"Sir! If you want to punish me, punish me. It has nothing to do with Brother Ergou. If you want to kill me or cut me up, I will accept it!" Mai Sui stepped forward and said.
Er Gouzi was anxious: "No, no, it was me who killed him."
Cao Zhenguo was furious. He slammed the gavel and said, "How can we tolerate noise in this hall? I am acting according to the laws of the Song Dynasty. How can I tolerate such insolence?"
According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, Er Gouzi would at least be exiled to the army. Zhao Huan wanted to see how the prefect of Pizhou would pronounce the verdict.
Cao Zhenguo continued, "The deceased, Huang Shiren, was accidentally beaten to death by Zhang Ergou during a malicious argument in the marketplace. A life for a life, a debt for a debt! However, considering Zhang Ergou's intellectual disability and the unintentional nature of his actions, and the deceased's fault, I sentence him to be dragged outside and lashed with twenty sticks as a warning! Court adjourned!"
"Good!" As soon as these words came out, the onlookers applauded and cheered. Er Gouzi had killed someone, but he was only sentenced to caning. This could be considered extremely lenient.
The lawyer next to him was startled. He whispered, "Sir, such a light sentence will give people something to talk about. If someone impeaches you, it will cause unnecessary trouble. After all, this is a murder case."
What the lawyer said was right. If someone with ulterior motives reported him to the higher authorities, especially his political enemies, the court would probably punish him for perverting the law.
Cao Zhenguo pondered for a moment and said, "Wait, twenty lashes are not enough punishment, let's give him fifty lashes!"
Everyone was shocked again. Fifty lashes, and that was a heavy beating. This wasn't a military beating. Two hundred military beatings wouldn't kill anyone unless they were dealt a mild blow. But the yamen's fifty lashes was still a heavy beating, and the chances of the person surviving were slim.
This time everyone was shocked again. Fifty lashes of the cane, if it was a heavy beating, would either kill or injure the person. Even the faces of several yamen runners changed color.
Cao Zhenguo pointed at a yamen runner and said, "Kong Feizhou, you carry out the execution!"
He was referring to the captain from earlier. It turned out that this man was called Kong Feizhou. Captain Kong bowed and accepted the order: "I obey your command!"
The people were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Nangong Lian'er wanted to go up to stop them, but was stopped by Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan saw that the yamen runners were secretly relieved, and the legal advisor was smiling beside them, so he knew there was something else going on.
Kong Feizhou took out a wooden stick about six or seven inches wide from the door. It was much wider and larger than an ordinary stick. The sight of it was enough to intimidate people. A single blow from such a large stick would have torn the skin apart.
Nangong Lian'er was shocked: "With such a big stick, wouldn't it kill him in a few hits?"
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "No, just wait and see." He knew that despite the board's large size and intimidating appearance, it actually didn't hurt at all. The board's width meant a larger area for the force to be applied, so when it hit someone, it made a loud noise but had little impact.
Nangong Lian'er was skeptical, but Ergouzi's parents and Mai Sui were unwilling to do so. They rushed over and wanted to take Ergouzi to be punished.
"Sir! It's my fault. Please hit me!"
"Sir, please let me be punished. Please don't hit my son. Please!"
The master shouted from the side: "Pull them apart!"
Several yamen runners went over to hold them back, only to see the other two pinning Er Gouzi down on a wooden bench. Captain Kong Feizhou spat on his hand, threw off his shirt, revealing his muscular build, and swung his club down with a vicious blow.
"Bang!" The sound was so loud that Ergou's mother fainted on the spot.
"Auntie!" Mai Sui pinched Ergou's mother's philtrum in a panic, and after a long time, Ergou's mother finally woke up.
Ergou’s mother cried out, “Ergou! Ergou!”
The thuds were deafening, and the faces of the onlookers turned pale. This was a life-threatening situation. Fifty lashes, they thought, would take less than a dozen, and this dog would meet his end.
The strange thing is that the dog just stared left and right with a pair of stupid eyes, and seemed to be unaware of the pain.
Ergou's mother was even more frightened, fearing that Ergou's butt was numb from the pain. "Ergou, how are you?"
Er Gouzi stared at her and said, "Mom, it doesn't hurt. It feels really good and it itches."
Zhao Huan almost laughed out loud, while Linghu Yunlong looked disdainful, knowing the tricks involved. Cao Dongsheng knew all too well, as he was accustomed to seeing eunuchs being punished for their misdeeds within the palace.
Only Nangong Lian'er opened her eyes wide with fear, not understanding why: "Brother Zhao, why, why isn't he afraid of pain?"
Zhao Huan said seriously, "This Er Gouzi is no mortal. He must be blessed by the gods. Look, he didn't feel any pain even when hit with such a big stick. He must be blessed by the gods."
Nangong Lian'er wouldn't believe the ghost story, but the onlookers nearby believed it. People nodded and pointed at Er Gouzi, believing he was blessed by the gods. He couldn't be killed by such a big stick, and he even screamed like it was a tickle, which amazed everyone.
After the thirty strokes of the cane, Er Gouzi was not only fine, but he also farted. The stench was so strong that everyone covered their noses and hid away.
So the reputation of this idiot became even more famous. This idiot was beaten to a pulp. But nothing happened to him. After the beating, he was patted on the butt and went home.
From then on, the whole village treated Er Gouzi with great respect, and no one dared to laugh at this mentally retarded idiot. After all, no one could afford to offend someone who was blessed by the gods.
But Er Gouzi was lucky. After returning home and marrying Mai Sui, they were very loving and his idiocy was much better. The couple loved each other, were filial to their parents, and even had a pair of smart children, who became a legend in Pizhou.
Zhao Huan still caught Cao Zhenguo's attention: "Excuse me, who is this young man?"
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "I am just an ordinary person. I happened to see what happened to Miss Wheat Ear, so I wanted to go to the government office to bear witness."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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