Chapter 76: Court (2)

"This is simply ridiculous! Who knows if you tortured innocent people into confessing? Look at the injuries on their bodies. You can tell without even looking that the confessions in your hands were tortured into confessing. They cannot be used as evidence." County Magistrate Yang pointed at the bruised and swollen faces of Gou Ge and his men and said.

Anyone with a discerning eye would know that Gou Ge and his men had been beaten. If you were to produce your so-called confessions now, no one would believe them.

They would all subconsciously think that Li Chengqian and his men tortured these people into confessing and then forced them to sign their so-called confessions.

County Magistrates and County Magistrates have done this kind of thing before, so they are naturally adept at handling it.

"I never thought that you, a county magistrate, are so good at confusing right and wrong!"

"Since you said that this confession cannot be used as evidence, there should be no problem if the victim comes out to testify!" Li Chengqian said.

Since it was the victim who came out to testify, County Magistrate Yang could not reject it in public. If he disagreed, he would be confessing.

"Of course there is no problem." County Magistrate Yang finished speaking, turned around and bowed to the county magistrate, saying: "Thank you, Mr. Ming, to summon the victim to the court." "

Okay!" After the county magistrate said okay, he asked Li Chengqian: "Who is the victim?" "

Ms. Zhao from Mujia Village, and some villagers in the village, they can testify. Mr. Ming can send someone to Mujia Village to ask and we will know." Li Chengqian said.

"Captain Zhang! Send the yamen runners to Mujia Village immediately and bring the victim and the eyewitnesses to the court." The county magistrate said.

"Yes!" Captain Zhang took the order, called a few yamen runners and went to Mujia Village.

In order to prevent these yamen runners from taking the opportunity to intimidate the witnesses, Li Chengqian sent two guards to follow.

Because it would take time to summon the witnesses, the county magistrate ordered the court to be temporarily adjourned and to resume after the witnesses arrived.

Half an hour later, the yamen runners returned with the witnesses, and the county magistrate was invited out from the backyard to continue hearing the case.

"Who is kneeling in the hall?" the county magistrate asked.

"The commoner Zhao, the villagers Liu Da, Liu Er, and Gui Wu have seen the master!" The three men and one woman knelt down and bowed.

"Sir, this young lady is the victim, and the perpetrators were these two..." Zhao Jie stood up and pointed at Gou Ge and his gang and told them the whole story.

"I'm asking you, this man is telling the truth! Don't worry, just tell me, I'll make the decision for you." The county magistrate said.

"At that time, these two people bullied me, but fortunately, these brave men passed by and rescued me." Zhao recounted the situation at that time.

"What about you? Did you see it?" The county magistrate asked the others.

"I didn't see it, I just heard the sound of fighting, so I came out to see what was going on, and saw Gou Ge and his gang lying on the ground." The other three villagers said in unison.

These villagers had been warned tactfully not to talk nonsense, otherwise they would be in trouble.

Gou Ge was from this village, and his father was the Li

Zheng of Mujia Village. He also had relatives who were officials in the county government. How could they afford to offend him? Under the intimidation of the yamen runners, these villagers did not dare to stand up and testify against Gou Ge and others for the evil deeds of outsiders like Li Chengqian.

If they stood up to testify against Gou Ge, it would be equivalent to offending Li Zheng's family. After the outsiders left, they would have no good consequences. Du Li Zheng would definitely not let them go.

They were afraid of Du Li Zheng in their hearts, so they did not dare to tell the truth.

After the guards came back, they told Li Chengqian about this matter.

Li Chengqian was furious. These guys, who were receiving salaries from the court, were oppressing the people. How abominable!

Li Chengqian did not lose his temper immediately. He wanted to see what these people would do in the end and how the county magistrate would deal with the matter.

So he watched the situation develop without making a sound.

"Now the facts of the case are clear. It was this Zhao who was shameless and seduced the good young men in the village in broad daylight."

"Who knew that these two good young men restrained themselves and scolded this shameless man. Zhao was resentful! He colluded with this group of outsiders and intended to slander these simple young people in Mujia Village."

"Mingfu! Please give justice to these victims and never let the villains go unpunished." Yang County Secretary said, turning around and saluting to the county magistrate.

"This..." The county magistrate was hesitant for a moment, not knowing whether he should close the case like this.

But the county magistrate knew what kind of person Yang County Secretary was. If he didn't have a relative who was a governor, how could he, a county magistrate of the ninth rank, do whatever he wanted while the county magistrate turned a blind eye to it?

The county magistrate also believed that these villagers might be giving false testimony and that they were definitely trying to intimidate them.

How to judge was a difficult question.

"Mingfu! As long as you find my nephew not guilty! I can say a few good words to my cousin-in-law, Governor Wang, and guarantee that Mingfu will be promoted and rich in the future." County Secretary Yang came to the county magistrate and whispered. The county

magistrate's eyes lit up after hearing this. He had been a county magistrate for many years, but due to his poor performance, he had never been given the opportunity to be promoted.

But if the governor could help him and add a note to his resume, he would definitely be promoted.

"Okay! This is easy to do! I'd like to trouble you to say a few good words to Governor Wang." After weighing it over and over again, the county magistrate finally agreed to County Magistrate Yang.

But he didn't know that he had missed the biggest opportunity.

Not only was there no hope of promotion in this life, but he couldn't even keep the black gauze hat on his head.

"Don't worry, sir! I'll take care of it." County Magistrate Yang said, and stood back to his original position, waiting for the final verdict of the county magistrate.

"Everyone be careful and alert, it seems that they have reached some kind of consensus." Li Chengqian said to the people around him in a low voice.

Everyone nodded, and the guards quietly moved their positions to protect them in the middle.

"After the trial of this county, the evidence is insufficient. Du Gousheng and others are acquitted and released.

The court is adjourned!" The county magistrate announced the verdict and stood up to leave. "Thank you, magistrate!" Du Lizheng saluted.

"Wait!" Li Chengqian stood up to stop him.

"How dare you! You are such a bold and unruly commoner. How dare you come to the magistrate to judge a case? What is your intention?" Yang County Secretary scolded. "The magistrate's

verdict is so unfair that it is hard to convince the public. The yamen runners threatened the witnesses to give false testimony, but you did not punish them and closed the case so hastily. How can you be a county magistrate?" Li Chengqian said.

"How dare you! You are not allowed to run wild in the court. Both yamen runners, hurry up and arrest these arrogant people." County Magistrate Yang shouted.

After receiving the order, the yamen runners were about to step forward to arrest the people, but were stopped by the guards.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "County Magistrate Yang has such a great official power that he dares to order the yamen runners to do evil in the court. I really don't know if you are the county magistrate or the prefect is the county magistrate."