The playboy county magistrate

"presumptuous!"

Li Xuanzhi struck the gavel again, making the courtroom resound.

"You blatantly lied in court, and now you even dare to resort to violence? Do you really think I'm too soft-hearted to use torture?"

Old Mrs. Qian no longer dared to be presumptuous. She immediately shrank back and lay on the ground, trembling.

As a result, the Qian family's eldest son and his wife also became much more obedient, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Li Xuanzhi looked at the village head, his voice low and serious, his attitude earnest and his tone very solemn.

"Village head, you are the administrator assisting the government and are familiar with the people's conditions. Is what Qian Sunshi said true? Answer truthfully, without personal feelings, and without showing favoritism to anyone."

Upon hearing this, the village head immediately straightened his back respectfully.

"Your Honor, everything Qian Sunshi said is true and there is absolutely no falsehood in it. All the people in the vicinity can testify to this."

Now that things have come to this, he no longer cares about the feelings of his fellow villagers and simply reveals all the inside information he knows.

"Ever since the death of the man from the Qian family, the old woman and her family have been extremely cruel to this widow and her child. Their exploitation of labor, their occupation of land and houses, and their driving away of the mother and her two children have been ongoing for quite some time."

"Previously, the old woman of the Qian family had repeatedly asked people to pass on messages, trying to force Qian Sunshi to remarry. Or to sell Qian Sunshi's eldest son to work as a farmhand, and to sell Qian Sunshi's youngest son to a family without children."

"I had previously gone to their house to offer advice, but I was verbally abused and driven out by Old Mrs. Qian. The matter of separating the households was something they did on their own without informing me, so there is no record of it with the authorities."

His words were clear and logical, and every word and sentence confirmed Qian Sunshi's injustice.

At that moment, Magistrate Cao stepped forward to offer his supplementary information.

"My lord, I have reviewed the past tax and land records. Qian Sunshi's deceased husband owned three mu of land, and the homestead where the Qian family now resides was also obtained in the name of Qian Sunshi's deceased father. The taxes over the years have all been paid by Qian Sunshi's second wife and her family, and the property has not been changed to date. It should rightfully belong to his wife and children for inheritance and use, and no one else has the right to seize it."

The evidence is conclusive, with both witness testimonies and physical evidence.

Old Mrs. Qian collapsed to the ground, trembling all over. The eldest son and his wife lowered their heads even further, pressing them against the ground. They looked as if they wanted to make two holes in the hallway and bury their heads in them.

The group's previous arrogance vanished.

Li Xuanzhi's gaze swept over the four people below the hall, his tone cold and solemn:

"According to the laws of our dynasty, maliciously bullying widows and orphans, seizing the property of widows and orphans, illegally dividing household registrations to evade taxes, disregarding the court, and deceiving this official in court are all crimes punishable by combined penalties. Do you know what the appropriate punishment should be?"

Old Mrs. Qian and the eldest son and wife of the Qian family kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy, their cries deafening.

"Your Honor, please have mercy! We will never dare to do it again! We beg you to show leniency!"

"Please spare us, Your Honor! We know we were wrong, and we will never make the same mistake again!"

Li Xuanzhi coldly looked down at the three people who were crying and begging for mercy, and then slammed his gavel down heavily.

Snapped!

A crisp, sharp sound suddenly rang out, and the courtroom fell silent instantly.

"This judge pronounces the verdict."

Li Xuanzhi's voice was steady and powerful, each word striking the hearts of the Qian family members.

"Old Mrs. Qian and the eldest branch of the Qian family oppressed the widows and orphans, bullied the weak, mistreated young children, and illegally seized the land and houses of the second wife's widow and her son. They also disregarded the laws of the court and secretly divided the households in an attempt to evade taxes. They repeatedly committed deception and contempt of court in court. The evidence is conclusive, with witnesses and physical evidence, and there is no way to refute it."

Li Xuanzhi meticulously listed all the crimes, making clear and fair judgments without a trace of personal bias.

"Considering that you are all local people from this county and have not caused any actual loss of life, and that you admitted your wrongdoing and begged for mercy in court, I will grant you leniency and spare you from severe punishment."

Old Mrs. Qian and her husband, along with their eldest son, felt a glimmer of hope in their hearts and their faces lit up with joy.

Unfortunately, Li Xuanzhi's verdict shattered all their illusions and wishful thinking.

"The Qian family shall immediately return the house, land, and all the belongings and property accumulated by the deceased husband of the Qian family to the Qian family. Not a single penny shall be withheld, concealed, or damaged. In the future, no member of the Qian family shall interfere with, seize, or harass the land for any production."

"Furthermore, the old woman Qian is to be punished with twenty slaps to the face for her abusive language, distorting the truth, and showing contempt for the court. The eldest son and his wife of the Qian family are to be punished for abusing their power and aiding and abetting evil. Each of them shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane as a warning to others."

"A written contract is hereby drawn up in court, to be filed by Magistrate Cao, with the village head as witness. Effective immediately, the second branch of the Qian family shall separate from the old Qian family residence. If the same thing happens again, and the old woman Qian and her other descendants come to harass and bully Qian Sun and her son, this official will not let them off lightly. They will be severely punished without exception!"

Old Mrs. Qian almost fainted.

How could an old, infamous, and wicked mother-in-law have suffered such a great torment?

He was not only going to be slapped, but his eldest son and daughter-in-law, whom he felt most sorry for, were also going to be beaten with sticks and forced to publicly sign a contract to admit their guilt, completely losing face.

Qian Sunshi's elder brother-in-law gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger and resentment, but he dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.

Now that the evidence is irrefutable, what else can he do?

Qian Sunshi's sister-in-law felt her buttocks hurt even before the beating began.

He harbored resentment towards Qian Sunshi, yet he was powerless to do anything about her and her two children.

The village head, standing to the side, inwardly exclaimed how fair and satisfying it was.

This family was ruthless, but they hadn't actually taken any lives. Exile and beheading were definitely not appropriate sentences.

However, the current verdict is already quite appropriate. It punishes the wicked while preserving the livelihood of the orphan and widow. It's just right, and very gratifying!

Old Zhao is right. This county magistrate may be young, but he is clear-headed in handling cases and fair in rewarding and punishing. He does not bend the law for personal gain, nor is he overly harsh or abusive of his power.

He is indeed a rare and excellent county magistrate!

It is truly a blessing for the people of Fuyu County to have such a person to lead them!

Li Xuanzhi's gaze fell on the three old women, including the old woman, who were still in a daze. His voice was icy.

"What? Do you disagree with my judgment?"

How could Old Woman Qian dare to utter the slightest objection? Fearing her punishment would be doubled, she quickly kowtowed and said:

"This humble woman accepts the punishment! Thank you for your mercy, Your Honor!"

The eldest son and his wife reacted much better than Old Lady Qian. Before Li Xuanzhi could ask, they climbed onto the long bench that the constables had just carried over, closed their eyes tightly, gritted their teeth, and obediently lay down.

"Now that you have accepted the judgment, execute me immediately," Li Xuanzhi ordered calmly, casually pulling a slip of paper from the container and tossing it on the ground.

The two constables were exhausted from punishing three people at once; they didn't even know which one to deal with first.

Soon, the crisp sound of slaps and the dull thud of caning echoed in the courtroom.

Li Xuanzhi ignored the wailing people and instead looked in the direction of County Magistrate Cao and the village head.

"Once the execution is over, you two immediately go and help inventory the Qian family's land and property, complete the on-site handover, and draw up a contract for record-keeping. Make a big commotion, preferably so that all the people know, to prevent this from happening again."

After giving his instructions, Li Xuanzhi met Qian Sunshi's admiring gaze.