Fang Yun looked at the woman and said, "Since you have repented in time, this county will not punish you any more. Please leave the hall first."
"Thank you for your kindness, sir!" The woman in gorgeous clothes hurriedly left the hall.
"My wife was rude, thank you for your kindness." Ni Kuo bowed and thanked him while enduring the pain.
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Who is here? Tell me your name."
Ni Kuo and the other seven defendants trembled and dared not say a word.
The middle-aged man on the other side clasped his fists towards Fang Yun and said, "I am Tian Fusheng, a humble servant, and I am here with my son Tian Lu to pay my respects to Master Xu Sheng."
"Why did you and your son take the four students to court?" Fang Yun said, and looked at Tian Fusheng carefully. The man was wearing old clothes and was obviously just over 30 years old, but his temples were already gray.
Tian Fusheng showed a look of grief and indignation on his face, and said, "My son Tian Lu has been well-behaved and obedient since he was young, down-to-earth and diligent, and has never bullied the good people. He is well-known among his classmates. However, because of some trivial matters in the academy, he fell out with Ni Xian. My son knew that the Ni family was powerful, so he was tolerant and apologized many times. Unexpectedly, Ni Xian went too far, not only bullied my son many times, but also gathered his accomplices to make things worse, insulting my son, tearing his clothes in public, beating him many times, and forcing my son to kneel down. All these things are outrageous."
"How long will it last?" Fang Yun looked at Tian Lu, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old. The child lowered his head, clutched his scholar's robe with both hands, and his body was trembling. It was obvious at a glance that he was a coward at heart.
"As early as March of the previous year, my son was verbally abused, and he was beaten since May of the previous year. At first, we saw that he had some minor injuries, so we just thought it was caused by playing around. It was not until one day in March last year when his clothes were torn and he came home crying with scars all over his body that we learned from him what had happened over the years."
"What did you do after that?" Fang Yun asked.
Tian Fusheng's face was filled with sorrow. He said, "We first came to the Ning'an County Office to file a complaint. The previous Magistrate Ji sentenced the Ni family and others to apologize to my son and pay five taels of silver as medical expenses. Although we were dissatisfied with the judgment, we could do nothing about it. We thought the matter was over, but my son was still unhappy and his ranking in the academy continued to decline. Until one day when he was taking a bath, we found that there were bruises on the places covered by his clothes! Only then did we realize that they had gone from being open to being dark, and were no different from animals! I appealed again, but Magistrate Ji's judgment was exactly the same as before!"
"What happens next?" Fang Yun asked.
"After that, I protested and took my son to the city to file a complaint, but Ni Kuo was a student. His wife was from a famous family, and I don't know what tricks they used, but the government office drove us out of the city on the grounds that the case in Ning'an County had been closed and no appeal was allowed! Afterwards, the Ni family sent someone to deliver a message, saying that they were willing to pay three hundred taels of silver to settle the matter privately, otherwise, our Tian family would be in turmoil!"
"Oh? Did you agree to settle it privately at that time?" Fang Yun asked.
Tian Fusheng's eyes widened with anger, and he said, "My son was a promising student, but he was bullied by Ni Xian and others. His studies were ruined and his future was ruined! Not to mention three hundred taels of silver, even thirty thousand taels can't buy my son's education! I, Tian Fusheng, don't want their dirty money, I just want justice! Justice!"
Tian Fusheng yelled the last four words.
Fang Yun looked at the young man Tian Lu and said, "Tian Lu, what do you want to say?"
Tian Lu shook slightly, not even daring to look up.
Fang Yun frowned slightly. Tian Fusheng said hurriedly: "My child has not been able to talk to anyone for many days, and I have no way to help him."
Fang Yun glanced at the eight defendants and found that some of them looked at Tian Lu with a little contempt and even a little sarcasm, and his face suddenly darkened.
Fang Yun looked at Tian Lu and felt worried. It must be Ni Xian and others who threatened Tian Lu. Although the plaintiffs were Tian's father and son, the victim was Tian Lu. If Tian Lu didn't open his mouth to explain the details of what happened, even if he had the ability of a saint, he would be helpless.
Time passed slowly, the hall was silent, while some people outside were discussing in low voices.
Not long after, Fang Yun suddenly slammed the gavel and shouted, "Tongsheng Tianlu, what do you want to say?"
Tian Lu closed his mouth, lowered his head, his body trembled slightly, and said nothing.
Fang Yun took a deep breath, straightened his body, snorted coldly, and said: "Reading the saints' books, there is courage, wisdom, and the willingness to sacrifice one's life for justice and to die for the sake of righteousness. But you dare not even say a word. Where is your justice! Where is your courage! Where is your wisdom!"
Fang Yun's voice became louder and louder, but Tian Lu seemed to have no reaction at all.
"At the Jiagu Alliance, Confucius, as a mere mortal, stopped dozens of well-armed soldiers and angrily rebuked the ruler of a country. Do you remember the courage of Confucius?"
Tian Lu did not respond.
"Mencius met King Xuan of Qi, who asked him if he could kill the king. Mencius said to the king that if the king was not a king, he was a sinner, and that the minister could not kill the king, but could kill the sinner! Do you remember the courage of the Saint Meng?"
Tian Lu clenched his right hand tightly.
Fang Yun paused for a moment, pointed at Tian Fusheng, and said, "Your father was a commoner, not even a student, but he was not afraid of the powerful, and he ran around between the prefectures and counties for his son, and he had no regrets even when his temples were white. Do you remember your father's courage?"
Tian Lu's body trembled slightly.
"There are countless righteous deeds in the books, but you dare not take any of them. You study without thinking, think without doing, and are worse than rotten wood and stone. How can you have the face to call yourself a scholar? You are just like a piece of waste paper and a broken pen! Would you rather hand over the world to the enemy than fight?"
Tian Lu could no longer bear it, he suddenly raised his head and shouted: "Student Tian Lu, born in a commoner family, is only a dozen years old, but he carries the high hopes of his family, worries about his parents, and can't eat or sleep well. Fortunately, I passed the examination and became a student, but I have offended the powerful. What else can I do except to be patient?"
With tears in his eyes, Tian Lu tore off his clothes, exposing his upper body to the elements, revealing a body covered in scars, including bruises, knife wounds, and burns, which was shocking to see.
Tian Lu's face turned red, and he said, "I compromised, but Ni Xian got worse! I reported to the academy, but Ni Xian used force to suppress me! My father asked for help from the government, but Ni Xian used his power to resolve the situation! If I continue to fight, Ni Xian will ruin my future, destroy my family, and kill my parents. What can I do? What can I do? How can a humble person with a low status fight against a powerful noble family? Fang Xusheng, tell me! Tell me how to fight against them!"
At the end of his speech, Tian Lu's tears welled up in his eyes but never fell.
The county government office was quiet.
"So, this Saint has arrived!" Fang Yun's tone was gentle, as if he was afraid of hurting Tian Lu, but it was like a sharp weapon piercing the heart, making many people terrified.
Tian Lu knelt on the spot, tears welling up in his eyes, crying and shouting: "Sir, I am suing Ni Xian and others for colluding with bullies to oppress the people! Harming my classmates! Causing trouble to the academy! Colluding with officials! I beg Sir Xusheng to make a decision for me, give me justice! Give the world a clear and bright future!"
"This county will give you justice and restore peace to Ning'an!"
Snapped!
Fang Yun slammed the gavel, and an invisible force spread in all directions. That force contained the anger of a county lord, and it was also like the roar of the people of the county.
"Ni Xian, is what Tian Lu said a lie?" Fang Yun stared at Ni Xian with a sharp gaze. (To be continued...)