Chapter 285: Fair Trial
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Liming was puzzled. “Hens and ducks?”
He thought he had heard it wrong. What did Li Guanfeng want hens and ducks for?
Li Guanfang said again, “Yes, you heard me right. I want to raise a few hens and ducks.”
He planned to fence up the land outside the backyard to raise some hens and ducks there. When Xiaowu came back, he could make chicken soup for her.
Liming nodded and went to carry out the task. He thought that Li Guanfeng wanted to raise hens because he wanted to nourish his body.
Li Guanfeng looked at himself in the mirror. He was already in his twenties. Would Xiaowu find him too old when she came back to him?
It seemed that he had to pay more attention to his image. It was necessary to maintain a good body and a young mind.
Although he did not know when the day of reunion would come, he knew that it surely would. Therefore, even if it was a long wait, he still felt sweet.
With hope, the seed would germinate and gradually grow into a towering tree.
Knowing that Liu Dalang would be tried tomorrow, Madam Wei was on tenterhooks.
During this period of time, Tang Yuan would come to the Liu family every day. Madam Wei told him not to come and that she would tell him if there was any news. However, Tang Yuan still insisted on coming every day. After receiving the news that the trial would begin tomorrow, Tang Yuan went back to tell Tang An about it.
The next morning, Liu Sanniang and her family went to the government office.
Tang An and Tang Yuan also came over early in the morning. When the trial began, Madam Wu and her family waited for Li Guanfeng to come out before kneeling down. Madam Wu cried. “Sir, my son is innocent.”
Li Guanfeng’s cold gaze swept past Madam Wu and finally landed on the village chief’s wife, Madam Zhao. Madam Zhao’s heart skipped a beat. Li Guanfeng looked at the village chief. “As the village chief, you failed to be just. Do you plead guilty?”
The village chief, Tang Fengshou, trembled. “I do, I do. I will accept the punishment.”
Li Guanfeng said indifferently, “I will punish you with five flogs this time. If there’s a next time, the punishment will be more severe.”
Tang Maosheng finally understood what was going on. He was not here to be tried but convicted. He immediately said, “Sir, I didn’t do anything bad. I helped my nephew and niece plant the land because they are still young. Every year, I gave them their portion of the grains. Sometimes, the harvest was not good, so I gave them less. I didn’t expect these two children to be so angry with me. They must have been instigated by someone else. They weren’t like this earlier.”
Tang Maosheng’s plea almost made the village chief laugh. He had never seen such a shameless person. These days, he had figured out that siding with Tang Maosheng was a bad idea.
Therefore, Tang Fengshou immediately retorted. “Nonsense. There hasn’t been a drought in the village in the past few years. The land is fertile and the harvest every year is considerable. It’s you who doesn’t want to give too much to the two children. Don’t think that you can fool everyone in the village.”
Tang Maosheng frowned and glared at Tang Fengshou. He seemed to be asking why he wasn’t putting in a good word for him.
Tang Fengshou looked at Tang An and Tang Yuan. “Sir, though I’m the village chief, what happened between them is after all a family matter. The father of the two children entrusted them to his brother and sister-in-law. The two children are sensible and have never complained. This time, they’re probably too disappointed in their uncle. Please investigate thoroughly and give justice to the two children.”
Li Guanfeng looked at Tang Maosheng. “Stealing other people’s land and not abiding by the lease agreement. Your conduct is evil. You will be flogged twenty times. At the same time, you must return the land to Tang An and Tang Yuan immediately. Should this conduct be repeated, you will be punished more severely.”
Li Guanfeng looked at Liu Dalang. “Liu Dalang was seeking justice for his fiancée. When someone wanted to hit his brother-in-law, he stood up to protect him. This is the right and just thing to do. Nowadays, there are very few men who are so responsible. You will be rewarded with five taels of silver.”
Liu Dalang was stunned for a moment before responding. “Thank you, Sir. You’re wise.”
Tang An and Tang Yuan were overjoyed. Liu Erlang echoed. “Sir, you’re wise.”
Madam Wu, Tang Yu, and the others were all dumbfounded. Why did they end up losing everything? They even had to return the land that they had spent so much time planting. As for Liu Dalang, not only was he not punished, but was rewarded instead.
Tang Maosheng was furious. He wanted to shout that he was innocent, but he recalled the people who were dragged back to the prison cell after the trial a few days ago. Every one of them was in a sorry state. One of them who attempted to hit the magistrate was even sent into exile.
If he offended Li Guanfeng now, he might end up even more miserable.
After thinking it carefully, Tang Maosheng swallowed back what was on the tip of his tongue.
Tang Maosheng was dragged away to receive the punishment. Madam Wu quickly followed behind Tang Maosheng. Tang Yu looked at Tang An angrily. “Are you satisfied now? I hate you!”
The smile on Tang An’s face froze, and she felt a little bad about this outcome.
Tang Yuan said coldly, “You brought this upon yourself. It has nothing to do with anyone else. We reached an agreement before the new year, but you went back on your words. It’s because of greed that you ended up like this. Your hatred means nothing to us.”
Tang Yuan knew that Tang An still valued this kinship.
However, this kinship was destined to be a disappointment. If Tang Maosheng and Madam Wu had ever regarded them as family, they would not have bullied them and wanted to ruin Tang An’s marriage. They would also not have stolen the land to plant crops.
If they ever cared about Tang An and Tang Yuan, they wouldn’t do any of these vicious things.
Tang Yu’s eyes turned red as she looked at Liu Dalang. He stood behind Tang An like a mountain for her to lean on. This scene was simply unbearable to watch for Tang Yu. Under the mocking gazes of everyone present, Tang Yu left in shame.
Madam Wei did not care about Tang Yu. Now that Liu Dalang was safe, the whole family could go home together.
As for Tang Maosheng, he could not even walk after being flogged. Madam Wu cried as she helped him back. Her son, Tang Fei, kept a far distance away from them. Madam Wu wanted him to help her, but Tang Fei quickened his pace and left. Tang Yu had already run home.
After Madam Wu left the government office, she cursed Li Guanfeng in a low voice.
When they reached home, Madam Wei swept Liu Dalang with a broom and said, “Sweep away all the bad luck. In the future, my Dalang will be safe and sound.”
Liu Dalang stood still and opened his arms, letting Madam Wei sweep him with a broom. After she was done, he gave Madam Wei a hug. “Sorry to have made you worry about me.”