Hearing his words, both the plaintiff and the defendant agreed. Song Shiren handed over the petition again. Mei Zhili pretended to read it, then handed it over to Zheng Tuo for Fan Xian to read. Fan Xian looked at it carefully and found it was not too different from what he had expected. He nodded and handed it back.
Song Shiren cupped his hands and said coldly, "I just don't understand. Why is Master Fan Xian standing proudly in the courtroom, not bowing or bowing? With such conduct, it's no wonder he did such a cruel thing last night!"
Fan Xian looked at the lawyer and asked curiously, "You have to kneel in court?" He had studied in Danzhou every day and was familiar with the laws of the Kingdom of Qing. Of course he knew what was going on, and he asked on purpose.
"Of course. Do you dare disrespect the majesty of the court?" Song Shiren frowned as he looked at the other party. In fact, he was extremely unwilling to fight today's lawsuit. After all, he was facing the Fan family, a family that did not reveal their true strength, but in reality, many people feared the Fan family. But he had no choice. He had already gone too far on the path of being a minister. There was no turning back, so he could not refuse.
Fan Xian laughed. "Then why don't you kneel, Mister Song?"
Song Shiren squinted at the young man, wondering if he was really an idiot, or if he was pretending to be weak. He said stiffly, "I have scholarly honors. I do not kneel in front of an official. This is the rule of the court."
Fan Xian bowed to the prefect, Mei Zhili. "Greetings, teacher. Should I kneel?"
Hearing this, Song Shiren knew that he must have scholarly honors. But he had investigated in the Minister's manor, and this Fan Xian had clearly not taken the examination. How could he be a scholar? He patted his fan and asked, "Master Fan, may I ask, when did you take the examination?"
Fan Xian replied politely, "The year before last in Danzhou." This was something Fan Jian had arranged for before he entered the capital, but he did not know it himself. It was not until today's lawsuit that he realized he had unknowingly acquired the status of a scholar.
The matter of kneeling or not was put to rest, and the court case officially began. Both sides went around the main topic a few times, each expressing their own opinions. Guo Baokun insisted that Fan Xian and a few guards from Fan Manor had injured him the night before, while Zheng Tuo insisted that Fan Xian had been in Fan Manor the entire night, with many servants as witnesses. As the fight began, the chatter of the commoners outside the capital city grew louder. There were more people who believed in Fan Xian. They felt that such a beautiful and delicate young master could not possibly be a murderer. And that Master Guo, who was sitting in a wheelchair and had been beaten to such a state, did not look like a good person.
Mei Zhili looked down at the argument and was annoyed. He waved his hand to signal the crowd to stop.
"Sir, if I may ask, the murderer is standing in the courtroom right now. Song Shiren wanted to gain the upper hand. He thought that the complaint was very clear, but the magistrate had not said anything for a long time. Perhaps he had already decided to side with the Fan manor, so he quickly pressed forward.
Zheng Tu smiled slightly, "Mister Song, your mouth is a little too fast. Mister Guo was attacked last night. According to the case report, someone put a sack over his head, and then he suffered such a tragedy. Since his head was covered before he was beaten, how could you see the face of the assailant? How could you determine that it was Mister Fan who did it? "
"Of course I heard Mister Fan's voice. Mister Fan admitted it himself. Are you going to deny it now?" Song Shiren looked at Fan Xian mockingly. "As a man, do you have no sense of responsibility?"
Fan Xian knew that Zheng Ta was trying to provoke him, but his face was calm. He was a little surprised, as if he did not understand why Zheng Ta was trying to frame him. Zheng Ta's voice rang out again, full of mockery. "Voice? I have studied the laws of the Qing Kingdom, and have never heard of a case being decided by voice. "
Song Shiren was not in a hurry. He said slowly, "If voice is not enough to prove Mister Fan's identity, then let me show you a poem." Having said this, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and slowly read it out.
...
...
Mei Zhili, who was sitting behind the table, was lost in thought. Suddenly hearing the poem, he became spirited. "Good poem, good poem. Who wrote it?" After saying this, he remembered that he was in the courtroom, not in the study. He was not at a poetry conference, but a trial. He coughed and had Song Shiren bring the poem up.
He looked at it carefully and felt that the poet's talent aside, just his skill in refining the words was rare in the world. He asked Song Shiren curiously, "Who wrote this poem, and how is it related to this case?" Song Shiren asked.
Song Shiren respectfully replied, "This poem was written by Mister Fan Xian at the poetry conference at Prince Jing's manor yesterday. Last night, when Mister Fan blocked the street and beat up Mister Guo, he also recited these lines. He also said that he wanted Mister Guo to do this and that."
Mei Zhili was shocked. He looked at the young man in the courtroom, his face full of sincerity and a bright smile. He had never imagined that someone from Fan Manor could write such a poem. Hearing what Song Shiren said after that, he felt a headache coming on. You can beat people up if you want, but you have to recite a poem. How can a place of elegance be in a place like this? Now, the other party had a handle on him.
Mei Zhili was a man of great experience, but the reason he had been able to sit in the key position of the capital magistrate for so many years was because of his ability to "smooth things over". The capital was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and there were many rich and powerful people. If he was only fair and just, he would not be able to stay in office for long. When he first entered the palace, Eunuch Guo had taught him four words of wisdom: "Smooth things over". From then on, Mei Zhili had adhered to these four words, and he had lived in peace for many years.
So he still maintained this attitude towards today's case. He would not make any decisions, and it would be up to the two manors to negotiate privately. If it did not work out, he would drag the case out for a few days and hand it over to the Ministry of Justice. Since he was "smoothing things over", he could not let the case become an ironclad one in his own manor. He looked at Fan Xian and Zheng Kuo with some worry.
Zheng Kuo had been an advisor in Mei Zhili's yamen for a while, so he knew what his old boss was worried about. He laughed and said, "How ridiculous. At the poetry festival, there were so many scholars and so many people. Master Fan's poem was amazing, and someone copied it. It's not surprising that others know about it. More importantly..."
He looked at Song Shiren coldly and sneered, "Has Master Fan lost his mind? He composed this poem in the afternoon, and then he went to beat someone up in the middle of the night, and recited a poem while beating someone up? Not to mention how ridiculous that scene was, it was obvious who he was. Only an idiot would be so stupid. It was obvious that someone had a grudge against Master Guo, and they knew about the disagreement between Master Fan and Master Guo in the restaurant a few days ago. So they deliberately misled Master Guo into thinking that Master Fan was the culprit. "
The words' young master, young master, young master 'made sense. But Fan Xian, who was standing to the side with a smile, heard him say that only an idiot would be so stupid. He could not help but cough awkwardly. Guo Baokun, who was sitting in his wheelchair, could not help but curse, "Don't try to argue your way out of this! This illegitimate son, relying on the power of Fan Manor, has no regard for the law. That's why he is so unscrupulous! "
Hearing the words "illegitimate son", Zheng Kuo's face darkened. He felt that his young master had made a wise move by beating the man into a wheelchair. He said coldly, "Master Guo, as a palace editor, you should watch your words. Although I know you are angry, you should not let your anger out. After all, you are close to the crown prince. It would not be good if you hurt the reputation of the palace."
These words were meant to provoke Guo Baokun, and also to make it clear that in terms of power, Fan Manor could not compare to the Guo family, who were close to the crown prince. What Guo Baokun had said before was naturally untenable. As expected, the people outside the gate began to talk. More and more people believed that Fan Xian was innocent.
Fan Xian's face was expressionless, but he admired Zheng Kuo very much. Some of the things he had arranged the night before had been used by Zheng Kuo. Nothing had been left out. Strangely, Song Shiren was not as anxious as Guo Baokun. He smiled and said, "Magistrate, my master is injured. Would you like to go and rest?"
Mei Zhili nodded and had the bailiffs lead the angry Guo Baokun to the back. At this time, Song Shiren turned around and bowed to Fan Xian and Zheng Kuo. He said, "So Master Fan does not want to admit to beating people up." For some reason, after Guo Baokun left, Song Shiren's expression became a lot more flamboyant, as if the real battle was about to begin.
Zheng Kuo and Fan Xian smiled at the same time and said nothing. What a joke. Niulan Street was so dark. Without witnesses and evidence, how could they prove that they were the ones who beat people up? Moreover, it was stated clearly on the papers that the guards and servants of Guo Manor were drugged. Even if they were asked to testify that Fan Xian was the one who beat people up, no one would believe them. Even Mei Zhili frowned. He called Song Shiren to the front and said in a low voice, "Let's leave it at that for today."
Song Shiren cupped his hands and frowned. "Master Guo is a compiler, and he was beaten up on the street. This is a big deal. How can we just close the case?"
Mei Zhili was angry. "When did I say I would close the case? I am only postponing the trial. The Guo family only said that they were beaten up. You have to show evidence. " Even if Fan Xian wasn't a scholar, the capital's government wouldn't punish him. So it was basically impossible for Fan Xian to ask for help from the Fan Manor.
Unexpectedly, Song Shiren turned around and asked, "Master Fan, were you in the manor all last night?"
Zheng Kuo replied, "Yes, everyone in the manor can testify."
Song Shiren laughed coldly. "Bring in the witnesses." Only then did Mei Zhili realize that there were still uncertainties. He nodded and the Guo Mansion's people brought a group of people into the hall. These people were dressed in different attire and had different occupations. There were people selling glutinous rice balls, night watchmen, sedan carriers waiting for business at the street entrance, and even a prostitute.
Zheng Kuo frowned slightly, feeling that something was wrong. The onlookers were curious. "What is this?"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
