"Bring in the villagers from Shoutao Village!"
Kneeling on the ground was the entire family of Principal Clerk Zhou, including Madam Zhou Cao Lingling and others.
Shortly thereafter, three n were brought up together, the very sa ones who had previously faked the assassination attempt.
"Who stands before the court, and what grievances do you hold?"
"We, commoners from Shoutao Village in Yanghe Town, accuse Principal Clerk Zhou and the Old Master of the Zhou Family of arbitrarily raising Shoutao Village’s taxes and of pressuring the village girls to commit suicide, leading to the death of Lord Land Officer as well..."
"Nonsense, you’re spouting nonsense! What gibberish are you talking about, and what does it have to do with ?" In that mont, Principal Clerk Zhou couldn’t even recall the affairs of Shoutao Village. He was thinking that he hadn’t engaged in such acts for the past two years, not to ntion since Ye Zi’an’s arrival, whereupon he did no such thing.
Principal Clerk Zhou was unwilling to admit any wrongdoing, and Madam Zhou was even less willing to accept the reality of being a prisoner at the foot of the court.
She hastily shouted, "You’re talking nonsense, a lowly commoner dares to slander a Principal Clerk’s family, have you no fear, just you wait, just you wait, when I get out of here, you will regret it." Originally she intended to intimidate the three n with her vehent words, but given her recent distress, her mind wasn’t functioning properly and her words only dug the Zhou family into a deeper hole.
"Silence!" Ye Zi’an glanced at Madam Zhou and ordered, "Gag her mouth. Hmph, to openly threaten the common people in court, who knows what she does in private. However, it doesn’t matter, I have already obtained all the evidence of the Zhou family’s cris."
After a pause, he continued, "Take the forr Principal Clerk away, give him twenty heavy beatings first! Serving as an official for a decade, he has not done a single good deed but accepted bribes amounting to tens of thousands of taels. He also blatantly disregarded the imperial edicts by imposing illegal taxes, plunging the people of Mianyang into misery. This constitutes defiance against the imperial order, a cri deserving of death! Therefore, after the execution, he will be stripped of his Principal Clerk position, imprisoned in the death cell to await execution in autumn. As for his family mbers, regardless of gender or age, all will be exiled to the northeast."
"Yes!" As soon as Ye Zi’an finished speaking, two bailiffs stepped forward to seize Principal Clerk Zhou.
Principal Clerk Zhou was so scared by now that he was nearly losing his mind. He had been rely dissatisfied with the twenty heavy beatings, but the ntion of execution after autumn completely shattered his last nerve.
He desperately yelled, "Ye Zi’an, you’ll die a horrible death! If you execute an official like , aren’t you afraid of causing turmoil among Mianyang’s officials? Out of all the officials in Mianyang, which one is clean, which one hasn’t taken bribes? Hmph, today it’s , but tomorrow it will be your turn. Just wait, all of you wait. Ye Zi’an, to think that when you first arrived, we wholeheartedly assisted you, and now that the court has exempted Mianyang from taxes, you no longer need us and decide to dispose of , a classic case of killing the donkey after it’s done grinding for you. I’ll see who will truly work for you after today!"
Indeed, Principal Clerk Zhou’s outcry resonated to so degree; there wasn’t a single clean official in Mianyang. His outburst put the hidden officials on edge, each one anxiously fearing they might be the next to fall.
"Gag him, take him away, and add another twenty beatings!" Ye Zi’an’s expression was unfazed by those words; they did not stir any agitation in his heart. Coldly, he continued to give orders.
The beating of Principal Clerk Zhou did not occur indoors but was dragged outside in front of everyone, with resounding slaps. The bailiffs laid each blow with great force, and by the ti a dozen or so had been delivered, blood began to flow. However, in the face of this, the people of Mianyang only applauded.
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