Seeing that the truth had come to light, Min Yueqing immediately urged, "According to the Great Gan Criminal Law, how should someone who has committed such a crime be sentenced?"
Upon hearing this question, the clerk couldn't help but turn to look at Magistrate Sun.
Magistrate Sun was caught in a dilemma. He wanted to find a way to delay the proceedings and at least help his sister's family, but he was afraid that he would be implicated instead. He also felt he couldn't bring himself to speak when it came to sentencing her in court.
Caught between two difficult choices, he had no choice but to pass the buck to his advisor, signaling for him to speak.
The clerk had no desire to get involved in this mess, but since he was in charge of criminal matters, he couldn't refuse. So he had to say, "According to the law, coveting the wives of officials and forcing respectable women into becoming concubines, plus assaulting ordinary people without cause, should be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane, plus thirty years of imprisonment, and compensation for all losses suffered by the victims."
When Feng's mother heard about the punishment of one hundred strokes of the cane, she collapsed to the ground in tears. She looked at her son lying on the ground, then at her brother sitting in the hall, feeling completely bewildered and unable to understand how things had turned out this way.
The clerk reported the sentence based on the basic sentencing guidelines; otherwise, it would have been more than thirty years.
Min Yueqing continued, "Where are those two accomplices?"
The accomplices were none other than Feng Ming and his wife.
Just as the advisor was considering how to answer Min Yueqing's question, another commotion broke out outside.
The constables were truly enraged this time. How could someone repeatedly disregard the court and disregard the authority of their yamen?
The same two constables walked up to the gate and shouted, "Who dares to act so presumptuously here? Do you want to be charged with contempt of court?"
This time, an old man's voice rang out from the crowd, "Officer, we are the people who sued Feng Ming for stealing the master's backpack more than ten years ago!"
There was another round of whispers outside the door. This time, everyone willingly made way for them, and it was Old Lin and his wife who stepped out from the crowd.
The two constables' first reaction was that something was amiss. Had the Feng family run into some kind of bad luck today, with one misfortune after another? Well, since that's the case, they might as well take them all in.
Public opinion can melt metal, and accumulated slander can destroy bones.
The two constables were also afraid. If so many people saw that it was the magistrate's sister who had come, they would let her in. But if two old people came, they would chase them away. Then the two of them would probably not be able to stay in Tongcheng in the future.
Old Lin and his companion followed the constables and respectfully entered the county government hall, where they knelt on the ground and bowed to the county magistrate.
Magistrate Sun looked completely bewildered. Why were two old people here again? What were they doing getting involved at this time? He asked impatiently, "What do you want?"
As soon as Old Lin entered, he noticed Feng Ming kneeling on the ground. When the magistrate asked him a question, he replied, "Your Excellency, my surname is Lin. More than 30 years ago, I adopted a 6-year-old child named Feng Ming."
Although Old Lin was old, he was still in good health and his voice was as loud as ever. So when he said this, a gasp of shock immediately filled the room.
Feng Ming, isn't he Feng Ruichuan's father, the county magistrate's brother-in-law? He's actually the adopted son of this poor old man in front of me.
Everyone looked at Feng Ming's silk clothes and then at the patched coarse cloth clothes of the two old people, and felt only a sense of absurdity.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, Old Lin continued, "Unexpectedly, after raising him for ten years, my wife and I have raised a thankless wretch. When he turned sixteen, he somehow developed a gambling addiction. First, he secretly took our savings to gamble. Perhaps seeing that we hadn't noticed, he gambled more and more, and finally stole our house deed to gamble as well. He even mortgaged the shop."
"He did just that, he ran away and hid, and then disappeared without a trace. We didn't even know where to find him if we wanted to teach him a lesson. Not two years later, he somehow turned his luck around, and when we saw him again, he had transformed into a big boss, but he acted like he didn't recognize us."
“When we went to reason with him, he had his men drive us away and even called us stinking beggars. I was so angry that I came to the yamen to sue him. I finally found someone to write a complaint and submitted it, but I haven’t heard back yet.”
At this point, Old Lin couldn't help but raise his head and glance at Magistrate Sun. This was the first time he had looked directly at the magistrate since he came in.
For some reason, Magistrate Sun found Old Lin's resentful gaze somewhat scorching, causing him to subconsciously avoid looking at him.
Feng's mother thought that after hearing about her son's punishment, her heart was already numb with pain and she would not feel anything anymore, but at this moment she felt a sudden dizziness.
In one day, first her son was to be severely punished, receiving a hundred strokes of the cane, and it was uncertain whether he would survive. Now her husband was being sued, and the reason for this lawsuit was even more astonishing.
She looked at Feng Ming incredulously, as if she had only just met him today.
Still clinging to a sliver of hope, Feng Ming loudly protested, "No, what he said isn't true, sir! Don't be fooled by this scoundrel! I don't know him at all!"
Old Lin snorted, not at all surprised that this bastard would say such a thing. He said, "Sir, most of my former neighbors have seen him. Just ask around and you'll know."
Feng Ming's face turned deathly pale, and he muttered in vain, "No, no, he's talking nonsense."
Regardless of the truth, even without calling witnesses, everyone could guess from his expression alone.
The onlookers were all wide-eyed with astonishment. They never expected that a playboy like Feng Ruichuan could uncover so many of the Feng family's secrets. It was truly a case of the upper beam being crooked and the lower beam being crooked.
The series of changes that befell the Feng family was more dramatic than a play, enough to keep the people of Tongcheng talking for at least a year and a half.
Since further witnesses were needed in Feng Ming's case, Magistrate Sun decided to detain Feng Ming first, and then make a judgment after the facts of the matter were investigated and the witnesses were summoned.
As for Feng Ruichuan, his punishment has already been decided, and he cannot escape it no matter what.
After the court session ended, Pei Ji rushed over from behind the small door like a gust of wind. Two sweet dimples appeared on her soft face. She took Min Yueqing's hand, snuggled up to her, and looked up at her with a dependent expression.
He was overjoyed to hear that the sleazy villain from the previous two days had been punished. At the same time, he thought his mother was really amazing. Her calm and composed demeanor in the court was charming, and her eloquent speech was also captivating. Pei Ji was thoroughly enjoying watching her and wished he could hug his mother immediately.
Min Yueqing was so fond of the little boy's unconsciously affectionate way of following her that she immediately reached out, picked him up, and kissed him on the cheek.
There were still many people inside and outside the lobby who hadn't left. Pei Ji was probably shy, so he buried his face in her shoulder and nuzzled her in response.
The Lin couple walked up to Min Yueqing, intending to kneel down to express their gratitude, but Min Yueqing stopped them and sternly refused.
The Lin couple were filled with gratitude. "If it weren't for this, we really wouldn't know how to repay your great kindness. If it weren't for you, the county government wouldn't have even heard about this matter."
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