Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

"These are all one-sided statements, confusing right and wrong. Why should I admit it?!"

"Jiang Cailin, if you continue to refuse to cooperate, I will beat you with a stick!"

"Students will naturally cooperate, but I don't know how they want them to cooperate." Jiang Cailin glanced at Zhou Xu, his words carrying deeper meaning.

The prefect's face was not very good either. He didn't expect Jiang Cailin to be so difficult to deal with.

"Jiang Cailin, why do you disagree with this lawsuit?"

"I don't agree with what you said above - my brother was beaten to death by them maliciously, and the subsequent dispute was also initiated by Zhou Xu. It is wishful thinking for them to make me confess based on their one-sided words alone!"

"Everything must be based on evidence. Jiang Cailin, where is your evidence? They have physical and witness evidence."

How credible is Zhou Xu's testimony? Wasn't it obtained through coercion and inducement? Jiang Cailin sneered.

"Jiang Cailin, where is your evidence?"

The prefect asked again, feeling very proud - he knew that Jiang Cailin was the only one who had the evidence, and now that they had arrested him first, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to produce it. Even if he did, he could just tamper with it on the way.

In handling such cases, the people summoned include witnesses and neighbors in addition to the original defendant. Before the case is fully examined, the defendant is temporarily "detained". For minor offenders and defendants who still do not plead guilty after being tortured three times, they can be "released on bail pending trial."

If Jiang Cailin persists, the case will be at a stalemate and he will be taken away for custody. He will definitely be tortured during the next two interrogations. After all, in this era, most confessions are obtained under torture.

The final result is either being beaten to death or being wrongly blamed and killed - this is the "presumption of guilt" of this era.

However, at this moment, the drum at the gate of the yamen was suddenly struck. The dull drum sound mixed with the roar of lightning, as if hitting everyone's heart. The onlookers were in an uproar and turned to look outside. They saw a thin girl waving the drumstick with great effort. The rain wet her clothes and hair. She looked very embarrassed. Her shrill and exhausted voice echoed in the court.

"Jiang Xiulan, a relative of Jiang Cailin, a student at Mingde Academy, is beating the drum to appeal for justice! She is suing Zhou Xu and others! She hopes that the adults will clear my second brother's name! She wants the real murderer to pay with his life!"

Under normal circumstances, the Dengwen Drum is not used for the people to complain. Usually, the drum is used by the county magistrate to announce that he is off work. Only in special circumstances, the Dengwen Drum is used to file complaints and appeals.

In order to prevent someone from occupying resources, the procedures are very strict. Only if the procedures are not accepted can you file a complaint and beat the "Dangwen Drum". Otherwise, it is considered as an extradition. However, regardless of whether there is a grievance or not, you will be beaten with 50 sticks first. If the report is untrue, you will be beaten 100 times, and false accusations will be directly punished.

This point is clearly written in the laws of Dayong: "All disputes between the military and civilians must be reported from the bottom up. If anyone goes to the superior to file a complaint without going beyond the jurisdiction of the official in charge, he shall be flogged fifty times even if the case is true."

The cost of beating the drum to report a case is still very high, so if it is really sounded, it means that there is an unjust case. Once this is done, the prefect's performance will be in vain. What does it mean? It means that the prefect's rule is not fair and just. If nothing unexpected happens, the matter will spread throughout the streets and alleys within two days, which will have a great impact on the prefect's promotion.

However, officials are friends, and other prefects were not worried except for the damage to their reputations. They were just inevitably very angry. When he saw the embarrassed girl coming in, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

"Are you really going to complain? These fifty strokes of the cane are no joke."

"Little sister!" Jiang Cailin was a little speechless and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Didn't the letter tell you to stay out of this?! What are you doing here?!"

Jiang Xiulan had tears in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Cailin and shook her head. She then knelt down and kowtowed to the prefect, but her voice was firm.

"Sir, please accept my complaint! Clear my brother's name!" Jiang Xiulan said as she took out the sorted physical evidence from her arms - that was the evidence collected by Jiang Cailin, hidden in a secret place, and she took a lot of effort to find it.

The prefect didn't ask anyone to answer: "Wait until you have survived those fifty sticks."

There is no clear timeline for when the things brought by the person who beat the drum will be accepted. It can be accepted after the other party has been beaten with fifty sticks, or it can be accepted before that - the prefect will naturally choose the one that is most beneficial to him.

Jiang Cailin was speechless, his body trembling unconsciously, looking at Jiang Xiulan with despair in his eyes - he had knocked the drum to file a complaint, whether he wanted to file a complaint or not, he would inevitably be beaten with fifty sticks, and the prefect's people would definitely be ruthless, Jiang Xiulan's body was so weak that she might die before the fifty sticks... Would all his family members die because of him? !

The people also showed expressions of pity. When they saw Jiang Xiulan being dragged onto the bench, some of them turned their heads away.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Seeing Lu Wensheng's grim expression and clenched fists, Liu Jiqian comforted her softly and used magic - as an all-round academic master, he was also familiar with some creative little spells.

He chanted the incantation softly, and the light blue in his hand gathered more and more. The light was soft, clear, and hazy like fog, but no one nearby noticed it.

The stars floated on Jiang Xiulan's body, but she was unaware of it. At this moment, she was holding the corner of the stool. After all, she was still a thirteen-year-old girl and was also afraid in her heart. However, she tried hard to adjust her emotions, and her eyes gradually became firm - she would not embarrass her second brother!

The stick fell on her body with a dull sound. Jiang Xiulan closed her eyes tightly. She felt the touch but no pain. She was a little puzzled.

But in the eyes of others, Jiang Xiulan had been beaten to a pulp, her face was pale and she was sweating. Jiang Cailin's straight spine was slightly bent, tears were in his eyes, and his heart was in turmoil.

But the strange thing was that Jiang Xiulan did not scream throughout the whole process and survived fifty beatings with the killing stick. Everyone was amazed and could not help but admire Jiang Xiulan.

The prefect looked unhappy. He looked at the runners who had taken action and asked: What happened? Did you use any force?

The two yamen runners were also puzzled: they were going to kill him.

"Please look at the physical evidence!" Jiang Xiulan could even shout with full energy.

The prefect was in a dilemma and had to suppress his urge to get angry. He asked the lawyer to present the things and took a quick look at them.

Zhou Xu and others frowned - they didn't expect Jiang Cailin to be so difficult to deal with and had to struggle desperately.

"This matter also involves the imperial examination case! My brother's fame was taken away by Zhou Xu! I hope you can see clearly!" Jiang Xiulan did not leave. Everyone just thought that she was strong-willed despite her disability. The soft-hearted people shed tears and were more or less biased towards the brother and sister.

“How dare you! How can a woman like you interrupt in matters concerning the imperial examination?!” Zhang Wenyun, who was standing beside her, finally could not sit still anymore.