Chapter 141 ABO Results Changed (19)
19
In the courtroom with tens of thousands of people, the three members of the Shen family were like monsters being skinned and put on display for public display. They revealed their true colors in the judgement seat, struggling and rolling around. Even though their mouths were blocked, they continued to make strange noises.
Zhu Qingchen held the microphone and looked at them steadily.
That day, he accompanied Shi Ran to meet the Shen couple. Before leaving, he suddenly had the urge to test the Shen couple.
Unexpectedly, this one test gave him a clue.
After returning, he and Gu Yan checked the profits that the Shen family had earned over the years. Sure enough, just like pulling out radishes, a bunch of things came up.
Zhu Qingchen and Gu Yan did not make these things public for the time being, but secretly sent people to continue the investigation.
First, there are quite a few officials implicated in the Shen family's affairs. If it were announced early, it might alert the enemy and scare away those behind the Shen family.
Secondly, by the time the trial began, the matter had been investigated almost completely, and Zhu Qingchen happened to speak it out in court.
He took advantage of Shi Ran to curry favor with the powerful, embezzled Shi Ran's pension, replaced Shi Ran's quota, and restarted Shi Ran's father's military number.
Each of these points is enough to make the Shen family fall to the bottom in public opinion and be doomed.
If the public had known these things earlier, the results would not be what they are today.
Zhu Qingchen turned his head and looked at Gu Yan: "The investigation team sent by the Marshal is still investigating these matters in depth."
Gu Yan nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I can testify to that."
As soon as these words were spoken, the officials sitting in the jury box with Gu Yan all changed their expressions.
After all, the Shen family has been developing for so many years, how could they have no contact with the Shen family at all?
They originally thought that if the Shen family fell, nothing would happen as long as they quickly avoided suspicion.
But unexpectedly, the marshal dug up all the previous things. What should I do? What if they are found?
Shi Ran sat in the witness stand, watching the scene in front of him. He didn't feel refreshed, but suddenly felt a little discouraged.
In this scam that used and targeted him, the Shen family was certainly the main culprit, but which officials sitting on the jury were accomplices?
In this conspiracy that lasted for more than ten years, the Shen family took root in the flesh and blood of him and his parents, and continued to grow and develop.
The time span is so long and the Shen family has done so many things. If only one official dared to refuse the Shen family's improper demands, if only one official helped him call the police, or simply reminded him, things would not have turned out like this.
He was undoubtedly lucky. He waited for ten years and finally found a good teacher. He had the opportunity to go to court and fight for his own rights.
But what if he hadn't met the teacher? What would have happened to him?
What will happen to the other bullied war orphans who have never met a teacher?
Shi Ran sighed, turned to look at the teacher, his nose felt sore and he almost cried.
Zhu Qingchen continued: "This is the bank account information of the Shen family over the years. This is Shen Xiuping's handwritten application for admission to the military academy. This is the application for Shen Xiuping's father's number when he entered the military."
"Although the investigation is still ongoing, the existing evidence is sufficient to prove what the Shen family did to Shi Ran."
“Even though the Shen family raised Shi Ran and never treated him badly in terms of material things, all of this is nothing compared to what they got from Shi Ran.”
"The Shen family gained countless amounts of money, fame, connections, and status from 'adopting Shi Ran'. They have no gratitude towards Shi Ran for educating him, only suspicion of using him."
“The Imperial Orphans Law should be a law to protect those soldiers who unfortunately died in the war, a law to protect the orphans of soldiers, and not a law to protect adoptive families.”
"Therefore, I propose that the sentence for the Shen family should not follow the 'lenient treatment' clause in the Orphan Law."
The three judges looked at each other, and the chief judge nodded: "Agree."
"Thank you, Judge." Zhu Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief and finally said, "Based on the above accusations, our demands are as follows—"
"First, please ask the court to terminate Shi Ran's adoption relationship with the Shen family, and let Shi Ran voluntarily choose a new guardian."
"Second, seal up and count the existing assets of the Shen family to compensate Shi Ran for the embezzled property and mental damages."
"Third, I ask the court to sentence the three members of the Shen family to death..." Zhu Qingchen paused, "death penalty."
Zhu Qingchen's tone was calm and unperturbed.
But the word "death penalty" is like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing huge waves!
Sitting in the judgement seat, the three members of the Shen family were stunned.
Death penalty?!
After this confrontation, they all knew clearly that they would lose the lawsuit.
But they still comforted themselves in their hearts.
Even if they lost, they would not lose badly. At most, they would be exiled to a garbage planet for life. As long as they were alive, there would be a chance for them to turn the tables.
Even if they couldn't climb back to their original high position, they must crawl back to the capital, strangle Zhu Qingchen to death, and take him away with them.
But who could have thought that Zhu Qingchen actually wanted the court to sentence them to death? !
If they die, what chance will there be?
No! They can't die!
The three men suddenly raised their heads, and their extremely resentful eyes stabbed at Zhu Qingchen like poisonous snakes.
Zhu Qingchen just turned around and looked at them with an indifferent expression, as if he could see through their thoughts at a glance.
His gaze was so calm that the Shen family couldn't help but shudder.
The three of them were panicked. The resentment in their eyes was suppressed and replaced by endless fear.
What to do? What to do now?
They really want...
The sound of the judge's gavel brought them back to their senses.
"The jury is invited to deliberate."
By the way, according to imperial law, sentencing a prisoner to death requires a jury vote.
As long as the jury votes less than half, the death penalty cannot be carried out, and the highest sentence the court can impose is life exile.
The Shen family finally reacted and rekindled their hope. They cast their gazes towards the jury box, squeezed out two tears, and looked at them eagerly.
There were many officials in the jury box who had close ties with their family.
There were banquets, dances, and gift exchanges, and it was all very cordial and warm back then.
We've given so many gifts, eaten so many meals, and called each other brothers for so many years. Now let them vote, just to vote to keep them alive, to save their lives. That should be fine, right?
But the next second, the Shen family's hearts sank.
Officials who were familiar with them would immediately turn their heads away and avoid their gazes the moment they met their eyes.
Yes, the Marshal is still sending people to thoroughly investigate what the Shen family has done, and none of them wants to be involved with the Shen family.
so……
Shen Xiuping suddenly thought of something, opened his eyes wide, turned his head sharply to look at his parents, and made a "woohoo" sound.
Will they all vote to execute them in order to prevent the Marshal from investigating?
As long as all the members of the Shen family are dead, everything will end here and no one else will be implicated.
This is the best way and the fastest way.
Shen's father and mother obviously thought of this and became anxious.
They struggled in their chairs, trying to make a noise to attract the jury's attention.
But the officials in the jury box didn't even look at them, as if they didn't know them at all.
Shi Ran looked at the Shen family, then at the jury seat, and suddenly felt powerless.
He turned his head and called out softly, "Teacher."
Zhu Qingchen asked quietly: "What's wrong?"
Shi Ran's face didn't look very good, he hesitated to speak: "I..."
Zhu Qingchen comforted him: "It will be over soon, just hold on a little longer."
“Yeah.” Shi Ran approached the teacher and whispered, “Teacher, I suddenly don’t know what the meaning of this is. I won’t be the last one to be…”
Zhu Qingchen quickly stretched out a finger and shushed him, then looked around to make sure that no one noticed them talking and that the live broadcast equipment was not facing them.
"You can't say this here. Let's talk about it when we get back."
It would be bad if someone heard or recorded it.
"Yeah." Shi Ran nodded and regained his spirits.
No matter what, it is something to be happy about that he got his revenge and justice for his parents.
Don't be dejected and make a fool of yourself.
In the jury box, voting on the death penalty for the Shen family was proceeding in an orderly manner.
The results came out very quickly.
The judge took a quick look at the voting results, and finally announced that Shi Ran had sued the Shen family for violating the "Imperial Orphan Law" and was found guilty. In addition, the Shen family had long been mentally controlling Shi Ran and occupying Shi Ran's property and quota, among other charges -
Shi Ran was sentenced to sever ties with his adoptive family and to change his guardian on his own initiative; all the Shen family’s properties were ordered to be sealed up and counted, and compensation was imposed on Shi Ran.
It is proposed to sentence Shen Xiuping and the Shen couple to death!
Because they still need to cooperate with the follow-up investigation, the time of the death penalty is still uncertain, so it is only a "tentative sentence". Once all the investigations are completed, the formal sentencing can be carried out.
The "proposed sentence" is also to put some pressure on them. If they behave well and confess their crimes during the investigation, they may be exempted from the death penalty and sentenced to exile instead.
This move was to guard against those officials who were eager to kill the Shen family on the spot.
Although they were prepared, the three members of the Shen family couldn't help but go crazy when they heard the verdict.
How can that be?
How can they die?
Father Shen's mouth was not blocked. He looked at Shen Xiuping with his mouth blocked and tears streaming down his face, and tried to remain silent to maintain his image.
But when he heard that he was sentenced to death, he couldn't help but shout out: "Minister Chen! Dean Wang! How could you do this to us?! You also..."
The person he called out to was panicked, stood up in a flash, and pointed at him: "Nonsense! Quick! Shut his mouth!"
Zhu Qingchen and Gu Yan were far apart. They looked at each other and smiled, feeling quite helpless.
The final report of the investigation team has not come out yet, and they are only dealing with the Shen family’s court trial scene. This is all they can do today for now.
But at least they achieved a phased victory, which is not too bad.
The Shen family was taken away by the soldiers. They almost fainted and no longer had the strength to shout.
It was like three empty shells being dragged away.
They will be sent to a specific prison pod to await further investigation and eventual execution.
The judge struck the gavel, announcing the end of today's trial.
Shi Ran stood up along with the others.
The melody of the Imperial Anthem came from the radio. Shi Ran raised his right hand and wanted to sing along, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
He couldn't sing to Minister Chen and Dean Wang who were safe and sound in the jury box, or to the other accomplices.
Shi Ran went to see the teacher quietly:? ! ! !
The teacher didn't sing either, he was even playing with his fingers.
The teacher is so brave!
Shi Ran suddenly had a bold idea in his mind. Could it be that the teacher also...
*
After the trial, we returned to the Marshal's Mansion to have lunch and take a short rest. There was also a press conference in the afternoon.
The entire empire is paying attention to the Shen family's trial. There are some issues that were not mentioned in the court but the people want to know, and they must be made clear to them.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhu Qingchen, Gu Yan, Shi Ran, and the chief judge in the morning sat side by side at the press conference.
The seats below were filled with reporters, with countless devices pointed at them, constantly snapping pictures.
The chief judge's voice was extremely serious: "Wang Fu, the former head of the Examination Yuan and one of the persons in charge of this imperial unified examination, was convicted of accepting bribes, disrupting the order of the examination room, and assisting others in tampering with the examinees' scores. He was sentenced to thirty years of exile."
"Former military general, Shen Xiuping, and Shen Xiuping's parents have been convicted of embezzling Shi Ran's property, deceiving and enticing minors, and occupying Shi Ran's quota. They are to be sentenced to death. The sentence will be carried out after the investigation team completes its investigation."
Zhu Qingchen couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips.
Every time he heard the verdict, he was happy.
Gu Yan beside him whispered to him: "Zhu Qingqing, you smile too brightly."
Zhu Qingchen turned his head and curled his eyes at him: "Just smile, just smile."
The presiding judge introduced the basic situation and then entered the question-and-answer session with reporters.
As soon as the chief judge finished speaking, all the reporters in the audience raised their hands.
He randomly selected a reporter and the soldier handed the reporter the microphone.
The reporter cleared his throat and said, "I want to ask Shi Ran, how did you feel when you took your adoptive family, the Shen family, to court?"
Zhu Qingchen frowned slightly and the smile on his face slowly disappeared.
What is this reporter asking? Why would anyone ask this right at the start?
If he understood correctly, the hidden meaning behind this question was——
How could you bear to take your adoptive family to court?
Shi Ran held the microphone in front of him, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't know what mood I'm in, nor do I know what mood I should be in. At that time, I only had one thought in my mind, which was——"
"I want justice for me and my parents."
Shi Ran put down the microphone. Zhu Qingchen looked unhappy and pursed his lips slightly.
The reporter probably realized that the question he asked was not quite right, so he laughed twice and asked again: "Then may I ask Shi Ran, what are your plans for your future life?"
Shi Ran picked up the microphone again: "As for the guardian, I have severed my relationship with the Shen family. I will apply for Teacher Zhu to be my new guardian. I will also give the compensation I received to Teacher Zhu. Please manage it for me."
"As for academics, after the Examination Yuan helped me restore my grades, I have already filled out my application form with other candidates and am just waiting for the admission results to come out. My first goal is to attend military school. I hope to inherit my parents' unfinished work and continue to fight against the Zerg."
"Okay, thank you for your answer, Shi Ran. I wish you good academic performance and a happy life."
The reporter returned the microphone to the soldier, who randomly selected another reporter.
Another reporter stood up and said, "I am a reporter from the Empire Daily. This question is a bit sharp, but not only me, but also many people in the Star Network have always wanted to ask Mr. Zhu."
Zhu Qingchen raised his eyes slightly and held the microphone: "Please speak."
"Okay." The reporter looked at him. "Some netizens on Star Online said: 'The Shen family invited Zhu Qingchen to teach the students. Since Zhu Qingchen found out something was wrong at the beginning, why didn't he call the police? Why did he deliberately deceive the Shen family? Why did he wait until things got really serious before coming forward to testify?'"
"Some netizens also said: 'Zhu Qingchen deliberately carried out a sting operation. Just for this reason, neither side is a good person.'"
"So I want to know, how do you define the time you worked as a tutor in the Shen family? Do you think you are a double agent? Do you think your actions are deception or sting enforcement?"
Zhu Qingchen tilted his head, his face slightly gloomy.
The reporter smiled and said, "Mr. Zhu, please don't mind. I am just relaying the questions from the Star Network people. Everyone wants to know the answers to these questions."
Zhu Qingchen also curled his lips: "I'm not angry, I'm just surprised that a professional reporter would ask such an unprofessional question."
He should have known this long ago. This was the behavior of these reporters when he had dealt with them before.
Zhu Qingchen sat up straight: "Okay, since you asked, I will briefly answer this question."
"The first question is, since I noticed something was wrong at the beginning, why didn't I call the police and deal with it, instead of making a big deal out of it?"
"At that time, the Shen family had the youngest general in the empire and two retired high-ranking guards. Shi Ran and I were an ordinary student and a rose of the empire, a flower without lethality."
"Excuse me, how can we fight against the Shen family without evidence and connections? What will happen to the Shen family if we call the police in advance? They will immediately suppress everything with their own connections. Shi Ran will still be forced to get married, and I will disappear from this world."
"I admit that I deliberately delayed for a few months. During these months, I taught Shi Ran how to act and relax Shen Xiuping's vigilance; I taught Shi Ran how to collect evidence and how to protect himself. Because we know that no one can help us except ourselves, we can only keep a low profile and take our time."
"May I ask this reporter, if you were me, what would you do? Do you have a better way?"
The reporter's face gradually became ugly and he didn't say anything.
Zhu Qingchen extended his hand to him, made a "please" gesture, and added: "Welcome to communicate with me." The reporter raised the microphone, and his tone was also angry: "Mr. Zhu, you misunderstood, I just relayed what the netizens said, that's all, you shouldn't ask me if I have a better solution, you should ask the netizens."
Zhu Qingchen said, "I also surf the Internet. As far as I know, less than one in ten thousand netizens on StarNet hold this view. My journalist friend has painstakingly collected these views, which account for less than one in ten thousand, and brought them to me. I can only suspect that you also support these views."
The reporter explained: "You misunderstood. I really don't support this view. I agree with your approach."
He originally wanted to grab the spotlight and take advantage of the popularity, thinking that Zhu Qingchen had a good temper and would not bother with him, but who knew...
"Well, it seems that you really don't support it." Zhu Qingchen did not dwell on it too much and continued, "Second question, you just asked me whether I think I am a double agent or a sting operation."
"First of all, I am definitely not a double agent. From the beginning to the end, I have always been on Shi Ran's side. During my time as a tutor, I helped keep Shi Ran's mecha books, took him to operate mechas, helped him cover up, and taught him the principles of life."
"I have a clear conscience about these things."
Shi Ran looked at the teacher seriously and nodded vigorously.
Yes, the teacher is right!
"Secondly, I definitely did not conduct a sting operation. I did not instigate Shen Xiuping to harass Shi Ran, nor did I instigate Shen Xiuping to falsify Shi Ran's test scores. I certainly did not hold Shen Xiuping's hand and force him to do anything."
"Everything was done by Shen Xiuping himself. He would do it whether I was there or not."
"The only difference my existence brings is whether Shen Xiuping succeeds."
Zhu Qingchen picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip: "The third question is how do I view my own behavior."
"As far as I am concerned, I am certainly smart and clever, brave and kind, wise and brave, perfect in all things, and I have no shame in front of anyone."
Zhu Qingchen used several idioms in one breath to praise himself.
He looked at the reporter: "Hmm? What do you think?"
The reporter nodded awkwardly: "I think so too, I think so too."
Zhu Qingchen smiled and said, "Next."
Zhu Qingchen responded to the reporters in a neither soft nor hard way. The following reporters behaved themselves more and stopped asking random questions, focusing on the verdict itself.
Just when Zhu Qingchen had just relaxed, suddenly, a reporter took the microphone, stood up, and asked: “Many netizens on Starnet believe that no matter what, Shen Xiuping’s feelings for Shi Ran are sincere.”
Shi Ran suddenly raised his head and his eyes pierced forward like arrows.
Zhu Qingchen was just about to drink some water when his hand holding the paper cup suddenly tightened, causing the water in the cup to spill onto his suit, soaking a large area.
The reporter continued, "There are also some fan fictions based on the two people on Starnet, so I would like to ask Shi Ran, what are your feelings towards Shen Xiuping..."
Before the reporter could finish his words, Zhu Qingchen threw away the crumpled cup of water, grabbed the microphone, and interrupted him: "Excuse me, which netizen is this?"
Shi Ran finally escaped from the clutches of the Shen family, but could he still not escape the fate of being tied to Shen Xiuping?
Writing the original book in the original book, right? Infinite nesting dolls, right?
The reporter was stunned for a moment. Shi Ran held the microphone and said sternly, "So what Teacher Zhu said in court this morning was all in vain? Until now, there are still people who think that Shen Xiuping's feelings for me are not control, but 'genuine feelings'?"
"I emphasize again that Shen Xiuping's feelings for me are controlling. He wants to marry me because he has taken my place in the military academy and the military department. He trapped me at home and prevented me from discovering the truth."
"I feel disgusted with him! Very disgusting! If anyone likes Shen Xiuping, they can ask to visit him in prison! Take care of him until he is executed, and then commit suicide with him and die with him!"
Shi Ran’s face flushed and he almost shouted the last sentence.
Zhu Qingchen held his hand, patted the back of his hand, and calmed him down.
He stood up and said seriously: "Maybe what I said just now was not clear, let me repeat it again-"
"As far as I know, every comment on Starnet against me and Shi Ran has basically been refuted; the so-called fan works were also taken down after being complained by the public within less than a day of being published!"
"Everyone here is a professional journalist. Please stop asking irrelevant and inexplicable questions under the banner of 'Netizens say' or 'Netizens ask'. Most netizens have never asked such questions!"
"As professional journalists, you have never guided the public to think about the causes behind this incident; you have never guided the public to think about the lag of the Orphans Law and the difficulties of orphans in defending their rights."
"This is a huge case that involves thousands of adoptive families and the imperial system, and you, even now, are still only interested in gossip!"
"This is the official press conference of the Empire, not the Animal World! You are reporters, not editors of a gossip news weekly!"
"If you still don't know how to ask questions, please leave now!"
Zhu Qingchen waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward, walked to the reporter who had asked the question, and asked him to leave. !
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
