"At the beginning, you accepted a gift of ten taels from Zhang Dacai and betrothed Tian Xiao'e to Zhang Dacai. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Tian Gouzi nodded quickly.
"Yes. The common people also want to find a good family for this bitch. Who would have thought..."
"Say what I asked you, don't talk nonsense."
Tian Gouzi shrank his neck again, realizing that the person above seemed scary.
Zuo Mengeng asked again: "Has Tian Xiao'e agreed to this marriage?"
Tian Gouzi's eyes were confused, and he obviously didn't understand what he meant. Huang Zonghui came over and explained, and then he knew what "agree" meant.
"She is the flesh that has fallen off my body. I let her do whatever she wants. How can I tolerate her being so nagging?"
Zuo Mengeng didn't listen at all and asked directly: "In other words, you did not obtain Tian Xiao'e's consent?"
Tian Gouzi paused and could only nod.
"Um."
The questioning ended here, Zuo Mengeng said: "Go down."
Seeing that Zuo Mengeng just asked a few incomprehensible questions, everyone watching the case was confused.
"What is the profound meaning of Zhongheng's questions?"
Li Banghua shook his head.
"The meaning is not yet clear. Perhaps the mystery will be revealed in the end."
Zuo Mengeng ignored the comments around him and continued the process.
"Bring Tian Jia Cun Tian Youzhuang to court."
After a while, the guard brought an old man in his seventies to the court.
The old man was relatively hale and hearty, but it was his first time seeing such a big scene, and his hands and feet were trembling.
Zuo Mengeng's attitude was the same as before. He came up and asked, "Tian Youzhuang, you are the head of the Tian clan, okay?"
"Yes, little old man, yes."
"That day, Tian Xiao'e and Ma Tianjiu tried to escape. It was you who led the people to capture them, right?"
Tian Youzhuang gained some energy and said with a pinched neck: "That's right. Such shameless men and women have simply insulted the family tradition of my Tian family. I should deal with it impartially so that I can be kind to my tribe and neighbors."
As explained.”
Zuo Mengeng just asked.
"When Ma Tianjiu was beaten, was it your order?"
Tian Youzhuang hummed angrily and said, "Young man has a soft heart, I should have killed this beast right then and there wouldn't have been such a scandal."
Zuo Mengeng read out a list, most of which were named Tian, and asked: "These people all followed your orders that day, right?"
Tian Youzhuang was confused by the question, but he thought it was right and nodded anyway.
Tian Youzhuang was taken down, and the next person who came up caused great confusion.
It was Ma Tianjiu who was accused of being an adulterer.
He looked like he was in his early twenties, but he could only slump on the wooden board and be carried up. He was wearing a coat of no visible color, his hair was unkempt, and his face that was not exposed was covered with dust.
No one would be surprised to say that he is a beggar.
"ah……"
In the dock, Tian Xiao'e exclaimed, covering her mouth in disbelief.
This was the first time she saw Ma Tianjiu after getting married, and she didn't expect that he would look like this.
Facing the continuous discussion, Ma Tianjiu lowered his head. But at this time, he kept looking at Tian Xiao'e who was so far away, with tears in his eyes.
Zuo Mengeng remained calm as always. When Ma Tianjiu entered the seat, he immediately began to interrogate.
"Ma Tianjiu, when did you meet Tian Xiao'e?"
Ma Tianjiu tried his best to turn his head back, his voice was as low as a mosquito's chirping.
"Hit... hit the kid..."
"Have you ever made a private life-long decision with Tian Xiao'e?"
Ma Tianjiu was stunned and didn't know how to answer this question. But in the end, he nodded.
Zuo Mengeng suddenly asked Tian Xiao'e.
"is that so?"
Today, in this large public place, Tian Xiao'e had enough of being pointed at, and after killing Zhang Dacai and his parents-in-law, Tian Xiao'e had long been determined to die, but she let go.
"Although he never said it, I know that he will marry me."
Zuo Mengeng signaled for the clerk to record it.
"After learning that Tian Xiao'e was going to be betrothed to Zhang Dacai, you proposed to escape with Tian Xiao'e. Is this true?"
Ma Tianjiu was silent and just nodded.
"Later I learned about Tian Xiao'e's experience. You had approached Zhang Dacai and gave him money. Is this the case?"
Ma Tianjiu still nodded.
They are all facts and there is no point in denying them.
The questioning about Ma Tianjiu ended, and the onlookers still had no clue.
Zuo Mengeng ignored it and continued.
"Bring Zhang Wanhe of Zhangjiacun to court."
Zhang Wanhe is the patriarch of the Zhang family. It was he who led the people to make the decision regarding Ma Tianjiu and Tian Xiao'e. It was also he who had Ma Tianjiu's legs broken.
"According to our rural rules, such an adulterer should be beaten to death. That is to say, the old man was kind and spared his life."
Zuo Mengeng still read out a list of Zhang clan members, and Zhang Wanhe confirmed that they were all those who participated on that day.
"Bring Deng Biao, the owner of Evergreen Gambling House, to court."
Deng Biao was also brought here today, and he cried out as soon as he came up.
"Sir, the matter between Zhang Dacai and Tian Xiao'e has nothing to do with Cao Min. Cao Min just runs a gambling house and has never been involved with Tian Xiao'e."
There was no sadness or joy on Zuo Menggen's face. He looked at the file and began to ask questions.
"In the winter five years ago, Zhang Dacai went to Evergreen Gambling House to gamble for the first time and won three taels of silver. Is there anything wrong with that?"
This was something Huang Zonghui asked before. Deng Biao still remembered it and couldn't help but nod. He didn't understand what Zuo Mengeng meant by asking again.
"On the second day, Zhang Dacai lost fifty taels of silver in gambling and was very upset. It was up to you to lend him ten taels of silver to repay his money, right?"
Deng Biao had a good tongue.
"Our gambling house has always served our customers well, just to make our customers happy."
Zuo Mengeng asked directly: "Since then, for five years, you have lent Zhang Dacai twenty taels of silver. And after Zhang Dacai failed to repay the loan, you went to his home to press for debts and beat Zhang Dacai severely.
Is there anything special about a meal?"
Deng Biao quickly cried out.
"Sir, repaying debts is a matter of course."
But the meaning behind the words is still an admission that it is true.
At this point, all of Zuo Mengeng's questioning ended.
"Bring everyone involved to court."
After Tian Gouzi, Ma Tianjiu, Zhang Wanhe, Deng Biao and Tian Xiao'e were all in the court, Zuo Mengeng raised the file in his hand and asked: "This is the record of the interview just now. Do you have any objections?"
?”
No answer means default.
Zuo Mengeng looked solemn and said loudly: "From now on, this court will make the final judgment on Tian Xiao'e's case."
Going to be sentenced?
All the onlookers were shocked and opened their eyes wide to watch the fun.
Tian Gouzi and others in the court didn't know why, but they always felt a sense of fear like a ray of light on their backs.
Wasn't it Tian Xiao'e who committed adultery and killed her husband and her entire family?
Why are they in court too?
Zuo Mengeng stood up, without using any script at all, and his voice was as clear as a bell.
"The relevant person, Tian Gouzi, is Tian Xiao'e's father and is greedy for money. He used kidnapping, coercion and other means to force Tian Xiao'e to marry without Tian Xiao'e's consent. He is guilty of the crime of infringing on personal freedom, the crime of arranged marriage, and the crime of kidnapping. According to this court,
He was interrogated and sentenced to twenty years in prison.”
"Wow..."
The pot will start immediately.
No one would have thought that the first person to be convicted would be Tian Xiao'e's father, Tian Gouzi.
Moreover, the charges announced by Zuo Menggeng were an eye-opener for everyone.
Isn't it the order of the parents or the words of the matchmaker?
As Tian Xiao'e's father, how could Tian Gouzi arrange her marriage and make it a crime?
Smart people immediately extracted useful information from it.
Tian Xiao'e was forced to marry without her consent...
Since ancient times, haven’t children’s marriages been arranged by their parents?
When can we, as children, have autonomy over this matter?
Hou Xun, Li Banghua and others looked at each other with shock. Thinking of Zuo Mengeng's speech not long ago, they finally understood his intention to personally try the case.
This is digging the roots!
The dross of feudal ethics and morals will be uprooted in the near future!
The Tian Gouzi immediately collapsed and then screamed in despair.
"I'm wronged, I'm wronged. Tian Xiao'e is my daughter, and it's natural for me to marry her. Why should I be found guilty?"
The people around him were talking a lot and had mixed opinions about this rebellion.
Obviously, the impact of this judgment must be far-reaching.
Taking advantage of this occasion, Zuo Mengeng would naturally not miss the opportunity to publicize.
After he asked the guards to stop Tian Gouzi's noise, he said loudly: "Tian Xiao'e is your daughter, but she is a person, a living person, with dignity, freedom and equality here. Anyone who violates her will
Any act of depriving her of her happiness, destroying her life, and trampling on her dignity is illegal and criminal. No matter what the relationship between the person who commits such acts and her is. All things are born equal and everyone is equal. This is you
His sin is unforgivable."
The surrounding area completely exploded.
Many people were dumbfounded, and many more were filled with excitement.
The ideological impact has been caused, and it will inevitably cause various feedbacks in the coming years.
In the corner of the crowd, a stunningly beautiful woman was holding an even more beautiful little girl, listening to all these words in her heart.
In an instant, my eyeballs turned red and my heart warmed, as if the world in front of me was completely different.
"All things are born equal and everyone is equal! General Zuo, today... the slave family is really convinced..."