Everyone present wanted to punch him for saying that. He was utterly shameless, a blatant act of thuggery, trying to exploit loopholes in the law!
Sun Chongren was furious, his face flushed. He hadn't expected that even with witnesses testifying in court, he could still come up with such a lame excuse. He immediately pointed his finger at him and questioned him.
"We've never gotten along. If you had no ulterior motive, why would you suddenly go out of your way to find me to travel with you? You're just making excuses!"
"It's precisely because we don't get along, and you're known for being diligent and studious with better grades than us, that I wanted to get closer to you and ask you for some guidance. Who knew I'd be so unlucky as to run into your father rolling down the mountain!"
"Xiao Yuanhang, you're talking nonsense. It was you who tampered with the big rock. People from the village often rest there. It's very sturdy. How come it became loose after you went there!"
"You did this intentionally, deliberately causing my father to fall and get injured, and then had Cao Cheng'an directly inform me. I was worried about my father's injury and knew I would definitely skip the exam, and you all used my past exam essays to answer the questions!"
"Words are no proof. Anyway, I didn't touch that stone. Besides, I found that exercise book. I saw that some of the policy essays on it were well written, so I consulted with Li Mingcheng and Cao Chengan. But the atmosphere in the exam room was tense. Whenever I encountered a similar question, I instinctively wrote down the policy essays that I had read and thought were good!"
My lord, at most I borrowed his answer to the policy question, but his father's affairs really have nothing to do with me!
"Please, Your Excellency, do me justice!"
"Pooh!
You're shameless! That's plagiarism, cheating in the exam, and you still call it "learning from others"? You're just trying to make yourself look good!
This is a disgrace to scholars!
An old scholar watching from outside couldn't stand it any longer and spat out a curse.
An older woman continued...
"That's right, you know, they look all respectable, but they really do nothing right!"
They've harmed people so badly, and they don't even feel a shred of remorse. If I raised such a beast, I'd strangle it to death! I wouldn't dare let it out to harm people!
Having grown up hearing Grandma Xiao call him her "darling," Xiao Yuanhang felt as if his head had been hit by a hammer, his heart felt like it had been stabbed, and he couldn't hear anything for a moment.
In his mind, such words were always used to curse Xiao Yi, Xiao Dayong, and the Li family; when had they ever been used on him!
He was the most promising and capable man in his family, no, in the entire surrounding villages. He was a chosen one, destined for officialdom. How could he be worse than an animal?
The fragile self-esteem he had been clinging to was punctured like a bubble by a strange middle-aged woman, and Xiao Yuanhang completely broke down, clutching his head and screaming.
"No! I am a scholar, a man of great potential, destined to be an official! I did not kill anyone, you cannot do anything to me without evidence!"
But how could someone who dares to cheat, harm others, and even silence witnesses when caught be so psychologically fragile?
The breakdown was real, because seeing no hope of escape and facing severe punishment, of course it was inevitable to break down.
To say he lost his mind would be an exaggeration; his hysterical shouting was merely an attempt to evade interrogation.
But who is Han Zhongyu? He's a living devil in officialdom, with far more troublesome suspects than Xiao Yuanhang. He'd interrogate every single one of them thoroughly.
Xiao Yuanhang's little tricks were nothing to him; he could defeat him in no time!
Xiao Yuanhang was still pretending to be crazy, clutching his head, when Han Zhongyu slammed the gavel heavily and slowly gave the order.
"Xiao Yuanhang has roared in court, showing contempt for the law and committing insubordination. According to the law, he shall be severely punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"
This time, it wasn't just a few slaps from Liu Nan and the others as a warning; they gave him twenty heavy blows. With Xiao Yuanhang's small frame, he probably wouldn't be able to take care of himself after that!
This time, Xiao Yuanhang couldn't keep up the act any longer and begged Han Zhongyu for mercy.
"My lord, spare me! I was wrong, I'll never shout again, but I really didn't harm Sun Chongren's father! My lord, please investigate!"
Sun Chongren's eyes were red with anger, and he clenched his fists tightly. If it weren't for the fact that this was a courtroom, he would definitely have gone up and punched him!
But he hadn't forgotten that this was a courtroom, so he held back and addressed Han Zhongyu as well.
"I beg you, Your Excellency, to do justice for this humble subject!"
Han Zhongyu remained remarkably calm, glancing at the people below before speaking leisurely.
"Since there is currently insufficient evidence regarding Old Man Sun's case, we will proceed with the trial once Magistrate Liu and Cao Cheng'an, who are involved in the case, are brought to justice!"
As for the matter of cheating in the imperial examinations, the evidence is conclusive. Scholars Li Mingcheng and Xiao Yuanhang plagiarized other people's policy essays and used them to answer questions in the examination room, obtaining the title of scholar through improper means, which had an extremely bad influence.
The verdict is as follows: Li Mingcheng and Xiao Yuanhang are immediately stripped of their Xiucai (scholar) titles, their families for three generations are barred from taking the imperial examinations, and they are each given forty strokes of the cane as a warning to others!
Xiao Yuanhang and Li Mingcheng were both dumbfounded. After all that arguing, had Lord Han not listened to a single word?
There's not enough evidence. Shouldn't he continue to investigate? Why did he launch an attack first?
Xie Yushu was laughing so hard she was shaking, but she had to pretend to be serious.
I have to say, Han Zhongyu's move was brilliant! Insufficient evidence? He first attacked those with sufficient evidence, and then attacked the rest when the evidence was supplemented, and then proceeded to the next trial!
It saves us from hitting each other all at once; too many boards and someone's going to get beaten to death!
The main focus is on flexible case handling!
Han Zhongyu glanced at Xie Yushu out of the corner of his eye, coughed lightly, and reminded the person who was about to burst out laughing, yet thought she had hidden it very well.
"Be serious in court!"
Xie Yushu pulled Nanxing forward to block him from view before secretly giving Han Zhongyu a thumbs up.
Xie Yushu wasn't the only one who felt relieved; cheers could be heard from the people at the door from a distance!
"This kind of scum should have been killed long ago!"
"Your Excellency is just; well done!"
"Banning three generations from taking the imperial examinations is too lenient; it should be eight generations! What kind of good children can such a morally corrupt person raise? He'll only bring trouble to people if he becomes an official!"
As Han Zhongyu's verdict was handed down, Liu Nan and Liu Bei called a few people to lift Li Mingcheng and Xiao Yuanhang onto stools, pair them up, and begin the execution!
The fire and water sticks used in the yamen were different from the sticks used to beat people in one's own clan's ancestral hall. The bottom of the fire and water sticks was covered with flat iron, which was meant to show that no favoritism was tolerated.
In addition, these two were both players that made people grit their teeth in hatred. Almost as soon as the order was given, the stick was swung up. With one blow, these two cowards cried out in pain. After a few blows, the two were crying with snot and tears streaming down their faces, shouting everything they could, from "father" and "mother" to "heaven" and "justice!"
They shouted until their throats were hoarse, but there was no Old Lady Xiao here to protect them, nor was their brother-in-law, the county magistrate, to save them!
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