Hong Xiaoduo, along with the two children, escorted Wang Shoucai out. The short walk to the courtyard gate caused Wang Shoucai to break out in a sweat from the pain.
Yes, he only had one leg broken, but those brats didn't just target his leg.
Now, there's not a single part of his body that doesn't ache.
Hong Xiaoduo made him walk in front, with Tian Shu and Tian Xuan following on either side, while she followed slowly behind with her hands behind her back.
"Why didn't you tie me up with ropes? Aren't you afraid I'll run away halfway? I'm a local, I know the terrain better than you do," Wang Shoucai said, half-jokingly, with a hint of annoyance.
Upon hearing this, Tian Shu ignored him, but Tian Xuan laughed happily and said, "I'm just afraid you won't run away. Why don't you give it a try?"
If this guy dares to run, he and his older brother won't even need to bother chasing him. Mother can cripple his other leg with a single pebble. No, maybe she'll use a whip. It's been a while since we've seen her do it, so this is a good opportunity to feast our eyes.
Tianxuan's expectant response immediately dispelled Wang Shoucai's idea of running away.
Before long, more and more pedestrians appeared on the road. When they saw Wang Shoucai like this, they stared at him curiously, and some even pointed and discussed it.
Although the town wasn't too small, some people still recognized him as that good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Bai family. What happened to him? Did he get beaten up by the gambling den for cheating?
Wait a minute, the gambling den wouldn't open this early in the morning!
Furthermore, this direction is wrong!
Also, the two handsome young men beside him weren't from the gambling den. There was another woman following behind them, armed with a sword and a whip, looking like a thug, but she was actually a young lady!
Because of his broken leg, Wang Shoucai was already moving slowly, so he could hear the whispers and comments from pedestrians on the street very clearly. Even if he wanted to walk faster, he couldn't.
Seeing the reactions and discussions of the passersby around her, Hong Xiaoduo felt even more confident.
"Hey, young lady, may I ask what brings you here?" A thin old woman greeted Hong Xiaoduo and inquired.
“This guy sneaked into our place last night with the intention of killing and robbing us, but we caught him and sent him to the authorities,” Hong Xiaoduo replied immediately.
"I didn't, I didn't do it. Don't make false accusations against me. I was just feeling down and wanted to go for a walk outside the town to clear my head. You guys robbed me."
"Everyone, for the sake of our fellow villagers, please save me! Don't let outsiders do evil here. I, Wang, will definitely repay you handsomely later!" Wang Shoucai pleaded, his voice even louder than Hong Xiaoduo's, after hearing her words.
"Hey Wang, what are you going to do to repay me? You gambled away your father-in-law's shop and all his farmland," an old Chinese man said with displeasure.
"You even said they framed him? There are so many people in town, why are they only framing you?"
"I bet he lost money and tried to rob someone, but he was unlucky and got caught."
"The Bai family are all honest people, and they were living a good life, but they were blind enough to have such a wolf as their son-in-law. They've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes."
"Why wasn't he beaten to death? Only if the Bai family were killed would they have a chance to rise up." Even if some of the people around didn't recognize Wang Shoucai, they had all heard of his deeds.
As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast!
Knowing all the outrageous things Wang Shoucai did after joining the Bai family, everyone felt indignant on behalf of the Bai family. However, it was their family matter, and it was not appropriate for outsiders to stand up for them.
Now, finally someone can deal with this bastard.
Hong Xiaoduo looked at Wang Shoucai, shook her head and clicked her tongue, and said, "Oh dear, look at the attitude of your fellow villagers towards you. And you still dare to incite them to deal with outsiders like us and help you?"
How many heinous things have you done in your daily life? And you truly have absolutely no self-awareness about your own character!
After saying this, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd watching from all sides and said, "Fellow villagers, if any of you are not in a hurry, you may also go to the yamen to see how the officials will interrogate him."
When she said that, some people actually responded, and some even asked if she knew how to get to the yamen (government office).
Hong Xiaoduo laughed and said, "We don't know where the government office is, but he does. We're not afraid that he'll try to take a roundabout route. As long as his legs can handle the detour, we're happy to oblige."
Haha, the onlookers burst into laughter, saying "Yes, yes, yes!"
The laughter of the crowd was unbearable to Wang Shoucai. He gritted his teeth and dragged his broken leg forward with all his might. There was no way to escape. He could only go to the yamen first.
Although the yamen was not a good place, and his fate upon entering was uncertain, he felt that the most dangerous thing was not the yamen, but the smiling tiger-like young woman behind him, and the few little devils beside her.
Even if the onlookers were eager to see the magistrate judge Wang Shoucai, not everyone had the time to follow along. However, even if there were few people following, they couldn't stop the others from joining in along the way.
When they arrived outside the government office, there were already dozens of onlookers gathered behind them.
Tian Shu stepped forward and struck the drum. Soon after, the sounds of "Wei Wu" and "Sheng Tang" came from inside.
After Zhu Dayong, a ninth-rank county magistrate, sat down panting, his advisor quickly reminded him that his official hat was a little crooked, and Magistrate Zhu quickly raised his hand to straighten it.
Just then, he saw his subordinate leading a group of people in. Lord Zhu stared at the subordinate with wide eyes. The subordinate hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "The one who reported the case is that young lady and the two young masters. That disheveled fellow with the bamboo stick was captured by them."
As for the people standing at the back, they were all townspeople who had come to watch the adults conduct the trial.
In the three years since Lord Zhu took office, the cases he has handled have all been neighborhood brawls over homesteads, cases of stolen cattle, cases of shop robberies, and cases of drunken fights resulting in disability. The only case that could be considered a murder was a quarrel between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law lost the argument to her mother-in-law, and her husband did not take her side. Feeling wronged, she hanged herself at her mother-in-law's door, and her brothers from her own family came to make trouble.
Although we haven't asked about the situation yet, this massive, dark-skinned crowd attending a trial is something I've never seen before.
Lord Zhu subconsciously straightened his posture even more.
"My lord, save me! My lord, do justice for this humble subject!" Before Lord Zhu could speak, Wang Shoucai threw down his stick, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed, pleading for mercy.
Lord Zhu ignored his question, slammed the gavel on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant in this case?"
“Your Honor, I am the plaintiff, and this man is the defendant. My group and I were renting a house on the outskirts of town when this man sneaked into the yard last night with a weapon, attempting to rob and kill us. We discovered him and captured him, and have brought him here to ask Your Honor to investigate thoroughly and punish this scoundrel,” Hong Xiaoduo stepped forward and said.
Hong Xiaoduo still has to give a thumbs up to this dynasty that can't be found in historical records. When you come to the yamen, unlike some dynasties where the plaintiff and defendant have to kneel down to speak, here, only the defendant needs to kneel down, which is quite humane.
Otherwise, she would have racked her brains to think of another way to send this guy to the yamen.
"Is the house you rented belonging to the Huang family?" Master Xu Heshan stroked his beard, looked at Tian Shu and Tian Xuan, then at Hong Xiaoduo, and suddenly asked...
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