Chapter 369: The Verdict

Regardless of whether Yulong likes to hear these things or not, Baifeng must make it clear to him; power can only be handed over to him in the end. Changle has already made his decision; he says he wants to be the king of Science, and his precious daughter, of course, cannot become the king either. As for creating a new "alt account"? Baifeng has never thought about that again. Right now, his two wives show no signs of anything. Baifeng also wants many descendants, but Heaven only gives him quality, not quantity.

Time moves to two days later. A thief in the prison finished his sentence and was released. Xiong did not suffer much, but he was bored to the extreme. He disdained chatting with the thief, feeling it lowered his status, and he had nothing to say to someone who had committed the crime of theft, even though he was also in a prison cell now.

The thief naturally recognized Xiong, but the two of them did not have the guts to go and chat with him. Originally, when it was just the two of them, they could distract themselves from the pain by chatting while lying down to recover after being whipped, but once Xiong arrived, the two of them didn't even dare to breathe loudly, let alone chat. As for asking why Xiong came here? They truly did not have the guts.

Shaoyin's mental state was on the verge of collapse in the dark room. If not for the fact that food was delivered to him at fixed times, he wouldn't even know how much time had passed. He could only plead for the laws to be drafted quickly; even having his head chopped off in one go would be better than living here. He hadn't even slept for the past two days; his whole body was sore, and he was having a mental breakdown.

The assembly was held as scheduled. Now they had a large Chaotang where all the representatives could sit; it was very spacious. The people from the Shangshu Department presided over the meeting, but it was still centered around Baifeng.

Finally, after half a day, they passed the "relevant penalty clauses for juvenile delinquency, as well as the protection law clauses for minors and people with low intelligence."

Originally, everyone felt these legal clauses were formulated for the sake of Xiong, but after Baifeng's explanation and their understanding of the content of the clauses, they felt that this part of the law was truly necessary to propose, and it was closely related to every one of them. By the time it was nearing the end, all the representatives had forgotten their initial thoughts and instead felt that this assembly was extremely necessary.

Among the representatives, there was one extra person who hadn't been there before: the younger brother-in-law of the herdsman. Originally, he was not qualified to attend this meeting, but because they feared he would develop distrust toward the entire country, he was specially approved to attend. In the end, he also changed his perspective, feeling that this really wasn't a meeting held to target his deceased brother.

In the afternoon, the draft was posted for public notice. Sangtang obtained a copy from his uncle. After reading it, he truly couldn't say anything wrong, because under these clauses, he also became a beneficiary, so he also developed doubts about the purpose of this meeting.

Because they were just a few newly added legal clauses, the public notice period was shortened; they would take effect on the afternoon of the next day, with a notice period of only one day.

At this time, Shaoyin was also released from the dark room like a pile of mud. Now he had to attend the trial, but this appearance was truly...

In the end, Shaoyin was brought in with support. It would be a lie to say Xiong wasn't worried after seeing his son's state, but he had seen many people who had been locked in the dark room, and they all looked like this when they came out, so he didn't show too much anxiety.

The members of the trial were the same as last time, but this time, because there was law to rely on, Yan felt much more confident. After Baifeng opened the court, Yan began the trial according to the newly revised laws: "Criminal Shaoyin, due to negligence, caused the death of a herdsman at the Huaxia Horse Farm, simultaneously caused the death of four sheepdogs, and caused serious damage to the training progress of the horse herd. The overall degree of damage is determined to be medium. However, because Shaoyin is a minor and does not possess the capacity for civil conduct, his guardian is required to bear the compensation and corresponding responsibilities, and he himself also needs to undergo educational reform."

After Yan finished speaking, he handed the final sentencing power to Baifeng. Shaoyin was still in a daze, with a look of confusion on his already lifeless face; he was just a step away from drooling at the corners of his mouth. He didn't understand why he had committed a crime, yet his father had to be punished in the end.

Baifeng coughed lightly: "I now pronounce the sentence: Xiong, as the guardian, failed to discipline strictly. According to Huaxia law, I sentence Xiong to be demoted by one rank to Vice Minister of War. The original position of Minister of War will be held by Chi. Relevant work and power are to be handed over as soon as possible. Furthermore, because we currently have some major tasks that need people to complete, you shall perform meritorious service to atone for your crimes. If you succeed, you will be promoted according to your merits upon your return; if you fail, there will be no more opportunities for promotion in these few years."

"You have already fulfilled the compensation, so I will not mention it again. As for Shaoyin, your schooling is not good, but you have recognized enough characters. Since school cannot educate you well, you will go to the grassroots to gain experience. Thus, I sentence you to labor at the Horse Farm for one year, and you must achieve certain results within this year. If you cannot, you will continue to work at the Horse Farm. Only after you have achieved results and enough time has passed will you go to the military camp to serve as a soldier, starting from a private. What you can achieve after that depends on yourself."

"This is the entire sentencing result. Are there any objections? Does the criminal have anything to appeal?"

Xiong hurriedly bowed his head in thanks: "Subject has none!"

Shaoyin's head cleared up slightly. Seeing his father do this, he also hurriedly bowed and said he had none.

Then Baifeng let Shaoyin go home first to inform his family, and report to the Ministry of Agriculture on time tomorrow, letting Mu arrange work for him.

After Shaoyin left, Baifeng walked down and pulled Xiong up, asking: "I have done this, do you have any dissatisfaction?"

Xiong shook his head lightly, sighed, and said: "Thank you, King, for your mercy. It is all my fault for not disciplining strictly, which led them to commit such a great mistake. However, King, what is the important task you mentioned? Is it about searching for the Golden Autumn Gathering?"