"This is what happened..." The woman knelt there and began to talk.
It turned out that her name was Hu E, and she was originally a well-known family in Bodao. There were monks in the family for generations. When it came to her father, due to a business problem, his father gave away the ten acres of spiritual land inherited from his ancestors.
The mortgage was given to the Huang family in exchange for ten gold bahts. The two parties signed an agreement. If the ten gold bahts are returned within one year, the Huang family will return the ten acres of spiritual land. Otherwise, the ten acres of spiritual land will belong to Huang.
The family owned everything. His father wanted to start a profitable business again, but after a trip to Ningzhou, not only did he not earn any money, but he lost all the ten gold bahts. These ten acres of spiritual land
It is the most precious property passed down from generation to generation of his Hu family, and it is the lifeblood of their Hu family. His father could not accept that if it passed to his hands, it would ruin the hope of the Hu family's descendants to cultivate in the future. So, he
He begged the Huang family for another year of grace. But no matter how much he begged, the Huang family would not allow it.
Finally, one day, after his father's pleas failed and he was humiliated by the Huang family, he brandished a knife and committed suicide in front of the Huang family. After the Hu brothers buried their father, they blamed the Huang family for their father's death.
He threatened to take revenge for killing his father one day.
After the Huang family learned about it, they were upset and resentful. Seeing that the Hu family brothers were studying hard and determined to become officials, they were afraid that one day when the Hu family became prosperous, the Huang family would be retaliated against. So, Huang Ang came up with an idea.
That was to secretly pay money to a bandit in the mountains of Zhuti County, so that they could learn about the lives of the Hu brothers while they were on a business trip.
This was originally done without anyone noticing. But as the saying goes, it takes three years for a thief to catch himself. A few years later, a descendant of the Huang family accidentally let the matter slip after he was drunk, and the matter became apparent.
Spread around.
But after all the men in the Hu family had died, only Hu E, who had already been married, was left. After hearing the news, Hu E burst into tears all day long and vowed to seek justice for her brother. She
He went to the county government alone many times to sue the Huang family. But when he got to the government office, what he needed to talk about was evidence. Hearsay about things without evidence could not convict the Huang family. What's more, the Hu family has died, and the Huang family
The business became more and more prosperous. No one paid any attention to Hu E's complaint. Even Hu E's husband's family, firstly because of the pressure from the Huang family, and secondly, they couldn't bear the fact that this daughter-in-law complained every day. After repeated attempts to dissuade her failed, they again
Divorce Hu E and drive her out of the house.
The other members of the Hu family were originally angry at Hu E's father for mortgaging the ancestral spiritual field, and after receiving a large apology from the Huang family, they acquiesced to the matter. Hu E was left alone in a thatched hut.
During the whole day, he shouted that he wanted to avenge his father and brother.
One day, this woman who was already mentally disturbed in everyone's eyes disappeared. No one knew where she went.
Some said he was dead, while others said he was kidnapped by thieves and taken to the mountains for those who wanted to vent their lust.
A few years later, there was a crazy woman here. She wandered around naked all day long, and was followed by some children who laughed at her every day. This crazy woman had no shame and went around begging for food with her nakedness exposed.
By the time Hu E finished telling all this, Huang Ang had already returned here. In fact, he had recognized this crazy woman as Hu E a few years ago, but he thought that this woman was already crazy and there was no serious problem in keeping her.
, Moreover, letting her be so embarrassed outside is not only a joke of the Hu family, but also has some unspeakable intentions.
Establish authority?
proud?
He couldn't say it himself, but every time he saw this crazy woman, he couldn't help but feel proud of the idea he came up with back then.
At this time, Huang Ang broke out in a cold sweat when he saw that not only was Hu E not crazy, but he had also brought the complaint to the newly appointed monarch.
We are all fellow villagers. We couldn't hide the incident from everyone back then. Everyone from all over the country knew about it. But as long as the Huang family didn't admit it and there was no evidence, no one could do anything to them.
With this thought in mind, he hurriedly rushed out and knelt at Zhou Xing's feet, shouting loudly: "Master, I, Huang Ang, have been wronged. This woman is slanderous. I hope that the master will understand everything and make decisions for the little people."
Zhou Xing's heart was shattered at this moment, and he now extremely regretted that he had eaten enough to settle the unjust case.
At this moment, he finally understood deeply the meaning of the words of the great Confucius in this world: "Hearing a lawsuit is like a human being."
He actually believed Hu E's statement in his heart, but his reason told him not to be emotional but to provide evidence. What if Hu E was lying?
Also, what should I do if Hu E is still unable to produce evidence as before?
Torture Huang Ang?
Then wouldn’t he become a tyrant?
For a moment, Zhou Xing was really on pins and needles.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and said calmly: "Mr. Huang Ting, don't be anxious. You can't listen to one side's opinions on right and wrong. Don't worry, I will definitely distinguish right from wrong. He will be fair.
He cannot become black, and he who is black cannot become white."
"Yes, yes." Huang Ang was convinced when he heard Zhou Xing's words. He had inquired about the thieves back then, and they had been wiped out by the then magistrate of Nanguang County, Zhuti County a few years ago. The evidence?
nonexistent.
Just when he thought he had nothing to worry about, he looked at Hu E next to him and took out a crumpled yellow paper from his arms and said: "Your Majesty, the civilian woman has evidence!"
As soon as this statement came out, the surrounding audience was in an uproar!
But Hu E was determined to collect evidence that Huang Ang bribed the thieves to kill her brother after she complained in Bodao. So she first asked around about the whereabouts of the thieves, then tried every means to get there, and then pretended to pick at the foot of the mountain by herself.
A few days later, as she expected, she was kidnapped by the thieves and taken to the mountain.
Due to her natural beauty and her deliberate flattery, she soon became the favorite of the leader of the bandits. And she also successfully asked about the time when Huang Ang came here in person to ask for the five Dou Spirit Valley.
Bandits killed the Hu brothers.
But just knowing this, she knew in her heart that she still couldn't sue Huang Ang. Naturally, the bandits would not let her testify about these things. She gave birth to a boy for the leader in less than a year in the mountain.
Her position became increasingly stable. After having a child, the leader saw that she was thinking of herself wholeheartedly, and he finally let down his guard against her. In addition, she was literate and shrewd in her work. In the end, those jobs such as going to the city to sell stolen goods became easy.
She took charge of it.
Over the years, she did not hesitate to sacrifice her appearance, and got in touch with the bandit Cao Tong in Nanguang County. The two parties agreed to use her as an internal agent, and they would cooperate internally and externally to take down this bandit who had been entrenched in the mountains all year round, and her conditions were
When the bandit leader is tried, he will need to ask questions about their secret deal with Huang Ang to kill her brother.
With her as an internal agent, Nanguang County successfully wiped out this group of bandits, and the county magistrate was favored by the Yizhou Governor and promoted to his side. And Hu E also successfully got what he wanted. Then
The leader knew he would die and answered all questions. He admitted on the spot that he had collaborated with Huang Ang to kill the Hu brothers.
"Your Majesty," Hu E cried with tears streaming down her face: "The yellow paper in your hand is the Nanguang County file that I copied. If your Majesty still has doubts, you can personally send someone to Nanguang County to check it.
I know whether this matter is true or not. I also hope that your lord will make a clear decision and clear up the injustice for my Hu family. In the next life, the daughter of the people should wear a grass ring to repay your kindness."
Not to mention that the onlookers were all shocked and sighed on the spot after hearing Hu E's tortuous story. Huang Ang was already pale before he finished listening. When Hu E said that sentence, he looked at him
He let out a long sigh, kowtowed heavily on the ground several times, and said with a trembling voice: "I dare not trouble your lord to send people to Nanguang again. I, Huang Ang, just plead guilty."
"Papa papa!" There were a few crisp sounds, but Hu E came to him on her knees and walked on her knees. She slapped Huang Ang hard several times with all her strength. Huang Ang didn't make any move and didn't even dare to look.
Hu E's angry eyes just endured silently.
These few blows seemed to have exhausted all the strength of Hu E's body. After the beating, she let out an earth-shattering cry, and then collapsed on the ground and continued to cry. She had been walking on this road of revenge for eight years, including
The hardships cannot be described in words.
"This girl is truly a martyr!" Du Chou looked at the situation and said softly to Zhou Xing: "I will report it to the prefecture and county for the reward."
"Reward?" Zhou Xing didn't understand Du Chou's thinking. As a person from that world at heart, he first felt angry and even shuddered. In his opinion, what Huang Ang did was really heinous.
The sin is extremely bad.
He suppressed the anger in his chest, stood up slowly, looked at the angry expressions of the melon-eating crowd around him, and said to the elders sitting on both sides: "The case is clear. Huang Ang took the initiative to plead guilty. Do you elders have any objections?"
, please tell me."
"Your Majesty, we have no objection."
"Okay," Zhou Xing shouted loudly, walked slowly to the field, and came to Huang Ang, "Huang Ang, you are guilty of murder, obstruction of official duties, deception of your boss, and collusion with bandits. Do you know
crime!"
"The people know the crime." Huang Ang lay at Zhou Xing's feet and said tremblingly, "But the people are a little dissatisfied. I hope the Lord will let the people make a statement."
"Oh." Zhou Xing's eyes flashed coldly, and he said coldly: "Okay, I'll give you this opportunity to make a statement."
Hearing Zhou Xing's words, Huang Ang raised his head and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I admit that I colluded with the bandits to kill the Hu brothers, which means I am sentenced to death. I Huang Ang also admits it. But why do I
What to do?"
"The Hu brothers threatened to avenge their father every day and wanted the Huang family to die. Could it be that the Huang family just watched helplessly? It was written in black and white that it was their father who took the initiative to mortgage the ten acres of spiritual land to the Huang family.
, it was not the Huang family that forced his father to mortgage. Hu E, do you think so? All the villagers present can testify to this matter. It was their father who couldn't get rid of it and committed suicide in front of our Huang family. What does our Huang family have to do with it?
Wrong? Don’t we think it’s unlucky for someone to die in front of our house? When their father was buried, our family also sealed a lot of gifts. We wanted to reconcile the two families and let the matter go, but the Hu brothers refused.
. Let's say that we should first return the ten acres of spiritual land, and then kneel down at the door of Hu's house to apologize, so that we can discuss it. Everyone present can testify to these matters. It is the Hu brothers who are so aggressive. I
This was the last resort."
When Huang Ang said this, he saw someone breaking in outside the venue. He quickly came to Zhou Xing, knelt on the ground with a bang, kowtowed continuously and said: "Young man Huang Xuyuan was punished for my father. I hope your lord will see that my father has a reason for his troubles."
, spare Xiaomin’s father.”
After listening to Huang Ang's words, Zhou Xing's original anger had long disappeared. He looked at Hu E, who was still crying aside, at Huang Ang, who had an angry face, and then at Hu E, who was still crying.
Huang Xu, who had already kowtowed to the point where his forehead bled, looked at the melon-eating crowd around him. Their expressions were no longer angry but sympathetic. He couldn't help but feel at a loss.
Good guy?
Bad guy?
right?
wrong?
What seemed to him to be a simple matter at first turned out to be so complicated. Murder to pay for one's life originally seemed to him to be very simple and clear, but now it seems to be so complicated.
His heart was very heavy now. He thought a lot. He wanted to find the answer from some regulations and cases in his world, but he sadly found that he could not find the answer.
Silence, the surroundings were silent. Except for Hu E's crying and Huang Xu's pleading, everyone looked eagerly at Zhou Xing standing in the middle of the field, everyone was waiting for him to give a result.
Suddenly, he thought of a word he had heard countless times, which was called "beyond suspicion". At this moment, he seemed to have grasped another life-saving straw, regardless of whether this straw could save his life or not.
Is the concept of "beyond the doubt of guilt" suitable for this case, or is there any problem with the concept of "beyond the doubt of guilt"? He just wants to end this case that weighs him so much now.
"The Hu brothers threatened your Huang family. This was only a verbal threat, but did not cause actual harm." He carefully considered the words and said slowly, "But the evidence is conclusive that you, Huang Ang, collaborated with bandits to kill the Hu brothers. I
It was judged that Huang Ang was guilty of murder, colluding with thieves, deceiving his superiors, and obstructing official duties. He was punished for several crimes and sentenced to death. Elders, may you have any questions."
"Your Majesty, this is not appropriate." Du Chou came to him at some unknown time and said immediately after hearing his words.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
"Although Huang Ang is the people under your rule, only the county magistrate is qualified to impose the death penalty, and it must be reported to the state and county for approval."
Somehow, Zhou Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said with a long sigh: "In that case, let's hand Huang Ang over to the county government."
Just when he thought the matter was about to end, Huang Xu, who had already kowtowed and his face was covered in blood, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I also have a case to file."
"Who did you accuse?"
"The person I told you is none other than Guo Guiguo, the steward of the Lord's house." Huang Xu said this, and everyone was shocked.