Court (1)

As Huan Wei was taken away by the guards, the people followed them. They were on their way to the front of the town hall where Huan Fu was doing government business. The road was long. Huan Wei did not put up any resistance. They kept moving forward with the people following them. The closer they got to the place where the court was to be held, the more people joined the crowd.

"Did he stole it?" People started talking among themselves.

"They say he stole it."

"He couldn't have gotten it any other way. He couldn't afford it."

"Maybe he didn't steal it. That boy doesn't have the balls to do such a thing."

"Maybe he took advantage of the fire."

The conversations didn't even get on Huan Wei's nerves. This was not the place to convince people. If Huan Fu was not an idiot, he should have made the connection between the fire and the theft. Huan Wei would speak accordingly in court and exonerate himself. Everything was planned.

The walk ended at the town hall. A large circular space had opened in the center. People surrounded the circle. Huan Fu and his assistants were standing on the balcony of the building, directly opposite. Huan Fu was a well-built man. He was also a little old. His white beard reached to his chest. The alchemy merchant was with them. The fat man had an angry expression on his face. It worsened the moment Huan Wei was brought in. When the young man saw the alchemy merchant in this state, he felt a little uneasy. If he was not allowed to say what he had to say, he might not get away with it.

The guards brought Huan Wei to the center of the empty space and left him. Then they waited beside him. Meanwhile, Huan Wei pretended not to understand what was happening. Huan Fu, standing on the balcony, looked up at the young man.

"Huan Wei," he said. "You are accused of stealing at the marketplace yesterday. Some people saw you stealing pills from the alchemy stall. Do you have anything to say?"

Huan Wei took a deep breath. Now it was starting. He bowed his head respectfully. "Town leader Huan Fu, I didn't steal anything. Huan Hong gave me the pill. He bought it and gave it to me."

Huan Wei could see Huan Hong. He was in the crowd too. He had come to see the results first hand. He must have expected to be named after himself. Because he hadn't made any fuss.

Huan Fu spoke. "That's not what the eyewitnesses say. You approached the stall during the fire and took the pill."

The young man spoke, trying to remain calm. "Sir, everyone knows that someone like me is not brave enough to attempt such a thing. I am a man without high dreams, but Huan Hong came to my house the night before the fire and apologized to me. He had been bullying me for a long time. He said he wanted to mend our relationship and called me to the marketplace at noon. He said he would buy me a High Level Natural Energy pill. I had been in a bottleneck for a long time, so when the opportunity presented itself, I took it without thinking. I took the pill from Huan Hong at the market, but he didn't steal it. He bought it and gave it to me."

The town leader turned to face the crowd. "Huan Hong, come forward."

Huan Hong also stepped forward immediately. Huan Fu looked at him and asked. "Is this true?"

The youth with the silver hairpin immediately denied it. "No, town leader Huan Fu. If you ask the merchant himself, he will tell you that no such exchange took place."

"So you didn't go to Huan Wei's house?"

"I went there. I just thought I had wronged Huan Wei for a long time, so I went to make things right between us. I told him that I would no longer bully him and went home."

Huan Fu looked at Huan Wei again. His eyes traveled between the two young people several times. "I believe this theft is connected to the fire, so witnesses to both incidents will be questioned at the same time."

The guards brought a few more people over. Huan Wei knew some of them. They were the beggar, the door guard of the burned house, the gardener who had seen him and a woman he did not know.

"Where were you yesterday morning?" Huan Fu asked, looking at Huan Hong.

"I was at home, master Huan Fu. My parents saw me too."

The town leader looked at the witnesses one by one. Then he gave them permission to speak. The door guard was the first to speak. "Master Huan Fu, yesterday morning this beggar approached me. I waited, thinking he was going to ask me something, but he hit me hard and ran away. In a moment of anger, I chased after him. When I turned around, I saw traces of dragging and blood in the garden. At that moment, one of the windows behind me broke. After turning in that direction, I looked back in front of me and saw a man with a silver hairpin trying to jump over the wall. I immediately chased after him. I also informed the patrols, but we couldn't find him. Then a big fire started in the house."

Huan Fu turned to the beggar. "Why did you hit him?"

The beggar swallowed. He was obviously scared. He was the one with the emptiest back here. There was no one to support him. "I..." he began. "Master Huan Fu, I am not to blame. He forced me to do this. The man with the silver hairpin... He came to me and said he would give me five silver coins if I hit the guard and ran. If I didn't, he threatened to charge me with theft and put me in jail. That's why I had to do it. I didn't expect such a big scene. I just thought he would enjoy my beating. I did it for the food money."

"So there was a dialog between you two? Did you see his face?"

The beggar shook his head from side to side. "No, I didn't. He was looking away. He kept saying his name was Huan Wei. He repeated it several times until we were done talking."

Everyone turned to Huan Wei at once, but Huan Fu wanted to question the other witnesses. He called the gardener forward. When the man came forward, he bowed and began to speak.

"Master Huan Fu, I finished my work yesterday around noon. I was resting in the garden when I saw something fall among the flowers. I got up and looked to see what had fallen and found a stone. Just then a man with a silver hairpin jumped over the far wall and tried to escape. I thought it was a thief and shouted. Then the guards gathered at the house, but we couldn't find anyone."

Huan Hong's face changed every time the silver hairpin was mentioned. The number of people in the crowd who had a silver hairpin could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The fact that all the witnesses were talking about it made him uneasy. When the gardener stepped back, the woman stepped forward.

"Master Huan Fu, yesterday around noon I set a table for my daughter in the garden. When I returned, my daughter told me that someone with a silver hairpin had entered the garden, signaled her to be quiet and jumped over another wall."

Huan Fu signaled all the witnesses to stand back. Then he turned to the merchants. "How many of you sell silver hairpins?"

A few merchants came forward. The town leader looked them over. "Do you remember the ones who bought the silver hairpin?" After all, there were few who would invest their money in such a thing. The hairpin was nothing more than a showpiece.

The merchants nodded in agreement. At Huan Fu's command, all the silver hairpin holders in the crowd gathered. The whole town was already there. Huan Quon was watching from the sidelines. Huan Fu looked at the merchants. "Did anyone else buy these?" he asked. The merchants shook their heads from side to side.

"No, they didn't. Only these took it."

Huan Fu looked at the crowd, including Huan Hong. "We have reason to believe that this fire was set to distract people in the marketplace. So the person who set the fire is either the thief himself or his partner."

Huan Wei was watching with pleasure. It would be good to solve the fire issue before the theft. All the witnesses had testified against Huan Hong.

"Let's get to the cause of the fire." Huan Fu spoke. "The fire was started by a high quality liquor. The liquor is worth three silver coins."

Huan Wei felt ripped off. He had only received one silver coin. "Everyone is opportunistic," he thought.

Huan Fu continued. "According to my investigation, only Huan Hong bought alcohol the night before the fire. Do you have anything to say about that, Huan Hong?"

Huan Hong swallowed. He didn't want this to fall on him. There was a dead body. If it was his fault, he would be executed as punishment. "Master Huan Fu, I gave that drink to Huan Chao. Knowing his father's personality, I asked him not to disturb Huan Wei and I when we were talking. I gave him the drink to distract him."

At Huan Fu's command, Huan Chao was brought forward. The man's eyes were sunken now. "Is this true, Huan Chao?" the town leader asked, looking at him.

Huan Chao turned his head and looked at Huan Hong. The young man was anxiously awaiting his next sentence. This was the sentence that would exonerate him. Huan Wei, on the other hand, was getting scared. He had also guessed that it would involve his father, but this was one of the worst scenarios he could think of. Huan Chao hated him. Huan Wei would have to make people believe the opposite of what he said. His left palm was very itchy. He kept looking at his father while scratching the other with one hand.

Everyone waited to hear what Huan Chao had to say.