Ni Xian looked at his father in disbelief, unable to understand why his father would say such a thing. This was a huge insult to him! Admitting his fault in public to a poor boy and being whipped thirty times was enough to make Ni Xian a laughing stock among the gentry in Ning'an County. His prestige would be completely lost, and almost no one would respect him as a leader anymore.
The good old days will never return.
However, Ni Xian didn't dare to say anything. He could only grit his teeth and curse in his heart.
Many people outside the lobby couldn't understand Ni Kuo's words, why could things change so quickly.
Ni Kuo's wife cursed in a low voice, feeling extremely distressed for her son, but she dared not rush in and shout again.
Fang Yun looked at Ni Kuo indifferently and asked, "In the court, this county is the most respected. The verdict is decided by this county. No one else can interfere!"
As soon as Fang Yun said this, the hearts of the defendant and all his family members sank to the bottom.
The punishment Ni Kuo mentioned was severe enough, but Fang Yun showed no intention of agreeing. It was obvious that he would not give a lighter punishment. So, Fang Yun’s thoughts were self-evident!
The atmosphere at the scene became weird, and everyone realized that this case would not be easily resolved!
The Tian family father and son were puzzled.
"Tian Lu, stand up." Fang Yun said.
"Yes, sir." Tian Lu wiped his tears and stood up with his upper body naked.
Many people looked at Tian Lu with pity, because he had too many scars on his body. Fortunately, he was a tongsheng, otherwise he would have been useless.
"Do you remember the origin of these scars on your body?"
"Student, never forget it!" Tian Lu said gritting his teeth.
Fang Yun asked: "When did the burn under your left ribs occur?"
Tian Lu's body trembled, and he instinctively touched the half-foot-long and two-finger-wide wound on his left rib with his right index finger, and said sadly: "Last winter, on the seventh day of the eleventh month, several people caught me, and Ni Xian used tongs to hold charcoal and pressed it on my left rib! The charcoal burned my body, as if it were in a furnace. I will never forget it! After injuring me, Ni Xian said condescendingly that if my family still wanted to sue the officials, the next time it would not be my left rib that would be burned, but between my legs!"
Many people only felt a slight pain in their body and secretly cursed Ni Xian for being a beast for doing such a thing that would end their family lineage.
"When did you get the knife wound on your right chest?"
"On the fourth day of the third lunar month last year, Ni Xian got a good sword. I happened to be passing by, and they rushed over. They tested the sword on my chest! Ni Xian also said that I was a student and would not die from these injuries. I took this injury to see Dean Hong of the academy. Dean Hong found a doctor to help me apply medicine and treatment, but he did not say anything wrong about Ni Xian! It was also on that day that Mr. Sun, who taught us, made a scene in the dean's study because of me and demanded that the academy expel Ni Xian. Ni Xian was still there, and ten days later, Mr. Sun was forced to resign!"
There was no mention of this in the complaint or the document. Fang Yun's expression changed when he heard this.
Without waiting for Fang Yun to continue asking, Tian Lu pointed to a dent on his shoulder and said, "On the morning of the fifth day after my father took me to appeal, I was blocked on the way to the academy. This wound was caused by Ni Xian hitting me with a blue brick!"
"The scar on my left arm is very light, but on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, I was stripped naked in public. Cold water was poured on me, and my whole body was covered with ice! I stood outside for half an hour, and a student from a famous family couldn't bear to see it. He persuaded Ni Xian a few times, and Ni Xian let me go!"
"And here, where you can't see, there is a spot on my head that's the size of a copper coin, without any hair at all, it was pulled out by Ni Xian! I cried bitterly that day, and I couldn't understand why he treated me like this, even though we were classmates and fellow human beings! Was it because I was scared by his beating? Was it because I was weak and could be bullied?"
"Also, he once used a bunch of incense to burn me to death, and even made me drink...drink urine! At that time, I swore to kill Ni Xian and his accomplices! Kill these beasts! But, thinking of my parents and my sister, I gave in once again!"
As he spoke, Tian Lu suddenly burst into tears and said, "I am incompetent! I am incompetent! Ni Xian, that beast, actually said that if I dare to hurt him, he would kill my ten-year-old sister... I am afraid! I am afraid that I will implicate my family! I am afraid that I will harm my family!"
Tian Lu covered his face and burst into tears again.
The crowd outside the lobby became agitated; no one had expected Ni Xian to go so far.
The people around Ni Xian's family involuntarily moved away, leaving an obvious gap around them.
Fang Yun looked at Ni Xian and asked, "Have you ever said these words?"
Ni Xian hurriedly said, "You deserve to die! Those were just words spoken in anger, and they were all unintentional. I would never really want to do such a thing! I have already apologized to Tian Lu many times, and those words were just to scare him."
"Oh, then you roasted Tian Lu with charcoal, stripped him of his clothes, and stabbed him in the chest and abdomen. Are those all true?" Fang Yun asked.
Ni Xian quickly replied: "I was deceived by rumors and did those things because I was blinded. I have paid for the medicine many times and I sincerely regretted every time."
Ao Huang was so angry that he rolled his eyes. If he could take action here, he would have burned Ni Xian to death with a breath of fire.
The people outside the lobby finally couldn't help themselves and started cursing.
Even though Ni Xian and others have close relationships with famous people, they cannot stop the scolding from the crowd.
"You are worse than pigs and dogs. If you were my son, you would have broken his legs and locked him up at home!"
"I've read so much that I've lost my stomach. May the sky be struck by lightning!"
"I have made mistakes, but compared to this beast, I am the number one good man in Ning'an County!"
…
In the court, Fang Yun said: "It seems that you admit that you committed the crime against Tian Lu, then this matter will be easy to handle. By the way, I heard that President Hong of Wenfu Academy has also arrived? Please come to the court." Fang Yun said.
Then an old scholar in his sixties walked out of the crowd outside the door. He walked into the hall neither arrogantly nor humbly, stood beside Ni Kuo, bowed to Fang Yun, straightened his body, and said, "I greet Fang Xusheng."
Fang Yun nodded, and the man’s information flashed through his mind.
Wenfu Academy is one of the three major academies in Ning'an County, second only to Ning'an County Wenyuan Academy. As the dean of Wenfu Academy, the connections he has made with students over the years alone are enough to make him an influential figure in Ning'an County.
The county magistrate, chief clerk and registrar of Ning'an County hold real power, but they dare not offend President Hong at all, because no one knows which current senior official is the president's student!
What's more, many people in Ning'an County know that Wenfu Academy has been standing for a hundred years. It was founded by President Hong's grandfather. Many of its students became Jinshi or even Hanlin. Those people not only have a place in Jingguo, but also have a certain status in Shengyuan.
Whenever Wenfu Academy held a grand celebration, high-ranking officials would send gifts or even attend.
Dean Hong does not have much real power, but his influence far exceeds that of an ordinary county or even an ordinary prefecture.
Fang Yun looked serious, looked at Dean Hong, and asked, "Do you know about Ni Xianling's abuse of Tian Lu?"
Dean Hong frowned and said with full energy: "It is common for children to fight with each other. If there is no fighting and no blood, how can we fight against the monsters? The word "abuse" is too serious and does not apply to this case. I hope the county magistrate will think twice." (To be continued...)