A family surnamed Huang? I don't know! Hong Xiaoduo looked at the two little brothers, Tian Shu and his brother, standing to the side.
“Reporting to Your Excellency, the owner of the courtyard we rented is indeed surnamed Huang,” Tian Shu stepped forward and answered crisply.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhu glanced at Hong Xiaoduo and thought to himself, "How could an adult like her not know about something like this?"
But look at this child, he showed no fear whatsoever in court, which shows he has seen the world and his family background must be extraordinary.
At this moment, Magistrate Zhu guessed that the two brothers, Tian Shu and Tian Xuan, must have an elder in their family who held an official position, and that this elder's rank was likely not low. However, this young woman's identity seemed that of a woman from the martial arts world!
"My lord, you must do justice for us! No matter how much we plead, there is no law that says walking outside the courtyard wall means you intend to steal, or carrying a dagger means you intend to commit murder."
"They have no evidence whatsoever; this is framing a commoner like me! Your Honor, you are a just and upright official; please uphold justice for me and give me fairness!" Wang Shoucai cried out again, kowtowing repeatedly.
Magistrate Zhu frowned upon hearing this. There was some truth to it. Everything required evidence. Even if the defendant's appearance didn't seem like that of a good person, one couldn't judge him guilty based solely on that.
He looked at Hong Xiaoduo, about to ask a question, when Master Xu quickly moved closer to him and whispered in his ear.
The voices were too soft for Hong Xiaoduo to hear what the clerk and the magistrate were saying, but she noticed that the magistrate's gaze towards her had changed. It was no longer the scrutinizing look from before, but rather one of shock, disbelief, and then a gleam in his eyes.
"May I ask, young one..."
"Ahem," Xu the clerk coughed lightly as soon as Magistrate Zhu opened his mouth.
"Plaintiff, our master said he has roughly understood the details of the case and will handle it according to the law. If you have other matters to attend to, you may leave now. If you are not busy, you can stay here and watch the master preside over the trial," Master Xu said to Hong Xiaoduo.
These words stunned everyone present, except for Magistrate Zhu!
Is it even possible to do this?
After Hong Xiaoduo realized what was happening, she looked at the magistrate and the clerk and said, "To be honest, sir, we originally planned to leave this place this morning. Since we can leave, that would be the best."
On the way here, I heard some things about his misdeeds. He married into the Bai family and caused them a lot of harm. I hope you, sir, will investigate thoroughly and give the Bai family justice. Thank you for your hard work, sir. I'll take my leave now." After saying this, Hong Xiaoduo didn't even look at Wang Shoucai lying on the ground, and called to the two brothers, Tian Shu, to walk out.
"Young lady, my master's surname is Zhu, Zhu Dayong, and I am Master Xu Heshan." Master Xu called out to Hong Xiaoduo's back.
The yamen runners on both sides, the onlookers, and Wang Shoucai, who was still lying on the ground in a daze, were all bewildered once again. What did Master Xu mean by this?
Not only does Ciguoguo offer great convenience, but it also makes such a deliberate attempt to reveal its name.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo stopped and slowly turned around. She smiled and nodded at the two people, but said nothing. She then turned and walked away.
Some of the onlookers reacted quickly and realized that this young lady and her entourage had a very special status, something even Magistrate Zhu had to curry favor with!
People automatically made way for them, watching the group of one adult and two children walk out of the government office.
"Sir, they are the perpetrators. Why were they let go?" Wang Shoucai looked up and realized that the three men had already disappeared. Looking at the onlookers and the yamen runners on both sides who were looking at him with a mixture of schadenfreude and pity, his unease grew stronger.
The magistrate just let the plaintiff go like that? This doesn't seem right!
Magistrate Zhu grabbed the gavel and slammed it down again, shouting at Wang Shoucai, "Suspect Wang Shoucai, quickly confess what you intended to do last night, sign your confession, and you'll be spared torture."
"Your Honor, you cannot convict me based solely on her word. That is unfair to me. Your Honor, since they are people we cannot afford to offend, can't I just accept my bad luck? The plaintiff has left. Please, Your Honor, release me." Wang Shoucai suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation. Being sensible, he didn't dare question Magistrate Zhu's attempt to curry favor with the woman and her entourage. He only wanted to leave the courtroom.
Magistrate Zhu ignored what he said and said, "Guards, bring the torture on."
Having just listened to the advisor's words, Magistrate Zhu is no longer worried about creating a wrongful conviction.
The constables had heard about the Bai family's plight before and cursed the guy for being dishonest. Today, however, the guy had run into a brick wall and ended up in their hands.
Therefore, when the magistrate ordered the use of torture, the yamen runners were often driven by a desire to settle personal scores and vent their anger.
The board was swung down, each strike landing precisely and with full force. After a few blows, Wang Shoucai was in so much pain that he fainted.
Without the magistrate giving any further orders, a constable went to fetch well water and poured it over the unconscious Wang Shoucai. Once he regained consciousness, the beating continued.
"Stop hitting me! I confess! I admit my guilt! I had bad luck yesterday and lost money again. I was also being chased by loan sharks. So, I accidentally learned that the outsiders living in Old Huang's house seemed to be quite wealthy, so I thought I'd try to rob them." After fainting twice and being revived by being splashed with cold water, Wang Shoucai used all his strength to desperately confess, fearing that if he was even a little slow, the board would fall again.
"Just trying to get some silver? You're carrying a dagger?" Magistrate Zhu was completely relieved to hear that the man had truly confessed, and he spoke up.
Wang Shoucai wanted to save his own life. Regarding the dagger, he thought for a moment before tentatively replying, "I carried the dagger for self-defense. I really didn't intend to harm anyone."
"Not telling the truth? Continue the torture." Magistrate Zhu wasn't disbelieving him, but he remembered the last words the man had added before leaving, so he decided to sentence the fellow to a severe punishment.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
