activa-t Chapter 152: Trial (2)
Chapter 152: Trial (2)
Two yamen runners quickly stepped forward and held Cai Shoucheng. Cai Shoucheng struggled and tried to kick Hao Xiong.
Zhao Xuan, who was standing in the crowd, was so angry that she jumped up and down, pointing at Cai Shoucheng and cursing.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you commit violence in court? The court is a place for reason. It's not your turn to act recklessly!"
There were also merchants in the crowd who came to attend the trial. They immediately looked at Zhao Xuan, all with angry expressions.
Someone yelled back at Zhao Xuan, "Who do you think you are? If you're a robber, you deserve a beating! I think Old Cai didn't kick him hard enough just now. He should have kicked that guy to death!"
A yamen runner leaned over and helped Hao Xiong up, letting him continue kneeling, and asked, "Are you hurt?"
Hao Xiong just shook his head with a bitter look on his face.
Gu Jiancheng banged the gavel again and shouted, "Quiet!"
Only then did everyone gradually calm down.
Gu Jiancheng looked at Wang Daoding and said, "Sir Wang, have all the people from Jiaoyang Valley arrived?"
Wang Daoding hurriedly stood up and reported.
"I thought the crops in the fields couldn't be left uncultivated, and some people had other livelihoods and couldn't leave, so I went to Jiaoyang Valley myself. They selected three people to accompany me to the capital, and they are now waiting in the back hall."
Gu Jiancheng nodded and said to a yamen runner, "Bring them up."
Zhao Xuan whispered to Gu Zhanghua, "Someone from Jiaoyang Valley is coming? How come I didn't know?"
"I don't know either. I think it was my second brother's idea."
Zhao Xuan looked towards the court and was suddenly surprised and happy.
"Look, it's Grandpa Fu, Aunt Wang, and Erya!"
In the hall, Aunt Wang and Erya supported Grandpa Fu on the left and right, and bowed to the two adults.
Wang Daoding hurriedly supported Grandpa Fu who was about to kneel down.
"Please stop kneeling, old man. Old people's legs and feet are not very good."
Grandpa Fu bowed to Gu Jiancheng and Wang Daoding.
"Thank you both, my lords. I'm still in good health, and it's all thanks to the people of Jiaoyang Valley!"
Grandpa Fu walked up to Hao Xiong and Dong Tian, touched the heads of the two children, one in each hand, and couldn't help but shed tears.
"They are all good children, good children!"
Wang Daoding looked at the somewhat restless crowd.
"This old man, everyone calls him Grandpa Fu. The other two are also from Jiaoyang Valley. I personally brought them down the mountain to Liyang. They can all prove that Hao Xiong and Dong Tian are indeed from Jiaoyang Valley."
Aunt Wang wiped away her tears.
"We all fled to Jiaoyang Valley two years ago when the Heng River flooded. Our homes and land were flooded, and we all unexpectedly contracted the disease. It was the Little Medical Fairy who cured us, and it was the headmaster who sold a precious sword he won in a competition to buy food and medicine for us. That's why we're still alive."
When Aunt Wang said this, she began to wipe her tears again, choking and unable to continue.
Erya held Aunt Wang's hand and looked at the people listening to the trial outside the door.
"Fellow villagers, young and old, if you have the chance, please visit Jiaoyang Valley. Over the years, some of us have farmed, some have gone out to work, and we've always been self-sufficient. At least we have enough food and clothing, and our lives are getting better and better. Why would we rob those passing caravans? The young and strong are all working in the nearby counties, and Jiaoyang Valley is full of the elderly, the weak, and the disabled. How could someone like Grandpa Fu come down the mountain to rob?"
Cai Shoucheng was not convinced.
"What about these two suspects? Wasn't he the leader of the mountain patrol team that winter? The patrol team is made up of young and strong men, right? How could they not have come down the mountain to rob?"
Dongtian was so angry that he yelled, "You are slandering me!"
Grandpa Fu held Dongtian's shoulders.
"Our boss has been hunted by the Tiandao League for selling that precious sword, and he hasn't had a peaceful life for a few days. What did that child do wrong? He saved over a hundred of us. Even if he doesn't have any merit, he has worked hard. I also want to ask the Tiandao League why they insist on forcing our boss to death. We have no place to complain about our grievances!"
Wang Daoding gave his chair to Grandpa Fu.
"Old man, please don't be anxious. Sit down and rest for a while."
In the crowd, Gu Zhanghua clapped his hands excitedly and whispered to Zhao Xuan.
"Why didn't I think of this? If the Tiandao League can frame Jiaoyang Valley, then we can also prove our innocence! Second brother is really amazing!"
Zhao Xuan also swept away the gloom in her heart over the past few days and smiled.
"That Magistrate Wang is quite resourceful. Strength lies in numbers, and he can help those merchants who filed complaints to get to the bottom of the matter."
At this time, Wang Daoding turned around and looked at everyone.
"Ever since more and more merchants came to my yamen to report crimes, I immediately sent people to set up ambushes along the roads where robberies often occurred, hoping to catch them in the act. Sure enough, we ran into one, but the strange thing was that the robbers were usually only five or six in number, but they were all skilled in martial arts, at least much better than the yamen runners I sent. Even three or five runners couldn't catch any of them, and they all got away! Later, I sent twice as many people to ambush, and sure enough, we ran into another robbery. This time, we caught two robbers."
Wang Daoding said this and looked at Gu Jiancheng.
"Sir, bring them up now?"
Gu Jiancheng nodded.
After a while, the two robbers were brought up with their hands and feet tied, and knelt in a row with Hao Xiong and Dong Tian.
Gu Jiancheng looked at the two robbers.
"This official and Lord Wang have interrogated you in the prison of the Fucheng government office, but you've proven that you're refugees from Jiaoyang Valley, and that you came down the mountain to rob the merchant caravans because you couldn't survive. Now, people from Jiaoyang Valley have arrived. Grandpa Fu, Aunt Wang, and Erya, come and see if you recognize these two people."
Hao Xiong spat at the two of them.
"We in Jiaoyang Valley will never produce scum like you!"
Aunt Wang and Erya supported Grandpa Fu and walked up to the two robbers, took a look, and shook their heads at the same time.
"I have never seen them both in Jiaoyang Valley."
Aunt Wang also said, "I don't know her."
At this time, the two robbers just kept kowtowing to Gu Jiancheng and shouting.
"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"
Gu Jiancheng sneered, "Originally, Lord Wang and I planned to stage a play. We'd have people pretend to be assassins and kill you two to silence you. Then Lord Wang would send someone to rescue you two. If you still had any conscience, perhaps you would be grateful and confess everything. But I didn't expect that before Lord Wang and I could make any arrangements, the person behind the scenes would really come to kill and silence you. If Lord Wang hadn't kept you two under strict supervision in advance and provided you with timely treatment, you two would have died long ago. Now, are you willing to tell the truth?"
One of the robbers still had white cloth wrapped around his chest, with blood oozing out. Upon hearing this, he kowtowed to Wang Daoding again.
"Lord Wang, for saving my life, I am eternally grateful! I confess everything! It was the Tiandao Alliance who instructed me to disguise myself as a robber and then frame Jiaoyang Valley!"
Cai Shoucheng didn't believe it at all.
"You said it's the Tiandao League, right? The Tiandao League is a reputable and upright sect, with a great reputation in the martial arts world. How could you slander it?"
The other robber had a hideous scar on his neck that had just begun to scab over. He couldn't speak and could only open his mouth, twist his body, and look at his accomplice with an anxious look on his face.
The robber with a chest wound remembered something.
"Sir, the one who always sends us banknotes from the Tiandao League is the most capable subordinate of the leader Hu Yiba, named Wu Li. He gives us 500 taels for every job we do, but the money has been divided among us and is now all gone."
Cai Shoucheng sneered: "After all this talk, there is still no evidence to prove that it was the Tiandao League who ordered you."
Hao Xiong was getting anxious again. "Hey, team leader, the adults are trying this case to redress the grievances of you merchants. You're the ones who suffered. Do I look like I know martial arts? If I did, you wouldn't have kicked me over. My chest still hurts! We didn't rob the caravan at all. Now the robbers who actually robbed you have confessed their crimes and revealed the mastermind behind the incident. Why don't you believe it? Do you have a grudge against us in Jiaoyang Valley? We were wronged too!"