Lin County.

The county magistrate sat steadily in the hall with a smug smile on his face. His eyes were like a hawk, scanning the group of people below who were originally aggressive and full of justice, but were now kneeling and begging for mercy.

Looking at their terrified and frightened looks, the county magistrate almost laughed out loud.

"Hmph, don't be so anxious! Calm down. Didn't someone just swear that he would sue me to death as long as he was alive? Come on, stand up and let me see. It's you two! First come over and finish the beatings that have not been completed, and then pay the fine. I will immediately send someone to take you to the higher government office to continue to file your complaint! If they don't accept your case, you can bring more money with you and go to the capital to file a complaint!" The county magistrate said sarcastically.

"Oh my! Master, we really know we were wrong! How could we have known that little girl was actually a bad person! It was because of her sweet words that we bewitched us and we became obsessed and offended you!" One of them said with a sad face.

"Yes, yes, sir, please be magnanimous and don't bother with us ordinary people who have never seen the world! Please have mercy on us and let us go!" Another person also echoed.

"Oh, I'm just doing my routine work and following the rules! How come you are treating me like the common people? It seems that you are very dissatisfied with the laws of the court. According to the laws of this dynasty, anyone who questions the law will be given thirty strokes of the cane and transferred to the higher authorities for trial. If someone makes irresponsible comments without reason, he will be given sixty strokes of the cane." The county magistrate leaned forward and looked at the two people who had just spoken with a look of surprise.

"Ah? No, no, no, no, how could I dare to have any objection. No, absolutely not!" The man had a serious face and raised his hands high as if to show his loyalty, as if he would be insincere if he raised less than one finger.

"Well, how could you not dare? What about the momentum of swinging a sledgehammer and beating a drum just now! What about the spirit of swearing at others in the court! What about the confidence that everything in the world is based on speculation! This official thinks you are very daring. Ah, there are quite a few people kneeling in this room. You all saw it with your own eyes just now, right? Come on, write your confessions. Leniency will be given to those who confess! Even more leniency will be given to those who expose each other! If you want leniency, write your confessions as soon as possible! If you can't write, line up and find the lawyers here to help you write. After you finish writing, pay the fine at the same time."

"I'll tell you what to do!"

"I am willing to confess! I will also be lenient with you!"

Well, the group of people who were jumping like monkeys, pointing at the county magistrate's nose and cursing him, suddenly became extremely well-behaved and cooperated as much as possible.

That small team formed a line and stood very straight!

What? A lobby that's as messy as a market? That's impossible!

Quiet, absolutely quiet!

The parties involved have come out to explain themselves, so what else is there for them to argue about?

Isn’t it stupid!

And just now, seeing the county magistrate's calmness in the face of pressure from everyone, as if everything was under control, and the thundering methods he used to deal with the two guys who shouted the loudest, was truly amazing!

Oh my God, in just a moment, the original punishment of twenty lashes was suddenly increased to a terrifying ninety strokes!

You know, for ordinary people who have no martial arts skills and are physically weak, such cruel punishment is a fatal blow!

The lobby, which was chaotic and noisy like a busy city just a moment ago, suddenly became unusually quiet, so quiet that one could almost hear the heartbeat.

Everyone was secretly thinking about how they should explain and state their situation in order to avoid more severe punishment.

Seeing this scene, the county magistrate smiled with satisfaction, then leisurely picked up the still warm teacup on the table and slowly savored the fragrance of tea.

However, what was shocking was that in just a short while, the county magistrate received more than 1,700 taels of silver.

Fifteen of them paid the fine in full, but some did not carry such a huge amount of silver notes, so they paid part of the money first and wrote an IOU. They were temporarily detained in jail, waiting for their families to come and redeem them.

Of course, there were also some people whose family financial conditions were relatively tight and they really couldn't collect 70 taels of silver. The county magistrate showed them some leniency and showed them some favors, arranging some hard jobs for them and letting them repay the money slowly with their labor.

"Those leaders are all second-generation rich kids. They are well-dressed, but they have nothing to do all day long. They are always looking for trouble. If they get beaten, their families will ask doctors to treat them. The 70-liang fine is just a joke to them.

Why are you guys joining in the fun? "

Those people lowered their heads, feeling extremely ashamed, and they didn't know why they got so excited that they started a commotion. Now that they couldn't pay the fine, they felt even more ashamed.

"Are there any of you who are going to take the imperial examination next year?"

Logically speaking, those who take the imperial examination should focus all their attention on studying, and if they still fail the exam, why would they be so stupid as to come here to join in the fun?

County magistrate, I'm just asking one more question.

I never thought that there was actually someone answering in the corner.

The county magistrate rolled his eyes blatantly: "You, you, you, come out! Stand in front!"

He didn't understand, huh? What were you thinking? You're a student who's about to take an exam, why are you showing off?

You have nothing to do, and yet you still want to take the imperial examination with this brain!

Under several gazes, the man in white walked cautiously to the front row. He lowered his head as low as possible, as if he didn't dare let anyone see what his face looked like.

"Humph, now you know you've done something wrong? It's not that you didn't study hard at home, but you just joined in the fun! You don't have a good brain, and your conditions are average, so why do you still have the confidence that you can pass the exam?"

"I..." He really didn't dare to say it, he just purely admired that woman.

The kind that you will never forget after seeing her only once.

The county magistrate waited for a long time, but he didn't say a complete sentence.

He was so angry that he fell backwards. "Alright, stop talking. If you want to continue to take the exam, I can't take up your review time. I will register your detailed information with the master later, and the hard labor will be carried out after you take the exam. However, because you are given a delay in time, the total amount of work must be increased, otherwise it will be unfair to others. Do you have any objection?"

"No... no objection." He was so happy that he couldn't contain himself.

"If you don't have any objections, why don't you sign it?"

It really broke his heart.

After everyone confessed and was given leniency, he did not deliberately embarrass them: "The remaining beatings will be suspended for the time being. If you commit crimes again in the future, I will double the punishment! Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand! Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, sir!" A group of people knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Oh my God, they were scared to death. They thought that after they confessed, the number of strokes would be reduced, but they never dared to think that they would be cancelled altogether.

This gentleman is so nice!

"If you understand, then go home quickly! Stop hanging around outside!"

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