"Ye Zi’an, you little bastard, you’re talking nonsense!" Yang Xiao’an immediately jumped up in anger to argue as soon as he heard it.
"Quiet, I want quiet!" The County Magistrate banged on the table, and immediately two bailiffs stepped forward to force Yang Xiao’an to kneel down again.
"Ye Zi’an, do you have any witnesses?"
"Fine, bring the witnesses!"
"Greetings, Lord County Magistrate, the commoner girl Yang Chuxia is Ye Zi’an’s witness, the niece Yang Xiao’an wanted to kill, testifying that everything Ye Zi’an said is true. Also, the village Land Officer can confirm that all of this is true."
"Oh, the Land Officer is here too?" The County Magistrate asked.
Upon hearing this, Land Officer Yang immediately stepped forward, "The commoner, Yangshu Village Land Officer Yang Huzi, pays respect to the Lord County Magistrate."
"Oh, Land Officer Yang, I will ask you, is what Ye Zi’an said true?"
Yang Huzi slightly paused before answering, "Indeed, it is true. I saw it with my own eyes."
At this time, the two bailiffs also handed over the evidence they had collected. The County Magistrate glanced at it and immediately pronounced the verdict, "Yang Xiao’an attempted to harm his niece and failed, but caused injury to a neighbor. He lacks both virtue and talent, and his moral character is flawed. I hereby strip him of his Cultivated Talent title and sentence him to one year and five months of labor. His son, as the main perpetrator of the injury, should have been severely punished, but due to his young age, I sentence him to only one year in prison. In addition, Yang Xiao’an is ordered to pay Ye Zi’an eight taels of silver for medical expenses, and two taels of silver for his niece’s medical expenses due to the fright."
Old Lady Hua immediately fell backward upon hearing this, and Ms. Liu and Ms. Ye who came with her hurriedly rushed forward to hold her.
But Old Lady Hua struggled free from the two daughters-in-law and grabbed Yan Da’an, who was standing aside. She shouted at the County Magistrate, "Sir, sir, it was not my younger son’s fault. It was him, him, my eldest son who orchestrated it all, and it has nothing to do with my Second son."
Confused by Old Lady Hua’s words, Yang Da’an looked at her in disbelief, making it hard for her to meet his gaze.
But Old Lady Hua was ruthless after all, and said, "Eldest, Second is your own brother, you can’t let him bear the burden of what you’ve done. He is a Cultivated Talent after all."
Yang Xiao’an, who was kneeling on the ground, turned his head and said sorrowfully, "Big Brother, I can bear everything else for you, but this is a charge of murder."
"Yang Xiao’an, you’re full of shit!" Yang Da’an was still in a daze, but Ms. Liu couldn’t help but jump out and point at Yang Xiao’an, saying, "It was you who shamelessly went to the third branch of the family to steal vegetables. When Xiaxia didn’t let you, you wanted to fight, and when you couldn’t, you called on the whole family to help. Your good son, with that sour face of his, following you, is so young and yet he can even hurt his own cousin. And now you want to push the blame on my man? You’re dreaming! I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you!"
"For the sake of the whole family!" Old Lady Hua growled darkly, "Don’t forget that your brother-in-law is a Cultivated Talent, do your daughters still hope to get married or not?"
Ms. Liu was shocked for a moment, and then laughed, "Don’t bother with all that nonsense. I absolutely won’t let my husband take the blame for this. With that kind of character and behavior, Yang Xiao’an doesn’t deserve my daughter. If he doesn’t sell her later, it will be good enough." Although Ms. Liu seemed silly usually, she was smart enough to know that with the kind of character her husband’s second branch of the family had, she wouldn’t let Yang Da’an take the blame this time.