Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

Tian Gou's tragic end left everyone present sighing and keeping their mouths shut, none daring to utter a word of dissent against Lin Ping.

The prefect glared angrily at Huang Mengliang, truly regretting inviting this great deity. Unfortunately, inviting a god is easy, but sending him away is difficult. He had to jump into the cement pit he had dug himself, even with tears in his eyes, and he even had to fill the cement himself!

The two bailiffs in charge of the execution noticed the prefect's cold gaze and mistakenly thought it was anger directed at Tian Gou, so they beat him with all their might.

Tian Gou's hip and even the bones in his thighs were broken into several pieces, and his once elastic flesh was mangled. It seemed that he would never be able to get out of bed for the rest of his life.

Whether it was from the pain that caused him to break out in a cold sweat or from crying, Tian Gou's face was covered in water droplets, and he eventually fainted.

Tian Gou was considered one of Zhang Hongyuan's confidants and represented his reputation. Now that Tian Gou had been beaten, Zhang Hongyuan lost face as well. He glared at Lin Ping with his eyes wide open and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly arose outside the gate, and an old man with a hunched back shouted, "I want to see the Prefect!"

Whether he had received a bribe from the old man or was moved by his pitiful appearance, the gatekeeper actually ran in to report it!

"Reporting to Your Excellency the Prefect, there is an old man outside the gate shouting that he wants justice." The gatekeeper's voice was loud and clear, and everyone heard it clearly.

"Seeking justice?" Lin Ping smiled mysteriously. "The main course is finally about to be served!"

As the gatekeeper said, an old man did come to the door, but he didn't say anything about seeking justice, which was obviously pre-arranged.

"Oh? Is that so? Quickly, let the old man in!"

The prefect straightened up, pretending to be a benevolent ruler who cared for his people.

It's unreasonable to judge an old man on such an important occasion. Anyone with eyes can see that this is a good show directed and acted by the prefect himself, and everyone's eyes are on Lin Ping.

With the help of two gatekeepers, the old man strode quickly to the entrance of the hall, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, "Your Excellency, you must seek justice for this humble man!"

"Old man, please tell me your grievances quickly, and I will surely give you justice!"

The prefect, once again, appeared to be concerned about the people's plight.

The old man knelt at the doorway, not far from the hall. His aged appearance and shabby attire involuntarily evoked sympathy.

"Isn't that Old Man Wang? What's he doing here?"

After seeing the old man's face clearly, Li Mingxuan anxiously whispered in Lin Ping's ear, naturally recalling the situation that day, and kept muttering to himself.

Lin Ping smiled and nodded, signaling the other party not to panic, clearly having anticipated that Old Man Wang would appear at this critical juncture.

Old Wang glanced inside furtively with his head down and was suddenly startled to find Lin Ping among them. He shuddered, but still said in a trembling voice, "A few days ago, I took my daughter to sell timber, but we encountered a bully who not only injured my son's leg but also kidnapped my poor daughter."

Old Wang felt more and more aggrieved as he spoke, and he even burst into tears.

As he said this, Old Man Wang felt guilty. It was clearly Lin Ping who helped him treat his injuries, yet he turned around and accused Lin Ping.

However, it is true that Lin Ping took Zhao Xiaoyu away; he was constantly worried about his daughter's situation.

"Outrageous! Not only did he beat someone in the street, but he also dared to abduct a woman! He has no respect for the law!" The prefect slammed his gavel on the table, making a crisp sound, and asked sternly, "Who is this person? I will definitely give you justice!"

This is a family banquet, why would someone carry a gavel used in court with them?

Even if everyone was stupid, they could guess the trickery involved. They even guessed that the bully that Old Wang was talking about was Lin Ping.

Old Wang lowered his head even further and stammered, "Yes, yes, yes... This old man dares not say!"

"Old man, please rest assured and speak boldly. My Jiangcheng Prefecture is upright and just, and will not tolerate any petty evildoers. Even princes and nobles will be punished by the laws of the Wu Kingdom!" The prefect put on an stern and impartial appearance.

Under duress and bribery, Old Man Wang finally mustered his courage and pointed at Lin Ping inside the house, saying, "It is indeed the Prince Consort!"

These words caused an uproar. Even Jiang Yunying stared at Lin Ping in disbelief, as she had every reason to believe that her husband had done such a thing.

Lin Ping, however, remained calm and even scratched his toes. He slowly walked up to Old Man Wang, bent down, and asked, "Old Man Wang, lying will bring divine retribution. Think again, how did you break your thigh?"

What ordinary people fear most is divine retribution. Moreover, Old Wang was an honest man and did not want to lie, so he stammered, "Perhaps...perhaps he was injured by a piece of wood."

Upon hearing this, the prefect became agitated and slammed his gavel, saying, "How dare you, Lin Ping, beat up a commoner in the street and abduct a woman! What is your punishment?"

The prefect knew the power of Lin Ping's words and was afraid that Old Man Wang would confess everything, so he dared not give him a chance to defend himself.

If Lin Ping were an ordinary citizen, he would probably be intimidated by the prefect, but he is the son-in-law of the city lord's mansion, with his wife backing him up. Why should he be afraid of a mere prefect?

So Lin Ping replied calmly, "Your Excellency, even if you're going to make a judgment, shouldn't you give me a chance to speak?"

That's true. Even if someone commits a capital crime, they must sign and affix their fingerprint before being convicted. We can't just listen to one side of the story.

The prefect, however, became even more aggressive, saying, "How dare you, Lin Ping, not kneel before me?"

If Lin Ping were a guest of honor, he would not need to kneel before the prefect. However, if he were a prisoner being interrogated, he should kneel before the prefect.

In this way, regardless of whether Lin Ping's crime is established or not, it will bring shame to the City Lord's Mansion.

Therefore, the prefect, by virtue of his position, had a thousand ways to make Lin Ping kneel before him.

Everyone turned their attention back to Lin Ping, a cold smile playing on their lips, waiting for him to kneel down and make a fool of himself.

Jiang Yunying held Lin Ping's hand tightly, while gripping her sword. With just a glance from Lin Ping, she would kill the enemy immediately.

Lin Ping did indeed cast a glance at her, but it was a firm look, meaning: My wife, don't worry, these underhanded tricks won't stump your husband.

Lin Ping turned his head and asked Xia Linglong, "May I ask, Captain, if a scholar were to meet a county magistrate, would he be required to kneel?"

Xia Linglong probably didn't want to talk to him, so she turned her head away and said, "No need!"

"Does a scholar who has passed the imperial examination need to kneel before the prefect?" Lin Ping continued to ask.

"No need!" Xia Linglong turned her head even more sharply, truly afraid that Lin Ping would drag her down with him.

The Wu Kingdom values ​​talent, and there is a saying that scholars do not kneel before county magistrates and successful candidates do not kneel before prefectural governors. This saying is even explicitly written into the law.

The prefect chuckled and said contemptuously, "Lin Ping, if I remember correctly, you can't even get into the county school, let alone become a scholar or a graduate. Do you really think you can get away without kneeling?"