Chapter 2852: Court
Although Wu Dafu was timid, he was also angry, so he couldn't help but retort, "Master, you captured us. Don't you know who we are?"
Bai Shan said with a sullen face, "This county naturally knows who you are. The question is, do you know who you are?"
He picked up the gavel and banged it again. This time, no one was startled except the people kneeling in the hall and those standing by and watching in the yard. "This is to verify their identities. If they are unwilling to speak, it is obvious that they do not want to be allowed to enter the court yet. Come, put them back in prison and let them think about who they are."
Wu Dafu was startled and said quickly: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you, my name is Wu Dafu."
Guo Dalang, who was standing by, was also very anxious and rushed to say, "Sir, I am Guo Dacai."
Bai Shan pondered their names and couldn't help but say, "You two seem to be quite compatible. One is very rich, the other is very wealthy. You sound like you're from the same family. How did you become enemies?"
When Wu Dafu heard this, he thought of his son who had died young, and all the bullying he had suffered at the hands of the Guo family. Tears streamed down his face, and he cried, "Sir, what you saw yesterday was that it was their family that bullied ours. My wife had a miscarriage because of them, and my son died at birth before he could even open his eyes. Please, sir, do something for me."
Bai Shan turned around and asked Guo Dacai, "Do you admit this accusation?"
Guo Dacai naturally denied it and quickly shook his head, saying, "Sir, I know nothing. I was working outside yesterday and didn't return home until the sun was about to set. When I got home, his wife had already given birth. What does this have to do with me?"
Wu Dafu pointed at Diao who was standing next to Guo Dacai and said, "Sir, she was the one who pushed my wife. Many people saw it yesterday."
Bai Shan then asked Diao whether she admitted the accusation.
Diao, of course, denied it and said, "I didn't push her. She pushed me and then she lost her balance and fell."
The three of them were taken away quickly yesterday and didn't have time to see Bai Shan and Zhou Man leave together, so naturally they didn't know that the two were together.
So Diao shirked all responsibility, "The conflict between our two families was because she threw dirty water at my door. My mother-in-law also knows about this. How could a good family throw dirty water at someone else's door? I was so angry that I argued with her for a few words. Who would have thought that she would hit me? I could only hide, but she refused and pushed me, and ended up falling down."
If Manbao, Daji and Xibing had not told Bai Shan about the situation at that time, Bai Shan would have doubted whether what she said was true.
Brother Tang is right. In criminal cases, the criminal's account must be viewed with suspicion, and the verdict relies more on objective evidence.
Bai Shan asked slowly, "Is there any witness?"
Diao said confidently, "My mother-in-law can testify."
"Your mother-in-law is your relative, and her testimony is unreliable." He looked at the neighbors he had invited to the courtyard and asked, "All the owners and mistresses of the households in your alley are here. Did anyone see what happened yesterday?"
Everyone looked at each other, then shook their heads, indicating that they didn't see it.
Wu Dafu was furious when he saw this. "Sir, someone must have seen it. It was almost time to prepare dinner, and everyone was getting ready to go out and wash vegetables and rice. How could no one have seen it? They're afraid of the Guo family, so they won't come forward to testify."
Bai Shan certainly knew about it, Manbao said that the sound of the quarrel between the two families was earth-shaking like thunder. Although there was no one in the alley, several families leaned out from the wall to watch.
The walls of that alley were not high, and Bai Shan could basically see the situation in the yard when he stood outside. Naturally, people looking outside from inside could also see it.
But Bai Shan only glanced at Wu Dafu and said, "Speak when you are told to speak, and be quiet when you are not told to speak."
Seeing Wu Dafu being scolded, Guo Dacai felt a little proud. The neighbors in the yard also had their own ideas and were even less willing to come out to testify.
The county magistrate asked this question. Who knows if the Guo family did something, or if the village head has face with the county magistrate and intends to put the blame on the Wu family?
Bai Shan asked twice more, but when no one came forward to testify, Wu Dafu felt desperate. Bai Shan said, "Since the neighbors didn't see it, let's call the witnesses from this county."
Manbao, who had just finished drawing a simple map of the county with Song Zhubu, came over to join in the fun. She happened to see Daji and Xibing coming up to the courtroom. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately turned and ran out of the small door in the back hall to the front yard. Then, she squeezed into the crowd of onlookers and raised her hand, saying, "Me too, me too. I'm a witness too."
Throughout her life, she had been to the Dali Temple and tried by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple, but she had never been to the county government office.
By the time she ran out of the small door and the front yard, Daji and Xibing were already halfway through their story. When they saw her running over to join in the fun, they were speechless.
Wu Dafu seemed to have seen a savior. Regardless of Bai Shan's previous warning, he said again: "Yes, yes, it's her, it's her. She delivered my wife. She was in the alley at the time and saw everything."
Looking at the embroidery and the material on the lady's cuffs, one could tell she was a wealthy person. Moreover, she was so kind to save his wife yesterday. From what his mother said, it was she who paid for the medicine, so she would definitely not be bribed by the Guo family.
Guo Dacai and Diao Shi obviously thought of this as well, and their faces turned pale.
Bai Shan's eyelids trembled slightly, and he could only lightly tap the gavel. Under the gaze of two rows of yamen runners staring at him with wide eyes, he said, "Witness, come forward and state your name."
Manbao stepped forward with a serious expression, bowed, and said, "I'm Xiao Zhouman. These two are my followers. The three of us passed by this alley together yesterday..."
Manbao's narration was particularly detailed. Compared with Daji, who only spoke one sentence and never two sentences in response to questions, her narration was like a slowly unfolding scroll, and the scene at that time could not help but emerge in front of everyone's eyes.
So when Wu Dafu heard her say that a pregnant woman was carrying a basin of water and pouring it on the house opposite, his face changed. Then when he heard that Diao rushed into his yard and quarreled with his wife, his expression eased a little, and then the two of them started pushing and fighting.
Manbao said with certainty: "It was Diao who pushed him to the ground with great force."
Bai Shan asked Diao, "Is what the witness said true?"
Diao was silent, opening her mouth several times but unable to speak. After Bai Shan slammed the gavel impatiently, she said, "Yes, it's true, but you can't blame me. It was the rich family who started the trouble first, and she was the one who hit me first."
Seeing her still trying to shirk responsibility at this point, Wu Dafu flew into a rage, "That's because you've always been too bullying. If you hadn't spread the rumor that Dahua was pregnant with a girl and that our family couldn't have a son, how could Dahua be so angry?"
Very good, the old grudge was finally brought out. Bai Shan stopped trying to stop them and started asking about the old grudge between the two families.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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