Chapter 49 Finalization
"I will definitely handle this impartially." Li Si did not make any promise.
Zhao Yuanxi didn't care and asked, "Li Qing came here, do you need any more evidence?"
"I hope the Queen Mother will let me take the prisoner's wife and children away."
Although Li Si was already inclined towards the Queen Mother, he could not accept that his wife and children were controlled by the defendant, as this would seriously affect the defendant's testimony.
"Yes, Zhang Han will bring them here. However, I need to say this: I'm leaving the people in your hands. Li Qing must return them to me in one piece."
"Yes!" Li Si responded with a bow.
The woman came over with her child, and when she saw Zhao Yuanxi, she began to cry and plead for her man.
Zhao Yuanxi said calmly, "Whether he can survive depends on himself."
"Yes, I will definitely convince him!"
These days, they have been staying in Yongcheng, and their food and accommodation are provided by the Queen Mother's people. Although a woman always puts her husband first in everything, she is not ungrateful.
When they were in Xianyang, Cheng Kuan did a lot for Weiyang Jun, but now he just abandoned him, leaving the mother and son to be bullied in Xianyang.
The woman had already understood that if they followed the Queen Mother, they would still have a chance to survive, but if they still relied on Lord Wei Yang, they would only be waiting for death.
Zhao Yuanxi nodded and signaled Li Si that he could take the person away.
Li Si's eyes were full of confusion. He was not like those people in Yongcheng who had never dealt with the Queen Mother. Before the king took power, he needed the Queen Mother's approval for everything he did.
After so many years of contact, he already knew the Queen Mother very well, but now he had some doubts. Was the person in front of him really the Queen Mother?
Li Si suppressed his confusion for the time being and took people to handle the case.
When the county magistrate of Yongcheng heard that the Chief Justice had arrived, he was both surprised and delighted. The county magistrate was also a member of the Legalist school and had great respect for Li Si, the current number one figure in the Legalist school.
He slapped his thigh excitedly, thinking about what to say when he saw the Chief Justice later, or whether he should calm down and let the Chief Justice see that he was doing things in an orderly manner.
Seeing the county magistrate pacing excitedly in the room, the county magistrate's eyes were filled with helplessness. "Li Tingwei is not here to see you. He is just here to handle a case. There is no need to be so excited."
The county magistrate had an expression that said you don’t understand.
That’s Li Si!
After Li Si arrived, since the case had already been investigated, he asked Cheng Kuan to repeat his testimony.
Wei Yangjun was uneasy, and upon hearing Cheng Kuan's confession, he was enraged. He drew the sword from his waist and slashed at Cheng Kuan, "Cheng Kuan, you are so mean! I used to treat you as my confidant, but now you dare to frame me!"
The long sword was only half a foot away from Cheng Kuan's face. Fortunately, the prison official reacted quickly and knocked the sword away.
Wei Yangjun was already quite old, and the martial arts he had learned were just fancy ones, without much strength. Instead, he was suddenly hit by the prison official, and he lost his balance and staggered back two steps, with his hands numb from the shock!
Seeing that Weiyang Jun dared to commit a crime here, Li Si's face was gloomy and terrifying. "How dare you! Do you think Qin law is nothing?"
Wei Yangjun seemed to have just come to his senses, and tremblingly said, "I was just impulsive, I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
Li Si now felt that Wei Yangjun had brought all of this upon himself. Even if the Queen Mother was not around today, he would still be in trouble in the future!
Li Si said to Cheng Kuan, "Go on and tell me everything you know."
Cheng Kuan knelt on the ground and recounted what had happened before, then said loudly, "Weiyang Jun promised me that if I could capture the paper mill, he would reward me with 100 gold coins and the others with 10 gold coins. In addition, Weiyang Jun also gave me some money to buy some wine."
Cheng Kuan handed over the purse, on which the word "Li" was embroidered. It was undoubtedly Wei Yangjun's purse.
"What can this prove? It's obvious that he stole the purse himself!" Wei Yangjun was determined not to plead guilty.
Li Si pressed on, "You two were drinking together? So he took the purse while you were drinking?"
"Of course!" Wei Yangjun snorted coldly.
"Then do you remember how much money is in your purse? Do you have any extra purses?"
"How can I remember? Anyway, it was stolen by this thief! This is the only purse I have."
"He was the only one with you at the time?"
Wei Yangjun frowned, "Of course."
"Then how did you pay for the wine?" Li Si asked coldly.
Wei Yangjun broke out in a cold sweat. "I, I remembered it wrongly. The purse disappeared after that! It was still there when we were drinking."
"This purse was given to me by Lord Weiyang after he paid for the wine. The waiter in the tavern also saw it at that time." Cheng Kuan shouted.
Weiyang Jun finally became frightened and shouted, "I don't want to attend the trial anymore! I want to see the Queen Mother! I want to see the Queen Mother!"
As long as the Queen Mother forgives him, he will be fine. He now wishes he could sew up his own mouth for saying such harsh words. It would have been fine if he just admitted his mistake!
"Silence! Even if the Queen Mother were here, you would not be spared from punishment!"
Li Si began to condemn them. "Yingli, the Lord of Weiyang, is a member of the royal family and should serve as a role model for the common people. However, his salary is insufficient, yet he acts like a wolf, sending his henchmen to seize others' property. He coerces his subordinates into committing crimes, betraying the integrity of the royal family and showing disrespect for Qin law. Therefore, he is punished for multiple crimes: his royal salary will be deprived of his rice and salary, and his rank will be reduced by three levels."
"Those who are forced to follow in the lead shall be flogged thirty times and all of them shall be branded and sentenced to five years of hard labor in the city."
"Do you have any objections?"
No one dared to speak.
Lord Weiyang collapsed to the ground. He had been a prince of Qin since he was born, enjoying wealth and glory. But now, not only was his salary gone, but his title was also demoted three levels, from a marquis to a minister. How could he gain a foothold in Xianyang?
Ying Li regrets it!
He only thought about making more money, but he didn't expect to end up in this situation.
He felt that he was very miserable, but Cheng Kuan and others were even more miserable.
Chengdan is hard labor sentenced to build city walls or guard the city. Only a handful of people can survive these five years. Although Cheng Kuan and others are still alive now, it is equivalent to slowly sending them to death.
Even so, he was already satisfied with this result. He held his wife's hand, tears streaming down his face, and said, "If I hadn't come back, you would have found a good family to marry!"
The woman wept bitterly, shaking her head and saying, "My concubine and I will be waiting for you here. My dear, please hold on."
Cheng Kuan's eyes were filled with tears as he nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of reluctance.
The case was judged. Li Si was about to go back to report to the King of Qin. His eyes fell on the woman. Thinking of the Queen Mother's instructions before leaving, he took people to send her back to Liyang Palace.
After listening to Zhang Han's account of what happened, Zhao Yuanxi couldn't help but feel somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that Weiyang Jun had escaped punishment by using his title instead of punishment. And what about the common soldiers who were punished to repair the city wall?
But that was the Qin law, she couldn't change it, and even Li Si, who was standing in front of her, didn't have that ability.
But is it really impossible to change?
Zhao Yuanxi looked into the distance and fell into deep thought.
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