Zhu Yunwen paid no attention to the fact that the county magistrate's daughter had summoned many constables to arrest him while he was standing upside down.

He wandered around the outside of the government office on his own, and then saw a small government office next to it, which seemed to be hearing a case.

This small government office is called the Court of Judicial Review, where a seventh-rank judge in the prefectural government tries cases within the prefecture.

If this judge were in modern times, he would be considered the head of the Public Security Bureau.

In ancient times, they were responsible for various criminal and security matters and adjudication within a prefecture.

In a prefecture, all cases tried by the local county government had to be submitted to the Criminal Justice Bureau for review by the judge.

If there are no problems, an instruction will be given; if there are problems, the investigation will continue.

So, the magistrate was basically in charge of all kinds of cases in the prefecture and between the counties.

They are also responsible for directly handling cases. For example, if some people feel that the local county government has handled the case incorrectly, they can apply to the judicial office for a higher-level handling of the case.

So the court of law was usually quite bustling. Many people came here frequently to have their cases handled.

Just as Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu arrived outside the Judicial Office, they happened to hear the sounds of a trial being conducted inside.

Zhu Yunwen originally intended to come and inspect the place, and since he had come here, he naturally wanted to see how capable and attentive the Court of Judicial Review was in handling cases.

Is this biased?

So Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu went to the Court of Judicial Review, where trials were open to the public and people could come and watch, but very few people actually came to watch.

After Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu went inside, in the main hall of the Criminal Justice Bureau, a middle-aged man of about forty years old, dressed in a seventh-rank official robe, was sitting in the seat of honor.

He frowned, his face exuding an air of dominance, and looked down at the couple below before saying:

“Woman, you say that Li Dayong sneaked into your house at night while your husband was away with malicious intent, but there is no evidence and no witnesses. Based solely on your statement, it is difficult to determine the nature of this matter.”

Upon hearing this, the woman below immediately spoke up:

"My lord, would I, a woman, risk my innocence? Since he did nothing to me, why would I sue him? This concerns my reputation!"

Upon hearing this, the judge thought about it carefully and found it to make sense. He then addressed the other man kneeling below:

"Li Dayong, what do you have to say about this matter?"

Li Dayong, who also looked honest and simple, said in despair:

"My lord, I'm innocent! How could I have the guts? Besides, it's the middle of the night, how would I know if her husband was home? And how could I dare to go to her house and harass her?"

The woman immediately said:

"That's utter nonsense. You live right next door to me. Don't you know whether my husband is home or not? You just wanted to do something to me, but you failed, so you won't admit it."

"Besides, I've had a feeling something was off about you for a while now. You're always looking at me with those lecherous eyes, I bet you've been plotting something against me for ages, and now you still won't admit it?"

After the woman finished speaking, she immediately looked at the magistrate and continued:

"My lord, you must do me justice! This lecherous man tried to take advantage of me while my husband was away. What will happen if he succeeds?"

The judge then said:

"So, from what you're saying, he didn't succeed?"

The woman nodded and said:

"I fought back desperately, so he didn't succeed; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

The judge then looked at the honest-looking man and said:

"Li Dayong, I ask you again, do you admit to breaking into her house in the middle of the night with malicious intent?"

If this is true, I advise you to admit it immediately; otherwise, if evidence is found or the matter is uncovered, things will not be so easy.

Li Dayong continued to shake his head, saying:

"My lord, this is absolutely not true. I would never do such a thing. If you really can't believe it, you can ask the neighbors around you. What kind of person am I, Li Dayong? Would I do such a shameful thing?"

Besides, sir, you may doubt my character, but you cannot question my judgment. Look at this woman, all fat and plump, resembling a sow; how could I possibly be interested in her?

Upon hearing this, the magistrate glanced at the woman and, sure enough, it was true. The woman was extremely fat and had a fierce face; she was clearly not a kind person.

Moreover, once this woman entered the courtroom, she became eloquent and displayed a very assertive attitude.

On the other hand, Li Dayong had trouble speaking several times, which shows he was rather timid and afraid of trouble. It's hard to believe that he sneaked into the tigress's house in the middle of the night with malicious intent.

Of course, this alone cannot completely absolve Li Dayong of suspicion, as it is not a valid reason.

As for the woman, after hearing Li Dayong's words, she flew into a rage, pointing her finger at Li Dayong's nose and saying:

"You bastard, how dare you call me ugly? How dare you call me fat? I'm not letting this go..."

Li Dayong, on the verge of tears, said:

"I... it's the truth. Look at your face. If I said I was interested in you, wouldn't I be laughed at by everyone here? I'd rather work a couple more days and spend the money to go to a brothel than have any thoughts about you."

These words enraged the woman. As if her tail had been stepped on, she pointed at Li Dayong's nose and cursed:

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