HLnovel Chapter 127 Disrupting the Courtroom 1
Chapter 127 Disrupting the Courtroom 1
Chapter 127 Disrupting the Courtroom
"Take him down!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.
Several constables rushed forward, snatched the crossbow from the burly man's hand, pried his arm, and pinned him to the ground.
Wang Wenhua frowned, scrutinizing the burly man from head to toe, deeply puzzled. Who exactly sent him?
Out of the corner of his eye, Wang Wenhua noticed someone waving at him from the crowd of onlookers outside the lobby. He turned his head and saw Xu Yingjie give him a faint nod.
Oh! Wang Wenhua suddenly realized that it was Xu Yingjie who had saved him! A friend in need is a friend indeed, what a good brother!
"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel, pointed at the burly man kneeling on the ground, and asked, "What's your name? Where are you from?"
The burly man spoke up: "My name is Li Kai, from Nanjing."
Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment. Regardless of whether this person was the murderer or not, he couldn't admit that Li Kai was the murderer. Otherwise, how could the charge of assassination be pinned on Wang Wenhua and the others? Wang Wenzhou felt that this person was definitely there to exonerate Wang Wenhua.
Wang Wenzhou asked, "Li Kai, did you take your medicine today?"
"Huh?" Li Kai shook his head, puzzled.
"Sigh..." Wang Wenzhou sighed and said in a serious tone, "That's where you're wrong! If you're sick, you have to take your medicine on time, especially someone like you who's lost their mind and talks nonsense everywhere. It's easy to get into trouble. I'll let it go since you're sick and this is your first offense!"
"Men! Throw Li Kai out of the hall!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.
"Ah..." The onlookers were completely dumbfounded. Wang Qingtian had really gone mad! The murderer had come to surrender, and he actually let the murderer go! Even if Li Kai was not the murderer, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, possessing "weapons of mass destruction" such as "bows and crossbows" and "armor" was a serious crime of treason.
"I am the murderer..." Li Kai shouted as he was carried out by four constables.
"Bang bang bang..." Li Kai banged the grievance drum outside the hall door.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was very difficult for a local official to fabricate a wrongful conviction.
In the first year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang, the time traveler, established the Dengwen Drum at the Meridian Gate in Nanjing. Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, and officials could beat the drum if they had a "great injustice or a confidential matter." There were specially assigned censors on duty, and as soon as someone beat the drum, it would be immediately accepted and reported to the emperor. This was known as "beating the drum to report immediately." Once the emperor issued an instruction, officers from the Embroidered Uniform Guard would escort the person involved to the judicial department with a warrant. Anyone who dared to delay or obstruct would, as mentioned above, be punished with one word: "crime!"
The Ming Taizu established such a system for two reasons. First, it was a return to the traditions of the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties. As he said in the 30th year of Hongwu's reign, "I govern by imitating the ancients, clarifying rites to guide the people, and establishing laws to restrain the stubborn." He wanted to restore the lax and negligent laws and regulations of the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Second, it was a precautionary measure against the bureaucratic system dominated by the scholar-official class, which he did not trust at all. The Dengwen Drum was a special channel outside of normal judicial administration, allowing the people's sentiments to reach the higher authorities and forming a form of monitoring and deterrence against the bureaucratic group.
The petition drum served as a small bridge between the common people and the highest authority; Zhu Yuanzhang, this time traveler, truly had a knack for this. Local government offices also set up petition drums at their gates. Whenever someone beat the drum to voice their grievances, local officials were obligated to hold court and hear the case.
Clerk Li stepped forward and reminded him, "Sir, that man has gone to beat the drum to appeal for justice again."
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip. "I'm not deaf. How could I not hear such a loud 'bang bang bang'? I just haven't figured out how to deal with it."
Wang Wenzhou suddenly had a brilliant idea. He beckoned Sheng Liang to his side, whispered a few instructions, and Sheng Liang nodded and quickly walked out of the hall.
Wang Wenzhou said, "Bring that idiot who didn't take his medicine into the hall."
“My lord! I am indeed the murderer! The crossbow was the weapon used to assassinate you. You can have someone compare it with the crossbow bolt.” Li Kai said sincerely.
Wang Wenzhou said earnestly, "Li Kai, I know you've lost your mind and always have some inexplicable fantasies. I took pity on you and was willing to let it go when you caused such a scene in court. But you show no remorse and continue to cause trouble in court! I can no longer tolerate you! Guards, take him out and give him thirty strokes of the cane!"
"You corrupt official! I am the one who assassinated you..." Li Kai was dragged out by the yamen runners.
The onlookers were baffled. What was going on? Had Wang Qingtian really gone mad?
“Wang Wenzhou! The murderer has come to surrender, but you ignored him in order to frame me! You have ulterior motives and are seeking revenge!” Wang Wenhua said viciously, pointing at Wang Wenzhou.
"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel, pointed at Wang Wenhua, and cursed, "Wang Wenhua, doesn't your butt hurt anymore? You still dare to roar in court? Who is the murderer? Dao Meishan is the murderer, okay! Li Kai has lost his mind. He didn't take his medicine today. Can you believe what he says?"
"Pfft..." Wang Wenhua was so angry he almost vomited blood! Crazy Xiao Wu, are you crazy or not? Why do you have to push me so hard?
Looking at Wang Wenzhou's angry expression, Wang Wenhua suddenly wondered, "Could it be that silly Xiao Wu really thinks that the assassin was sent by me?"
Thinking of this, Wang Wenhua said with a heavy heart, "Boxin, although I have played tricks on you in some trivial matters because of our struggle for the title, I have never wanted you to die! I was raised by my aunt since I was a child, how could I kill you?"
Wang Wenzhou's mother, Madam Yang, stood at the back gate of the government office, listening to her nephew's heartfelt words, wiping away tears with sorrow. Trouble had broken out within the family; brothers were fighting, fratricide had occurred!
"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou glanced at Wang Wenhua with disdain. Oh, brother! You're quite the actor! I'm a professional conman. You think you can fool me so easily?
"Wang Wenhua, I'm asking you, were Jiang Peiya and his son, who came to disrupt my wedding and ruin my family's reputation, arranged by you?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
Zhang Jiao tugged at Yang Shi's sleeve and whispered, "Mother, are you still watching Wang Wenzhou act up? This isn't a trial; he's clearly just trying to frame our eldest brother by fabricating all sorts of charges against him."
After Zhang Jiao finished speaking, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to go over and teach Wang Wenzhou a lesson.
"Jiaojiao, wait a minute! The two brothers have a deep misunderstanding. Let them clear things up first," Yang said.
"Mother! Wang Wenzhou is outrageous!" Zhang Jiao said angrily.
"Alas...it's all that wretched title's fault! Boren is eight years older than Boxin. When Boxin was seven, he was very mischievous and broke his leg climbing a tree. Boren was 15 that year, and because he was a picky eater, he was very thin. Boxin, on the other hand, had been quite chubby since childhood. Boren carried Boxin back over ten miles on his back. The next day, Boren had several large blisters on both feet. When the doctor treated him, the old man was heartbroken and kept crying, but Boren didn't shed a single tear." Madam Yang sighed, recounting the scene of the two brothers' childhood.
Zhang Jiao was deeply moved. What a wonderful older brother! That fatso really wanted to kill him! It's just a title! What's wrong with giving it to him?