The courtroom was deathly quiet.
Xu Kai fell into deep thought.
When Prince Ning came to him, he only said that there was a case in the Capital Magistrate's Office today and asked him to come for sure to protect that woman and then handle the case impartially.
Before he could figure out exactly what was going on, he was pushed out of the door in a hurry by Prince Ning.
After listening to the statements from both sides, he became even more puzzled.
This looked like an ordinary and unremarkable case...
Even if what the maid said was true and she was molested by this hooligan, it was just a common act of provoking trouble. What on earth was worth Prince Ning, who had been out of politics for years, coming in person?
Li Wanming observed the expressions of the three bigwigs on the dais and couldn't figure out their intentions for a moment.
Was it really just because she had beaten the Drum of Grievance that they came to observe the trial?
However, currently there was only Wei Chengbiao's testimony in the courtroom, which was unfavorable to them...
The most important thing now was to ask the Capital Magistrate's Office to bring Xiao Jingnan out first. Since he was arrested yesterday, she hadn't seen him again and didn't know how he was...
Li Wanming bowed and said, "Your Honor, since this is a trial, both the plaintiff and the defendant should be brought to the courtroom to hear their statements, instead of just listening to this man's one - sided words."
Hearing this, the censor of the Censorate slightly opened his eyes and said in confusion, "Huh? The plaintiff and the defendant haven't been brought up yet? Lord Cui has really been a good official for all these years."
Cui Yanzhi turned ashen and quickly sent someone to bring Xiao Jingnan up.
Soon, the man arrived.
After just one day apart, Xiao Jingnan seemed to have lost some weight. His hair was slightly disheveled, and his already pale and thin face looked even more angular.
Only his pupils were extremely bright, looking in good spirits.
There were no injuries on his body, so it seemed that no torture had been used.
Li Wanming felt slightly relieved.
But the three adults on the upper dais all changed their expressions greatly the moment they saw him and stood up abruptly!
Xu Kai and the minister of the Court of Judicial Review couldn't stop their hands from trembling as they looked at the man in front of them in disbelief.
Even Yan Peitang, the censor of the Censorate, who had always been calm and only known for his sarcasm, was full of shock, as if he had seen a ghost!
...
At that moment, they finally understood why Prince Ning had come in person for this small case!
— His son had been thrown into prison. How could he not come?
Xiao Jingnan had been in poor health since childhood and rarely went out. There weren't many people in the capital who knew him.
But rather than saying "not many", it was more accurate to say "not qualified".
The youngest son of the first vassal king of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the only remaining direct bloodline of the Xiao family, and the grandson of the Langya Cheng clan — there weren't many people who were qualified to know him.
So Cui Yanzhi didn't recognize him.
But Xu Kai and the other two were high - ranking officials in the court and recognized him at a glance.
Especially Yan Peitang, who had once tutored him when he was a child. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he had watched him grow up.
After the shock, the three of them felt deeply confused.
What on earth was going on?
Wasn't it said that this case was about a fight between a tavern waiter and someone from the business guild?
Why was it Xiao Jingnan who was locked up?
Did it mean... he was that tavern waiter?
The three of them glanced at each other and saw deep disbelief in each other's eyes.
The heir of Prince Ning working as a tavern waiter, fighting in the street, and being thrown into the prison of the Capital Magistrate's Office... This was beyond their comprehension.
Xiao Jingnan smiled slightly and bowed gently, "I'm the commoner Cheng Liqing. Greetings to you, my lords."
Commoner?
Cheng Liqing?
Xu Kai widened his eyes.
What on earth was going on? He had almost reached out to support him just now!
Yan Peitang whispered on the side, "Could it be... that the heir is incognito to experience the people's livelihood?"
Xu Kai's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, yes, it must be so!
Weren't there always records in the history books that the emperor would go incognito? If the emperor could do it, why couldn't the heir?
Although Prince Ning didn't attend court, it didn't mean that he didn't care about the people.
He must have sent the heir incognito to understand the sufferings of the people!
In that case, they certainly couldn't expose the heir's identity but should play along with the prince and the heir to the end.
The three bigwigs exchanged glances and instantly understood each other's meaning.
Yan Peitang even took a moment to glance at Cui Yanzhi, with a trace of pity in his eyes.
Tsk tsk tsk, poor Lord Magistrate of the Capital...
He wanted to pick an easy target but didn't expect it to be a tough nut to crack!
Xu Kai coughed lightly and said, "Tell us your grievances quickly. Don't be afraid. If there is really any act of bending the law for personal gain in this courtroom, I will surely seek justice for you."
Xiao Jingnan found it funny but didn't expose it. Instead, he recounted what had happened yesterday.
His voice was neither too high nor too low. His attitude was neither overbearing nor humble. His tone was gentle, and his logic was clear. He explained the matter clearly in just a few words.
Finally, without waiting for Wei Chengbiao to refute, he said first, "Your Honor, this man will surely not admit that he molested Chuntao first, and as Chuntao's employer, my testimony may not be trustworthy... Why not call the shopkeeper of that warehouse and hear what he has to say?"
Hearing this, Wei Chengbiao was overjoyed, "Yes, call that shopkeeper here! He has no relation with any of us, so his words must be trustworthy!"
That shopkeeper had already been bribed by him and would surely speak for him.
Wei Chengbiao glanced at Xiao Jingnan and thought proudly, "Arrogant fool. I can crush you with just one finger!"
Soon, Shopkeeper Wu arrived.
He knelt on the ground tremblingly and said, "C - commoner... didn't see Boss Wei molest that girl..."
"Wait a minute."
Xiao Jingnan interrupted him, "Since you're here to state the facts, you should tell the whole story. How can the lords understand with such a disjointed sentence?"
"Yes, yes..."
The shopkeeper lowered his head, shaking like a sieve, "Y - yesterday... this young master and Chuntao came to buy goods, but unfortunately, there were no goods in the warehouse..."
Xiao Jingnan interrupted him again, "Your exact words were: 'Miss, you've come at a bad time. We're out of glutinous rice, millet, and broomcorn millet.' Right?"
The shopkeeper didn't know what he meant by saying these words and could only nod timidly.
Xiao Jingnan continued, "When Chuntao asked you a few days ago, you said that there was plenty of glutinous rice and millet, as much as she wanted. But when she went today, all the grains had been bought by this Boss Wei... Right?"
"Yes..."
"At that time, I said I would go to another warehouse to buy. But this Boss Wei said that he had emptied the other warehouses too and that no granary or warehouse in Changyi Square would sell to us today... Right?"
The shopkeeper vaguely sensed something was wrong and mumbled, not daring to speak.
"Then, I have to ask."
Xiao Jingnan's dark gaze bore down, "He's just the deputy head of the Thirteen - Hong Merchants and the owner of Zuihuazhuang. Where did he get so much power to control the business of all the warehouses in Changyi Square in the capital!"