Lord Zhong glanced at Madam Zhao indifferently: "According to the laws of the Great Chu Kingdom, scholars and officials of the fourth rank and below are not required to kneel before them."
As for why she can sit, during the snow disaster in Qingyang City, Doctor Su donated tens of thousands of taels of silver. Such a righteous person, why shouldn't I allow her to sit in the courtroom?
"Madam Zhao, if you are also willing to donate ten thousand taels of silver to Qingyang City like Doctor Su, I will also grant you a seat in the courtroom."
Madam Zhao remained silent; she had no way of producing ten thousand taels of silver.
Even if she could afford it, how could she possibly be willing to donate it? That's tens of thousands of taels of silver!
After thanking Lord Zhong, Su Ruojin sat down calmly in her chair, without glancing at Lin Zhengshan once.
Lin Zhengshan was furious. This unfilial daughter, thankfully, has nothing to do with the Lin family anymore.
Lord Zhong slammed his gavel and said, "Su Ruojin, Madam Zhao Sun accused you of allowing your brother to commit murder by pushing Zhao Hongwei, the young master of the Zhao family, into the river with the intention of drowning him. She came to you to demand an explanation, but you instead poisoned the Zhao family's guards. Is this true?"
Su Ruojin calmly replied, "That's not true."
"You're talking nonsense! You're lying through your teeth! So many people were watching that day, and you still dare to lie!" Madam Zhao shouted.
"Silence! If you dare to shout in court again, Madam Zhao, you will be punished with ten strokes of the cane." Lord Zhong slammed his gavel, and Madam Zhao immediately shut her mouth, glaring venomously at Su Ruojin.
"So what exactly is going on?"
After calmly recounting the events of that day, Su Ruojin asked in return, "Sir, since others have taken advantage of us, are we not allowed to take action to protect ourselves?"
If the woman's younger brother did not protect himself, the one who would be pushed into the water would be her five-year-old brother. He has been physically weak since childhood, and falling into the icy river would be tantamount to killing him on the spot.
"Madam Zhao brought her men to our door. If I hadn't fought back, how could I, a weak woman, have possibly stood against more than ten guards from the Zhao family? How could I possibly be alive to face Madam Zhao in court?"
Madam Zhao was anxious and wanted to say something, but remembering Lord Zhong's warning earlier, she dared not speak easily and could only desperately give Lin Zhengshan meaningful glances.
But now that Lord Zhong is the presiding judge, if he doesn't ask Lin Zhengshan, Lin Zhengshan won't be able to speak either. He can only pretend not to see Madam Zhao's look.
"Zhao Sunshi, you say that Doctor Su deliberately injured your son and guards. Do you have any evidence?"
"My lord, I have witnesses. All the servants and guards in my household are witnesses. You may summon them to testify." Madam Zhao was delighted to hear that evidence was required. With so many witnesses in her household, who would dare not speak up for her?
"Dr. Su, do you have any witnesses?" Dr. Zhong asked Su Ruojin.
“Lord Zhong, all of Madam Zhao’s witnesses are people from her household. Are their testimonies credible? There were many people present when the incident occurred. I believe some of them are still outside the court today. You may ask if anyone is willing to testify for me. If not, I will have no witnesses. It is all up to you to decide.”
Lord Zhong looked outside the hall: "Is there anyone willing to testify on behalf of Doctor Su?"
A brief silence fell outside the hall.
Madam Zhao was secretly pleased with herself. In Yanyang, who would dare to offend the Zhao family? She wanted to see who would dare to testify for this little bitch today.
"I am willing to testify on behalf of Doctor Su. It was indeed Young Master Zhao who tried to snatch Doctor Su's younger brother's toy and even tried to push the child into the water. Doctor Su's younger brother only resisted for a moment, and Young Master Zhao fell into the river on his own."
"I can also testify that Madam Zhao, accompanied by her guards, came to the clinic and, without saying a word, ordered her guards to beat Doctor Su and even wanted to smash up Ren'ai Hall. Only then did Doctor Su step in to fight back."
"Yes, I am willing to testify."
“I am also present and willing to testify.”
......
As more and more people stepped forward, Madam Zhao's face grew paler and paler.
How could this be!
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