bookrebus Chapter 218 Hearing the Judgment
Chapter 218 Hearing the Judgment
Lin Shaotang's eyes were like two burning flames as he stared fiercely at the basin of crystal clear water in front of him.
His originally relaxed brows were now tightly furrowed, as if they could pinch a fly to death. The arrogance and arrogance of the past could no longer be found on his handsome face.
I saw him quietly hiding his two hands under his wide sleeves, and clenching them into fists tightly. Because he was using too much force, the joints of his fingers even turned slightly white. It seemed that only in this way could he ensure that the secret hidden in his hands would not be discovered by others.
"Mr. Lin, hurry up and wash!" The yamen runner standing by and responsible for serving water urged with a smile on his face, but that smile concealed an "evil intention" that was difficult to conceal.
"Oh, why aren't you moving yet? Mr. Lin, hurry up and finish washing up so that we can go home early and have a hot meal!" Another yamen runner echoed.
"That's right. A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. If you are an innocent person, why should you be so timid?" someone in the crowd shouted.
……
As the saying goes, good people don't necessarily win everyone's favor, and bad people don't always inspire disgust. However, the most despised and disdainful people are those like Lin Shaotang, who clearly wants to be a whore while also pretending to be a saint. After his scandalous behavior was exposed, he still shamelessly and arrogantly shouted, "If you didn't catch me in bed, I would never admit it!"
Lin Shaotang was so furious when he heard the vulgar words coming out of the mouths of the people behind him that he almost bit his white and neat teeth to pieces.
His originally handsome and elegant face trembled violently due to his clenched teeth, making him look somewhat hideous and distorted.
"Lin Shaotang! Why don't you prove your innocence quickly? Don't delay the case!" Magistrate Huo's face was as gloomy as water, and he urged coldly.
Lin Shaotang knew in his heart that he could no longer escape this time, so he made up his mind and swung his sleeves fiercely. With the movement, a pair of slender and powerful hands with distinct joints were exposed to everyone.
However, although he had lifted his sleeves high, his hands hesitated in the air for a moment and never dared to reach into the water.
The yamen runner holding the basin of water beside him saw this and was already extremely disgusted with his hypocritical appearance. He simply could not bear it anymore and suddenly raised the basin of water in his hand.
It happened in a flash. Just as Lin Shaotang's fingertips touched the edge of the basin, there was a "splash" sound. Lin Shaotang suddenly swung his sleeves as if he had been electrocuted and quickly retreated backwards.
As he moved, the basin filled with water fell heavily to the ground, splashing water everywhere, causing everyone present to look aside.
"I gave them the Sea Soul Flower."
This simple sentence seemed to possess a mysterious and powerful power. Once it was spoken, the entire lobby fell silent, as if someone had suddenly pressed an invisible pause button. The originally noisy scene froze in an instant, and everyone was silent as if they were under a spell, not daring to even breathe.
For a moment, the lobby was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
At this moment, a roar filled with anger and pain suddenly exploded in the hall: "You disobedient and unfilial son! How could you do such a heartless and unfilial thing!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man stumbling towards them from the hall. Before they could see his face, his grief-stricken and angry scolding had already reached everyone's ears.
For a moment, the entire lobby was silent, as if time had frozen at this moment. Everyone was stunned by this sudden change and turned to look at the direction where the sound came from.
The man walked hurriedly, dressed in a dark brocade robe. The texture of the robe looked extremely luxurious, shimmering faintly in the sunlight. He was slightly overweight, his round belly holding up the robe slightly. His face was also round, especially his slender eyes, which were like two narrow slits. Occasionally, they opened and closed, flashing a shrewd and sharp light, as if they could see through the deepest secrets of the human heart.
Ru Yue sat aside, her eyes glancing at the approaching person, a faint smile of disdain slipping into her eyes. She thought to herself, "Looks like my son must have caused this trouble, and he can't handle it himself, so he's bringing me in to clean up the mess." The thought deepened her smile.
The man stumbled and hurried into the hall, each step appearing flustered and awkward. Finally reaching Magistrate Huo, he bowed deeply, performed a profound salute, and shouted, "Sir, I'm a terrible parent! I'm guilty, guilty!"
The voice trembled with tears, sounding so sincere and moving. It was as if he wanted to draw his sword and kill himself immediately, so that death could atone for his sins and calm his inner guilt and regret.
But if you think about what he said carefully, you will find that he was just repeatedly emphasizing that he had not taught his son well. As for the so-called crime of "mis-education", how could Magistrate Huo punish him so easily?
At this moment, Lin Shaotang, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stood up. He held his head high and said loudly, "A man of honor should take responsibility for his actions! I was the one who arranged for the poisoning. All the blame lies solely with me. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"
These powerful words echoed in the lobby, and for a moment everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"You disobedient and unfilial son, how could you do such a thing that is against the will of heaven?" The old man was shaking with anger, pointing at the man in front of him who was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had an arrogant face, and scolded him angrily.
"I am a wealthy and successful young master. What can a mere Tianxianglou mean to me? However, this small restaurant actually dared to offend me time and again and humiliate me. I was so angry that I thought of finding some people to give them a little punishment. Humph!" The man crossed his arms over his chest, looking indifferent.
Ru Yue, standing nearby, heard this and cursed inwardly: "This bastard caused 27 people to be poisoned and unconscious, and almost brought down Tianxiang Tower, and he actually said it was a minor punishment and a big warning? How could there be such a shameless person in the world!"
It really lived up to the old saying—it's not the hooligans you're afraid of, the only thing you're afraid of is hooligans with culture! At this moment, she was completely stunned and didn't know how to respond.
At this moment, Ding, the steward of Tianxianglou, fell to his knees and cried to the officials in the hall, "Sir, please help me! Since opening, Tianxianglou has always adhered to the principle of treating everyone equally and honestly. Just because I couldn't meet this young man's unreasonable demands, he harbored a grudge and bribed criminals to frame me, ruining my reputation and almost forcing me to close down! I beg you to see through this and clear my name!"
Manager Ding's words were sincere and hit the nail on the head, which moved people.
"Sir, please help us! The young master of the Lin family is simply a devil! He actually used poisonous weeds to deceive us and almost caused us to lose our lives! Wuuuuu..." More than 20 victims with grief and indignation on their faces and tears streaming down their faces cried out in unison.
For a moment, the entire hall was filled with their miserable cries and shouts, as chaotic as a pot of boiling hot porridge.
At that moment, there was a loud bang, and the gavel slammed heavily on the desk, like a bolt of thunder from the blue sky exploding in everyone's hearts. In an instant, the hall was completely silent, and even the sound of a pin drop could be clearly heard.
"Sir, my son is young and ignorant. He made such a big mistake in a moment of confusion. I hope you can show mercy and give him a chance to reform.
"I've been negligent in disciplining him on a daily basis. I'm really a poor parent! As long as you're willing to forgive my son, I'm willing to bear all the losses of those who have been harmed, without a second thought!" Boss Lin saw the right moment, stepped forward, bowed, and said in a flattering tone.
He thought to himself that as long as he was willing to spend some money, he should be able to calm the storm and keep his son safe.
However, before Boss Lin could finish his words, a clear, loud, and unceremonious roar suddenly erupted from the crowd: "Do you have any shame? Your son is already in his twenties and even has a child, and you still have the nerve to say he's young and ignorant? I'm only fifteen years old, much younger than your son. If you say that, then if I accidentally kill you, can I still avoid paying with my life?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally tense and solemn atmosphere was instantly broken. Everyone present was stunned at first, and then broke into deafening laughter.
Some people were laughing so hard they were rolling back and forth, unable to straighten their backs; others were pointing at Boss Lin and laughing so hard they were almost crying. Boss Lin, on the other hand, was so embarrassed by these words that he was blushing and speechless, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Boss Lin's already dark face now looked like a palette, now flushed crimson, then pale as paper. The lines of flesh on his face seemed to come alive, trembling constantly with the ups and downs of his emotions. It was unclear whether it was due to extreme anger or overwhelming shame.
At this moment, a furious shout was heard: "Silence! If anyone dares to disrespect the court again, I will kick you all out of this hall!"
This roar was like thunder out of the blue, instantly plunging the noisy hall into dead silence.
With the previous warning of "no compensation for life", even though Boss Lin was extremely dissatisfied and aggrieved, he was now silent and no longer dared to open his mouth to say a word.
After a brief pause, a majestic voice came from the court again: "I will listen to the verdict!"
Everyone in the hall held their breath, quietly waiting for the next verdict.
"Twenty-seven of you were deceived and had ill intentions. Although you ultimately failed, your intentions were truly sinister. Each of you will be severely punished with twenty lashes of the cane and fined ten taels of silver as a warning to others!"
As soon as the words fell, one of them trembled and said, "Sir, we..."
However, before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a cold snort from Magistrate Huo. His eyes were wide open with anger, and he exuded a sense of righteousness that made people feel awe.
The poisoned person who originally wanted to argue was suddenly frightened into silence and dared not to argue anymore.
Then, Magistrate Huo turned his gaze to Lin Shaotang, who had already collapsed on the ground, and shouted sternly, "Lin Shaotang, you dared to bribe the murderer and frame Tianxianglou with poison, nearly causing a murder. This evil act not only severely damaged Tianxianglou's reputation, but also caused it to close down for many days, causing heavy losses. This prefecture will definitely petition the court to strip you of your scholar status and never allow you to take the imperial examinations to become an official. In addition, you will be imprisoned for three years and fined 5,000 taels of silver as compensation to Tianxianglou. You must also compensate the 27 people who were poisoned with 5 taels of silver each!"
After hearing the verdict, Boss Lin was like a lost dog, completely losing his former dignity.
Like a street shrew, he cried out at the top of his lungs, begging desperately, "Sir, please spare my life! I'm willing to accept the punishment, but my son has studied hard for many years and finally passed the imperial examination. This journey to the imperial examination was not easy for him. I beg you to show mercy and let him go!"
However, no matter how he cried and begged for mercy, Magistrate Huo remained unmoved. "Boss Lin, is this really just Lin Shaotang's doing? Do you really think this government and the people are all fools?"
The prefect's eyes widened as he demanded righteously. This rebuke was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, resounding throughout the hall and causing pain in the eardrums of everyone present.
Boss Lin originally wanted to make a few more excuses, but at this moment it was as if someone had grabbed his throat. He opened his mouth wide, but his voice suddenly stopped and he could not utter another word.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, his face was as pale as paper, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Boss Lin was filled with regret. Not only had he lost a large sum of money, but his son's hard-earned future was also completely ruined. Worse still, the Jinxiangzhai Restaurant, which his family had run for many years, was likely no longer viable in Jiaqing Prefecture. Thinking of this, Boss Lin felt a blackout and nearly fainted.
The streets outside the government office were already crowded with onlookers. They were furious, pointing fingers at the Lin family father and son, cursing non-stop, "Heaven's will can be defied, but one's own will cannot! Such a heartless person deserves severe punishment!"
"You deserve it! You bully others all the time, and now you're finally getting your comeuppance!"
Ru Yue, who was in the crowd, held Chu Ning'an's hand tightly and quickly squeezed out of the crowd. Along the way, the angry curses filled her ears.