Upon hearing this, the two men each handed a small notebook to the clerk. The clerk first flipped through it a few times, then cleared his throat and read it aloud.
"In the ninth month of the sixteenth year of Qingyuan, on the birthday of Magistrate Liu, Wang Yuanwai presented him with a pair of gold ingots and thirty salt permits."
In the ninth month of the sixteenth year of the Qingyuan era, on the birthday of Magistrate Liu, Master Li of Zhiweizhai presented him with a golden Bodhisattva statue. His son passed the imperial examination and was granted a place among the students.
...
In February of the seventeenth year of the Qingyuan era, on the occasion of Lady Liu's birthday, Zhang, the owner of a carriage and horse shop, presented her with a pair of Eastern pearls and thirty-five travel permits for leaving the pass.
In the eighteenth year of the Qingyuan era, Zhao, the owner of Zhao's Wine Shop, gave three hundred taels of silver, and his son, who had forcibly abducted a woman and caused her death, was released without charge.
..."
For years, under Madam Liu's overt and covert instructions, the clerks and constables of the county government had to spend money every year, but they had no choice. If they didn't give gifts, they would lose their jobs. Not only did they have to give gifts, but they also had to flatter and fawn. If they didn't flatter her properly, she wouldn't even give them a kind look. The two of them were full of resentment but dared not utter a word, so they secretly kept a record in their notebooks.
Now it's finally come in handy.
Liu Hong listened from below, his face ashen. These matters couldn't withstand scrutiny. He thought that every official had a few shady dealings, and this little thing wasn't worth mentioning.
As a result, things went wrong with Han Zhongyu.
The clerk read for almost half an hour. Just listening to it, it was nothing more than trivial matters like embezzlement, bribery, and abuse of power for personal gain. But he wrote it down in two notebooks, which shows what he did as the county magistrate!
They were only thinking about how to line their own pockets, and didn't care about the people's affairs at all!
After the clerk finally finished reading, a buzzing sound had already filled the hall.
"Lord Han is extremely discerning. How can such a person be allowed to be a county magistrate? He's more suited to be a parasite!"
"It's pitiful for ordinary people who have been wronged. People just give them some money and bribes, and the matter is settled. The wronged have nowhere to seek justice. What kind of situation is this!"
"Everyone says that the magistrate's gate faces south, and if you have reason but no money, don't come in. Even if you have the biggest reason, if you run into a county magistrate like this, who cares if you have no money and live or die!"
"quiet!"
Seeing that the noise outside was getting louder, Han Zhongyu solemnly addressed the court again, and the people immediately fell silent.
Magistrate Liu was speechless, and lowered his head with a sorrowful expression, awaiting his fate.
Han Zhongyu's cold and aloof pronouncements also came from his mouth.
"Liu Hong, the former magistrate of Yonghe County, abused his power for personal gain, embezzled and accepted bribes, protected his relatives, abused his authority, and knowingly broke the law. He is unfit to be an official. Effective immediately, he is stripped of his magistrate status, all his ill-gotten gains are confiscated, he is to be flogged twenty times, and sentenced to two years in prison."
"Your Excellency is wise!
Your Excellency is wise!
Your Excellency is wise! "
As soon as Han Zhongyu finished speaking, the people outside cheered!
The sentences had already been handed down; all that remained was to administer the necessary beatings and detentions. Thus, the men sentenced to caning were all led to benches.
Cao Cheng'an and Magistrate Liu had already resigned themselves to their fate. Although they were pale with fright, they were able to accept it calmly. Cao Cheng'an was frightened by Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng's exile, and he was secretly glad that he could avoid being exiled!
Magistrate Liu had long anticipated his fate and was powerless to change it; this was all he could do.
On the contrary, Li Mingcheng and Xiao Yuanhang, upon seeing that they were about to be flogged again, howled like pigs being slaughtered.
"Mother! Help!"
"My lord, have mercy! Spare my life!"
Li Mingcheng's family thought that since Magistrate Liu was there, nothing would happen, so they didn't come at all. Magistrate Liu's wife thought it would just be a scolding and a fine, so she didn't take it seriously. Cao Cheng'an's father finished what he was supposed to do and left, so it was Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao who were there.
When Old Mrs. Xiao heard Xiao Yuanhang wailing and howling, she immediately couldn't stand it anymore.
"My son, my son!"
Good heavens! That heavy board, it's going to kill my son!
Old Man Xiao panicked and, taking advantage of the chaos, secretly pulled Liu Nan aside and slipped ten taels of silver into Liu Nan's hand.
"Hey Liu, we're from the same hometown, so can you be a little lenient and go easy on me? Just give me a token beating. Anyway, the person administering the beating has to listen to you, so tell them to use less force!"
Liu Nanhu glared
"What are you doing! We're not like that! It's only right that Xiao Yuanhang is punished for his crimes. I'm just following the law. Don't try to get me involved!"
As Liu Nan spoke, he returned the silver and pushed the person aside, continuing to instruct the executioners to carry out the punishment.
Old Man Xiao and Old Woman Xiao remembered what Xiao Wenli had told them: that begging for the victim's forgiveness might reduce their sentence. Seeing Xiao Yuanhang howling in pain from the beating, they were willing to part with their money. They pulled out all the silver at once and grabbed Sun Chongren, stuffing it into his hands.
"Young man, my Yuanhang is young and doesn't know any better. Please forgive him this once. You should plead with the adults. Yuanhang is weak and can't take such a beating!"
Sun Chongren didn't even glance at the two men. He certainly didn't care about the money. Xiao Yuanhang was the mastermind behind his father's death. He wasn't satisfied with just being able to kill him, let alone expect him to plead for mercy. Dream on!
No matter how much Old Man Xiao and Old Mrs. Xiao pleaded, Sun Chongren remained unmoved. Finally, annoyed, he bluntly said...
“If you really can’t bear to part with him, I advise you to save your strength to say a proper goodbye. After all, the White Tiger Ridge mining area is a place specifically for imprisoning criminals. Those who go there have a very low chance of dying. It will be difficult for you and your son to see each other again!”
Sun Chongren did say that on purpose. He wanted the Xiao family to experience the pain of being separated from their loved ones forever, and to feel the helplessness and heartache of watching their loved ones die while they were powerless to do anything about it!
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Xiao slumped to the ground and began to wail and cry.
"Oh my son, how could you be so heartless as to send him to such a place? You're deliberately trying to kill him!"
"This is outrageous! Heavens above, look at this! They're making life unbearable for anyone!"
Grandma Xiao's loud wailing drowned out the screams of the four people being beaten, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
After learning that the old woman was the mother of the main culprit who had been beaten, someone spoke up sarcastically.
"You still have the nerve to cry and shout here? I think it's only because God has eyes that he sent an honest official to bring your son, this scoundrel, to justice!"
God is just!
"Exactly! With all the despicable things your son did, it's a favor that he wasn't sentenced to beheading!"
"How cruel must one be to commit such a heinous act of taking lives? I think your son is wasting his talents on education; he'd be better suited to be a bandit! He's inhuman!"
"You're talking nonsense! Even if my son caused that old man to fall down the mountain, he didn't die at the time! He died two months later. What does that have to do with my son? Why should my son be sentenced!"
"Pah! Have you no shame?! What does this have to do with your son? If it weren't for your son causing that serious injury, would that person have died?! In my opinion, your son should be beheaded!"
"That's for sure! Your son only survived because he didn't die on the spot! Otherwise, do you think he'd still be alive? You ungrateful wretch, everyone says you raised such an ignorant son!"
Grandma Xiao was about to throw a tantrum, but before she could even open her mouth, she was nearly verbally abused.
As a result, the onlookers clearly didn't want to let her off the hook.
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