usatvline Chapter 51: Palm
Chapter 51: Palm
Inside the main hall of the government office, Song Bowen sat at the head of the table, silent and his thoughts were hard to fathom.
The crowd below held their breath, a tense atmosphere filling the air.
Wei Xiuying is the daughter of a military family. Despite being a suspect, she still received a seat.
Jia Qingyi was in a rather disheveled state; he was shirtless and his face was covered in dust.
After listening to the night watchman's account, Song Bowen ordered expressionlessly, "To strike the grievance drum for such a trivial matter must be severely punished as a warning to others. Men, drag him away and give him twenty heavy lashes."
The night watchman never expected to suffer such a severe punishment. His face immediately turned pale, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, trembling as he begged, "My lord, spare my life! Spare my life!"
He Qiong's expression was grave as she ordered in a low voice, "Where are the constables? Drag him away and execute him immediately!"
Two constables responded immediately, grabbed the night watchman, and dragged him out of the hall.
Soon, the night watchman's piercing screams echoed through the empty hall, sending chills down one's spine.
Liu Shan and Li Wanqing mingled in the crowd of onlookers. He sighed. This night watchman had only himself to blame. If he hadn't done something so harmful and pointless, he wouldn't have been punished.
The twenty strokes of the cane were quickly finished, and the yamen runners threw the night watchman out of the yamen.
After disciplining the night watchman, Song Bowen turned his gaze to Wei Xiuying, his tone cold and stern: "As the daughter of a military family, how could you commit such a shameless act? Do you know your crime?"
Wei Xiuying remained silent, secretly wiping away her tears.
Before coming to the government office, Liu Shan specifically instructed her that no matter what kind of questioning she faced, she must remain silent. She should remember that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make, and the less she said, the better. She must never reveal any flaws in her words or leave any handle against her.
Upon seeing this, Song Bowen frowned slightly. Wei Xiuying's special status made it impossible for him to punish her. As long as she didn't speak, no one could do anything to her.
Left with no other option, Song Bowen turned his gaze to Jia Qingyi and coldly questioned, "As an actor, how dare you defile the daughter of a military family? Do you plead guilty?"
Jia Qingyi followed suit and also chose to remain silent.
However, he miscalculated. He was nothing more than a lowly actor, and even a moment's hesitation from Song Bowen would be inconsistent with Jia Qingyi's lowly status.
Song Bowen immediately ordered, "Guards! Beat him! Fifty slaps to the face!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than three constables pounced on him, pinned him down, and rained blows down on his face.
Blood quickly seeped from the corner of Jia Qingyi's mouth, and his cheeks swelled up rapidly.
However, he was tough and withstood the beating, gritting his teeth and remaining silent.
Song Bowen hadn't expected Jia Qingyi to be so stubborn. He was about to try to coax him with words when He Qiong spoke first, coldly saying, "What are you waiting for? Keep hitting him until he talks!"
The constables intensified their blows, making the slaps increasingly vicious, and Jia Qingyi's face swelled even more.
To everyone's surprise, Jia Qingyi endured another fifty slaps without yielding.
Seeing this, He Qiong did not get angry, but continued to order: "Slap him in the face with a board! If he can withstand a hundred slaps, this is the end of today."
The constables received the order and were about to go find the board when He Qiong ordered again, "Don't bother looking for it, use the 'deterrence stick' to beat them."
Upon receiving the order, the yamen runners quickly retrieved the stern rod, its ferocity causing onlookers to gasp in shock.
Jia Qingyi looked terrified. If that stick hit his face, wouldn't it be fatal?
If you were to be hit a hundred times, even a god couldn't withstand it!
Liu Shan finally understood He Qiong's intention. He Qiong wanted to beat Jia Qingyi to death. Once the adulterer died, there would be more room for maneuver when convicting Wei Xiuying, and she could even be given a lighter sentence.
Just as the bailiffs raised their batons, just as Liu Shan's heart was about to settle, a figure suddenly rushed out, blocking the bailiffs and protecting Jia Qingyi behind him.
It's Wei Xiuying!
She finally couldn't hold back any longer and cried out in a pitiful voice, "Stop! This has nothing to do with him; it was all my doing!"
The constables were stunned, not knowing what to do, and all turned their gazes to He Qiong.
Upon seeing this, Liu Shan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.
At the same time, Li Wanqing held Liu Shan's hand tightly and muttered to herself, "What a tragedy!"
In the lobby, Song Bowen clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, his face contorted in extreme pain, as if he were about to suffer a stroke and convulsions at any moment.
Wei Xiuying's actions were tantamount to rubbing his face into the ground, which aroused his murderous intent!
After hesitating for a long time, He Qiong asked expressionlessly, "Wei Xiuying, do you think you can clear your name of this scandal by taking all the blame yourself? Do you think..."
"Lord He!" Song Bowen suddenly interrupted He Qiong, waving his hand and saying, "I'm tired. Let's stop here tonight and continue the trial tomorrow."
He Qiong was stunned. Song Bowen was clearly full of killing intent, but there was not a trace of fatigue in him.
But Song Bowen was the presiding judge, so He Qiong could only agree and ordered the yamen runners to temporarily detain Jia Qingyi. As for Wei Xiuying...
He Qiong looked at Song Bowen, waiting for him to speak.
Despite his resentment, Song Bowen had to act according to the law, ordering the woman to be sent to the Wei residence and kept under strict guard, ensuring she was brought back to the government office for trial before 11:00 AM the next day.
Then, Song Bowen stormed off in a huff.
The constables acted swiftly, escorting Wei Xiuying back to the Wei residence, while Jia Qingyi was taken to prison under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
As night deepened, the discussions outside the government office grew increasingly noisy, with people speculating about how tomorrow's interrogation would unfold.
The surrounding chatter made Li Wanqing frown. She whispered to Liu Shan, "This situation seems to be more troublesome than we expected."
“Yes!” Liu Shan said slowly, “Originally, Master He was almost successful, but he failed at the last moment.”
Li Wanqing said angrily, "It's all Xiuying's fault, she can't tell right from wrong!"
At this moment, Li Wanqing suddenly asked, "If we were the ones being tried in court just now, would you have stood in front of me without hesitation?"
Liu Shan was stunned. A life-or-death question?
Fortunately, he is a modern person with a mindset that transcends conventional thinking.
He paused deliberately for a moment, and just as Li Wanqing was about to become impatient, he replied in a low voice, "I will do my best to protect you, but more importantly, we are husband and wife who have gone through the proper marriage ceremony. How could we end up being tried in the courtroom?"
Li Wanqing suddenly realized that she had asked an unrealistic question and couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Seeing this, Liu Shan quickly changed the subject to prevent Li Wanqing from thinking too much: "Wanqing, the key to solving this case is Song Bowen. As long as he doesn't pursue it to the end and keeps pressing the issue, the problem can be solved with the power of the Wei family."