But when he looked around, everyone's faces were calm, even Lord Yu who was sitting on the high seat looked nonchalant.
When he took his hand off his forehead, a large red envelope suddenly appeared there. It looked ridiculous. Luo Lan couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Who told him to speak without thinking? And he even dared to compare himself to Princess Yu? He really didn't know his place.
Yu Shiming suddenly slammed the gavel and shouted sternly:
"How dare you mention Princess Yu's name? You said those women voluntarily married into your Li family. I'm going to question them."
After that, he shouted loudly:
"The witness."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shui Chunhua and seven other women came to the front of the hall and knelt on their knees.
Yu Shiming looked at these women and asked in a raised voice:
"Do you recognize this Li Hongfu in front of you?"
These women looked at him with gritted teeth and nodded.
"Yes, even if his skin was peeled off, we would still recognize him."
"Yes, he was the one who lied to us, saying that we could marry into the Li family and live a good life. He is a big liar."
The other women wanted to continue talking, but Yu Shiming nodded coldly and asked again:
"He said you married into the Li family voluntarily? Is that true?"
Dani was the first to reply:
"We voluntarily married into the Li Mansion because we wanted to live there. We didn't want to be locked up like prisoners. They are simply deceiving us under the guise of marrying us off. Please, sir, make the decision for us women."
Shui Chunhua also nodded angrily.
"Yes, I originally thought that marrying into the Li family would give me a few days of good life. Who would have thought that not only did I not live a good life, but I was also locked up by them for half a year. During these six months, I have been living like neither a human nor a ghost, uh uh uh..."
Hearing Shui Chunhua's cry, the women all started to cry too. Yu Shiming frowned and slammed the gavel, shouting:
"Keep quiet! Anyone who dares to make a loud noise will be punished with a beating."
Hearing his harsh words, the women all shut their mouths and dared not make a sound.
Originally, Yu Shiming had already known about this matter from Leng Yu, so there was no need to examine it in detail, it was just a formality.
So he slammed the gavel and shouted:
"Li Hongfu, Yuan Gang, and Zhou Dasheng, the three of you are a den of scoundrels, murdering decent women. Your crimes are no different from those of street prostitutes. I sentence you to one hundred strokes of the cane. I dismiss Zhou Dasheng from his post and send him, along with Yuan Gang and Li Hongfu, to the frontier as lifelong slaves..."
"etc……"
Yu Shiming was interrupted as soon as he finished speaking.
Leng Yu and Luo Lan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Leng Xi, dressed in white and holding a folding fan, walking towards them.
When he saw him, Yu Shiming frowned in confusion.
"Lord Xi, I'm investigating a case. It's really inappropriate for you to come in and stop me."
Leng Xi folded the fan in his hand, clasped his fists and saluted, "Master Yu, I also feel that your questioning is a little inappropriate."
Hearing this, Yu Shiming looked at him with a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you think is wrong, Lord Xi?"
Leng Xi twitched the corner of his mouth, a flash of hostility appeared in his eyes, and he raised his head and replied:
"Your Excellency understands the rules of interrogation better than anyone else. You can't just convict these people based on a few words from these women!"
"Prince Xi is wrong. I have always based my investigations on solid evidence. What these three men did is abhorrent to both humans and gods. Prince Yu, Princess Yu, and all the guards in Prince Yu's mansion witnessed it with their own eyes. Since the facts are already established, why should I reopen the case?"
Leng Xi looked at Leng Yu with a cold gaze, and said to Shi Ming:
"This prince feels that this matter was examined too hastily. This matter cannot be clarified by questioning in court. The words of these seven women are not necessarily true. No one can guarantee that they were not deceived into lying, or that they were not telling the truth."
The meaning of his words made Luo Lan a little unhappy. She looked at Leng Xi with her beautiful eyes and asked seriously:
"What does Prince Xi mean by this? They were locked up in a dark room in the backyard of the Li Mansion. General Ling and Zhang Yuan saw it with their own eyes. How could it be false? Are you suspecting that Prince Yu and I bewitched these women?"
When facing Luo Lan, a hint of ambiguous look flashed across Leng Xi's eyes, and then disappeared.
He half-closed his eyes and looked at Luo Lan, and said word by word:
"I do not dare to doubt Prince Yu and Princess Yu. I am merely raising my doubts about this matter. I hope Lord Yu can re-examine the case with deep consideration."
Hearing this, Yu Shiming frowned and asked:
"Since Prince Xi feels that this matter is inappropriate, I will review it now."
Leng Xi, however, waved his hands relentlessly, "Master Yu, I think this case should be postponed for another trial. You should send someone to conduct an on-site visit and conduct an interrogation."
"Lord Xi, what do you mean by this? Are you doubting me?"
Obviously, Yu Shiming was a little angry. He had been an official for many years, and no one except the emperor dared to overturn a case he had tried in court.
Leng Xi rarely interacted with Lord Yue Zhang and always kept his distance from him. This was because he knew that he was a very upright person. Although he had married his daughter to him, there were some things that he would never compromise on even if he approached him.
He lowered his voice and bent down to reply:
"Lord Yu, please calm down. I just saw an old woman and her foolish son crying in the street, so I went to ask about it. I learned that their husband, Li Hongfu, was wrongly accused and is currently on trial. They have evidence but no legal recourse, so they can only cry in the street. I saw how pitiful their crying was, so I came to inquire about this matter. Lord Yu, please investigate and give Li Hongfu justice."
He only mentioned Li Hongfu and did not mention the other two people.
Yu Shiming looked at Leng Yu from the side. Leng Yu didn't say anything. He didn't know why Leng Xi had intervened in this matter, but he must have his reasons for doing so.
Yu Shiming frowned and said with a cold face:
"Alright, since Prince Xi has doubts about this, I don't know how to try this case. Shuntian Prefecture is busy with official business, so I will report this case to the Ministry of Justice, and have the Ministry report it to the Emperor. Please ask the Emperor to send someone to try it."
It was obvious that Yu Shiming was somewhat displeased with Leng Xi's questioning.
Leng Xi clasped his fists nonchalantly and said:
"How could the Emperor personally inquire about such a minor case? How could the Ministry of Justice intervene? Lord Yu, please don't make things difficult for yourself. How about this? Tomorrow morning, I will bring the mother and daughter to you and ask Lord Yu to review the case."
Hearing this, Yu Shiming breathed a sigh of relief and frowned at Leng Yu.
"Prince Yu, what do you think?"
In this stalemate, Leng Yu felt that there was no need to argue with Leng Xi.
So, he nodded and said, "This case has been brought to Shuntian Prefecture, and Lord Yu will be the presiding judge. Everything will be handled according to Lord Yu's wishes."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shiming slammed the gavel with lightning speed and shouted,
"This case will be reheard tomorrow. Court is adjourned."
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