Chapter 42: The Most Just Verdict

  Today is the third day.

  It was the day when Daxing County Court tried Du Ruping and his son's case, the whole Daxing was excited.

  It's rare for a noble family head to be put on public trial, but what excites people even more is the curiosity about what kind of fair and just trial the Crown Prince will conduct.

  Driven by strong curiosity, the people of Daxing who love to watch excitement have been waiting outside the Daxing County Government early on, all wanting to get the news at the first time.

  "You don't know yet! The county magistrate has collected a lot of evidence of the Dujia father and son's crimes in the past few days." A well-informed person revealed.

  "I'm sure Du's father and son are dead this time, they offended the Crown Prince, what good can come of it." a sturdy man said viciously.

  "Not necessarily! Didn't the king say that he would give them a fair and just verdict? If it's done your way, can it still be considered fair and just?" Someone expressed skepticism.

  Among the hubbub of opinions, time slipped away quietly, and the trial of Du's father and son was about to begin.

  Apart from these gossip-loving citizens of Daxing, there are three groups of people who are paying close attention to this trial.

  The most obvious ones are those rich businessmen who spent 100,000 yuan, all wanting to know if the 100,000 yuan they spent was worth it, and whether the substitute king would really fulfill his original promise.

  There is also a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice, led by Wei Wensheng, who sneer at the most just verdicts spoken by King Wang, as if their own judgments for life are not fair.

  It's also the case with the aristocratic families, regarding the previous head of the aristocratic family being punished by the imperial court, that was a long time ago. Now, in front of the current crown prince, another example has appeared, which can't help but make those aristocratic families feel shocked and some who have done similar things before are trembling with fear.

  Especially those wealthy families who had occupied the land on both sides of the road, after receiving news about Du's father and son, immediately returned all the occupied land to the farmers, and some even offered compensation.

  Such a big piece of fat meat is right in front of one's eyes and can't be eaten, can't help but feel some resentment towards Yang You for being too nosy.

  "Manager Li!"

  "Zhang Xiūcái!"

  ……

  This trial also has a unique feature, which is to allow people to observe, and the invited are all ordinary people in Daxing who have donated money to the disaster relief agency.

  One by one, the invited guests entered the county government building with their heads held high and chests out, under the envious gaze of the onlookers, this is the return for their kindness.

  Dr. Wang as the first person to discover the secret of the Du Ling brick road was also fortunate enough to be invited to this trial, which made other disaster relief volunteers regretful.

  Dr. Wang entered the county government office!

  It wasn't until then that I realized the usual grand hall had changed, the two rows of yamen runners were gone, replaced by row upon row of chairs, each seat marked with the name of the invited guest.

  Dr. Wang found his seat and sat down quietly, waiting for the trial to begin.

  ……

  "Old Master! The time has come."

  The teacher came forward and reminded Su Sheng that it was time for him to ascend to the hall.

  Su Sheng nodded and tidied up his official uniform, saying: "Let's go!"

  After three days of investigation, Du Ruping and his son's evidence has been collected almost all, they are inescapable.

  Unexpectedly, many aristocratic families came to plead with him, wanting him to let the Du family father and son off.

  Have they been kicked in the head by a donkey or are they pretending to be fools? This matter was personally supervised by Prince Dai, and it has caused a sensation throughout the city.

  If he really had a bit of corruption and injustice, wouldn't those radical scholars have blasted him to death?

  Thinking of those scholars, Su Sheng couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. He had indeed been bothered by them quite a bit during this period of time. However, the scholars' work had also made things easier for him in many ways.

  Under the urging of the scholars, each official was diligent and conscientious, and not a single corrupt minor official was found in Daxing County. The resettlement work for the refugees went exceptionally smoothly, and it can even be said that it was perfect.

  Sometimes Su Sheng was really grateful for these show-offs! This had saved him a lot of trouble.

  Whenever Su Sheng thought of this, he would sincerely admire the clever move of Dai Wang Gong. Although Dai Wang Gong sometimes seemed to be acting recklessly, every time after his reckless behavior, he would achieve unexpected success.

  Thinking of today's trial, Su Sheng couldn't help but feel some anticipation, what would be different about today's trial!

  As he stepped into the main hall, Su Sheng gave a strange glance. The main hall had been renovated to the point where it was unrecognizable, with everything except his own seat being newly set up.

  "I pay my respects to Your Honor, the County Magistrate."

  The people in their seats all stood up and bowed.

  "Please take your seats!"

  He raised his hands, looked around and shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat to say: "Today is the public trial of Du Ruping's father and son for oppressing good people. According to the decree of the Crown Prince, we promise to give the Du family a fair and just trial."

  With a loud bang on the wooden table, Su Sheng shouted: "Su Sheng, take the prisoner away!"

  It's about to begin, and the people below can't help but feel a shock, staring at Du's father and son who are wearing handcuffs. The four bailiffs pushed and pulled Du Ruping and Du Zhao into the court. Many of the people below recognized Du Ruping and his son, and their hearts couldn't help but let out a silent sigh. At this moment, Du's father and son looked dull-eyed, with disheveled hair, from being high-born young masters to becoming prisoners in shackles. No matter who it is, they can't accept it.

  In fact, Du's father and son still had a glimmer of hope in their hearts, which was pinned on the fairness and justice that Crown Prince Wang had spoken of, namely the token worth 100,000 guan.

  Du Ruping clenched his fist tightly around the token in his hand, this was probably his last reliance.

  He walked unsteadily to his position, but Su Sheng did not make him kneel, instead standing there. Two bailiffs stepped forward, and Du Ruping handed over the token in his hand.

  The official handed it over and turned around to give it to the person in the front row. From behind, this person was not very old, but his attire was somewhat strange and did not seem like what ordinary people wore.

  "Eunuch!" someone recognized him and whispered in shock.

  Others suddenly realized that if the Eastern Palace didn't show up, how could they guarantee a fair and just verdict when the Crown Prince's banner was fairness and justice?

  That eunuch touched the golden token, nodded his head, and stood up saying: "I am Jia Jing, specially sent by the orders of the Prince to defend the holder of the golden token."

  Jia Jing was a eunuch of the Eastern Palace, and when Yang You studied the Great Sui Code, he attended to him. Yang You's studies were not going well, but Jia Jing, who was just listening in, had memorized all the articles of the Great Sui Code.

  Yang You also inadvertently discovered that there was such a talented legal politician by his side. This time, he had the opportunity to show off his talents.

  "What? Defend Du Ruizhi!"

  Isn't this saying that the eunuchs of the East Palace are Du Ruping's lawyers?

  For lawyers, everyone present is familiar with it, and Su Sheng is even more unfamiliar. He has had countless dealings with lawyers.

  The Crown Prince personally investigated and found evidence of Du Ruping's father-son crimes, but because of the Crown Prince's golden order, he personally sent someone to defend Du's family.

  Everyone involuntarily became excited, and everything seemed interesting again.

  Jia Jing stood up and walked in front of Du Ruping. It was only then that everyone realized Jia Jing was not very old, at most not more than twenty years old.

  After carefully observing the dejected expressions of Du Ruping and his son, Jia Jing slightly furrowed her brow, turned to Su Sheng and said: "Lord Su, our family requests that a physician be summoned to examine the physical condition of both parties involved, to confirm that they have not been subjected to abuse or coerced into making false confessions during their detention."

  Su Sheng was taken aback, and there's still this requirement?

  He suddenly realized and knew it wasn't doubting himself, but doing it for the people below, and immediately nodded in agreement.

  Upon seeing Su Sheng agree, Jia Jing beckoned with his hand, and the two white-haired imperial physicians came forward to carefully examine Du's father and son.

  The two imperial physicians examined him several times and whispered to each other before saying: "There are no signs of torture or corporal punishment."

  "Thank you both!" Jia Jing's courtesy made people feel good about him unintentionally.

  "I don't dare!"

  The doctor stepped down, and the trial continued.

  The people from all walks of life in Daxing who were invited nodded secretly in their hearts. In this era, there are many examples of yielding to power, and it is indeed very fair for the king to do so.

  The trial has not yet officially started, but it is already showing great fairness. The people sitting below looked at each other and couldn't help but look forward to it even more.

  "Du Ruping, a member of the Du family from Duling, on August 28th, suddenly rushed to the Daiwang Temple, intending to lead the Du family servants to attack the Daiwang Temple and offend the imperial authority..."

  "Your Honor!" Jia Jing interrupted Su Sheng's reading.

  "I'd like to correct that, the Crown Prince has already pardoned the Du family's offense, which means the charge of offending the imperial authority against the Du father and son is unfounded,"

  "Alright, since His Highness has pardoned your offense, this matter will not be pursued." Su Sheng did not pursue the matter further, after all, driving the master of the Du family to desperation would not be beneficial for him either.

  "In June this year, Du Ruping forcibly occupied Li Zhuang's 200 mu of good land and injured ten people from Li Zhuang."

  In March this year, he forcibly abducted a civilian woman named Zhang and made her his fifth concubine.

  ……

  "Du Zhao!"

  On August 23rd, on the brick road from Duling to Daxing, he galloped wildly on horseback and collided with two pedestrians, killing them.

  In June, in Daxing, he got into a dispute with someone over a trifle and ordered his servants to beat the person severely.

  ……

  As Su Sheng read out each charge, one by one the witnesses' testimonies were presented, with solid evidence and ironclad proof, without a single drop of watered-down testimony. After listening to it all, everyone couldn't help but want to strangle these two scoundrels to death.

  Jia Jingzi will go through the Great Tang Code, making every effort to defend Du's father and son, questioning the authenticity of the evidence, striving to mitigate the sentence.

  After a long and heated debate in court, the dust finally settled.

  "The court hereby declares the following verdicts: Du Ruping is sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, and Du Zhao is sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment. This is specially established."

  Du's father and son were speechless with grief when they heard the verdict, but by then no one was paying attention to them anymore.

  "If dissatisfied with the judgment of the appeal, it is allowed to petition within fifteen days. The second trial will be held in the Ministry of Justice for a final judgment. If no appeal is made after fifteen days, it will be considered as giving up this right."

  Su Sheng heavily knocked on the wooden board again and shouted: "Clear the court!"

  The trial is over. People start leaving.

  As news of the trial spread, all its details were magnified and presented before the public.

  No beating or shouting of grievances, only true and solid evidence and criminal evidence, everything is handled according to the law, especially the final appeal opportunity, which makes people feel delightful.

  All the results show that Deputy Wang did not abandon his promise, this is indeed a fair and just verdict, and it is an unprecedented justice.

  The people of Daxing today are still unaware of the impact of this lawsuit, and the verdict, which will be hailed by later generations as the beginning of imperial rule of law, will be written into history books and passed down for thousands of years.