Ji Zhibai looked at Shopkeeper Gong, then at Fang Yun, and closed his mouth without saying a word.
Afterward, the Gong Family's neighbors came forward one after another to testify, recounting what they had heard.
Fang Yun had been quite calm at first, but as time passed, dark clouds gathered over his face. His authority loomed like a mountain, as though he were a volcano ready to erupt at any moment. Thick storm clouds seemed to press down inside and outside the courtroom, frightening many people so badly that they hardly dared breathe.
Once the neighbors had finished, Fang Yun said, "Have Gong Liu-shi's relatives and friends, along with Gong Wu's son's classmates and friends, come into court to testify!"
Ji Zhibai hurriedly said, "Sage Kong taught concealment among kin. Relatives must not be summoned to testify."
Concealment among kin was an important doctrine of the Confucian School. Its original meaning was that relatives were justified in concealing one another's crimes rather than reporting them. By extension, reporting them instead became a crime. Children could not report their parents, nor could servants bring charges against their masters; otherwise, they themselves would be committing an offense.
Fang Yun said coldly, "It is already settled that concealment among kin does not apply to treason or crimes of the rebel species. In this case, Shopkeeper Gong treated his wife as an enemy and had already cast aside familial affection. Who, then, may conceal his crimes?"
Ji Zhibai immediately said, "Concealment among kin embodies great benevolence and righteousness. A single word from Sage Kong establishes ritual propriety. It cannot be abolished!"
Fang Yun sneered. "Absurd! What is ritual propriety? At the highest level, it encompasses the order of the Sacred Academy and the state, such as sacrificial rites and the rites governing sovereign and