The word "Scram" floated in front of Shen Ren. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His face turned from red to purple, from purple to green, and from green to white. ≧
It was quiet inside and outside the main hall. Nearly a hundred officials stretched their necks to look at the word "Scram".
Ji Zhibai was the top scholar in Jingguo and a student of the Left Prime Minister. It was obvious how serious the situation was for him to say "Scram".
Tao Dingnian, Lu Hong, and Wen Gu hurriedly held their official seals.
After a while, Tao Dingnian suddenly raised his head and gritted his teeth. "Shen Ren! You old bastard! How dare you have a niece who is worse than a dog! She dared to poison the Prime Minister's two grandsons! "
"Bastard!" Lu Hong shook his head.
Wen Gu's eyes were red. "To think that the Prime Minister and Master Ji trusted you so much and gave you such an important position. Who knew that the Shen family would be so inhumane! I really want to smash that bitch to death! "
"I heard that she angered the Prime Minister so much that he left the capital. No one knows where he went!"
"What? Is that true?"
"My old friend in the capital said that the Ministry of Personnel is in a mess. He is afraid that the Prime Minister will be angered by this!"
"The Prime Minister has been kind to us. I want to kill that bastard Shen Ren!"
"Even if your whole family dies, it won't be enough to be buried with the Prime Minister's two grandsons!"
"You are a sinful family!"
"You must be severely punished. You must not be let off lightly!"
Many officials cursed and scolded. If this was not the main hall of the county yamen, who knew what kind of nasty words they would have said.
Many officials were mad. They were mad not because they wanted to protect the Prime Minister, but because they wanted to protect themselves!
The Prime Minister had high hopes for Ning An County. He hoped that the officials of Ning An County could bring down Fang Yun. At the very least, they could stop Fang Yun from taking the court examination.
But now, not only did they fail to stop Fang Yun, the people of Ning An County killed the Prime Minister's two grandsons. In the future, whenever the Prime Minister heard about the officials of Ning An County... He would definitely remember that his two grandsons had died in the womb.
Shen Ren's niece's poisoning of Ning An County had almost cut off the promotion of the officials of Ning An County!
Many of the young officials were not only angry, but also panicked.
"It's over. Our future is over …"
It was unknown who said half a sentence, but his mouth was covered. However, an invisible panic spread among the nearly one hundred officials.
Now, if anyone dared to say that Fang Yun was wrong, it would be the same as saying that the Left Prime Minister's grandson deserved to die. It would be the same as washing away Shenming Lanxiang's sins!
If Fang Yun wasn't wrong, then it was naturally the officials who were wrong!
Some of the officials looked at Fang Yun, who was sitting calmly in the middle of the main hall, and trembled with fear. Now, everyone had been dragged into Shen Ren's pirate ship. They could neither stay nor leave.
The person sitting across from him was Fang Yun, a person who had dared to take down a county's librarian on his first day in Ning An County. He was a person who was frequented by the Confucian scholars of the various halls. It was fine if he didn't make a move, but once he did, it was earth-shattering.
With a flip of his hand, he could create clouds and rain with a flip of his hand.
Some of the officials could not help but curse themselves for being blind. Previously, they had underestimated Fang Yun. He thought that Fang Yun was no match for these officials!
Now, it seemed that Fang Yun did not care about these officials at all!
Previously, Fang Yun had tolerated them for the sake of setting up the court examinations. Now, the plan was set. On the same day, he interrogated Shen Ren in a thunderous manner. He even purposely used Shen Ren as bait to lure all of the officials in Ning An County!
Shen Ren lowered his head, his face ashen. He had been arrogant before. He had only relied on his status as the Left Prime Minister's relative. Now, this was gone.
Some of the officials who were close to him sighed in their hearts. Shen Ren was completely finished. It was as if his spirit had been sucked out.
Pa …
Fang Yun suddenly slammed his gavel and said, "Where is the Household Secretary? Come forward and speak."
All of the officials trembled slightly at the sound of the gavel. When they heard Fang Yun's words, they were even more terrified.
Fang Yun was going to make a move on the officials of Ning An County!
If it was a day ago, if Fang Yun dared to make a move, they would have dared to resist. However, they did not dare to do so now.
The Left Prime Minister was so angry that he left the capital. Who dared to say anything?
"The Household Secretary is here!" An Old Man in his fifties slowly walked to the entrance of the main hall. His legs were trembling uncontrollably.
The Household Secretary was in charge of the Household Secretary. The Household Secretary was Shen Ren's trusted aide.
Fang Yun looked coldly at the Household Secretary and said, "I heard that you have a close relationship with Shen Ren. Your daughter is married to someone from the Shen family. Is this true?"
"That is indeed the case." The head of household affairs swallowed his saliva with difficulty.
"Oh, the anonymous report said that you and Shen Ren worked together to take over two of the county's workshops, resell grain, and fill your own pockets from surveying the land. Is this true?"
"I …" The Household Secretary did not dare to continue speaking.
Fang Yun slowly said, "This county's policy is to punish the past to avoid future problems and treat the sick to save the patient. The policy for suspects is to be lenient if they confess and be strict if they resist. If you confess, I can give you a light sentence. If you are stubborn, I will punish you severely. "
As an old official, the Household Secretary naturally understood the meaning behind Fang Yun's words. The so-called punishment to avoid future problems meant that he would arrest everyone related to Shen Ren. The so-called treatment to save the patient meant that if they were truly remorseful and helped Fang Yun expose Shen Ren, his punishment would be reduced. It was equivalent to saving them, and he would not use capital punishment.
It was clear that Fang Yun was well versed in the way of government. He could compromise in sentencing, but he would not back down in terms of right and wrong.
"I … confess!" The Household Secretary half-knelt on the ground.
"You …" Before Shen Ming could finish, Fang Yun suddenly waved his hand across the air. The official seal mobilized the power of the Holy Temple and struck Shen Ren's face.
"Pa …"
This slap caused Shen Ren to stagger back three steps. His face was swollen, and blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"Hiss …" Shen Ren angrily glared at Fang Yun. He covered the left side of his face with his hand, but he did not dare to say a word.
All the officials were silent. After all, Shen Ren was a registrar of the Imperial Examinations. Fang Yun beating him as he wished was a demonstration of his determination. Whoever dared to jump out to protect Shen Ren would be mercilessly suppressed.
"Confess your crimes one by one." Fang Yun looked down at the half-kneeling Household Secretary.
"Yes …"
Following this, the Household Secretary began to confess. He recounted everything that had happened between him and Shen Ren. However, he cleverly said that he had been forced by Shen Ren and that he had no choice. Finally, he confessed to some of the things he had done. Although his crimes were not light, they were nothing compared to the previous ones.
During this process, Shen Ren only coldly snorted and did not say a word.
After the Household Secretary finished confessing, Fang Yun thought for a moment and made a judgment. The family would be confiscated, and all property would be confiscated. He would be flogged forty times and paraded through the streets. After that, he would be exiled to the army for ten years. His three sons were involved in dividing the spoils. They would be flogged sixty times and imprisoned for three years. His wife was also involved in breaking the law. She would be flogged twenty times and imprisoned for one year.
"Thank you, Sir!" The Household Secretary's mood was incomparably complicated. Fang Yun did as he said. He followed the principle of "treating the sick and saving the patient" and allowed him to reduce his sentence through meritorious service. However, he did not let off his family members who had been involved in the crime.
The Household Secretary raised his head and said, "Sir, this official has taken the initiative to confess. Can you exempt me from the parade?"
For scholars, being paraded through the streets was a heavier punishment than being imprisoned. Some scholars would rather die than be paraded through the streets.
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