The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

It was already mid-April and the weather had warmed up, but people were in no mood to pay attention to this wonderful time and gathered in front of the government office in a hurry.

The case tried by the prefect today caused a sensation in the entire city, far exceeding the announcement of the prefectural examination results two days ago. The previous cheating incident in the examination hall was already shocking enough, and today's cheating case will have a result. Also involved in the case is Chu Ning'an, the top scorer in this year's prefectural examination. Of course, he is not the defendant, but is here to assist the prefect in trying the case.

The lobby of the government office.

Chu Ning'an was riding high! He had already secured two top prizes. Although he was still only a student and hadn't yet been promoted to a scholar, this was already impressive enough. Even Magistrate Huo favored him and exempted him from the formalities of kneeling.

However, in stark contrast to the glorious Chu Ning'an were the other two pitiful candidates. They were now filthy and ragged, their faces etched with haggardness, as if they had endured a difficult and arduous ordeal. They knelt in the hall in such a state of disgrace, their heads bowed, not daring to move a muscle.

Suddenly, a clear and resounding gavel rang out, like a thunderclap, shattering the silence of the solemn courtroom. Magistrate Huo, his face stern and his eyes blazing, slammed his hands on the table and shouted, "Who is this person kneeling in the hall? Tell me your name!" His voice was so resounding that it seemed to pierce the sky.

At the same time, the two yamen runners shouted "mighty" in unison. The majestic shouts resounded throughout the hall, shaking everyone. Their clubs struck the hall floor mercilessly, emitting a series of dull and powerful thuds. This deafening sound, like the roar of a demon from hell, was terrifying and chilling.

Under this awe-inspiring aura, the two already terrified students trembled even more, their heads bowed low, almost to the ground. The student who accidentally stepped on the other's shoe was particularly apprehensive. Though he tried to straighten his neck, his body trembled uncontrollably. His lips trembled as he spoke in a trembling voice, "Student... I am An Bingsong, a student from Yunshui Town, Jiaqing Prefecture, currently studying at Songyang Academy."

The other student who had been stepped on wasn't in much better shape. He was also shaking, and even his voice was trembling. "I am... I am Zheng Danian, a student from Ping'an Town, Jiaqing Prefecture, and a student at Songyang Academy, sir."

"What did you two do on the day of the prefectural examination?" Magistrate Huo sat upright in the courtroom, his eyes fixed on the two men kneeling below. He had served for many years and had heard countless cases. While this case might be considered small in scale, its impact was significant, and therefore every necessary procedure must be followed.

One of the men kneeling on the ground tremblingly replied, "Your Excellency, this student conspired with Zheng Danian to take advantage of the crowded exam and the trampling of people. We secretly put a steamed bun wrapped in a piece of paper into Chu Ning'an's exam basket. We hoped that during a body search, he would be found to have smuggled cheating items and be expelled from the exam room."

Hearing this, Magistrate Huo frowned slightly and asked, "Do you have any grudge against Chu Ning'an? Why would you do such a despicable thing?"

At this time, Zheng Danian hurriedly said: "Never... never had any hatred, but... but..." At this point, he suddenly became hesitant and stammered for a long time, and ultimately failed to make the rest of his words clear.

Magistrate Huo slammed the gavel and shouted, "Are you being ordered around by someone? Come on, confess!"

Zheng Danian's face was filled with panic, as if he wanted to say something but dared not, "We didn't suffer...suffer...we..." His words were fragmented, but listening to them made people suspect that there was another hidden story. Perhaps they were just treating others the way they did, and there was something unknown behind this?

"No one instructed us. We heard that Chu Ning'an was the top scorer in Pingyang County and was very knowledgeable. He was a strong opponent in this provincial examination. We thought that if he was caught cheating, we would have one less competitor." An Bingsong said suddenly, speaking fluently as if he had recited it many times in advance.

The people in the hall were shocked when they heard this—

"Oh my god, just because Case Leader Chu is knowledgeable, they harm him. They are such scoundrels."

"Why did they choose him out of so many top county candidates? Don't you find it strange?"

......

Ru Yue and Zhang Erqiang stood in the crowd, listening to the people whispering below. They looked around and their gaze stopped not far away. Ah Xi was standing outside the crowd, looking around. He shook his head at Ru Yue, nodded again, and pointed his finger at a person in front of Ru Yue without leaving a trace.

The man was dressed like an ordinary citizen. He had not communicated with anyone around him. He seemed to be holding something in his hand, and from time to time there was a loud banging sound. Zhang Erqiang protected Ru Yue and moved towards him. After a long time, another sound was heard. It was the sound of silver ingots rubbing against each other.

"Bang!" the gavel slammed again, and Magistrate Huo shouted, "Silence! If you dare to make any more noise, I will kick you out of this office."

The government hall immediately fell silent. The people all wanted to know the final outcome. How could they be driven away at such a critical moment? After the crowd quieted down, the friction sound of the silver ingot became more obvious. The two people in the hall trembled even more violently when they heard the sound.

"Zheng Danian, is what An Bingsong said true?"

"It's not...it's...it's true." Zheng Danian lowered his head even more, as if he was about to crawl on the ground, and spoke hesitantly in a mournful voice.

"As far as I know, your ranking in the county exam was not high, far behind Chu Ning'an. Why did you choose him to frame you? Tell the truth. If you conceal anything, you will be severely punished!"

The two men shuddered simultaneously. Zheng Danian had already collapsed to the ground. An Bingsong said stubbornly, "The students had read an article of his before and were very jealous, so they did this terrible thing."

"Have you two been coerced or bribed by anyone?"

"No." After saying this, An Bingsong seemed to have exhausted all his energy, and he crawled on the ground and cried.

Ru Yue knew the two men were determined to defend the mastermind to the very end, and her already delicate eyebrows knitted together. She knew exactly who was behind all this, but without any concrete evidence, she was powerless to apprehend the true culprit.

"An Binghuai, An Binghuai, you are such a sinister, cunning and vicious guy. One day I will definitely catch you by the tail!" She cursed secretly in her heart.

The two men who had willingly taken the blame, even knowing full well that their mistakes could ruin their futures, refused to relent. In the absence of more solid evidence, even with all his dissatisfaction and suspicion, Magistrate Huo could not hold onto the matter and had no choice but to announce the verdict in court.

He looked solemn and said in a loud voice: "After trial by this government, these two people are now determined to be accomplices. Each of them will be severely punished with thirty lashes of the cane, and their qualification as a student obtained through the county examination will be revoked. They will never be allowed to take the imperial examination again in their lifetime." As soon as these words were spoken, the official careers of these two people were completely cut off.

Upon hearing the verdict, the onlookers in the hall expressed their disgust and condemnation of the two men's sinister and vicious actions. For a moment, all sorts of unpleasant words filled the air. However, even as everyone was discussing the situation, the mysterious figure who had been lurking in the crowd quietly left the government office after hearing the verdict.

At the same time, Ah Xi, who had been quietly observing the development of the situation, suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if he had never appeared.