Chapter 221: Hitting Someone So Handsomely
"Are you still trying to argue your way out of this? Do you believe I will submit a report to deprive you of your scholarly title?" Officer Li struck the courtroom wooden block again. He was genuinely angered today. How could there be such heartless parents? They claim to have developed feelings for the child after raising him for six years, are these feelings cultivated through beating then?
Sitting on the side, Mister Xie’s eyes were red, his hands tightly gripping the armrests of the chair. His frail fingers turned pale from the grip. He had heard about the child’s abuse from Yu Hongxiu and how the Bai Ruozhu family wished to adopt the child. But witnessing it all himself was far more shocking than he had imagined. How could a man like Bai Yibo, who had the audacity to seek his recommendation for the Study Palace, be eligible to sit for the Imperial Examination? Such people are not deserving!
Just like Bai Ruozhu said, all the saintly books he read over the decades were in vain.
"The child, although small, can distinguish between right and wrong. I believe, without anyone’s guidance, he will remember who beat him. Aren’t these hot, individual scars also self-inflicted by the child? It’s punishable by spanking to lie in the public hall. Wang Family’s case is an example in front of you, Bai Yibo, do you also want to taste the intensity of spanking?" Mister Xie, usually good-natured, blurted out angrily.
Bai Yibo shivered but argued hesitantly, "Can’t we treat the child better in the future? We’ve raised him for six years, and they just snatched him away. How are we supposed to explain this to the villagers?"
"Aren’t you ashamed yet? Didn’t you think about how disgraceful your actions were when you abused the child?" Mister Xie asked sternly.
Bai Yibo shrank his neck. Just as he was about to argue further, he saw Jiang Yichun, sitting next to Mister Xie, abruptly stand up and swing his sleeves at him.
"What a beast!" Jiang Yichun’s voice was frigid, seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth. Before his voice could fall, everyone heard Bai Yibo’s scream. He was no longer standing where he was but was thrown out five or six meters, nearly to the entrance of the public hall.
Bai Yibo’s face was swelling as he laid on the ground, wailing, "Murder, there’s a murder in public hall!"
Jiang Yichun slowly walked towards him, looked down and said, "Do you think I would hesitate to make your words come true? Killing scum like you isn’t a pity!"
Bai Yibo, lying on the ground and looking at Jiang Yichun, did not know who he was but felt terrified. He seemed like a god or a devil, as if he could crush an ant like him with just a finger. His face was masked, making him look terrifying. Perhaps he was an executioner not blinking an eye at murder. As this thought crossed Bai Yibo’s mind, he shivered, feeling the air around him chill. He didn’t dare to look into Jiang Yichun’s eyes again, shifted away his gaze, and was frightened enough not to make any sound.
Bai Ruozhu had already helped Xiaosi dress, but she hadn’t stood up from her squat yet, staring at Jiang Yichun in a daze. She didn’t expect Jiang Yichun to be so audacious to hit someone in public, and moreover, look so cool while doing it. Truly worthy of being the painted immortal she had her eyes on. He was so righteous and charismatic! (Who knew who had been criticizing him for being a cynical man. Women really are fickle.)
Having noticed Bai Ruozhu’s admiring gaze, Jiang Yichun felt proud. This was the first time the woman was looking at him with such admiration. Finally, she saw how awesome he was, right?
Officer Li wasn’t surprised by Jiang Yichun hitting someone publicly and pretended not to have seen it. Mister Xie was stunned at first, then his eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his lips, seemingly thinking: Serves you right!
Jiang Yichun withdrew his gaze from Bai Ruozhu, turned towards Officer Li and said, "This child has been through many hardships and certainly deserves sympathy. Since this lady’s family is willing to treat him kindly, Officier Li, you should grant them the custody of the child."
The lady Jiang Yichun mentioned was Bai Ruozhu. He almost mentioned Bai Ruozhu by her name but, fearing the potential rumors it might cause about her, pretended not to know Bai Ruozhu at all.
At this point, Bai Yibo and Wang Family didn’t dare say anything, suppressed by Jiang Yichun’s dominant action. Bai Zepei and Bai Ruozhu went to Officer Li and completed the formalities. In no time, Xiaosi’s household registration was transferred to the Bai Family’s second branch, becoming Bai Yihong’s adopted child.
Seeing things being mostly settled, and after consulting with Jiang Yichun, Officer Li adjourned the hearing. Wang Family and Bai Yibo, both injured and unable to stand up for a long time, were dragged out and thrown to the Main Gate by the officers.
Bai Ruozhu, holding Xiaosi, thanked Officer Li, Mister Xie and Jiang Yichun. Officer Li and Mister Xie both advised her to treat Xiaosi well. Jiang Yichun, however, didn’t say anything except gave her a triumphant look. Bai Ruozhu felt that he must be smiling behind his mask. If it was in the past, she’d assume his smile was annoying, but now she found him pleasing to the eyes. She assumed his hidden smile must be charming.
Well, Bai Ruozhu thought she was too old to have a crush on someone.
When Bai Ruozhu and Bai Zepei stepped out of the County Government Office, Wang Family and Bai Yibo were still groaning on the ground outside the gate. Bai Ruozhu glanced at them dismissively and told her elder brother, "Let’s hire a car and send them back to the village." They were relatives after all, and she had to maintain appearances.
Bai Zepei nodded and was about to hire a car when they heard a wailing cry.
"Xiuxiang, what happened to you? My poor child, why have you been beaten like this? What on earth happened to you?" An elderly woman rushed over and began to cry whilst holding Wang Family. Behind her was an elderly man who bore some resemblance to Wang Family and a middle-aged man.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at her second brother, and Bai Zepei whispered, "It’s Wang Family’s parents and elder brother."
Wang Family rarely visited Back Mountain Village and usually returned to her hometown, so Bai Ruozhu had never met Wang Family’s parents. She had only heard that Wang Family’s conditions weren’t poor and they frequently aided her and Bai Yibo, which led to the Bai Family’s grandmother always flattering Wang Family, mainly for the money Wang Family held.
Before Wang Family could speak, a bystander spoke up, "Your daughter has a big gut, arriving late to the court and then lying about being pregnant to escape spanking. Instead of five, she got twenty lashes. What was initially nothing turned into a problem."
Wang Family’s sobbed, she and Bai Yibo weren’t used to waking up early and were scolded by the grandmother late into the night yesterday, resulting in them accidentally oversleeping and arriving late for the court session, ending up with twenty lashes.
Ignoring the bystander, Wang Family’s mother hugged Wang Family asking, "What exactly happened to bring you to court?"
Seeing her parents, Wang Family felt like she had a backbone and suddenly pointed at Bai Ruozhu shouting, "It’s her! She claimed that I switched the babies years ago and snatched little Si from us."
Hearing this, Wang Family’s mother turned to Bai Ruozhu, her elderly face filled with resentment, "Shameless lowlife, I’ll fight you for this!"