latelenovela Chapter 140: Exemption from Punishment Part 1
Chapter 140: Exemption from Punishment Part 1
When the prefect met the hunter's gaze, he felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.
"Ahem, well, this government is going to designate a place to exile the prisoners. Unrelated personnel should leave first." He reminded again.
Although Xiao Wei was no longer blocking Shen Yitian, he still refused to leave.
"Sir, please let me take the killing stick on behalf of my young lady before you leave."
It's really arrogant to openly say that he is willing to take the beating on behalf of others.
Looking at these ignorant people, the prefect was so angry that he almost laughed.
"You are the one who took the beating on behalf of the criminal. Are you her parent, child, or her husband?" He looked at Xiao Wei and asked.
Xiao Wei paused, gritted his teeth and said nothing.
The prefect continued, "Throughout history, there have been cases of people being punished on behalf of others, but these were usually parents who felt sorry for their children, or children who were filial to their parents. Alternatively, it was a case of a husband and wife sympathizing with each other and taking the punishment in their place. However, it's unacceptable for someone like you to take the punishment for your master."
Xiao Wei wanted to object, but the prefect said, "If this sets a precedent, everyone who is about to be punished will have to buy a servant to take their place. How can this be tolerated?"
This seems to make sense.
"Okay, you go out first." Shen Yitian finally breathed a sigh of relief and instructed Xiao Wei.
From the very beginning, she had never thought of letting Xiao Wei take the beating for her.
But this kid rushed in and pinned her and Shengsheng down.
Xiao Wei lowered his head when he heard that.
Everyone thought he would listen to Shen Yitian and wait outside.
But he turned around, knelt down and kowtowed to Shen Yitian: "Godmother!"
Shen Yitian: ???
Everyone:? ? ?
There was a deathly silence in the hall of the government office. Whether it was the prefect or Ye the Hunter, whether it was the prisoners or the officials, they all looked at Xiao Wei in shock.
"You're crazy." Shen Yitian's eyes were wide open, and she was obviously scared.
"If I recognize you as my godmother, I can take the punishment on your behalf." Xiao Wei said seriously.
Shen Yitian touched the non-existent sweat on her forehead, and for a moment she didn't know how to evaluate Xiao Wei.
You may say he is stupid, but he still knows that if he recognizes a godmother, he can suffer for her.
You say he is smart, but he can be so stubborn.
After Xiao Wei said this, the prefect simply refused.
"I didn't say anything, but they all wanted to beat them with sticks." He felt a little helpless.
"What?" All the prisoners started to speak.
"You arrived early this time and didn't waste time on the road. This government can spare some people from being beaten with sticks." The prefect stroked his beard and coughed dryly.
Yuan Dutou stared at him in astonishment.
This person just said that they were delayed on the road, but in fact they could have arrived earlier.
But he also knew that this was an excuse made by the prefect.
The purpose was to avoid Shen Yitian’s killing stick.
At this point, he was certain that the Shen family had already taken care of everything here.
He also knew that under such circumstances, the prefect could not forcibly protect Shen Yitian.
If we want to protect them, we can only select some people who don't cause trouble from this group, or those who are old or young and can be spared from the beating.
Song Yuerong looked at Shen Yitian in astonishment. This time, Shen Yitian still escaped.
What on earth should I do to make this woman suffer a loss?
The crowd didn't know the relationship between the two, and they cheered when they heard the prefect say that the beating would be spared.
God knows how scared they were just now.
But after the cheers, the person who had just taken the money from Chen Dutou refused to do it.
Since they didn't even use the beatings to intimidate them, why did the captain still want their money? Wasn't that a lie?
Before they could ask Chen Dutou for the money he had just given out, the prefect said, "But not everyone can be exempted from punishment."
Everyone stopped talking about asking Chen Dutou to return the money and looked at the prefect again.
"Of course, not everyone can be exempted from this sentence. Yuan Dutou has recorded everything you've done along the way. Today, I will only exempt those who have never caused trouble, as well as those over sixty and children under eight."
The prefect said this clearly, and then he felt that what he said was very reasonable.
"For those exempted from punishment, Captain Yuan can draw up a list for this government office and have the advisor come out to announce it later."
After saying that, the prefect stood up, glanced at Yuan Dutou, and then went back to the backyard.
Yuan Dutou had no choice but to follow him in. Things had come to this point, and he had to confirm that Shen Yitian had indeed been pardoned before leaving to avoid any further trouble.
At this time, Chen Dutou walked up to Xiao Wei and Sheng Sheng and asked them to wait outside the government office first.
Xiao Wei was still worried and looked back several times every few steps. He only left the government office after Shen Yitian urged him to do so.
The same went for Ye Liehu, even Shen Yitian saw murderous intent in his eyes.
It's strange, how could there be such a cold look in a hunter's eyes? This is not when he is hunting and facing prey.
She didn't have to be curious for long, because the lawyer came out with the list of exempted persons prepared by Yuan Dutou and the prefect and read it out.
The person ranked first was not Shen Yitian, but the old lady from the second branch of the Song family.
Next came a group of children and two elderly people who were also over sixty years old.
Fuguier, Song Xiaer and other children were all under eight years old, so they were naturally exempted from punishment.
Shen Yitian's name was among these people's names. In addition to her, two women who had little presence along the way were also exempted from punishment.
In this way, there are only about twenty people left who are actually going to be beaten.
Song Yuerong, Song's mother and others were naturally inside, and Song Wanshi and Yue Niang were unable to escape either.
At this point, the matter was already settled. Shen Yitian did not try to plead for the two men to be exempted from punishment. She remembered that both of them had been given silver, so they would not be beaten too severely later.
Song Yuerong and others were beaten one after another. After Yuan Dutou confirmed that Shen Yitian was exempted from punishment, he left.
The next step is to arrange a destination for this group of exiled prisoners.
The prefect casually pointed to a small fishing village in Nanwu and asked them to go there to fish for a living.
Unlike fishermen, prisoners were required to hand over a certain amount of fish to the government every day, and they were allowed to keep the rest for themselves.
Usually exiled prisoners would point in that direction, so it was also very chaotic there.
The fishing village was not close to here, and it would take two or three days to walk there. Now it was almost dark, so the prefect ordered Chen Dutou and others to escort the prisoner to the post station to rest for a night.
It's no different from before. If you have money, you can live in a dormitory, but if you don't have money, you have to sleep outside.
Grandma Li had been waiting anxiously in the post station for a long time. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Shen Yitian and the others coming.
"Thank God, young lady has finally arrived safely in this place of exile. I will set off tomorrow to buy a house there. Once you get there, young lady will rest assured and take care of herself. I will arrange the rest."
In Grandma Li's mind, Shen Yitian can't do anything, so she has to buy a few fishermen who can fish to help Shen Yitian complete the tasks assigned by the government.