Seeing Li Jiange being brought into court so quickly, with his hands tied behind his back and his clothes covered in mud, he looked dejected. Zhuge Cheng suddenly became nervous because he had just met with Li Jiange at Wu Guanglu's side at noon, and they had agreed together on how to settle Wang Liangdi's case. If these Li Jiange were to be recruited, how could he put his old face there, not to mention that the emperor was still watching in the crowd in the hall incognito!
In desperation, Zhuge Cheng rolled his eyes and came up with a plan. He strode up to Li Jiange and angrily scolded Wei Yuxin and Zhang Feili who were escorting him behind him: "It's really unreasonable. The emperor sent an old minister here." It has been passed down orally that torture is not allowed to be used to extract confessions, but you dare to violate the holy will and privately torture the imperial officials. It is simply audacious. Do you really think that I can't punish you?"
Hearing this, Zhang Fei's legs softened, and he knelt down at Zhuge Cheng's feet with a plop, kowtowing repeatedly: "Old man, please calm down. I am wronged. I dare you to attack Li Captou!"
"Well, it's fine if you don't do anything. You should get up first." Zhuge Cheng nodded and his expression softened a little. Then his face turned cold again, and he stared at Wei Yuxin and said coldly: "So, whoever attacked Li Captou Is it you?"
Wei Yu straightened up and was about to answer when Chen Xiaomu came over and said seriously: "Master Zhuge, I think you are the one who violated the holy will, right?"
"Haha" Zhuge Cheng asked with a sneer: "How can Chen Tongpan say this?"
Chen Xiaomu raised his head and made a recalling gesture, and said: "I remember that the emperor's oral instructions passed down by Lord Zhuge seemed to be that no criminal law should be used in court to force confessions."
Zhuge Cheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Exactly."
Chen Xiaomu then asked: "Master Zhuge, does the outside of the court not count as the inside of the court?"
Zhuge Cheng knew that he was trapped and couldn't help but said angrily: "Chen Tongpan, you are the general magistrate of Xinjing Prefecture and have the important responsibility of maintaining the security of Xinjing City. Can you beat people at will in other places besides the court? What's more, Li The head arrester is still an official of the imperial court, and the person who beats the head arrester Li should be punished with an additional penalty!"
When Chen Xiaomu heard this, he immediately lowered his face and said in a cold voice: "Master Zhuge, what you said is wrong. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that princes who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people. Although we call ourselves the parents and officials of the common people, in fact, we are all supported by the common people with the help of the people. They are our real food and clothing parents. Therefore, even if the imperial officials break the law here, it is no different from the common people breaking the law!"
"Okay, Master Tongpan said well!" As soon as Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, Hou Qi took the lead in shouting and applauding in the crowd. Instantly, the applause in the crowd was like a storm coming, crackling like a storm!
Zhuge Cheng was so angry that he was so angry that his face suddenly became frighteningly gloomy. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Chen Tongxuan, what crime did Captou Li commit, and you just arrested him? It couldn't be just because he went to the casino. Wanna bet some money?"
"Master Zhuge, are you avoiding the important and taking the easy?" Chen Xiaomu said without any sign of weakness: "Yuan Youfu just confessed that he took other people's money to protect Wang Liangdi from the pain of flesh and blood in the court! He should have committed a crime. crime!"
Thinking that Su Xingran was still watching in the crowd, Zhuge Cheng did not dare to be too stiff and could only say bitterly: "Okay, Chen Tongxuan, as long as you can abide by the emperor's oral instructions and not use criminal law in the court, you can continue to try this case." case." After saying that, he turned to Li Jiange and hinted: "Captain Li, you must confess truthfully, but you must not talk nonsense, I will stay here to supervise the trial."
Li Jiange immediately understood Zhuge Cheng's intention, bowed and said: "Don't worry, Master Zhuge, I will definitely have something to say, and I will never dare to talk nonsense!"
At this time, Chen Xiaomu took advantage of Zhuge Cheng's words and hurriedly walked back in three or two steps and sat down in his own main hall. Then he picked up the gavel tree on the public case, slapped it hard, and shouted: "Li Jiange, do you know your guilt? "
Li Jiange couldn't help but trembled all over, and immediately replied: "Please make it clear, Lord Tongjian, that I don't know what crime I have committed!"
Chen Xiaomu didn't beat around the bush with him and asked him directly: "Where did you give each of Yuan Youfu and Xie Jincai two hundred taels of silver notes from?"
Li Jiange said dullly: "Sir, I won that at the Wu Family Casino! I won a dragon, tiger and leopard at that time. Because I won too much, I gave them two hundred taels of wedding money each!"
"Oh!" Chen Xiaomu said in surprise: "Then I'm surprised, how much money can you win in one hand, and you can actually give them two hundred taels of silver each!"
"This..." Li Jiange hesitated and said hesitantly: "About, probably, five or five thousand taels."
Chen Xiaomu pretended not to hear clearly and shouted loudly: "How much money can you win if you win a dragon, tiger and leopard? Please speak louder, I didn't hear clearly."
Li Jiange had no choice but to raise his voice and replied: "Sir, I won a dragon, tiger and leopard, and won a total of five thousand taels of silver."
As soon as Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, before Chen Xiaomu could speak again, the crowd in the hall buzzed and started chattering. This one said, "Oh my goodness! I won five thousand taels of silver in one hand. I am so I have never seen fifty taels of silver in my life. The one who said, "Hey, you old boy, just be satisfied. Let alone fifty taels of fucking silver, I have never seen even ten taels of silver ingots." At this time, a red-faced man dressed as a farmer next to him couldn't help but angrily said: "These officials are really rich! They can easily give out hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver. We, the common people, have been working hard all our lives. , I’m afraid I won’t be able to scrape together a few taels of silver even when I’m old!”
The words of the red-faced man immediately resonated with the people around him, and they all said: "That's right, that's right, Qianli becoming an official is just to make a fortune! Don't look at what these officials are saying. It sounds good, but in fact there is a master Qingtian who really makes decisions for us little people!"
Hearing the noise from the crowd in the hall getting louder and louder, and the crowd becoming more and more angry, Chen Xiaomu picked up the gavel wood and banged it, shouting: "Quiet, quiet!"
Everyone in the hall became much quieter at his shout. Chen Xiaomu then asked Li Jiange: "Captain Li, I don't believe you can win so much silver easily. I'm afraid Wu Guanglu gave you these five thousand taels of silver." Bar?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jiange immediately shouted: "What an injustice! Sir, when the official won the five thousand taels of silver, there were hundreds of people there to see it. If you don't believe it, just send someone to the casino to investigate. If the official There is a lie, just let the adults handle it!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled and did not comment, but changed the subject and asked Li Jiange: "Captain Li, just now Yuan Youfu confessed that it was because you lost nearly a hundred taels of silver at Wu's Casino yesterday, and today I specially used my officer to arrest Wu Guanglu's concubine. How should you defend Wang Liangdi's affairs by trying to bring trouble to him?"
"This..." Li Jiange hesitated for a moment, and suddenly thought that when he went to see Wu Guanglu and Zhuge Cheng today, Yuan Xie did not know about it. Afterwards, he did not mention this matter to Yuan Xie, but only to them. People said that he hit the jackpot in the casino today and won more than 2,000 taels of silver from the Wu Family Casino. He gave each of them 200 taels as a happy gift, and at the same time told the two of them that he had won so much silver from the Wu Family Casino. , feeling a little sorry, asked them to try their best to protect Wang Liangdi from the physical pain when they brought her to the court.
Thinking of this, Li Jiange's mind became hot and he actually replied: "Reporting to your lord, I was angry at the time and wanted to use this matter to get at Wu Guanglu, but later because I won thousands of taels of silver in his casino, Not only did he lose his temper on the spot, but because he felt so sorry, he even asked Yuan Youfu and Xie Jincai to secretly protect Wang Liangdi in the courtroom on the way back!"
"So, you didn't see Wu Guanglu at Wu's Casino?" Chen Xiaomu asked with a frown.
Li Jiange immediately shook his head and said: "No, although there was a servant in the casino who was watching the scene and promised me to send someone to find Wu Guanglu in the Taiwei's Mansion, I don't know how. I stayed in the casino for nearly an hour and still didn't see him. After Wu Guanglu came back from the Taiwei's mansion, he saw that it was getting late, and he had won a large sum of money, so he didn't feel like getting angry with them anymore. He went downstairs and called Yuan Youfu and Xie Jincai, and went to Wu Guanglu together. The government has brought Wang Liangdi back!"
"Yes." Chen Xiaomu nodded, turned to Wu Guanglu and said, "Executive member Wu, did you hear what Capt. Li said? Have you seen him this morning?"
When Wu Guanglu heard this, he couldn't help but sneer in his heart, and said to himself: "You stupid young man, even a layman like me who has never been an official knows that people in the same case cannot be interrogated together, but you are better off, this is not to let us sit in the same room. Are you colluding with me to confess? I met Li Jiange this morning, but can I tell you?"
At that moment, Wu Guanglu rolled his eyes and said coldly: "I stayed in Taiwei's Mansion all morning, and I didn't see anyone from the casino looking for me. How did I know that Capt. Li from the government office came to the casino to look for me?"
Touching the soft nail of Wu Guanglu, Chen Xiaomu had to bow his hands to Zhuge Chenggong again and said with a smile: "Master Zhuge, I would like to ask you to confirm whether Wu Guanglu went to your Taiwei's house this morning and is still with you. Did you stay in the Taiwei's mansion all morning?"
Zhuge Cheng flicked his sleeves and said displeasedly: "I went to the court at dawn this morning. If you don't know whether Wu Guanglu has been to the Taiwei's Mansion, you'd better ask my wife about this!"
Chen Xiaomu had no choice but to ask the girl with a smile: "Madam, did your uncle go to the Taiwei Mansion this morning and stay there all morning?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, my uncle came to discuss with me this morning about my grandmother's seventieth birthday. It was also because of this that he stayed in the Taiwei's mansion all morning."
"Oh! That's good." Chen Xiaomu seemed to be relieved and leaned back on the chair, lost in thought.
At this time, the young girl in the hall couldn't help but whisper to the middle-aged lady beside her: "Mother, why is this guy so confused? Putting all the people in this case together for interrogation, isn't it an obvious way for them to interact with each other?" Conspiracy? I don’t think he can handle this case clearly!"
The middle-aged lady smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, he was not very smart just now, and there will definitely be a reversal next!"
Sure enough, as soon as the middle-aged lady in the hall finished whispering in her daughter's ear, Chen Xiaomu suddenly sat up from the official chair and shouted to everyone in the hall: "Is there anyone in the hall who knows how to bet on dragons, tigers, and leopards? Come out and tell me." I will tell you how to gamble, and I will reward you with one tael of silver."
You can earn one tael of silver just by talking about the gambling methods of Long Hu Bao, which made the gamblers in the crowd suddenly excited, "Me, me, me!" As the gamblers in the crowd volunteered to respond, , a dozen gamblers were squeezed out of the crowd at once, and stood side by side in the courtroom.
Chen Xiaomu glanced at the dozen gamblers, pointed at a little man with unkempt hair, tattered clothes, and sniffing his nose, and said jokingly: "It's just you, I think you'll lose." This way, I must have a lot of casino experience, you name it!”
The little man was flattered and quickly took a few steps forward, about to kneel down and kowtow. Chen Xiaomu waved his hand: "Without all the red tape, let's just say it directly. According to Long Hu Bao's gambling method, if you win five thousand taels of silver at a time, how much gambling money do you need to bet?"
The little man didn't even hiccup after hearing this, and blurted out: "Back to Mr. Qingtian, according to the gambling method of Longhubao, one can win 5,000 taels of silver. If you pay ten for one, then the gambler will at least You also have to bet five hundred taels of silver."
"Yes, I understand." Chen Xiaomu nodded, then he looked at Wei Yushang and smiled: "Yushang, lend me a tael of silver first, and I will pay you back in a few days."
Wei Yushang rolled her eyes at him, took out a broken piece of silver from her body and threw it to the little man.
