On the day of the trial, Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao, who rushed to the place in a hurry, ran right into Xie Yushu, who was leisurely bringing Qu Xiaodie and Nanxing to watch the excitement!
In order to sit closer and enjoy the view, Xie Yushu specially wore a sapphire blue embroidered auspicious cloud patterned formal suit for a village lord. She looked both noble and dignified, as well as a bit unrestrained and dashing. When Old Man Xiao and Old Madam Xiao met her, they didn't recognize her at first. They just felt that she must be a noble person because of her demeanor, and they unconsciously wanted to kneel down and kowtow!
As Xie Yushu approached, Old Madam Xiao stole another glance, feeling that the person looked somewhat familiar. She stole another glance before exclaiming in surprise.
"You are Xie Yushu!"
"You audacious scoundrel, daring to address the village head by his given name! You deserve a beating!"
Qu Xiaodie had already recognized Old Madam Xiao and was already planning in her heart that if she continued to bully Xie Yushu without thinking, she would teach her a lesson!
Now she's no longer an elder who can boss them around!
So, as soon as Old Madam Xiao pointed at Xie Yushu and spoke, Qu Xiaodie lashed out with her whip!
"Ah! My hand, you little bastard..."
Ouch... You dare slap my face?
"Aww..."
After three lashes, Old Madam Xiao finally wisely withdrew her fingers and shut her mouth!
Old Man Xiao swallowed hard, forced a smile, and tried to explain.
"My lady, she... she's quick-witted but not very bright. Please don't take it to heart. We... we just wanted to pay our respects to you!"
After saying that, he secretly nudged Old Mrs. Xiao.
"Now that Xie's niece is a village head, you should be careful. We're all from the same village. Why don't you apologize to your niece so she can put in a good word for your fourth brother?"
After Old Man Xiao finished speaking, Old Madam Xiao understood what was going on. That's right, Xie Yushu is now the village head, and judging from the current situation, she's going to the yamen to hear the case. If Xie Yushu pleads for Xiao Yuanhang, why would they need to give her any money?
He immediately forgot about feeling resentful for being subservient to Xie Yushu, and smiled broadly as he said to her.
"Hey! You mean my niece? Come to think of it, we're from the same hometown, we're relatives, and you have a connection with our family. We're practically family."
You know our fourth brother, he's such a talented and promising person, how could he do something so harmful?
This must be a frame-up! Don't you know the governor? Tell him that Yuanhang has been wronged and ask them to release the fourth prince!
Xie Yushu sneered
"Ha! You two aren't fully awake yet!"
Putting aside whether I can interfere with the governor's handling of the case, are you two sure there's any personal relationship between us?
I think you two shouldn't be asking me to speak up for Xiao Yuanhang; you should be begging me to have some compassion and not kick him when he's down!
"Huh? How can you talk like that! How can you be so heartless? You..."
"How dare you! Who are you talking to, all polite and formal with me?!"
Seeing that Xie Yushu ignored Old Man Xiao and Old Madam Xiao and left directly, Nanxing knew that Xie Yushu disdained to pay attention to the two of them. Seeing that Old Madam Xiao was still making disrespectful remarks about Xie Yushu, Nanxing immediately slapped Old Madam Xiao twice without hesitation, and then said...
"Insulting and slandering the local lord of the imperial court is equivalent to insulting an official of the imperial court, and at the very least, one shall be severely punished with thirty strokes of the cane!"
Madam Xiao, the imperial court's fire and water sticks are not like the sticks in your Xiao family. Those are covered with iron sheets, and thirty strokes can kill a person. Think carefully before you say anything!
Our village head is letting you off the hook this time out of magnanimity. Don't be so eager to get yourself killed!
Grandma Xiao was so angry she felt like her lungs were about to explode. She cursed the little bitch countless times in her heart, but the fact that Xie Yushu didn't stop Qu Xiaodie and Nanxing from beating her just now was enough to prove that Xie Yushu didn't care about her life or death. Realizing this, Grandma Xiao finally dared not make a fuss.
Seeing that she had behaved herself, Nanxing stopped paying attention to her and turned to follow Xie Yushu and Qu Xiaodie inside!
Watching Xie Yushu walk into the government office with grace and composure, and even the yamen runners and clerks had to bow respectfully to her, Old Man Xiao and Old Madam Xiao felt terrible, even more upset than if she had lost a hundred taels of silver.
Of course, they wouldn't admit that they regretted it, because that would prove that they made a mistake in divorcing Xie Yushu, which would be worse than being killed!
While forcing herself to straighten her chest and raise her head, Old Madam Xiao whispered to herself and Old Man Xiao, "What is a mere village lady? Our Xiao Yi is a general, and he is going to marry a princess from the capital. Sooner or later, there will be a day when Xie Yushu will be kneeling at our feet!"
She reminded herself again and again that she was the general's mother, which prevented her from being intimidated by Han Zhongyu and Xie Yushu's imposing presence and collapsing to the ground.
Han Zhongyu knew that they were Xiao Yi's parents. Even if he could only see them with half his eyeballs missing, he didn't make things difficult for them because Xiao Yi was still serving the country loyally. He told them to look if they wanted, as long as they didn't go into the yamen or kneel!
But once you enter the yamen, you must follow its rules! Once you enter the yamen, you're not kneeling to Han Zhongyu, but to the majesty of the law!
Although Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao didn't know the ins and outs of the matter, they did know that they didn't need to kneel outside the yamen. They absolutely refused to kneel to Xie Yushu, and of course, they didn't want to kneel to Han Zhongyu either, because in their hearts, they were officials, and kneeling would be too embarrassing!
So the two of them, with perfect understanding, occupied the very center position at the entrance of the government office.
With everyone ready, Liu Nan gave the order.
"Open the hall!"
"So majestic!"
Xiao Yuanhang, Li Mingcheng, Magistrate Liu, and Cao Chengan were brought up together!
At the same time, Sun Chongren also stood below the hall.
Unlike the previous days, this time there were two new witnesses outside the door!
Han Zhongyu cleared his throat and began the trial.
Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng
Three years ago, you two forced Sun Chongren to give up the exam in order to facilitate cheating in the imperial examination. You deliberately harmed Sun Chongren's father and destroyed the large rock that Sun's father often rested on, causing him to roll down the mountain and be seriously injured. He died two months later. Do you two admit to this or not?
Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng, of course, refused to admit it and both cried out that they were innocent.
"Sir, we don't admit it! We are innocent!"
"Yes, we're innocent! We just wanted to go to school with him, and we happened to run into his dad who fell!"
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Xiao shrieked.
"Did you see that? I told you my son was innocent. Which heartless bastard tried to harm my son? What a terrible, wretched thing! Why doesn't he just die already instead of coming out here to cause trouble for others..."
"Shut up! This is a trial by adults, who dares to make a sound!"
Anyone who dares to disrupt court proceedings again will be slapped twenty times!
After Liu Nansu finished his court hearing, he coldly glanced at Old Madam Xiao. The constables on both sides simultaneously struck their batons to intimidate her, and the imposing voices rang out in her ears. The serious atmosphere startled Old Madam Xiao so much that she almost wet herself!
Seeing that the courtroom was quiet, Han Zhongyu continued the interrogation.
"Cao Cheng'an, do you have anything to say about Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng's alleged murder of Sun Chongren's father?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng both looked at Cao Chengan with a threatening expression in their eyes.
Cao Cheng'an didn't even glance at them. He wasn't stupid. Even Li Mingcheng's brother-in-law, the county magistrate, was kneeling here. If he were to stubbornly stick to the same path as them, wouldn't he be courting death?
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