The case of the burly man and the old man seemed like a small case. It was just a simple case of fraud.
Even if the burly man was taken away by the Ministry of Justice, he would at most be fined some silver and be released after suffering some physical pain.
The biggest problem was that this was a small case, but it was related to the greater good.
The woman was molested by the old man. When everyone stood by and did nothing, the burly man stood up for justice and brought a ray of light to the deteriorating Fairy's Capital.
If this rare ray of light was swallowed by darkness, who would dare to stand up for justice in the future?
Protecting the burly man was protecting the bottom line of the law and protecting the kindness in the hearts of the people of Fairy's Capital.
Lord Zhang had been the county magistrate of Yangqiu for many years. He must know this principle better than Li Mu.
Zhang Chun sighed helplessly and returned to the side hall. When he came out again, he was wearing his official hat. He straightened it with both hands and said, "Let the people outside in. We'll begin the trial!"
The three of them were brought to the court. Li Mu asked Wang Wu to walk to the entrance of the yamen and tell the people outside that the military chief had given them special permission to observe the case. The onlookers immediately swarmed in. Some who did not know what was going on followed in to join in the fun. In an instant, the courtyard in front of the court was filled with people. There were even people who stood at the periphery to watch from afar.
They had been in Fairy's Capital for many years, but this was the first time they saw such a grand occasion in the Fairy's Capital yamen.
"I've seen this old dog before. Just because he has a relative in the Ministry of Justice, he molested women on the streets all day long. If he's caught, he'll turn the tables on them. Many women have been taken advantage of by him …"
"In the past, he would rely on the Ministry of Justice to deal with such cases. Why is he in the yamen today?"
"You didn't see it just now. He was almost taken away by the Ministry of Justice. That young constable even held his sword to the Ministry of Justice's neck and brought him back."
"Is the new constable so tough that he even dares to offend the Ministry of Justice?"
"I don't know. I heard that the military chief is also new. Let's see what he's going to do …"
In the court.
The woman knelt on the ground and cried, "Sir, I've been wronged!"
Zhang Chun looked at her and asked, "What grievances do you have? Tell me everything."
The woman pointed at the old man and said, "When I was walking on the street, this man tried to molest me. Then, he falsely accused me and tried to force himself on me. Fortunately, this big brother saved me … Sir, please give me justice!"
"My lord, don't listen to his nonsense!" The old man's face was filled with anger as he said, "She was clearly the one who bumped into me, yet she's framing me for taking advantage of her!"
The burly man knelt on the ground and said, "This commoner saw it very clearly. He was the one who molested this lady first …"
The old man said, "You're with her!"
Zhang Chun looked at the people in the courtyard and asked, "If there are other witnesses, you can directly walk to the court."
After a short moment of silence, a few people had already raised their feet, but they stopped.
This old man had connections with the Ministry of Justice. Although they were also furious in their hearts, they were afraid of being implicated and bringing trouble to themselves. Therefore, they did not dare to stand out.
Seeing that no one was testifying, the old man raised his head again and said, "See, the crime of slander is punishable by flogging according to the law …"
Zhang Chun suddenly looked into his eyes and said, "What's the whole story? Tell me honestly!"
The old man met his eyes, and the expression on his face gradually became sluggish. He muttered, "Yes, I saw that this young lady was quite beautiful and had a full chest, so I purposely bumped into her chest …"
Li Mu looked into Lord Zhang's eyes and found that his eyes were incomparably deep, making people feel like they were about to sink into them.
Li Mu had seen him use the Soul Sucking Technique before. This time, it was far more powerful than last time. His cultivation had probably advanced to the fourth realm.
The ranks of the officials in the imperial court did not correspond to their cultivation. Many of the officials in the imperial court had never cultivated. However, in general, the cultivation of some important positions, such as the prefectural governor, would not be lower than the Creation realm.
In principle, those at the fourth realm could take on any official position.
After the old man regained his senses and saw the way the crowd looked at him, he quickly realized what had happened.
He said loudly, "You're deliberately framing me. I request the Ministry of Justice to review the case. You can't do this to me …"
Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "Molesting a woman on the street, refusing to admit guilt, and disturbing the court. You'll be punished for several crimes. Drag him out and flog him 20 times."
Deputy Constable Sun ordered two people to drag him out. Soon, screams rang out in the yard of the yamen.
Under the law, everyone was treated equally. This person's crime would not be absolved just because he was old.
The bailiffs who carried out the punishment were all cultivators. They knew how to make him feel the greatest pain without causing him to be seriously injured or die.
"Stop!"
After the last flogging, an urgent voice came from outside.
The two bailiffs from the Ministry of Justice that Li Mu had just seen ran in with a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man walked straight to the old man and found that he had fainted.
The middle-aged man's face was gloomy. He said, "Who stole my man?"
The two bailiffs pointed at Li Mu.
The middle-aged man said coldly, "Stop the Ministry of Justice from handling a case. Take him away!"
Zhang Chun walked over and asked, "Who are you?"
The middle-aged man said arrogantly, "I'm Xu Zhong, the head of the Ministry of Justice."
"What rank?"
"What?"
Zhang Chun's face darkened. He asked, "I'm asking you, what rank are you?"
Xu Zhong was stunned. He said, "Ninth rank."
Zhang Chun shouted and asked, "What right do you have to call yourself 'sir' in front of me?"
Xu Zhong was stunned. Although the Divine Capital yamen did not have much of a presence in the capital, the Divine Capital Magistrate was a fifth-rank official. The Divine Capital Commandant was a sixth-rank official. They were indeed much higher than a ninth-rank official like him.
He did not expect the Divine Capital Commandant to be so disrespectful to the Ministry of Justice. When Xu Zhong spoke again, he was slightly weaker. He said, "The Ministry of Justice investigated this case first …"
"I've finished handling the case." Zhang Chun pointed at the old man who had fainted and said, "This man is disrespectful. First, he molested a girl on the street. Then, he disturbed the court. I've already punished him with twenty strokes. If you think that's not enough, you can bring him back to the Ministry of Justice for another sentence …"
Xu Zhong opened his mouth and said, "There are still some suspicious points in this case. Don't you think it's a little too hasty for you to finish the sentence so quickly?"
Zhang Chun pointed at the people in the courtyard and asked, "These people were all here when I was handling the case. Ask them if there are any suspicious points in this case."
Xu Zhong looked at the people with a dark expression. The people could not help but take a step back.
However, in the next moment, a voice came from the crowd.
"There are no suspicious points!"
Xu Zhong looked over. Before he could find the person who spoke, another voice came from another direction.
"I saw this old fart molesting that girl with my own eyes!"
"This old fart is a habitual offender!"
"You're right, sir. You should've done so long ago!"
…
Several voices came from the crowd. Zhang Chun looked at the crowd again and asked, "Does anyone have any suspicious points?"
"No!"
"No!"
"No!"
…
This time, the crowd spoke in unison. Their voices were so uniform that they seemed to want to flip the roof of the yamen over.
The people on the streets outside the yamen raised their heads and looked in the direction of the yamen in confusion.
The crowd was so agitated that Xu Zhong's ears buzzed. He could only leave with his tail between his legs. Before he left, he ordered the two yamen runners from the Ministry of Justice to carry the unconscious old man away.
"Thank you, constable! Thank you, sir!"
The woman and burly man knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Mu and Zhang Chun in excitement.
Zhang Chun gently raised his hand. A gentle force lifted the two of them up. He said, "There's no need to be so polite. This is what I should do."
At this moment, Li Mu sensed the familiar aura of telekinesis from the two of them and the surrounding people.
It seemed that this was indeed the right path of cultivation. The atmosphere in the Divine Capital was foul. If he could continue to gain the trust and respect of the people, not only would he be able to complete the seven spirits quickly, but his cultivation speed would also be on par with Liu Hanyan's on Mount Baiyun.
After the commoners dispersed, the yamen's constables, including Wang Wu and Deputy Constable Sun, still had faint flushes of excitement on their faces.
They had been in the yamen for so long. When had they ever felt so elated?
When they thought of the scene where the people spoke in unison, their emotions, which had just calmed down, began to surge again.
Zhang Chun looked at them and said, "Remember, when you're willing to stand behind the people, the people are willing to stand behind you. The hearts of the people are the strongest force behind the yamen."
At this moment, Li Mu seemed to see the light of the right path in him.
Although he was a coward, he had never disappointed anyone when it came to major matters.
After the yamen runners left, Li Mu thought for a moment and asked, "What if the Ministry of Justice pursues the matter?"
Zhang Chun said disdainfully, "The Ministry of Justice has one minister, one assistant minister, five doctors, five minister counsellors, and ten managers. Who does he think he is? Do you think those officials in the Ministry of Justice have nothing better to do than stand up for a small, insignificant manager?"
Only then did Li Mu understand why he was so different from his usual self. He was domineering and impassioned. It turned out that he had predicted that the Ministry of Justice would not stand up for a small manager.
He was indeed the Zhang County Magistrate that Li Mu knew.
At this moment, Zhang Chun closed his eyes and suddenly opened them. He said in shock, "Where's my telekinesis? Where did all my telekinesis go?"
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