At that time, the anger of the people present had reached its peak.
Now it's the prefect's turn to take the stage.
After Tian Guoguo had his younger brother throw a grenade at Tian Laojia's house, he then had him take a jade token to the government office to find Prefect Su Shangheng.
Su Shangheng soon arrived in a large group of more than a dozen soldiers.
The leading officer shouted, "Who's causing trouble?"
Yes, the reason I reported it to the authorities was that someone was causing trouble in front of the Tian family's house.
The people who were about to beat Tian Laoda quickly dispersed and knelt down when they saw the prefect arrive, even his underlings knelt down.
Old Master Tian finally escaped the clutches of evil.
He dared not linger for even a moment longer, and immediately ran to Su Shangheng's side, disregarding the difference in their official ranks...
He immediately pleaded for help. "Lord Su, they...they broke into my house and beat me as soon as they came in! Look, look at my injuries..."
As she spoke, she showed Su Shangheng the injuries on her body.
Su Shangheng frowned slightly.
He glanced indifferently at Elder Tian, then looked at the crowd and asked, "Who hit Minister Tian, and why did you hit him?"
Tian Laoda: Currently serving as a third-rank official.
But he was just a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), how did he become a third-rank Vice Minister?
That's all because he has a father-in-law who is the Minister of Rites!
Of course, that's a story for another time.
Immediately, one of the underlings raised his head and said, "Reporting to your Excellency, it was clearly that Boss Tian who violated human ethics and filial piety first..."
"Not only did he disown his parents, he also beat them!"
As she spoke, she quickly ran over to Old Lady Tian and Old Man Tian, who were also kneeling, and whispered to them.
"Don't be afraid, elders. The prefect is a good official who serves the people. Tell him your grievances, and he will surely stand up for you!"
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Tian paused for a moment in surprise.
Then, still looking somewhat frightened, she glanced at her younger brother and asked in a trembling voice, "Really, really?"
The younger brother immediately replied, "Really!"
He then looked at the people present, trying to leverage their influence, and asked, "Everyone, do you agree with what I said?"
When the people first heard Su Shangheng mention "Minister Tian," they were all a little scared.
They've offended the officials, haven't they?
But upon hearing their younger brother's words, they couldn't help but recall the heavenly lightning from before.
So what if he's an official?
You must understand, this is right under the emperor's nose. It won't be long before news of Tian Laoda being punished by Heaven reaches His Majesty's ears.
Can he still hold his official position?
I definitely won't be able to get the position!
The crowd instantly lost their fear and echoed in unison, "Yes, it was him who beat those two old people, we all saw it!"
"Yes, yes, we saw it too!"
Seeing so many people speaking up for them, Old Lady Tian seemed to have finally mustered up her courage and kowtowed to Su Shangheng.
"Sir, this old woman is utterly useless!" "We are the parents of that bountiful harvest..."
The old lady was crying as she spoke, but she was interrupted by Old Tian right away...
"no!"
Old Master Tian immediately retorted, "Lord Su, they are not my biological parents, and we have severed all ties!"
"Don't listen to their nonsense!"
Everyone present was taken aback by these words.
Old Mrs. Tian quickly picked up the thread. She recounted, highlighting the key points, of what the eldest son of the Tian family had done after fleeing the famine to the capital.
Finally, he said.
“Sir, even if we are not his biological parents, we have raised him for more than 20 years. Even if we did not give him a birth, we still have the grace of raising him.”
"I'm an old man with a mental disability..."
"I secretly ran out early this morning and used my savings to buy him a piece of his favorite pig's head."
"I wanted to take him home for the holidays!"
"This is the old man's true love. Even if he doesn't want it, we shouldn't have smashed it for him, much less kicked him, right?"
Su Shangheng's brows furrowed more and more as he listened.
The look in his eyes when he looked at Boss Tian was much colder.
Old Tian sensed that things were not going well, his eyes darted around, and he finally came up with an excuse.
"Hmph, that sounds nice!"
"I think you're all just here to freeload!"
The phrase "to freeload" instantly triggered his memory.
Without thinking, he continued, "Yes, Lord Su, you don't know, back when I severed ties with them..."
"They even forced me to sign some kind of retirement contract!"
"Isn't this just an attempt to freeload?"
Then, he spat at the old lady and cursed her, saying that they were just a bunch of poor bastards and that her concern for him was all bullshit!
The old lady felt truly saddened upon hearing this!
She's raised a complete ingrate!
But she didn't explain, and instead took out the contract that Boss Tian had signed with them that day from her pocket.
He said, "Your Honor, this contract was signed voluntarily by him that day, and it bears his own signature."
When Boss Tian saw the contract, he nearly exploded! "You said you didn't want money from me? If you didn't want money, why would you carry the contract with you all the time?"
The old woman said, "I've always carried this with me, but I never intended to take it out. You brought it up now..."
"You're saying we forced you?"
"Then this old woman will ask you, sir, to help me check if you wrote the word 'voluntary' on it!"
"at the same time…"
The old woman turned to look at the crowd behind her and asked, "Everyone is watching. Did I, this old woman, ask him for money?"
The underlings responded immediately.
"No, we can testify that my aunt never asked him for money!"
The other people followed suit.
A younger man immediately chimed in, “Auntie, you can’t refuse this money. He doesn’t treat you like family and he even slanders you.”
"You deserve this money!"
That was a good thing they started. The people present all chimed in, expressing their indignation, "That's right, aunties, you raised him with such care for over 20 years, and what did you get in return?"
"I've raised a thankless wretch!"
You have to take this money!
"Yes, give me the money, give me the money!"
The tone changed a bit too quickly; in the blink of an eye, it went from causing trouble to asking for money.
Moreover, it seems that the wind was blown by Boss Tian himself!
Su Shangheng couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Old Master Tian never imagined that he would end up digging his own grave, only to see the villagers all siding with the Tian family…
He'll definitely not fare well if he stays here any longer!
Then we need to run away quickly!
He took off running back!
How could Su Shangheng let him escape?
He immediately gave a signal to the soldiers beside him, who quickly stepped forward, grabbed him, and took him to the yamen! Once there, even if you were a third-rank official, you would have to listen to Su Shangheng!
Su Shangheng didn't hold back either, immediately accusing Boss Tian of assaulting someone in the street, being disloyal and unfilial, and refusing to pay his debts!
None of the three are serious crimes.
But if you add it all up, it's enough to make him suffer.
At least, he's taken at least 20 lashes!
The villagers who had helped the two elders of the Tian family also came to the government office to watch the excitement. When they heard that the prefect was going to give the eldest elder of the Tian family a beating, they all clapped and cheered.
Old Master Tian is about to cry!
He kept shouting that he was a third-rank official and that Su Shangheng, a fourth-rank official, could not hit him. He even said that if Su Shangheng dared to hit him, he would file a complaint with the emperor!
However, none of it worked.
Su Shangheng sat on the high seat, seemingly unable to hear him, ignoring all his insults!
Soon, the sound of Old Man Tian being beaten could be heard from inside the courtyard.
Moreover, he fainted from the pain after only 10 lashes!
The officers and soldiers came over and asked Su Shangheng whether he wanted to continue fighting.
Su Shangheng said, "As long as there's still air, keep fighting!"
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