"You're talking nonsense!"
Wu Dehai panicked as soon as he heard this. Seeing the suspicious look in Magistrate Zhou Kai's eyes, he hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "My lord, please see clearly. Everyone in Zigui County knows that my son Wu ShiQing is kind-hearted. He has even been harmed by demons and is now gravely ill in bed. How could he do such a thing?"
"This man is clearly slandering me—slandering me!"
"You're the one talking nonsense!"
The lecturer called Yuan Feng had also thrown caution to the wind. He shouted angrily, then knelt and clasped his hands toward the officials' bench. "My lord, please see clearly. Because my elder brother was addicted to gambling, he borrowed money from the ChaoShan Society and was pressured day after day by a gang of ruffians who came to his door. He nearly hanged himself."
"I didn't want the family disgrace exposed, but I couldn't raise the money to repay the debt, so I went to Wu Dehai to plead for help. Who could have known that he would use this to threaten me and make me monitor the academy's movements..."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the academy erupted in an uproar.
"Yuan Feng, may you die a horrible death!"
"You're unworthy to call yourself a disciple of the Sage!"
"Wu Dehai, you really are a sinister scoundrel!"
For a time, the academy's people cursed furiously.
Smack!
Magistrate Zhou Kai slammed the courtroom block and said grimly, "Stop making a racket. Continue."
He was seething inside as well, wishing he could drag this useless bunch outside and beat them with rods.
However, he had keenly sensed that something was amiss.
The lecturer called Yuan Feng knew that he could not escape this calamity. No longer concealing anything, he