Not only were the three men unable to accept the death sentence, even the tavern patrons who hated them intensely were stunned. To an ordinary person, even if men like these bought and sold meat from animals that had died of disease, they generally would not be sentenced to death when no one had died. At most, they would receive twenty years of exile.
Since Ning'an County had become a pilot site for the Hall of Punishment, the hall's officials stationed there took turns observing Fang Yun's trials.
An elderly Hanlin Academician from the Hall of Punishment squeezed through the crowd, approached the entrance to the main courtroom, and stopped outside the threshold. He cupped his hands and said, "Void Sage Fang, might this sentence be too severe?"
Fang Yun's expression remained unchanged as he looked at the Hanlin Academician. "There are two prerequisites for a death sentence. First, it can only be imposed on criminals whose offenses are exceptionally grave. Second, it only applies to specific charges. Offenses such as theft and brawling do not carry the death penalty. Do you disagree, Hanlin Academician Lü?"
"Indeed, those are the two prerequisites for a death sentence," Hanlin Academician Lü said. He was not obstructing Fang Yun. On the contrary, he had stepped forward to help him. If Fang Yun could not provide sufficiently sound reasons, he could immediately revise the sentence without any negative consequences. If he had sufficient grounds, he could persuade more people and help everyone better understand the ruling.
Fang Yun said, "Then let us first discuss the first prerequisite. Had I arrived even half a quarter-hour later today, those three people would have died, and several others might have become so gravely ill that a complete cure would have been impossible. Moreover, we do not know