After hearing this, the jailer quickly opened the cell door and brought the two men out.
"When you two appear in court, answer whatever the master asks. If you lie, you will not be forgiven." Captain Ge warned sternly.
But Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo neither said yes nor nodded in agreement.
The jailer was about to start cursing, but was stopped by Captain Ge, who took the two men away.
The jailer spat on the ground and said, "If you dare to come back again, I will skin you both dead."
When Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo arrived at the court gate, Captain Ge handed them over to two yamen runners and turned away.
The bailiff asked them to kneel in the middle of the court and wait. Gu Lingze raised his hand and waved it in front of their eyes. The two bailiffs were stunned for a moment before they came to their senses.
"Just kneel here and don't move." After saying that, he stood aside.
Zhao Chengmo glanced at Gu Lingze. They were clearly still standing here, so why was that bailiff... ?
Gu Lingze mouthed a message to tell him not to worry about it, then handed him a piece of talisman paper and asked him to stick it on his body.
Gu Lingze felt that he could kneel before the Taoist master on his knees and before his master on his lower knees.
But there was no reason to be bound by feudal ethics now, so he came up with this idea.
After a while, other yamen runners came in with court sticks and stood in two neat rows on both sides of the court.
mighty--
Prefect Yao and two other people walked in from the back hall and sat in the court.
He slammed the gavel and asked loudly, "Who is kneeling in the hall? Tell me your name."
"Commoner Zhao Chengmo."
"Commoner Gu Lingze."
"Did the two of you have a dispute with the deceased Zou Yingguang five days ago and beat him?"
"Yes." Gu Lingze admitted generously.
Prefect Yao didn't expect Gu Lingze to answer so straightforwardly, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"What is the conflict about?"
Gu Lingze narrated the events of that day in a clear and orderly manner without being humble or arrogant.
After listening to this, Prefect Yao nodded and was about to speak when a noise suddenly came from outside.
"What nonsense!" The person who shouted walked in aggressively and glared at the two people fiercely as he passed by them.
"Zou Guangmao, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice, greets you, Your Excellency." After saying this, he bowed.
Prefect Yao frowned slightly, looking a little unhappy, but he immediately raised his hand and said, "Master Zou, there is no need to be so polite."
After Zou Guangmao stood up, he immediately turned around and looked at the two of them.
"How dare you, a rude and unruly person, to speak nonsense in order to escape punishment, you..."
Prefect Yao cleared his throat and interrupted Zou Guangmao's aggressive remarks.
"I understand Lord Zou's grief over the loss of his beloved son, but this case happened in Beiyong Prefecture. I will make my own judgment on the right and wrong."
"Sir, you can't just listen to this slick villain's one-sided words. My servants were also present that day. Please call them up."
Prefect Yao's face was slightly cold, but he still nodded to the prosecutor beside him.
The judge took two steps forward and shouted towards the door: "Bring the servants of the Zou Mansion to the court."
Several people were brought to the hall by the bailiffs with their heads lowered. After they knelt down, they told the story of what happened that day.
In their telling, the whole incident turned into a story where Gu Lingze and his gang relied on their superior martial arts to force Zou Yingguang to give up the upper room that had been booked previously. When Zou Yingguang was unwilling, Zhao Chengmo started a fight.
Gu Lingze sneered and said, "You mean, Zou Yingguang was beaten to death by us?"
Zou Guangmao said angrily: "At this point, you still want to quibble?!"
"If it's so serious, why didn't you report it to the police on the day it happened?" Gu Lingze retorted.
Just as Zou Guangmao was about to speak, he continued, "And it's been five days since this happened. If Zou Yingguang had a serious illness or was beaten up, can we be blamed for it?"
After asking this, Zou Guangmao was so angry that he gritted his teeth and hated Gu Lingze, but Prefect Yao nodded after hearing it.
Zou Guangmao suddenly turned around and saluted, shouting, "Master Yao, I think these people are very stubborn. They won't confess unless they are tortured."
"Someone come! Bring me the torture instruments."
Prefect Yao picked up the gavel and slammed it heavily on the table, said "Silence", then stood up and walked to Zou Guangmao.
"Lord Zou, you and I are both appointed officials of the imperial court, so I will give you some convenience. But now you have repeatedly obstructed my trial, so I will not try the case today."
"Someone, take them both back to the prison and keep them under strict guard." As soon as the words were spoken, two bailiffs stepped forward, pressed down on the arms of Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo and walked out.
Before Gu Lingze turned around, a piece of yellow paper fell from his sleeve and was stepped on by Zou Guangmao before anyone could see it.
"Sir Yao, you are intentionally shielding a criminal!" Zou Guangmao pointed at Prefect Yao in anger.
"Lord Zou, please be careful with your words. They have not been convicted yet and cannot be called criminals." Facing such accusations, Prefect Yao replied calmly.
Zou Guangmao laughed instead of being so angry, nodded and said: "I will tell your humble brother everything that Governor Yao said and did today and have him report it to the court. Please take care of yourself, sir." After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and walked out.
The deputy governor at the side came up and said cautiously, "Sir, Zou Guangmao's brother is the third-rank Right Deputy Imperial Envoy. We can't afford to offend him."
But Governor Yao said calmly, "It's okay."
At night, the jailer who had previously clashed with Gu Lingze and his men was replaced, and he made some threats before leaving.
The two remaining jailers stood at the door, and Gu Lingze called softly, "Two big brothers, please come over here."
"What's the matter?" The jailer came over and asked impatiently.
Gu Lingze rummaged in his sleeves, took out an ingot of silver and handed it to him.
"This little money will be used to treat the two brothers to some drinks, and please bring us two quilts to cover us."
The jailer touched his chin, took the silver, looked at it, then put it in his arms and said, "Wait."
After a while, the jailer threw in two black and damp strips and said, "Just make do with it." Then he turned and left.
Zhao Chengmo frowned slightly, took off his outer robe and handed it to the other party.
"What are you doing?" Gu Lingze looked at him in confusion.
"This quilt is moldy. If you feel cold when sleeping, I'll give it to you."
"Who wants to sleep, you idiot." Gu Lingze didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After saying that, she turned her back to the door, took out the key chain from her sleeve and shook it at him. Gu Lingze raised his eyebrows, and Zhao Chengmo smiled and nodded.
By the time the moon was at its zenith, the two yamen runners were already drunk. Gu Lingze handed the keys to Zhao Chengmo and asked him to try them one by one.
He turned around, rolled up the straw mat on the ground and stuffed it into the quilt. Just as he finished, he heard a click behind him and the lock was opened.
"Let's go." Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo walked quickly outside and left the government office swiftly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
