"State your name and your business before this court. Speak in detail!" The Capital Governor slammed his gavel, and the entire hall fell silent.

Qin Sheng quickly kowtowed. "Your Excellencies, this commoner is named Qin Sheng. I am here to expose Landlord Du for colluding with the bandits who caused trouble before, stealing the court’s disaster relief grain for his own personal gain!"

Shen Ningning was somewhat surprised to hear this.

The Capital Governor asked, "What evidence do you have?"

Qin Sheng pointed at Shen Ningning. "Her. She’s the witness."

Mo Lingwei’s eyes instantly darkened. "Lower your hand."

Qin Sheng snatched his hand back, trembling with fear.

He reported, "A year ago, one night, I was trying to... play with Shen Ningning, but she struggled so fiercely that she ran up the mountain."

"But I’d grabbed one of her shoes, so I chased after her. To my surprise, I saw Landlord Du, who was lodging at my home at the time, on the back mountain discussing the details of selling the grain with two bandits."

That night, Landlord Du saw a short figure crouching in the grass.

It wasn’t actually Shen Ningning, but Qin Sheng, who had ducked down to hide.

"I heard with my own ears Landlord Du discussing with them how to split the Silver. Later, he seemed to spot me, so I rushed back home, leaving Shen Ningning’s little shoe behind at the scene."

"At first, I was terrified, certain he would retaliate against me. But he didn’t seem to pay me any mind. Instead, he constantly goaded my wife, Wang Guihong, into tormenting Shen Ningning."

"I vaguely pieced it together. He must have seen the shoe and thought it was Shen Ningning who had overheard his secret. Terrified of being exposed, Landlord Du decided he had to take drastic measures against her."

The Capital Governor turned to Shen Ningning, his tone serious. "Is what he says true? Did you run away to the mountain one night a year ago?"

Shen Ningning’s small face was pale, and she looked fragile and pitiful.

She silently rose to her feet to answer.

Mo Lingwei gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can speak sitting down. There’s no need to be so formal."

Shen Ningning sat down again. Her long lashes fluttered, and her lips parted and closed several times, but no words came out.

The onlookers found this strange.

The Capital Governor dared not rush her, saying only, "Miss Shen, don’t be afraid. Think carefully. Is it true that he forced you to hide on the mountain?"

After a long moment, Shen Ningning finally spoke, her voice trembling. "Yes..."

Mo Lingwei was somewhat surprised.

Shen Ningning pressed her pink lips together. "Because... Uncle... he made me uncomfortable."

"How did he make you uncomfortable?"

"He touched my face and wanted me to wash his feet. When I refused, he tried to tie me up," Shen Ningning recalled, remembering the details of that night.

The more she spoke, the more fear flooded her small face.

The days of torment she had endured with the Qin Family were still vivid in her memory.

She had been very young, too young to understand why Uncle Qin always wanted to touch her face and her small hands, and she certainly hadn’t understood why his gaze always made her so uncomfortable.

Shen Ningning confessed truthfully, "Because that day, Uncle had drunk a lot. He was pulling me really hard, and I was scared, so I had to run into the mountains..."

"Where did you hide on the mountain? Did you see Landlord Du?"

"I didn’t see him, because I climbed a tree and fell asleep. When I went home the next day, I had lost a shoe, and Auntie beat me for it." The little girl’s voice was soft as she finished, tears already welling in her eyes.

Uncle Qin had bullied her only a few times, but when Aunt Qin hit her, she never once held back.

Mo Lingwei shot to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process.

Before anyone could react, he rushed forward and landed a vicious punch on Qin Sheng, knocking three bloody teeth from his mouth.

Mo Lingwei grabbed his collar, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. "You bastard! She was only three years old then! How dare you!"

Qin Sheng screamed for mercy, "I never succeeded! She was just so delicate and fair-skinned, I only wanted her to... attend to me..."

Before he could finish, Mo Lingwei punched him again.

The Capital Governor stammered, trying to intervene. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you can beat him later! It won’t be too late once the interrogation is complete."

The Crown Prince’s personal guards rushed forward to restrain him.

Mo Lingwei immediately swept Shen Ningning up from her chair and held her protectively, letting her tears fall freely onto his robes.

The little girl clutched his sleeve tightly.

Qin Sheng had just managed to sit up when Grandma Qin, snapping back to her senses, drew the sword from Chen Ye’s waist and charged.

"I’ll kill you, you beast!"

The Capital Governor slammed his desk. "Quick, stop the old woman!"

Chief Wang and several government officers hurried forward to restrain her.

"Ma’am, please calm down! We’re in the middle of a case."

Qin Sheng clutched his face, sobbing. "Mother, I’m your son!"

Grandma Qin was trembling with fury, her face flushed red as she ground out, "I have no son like you! Ningning was so small, just a year younger than your own daughter! And you still dared... how could you dare!"

Qin Sheng wailed, crying that he was full of regret, even slapping his own face and cursing himself for being less than human.

But everyone in the hall looked at him with utter contempt.

The Capital Governor sighed. "Miss Shen, when this happened, why didn’t you tell your family?"

Shen Ningning said nothing.

Grandma Qin spoke up through her tears. "Your Excellency, please don’t ask her anymore. It’s too cruel to make a child relive such painful memories. I can answer that question for you."

"Back then in that house, Ningning and I often went hungry. My daughter-in-law, Wang Guihong, threw her weight around thanks to her family’s power, and my son, Qin Sheng, was a spineless coward. She would beat the child, and if Ningning got sick, she wouldn’t get her treated. These things happened all the time."

"Ningning is a sensible and bright child. She knew that even if she spoke up, there was no one who would stand up for her. She was also worried about me, old as I am. She was afraid that if I tried to defend her, Wang Guihong would only make things harder for me, so she kept silent."

Grandma Qin recounted all the injustices Shen Ningning had suffered.

The listeners’ hearts ached, and their anger grew.

’Mr. and Mrs. Qin bullied a defenseless child and abused an old woman. Are they even human?’

Mo Lingwei looked down at the little girl nestled in his arms, feeling that she was utterly pitiable.

’Before she met the wolf pack, Shen Ningning not only had to endure beatings and scoldings from Aunt Qin, but also had to fend off Uncle Qin’s advances.’

’What was the difference between her life before the age of four and living in Purgatory?’

After Grandma Qin had finished, the Capital Governor, who had two daughters of his own, couldn’t stop clear tears from streaming down his face.

"Child, you have suffered," he said, full of emotion.

Now, he suddenly felt that Shen Ningning having the Crown Prince’s support was exactly what she deserved.

’After all that suffering, isn’t it time for her fortunes to finally turn?’

The rest of the interrogation clarified the situation.

Landlord Du had indeed mistaken Shen Ningning as the person who had overheard his secret, which was why he had gone to such lengths to have people target her.

Moreover, this time, Landlord Du had even borrowed a large sum of Gold from Third Master Wei to hire assassins.

With the truth revealed, the Capital Governor prepared to deliver his judgment.

"Wait," Shen Ningning said upon hearing this conclusion, her large, limpid eyes filled with doubt. "How does Landlord Du know that Third Master Wei?"

The Capital Governor patiently explained, "Third Master Wei is a well-known man of leisure in the Capital City who enjoys the hobby of bird-walking. Landlord Du shares this interest, and that is how they met. We have just questioned their mutual acquaintances, who confirmed that the two have met privately on several occasions."

Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that he would lend money; after all, Third Master Wei was a profligate dandy with no shortage of cash.

Shen Ningning let out a breath.

"Is that so? But I have a few more clues you can look into, Mister Officer."

Hearing that soft, sweet voice, the Capital Governor felt his heart melt.

"Alright. Where are the clues?"

From within Mo Lingwei’s embrace, Shen Ningning turned her head to look at the entrance of the government office.

Jiang Zhi was already waiting there.

"Brother Jiang, bring in the witness."