jdhmnovel Chapter 151: Trial (1)
Chapter 151: Trial (1)
Gu Zhanghua walked up to Guan Liushui and asked in a deep voice.
"Do you want to save your father's life?"
Guan Liushui tried to ask, "Is it that serious?"
Zhao Xuan took over the conversation.
"Is it serious? I'm telling you, it's very serious! Not to mention that he issued a martial arts order to kill me, he almost took the prince's life last time. What crime do you think is the murder of the current emperor? What did the brothers and sisters of Jiaoyang Valley do wrong? Now Hao Xiong and Dong Tian are both imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. If things go wrong, their heads may be in danger. Your father deliberately killed so many people unjustly. Do you think his sins are serious? I think immediate execution would be too easy for him!"
Watching the flowing water, he sighed.
"When I first entered the Moon-Diving Tower, I was so afraid my father would find me that I didn't dare go out. Later, I learned that Jiaoyang Valley was wrongly accused and had been stigmatized as the Hell King's Village. Thinking about the incident with the Evil-Slaying Knife, I guessed it was probably my father behind this. I asked the eldest leader, and when you said you had already discussed the matter of recruiting the envoy with the Virtuous King, I felt relieved. I didn't expect things to get so serious now! But he's my biological father, I can't just leave it alone!"
"We've already gone to the Tiandao League to meet your father and returned the Evil-Slaying Blade to its rightful owner, but your father has flatly denied accusing Jiaoyang Valley of this." Gu Zhanghua looked at Guan Liushui calmly. "The trial will begin tomorrow morning. The law of justice is strict and there's no way your father can escape."
Guan Liushui was so anxious that he was about to cry, and his voice was filled with tears.
"so what should I do?"
"The most important thing you should do now is to return to the Tiandao League immediately and persuade your father to surrender himself. Perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope!"
"Okay, I'll listen to you and leave now!"
Zhao Xuan was worried: "Can you go back alone? What if your father beats you again? How about I go back with you?"
Gu Zhanghua intervened, "You don't have to go. How can you try the case tomorrow if you don't see my second brother? I'll just let Shishu go back with him. If we can't defeat Hu Yiba, can't we just take him and escape?"
Guan Liushui gritted his teeth.
"I can go back on my own. Even if you kill me, I will make sure my father clears Jiaoyangyu's name!"
After Guan Liushui finished speaking, he hurriedly left the Xianwang Mansion.
Gu Zhanghua glanced at Zhao Xuan.
"It seems you care about him a lot. He is Hu Yiba's biological son."
"Let's put it this way. He's my brother. If I don't care about him, who should I care about?"
"I'm still your husband, and I don't see you caring much about me."
"How do you want me to care about you? I accompanied you to the Tiandao League to protect you. I just came back and you've forgotten?"
Well! Gu Zhanghua really had nothing to say.
Early the next morning, in order to avoid suspicion, Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua did not go directly to the lobby of the Ministry of Justice. They both changed into ordinary people's clothes and squeezed into the crowd of people watching at the gate of the Ministry of Justice early, waiting for the court session with everyone.
Soon, the gate of the yamen was opened and the people rushed in.
The two followed the crowd to the main hall and saw Gu Jiancheng already sitting in the main seat. Sitting next to him was Wang Daoding, the prefect of Fucheng, and a clerk who was responsible for taking notes.
On either side of the main hall, two rows of yamen runners stood in neat rows, banging their clubs on the ground and shouting in unison: "Mighty!"
Seeing that the people who came to watch the trial had quieted down, Gu Jiancheng looked at Wang Daoding and nodded slightly.
Gu Jiancheng looked at the people outside the door.
"Today, I am here to hear the case of the robbery of merchants in Jiaoyang Valley. In the interests of fairness and justice, this case will be heard in public. Please bring the plaintiff."
A yamen runner took the order and went to the back hall. After a while, he came out with a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was about to kneel down towards Gu Jiancheng who was sitting.
Gu Jiancheng waved his hand to stop him: "You are the victim, so just stand and answer."
The middle-aged man then bowed to Gu Jiancheng.
"My name is Cai Shoucheng. I am a representative elected by the merchants who suffered losses. I have come to ask you to seek justice for us."
Cai Shoucheng said this as he took out a thick stack of papers from his arms.
"This is the joint complaint filed by the merchants. Please take a look at it."
A yamen runner took the complaint and handed it to Gu Jiancheng. Gu Jiancheng read it quickly and handed it to Wang Daoding beside him.
Gu Jiancheng looked at Cai Shoucheng.
"You have jointly filed a lawsuit against the people who live in Jiaoyang Valley, which you later called Yanwang Village. They have robbed you of your money and property, causing heavy losses to passing merchants. You are deeply harmed by their actions. I hope this official will handle this matter impartially."
"Yes, my lord."
Gu Jiancheng asked, "How did you merchants determine that the people who robbed you were from Jiaoyang Valley?"
Cai Shoucheng replied: "That's what the people who robbed us said themselves."
Gu Jiancheng smiled and said, "They've done something evil, but they're not afraid of their victims finding out. Don't you find it strange that they've revealed their identities? According to common sense, shouldn't they do everything they can to conceal their true identities? Aren't they afraid that you'll sue them and the government will send troops to wipe them out?"
Cai Shoucheng replied, "Sir, this shows how arrogant those robbers in Yanwangzhai are. They don't take the government seriously at all!"
Gu Jiancheng didn't say anything more and directly ordered the leading yamen runner: "Take the suspect."
When Zhao Xuan in the crowd heard this, her heart immediately tightened and she pulled Gu Zhanghua's sleeve.
"They should be okay, right?"
"Second brother said he found evidence, we should believe him."
Hao Xiong and Dong Tian were tied up and brought to the hall. They both knelt on the ground, and Hao Xiong began to cry out for justice.
"We in Jiaoyang Valley are all refugees who fled here. We're starving, hungry, and cold, and we're all skinny and pale. How could we possibly have the energy to go down the mountain and rob? Why would any merchant caravan have one or two escorts? We're all weak, how could we possibly defeat those escorts? It's unfair, sir!"
Wang Daoding immediately scolded him.
"You're shouting and disrupting the court. Do you want to be beaten? First, tell me who you are!"
Hao Xiong quickly replied, "My name is Hao Xiong, the second in command of Jiaoyang Valley. I'm kind of the general manager, usually responsible for going down the mountain to buy daily necessities."
Dongtian also said, "My name is Dongtian, and I am the leader of the patrol team in Jiaoyang Valley."
At this time, Cai Shoucheng, who was standing aside, suddenly walked up to Hao Xiong and carefully examined Hao Xiong's face.
"Why is it you, kid? Aren't you a traveling merchant like us? How did you become a robber?"
When these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
Hao Xiong also looked at Cai Shoucheng in a daze, and was suddenly surprised and happy. Wasn't this the leader of the caravan who had helped him and Xiao Yixian and brought them to Liyang a few days ago?
"Team leader? Is that you?"
Gu Jiancheng slammed the gavel.
"This is the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, not a place for you to chat about family matters!"
Cai Shoucheng hurriedly bowed to Gu Jiancheng.
"Sir, I know this guy. About three months ago, when our caravan was on its way to Liyang, we saw him and his wife being robbed. All their money was stolen, and they couldn't even afford to rent an ox cart. Unable to help but sympathize with him, we took him and his wife all the way to the outskirts of Liyang City. Who knew this guy was just pretending! He turned out to be the leader of the robbers! I didn't recognize him from the portrait alone, but now he's right in front of me. I blame my own confusion. My old eyes are blurry and I can't tell who he is!"
Cai Shoucheng became more and more angry as he spoke. Suddenly, he turned around and kicked Hao Xiong, knocking him to the ground.
"You bastard! I'm going to fight you!"