Raising Ducks for Daily Rewards-Chapter 69: Short Trial

"Please stand up!

Greet the honourable Presiding Judge!

Greet the honourable Second Judge!

Greet the honourable Third Judge!"

The court speaker called for everyone to stand and greet the judges.

Two old men and an old woman in long Confucian robes all came out one after another from the door to the right of the bench, walking up the stairs and sitting on their chairs.

"Sit," the presiding judge, an old man with white hair, raised his hand and gestured the people to sit.

"Case 17 of the Court of Green Plum Village 5 in the year of 10,724 of the Spirit Beast City.

The prosecution has called for this trial to find the accused guilty of provoking a Beast Attack in his own will and form, thereby violating the Fourth Law of the Ten Laws, privately provoking an attack of beasts onto the city.

Prosecution, speak your case!" the court speaker loudly introduced the case before stepping back, giving space for the prosecution to the right of the bench to speak.

"Honourable judges, your honour the presiding judge, today we are here to find the accused guilty of one of the highest crimes of our city, something so cruel can only be done by the accused!

He only rents a D-rank field, his skills in creation arts poor. To gain income, he goes around with his group of criminals to ’borrow’ spirit stones from fellow cultivators.

Among his victims, some gave up and loaned him spirit stones, the estimated total loan being over a thousand spirit stones!

Once a person rejected his requests, he would incessantly follow the victim and force several others to comply, the estimated loan here being another five hundred spirit stones!

His annual income is estimated to have reached... 150 spirit stones." The prosecutor looked at the accused in the victim seat with disdain.

"The accused has been in this village for over fifteen years.

Records show that just in the Green Plum Store of our village, he has already spent over 5,000 spirit stones over these past few years!

All the income combined can’t explain how he has such a sum! And! We don’t even know how many spirit stones he has spent in private.

A month prior to the beast attack, he’s been seen sneaking around the first witness’s field, his purpose unknown.

But just a month after his sneaking, this Beast Attack happened!

Your honour, we accuse the accused of having planned this Beast Attack for his own profit!"

The prosecutor spoke loudly, his anger and disdain not hidden at all.

Fengyu, watching this from the right spectator seating area, was quite stunned.

’This case! Such simple words, no evidence at all, just stuff proving he might have a motive. And, you already completed your speech?!’

How could such a poor argumentation work?

So what if there were some discrepancies between income and records? The city doesn’t ask for tax! In the first place, the city and its citizens are in a symbiotic relationship. It’s just that every spiritual vein in the city is owned by the city, leading to there only being rents and no purchase, which might be another form of tax.

Regardless, the discrepancies aren’t evidence at all – and even more, the blatant accusation that there might be private trade was also made up with no evidence.

He looked over to the attorney and saw that compared to the old prosecutor, he was middle-aged and seemed rather smart.

"Your honour! These are just the words of the first witness, who knows whether the man was truly sneaking around? And these loans, they are simply loans to cultivate further on the path to cultivation. Is it so wrong?"

Fengyu listened and waited... yet the attorney already stopped and sat back down, not even asking the court for a milder judgement, or telling them what the defendant pleaded!

Just as Fengyu thought the court would definitely be cancelled, he suddenly saw the presiding judge raise his hand, "I find the evidence to be proving the accused of his guilt. If there is no evidence the accused didn’t do the crime, then I shall make my ruling."

The attorney rose again but only shook his head and said a short sentence of his defendant being innocent, then sat down again.

"Does the prosecution have any suggestion for punishment?" the judge asked when he saw there was nothing else to add.

"Your honour is wise and experienced, he quickly found the accused guilty! We, the prosecution in the position of representing the village, suggest the criminal to be sent to the mines!"

"Hm," the ruling judge nodded and raised his hammer.

Bang

"I hereby declare the accused guilty of the crime. He shall enter the mines and mine the annual quota of miners one hundred times. Once he has completed his crime."

"Second Judge, please reconsider!" the attorney stood up again and asked the second judge to reconsider the ruling.

"I have reconsidered and agree with the ruling," the second judge, an elderly woman, said and banged her hammer.

Bang

"Third Judge, please reconsider!" the third judge shook his head and banged the

Bang

"Case closed!"

Bang

Each bang spread immense pressure throughout the room, Fengyu felt as if he was about to sink into a deep lake.

"Case is closed, guards, please lead the criminal away!" the court speaker announced unhurriedly.

Guards from behind the left seating area walked forward and took the criminal into their hands.

"Witnesses for the first case can leave the court on their own," the speaker called out again.

When the ’criminal’ was led away, Fengyu finally saw him.

’Chained up already, and a silencing spell on him too... from the start, they made him out to be the criminal, this whole trial just a farce,’ Fengyu felt shocked, deeply shocked at how the court operated.

Just then, he saw the speaker walk forward again.

He was already curious why the judges didn’t leave after the case was closed...

"Case 18 of the Court of Green Plum Village 5 in the year of 10,724 of the Spirit Beast City.

The prosecution has called for this trial to find the accused guilty of provoking a Beast Attack in his own will and form, thereby violating the Fourth Law of the Ten Laws, privately provoking an attack of beasts onto the city......"