Chapter 66: 67. Regarding the Matter of Whipping the Xiao Shimei

67. Regarding the Matter of Whipping the Xiao Shimei

"I... I didn't steal it, it's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding..."

Under the gaze of everyone, Liu Zilin felt as if he had swallowed a cold lump, his heart feeling cold and empty. He hurriedly denied it, looking around, as if desperately seeking help.

It was just a pity that the young family head of the Liu clan, whose face was gloomy behind the crowd, was also helpless at the moment.

"A misunderstanding? You used my night pearl to buy a Hu girl from the Yuanming Tower. It's written in black and white. The market voucher contract is all here. The size and quality of the night pearl are all correct. Boss Zhu, the pawnshop shopkeepers, and the market officials are all here and can testify that this pearl is genuine. And you are telling me it's a misunderstanding?"

The young Magistrate murmured in confusion, pondered for a moment, then raised his head as if he had suddenly realized:

"So what you mean is that I stole your night pearl a month ago, took it to the pawnshop to pawn it, discovered it couldn't be sold, and then had a sudden change of heart, quietly sending it back into your hands? And you were completely unaware of the whole process, and a few days ago you used the night pearl to buy the Hu girl? Is that what you mean?"

"..."

Liu Zilin really wanted to say "Yes," but...

"Hahaha..."

Laughter erupted on the street where the trial was being held, which had been serious just a moment ago, and then it was suppressed again.

Even the Xie clan young lady, whose eyes were slightly red and who had been in a daze, couldn't help but chuckle, then flattened her lips and stared at her Ru Shixiong, who was eloquent and calm.

Obviously, no one would really believe this ridiculous explanation.

Liu Zilin was speechless for a moment.

Ouyang Rong continued to sigh and ask:

"Then you say it's a misunderstanding, what exactly do you mean? Did my night pearl grow legs and run into your pocket?"

"I... I..."

Liu Zilin, whose back was soaked in cold sweat, was still in a state of empty-headedness until now. This unexpected change regarding the night pearl had directly stunned him.

Actually, this couldn't be blamed on his carelessness.

Originally, his plan was simple and effective:

Privately threaten Yingniang and Luo Er to cooperate. The former would trick Xie Lingjiang into taking out the corresponding property and handing it to the intermediary Luo Er to buy Yingniang out of the Yuanming Tower.

Xie Lingjiang should have personally reviewed the market voucher contract for this stage, so it couldn't be faked.

In the second stage, Luo Er would take Yingniang to the Market Official's Office to cancel the deed of sale. They could choose a day when Xie Lingjiang was busy and go alone.

There was a lot of room for manipulation here, changing "canceling the deed of sale" to a swap, transferring Yingniang to Liu Zilin, and then letting Xie Lingjiang, who was kept in the dark, go to pick her up.

This should also have been the time when Xie Lingjiang was most relaxed and vigilant. Otherwise, if she didn't trust Yingniang, she wouldn't have handed over the night pearl to redeem her.

But Liu Zilin never expected that the problem would arise from this damn night pearl, which was also the contract item that couldn't be replaced.

Because Xie Lingjiang was no fool; she was just too trusting of the weak who were bullied, but she would definitely care about and review the process and contract of Luo Er redeeming Yingniang in the first stage.

But who could have thought that a dignified Xie clan young lady would have no extra money on her, only a night pearl left!

And it just happened to be given by her Magistrate Ru Shixiong... No, why would you give away something someone gave you so casually!

Liu Zilin wanted to vomit blood.

However, the unlucky third young master of the Liu family would never guess that Xie Lingjiang and her Ru Shixiong had just finished arguing during that period.

Because of the matter of releasing grain prices, they were in a state of semi-cold war. She mistakenly thought her Ru Shixiong didn't care about the commoners, so she didn't listen to him and went to the Yuanming Tower to find Yingniang in a fit of pique, and then took out the night pearl to redeem her without much hesitation...

Behind the official desk, Ouyang Rong didn't look at Liu Zilin, who was unable to defend himself, and directly asked the Diao County Assistant, who was eating melons in surprise:

"Magistrate Diao, in a case like this where someone else's property is stolen and used to buy a slave, is the market voucher contract valid?"

"Reporting to the Magistrate, naturally it is not valid. The slave should be returned to the original owner." The County Assistant pondered and said: "This Hu girl Yingniang should still belong to the Yuanming Tower."

Ouyang Rong nodded and asked the elderly market official: "On the market voucher contract, what is the value of the night pearl exchanged for the Hu girl?"

The latter replied respectfully: "Twenty-one guan."

Ouyang Rong nodded and calculated the account very thoughtfully:

"Far exceeding ten guan, and it is also the theft of official property. It should be tattooed with the word 'thief' on the face, exiled three thousand li. Lingnan is too close, so let's banish him to the north of Liaodong."

Liu Zilin was terrified when he heard this. He knelt down with a *thud*, sweating profusely: "Magistrate, I've been wronged! I didn't steal it. My family is not short of property, how could I steal!"

He hurriedly took out a small bag of gold, silver, and treasures from his sleeve and spilled them onto the blue stone floor with trembling hands.

Ouyang Rong looked around and sighed to everyone:

"Having so much money and still stealing my things, it seems he is addicted to stealing. I don't know how much of these treasures on the ground were stolen."

The crowd laughed.

"!!!" Liu Zilin.

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyelids, glanced at him, pointed to several people on the scene, and said:

"I and everyone have seen it. It was Liu himself who found the human and physical evidence, all proving that you let Luo Er take the night pearl to the Yuanming Tower to redeem the person. Since you say you didn't steal the night pearl, then who was the one who took out the night pearl and gave it to Luo Er?"

He didn't even lift his eyelids, saying slowly:

"Then can I assume that what Miss Xie said is the truth, that the night pearl was given by her, and the person was also redeemed by her, while you and Luo Er have been despising the court and falsely accusing a good person the whole time!"

Liu Zilin's bloodshot eyeballs rolled around, his face hesitant.

The young Magistrate immediately raised the gavel, wanting to make a final decision, not giving him time to think, nor giving him a third option:

"Speak quickly, is it theft of official property, or false accusation of a good person!"

Seeing that a final decision was about to be made, Liu Zilin gritted his teeth in a hurry: "Theft... theft of official property!"

Theft of official property is at most tattooing and exile or imprisonment, and there is still a chance to find someone to take the blame, especially imprisonment... which is sitting in jail, and can also be redeemed to eliminate the crime;

But deceiving the government and framing a good person requires being sentenced to death!

He had to choose the lesser of two evils.

Ouyang Rong nodded and quickly convicted him: "Fine. That is to admit to the theft of official property."

Liu Zilin was stunned. He vaguely felt that he had pleaded guilty too quickly and hadn't had time to quibble, such as whether the night pearl was picked up—this reason was obviously fake but seemed to be able to fool people... Damn, why does he have a sense of being tricked!

It was just that he couldn't afford to regret it now, so he immediately argued clumsily:

"No... but it wasn't stolen by me, it was, it was, it was him! He stole it and forced it on me."

Liu Zilin pointed in a hurry.

The flabby young man who was shrinking his head was stunned.

"The small one didn't, the small one didn't..."

Luo Er waved his hands wildly, shaking his head and face, but the fierce gaze of Liu Zilin, who was standing with his back to Ouyang Rong, made him shiver and shut his mouth in fear.

Under the playful gaze of the young Magistrate, Liu Zilin dragged Luo Er to his side and pointed at him, shouting "exposure."

The latter opened his mouth, but couldn't speak, as if intimidated by some kind of lewd power, his fat face flushed red.

But in the end, he could only plead guilty under the eyes of Liu Zilin. Luo Er could only hold onto a last glimmer of fantasy, hoping that after being sentenced, the Liu family could use money to redeem his sentence, or bribe relationships on the way to exile...

Witnessing this scene of human ugliness.

The County Assistant Diao, Constable Yan, and other county government officials, as well as grain merchants and local gentry like Wang Caozhi, Boss Ma, and Uncle Wu, all had complex eyes, showing smiles or disdain.

The other onlookers were not fools either. Seeing the case here, how could they not understand the general truth of it.

The young Magistrate gave a light shout, and finally, he turned to look at the owner of the Yuanming Tower:

"Boss Zhu, the Hu girl belongs to the Yuanming Tower and was taken away to stay overnight without permission. How to deal with it is up to you."

Boss Zhu glanced at the silent young lady and smiled honestly: "I am a businessman, just give me double the overnight fee, it's a small matter."

The young Magistrate, who had been sold a favor, nodded and then shook his head.

Immediately, he drew a lot and threw it out, standing up to announce:

"The court's verdict is clear... The criminal Luo Er stole the treasure, and it was official property, so he is to be tattooed with the word 'thief' on his face, exiled three thousand li, banished to the north of Liaodong, and serve three years of hard labor, and he is not allowed to return to his hometown after the term expires."

"Accomplice Liu Zilin, concealed the crime and did not report it, stole and used stolen money, and boldly roared in court. The two punishments are combined: seventy lashes and two years of imprisonment."

"Commoner Xie, privately hid the Hu girl overnight and drew a knife in court to despise the law. She is ordered to return the Hu girl, fined ten guan of silver, and further punished with seventy lashes!"

"The case is closed, this is the verdict!"

*Bang—! *

Ouyang Rong struck the table to conclude the case.

The whole scene was quiet for a while.

The grain merchants and local gentry looked slightly surprised.

As long as one wasn't blind, one could see the true colors of this case, and the punishments for Luo Er and Liu Zilin, who almost turned things around, were well-deserved.

But the young Magistrate was so harsh on his junior sister, which was very surprising, but thinking about it carefully... it was also fair.

Many people sighed, and their eyes looking at the official desk bathed in the afternoon sun were quite convinced.

I don't know who took the lead, but a tacit applause began to sound in the crowd watching on Luming Street.

And the reactions of the three people being punished were different.

Luo Er cried and called for his father and mother, hugging Liu Zilin's leg to call for help, begging to redeem his sentence and reduce it.

Liu Zilin kicked the flabby young man away with a look of disgust and nausea, too lazy to pay attention.

This third young master of the Liu family couldn't help but tremble in his legs, not because of the imprisonment that could be redeemed with money, but because of the next... seventy lashes. This bitter fruit seemed unavoidable.

The cane punishment uses an interrogation cane to hit the buttocks and back... As for the lashes, it is slightly lighter, using bamboo boards and thorns to whip the back.

Seventy lashes! Liu Zilin couldn't help but tighten his chrysanthemum, wiping the sweat on his forehead, and looked at his eldest brother behind the crowd, but the latter had already turned and left with an ugly face.

Yan Liulang frowned and waved his hand, letting his subordinates drag away the flabby young man who was collapsed on the ground in regret and collapse.

Exile of three thousand li is no joke. It's just a little better than the death penalty, but three thousand li doesn't mean really three thousand li, but the meaning of being exiled very far away. But unless you are lucky, the mortality rate on the road is extremely high... almost impossible to return...

After the young Magistrate's verdict, the cane punishment and lashes needed to be executed by Yan Liulang and other constables and government office runners on the spot.

Letting his subordinates cane Liu Zilin was fine, but Yan Liulang and the others were in a bit of a dilemma when facing Xie Lingjiang.

"Miss Xie, offended..."

Xie Lingjiang shook her head silently, indicating it was fine.

But the executing constables still turned to look at Ouyang Rong. Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and didn't look at them, nor did he look at Xie Lingjiang.

"Execute quickly!"

Seeing that the blue-clothed constable was still hesitant, the young Magistrate, who stood with his hands behind his back, continued to urge with a straight face:

"If you are physically inconvenient, or if you don't have enough people, then I will whip her myself."

But unexpectedly, Yan Liulang and a group of constables nodded in agreement and bowed to yield to their superior.

"..." Ouyang Rong.

"I'll do it then."

In the next second, the young Magistrate gave a cold snort, walked down the steps, took a thorn, and came to the side of his junior sister, who was standing with her head lowered.

"Trouble Ru Shixiong... no need to show mercy."

"I know, turn around." He said, staring at the floor tiles.

The Xie clan noble lady turned around obediently, facing the crowd, with her back to her Ru Shixiong.

Ouyang Rong's hands trembled, but he still whipped down hard...

Xie Lingjiang lowered her head to endure it. Even though the snow-white back hidden under the silk clothes was covered with broken-skinned red marks, she pursed her lips the whole time, her falling hair covering the expression on her pretty face, and she didn't say a word.

Ru Shixiong really whipped her.

But she felt a little joy.

Compared to the strange silence of only the sound of the whip when the young Magistrate personally punished her, Liu Zilin on the other side, who was being beaten on the buttocks, was crying and howling... The two sides formed a sharp contrast.

Ouyang Rong found something wrong.

Why was there a sound of a wooden fish in his ears every time he whipped her?

Was it the merit points given by the surrounding audience, or the merit from Liu Zilin being beaten, or was it... Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look at the junior sister in front of him.

It shouldn't be...

In addition, besides the sound of the wooden fish, Ouyang Rong found that whipping seventy lashes continuously with a thin thorn was also a technical job, especially since he had to be careful to avoid certain parts of the back, although a few lashes still accidentally hit... The junior sister's ear roots were flushed red, and her slender shoulders were trembling.

Seventy lashes, not one less, finally ended, and the sound of the wooden fish in his ears disappeared at the right time...

Someone was speechless, dropped the whip, wiped his sweat, and asked in a severe tone:

"Do you still dare to draw your sword without a brain in the future?"

"No... won't dare anymore." She buried her face and whispered: "Never dare again."

Thanks to the good brother "A Little Fluorescence" for the support! Stick together and fence!! ===== CHAPTER 67 =====