As soon as Gu Lili said this, everyone in the hall fell silent and stared at her.
In ancient times, attempted rape was considered a serious crime, punishable by a hundred strokes of the cane and exile to a distant place.
Generally speaking, water is as good as death penalty.
After being beaten, prisoners had to travel a long distance to their place of exile, and they usually died on the way after only a few days.
Gu Erniu then realized why his sister was so angry, and his eyes turned bloodshot.
My own third sister is only nine years old, how dare this beast!
Moreover, he dared to bully his younger sister openly in front of everyone.
Gu Huanhuan knelt on the ground. She knew her sister meant to seek justice for her. She held back her tears and refused to cry out loud.
"Stop talking nonsense! My son is the most obedient, how could he do such a thing! Besides, what kind of little girl are you? When I was your age, I was already having a baby! What little girl? Maybe you deliberately seduced my son!" The woman immediately shouted when she heard Gu Lili say this.
Even if her own son really bullied Gu Lili, she couldn't admit it; that would be a matter of life and death.
So she immediately turned the tables and blamed Gu Lili for everything.
Gu Lili was almost laughing in anger; they really were the worst kind of parents.
The magistrate frowned and angrily rebuked, "You woman, if you make another sound, I will drag you away and have you flogged!"
Upon hearing that she was to be flogged, the woman immediately fell silent.
The county magistrate looked at Gu Lili and said, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Gu Lili recounted the events in a composed and respectful manner.
Gu Huanhuan suddenly stood up despite the pain in her foot. Before Gu Lili could stop her, she took off her coat and stood in front of everyone.
Gu Huanhuan's clothes were new ones that Gu Lili helped her change into today.
Gu Huanhuan only wore it because she was going to the market today.
It's already torn to shreds.
Only then did the county magistrate realize that Zhang Qiang, that beast, had actually bullied Gu Huanhuan.
This scene broke Gu Lili's heart.
This is like tearing open one's own scars and showing them to everyone, just to prove one's innocence.
"How dare you, Zhang Qiang! What else do you have to say?!" The magistrate slammed his gavel and angrily pointed at Zhang Qiang.
Zhang Qiang was so frightened that he immediately curled up in the woman's arms and dared not utter a sound.
The woman understood immediately upon seeing her son's actions that what Gu Lili said was true.
She knows her son well; if it weren't true, she would have already spoken up to defend him.
No one knows a son better than his mother, but even if it's true, she can't just stand by and watch her son go to his death!
"Sir, my son probably just wanted to play around with this little girl. She's still very young and inexperienced. How could my son do such a thing?" the woman continued to defend her son.
Gu Huanhuan suddenly shouted, "That's not true! He came up and tried to snatch our things. When I tried to stop him, he pinned me to the ground and took off my clothes. It wasn't a joke! It wasn't! It wasn't!"
Gu Huanhuan cried out while holding her head.
Gu Lili stood up and hugged Gu Huanhuan tightly, which gradually calmed Gu Huanhuan down.
Magistrate Yang angrily said, "Zhang Qiang, you are too shameless! You even bully a little girl! Guards, take him away and give him a hundred lashes, then exile him to Xile!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiang was so frightened that he almost fainted.
He immediately hugged his mother and cried, "Mother, save me, save me, I don't want to die!"
The woman immediately knelt before the magistrate and begged for mercy, "Your Honor, my son is only thirteen years old, still a child! Please show him mercy!"
Gu Lili sneered, "Didn't you just say that you were already having babies when you were that age? How come your son is considered a child now? Isn't my sister a child too?"
It's utterly ridiculous. Some pains are like that; you only realize how painful they are when you experience them yourself.
The woman was momentarily speechless and stood there dumbfounded.
The constables obeyed and dragged Zhang Qiang outside. Only then did the woman come to her senses.
He scrambled to his knees before Gu Lili and her brother, pleading, "Young lady, my son was just being foolish. Please beg the magistrate for mercy! My family is willing to take your sister as our child bride!"
Gu Huanhuan trembled uncontrollably upon hearing the woman's words.
Enraged, Gu Lili slapped the woman hard across the face.
Undeterred, the woman crawled over again and pleaded, "How about we give you two taels of silver? Please beg the magistrate to spare my son's life!"
"You're utterly ridiculous! Why should I plead for you! Get out of here! Keep your money for your son's funeral!" Gu Lili cursed.
What's the use of crying and begging for help when you don't discipline your children properly usually?
And that worthless silver of hers, does she think that giving money can erase other people's pain?
Seeing Gu Lili's heartless attitude, the woman couldn't help but curse, "I've never seen such a cruel little girl! I curse you, may your parents all die!"
Her words struck a nerve with her siblings.
Gu Erniu, who had been holding back his anger, could no longer contain himself and rushed forward to pin the woman to the ground and beat her.
Although my sister and mother taught me not to hit women, this woman is not even human!
Gu Lili also joined the fray, slapping the woman's face hard.
Even the youngest, Gu Sigou, rushed forward and started kicking wildly.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the siblings fought for quite a while before the magistrate finally ordered his constables to separate them.
The woman had already been beaten black and blue by the three siblings, but the magistrate pretended not to see it.
He slammed his gavel and said, "You shrew! First you failed to discipline your son, and now you've disrupted the order of the court! Guards, take him away and give him fifty lashes!"
The bailiffs obeyed the order and dragged the woman outside to carry out the execution.
The mother and son were taken outside the hall, and soon their screams rang out.
The magistrate slammed his gavel, signaling the end of the court session. Gu Lili, along with her siblings, bowed to the magistrate and then walked outside.
Gu Erniu carried Gu Huanhuan on his back and walked ahead in silence.
A series of unexpected events made him realize his own weakness.
After a long while, Gu Erniu said, "Sister, I want to learn martial arts!"
Gu Lili knew that Gu Erniu wanted to learn martial arts to protect his family.
Looking at Gu Erniu's determined eyes, Gu Lili said, "Okay, starting tomorrow, except for Huanhuan, we'll all start training. When we're strong, we won't be afraid of being bullied anymore!"
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