NOVPUB```
Two days later, the Licheng District People’s Court accepted the case of an elderly scammer’s "porcelain bumping" extortion with an impressively swift response.
"All rise. The court finds, with respect to the case of elder Ma Rong’s ’porcelain bumping’ extortion... the evidence proves valid. Therefore, the court’s verdict is as follows:
First, a 15-day detention punishment is given to Ma Rong and her son Du Haitao; however, considering Ms. Ma Rong’s advanced age, she is exempt from administrative detention;
Second, the defendant Ma Rong is ordered to compensate each of the three victims twelve thousand yuan, for a total of thirty-six thousand yuan, as compensation for emotional distress;
Third, a 3-day detention punishment is imposed on three witnesses who distorted facts and misled the public, along with a fine of 500 yuan each.
Court is adjourned!"
Upon the plaintiff’s bench, three little hands joined together. After listening to the judge’s verdict, they danced with excitement. As soon as the judge announced the adjournment, Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi couldn’t wait to shout, "Yay!!!"
"Brother Qing Fan, we won!"
"Victory!"
"Finally, the children’s innocence has been restored." On the observer’s benches, several adults chatted and laughed.
"Who would’ve thought someone could be so wicked? Luckily, Fanfan is smart; he actually recorded a video."
"I know, right? I was so worried at the police station, and this damn kid wouldn’t even tell me he had a video on his phone, nearly drove me mad!" Xu Aiguo complained with a laugh.
The adults erupted in laughter, "Hahaha, kids these days, there’s more and more we can’t understand. How does that saying go...?"
"Generation gap?"
"Exactly, exactly, we’ve got a generation gap!"
Xia Xiaoxiao, who had come along to watch, was quite happy at first, since she could finally clear the little troublemakers’ names. But the next scene, seeing Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi each pecking Xu Qingfan’s cheeks, wiped the smile off the young girl’s face, souring her mood instantly.
[Stupid Xu Qingfan, I wasn’t worried about you!]
"Hehe, let’s go, I’ll treat you to a big meal!" Xu Qingfan said, leading the two youngsters to join the adults, smiling.
"That’s right, you’re treating, after making us worry for no reason!" Wen Wanqing said with a chuckle as she ruffled Xu Qingfan’s hair.
"Sorry, mom!" Lin Wanning joyfully threw herself into her mother’s arms.
"What good is it apologizing to me? Hurry up and say sorry to your Uncle Xu; he was almost worried sick about you that day."
"Hahaha~"
The group left the courtroom in high spirits, a stark contrast to the elderly woman who was pushed out of the courtroom in her wheelchair, looking dejected.
"What should we go eat?"
"Xiao Fan is treating, let Xiao Fan decide!"
"Let’s go for seafood and beef hotpot then, it’s been so long since I’ve had it!" Xu Qingfan suggested.
"Great! Xiao Fan is so generous! Hahaha...."
The large group left Licheng District Court chattering and laughing, only to encounter the scene in front of them.
At the court’s entrance, a swarm of journalists with cameras surrounded the just-exited Ma Rong: "Old lady, I’m from xx News Station. Why did you falsely accuse the kind children who tried to help you up?"
"Grandma, what do you have to say about the judge’s punishment?"
"..."
In tears, Ma Rong faced the cameras: "It’s a huge injustice! It was those three kids who pushed me over. I’m a seventy-something-year-old woman; why would I lie to you!"
"But the video clearly shows that you fell on your own. Why do you insist that it was the children who pushed you over?"
"I don’t understand any of that, television lies. They all conspired against me, an old woman. You reporters have to help me prove my innocence~ If there is even half a false word in what I said, may my entire family perish!" Ma Rong raised three fingers and swore to the sky, oblivious to the green faces of her family members behind her pushing the wheelchair.
```
Many journalists couldn’t help but snicker secretly. When they saw the plaintiff children coming out of the court, the reporters who had clustered around Xu Shoulan instantly scattered.
"Hello, kids, I am from Hong Kong TV Station," one asked, thrusting a dozen microphones in front of Xu Qingfan’s face, and even Xia Xiaoxiao, who had come to watch the excitement, enjoyed the same treatment.
The adults tacitly took a step back, leaving the stage to the three little heroes of the event.
Xia Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and said, "It wasn’t me," then also stepped aside.
"I am very satisfied with the judgement of the court, and I firmly believe that justice will never be absent!" Xu Qingfan said earnestly in front of the cameras.
"Ningning too!"
"Will never be absent!"
Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi nodded and echoed in agreement.
"If you encounter a similar situation in the future, would you still help?" a reporter asked in follow-up.
Xu Qingfan really wanted to say whoever cares can go help, but he was on television now and couldn’t tarnish the image of Dalicheng by saying something like "Damned cowardly Yan Tower."
"If a similar situation arises again, I would still choose to help. I believe Ningning and Yiyi would too. I trust that such bad elderly people are the minority, and I believe even more that our society will become better and better, and the law won’t chill the hearts of those who are brave enough to do the right thing!" Xu Qingfan said these words very reluctantly, while the two little ones at his side nodded vigorously.
"Great!"
"What good kids!!"
A group of reporters, still in their innocent years, clapped heartily for Xu Qingfan.
After the interview, the three rejoined their group.
"Xiao Fan is really eloquent," Zhang Chunxue said with a smile, ruffling Xu Qingfan’s hair.
"It’s all thanks to Auntie," Xu Qingfan shamelessly hugged Zhang Chunxue’s thigh, "you should eat more later!"
"Silly child, the judgment would have been the same with or without your aunt. If you were wronged, you were wronged!"
"Not exactly, delayed justice is still justice, right? If Auntie hadn’t helped, the matter might have dragged on for months. Then that old lady would come to my mom’s shop every day to make trouble, which would be utterly annoying!"
"Xiao Fan makes a good point. We should thank Aunt Zhang," Lin Jing said with a laugh.
"It’s just a pity about those three university students. It won’t be easy for them to find jobs with a criminal record." Yao Jiping said with a sense of regret, recalling the judgment.
"Let them learn a lesson for letting their hot blood get the best of them, acting like those angry youths from back in the day!" Xu Aiguo said dismissively.
"Let’s not talk about those irrelevant people anymore. It’s almost noon; let’s go have lunch."
"Let’s eat beef, Ningning is hungry!"
"Pfft~"
"Brother Qing Fan, what’s with you?"
"Nothing..."
...
Two days later, an article titled "Septuagenarian Lady Falls Over, Three Kind Kids Try to Help But Get Extorted?" once again swept across major websites.
The article, written in a lively and vivid style using the rhetorical methods of the Spring and Autumn Annals, displayed the old woman’s wickedness and the passersby’s foolishness to the fullest.
At the bottom of the article, the court’s ruling, along with the original recordings and videos, were posted. The three university students who had just come out of detention thought they were about to see the light of day again, but were instead met with an even more terrifying nightmare.
Under pressure from public opinion, the university expelled the three students who had falsely accused and slandered.
The enthusiastic young man named Fan Bing, who not only lost his student status but also his faithful girlfriend, along with the other two former students who had paid the medical bills, failed to get their money back.
With that, the matter came to an end, and Xu Qingfan’s online alias "Hong Kong’s Most Passionate" gained fame from this single incident.
