Chapter 151 The Benevolent Are Invincible, Public Trial in the Entire County

Just as the morning light moved onto the four gilded characters of the "Longcheng County Government Office" plaque.

Below the plaque, a wide gate sees a constant stream of people coming and going.

On Luming Street, the chill that had accumulated overnight was dispelled by the bustling crowds that had gathered from all over the county.

A bailiff skillfully brought out the official desk and chairs that were originally placed in the county government hall.

Displayed outdoors.

The clerk placed the gavel, the divination box, and the teacup on the desk.

The setup is complete.

The guards stood in neat rows on both sides, each holding a black and red stick.

It was yet another case being investigated in the street.

If I remember correctly, this is the third such event since the young county magistrate took office.

However, it was somewhat different from the previous two minor skirmishes.

This time, the Longcheng County government convened a county-wide public trial.

Naturally, the scale and influence are greater.

Moreover, there were also officials from Jiangzhou who came to inspect the area.

The second quarter of the hour of Chen (7:30 AM).

People arrived one after another.

Ouyang Rong, Shen Xisheng, and Wang Lengran entered the room.

Ouyang Rong was the local official in charge, so he was naturally in charge of today's public trial.

Dressed in a light green official robe, he calmly walked forward and sat in the head seat behind the official desk.

Shen Xisheng and Wang Lengran, dressed in crimson official robes and wearing reddish-brown cloaks, sat down on two specially prepared armchairs on either side of the official desk.

Most of the local gentry and merchants of Longcheng County gathered outside the venue, completely blocking the street.

In front of Ouyang Rong's desk, two rows of bailiffs stood guard, shouting orders to maintain order. A space was cleared between them as the main suspects of the day began to appear.

Liu Ziwen was brought in by Yan Liulang and other constables, while Liu Zian, Liu Zilin and others waited in the crowd outside the courtroom.

Liu Ziwen stood in the middle of the open space, the clamor of pointing and whispering from all sides making his face dark and gloomy.

The main culprit being tried today is Liu Ziwen, who is the representative of the Liu family.

Ouyang Rong and Liu Ziwen exchanged a glance.

One is above, the other is below.

I remember the first time the two met was at a fundraising dinner at Yuanming Tower. At that time, they were very warm and polite to each other.

But no one could have imagined that in just over two months, their positions would change drastically.

One was the high-ranking presiding judge, and the other became a prisoner about to be condemned by everyone.

The various gazes cast from all directions caused Liu Ziwen's hands, hidden under his sleeves, to tremble slightly, and his eyes to twitch.

When had Liu Ziwen ever been treated like this, surrounded and judged by the common people?

A humiliating disgrace.

Ouyang Rong remained calm and skillfully raised the gavel in his hand.

Bang--!

"Court is now in session!"

The entire room fell silent.

The public trial has officially begun.

Meanwhile, in the open-air courtroom, witnesses and physical evidence were brought up one by one.

Not far away, behind a red wall belonging to the Su family on Luming Street, two heads were peeking out from over the wall, looking around.

"Miss, how is it? Is the height just right? I knew you were coming, so I specially set up a stool for you this morning. The height is perfect."

"Should I praise you?"

"Okay...no need, no need, Miss, it's what I should do!"

Seeing the plum blossom-shaped makeup of the girl beside her with her hair tied up in a lazy, sideburns and her black hair hanging down to her shoulders tilting her head and looking at her, the chubby-faced little maid quickly changed her words, waved her little hand, and spoke righteously.

The girl with the plum blossom makeup smiled slightly, then lowered her lips.

At this moment, the master and servant were both standing on stools and leaning over the wall, watching the court hearing taking place in the street not far away.

Thanks to the high vantage point, one could see over the dense crowd on the street and witness what was happening in the open space in front of the county government office.

Cai Shou seemed to remember something and turned her head curiously to ask:

"By the way, Miss, didn't you say before that you didn't want to get involved in Young Master Ouyang's affairs?"

Su Guo'er immediately fell silent.

This time, she didn't resort to sharp words or stubbornness. She gently shook her head, her eyes fixed on what was happening on the street outside the wall, and said softly, as if lost in thought:

“This time is different.”

"Oh." Cai Shou didn't ask any further questions and nodded.

She was used to her young mistress's changeable moods; if she had to investigate and question every little change in her mistress, she would be exhausted.

You're taking a maid's pay but worrying about a mistress's affairs, right?

This is not something a maidservant earning 180 coins a month should be thinking about!

“Miss, Miss, Young Master Ouyang is so handsome!” Cai Shou’s eyes lit up.

Is this what you're focusing on?

"Otherwise, Miss, aren't you looking at this? Or are you looking at Miss Xie?"

Su Guo'er shook her head. "I was watching a public trial."

"What's so interesting about a public trial? Besides, it's quite strange. Local magistrates have so much power, couldn't Young Master Ouyang just find a pretext to confiscate Liu's property? Not to mention, he already arrested her yesterday during the wedding ceremony..."

Cai Shou looked puzzled and muttered to herself:

"Anyway, there are plenty of ways to deal with the Liu family. With so much power and the help of Miss Xie, there are a hundred ways to punish the wicked and promote the good, which is very satisfying. Why make things so complicated and have to go through a public trial?"

"The same goes for the previous audits and the two court hearings. Young Master Ouyang is good in every way, but his methods are too gentle and refined. Miss, is this what they call 'bookishness'?"

Su Guo'er's clear eyes reflected the calm figure behind the desk on the street.

Actually, she was somewhat surprised to learn last night that Ouyang Rong was going to publicly try the Liu family, and then she fell silent.

Su Guo'er gently shook her head:

"Is he just a hotheaded bookworm? I thought so too a few times before. I thought that instead of taking decisive action against the Liu family, he was being arrogant like a scholar..."

"Now it seems that the opposite is true. Ouyang Lianghan knew very well what he was going to do, or rather, what he was doing. Ouyang Lianghan was very calm from beginning to end, even a little frightening."

Cai Shou was taken aback, as if she had never heard such a comment from her young mistress before, and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

Su Guo'er sighed:

"As the local official, the county magistrate does indeed wield immense power, even though he has only just taken office. Moreover, he not only has the assistance of the Longcheng County government, but also Sister Xie, a Qi cultivator, to help him. The power he wields is not much less than that of the Liu family."

"And the Liu family has indeed incurred the wrath of the people of Longcheng County over the years, and Liu Ziwen and others are notorious for their evil deeds."

Su Guo'er paused, then nodded:

"Logically speaking, no amount of outside means is too much for Ouyang Lianghan to deal with such an enemy who has provoked righteous anger. For example, he could have found an opportunity to make the Liu brothers 'commit suicide' last night. Even if it was an unreasonable and ruthless suppression, most of the people would have applauded it."

“But Ouyang Lianghan did not do that. He always exercised restraint and kept the boundaries of his power, without abusing it in the slightest.”

Cai Shou nodded blankly, "Yes, so Young Master Ouyang is kind-hearted, but a bit too gentle and refined, isn't that right?"

“Once or twice, he might be too soft-hearted, but from the time he investigated the case in the East Warehouse until now, he has done the same every time. Even yesterday, when I heard that he was suspected of being assassinated or impersonated by the Liu family through underhanded underhanded means, he didn’t feel angry or impulsive, nor did he take revenge. He even held a public trial in the whole county today…”

Su Guo'er shook her head:

That can only mean one thing.

“Ouyang Lianghan was always very clear-headed and understood that the name of punishing evil and promoting good, and his instinct to hate evil, could not bring him, as the county magistrate, any freedom of action beyond his legal authority.”

"Furthermore, he has no obligation to exempt himself from the duty to treat all taxpayers in Longcheng—including even the Liu brothers who are on trial—equally and fairly.

"Maintaining this awareness from beginning to end, the power of the county magistrate in Ouyang Lianghan's hands is force, not violence."

"The day he took office again, he held court in the street for the first time. He said that he only came to Longcheng to do one thing. Now it seems that he has indeed been doing it all along and has never deviated from it."

The chubby-faced maid listened in a daze, then nodded in recollection and asked, "Miss, are you referring to... what Young Master Ouyang said about disaster relief, flood control, and fairness?"

Su Guo'er did not answer, but turned to Cai Shou and sighed:

“I understand what Sister Xie meant by ‘the way of the king’ now. Only someone like that can transform power into unparalleled military strength. All the onlookers, and even some of the enemies, will secretly hope for his victory.”

After a pause, the sheltered and unknown young lady of the Su family stared intently at the wall, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome of the public trial or whether a certain young magistrate would succeed. Her clear voice rang out as she preemptively declared:

“Ouyang Lianghan is eligible to enter the Divine Capital Political Affairs Hall.”

"Ah!" Cai Shou exclaimed, leaning back. "Then isn't this the talent of a prime minister?"

Su Guo'er didn't reply, her eyes fixed straight ahead, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Cai Shou had no choice but to give up and continue peering over the wall.

Just as the master and servant were chatting idly, a fierce battle was breaking out in the open-air courthouse on Deer Cry Street.

"quiet!"

Ouyang Rong slammed his hand on the table and looked around. After a moment of silence, he spoke directly:

"Liu Ziwen, do you know your crime?"

Liu Ziwen lowered his eyes and stared at the floor. "Forgive my ignorance, but I do not know what crime Your Excellency is referring to?"

Ouyang Rong turned his head and gave the order:

"Someone, bring out the witnesses and physical evidence."

Before long, Yan Liulang, accompanied by a group of constables, brought a heavy wooden bucket and placed it on the open ground of the courtroom.

Facing the gaze of the entire audience, Ouyang Rong looked around and said loudly:

"Please look, everyone. This item was found in the main chamber of the Di Gong Sluice Gate. It is filled with demon oil. There are hundreds of such wooden barrels in the Di Gong Sluice Gate. Once they are all detonated, they can easily destroy the sluice gate. I suspect that the previous sluice gate collapses were caused by this item."

After speaking, Ouyang Rong raised his chin at Yan Liulang and the others. The latter took out some oil-like liquid from the wooden bucket and gave a brief demonstration of the power of the Burning Sky Shark Oil in front of everyone.

Immediately, the bursts of fire and deafening explosions under the sunlight caused the onlookers to turn pale.

This is only a small amount. If there were hundreds of buckets of this stuff, even the sturdiest sluice gate wouldn't be able to withstand it... Instantly, waves of indignant discussion swept across the entire area.

This time, Ouyang Rong didn't waste his breath asking Liu Ziwen if he recognized the item. He directly sent someone to summon County Magistrate Diao and several of his attendants.

That day, Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang took them to Longshou Mountain to observe the secret transportation of oil.

As soon as Magistrate Diao and his attendants arrived, they immediately recounted in vivid detail how the Liu family's craftsmen had smuggled shark oil into the sluice gate that night.

Liu Ziwen's face grew increasingly gloomy.

Ouyang Rong ignored him and continued to give instructions:

"Someone, bring up the Liu family craftsmen who repaired the sluice gate, and that Yuan family official!"

"Yes, sir." Yan Liulang and the others withdrew. Not long after, Mr. Chen and the Liu family craftsmen were brought on stage, but the chubby Yuan family official was nowhere to be seen.

Yan Liulang leaned close to Ouyang Rong and whispered, "My lord, when we arrived, this person had already disappeared... He was probably dealt with by the Liu family."

"They handled it so quickly..." Ouyang Rong frowned slightly and glanced at Liu Ziwen.

However, he glanced at Mr. Chen and the others he had brought, then set aside the matter for the time being and nodded, saying:

"It's alright, that's enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang Rong suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

Bang--!

He roared at the craftsmen below: "How dare you! Why are you smuggling demonic creatures to blow up the gate? Don't you know this is a capital offense? Ten thousand lives wouldn't be enough to atone for it!"

"My lord, I'm innocent!"

Mr. Chen and the other craftsmen from the Liu family were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, their bodies trembling as they desperately kowtowed:

“We didn’t know this oil was for this purpose. We…we were just following the instructions of the Jade Cup Fairy and Master Liu. They said this oil was a protective charm that could ensure the long-term peace of Xinzha. We knew nothing about it and were just doing what they told us…Please spare us, sir.”

"I see." Ouyang Rong's lips curved into a smile, and he turned to look at Liu Ziwen:

"Liu Ziwen, as everyone knows, the swordsmiths and the priests of the Dragon King Temple are all sponsored by your Liu family and work for the Liu family. You've been misleading them behind the scenes to transport demon oil, and you still want to deny it? If you continue to deny it, you'll be lying in front of these officials, and your punishment will be even more severe."

He nodded slowly and deliberately:

"However, if you confess your guilt now and are sincere, we may consider reducing your punishment. At least, we can leave an heir for your Liu family so that it will not die out."

Liu Ziwen twitched his lips but didn't speak immediately.

Under the gaze of Ouyang Rong, Shen Xisheng, Wang Lengran, and all the scholars, commoners, merchants, and gentry present, Liu Ziwen's expression was somewhat uncertain.

At one moment, the young master of the Liu family suddenly glanced at Wang Lengran at the head of the table, and then with a "thump," he immediately knelt down, his face full of remorse:

"Lord Ouyang, Lord Wang, Lord Shen, this humble subject confesses that it was due to my foolishness and poor judgment in judging people that I unwittingly became an accomplice."

Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Poor judgment of character? Accomplice?"

Liu Ziwen nodded vigorously:

"It's because I didn't know how to judge people. That charlatan, the Jade Cup Fairy, deceived me. She told me that these demon oils were for cleaning the sluice gate and asked me to transport them to the inner gate, saying that they could protect the newly built Di Gong Sluice Gate."

Ouyang Rong smiled and said, "Then why did you smuggle it in secretly? You could have reported it to the government, but you chose to smuggle it in at night and even concealed it. What were your intentions?"

Liu Ziwen shook his head: "It was all instigated by that witch. She even told me not to make a fuss. I don't know why, but I was just trying to be kind. I never expected to be used by that witch! Fortunately, Lord Ouyang is discerning and saw through her tricks!"

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but glance at Liu Ziwen's sincere and tearful expression, and he sighed:

"So, this sorcerer called Jade Cup Fairy used evil magic to impersonate me and assassinate Lord Shen, and that was her own decision?"

Liu Ziwen nodded vigorously, his face full of sincerity: "That's right, I had no idea before."

Ouyang Rong stared at him for a while, then suddenly chuckled, "Liu Ziwen, Liu Ziwen, alright then."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young magistrate suddenly turned his head and gestured with his chin toward a certain spot in the crowd ahead.

In an instant, the crowded wall of people parted, and a figure in a dashing white dress stepped out first.

"Kneel down!" Xie Lingjiang personally dragged a disheveled, fat woman in a black robe forward and threw her onto the ground in front of everyone.

Last night, to prevent Liu from resorting to desperate measures to silence witnesses or for the demoness to escape, Xie Lingjiang personally guarded the prison.

Moreover, Ouyang Rong specifically arranged for Liu Ziwen to appear on stage separately from these witnesses today to prevent threats and collusion.

Ouyang Rong sighed at the listless Jade Cup Fairy:

"Did you hear what Liu Ziwen just said? The assassination attempt on me at Donglin Temple, the attempt to impersonate me to assassinate Lord Shen at Digong Gate, and the smuggling of demon oil into the inner gate of Digong Gate—all these capital offenses were decided by you alone."

"You... a proper eighth-grade Qi cultivator, are you going to be Liu Ziwen's scapegoat?"

The Jade Cup Fairy, whose ropes had been temporarily untied, struggled to her feet. She trembled all over and turned sharply to glare angrily at Liu Ziwen.

The latter, without looking away, spoke first with a wronged expression:

"Why are you looking at me like that, fairy? Are you still trying to deny it? Isn't all of this something you've been doing by using the Liu family? I advise you to explain yourself to the magistrate and stop making baseless accusations. Hey, our Liu family has treated you with utmost respect and honor all these years, but that's no excuse for you to frame us..."

Ouyang Rong said coldly, "Shut up, let her speak first."

Liu Ziwen sighed, and the Jade Cup Fairy immediately opened her mouth and cursed, "You, Liu Ziwen..."

But the next second, her voice abruptly stopped.

In the center of the open space, a woman in a black robe with her face smeared with paint stood with her mouth wide open, making "uh uh" sounds. Her body swayed, and blood began to flow from her seven orifices.

Bang! The Jade Cup Fairy fell in front of Liu Ziwen, whose expression remained unchanged.

The entire audience was suddenly taken aback.

At this moment, a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance permeated the air.

My teeth have been hurting for the past two days...

(End of this chapter)