Ni Xian was only fifteen or sixteen years old. For the past two years, he had heard about Fang Yun's legends almost every day. In his heart, Fang Yun was no longer a young man of his age, but a peerless genius who was both talented and talented. In the future, there was a great chance that he would be conferred the title of Half-saint. He was a dragon among men.
Now, this dragon among men was standing in front of him, and his tone was obviously unfriendly. Ni Xian was so scared that his legs went soft. He knelt on the ground and said loudly, "I'm innocent! I'm innocent! Although I'm at fault for fighting, it takes two hands to clap. If he didn't provoke me time and time again, I wouldn't have hit him so hard! Sir, I'm innocent! I admit that I have a personal grudge against Tian Lu, but I'm not as shameless as he said! "
The father and son of the Tian family trembled with anger. This was the same as what he said in the past. He was just trying to turn bullying into an ordinary fight.
Fang Yun nodded and stared at Ni Xian. His eyes were especially bright because of his talent and courage, like the bright moon in the night. He then said slowly, "Ni Xian, you have to know that if you say anything false in court, you'll be punished even more! Once I confirm that you're lying, I'll definitely punish you severely! "
Ni Xian's eyes flashed and he instinctively looked at his father, Ni Kuo.
Ni Kuo stepped forward and said, "Sir, may I speak?"
Fang Yundao said, "Yes, you're the father of the defendant. The defendant is still young. If the defendant doesn't know how to answer, you can answer on his behalf."
Ni Kuo was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "My son has a strong personality. He became enemies with Tian Lu mainly because of the Academy's ranking competition. That day, my son mocked him, and Tian Lu criticized him. My son felt humiliated in public, so he fought back. Tian Lu, tell me the truth. Did you criticize my son that day? "
Tian Lu said angrily, "Ni Xian committed crimes in the Academy, I …"
Ni Kuo suddenly interrupted Tian Lu and said, "I'm only asking you, did you criticize my son?"
Tian Lu's momentum weakened and said, "He mocked me first, so I naturally retaliated."
Ni Kuo immediately looked at Fang Yun. "Milord, you heard it too. But what you don't know is that my son didn't make a move that day. Instead, a few days later, he heard that someone was secretly slandering Tian Lu. In addition, someone said that Tian Lu was slandering Tian Lu, so he led people to beat Tian Lu up! "
Fang Yun asked, "Tian Lu, did you slander Ni Xian after the incident?"
Tian Lu hurriedly shook his head and said, "Absolutely impossible. After I refuted Ni Xian that day, I was worried that Ni Xian would take revenge on me. I had been hesitating whether or not to confess to him. Why would they continue to slander him?! "
"Oh? Worried that Ni Xian would seek revenge? Did Ni Xian have many misdeeds in the past? Tell me everything you saw with your own eyes, "Fang Yundao said.
Ni Kuo's eyes were filled with anxiety. He wanted to refute, but he didn't dare to say anything when he thought of the slap he had received earlier. The other defendants also remained silent. They didn't dare to go against the county magistrate.
Tian Lu immediately said, "I've seen with my own eyes three times that Ni Xian blocked his classmates in the Academy or on the road and beat them up. I've seen Ni Xian flirt with female students at least four times. As for hearing Ni Xian say that he bullied someone, it's too many to enumerate."
"Oh. Did those people ever report it to the authorities? "Fang Yun asked.
"Ni Xian is very shrewd. He only bullies poor children like us. How could anyone report it to the authorities? As for those female students, although their family backgrounds are good, they are about the same as Ni Xian. Ni Xian only verbally abused them. Right, I heard that last year Ni Xian once … "
Ni Xian suddenly glared at Tian Lu and shouted, "Tian Lu! Do you want to die?! "
Tian Lu's body trembled. His eyes were filled with panic. He didn't dare to continue speaking.
"How dare you!" Fang Yun slammed the gavel. The power of literary courage burst forth and a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere. It swept in all directions.
Everyone's clothes were blown up and the pages of the books were flipped. Many people instinctively cried out in alarm. They looked at Fang Yun with eyes full of reverence.
"I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong! "Ni Xian hurriedly lowered his head and begged for mercy.
Fang Yun coldly snorted and said, "You dared to threaten the plaintiff in court. It can be seen how domineering you are! Your words have been recorded and will be dealt with in the future. If you still dare to shout in court, don't blame me for punishing you! Tian Lu, continue speaking. "
Tian Lu lowered his head and said, "That's just a rumor I heard. I didn't see it with my own eyes. It's not suitable for me to speak of it in court."
Fang Yun said, "That's not right. If this rumor has no effect on you, you don't have to say it. But if it has an effect on you, it involves whether you are afraid of Ni Xian. Let me ask you, what effect does the rumor have on you? "
Tian Lu was silent for a long time and slowly said, "After hearing the rumor, I am even more afraid."
"Then tell me more about the rumor." Fang Yun looked at Ni Xian and Ni Kuo as he spoke. The two wanted to explain, but they didn't dare to open their mouths.
Tian Lu was silent for a moment and said, "Everyone in the academy knows about this. Ni Xian met a young girl by chance and liked her beauty. When he found out that she was a commoner, he wanted to buy her into the Ni family as a maid. A maid can't even be compared to a concubine. Which family wouldn't agree? Who wouldn't want their daughter to be the main wife? Up to this point, the rumors were the same, but the later rumors were different. Some said that Ni Xian defiled the girl and she committed suicide out of shame. Some said that Ni Xian wanted to marry into a prestigious family but was afraid that the girl would ruin his reputation and kill him. In short, the girl died in the end. As for the cause of her death, there are still many opinions. "
Fang Yun turned to the chief secretary of the torture chamber and asked, "Does the torture chamber have a record of the girl's death?"
The chief secretary was startled and hurriedly said, "Ning 'an is a large county and the number of deaths every year is incalculable. I'm not sure."
Fang Yun nodded and asked, "Tian Lu, do you know the girl's name?"
Tian Lu shook his head, but his father, Tian Fusheng, said, "Reporting to Sir, this commoner remembers that the girl's surname is Lu and her name is Ping 'er. She lives in the west of the city, I think it's Laohuai Alley."
"Ni Xian, have you heard of this girl?" Fang Yun looked straight at Ni Xian.
Ni Xian's expression was strange, as if he was struggling with something. His father Ni Kuo hurriedly said: "My Lord, my son did have a relationship with Lu Ping, my son also wanted to marry her, but later on, the two broke up because of love, and that girl committed suicide by hanging herself. I personally went to the Lu family to apologize and obtained their forgiveness. "
Fang Yun nodded and said, "This girl's case involves whether Ni Xian has committed any outrageous acts. Where is the chief secretary of the torture chamber!" As he spoke, Fang Yun took out a lot from the lot holder.
"This lowly official is here." The chief secretary of the torture chamber hurriedly stepped forward.
"Send two people to the Lu family and bring the Lu family to the county yamen."
"Yes!" The chief secretary of the torture chamber stepped forward to take the lot and left the hall to find the people.
Fang Yun saw from the corner of his eye that Ni Xian's legs were trembling slightly and his forehead was covered in sweat.
Fang Yundao said, "Let's return to the case. The first fight between the two of you was because of a dispute of words. Then why did Ni Xian repeatedly beat him up and even scalded him? "
Ni Kuo cupped his hands and said, "After my son beat Tian Lu, he wanted to stop, but he kept hearing Tian Lu cursing and slandering him behind his back. That's why he continued to beat him! Sir, this lowly one and my son have been influenced by you and have decided to plead guilty. Not only will we compensate the Tian family with a thousand taels of silver, but we will also have my son apologize in front of everyone at the academy. He will also be whipped thirty times and imprisoned for a year as a warning to others! "
The Tian father and son were stunned. If Ni Kuo had decided on this punishment earlier, the two of them would not have continued to report it. Having Ni Xian apologize in front of everyone and be whipped had already exceeded their expectations. Perhaps this case could be closed.
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