"You damned dog, you're looking down on me now? Let me tell you, no matter what you say today, no matter what you say, the fact remains that you had ulterior motives towards me."

After she finished speaking, the lady's eyes darted around, and she suddenly said to the judge:

"My lord, I have some more evidence, but it is rather difficult to say it out loud, as it would be beneath my dignity. So I would like to tell you this in private. Is that alright?"

The magistrate looked at the woman with a puzzled expression. The woman gave the magistrate a knowing look, and the magistrate seemed to understand. Then he said:

"Considering that the woman does value her reputation, some of her words may serve as evidence, but they are not suitable to be spoken publicly. Very well, come forward and speak only to me."

The woman nodded, then quickly walked to the table, leaned forward slightly, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“My lord, I have an acre of fertile land outside the city. In the sweet potato field there, we dug out one tael of silver before, and I estimate there are still ten taels of silver inside. If you are interested, my lord, you may have someone dig it out.”

The judge's eyes lit up, and then he whispered to the woman:

"Excellent! I never expected to be so lucky as to be able to dig up silver."

The woman then said:

"My lord, about today's case..."

The judge smiled slightly and said:

"You may leave now; I will make my decision."

The woman smiled slightly, then stepped back and knelt down again.

The judge, with a serious expression, then said:

"The evidence that the woman just presented to me can be considered irrefutable. However, this evidence is indeed very damaging to the woman's reputation and cannot be made public."

However, this judge is impartial, and I know the evidence is irrefutable; therefore, I can make my decision. Below, criminal Li Dayong, do you still not plead guilty?

Li Dayong looked completely bewildered and said:

"What crime should I confess to? I didn't do it. Besides, what evidence is so difficult to talk about that it can't be made public?"

"Fine, even if it can't be made public, can't you at least tell me, this so-called sinner? Surely you can't hide anything from me, can you?"

The judge was immediately enraged and rebuked:

"You scoundrel, are you questioning me? Today, I will only ask you whether you plead guilty or not. If you do not plead guilty, then I will have no choice but to torture you until you do."

Li Dayong was filled with despair and said helplessly:

"My lord, I am truly innocent! This woman must have deceived you with some words. I did not do this at all, so what evidence does she have? Please investigate thoroughly, my lord."

The judge slammed his hand on the table:

"What else is there to investigate? After I learned of this evidence, I knew the matter was irrefutable and there was no room for your sophistry."

Since you refuse to admit it and instead engage in such sophistry and question this official, then don't blame me for being impolite.

"Guards, give him twenty strokes of the cane. If he still doesn't confess, then bring forth all sorts of tortures."

Li Dayong was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he kowtowed in despair, saying:

"Your Honor, please investigate! I didn't do this! I didn't do it! Aren't you trying to force a confession out of me? I'm innocent! You can't believe this woman's one-sided story..."

The judge snorted coldly and said:

"Are you still going to be stubborn? Or are you questioning this official?"

Then Li Dayong hurriedly added:

“I dare not question you, but I am worried that you will be deceived by this woman. By the way, this woman was arguing with me about a piece of open space in front of the courtyard before.”

She's definitely trying to frame me because of this so she can get the land. My lord, don't let her trick you!

The judge slammed his gavel and said:

"You scoundrel, still trying to defend yourself with your clever words? I have solid evidence, but it is inconvenient to disclose it. You are guilty beyond redemption. Guards, bring on the torture!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several bailiffs stepped forward and placed Li Dayong directly on a bench, preparing to give him twenty strokes of the cane.

Li Dayong also lay despairingly on the bench, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Just as the bailiff was about to administer the beating, Zhu Yunwen suddenly spoke up:

"Wait a moment………"

As soon as he said this, everyone present turned to look at him, and at the same time, the judge also spoke up:

"Who is giving orders arbitrarily in the courtroom?"

Zhu Yunwen stepped forward from the crowd, walked to the steps below the courtroom, and said:

"It's me..."

The magistrate looked at Zhu Yunwen. Although Zhu Yunwen was dressed in fine clothes, he did not recognize him and said without any politeness:

"Who do you think you are, daring to arbitrarily terminate an order issued by this official in court?"