At the witness stand.

"Lele, don't worry anymore. Everything will definitely be okay..." Wan Feizhang, seated in his wheelchair, looked at Wen Le's deeply furrowed brow and couldn't help but comfort her, completely unaware that danger was slowly closing in.

"Look behind you," Wen Le said, just as she happened to see Wan Zhongyuan, furious and carrying a cane, approaching rapidly.

Wan Feizhang was startled for a moment. He could only feel a murderous aura getting closer. A chill surged in his heart. He sharply turned his head and then... he was met with the painful blow of the cane.

Wan Zhongyuan, overwhelmed with anger, no longer cared about the setting. He directly raised the cane and started beating Wan Feizhang with it. Screams of agony immediately echoed through the courtroom.

"Dad, I'm your biological son..."

"Biological son? Would a biological son stand against me in court? I'd rather not have a son like you!"

The surrounding bailiffs were taken aback by the sight and hurried to intervene. They managed to stop the furious Wan Zhongyuan before Wan Feizhang could be beaten to death.

Actually, such incidents were not uncommon in courtrooms; they had grown used to them. After all, if a case made it to court, it usually meant the parties involved were sworn enemies. Fights and brawls occurred from time to time in courtrooms. But a father beating his son, this kind of internal family strife, was something they had never witnessed before.

"Calm down!"

"Mr. Wan, you must control yourself!"

"This is a courtroom! Save it for when you're home..." Qi ZhaoYu, seeing the situation, also hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him.

Fortunately, the two involved were father and son. Otherwise, based solely on that scene, Wan Zhongyuan would have faced criminal detention at the very least. Publicly committing assault in a courtroom creates a very negative impression. However, considering the father-son relationship, the law usually turned a blind eye. A father hitting his son was something that happened in many households. As long as it didn't result in significant injuries, the court wouldn't proactively pursue criminal charges.

Those few strikes with the cane... at most, they only caused superficial injuries.

Wan Zhongyuan took a deep breath and glared fiercely at Wan Feizhang, feeling much better already.

Indeed. Educating a son still requires a good beating stick, after all. He had simply been too lenient with his son before. If he had beaten him a few more times, Wan Feizhang wouldn't dare to be standing in the defendant's position now.

"Ahem, Vice President, could you... return my cane to me?" At this moment, Zhang Qingyuan spoke up from the public gallery, pointing to the cane in Wan Zhongyuan's hand.

He had been sitting in the public gallery with his cane placed beside him. Then, in the blink of an eye... it had been swiped.

Upon hearing this, Wan Zhongyuan's old face flushed with embarrassment. He quickly returned the cane to Zhang Qingyuan.

"Vice President, if I may speak frankly, using a cane isn't very effective. The surface area is too large, so the blows are too soft and don't inflict much pain."

"That's right! Back in our day, when disciplining a son, people used willow branches or thorny sticks. Hardly anyone used a thick cane."

"The best way is to hang the person up and gag them before the beating, to prevent their screams from disturbing the neighbors."

"Look, he's already in a wheelchair, the poor fellow. Maybe you should stop hitting him and just let him off easy..."

"..."

In the public gallery, the other elderly people were very animated, eager to be involved, and chimed in with their advice, trying to mediate. Some even shared personal anecdotes, describing how the older generation disciplined their sons.

Qin Mu, listening from the side, felt his face darken with exasperation. These old men... They truly relished the drama and didn't mind if things got out of hand.

What surprised him even more was that Wan Zhongyuan had actually taken a seat in the public gallery and was listening attentively. He seemed to take great interest in their "parenting wisdom."

Qin Mu: ...

「Half an hour later.」

Zhou Quanmin, accompanied by the members of the collegial panel, re-entered the courtroom.

The bailiff announced in a firm voice, "All rise!"

Zhou Quanmin struck the gavel, proclaiming the judgment for the case.

"After hours of hearings and the collegial panel's deliberations and vote, we have a full and detailed understanding of the facts and proceedings of this bride price dispute."

"The incident originated from the marriage between Wan Feizhang and Wen Le. The bride's mother, Yan Yeyun, repeatedly demanded a bride price under the guise of marriage. Initially, it was 660,000 yuan, but after several increases, it reached the shocking sum of 1,080,000 yuan."

"This court believes that the custom of men marrying and women being given away, along with the provision of bride prices and dowries, is a long-standing folk tradition in our country that should be respected. However, excessive bride price amounts contradict the original intent of this custom, and exorbitant bride prices are particularly unacceptable."

"According to the 'Marriage Law': arranged marriages are forbidden, and using marriage to extort property is strictly prohibited. Yan Yeyun's repeated demands for a high bride price under the guise of marriage were illegal and constituted unjust enrichment."

"Given that Wan Feizhang and Wen Le have obtained their marriage certificate and their marital relationship is sound, they do not meet the conditions for the return of the bride price. However, the 1,080,000 yuan paid by Wan Zhongyuan included portions of his personal property and should not be considered entirely as the bride price."

"After a collective vote by the collegial panel, the following judgment is hereby made: Taking into account the local customs of Jin City, an appropriate bride price would be around 100,000 yuan. Yan Yeyun is ordered to return the unjustly acquired 980,000 yuan of the bride price within three days. Furthermore, she is to compensate the plaintiff for emotional distress, lost wages, and other related costs, totaling 16,000 yuan."

"If any party disagrees with this judgment, they may, within fifteen days from the date of this pronouncement, request a retrial from this court or apply to a higher court for an appeal."

The solemn voice of the judgment reverberated through the courtroom. The various parties present all wore different expressions.

In the plaintiff's seating area, Wan Zhongyuan was still trembling with anger, gritting his teeth and cursing, "Unfilial son! Such an unfilial son!"

If only Wan Feizhang had stood by his side, declared that their relationship had broken down, and admitted there had been deception...

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