Upon hearing the regent's name, the woman froze instantly, with a look of panic and fear on her face.
Qin Ruge in the carriage was also stunned. She quickly got out of the carriage and knelt on the ground to salute.
Xiao Chengyi did not let them get up, he glanced at the woman and asked: "I want to ask you, did you hit the Qin Mansion's carriage, or did the Qin Mansion's carriage hit you?
You have to think clearly before answering. If you tell a lie, you should know what the consequences will be. And there are many people walking here, and there will always be someone who has seen the truth of the matter."
The woman was trembling and couldn't say a word. At this time, a passerby said: "I saw it. This woman rushed over by herself."
"Yes, she was the one who bumped into it."
Although this street is not the main road, there are many people coming and going at noon. Naturally, some people witnessed what happened and took the initiative to come forward to testify.
When the woman saw that she had been exposed, she knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing: "Your Majesty, spare my life, it was a common woman who got lost in her mind and framed this young lady.
But women are also desperate. My child is seriously ill, but I have no money, and I didn’t do it on purpose. I really didn’t do it on purpose.”
Today she went to see a doctor with her sick child in her arms, but was kicked out. She walked on the street in a daze. She looked at her unconscious son and thought it would be better to die, so she hit the carriage.
But she didn't expect that the carriage stopped in time, and she only suffered minor injuries.
Seeing that she was not dead, and seeing that the carriage looked like it belonged to a wealthy family, she became obsessed and thought of extorting some money to treat her child. Even if she was exposed, the worst possible outcome would be death.
But unexpectedly, she succeeded.
After taking the ten taels of silver, she planned to leave, but after listening to the regent's words, she thought that ten taels was not enough, so she asked the young lady of the Qin family for another hundred taels.
Xiao Chengyi snorted: "Seeing a doctor for your child is not the reason for you to break the law. Miss Qin gave you ten taels of silver out of kindness, but you were greedy and still wanted a hundred taels.
I understand your difficulties, but I will not allow you to act like this. Your child has been sent to the medicine hall for treatment, but you should be punished for the crime you committed, do you agree?"
When the woman heard that the child had been sent for treatment, she cried and said, "I accept it. A commoner woman accepts the punishment. As long as I can save my child, I will accept any punishment from the prince."
Xiao Chengyi looked away, looked at Qin Ruge, who was also kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Miss Qin, do you know your guilt?"
Qin Ruhua was stunned by his question. She blinked and raised her head to look at Xiao Chengyi, with a confused look on her face. She was obviously a victim, so why would the regent ask her if she knew her guilt?
She couldn't figure it out for a while, so she had to ask humbly: "Please give me a clear explanation, Your Majesty."
Xiao Chengyi said: "Compared to this woman, Miss Qin's crime is more serious. You knew that this woman was blackmailing you, but you still gave her money, so that she was emboldened and wanted to continue to blackmail you.
If I don't come forward today and she takes these ten taels of silver and leaves, do you know what the consequences will be?"
Qin Ruhua looked at him blankly, and heard Xiao Chengyi continue: "If these ten taels of silver are not enough, then she will taste the sweetness of blackmail by hitting the carriage, and will continue to follow suit to make money.
If she is not careful, she will lose her life. If she is destined to make money again in the same way, she will definitely tell others about this method.
So if you look around the world, wouldn't it be true that everyone would use this method to make money and blackmail, and wouldn't the world be in chaos?
I know that Miss Qin has a kind heart, but this kindness must be based on right and wrong. This woman's car crash and blackmail was her fault in the first place.
You didn't try to persuade her to stop her, but gave her a helping hand. This gave her the opportunity to threaten you unscrupulously.
Not only will your ten taels of silver not be able to save anyone, but it will also mess up the atmosphere in the capital. Do you think you are guilty?"