When shopkeeper Yang heard this, he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Master Qingtian, please calm down. I was just obsessed for a moment and did such a despicable thing. Now I will pay the farmer the money for the two cages of ducks!"
Shopkeeper Yang has been watching in the court for a long time, and he has learned something, that is, the new Mr. Qingtian likes money very much. If you are reluctant to give up money and fight with him, in the end, not only will you lose money, but you will also lose your skin. He still had to suffer, so he quickly confessed and paid for the crime.
Chen Xiaomu couldn't help but laugh and said: "I think you are not obsessed with ghosts, but obsessed with money, right?"
Shopkeeper Yang did not dare to say anything, but kept kowtowing to plead guilty. Chen Xiaomu waved his hand: "Forget it, don't kowtow all the time. If you kowtow to me at such an old age, won't it shorten my life?"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Yang immediately didn't dare to kowtow anymore and knelt there in a daze, not knowing what to do.
Chen Xiaomu walked back to the back of the case, sat on the official hat chair, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and then said slowly: "Well, I think you have a better attitude of pleading guilty, so I won't slap you! Today, in addition to sentencing you to compensate farmers, In addition to the ten taels of silver for damage to your reputation, you will also be fined another one hundred taels of silver for your behavior that harms public morals. Do you accept it?"
Shopkeeper Yang thought to himself: "Do I dare to dissent? If you dissatisfy, you will have to pay for it and get more money. Look at the consequences of getting two fools to fight!" At that moment, he nodded repeatedly and replied repeatedly: " Take it, take it, Master Qingtian’s judgment is good, I’m so convinced!”
Chen Xiaomu was so amused by Shopkeeper Yang's submissive and funny look that he couldn't help but laugh: "Shopkeeper Yang, you are more sensible! Okay, let's just settle your case like this!" After that, Chen Xiaomu told Ye Duzheng to write the case closure. He wrote the document and asked him and the farmer to come together to seal the case.
After handling the duck trial case, the four old men who were captured by Zhang Feijun from the duck restaurant in front of the rebels were brought to the public case again and knelt down. Chen Xiaomu looked at the four old men in front of him who were shaking like chaff. , smiled and said: "Tell me about it? Who is the leader among the four of you? And how are you planning to rebel?"
As soon as Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, except for one old man who was silent among the four old men, the other three old men immediately said to each other: "Master, this has nothing to do with me and the other three people. We were in the duck restaurant just now. This policeman also promised that as long as we come to the court to testify for him, he will let us go back! He will never make things difficult for us!"
Chen Xiaomu carefully looked at the three people who were rushing to speak, then pointed at one of the old men and said: "I see that your beard is the longest and whitest, so you must be the oldest among them. It's up to you to tell me! If there is anything missing, Let them supplement it."
When the old man with a white beard heard this, he quickly glanced at the fat old man who was kneeling beside him and said nothing. Then he raised his hand to Chen Xiaomu and said respectfully: "Young old man Mao Biao is willing to obey the order of the official." Then, Mao Biao Then he confessed in detail. It turned out that the fat old man kneeling next to him was named Qingkui. The four of them had sworn sworn brothers in Jinlan more than ten years ago. Mao Biao was the oldest and the eldest, Qingkui. After that, he became his second brother, followed by his third brother Wu Tong and fourth brother Huang Cheng. At that time, among the four of them, except Qingkui who opened a bodyguard bureau for bodyguard business, the other three were in the jewelry business because they often went to the bodyguard bureau for protection. , over time, the friendship between several people gradually deepened. Of course, the three people who were in the jewelry business also saved a lot of money on the cost of escorts. Later, as the relationship between several people deepened, they worked together and decided to become sworn brothers. Forget about becoming brothers, so that we can legitimately take care of each other!
A few years ago, as Qingkui got older, the bodyguard business began to fail him. In addition, his only son was unwilling to take over his job, so he had no choice but to close the bodyguard agency. With his son running a dyeing shop business, he has recently lost his ability to work as a bodyguard. War continued, and Zheng was a small country with limited market space, making it increasingly difficult to do business in the dye house. So Qingkui’s son Qingbao decided to move the "Baoqing Dye Factory" to a place with a population dozens of times larger than that of Zheng and a territory that was also smaller than that of Zheng. Go to Qin, which is dozens of times larger than Zheng, so business may be better.
This time the four brothers were having dinner at the Duck Food Restaurant. It was the eldest brother Mao Biao who heard that his second brother Qingkui was moving to Qin, so he summoned his third brother Wu Tong and fourth brother Huang Cheng to celebrate him. Who knows how many people were there? During the chat at the dinner table, the latest hot topic among Zheng people came up, that is, Zheng Guo has a new emperor, and this new emperor is a female emperor that has never been seen in any country in history. Then a few people talked about the tax reduction of the new empress. Originally, Qingkui was not convinced that a woman should be the emperor. In addition, when he first entered the duck restaurant, he saw that the official in the Yamen was being sent by the newly appointed Lord Tongpan, and he actually planned to capture the live ducks in the duck restaurant for interrogation. At that time, he felt that it was extremely ridiculous. Now that he was half drunk and no one else was present, he couldn't help but use the topic to criticize the new emperor and Chen Xiaomu. They want to save money by reducing taxes, but in the end they increase the amount and pay it back, and they even cursed Chen Xiaomu for being a weak official and doing all kinds of bastard things!
After listening to Mao Biao's confession, everyone at the scene was sweating for Qingkui and thought: "It's over. I'm afraid this old man will not only be unable to go back, but he will also bring trouble to his family and be unlucky with him!" Qing, who was mixed in the crowd, Wan'er was so nervous that she was about to cry!
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaomu not only did not get angry at this time, but instead asked Mao Biao with a smile: "That's all, are they gone?"
Mao Biaoqiang nodded calmly: "Master, no, that's all." But he immediately added in defense: "Master, these words were said by Qingkui alone, and the three of us did not follow him. he!"
Chen Xiaomu was noncommittal, then turned to Qing Kui and asked, "Old man Qing, are these things your brother said true?"
With tears in his eyes, Qingkui sighed and said: "Master, I plead guilty. What the eldest brother said is correct word for word. It was all said by the little old man. I just beg the master to let the little old man and his family go." , the young man alone bears all the blame!"
Chen Xiaomu asked curiously: "Old man Qing, what are you talking about? Why should I arrest your whole family?"
Qingkui trembled and said: "Master, I heard someone say that the government will confiscate the homes and exterminate the clans of those who commit rebellion?"
Chen Xiaomu laughed loudly when he heard this. He pointed at Qingkui while laughing and said: "Haha, you old man Qing! You are making me laughable to death. If you complain just a few times, you will confiscate your home and exterminate your family. Then are there any living people in this world?"
Qingkui was stunned by Chen Xiaomu's smile, and couldn't help asking cautiously: "How many years in prison will the official sentence this old man?"
Chen Xiaomu rolled his eyes at him and said disdainfully: "Old man Qing, can't your family even afford food? Do you have to use this excuse to live and die on my free prison meal?"
"This..." Qingkui knelt in front of the public case and suddenly fell into confusion. He always felt that things would not be as simple as what he saw and heard!
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaomu waved to him gently at this time and said lightly: "Go back quickly, you old men in your seventies and eighties are always kneeling here and kneeling to me, a young man, and it makes me feel uncomfortable! "
"What? What did you say, sir?" Qingkui thought he heard wrongly and quickly asked. When the three brothers kneeling next to him heard Chen Xiaomu's words, they felt as if they had been pardoned and stood up in a hurry without even saying hello. Just leave!
Chen Xiaomu clicked his tongue and said with a wry smile: "Old man Qing, forget it if you scolded the emperor and me, why don't you want me to treat you to dinner as a reward?"
Qingkui was really confused this time, and he still asked doubtfully: "Guan Ye, are you saying that since the little old man has committed such a big crime this time, there is no need to punish the little old man? Are you going to let the little old man go back?" Home?"
"Who said there is no need to punish him?" Before Chen Xiaomu could speak, Zhuge Cheng couldn't bear it anymore and walked over with a majestic look on his face.
"Ah...this!" Qingkui knew that this old man was a big official when he was just watching. Now that he saw him speaking, the joy he felt in his heart disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Chen Xiaomu said disapprovingly: "Master Zhuge, a few common people drank too much together and were just complaining. There is no way to punish them. Let them go home and reflect on themselves!"
"What?" Zhuge Cheng's eyes widened when he heard this, and he said angrily: "Chen Tongpan, I would like to remind you that the crime committed by this old man, according to the laws of Zheng State, is a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan. How can you get it?" Does this make you innocent?"
Chen Xiaomu chuckled and said: "Master Zhuge, I, the one who was scolded, are not worried, why are you so excited! Besides, you are so old, your mood swings are too severe, which is not good for your health!"
Zhuge Chengyuan was driven crazy by Chen Xiaomu and gasped: "I can ignore this old man's scolding of you, but if he scolds our emperor, doesn't that mean he is rebelling?"
Chen Xiaomu laughed and said: "Master Zhuge, have you ever seen Lu Qian and Guan Wenjin say bad things about the emperor in front of others? They are not talking about the emperor all the time, but they are actually murdering people behind his back. Besides, you, Master Zhuge, Can you guarantee that you will never say a wrong word or falsely deliver an imperial edict once in your life? Then if someone hears it, will it also be punished according to the crime of rebellion set in the Zheng Code?"
Zhuge Cheng was dumbfounded at this time. Not to mention, just now, he himself had falsely conveyed Su Xingran's false instructions to him to supervise the trial. If this was taken seriously, he would at least be guilty of deceiving the emperor!
Zhuge Cheng stayed in the courtroom for a long time with an embarrassed look on his face, knowing full well that Su Xingran was watching from the crowd below! He even found his way to the steps and murmured: "I will report everything that happened in the court today to the emperor truthfully, and it will be up to the emperor to make a decision!" After saying that, he retreated to the edge of the court in anger without saying a word.
Chen Xiaomu turned to Qingkui again and smiled bitterly: "Old man Qing, you should go back too! Don't scold the emperor again. In fact, it was me who came up with the emperor's tax reduction idea. If you want to scold me, just scold me. I am thick-skinned. I’m not afraid of you scolding me!”
When Qingkui heard this, he didn't know what to say to express his heartfelt gratitude. He originally thought that he was dead today, but he didn't expect that he would be killed by the faint official in front of him who he had scolded as a bastard. He pulled himself back from the gate of hell.
Seeing that Qing Kui was about to be let go and the duck he got flew away, Zhang Fei was actually more anxious than anyone else. He originally planned to catch the traitor back. Not only would he get a large silver reward from the court, but he might also be lucky. If he is good, he can be like Li Jiange when he caught the rebel king Lianshan. The court not only awarded him a silver reward, but also made an exception and allowed Li Jiange to officially join the imperial order. Looking at the current situation, I am afraid that I will get nothing. !
He felt anxious, and his courage seemed to have increased a lot. He was only thinking about getting Zhang Fei's leg, which was his reward. At this time, he couldn't think about anything else. He hurried to the front of the case, raised his hands to Chen Xiaomu and said, "Master Tongxuan." , the villain has something to report!"
Chen Xiaomu felt angry when he saw these cadres, so he said with a cold face, "Say."
Zhang Fei stammered and said: "Little, little man, yes, I want to ask, Master Tong, about the reward?"
"Bounty, what bounty?" Chen Xiaomu was a little confused.
"It's just a bounty for helping the court catch the rebels!" Zhang Feijiao thought that Chen Xiaomu wanted to rely on his bounty, so he stopped stuttering in desperation.
Hearing this, Chen Xiaomu said angrily: "There's still a reward! You're lucky if I don't reward you with a few coins. If someone makes a few complaints, you'll take them back to the Yamen. I think you're too busy to do anything. It's okay." Damn, you’re deliberately causing trouble, aren’t you?”
Zhang Fei screamed and said: "Master Tongpan, how dare I have such thoughts? I just don't understand why others who catch the rebels not only get a large bounty, but some are even promoted! When I come here, not only I couldn’t catch anything, and I almost got a meal!”
