flstandardbreds Chapter 276: Confused for a moment
Chapter 276: Confused for a moment
His face was full of disbelief. How could his son become like this after just one night apart?
He suddenly thought of the figure he saw at the door of the restaurant not long ago. At that time, he vaguely felt someone calling him, but he didn't expect that person to be Si Chengyi.
I only regret why I didn't go over to take a look at it at that time, otherwise it wouldn't have to be brought to court.
Anger instantly erupted in his eyes. If looks could kill, he would have cut the rough man in front of him into pieces. His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth: "You did it."
“No, it’s not me, it’s…” The rough man stepped back in fear and wanted to explain, but he didn’t know where to start. Beads of sweat fell from his forehead one by one.
"Hmph." Si Wei Zhong snorted coldly, obviously not believing what he said, and turned to look at the prefect.
"May I ask, sir, what did my son do to deserve such treatment?"
The prefect looked at the people below calmly. He did not expect that the man on the ground was actually Si Wei Zhong's son.
After a brief pause, he recounted what had just happened.
Si Wei Zhong was furious after hearing this. How could his son do such a stealing thing?
When he looked down at the clothes Si Chengyi was wearing, his pupils suddenly shrank and he thought of many possibilities in a flash.
He had an impression of this rough man, and it seemed that his silver shop was located on Zhuque Street.
Normally, the two shops were some distance apart and they had never had any dealings with each other, let alone any enmity, so there was no need for the other party to go to court for framing his son.
There is only one reason, his son really went to someone else's jewelry store to steal things, so he was beaten. The other party chose to report to the police without knowing his son's identity.
If this is true, then this is a serious matter. He is a third-rank official, but his son is a thief. If the people above know about it, there are many people who are not on good terms with him, and they will definitely magnify the matter. He may even lose his official position.
No, this matter must be suppressed at all costs, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.
Fortunately, the other party is just an ordinary person. If he wants to control him, there is still a way. Thinking of this, Si Wei Zhong calmed himself down and suppressed the anger in his heart.
He looked at the rough man again, his eyes full of threats.
"You said my son went to your silver shop to steal something yesterday, so you beat him up like this. You should think it over carefully. If you frame others at will, you will be imprisoned, and your family will be implicated as well."
"I..." The threat in Si Wei Zhong's words was obvious. The rough man only looked rough, but he was not a fool. How could he not hear it?
But when he came just now, he said that Si Chengyi stole something, so he beat him seriously and then brought him to the county government office.
If he says now that Si Chengyi didn't steal anything, then he is disturbing the court, which is also considered as false accusation.
My mind was in a mess for a moment and I didn't know what to do. I swallowed hard, and the sweat on my head poured even more. My clothes were almost soaked.
"I am an official appointed by the imperial court. There is a Yuelai Restaurant on Zhuque Street. You know, I opened that restaurant. There are also four Yuelai Restaurants in the capital, and each of them is doing very well. Do you think my son can lack the things in your silver shop?"
"If you admit to the prefect that you were wrong, I can let go of today's matter. But if you falsely accuse my son, I will fight you to the end." Seeing that he was still hesitant, Si Wei Zhong threatened him again.
The rough man could no longer hold it in, and fell to his knees on the ground, banging his head several times at the prefect.
The sound was so loud that everyone present felt a headache. However, the rough man seemed to feel no pain and kowtowed several times in a row.
When he looked up again, blood was oozing from his forehead. "My Lord, I was confused for a moment and wrongly accused this young man. Please punish me, my Lord."
Si Wei Zhong had his back to the prefect, and his gloomy expression eased a little when he heard the rough man's words.
The prefect looked at Si Weizhong in the audience with an unpleasant expression. He actually threatened others openly in the court and did not take him, the prefect, seriously at all. "Tell me the truth, what's going on?"
The rough man had already been frightened by Si Wei Zhong, so he dared not say anything else: "I was indeed wrong, this young man is innocent."
"In that case, let me ask you, was this young man beaten by you?" The prefect slammed the gavel and shouted harshly.
"Yes, I hit him." The rough man was still kneeling on the ground, not daring to look at the prefect.
"Why did you hit him for no reason?"
"I drank too much last night, and Mr. Si happened to pass by my shop. I thought he came to my shop to steal things, so I beat him up." The rough man said tremblingly.
"Since he was drunk last night, why did you carry him to the county government office so early in the morning?" the prefect asked again.
"It's because my mind was not clear this morning, so I did such a foolish thing." The rough man was about to cry. He really regretted it a thousand times.
Last night Si Chengyi said he was the son of Right Vice-Minister of the Imperial Censorate. Why didn't you believe him at that time and just assumed he was a thief?
Not only that, he hit the man so hard that he almost killed him. Now he really wanted to slap himself twice for doing such a stupid thing.
What if his family was implicated because of this matter? It was obvious that this third-rank official in front of him was not someone he could easily mess with. He dared to threaten him like this in the court in front of the prefect. If he did not obey his wishes, he did not know how he and his family would be dealt with later.
He was the one who caused the disaster. If anyone is to be punished, he should be the only one to be punished. It was not easy for his parents to raise him and they also married him to a beautiful wife. This incident must not bring disaster to his family.
Si Wei Zhong's family has many shops. If the prefect knows about this, he must be rich. Besides, how much money can be stolen from a small silver shop?
Moreover, Si Wei Zhong is a third-rank official of the current dynasty, and his father is the previous Marquis of Yong'an. Judging from Si Wei Zhong's expression just now, he should not be aware of what his son has done.
And the most important point is that if this matter was really instigated by Si Wei Zhong, he could not let his own son do it. Therefore, it is also possible that, as the rough man said, he was drunk and mistook Si Chengyi for a thief.
Thinking of this, the prefect's expression softened a little: "Then why didn't you say it just now, and wait until Lord Si came to say that you made a mistake?"