Rebel: The Inheritance System

Chapter 59 - Trial 2

"Enough with all these nonsense! The magistrate has given his orders! Who are you to question the magistrate orders and insists that my grandsons are guilty! It is more likely that your children were deeply in love and wanted to ascend to heaven together, so they stabbed themselves eleven times as their pledge of love and set themselves on fire, which eventually spread and burned the entire Ministry!" Old Ku started shouting in anger.

Judge Tang and Judge Cui started chuckling at the ridiculous scenario Old Ku just described and the audience laughed as well. Some of the constables' staff could be seen trembling as they tried their best to control their laughter.

"You...You...Ill Mannered rude old man!" Director Ling angrily started yelling at Old Ku and was pointing at him as he trembled in anger.

*Bang!*

Magistrate Dong slams his gravel hard and shouts "ENOUGH! The courtroom is not a sideshow for you clowns to argue! Look at the townsfolk munching on snacks while watching all of you, as if they are watching an opera show! Are you not ashamed of yourselves?"

"Men, are you waiting for me to serve you dinner? I have already given your orders, go slap Ku De Hua and Ku De Ren until they tell you where they drank and bought their wine and fireworks from and drag the shopkeepers here!" Magistrate Dong angrily yells out.

The constables move closer to the Ku brothers but before they could slap the Ku brothers, they quickly shouted out the names of the stalls they patronised. The constables stopped and quickly ran to the shops and dragged the shopkeepers over to the yamen.

...

About thirty minutes later, the three shopkeepers were brought to the yamen. They were unhappy at first as they had to leave their shop right before dinner time but when they saw the state of Ku De Hua and Ku De ren, they stopped grumbling and when they were told it was regarding two murders and the burning of the Ministry, they grew timid and said they would cooperate with whatever the magistrate requested.

As the three shopkeepers were kneeling on the ground, Magistrate Dong asked: "Do you recognise the two people over there?"

The three shopkeepers took a good hard look at Ku De Ren and Ku De Hua and the owner of the Inn said respectfully, "I recognise them. They were regulars at my inn and they were drinking in my inn a few days ago."

"Your honour, I have a lot of customers who just buy wine and leave...I don't recognise most of my customers..." the wine seller said softly as he was unsure if he recognised them or not.

"They must have burned my ministry in a drunken spur!" Director Ling yelled out confidently.

"Shut up! let the fireworks shopkeeper say if he remembers them or not first." Magistrate Dong snaps at Director Ling as he finally could not control himself anymore.

Director Ling gets a small shock as he never expected this lowly ranked official to scold him in public.

"Your honour, I recognise them...They came into my shop when they were drunk a few nights ago and bought some fireworks from me. They also spilt wine over my goods and caused me to lose some money! I tried to chase after them but they ran away quickly after buying the fireworks!" the fireworks seller said.

Once the fireworks seller finished talking, Old Ku stood up from his chair and gave Magistrate Dong a bow and said, "I think it is clear that my two grandsons were not the ones who set the ministry on fire, nor were they the ones who killed that adulterous pair as they should have been the same group of people. Please give the order and allow me to bring my grandchildren back home so I can treat their wounds."

If Old Ku was not influential enough in Yao Feng town, the Ku brothers would be detained in the yamen for a couple of days to make it look like the yamen was still investigating the case. Since the Ministry of Rites was burned, investigators from the capital would surely come and perform their own investigations, even if the magistrate had found the arsonist.

As travelling judges, we will be unable to help at all as we will be leaving soon but our presence will surely suggest that there was at least some guarantee that the case was properly investigated.

The parents of the deceased stared at Old Ku as he grabbed the Ku brothers and slung them over his shoulders, like bags of rice and headed to the exit.

However, before he could leave, an old man ran up to Director Ling and shouted: "Patriarch Ling, Ling Yi Sha's daughter was abducted by Patriarch Ku!"

But before Director Ling could make any kind of reaction, Old Ku looked at Director Ling and grinned and then he disappeared.

"Magistrate Dong, He kidnapped my granddaughter! Old Ku kidnapped my granddaughter! Get your men and get her back this instant!" Director Ling's yell rang throughout the courtroom.

Magistrate Dong face palmed at this moment and groaned "Not this again. Director Ling, when your family abducted the baby from the Ku family, I did nothing because just like you, they are also the grandparents of the child. The laws of the empire do not interfere with family issues like this and I do not have the power to determine who the baby will stay with..."

"No! I order you to do it! Go and bring me my granddaughter, back!" Director Ling yells angrily.

"Ding Sha, smack his butt and sweep him out of the courtroom." Judge Tang carelessly gives an order.

"Yes!" Ding Sha replies immediately and uses the staff in his hand to hit Director's Ling butt, sending him flying towards the exit.

The crowd immediately gives way to the flying Director Ling so he does not land on him and a loud *poof* sounds out.

Director Ling lands on the ground right outside the yamen and starts cursing.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME! DO YOU KNOW THAT ATTACKING A MINISTER OF THE COURT IS A CRIME?!" Director Ling angrily yells.

"Shut up or I will beat you again." Judge Tang softly says but everyone heard him clearly as nobody dares to talk right now.

"Crazy fat man. Let's go have dinner. Strangely this white tasty thing doesn't make me feel full." Judge Cui says as he walks into the kitchen, further infuriating Director Ling more. Right now, Director Ling does not even dare to let out a fart, because he is aware that Judge Cui is more powerful than Ku Qiang Ren, who he has had trouble suppressing for the past few years.

"Shi er, what's this white tasty thing you've cooked this time?" Judge Cui asks me curiously as we enter the dining hall for our dinner.

"It is corn and it's usually used as animal feed...Don't you feel like we're missing some pieces of the puzzle here and that we were being played by Old Ku somehow?" I voice out my thoughts as the system beeps me, reminding me that another wish has been fulfilled.