Qiao Si sat upright in the hall, her red dress showing off her sharpness. Her posture was calm, and one could not tell whether she was happy or angry.
Yang Li glanced at her, unsure of what she was thinking. He glanced at her and then looked away. He reluctantly agreed.
He sat down to the lower right of Qiao Si, looking around the hall, without saying a word, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Yang Chi'an was quickly carried over by two constables, each holding one of his arms.
He was beaten with seventy sticks. Although his father sent someone to apply medicine to his wounds, his skin was delicate and he recovered slowly. Now, every step he took while being carried touched his wounds. The scabs that had just formed were torn open again, and blood was faintly visible on his back.
He couldn't help crying out in pain, and kept asking the two constables who were holding him to slow down.
As soon as he was brought to the lobby, he saw his father, the prefect, sitting there with an air of righteousness and majesty. He couldn't help but shout "Dad" loudly in grievance.
"Dad! Dad! You came to save me! Your son has been greatly wronged! You can stand up for me! They are going too far!"
His father looked at him with pity. Just as he raised his butt and wanted to get up to see Yang Chi'an, he heard Qiao Si slam the gavel heavily.
The people who were watching the excitement below were still pointing and talking at Yang Chi'an, but the loud noise made them all quiet down and look at Qiao Si.
Qiao Si looked serious. She glanced around with a dignified look. Some of the timid ones had already lowered their heads in silence.
"This is a court! Lord Yang won't act in a way that disrupts order for personal gain, right?"
Yang Li met Qiao Si's threatening eyes and sat back slightly embarrassed. He quickly adjusted back to his stern demeanor as a prefect.
"You are joking, Princess. After all, this is in Dingzhou, and I will not interfere in your affairs. I believe that you will be able to find out the truth and give the world the truth."
Zhang You watched him from behind, pretending to be generous. Since no one was paying attention here, she rolled her eyes in disgust.
Although this person has good looks and some literary talent, he is so pretentious that it is really speechless.
"That's the best." Qiao Si said coldly.
Looking at Yang Li's appearance, although he felt a little fearful, he was more disdainful of Qiao Si.
He didn't believe that the girl in front of him, who had not yet reached the age of marriage, would have the courage to ignore his Tuozhou power and punish his son.
He guessed that Qiao Si was too young to dare offend him, so he naturally wanted to laugh at his joke.
However, when the common people in the hall saw Qiao Si's neither humble nor arrogant demeanor, they actually looked up to Princess Dingjia, who was already approachable.
After all, since this princess took over the affairs of Dingzhou, she has united the people of Dingzhou, expanded trade, and made the city prosperous.
Now seeing that Qiao Si was presiding over a case at such a young age and dared to confront the prefect of Tuozhou without losing his dignity, he admired him even more.
"Is this Princess Dingjia? She truly has the demeanor of a prince!"
"She's so dignified at such a young age. She's truly worthy of being General Qiao's granddaughter."
"Then, looking at the prefect who looks like a decent person, can he really not protect his son?"
"Alas, alas! I heard that his son almost hit someone in the street that day, and it was only because the princess intervened that a tragedy was averted."
"Hey! Brother, I was there just as you said! It's true! The princess even beat him with a stick in the street. Look at the blood on his back; that's from that day."
"Then I heard he killed someone, what's going on?"
"I know that. Yesterday, at the gate of this yamen, a woman and an elderly couple were filing a petition. They were also carrying a dead body. I heard it was the couple's son. Oh, it was a truly tragic sight.
Not long after the couple got married, the man was hit and killed. He was so young. Oh my."
"Yes, they cried so miserably yesterday, it really made anyone cry."
"Hey? Look, it's those three people!"
Two constables were carrying a corpse covered with a white cloth in front, and the young woman in white followed closely. The two constables at the back were supporting an old couple who were crying uncontrollably.
The constable placed the body gently in the hall and bowed before stepping away.
When the three men arrived in the hall, they suppressed their grief and knelt down together, waiting for Qiao Si's judgment.
As the three men were brought to court, a trial finally began.
“Bang!”
The gavel rang out.
The noisy voices around quieted down.
"Open the court!"
Qiao Si's cold and sharp voice rang out.
"mighty--"
There were two rows of detectives standing in the hall, holding long boards and beating the ground with them quickly and rhythmically, with loud voices coming out of their mouths.
Majestic and solemn.
"Who is here? What is your complaint?"
Qiao Si asked as usual.
"I, a commoner named Liu, am suing Yang Chi'an, the son of Yang Li, the prefect of Tuozhou, for abusing his horse and committing murder. I hope the princess will uphold justice!"
The woman in white had red and swollen eyes, and her voice trembled unconsciously when she talked about this.
I don’t know if it’s fear or excitement?
After she finished speaking, she kowtowed heavily in the direction of Qiao Si.
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Yes. My husband is the proof!"
She pulled away the white cloth covering the body, her expression a little excited.
When the white cloth was lifted, it was a corpse with a slight odor.
This man must have suffered a lot in his life. His legs were limp and rotten, and his facial muscles were distorted, as if he was still enduring great pain before his death.
"Hey! What's that smell!"
"It's a corpse!"
"vomit--"
"The corpse's legs are horrible!"
“It smells terrible.”
Zhang You and the others were not far away and could see the condition of the corpse. Naturally, they could also smell the faint smell of rotting flesh in the air.
Zhang You was so shocked by the scene in front of him that he couldn't help but almost vomited.
Qiuyue casually stood in front of her, blocking the view of the corpse.
With his vision blocked, Zhang You slowed down for a moment.
But I was still stimulated by the smell in the air.
This smell brought back some bad memories for her.
That forest village that ate human flesh and blood, those monsters that were parasitized by poisonous insects and ate people, and...
Each one stimulated her temples, making her feel a chill all over her body.
She was a little flustered and her heart began to beat violently.
She forced herself to calm down, and she began to nervously take off the beads on her left hand, twisting them one by one in her hand.
Only in this way can she calm down.
After twisting it a few times, she finally calmed down and looked up at the woman kneeling in the hall again.
"Princess! My husband has always been kind to others, but he was just setting up a stall that day when he was trampled by this evil man on horseback! His legs are now broken!
Look at my husband's legs! They've been crushed like this!"
Liu's eyes were red and her tone became more and more intense.
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