attitude towards Lady Wei became much more amiable. He instructed the yamen runners and old women, "Send her to the women's prison and give her a private room. Buy her whatever she needs. Her father is Minister Lord Wei of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, so be polite to her. If you anger her, you'll be in deep trouble."

"Yes," the old woman replied, and led Lady Wei and the midwife to the women's prison.

Seeing Lady Wei being led away, Zhang Changshen slammed his gavel. "Bring Lady Wei's servant, Granny Li!"