Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

On the day of the court session, it started to drizzle at dawn. As the time for the court session approached, the rain became heavier and more torrential. The diffuse white mist shrouded the entire Tianshui City in haziness.

A horse-drawn carriage passed by the roadside, its wheels splashing huge water and leaving a blurry afterimage. People walked by with oil-paper umbrellas, and the street scenery was reflected in the puddles on the ground. Raindrops fell, and the soles of shoes stepped on them, shattering the light and shadow.

Lu Wensheng and others rushed to the yamen holding umbrellas. There were many passers-by on the road going in the same direction, but there were no students from Mingde Academy wearing academy uniforms - the academy was probably afraid of being involved, so in order to protect itself, it asked the students not to come out.

Jiang Cailin's story spread throughout Tianshui City, so even in the pouring rain, many ordinary people held umbrellas and gathered in the open-air "audience seats" in the yamen.

The father of the deceased young master Wu Fu and Zhou Xu and several others came. Wu Fu's father did not mention it, but Zhou Xu and others also looked "haggard", saying that it was because Wu Fu's death was too much of a blow. But those who knew the situation didn't know that they were still having a good time in restaurants and brothels yesterday.

"Ascension!"

The pot-bellied prefect came in slowly, sat down with a lazy tone, and slammed the gavel. The yamen runners on both sides quickly banged their killing sticks on the ground with low and long voices, shouting "mighty".

The original meaning of "mighty" in the mouth is mighty and unyielding, it means to stand up for justice for good people and not succumb to power. Now combined with the scene, it seems a bit funny - black and white are reversed, beasts enter the hall, and villains are arrogant.

"Call the accused criminal Jiang Cailin up!"

Everyone turned their eyes to the corridor, waiting for Jiang Cailin to come out.

The environment in the prison was naturally not good. The floor of the cell was much lower than the land outside, even lower than the city moat, so it was very humid. There were only one or two small windows for light to come in, and the windows were located high up, so high that the prisoners could not reach them even if they raised their hands.

The little bit of sunlight that came through the window was very weak. Even at noon, it was barely visible. In the evening, when it was not dark in other places, it was already pitch black here. Moreover, the prison did not light special lights for the prisoners, so the narrow cell was pitch black. One could not see the sky, the ground, or oneself.

Jiang Cailin was not wearing shackles in prison, but the shackles and chains that were used to lock up some special prisoners and prevent them from escaping were still hanging on the wall of the dungeon, and they were already rusted.

There were still two gray-white bones left in the iron ring of the shackles, probably human leg bones. It was obvious that the prisoner not only died of starvation in prison, but was also tortured into a skeleton, and no one cleaned them up.

Jiang Cailin firmly believed that righteousness could protect him. Moreover, a gentleman did not talk about strange things. The owner of the corpse might be a poor man. As long as he had not done anything wrong, he would not be afraid of ghosts knocking on his door. Anyway, he was not afraid of them.

Finally, Jiang Cailin wrapped the two bones with the clothes he had torn off his body and buried them under the loose soft soil of the prison floor tiles - but those were decent clothes, which were later changed into prison uniforms.

He was not the only living creature in the cell. As night fell, rats, cockroaches, and geckos crawled around in the darkness. The limp rats even climbed onto his spine, and after he drove them away, they jumped onto his shoulders...

Jiang Cailin leaned on the hay and couldn't fall asleep. He just waited until the day gradually brightened. Fish belly-colored light leaked in from the iron gate, and he could clearly see the appearance of the prison - bats built nests on the roof, rats dug holes at the foot of the wall, centipedes crawled along the cracks in the wall, and cockroaches stood in a black mass all over the ceiling.

But Jiang Cailin has never been so clear-headed...

Because he was keeping vigil for his brother and was busy running around afterwards, he had not taken a single drop of water until he was in prison, so when he appeared, he looked much thinner, with heavy shackles on his hands and feet, and the thin prison uniform on him, which seemed to be supported by a bamboo pole, as if without the shackles, he would be blown away by the wind.

Her image and condition were not good either. Her messy hair was barely tied up by a bleached headband. Her face was pale and stained with black ash, but her eyes were sharp, and they were beating with an unyielding flame.

He was pushed and shoved by the people who were holding him, but he still tried to maintain his posture and not stumble to the ground. Yes, he had achieved fame and honor after all, and even if he was treated as a prisoner now, he didn't have to kneel before the prefect before the result came out, and he didn't want to kneel before this fraud...

A gentleman dresses properly, not only in appearance, but also in spirit, like pine and cypress - his image is taller than those of the others in the hall.

"Wu Fu is my youngest son. He just came of age this year and is extremely filial to me and his mother. How could he..."

After seeing Jiang Cailin, Mr. Wu started crying and tears streamed down his face.

"Please punish the murderer severely! To comfort my dead classmate and friend!" Zhou Xu and several other young masters also had grief on their faces and echoed Master Wu, as if Jiang Cailin was an unforgivable villain.

Liu Jun told Jiang Cailin that Zhang Wenyun, the examiner who was in collusion with Zhou Xu, had also come to the court and sat on a chair next to him. As an examiner, he held an official position and had been chatting and laughing with the prefect before the trial began. Now, he acted like an official and looked at the kneeling Jiang Cailin with half-closed eyes, looking disdainful.

Those who are in the know know that there is a hidden story behind the rumors, but the right and wrong will ultimately be decided by the Sheng family - writing about the world with pen and ink is full of absurdity.

"Silence!" the prefect shouted to order everyone to calm down. The legal advisor next to him shook the paper in his hand, and his voice echoed in the hall.

"According to the complaint, the cause was that Jiang Cailin's brother injured someone, and Zhou Xu fought back excessively, causing Jiang Daniu's accidental death. Jiang Cailin avenged his brother, and then argued with Zhou Xu and others, and maliciously pushed Wu Fu to death... Zhou Xu and others have signed and sealed it. Jiang Cailin, do you agree?"

Jiang Cailin sneered: "It's all bullshit."

Zhou Xu: "How dare you! It is a disgrace to society. How can such vulgar language be tolerated in the court? You are so well-read... "

"Speak politely to polite people. A saddle fits a horse. You, a dog, only deserve to listen to such vulgar bullshit." Jiang Cailin retorted directly. Now he is fearless.

People who read a lot, apart from other things, always quote from classics when scolding others, with a lot of reasons. Jiang Cailin, who was full of wisdom, put aside the "idol burden" of a scholar and scolded Zhou Xu, who was known as the A'mon of Wu, so much that his defense was broken, and his face turned blue on the spot. The crowd watching let out suppressed laughter.

"Silence!" The prefect frowned and came out again to maintain order, but the wording of his words vaguely revealed his bias.

"You are quite eloquent. It is written in black and white in the complaint that you indeed killed Wu Fu. Why don't you admit it?"