It was clear without even thinking that these two must have a close relationship with the new county magistrate, otherwise, not just anyone could sit in this court hall.
Deputy Magistrate Cui felt a tingling sensation go through his scalp, knowing that he had kicked an iron plate yesterday.
Now it looked like the main reason why the county magistrate treated him like this was to vent his anger for these two people.
Deputy Magistrate Cui believed he had found the root of why the county magistrate treated him this way.
It seemed that if he wanted to resolve the current crisis, he could only appease these two people.
Deputy Magistrate Cui struggled to crawl in front of Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran, squeezing out a smile uglier than crying.
"You two, yesterday it was negligence on this official's part that caused me to wrongly assign you to the wrong place. This official will immediately order someone to help you switch to a better village."
Mo Jiuye sneered coldly: "Hehe... then it depends on whether Deputy Magistrate Cui still has the authority to reorder us a village or not."
"You--" Before Deputy Magistrate Cui could finish what he was saying, Meng Huaining slammed the court block on the table.
"How bold, Cui Wen. Without this official giving you permission, who allowed you to talk freely in the court hall?"
Cui Wen was already wary of what Mo Jiuye had just said, and seeing the county magistrate's attitude, he was now fully aware that the current situation was very unfavorable to him.
His lower body was injured, and even the slightest movement would cause unbearable pain. When he crawled in from outside the county government earlier, Cui Wen was already drenched in sweat from the pain. Still, he endured the pain and knelt towards Meng Huaining's direction.
"County magistrate, this subordinate has been serving the people of Yun City diligently for many years. Even if I don't have merit, at least I have hard work. I beg you to show mercy..."
As he spoke, Cui Wen shed tears in front of everyone.
If they didn't know better, they would have thought he suffered terrible injustice.
Meng Huaining had seen this kind of scene many times before and felt no sympathy for him at all.
He slammed the court block forcefully again.
"Cui Wen, you have wantonly committed evil in Yun City by taking advantage of your position to oppress men and covet women. Are you aware of your crimes?"
Cui Wen looked up with tears in his eyes, "My lord, this subordinate has been framed. I have never done such things before, please discern this clearly."
Meng Huaining knew that it would be useless to give someone like Cui Wen a hard time if he kept insisting on his innocence.
He looked towards the yamen runners on both sides of the court hall and ordered, "Come, drag Cui Wen out and give him twenty heavy beatings."
"My lord, this subordinate is framed... My lord..." Upon hearing that he would receive twenty heavy beatings, Cui Wen was already so frightened that he could not speak properly.
The yamen runners did not hesitate to come up and drag Cui Wen out of the court hall.
Cui Wen still desperately begged for mercy, "My lord, this subordinate is injured and cannot be beaten..."
If it were in the past, the yamen runners would hesitate for a moment when a prisoner pleaded for mercy to see the county magistrate's intention.
But today they could be certain that the new county magistrate was determined to punish the Yun City County Magistrate no matter what, so there was absolutely no chance for reprieve.
Therefore, the yamen runners had no intention of stopping as they directly dragged the man outside to the public square, and in front of all the onlooking commoners, gave Cui Wen a brutal twenty heavy beatings.
The planks landed heavily on his skin and flesh, and screams were endless.
Inside the court hall, Meng Huaining did not idle either. He ordered several commoners who had previously accused Cui Wen to come in and kneel on one side of the hall.
The commoners knelt down one by one.
The battered Cui Wen, who now looked like mud, was dragged back in by the yamen runners and thrown hard in the middle.
Meng Huaining slammed the court block again.
"Cui Wen, will you confess yourself or shall I have each of these commoners state their grievances one by one?"
It was only now that Cui Wen noticed several commoners had appeared in the court hall.
When he looked closely, it seemed he did have some impression of these people.
There was the one whose daughter he had seized. There was also the one whose shop he had occupied. And there was...
Cui Wen was dumbfounded.
These people used to not even dare show anger towards him. Now that the new county magistrate had arrived, they rushed over eagerly to accuse him.
Thinking of this, Cui Wen's gaze towards those commoners instantly turned extremely sinister.
It was as if threatening them that if they dared speak nonsense, he would settle accounts with them someday.
The commoners were originally quite afraid of Cui Wen. Although the county magistrate was backing them today, when they saw his expression, they couldn't help but tremble.
Cui Wen had glared at the commoners with his back facing Meng Huaining, so he naturally did not notice.
However, Cui Wen's little gesture did not escape Mo Jiuye's eyes.
"Cui Wen, what do you mean by glaring at those commoners?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Huaining slammed the court block heavily again.
"Cui Wen, with this official present, you still dare threaten the commoners?"
This loud noise frightened Cui Wen so much that his body shuddered.
He struggled to move his body to kowtow to Meng Huaining, but with his lower body injured and his back battered from the twenty heavy beatings, he was now no different from a high paraplegic patient.
Still, Cui Wen exerted great effort to bow down on the ground towards Meng Huaining.
"My lord, this subordinate is framed. I haven't said a word, how could I threaten those commoners?"
"Humph! Glib tongue, this official will ask you again. Will you confess yourself or shall I let these grievously harmed commoners state their case?"
After all, Cui Wen was still a county magistrate. He was very clear about trial proceedings like this.
If he confessed, it would substantiate the charges and make it difficult to recant his confession later.
Therefore, he gritted his teeth and decided he could not confess.
"My lord, this subordinate serves the people wholeheartedly and has nothing to confess."
Meng Huaining sneered inwardly. It's already come to this, yet you still insist on dying. This official will show you whose words carry more weight, yours or my authority.
He looked towards the kneeling commoners, "The one who once harmed you, Cui Wen, is here. State your grievances and this official will serve justice for you."
The few commoners looked at each other and gradually stepped forward to tell of Cui Wen's evil deeds.
Initially, Cui Wen kept denying the accusations stubbornly, but Meng Huaining ordered someone to shut his mouth.
After the first group of commoners had finished telling their grievances, the second group came up to testify.
The surrounding commoners who were observing could not help but curse Cui Wen for being deranged as they listened to everyone's accounts.
Some had even run home to fetch rotten vegetable leaves and stinky eggs to pelt the crazy, treacherous dog after he left the court.
It was not until Meng An could no longer grip the writing brush steadily that Meng Huaining ordered the halt of hearing commoners' grievances.
Even though there were still many unspoken grievances, just these were enough for Cui Wen to die a hundred times over.
Meng Huaining publicly announced the removal of Cui Wen from the position of Yun City County Magistrate. As for how he would be dealt with, it would be decided after all the cases had been fully tried.
Of course, everyone present understood clearly that there was no possibility of Cui Wen staying alive. The things he had done warranted lingchi, at the very least.
