Sure enough, the next second, Yangyang stopped shouting about the bad guy and switched to saying how fun it was, even giggling with delight.
"Did you go to pull your brother back?"
Lele simply nodded, his little face stern as he emerged from behind the curtain.
He walked straight up to his brother and yanked the jubilantly kicking Yangyang to one side, "Stupid or what!"
Yangyangās eyes widened at his brotherās words, unhappy at the accusation.
How could he be stupid for hitting a bad guy?
"Let someone else do it! Youāll get tired if you do it yourself." Lele gave him a look, then pointed to one of the bailiffs, "You, hit him!" and gestured to Old Master Zhou on the ground.
Hearing Leleās childish language, Yang Chuxia instantly covered her face. She had wanted him to bring Yangyang back, so why was he joining in the mischief? No matter how sensible children are, their age should never be underestimated. A love for play and mischief comes with that unreliable age.
However, Ye Ziāan felt quite reassured by Leleās strategy, this little guy really knew how to delegate so he wouldnāt tire himself out.
The case was already settled by then, so a little delay didnāt matter. Ziāan didnāt rush to close the session but simply crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair to see what the two little ones would get up to.
Seeing that the bailiff didnāt move, Lele commanded again, "You, hit him!"
The bailiff looked at Ziāan upon hearing this. Seeing Ziāan nod, the bailiff, with a silent groan, rubbed his forehead and stepped forward, "How should this subordinate punish him, young master?" The bailiff was internally crumbling, pondering how much the child understood and now regretting askingāwould he even know?
But he was overthinking it. He heard Lele demand, "A spanking board!" After a pause, recalling how many times his father had hit the other person, he added, "Twenty!"
"What?" The bailiffās mouth dropped open. Damn, his insides were weeping. Did the kid know what twenty heavy spanks meant? For Old Master Zhou, already hollowed out by indulgence, twenty spanks might very well cost him a portion of his life.
"Bad people deserve punishment!" Seeing the bailiff hesitate, Lele glared at him, and his voice got louder. His small face was fierce and authoritative.
The bailiff, lost for words, could only go and drag Old Master Zhou. At that moment, with his mouth gagged, Old Master Zhou glared venomously at the two kids. These two little brats dared to order a beating for him?
His glare was so intense it could devour. Suddenly, Yangyang stepped in front of his brother, glaring back with wide eyes at Old Master Zhou, as if competing to see who could glare the fiercest.
Ziāan, watching from above, found his two sons quite amusing. Lele was clever, teaching Yangyang how to act with his greater knowledge. And Yangyang was bolder, ready to defend his brother. Both sons were commendable.
After Old Master Zhou had been spanked, Ziāan thought it was about time to wrap things up and announced the end of the court session.
However, those leaving the courtroom continued discussing the event, talking about the two little ones. Many were saying, "The county magistrateās two young sons are so adorable, very smart and all," and so on and so forth.
"Xiaxia, everyoneās gone, you can come out now!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia peeked out to check and, seeing no one else around, chuckled and stepped out.
"You two little imps!" She tapped her sons on their heads and then said to Lele, "I sent you to call your brother, and you ended up joining in the fun."
"Mom, it was so much fun."
"How did all three of you end up behind there?"
Yang Chuxia just chuckled, "Iāve never seen you adjudicate before, so I wanted to have a look. Who knew these two rascals would insist on following."