Zhou Fu subconsciously cried out, "Sir, it's unfair! How dare we steal?"
Although he desperately cried out for injustice, the government officials did not listen to him at all and stepped forward to restrain them. Zhang Bin and other villagers also helped. They all had great strength, and the two of them were enough to suppress Zhou Fu and others from moving.
The squad leader in a soapy green robe shouted sternly: "All the witnesses and physical evidence are there, and you still dare to quibble!"
"These glutinous rice bags also have the seal of Lord Wei Guo!"
"You still dare to make excuses when the evidence of the crime is solid. It shows that you have no repentance at all."
Zhang Bin said: "Sir, they have moved several times. When we saw it, we hurriedly informed you that there is still a lot of glutinous rice piled up in the grain store."
Zhou Fu finally realized that these villagers had never been bribed by them from the beginning. They dug holes for them on purpose!
No wonder none of them showed up. They were waiting for them here.
These cunning and vicious villagers! He is not done with them!
Every one of the clerks in the grain store felt as if they were widowed, their hands and feet were cold. It was over, their lives were all ruined.
It's not like they haven't seen the fate of those who committed the crime of theft. Regardless of the value of the stolen property, they will be beaten seventy times. If the stolen property is worth more than five taels, they will be sentenced to one year in prison. If the amount of stolen money reaches fifty taels, they will be sentenced to one year in prison.
, not only have to serve as apprentices for three years, but also have to be exiled for three thousand miles.
At this moment, deep regret and hatred for Zhou Tong emerged in their hearts.
If Zhou Tong and the others hadn't kept saying that they had made arrangements, nothing would have happened, and since the money was so attractive, they wouldn't have taken the risk to do such a thing.
They all burst into tears and said, "Sir, we didn't know these were stolen goods. We thought they were their own things. They said they wanted to sell them to us."
"Yes, if I had known these were stolen goods, we wouldn't have touched them no matter what. We are all law-abiding people, how could we break the law?"
As the saying goes, a dead Taoist friend never dies a poor Taoist. In fear, the clerks in the grain store immediately put all the blame on Brother Zhou Tong.
Zhou Tong and Zhou Fu had just recovered from the pain of being betrayed when they discovered that they had suffered a new level of betrayal.
These damn pariahs!
How dare you put all the blame on them.
Zhou Tong also cried out, "Sir, it's unfair. It was obviously the grain store here who told us that this was their warehouse and paid us to help move it."
In order to reduce their own guilt, people on both sides tried their best to throw the biggest blame on the other party, and they got into a quarrel.
The squad leader was so noisy that he had a headache and gave an order to push them all back.
They have to find other government officials to seal up the grain store that is a den of thieves. Good guy, even the glutinous rice donated by Wei Guoxiang to build roads dares to be considered. Is this because his head is too stable?
This matter involved Su Yueling, the monarch of Weiguo Township, and two village chiefs. The amount of stolen money was not small, and the county government acted very quickly.
Everyone was arrested, including the Zhou Lie family.
After daybreak, Magistrate Yao opened the court to hear the case in person.
The glutinous rice from Fangfang Grain Store was also brought as stolen goods, which exhausted the escorting officials.
Outside the county government office, the common people who came after hearing the news pointed at them.
"Did you see that these people went to steal glutinous rice for road construction in the middle of the night and were caught red-handed?"
"I actually stole so much glutinous rice. I was so brave. I recognized those guys as the guys from Fifangliang Store. I didn't expect that Fifangliang Store was actually a den of thieves. I will never buy rice from them again."
Already."
"What about the future? There is definitely no future. I think this grain store cannot protect itself. It will definitely not be able to continue to operate."
"Look at that woman and the two people beside her, they are still wearing makeup and silk. They are from such a good family, but they still become thieves. How shameless."
These common people had no intention of controlling their voices, and their disdainful words kept coming into Zhou Lie's ears, which made her whole body collapse. As the valued companion of Mrs. Tongzhi, she always faced these people.
I had a sense of superiority, but now I was insulted by them.
She raised her head and glared at Zhang Bin and others, "Sir, it was these treacherous Lushan Village people who deliberately framed me!"
"They asked us to move the glutinous rice."
She shouldn't have believed them.
Zhang Bin and others showed shocked expressions, "We are fine, why do we ask you to carry glutinous rice? Is this good for us?"
"And we are from Lushan Village. Lord Wei Guo has been very kind to us, and we will never do anything to disgrace her. Road construction is a great good deed with immeasurable merit. Anyone who obstructs the road construction project will be nailed
On the pillar of shame."
Another villager said, "If we want to steal glutinous rice, why should we come to the Yamen to report the crime? You are talking nonsense just to get away with it."
"That's right, you just hate us for reporting the crime and causing you to be arrested, so you deliberately discredit us."
"Sir, you have to make the decision for us. We ordinary people who do our duty cannot bear this crime. How can we go back to see our neighbors and live in Lushan Village?"
Zhang Bin and others looked filled with indignation.
Zhou Lie's family was so angry at their well-sung and sung cry that she didn't expect these villagers to be so shameless. They took her money and sent her to court.
Do they still have any conscience?
The people outside the county government sympathized with Zhang Bin and others.
"These thieves are too bad. They have come to this point and still refuse to admit their guilt and are still thinking of framing others. How shameless."
"I know Zhang Bin, and he couldn't be more honest. I heard that after he saw them stealing glutinous rice last night, he hurriedly called other villagers to go to the Yamen to report the crime. Otherwise, these thieves might succeed."
"The thief still wants to pour dirty water on them, bah! Do you think everyone is a fool? If Zhang Bin and the others are the initiators, why do they need to report the crime?"
Magistrate Yao was very angry, "The witnesses and material evidence are all there, so you can't deny it, and don't even think about framing innocent people in front of me. This is a court, not a place where you can be arrogant."
"If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will first punish you for disturbing the court and give you twenty boards!"
Zhou Tong and others were about to vomit blood. His mother was telling the truth, so why didn't anyone believe it?
The master has already counted the stolen goods and returned those things.
The master said: "Sir, the total value of the stolen goods is about two hundred and twenty taels."
This amount is already quite large.
Magistrate Yao said with a cold face: "According to the laws of Daxia, Zhou Lie's family, Zhou Tong, Zhou Fu... you have committed the crime of theft."
He read down the names of these people one by one, "Each one was beaten with seventy boards, served for three years, and exiled for three thousand miles."
When Zhou Li's family members heard this punishment, they felt as if they had been struck from the head by lightning, and their hands and feet were numb. Her body might not survive the seventy-year-old punishment, and even if she survived by luck, she might not die in exile.
No, she doesn't accept this result!
She was obviously working for his wife, so if we were to say that the culprit was to be the wife.
When the officials were about to pin them down and start beating them, Zhou Lie's wife woke up from her dream and struggled desperately. She shouted loudly: "You can't beat me!"