After hearing this, Chen Xiaomu thought for a moment and said to Zhou Zhi: "When I hear that Diao Yishui is coming, don't stay in the courtroom face to face with him. I want to hear what he has to say about this matter. After all, I can’t even listen to your side of the story!”
Zhou Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "Master Tongxuan, the common people have complained to Master Jia three times because of this matter, but this guy Diao Yishui is very cunning. No matter how Master Jia asked him, he would bite him to death, saying that Fang's It was because of poverty and another illness that the Cao Min family had no choice but to sell their old house for medical treatment. However, after curing the illness, she became homeless again, and finally had no choice but to Diao Yishui said yes, and seeing how pitiful she was, he felt compassion for her and took her back to live in his home."
After hearing this, Chen Xiaomu couldn't help frowning and said: "Zhou Zhi, seriously speaking, you are also at fault. I thought you and Fang were so cruel that you went out to do business just a few days after they got married, leaving your beautiful daughter-in-law alone. You stay at home and don't care, you don't even have anyone to take care of you, and you're gone for such a long time! No wonder Mrs. Fang is so disheartened by you and doesn't want to acknowledge you after you come home!"
Zhou Zhi was quite dissatisfied when he heard this, and he defended in a low voice: "Master Tongpan, the world is in turmoil now, and we ordinary people have no support at all. If we don't hurry up and make some money, I'm afraid we will end up like what's happening outside Xinjing City now." Just like the refugees, they will either starve to death or freeze to death!"
Chen Xiaomu spread his hands: "What are you doing now? Not only was the capital of the cattle sale stolen, but even the home was gone when I came back! I still had a lot of savings in my hand, so I could spend a good wedding and honeymoon at home with my wife. , wait until the situation outside is better before going out to make money, or like Diao Yishui, use the money in your hand to do some business locally! But what about you? Knowing that the current war is in chaos, you still take the risk to sell cattle thousands of miles away, and end up with nothing. The ending, can you say that you are not wrong at all?"
No matter what Chen Xiaomu said, Zhou Zhi felt that he was not wrong. He said angrily: "Master Tongpan, I just don't understand why this bitch would rather betray me than follow an old man who is nearly twenty years older than her, and the common people also After asking someone about it, it turned out that Diao Yishui was just a gangster who wandered the streets. His parents had been mad at him for a long time. He didn't even know a word of Chinese characters. There were only two thatched houses in the family with roofs that could see the sky. A man who lived by petty theft on the street has now started to shake things up. Not only has he built a new two-entry courtyard with more than ten rooms in the main room and side rooms, but he has also opened a decent apartment at home. In the oil shop, he held a pot of tea all day long and ordered the few hired men at home to do work. He looked like a rich man who had made a fortune. He also let people know that he suddenly became rich because of the blessing of his ancestors. The reason is that when he was renovating the two thatched houses at home, he dug out a large jar of silver ingots buried there by his ancestors in a corner of the house!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaomu couldn't help but laugh and said: "Oh! The ancestors of the Diao Yishui family are quite wealthy!"
Zhou Zhi curled his lips unconsciously and said disdainfully: "Master Tongpan, you don't know something. The ancestral home of the Diao Yishui family is not in Xinjing City at all. From the beginning, the common people suspected that that bitch took the thousand taels of silver I collected for her. , it was only through Diao Yishui that he built that house. Later, after asking around, it turned out that Diao Yishui came to Xinjing City from Linhe County in his parents’ generation, and his father did not make a legitimate living either. I usually do odd jobs for others on the street and earn a small amount of money to support my family. It is simply impossible to save as much money as Diao Yishui said!"
"Haha, that's it!" Chen Xiaomu nodded with a smile, and suddenly had an idea in his mind. He said to Zhou Zhi: "In this case, you retreat outside the court and wait for the time being. I will send someone to pass Nao Yishui to the court to ask questions. talk."
Next, Chen Xiaomu arranged for Niu Xiaobao to take Wei Yuxin to Diaojia Oil Shop on Heqing Street to send Diao Yishui to the government office lobby for questioning. This time, with Wei Yuxin following him, Niu Xiaobao did not dare to play any more tricks to defraud money. Diao Yishui was brought back to the court smoothly.
In fact, Diao Yishui knew the reason for the yamen's summons the moment he saw him. He immediately comforted Mr. Fang and took care of the children at home. Then he followed the two servants to the court, and waited until they entered the court to peek. Looking up, I realized that the official in the hall had been replaced! I couldn't help but secretly thought: "Here I go! I think Judge Jia Tong has already called me to court three times, and he didn't even ask Chou Yinmao. Why didn't he take the trouble to tell me? It seems that Zhou Zhi has gone to this new guy again." You have sued me in front of Judge Tong, eh! Just sue. In short, you have your own tricks, and I have my old ideas. No matter how you ask, I will bite the bullet and put it in front of Judge Tong. Just repeat what you said, and you can't find a witness to testify for you. Let me see what you can do to me!" Thinking of this, Diao Yishui couldn't help but peek around the lobby. What surprised him was that the whole Zhou Zhi, the plaintiff, was not seen in the lobby. What was going on? Diao Yishui began to secretly beat a drum in his heart!
Just when Diao Yishui was feeling uneasy, he suddenly heard a loud "bang" in the hall, which made him tremble all over. Then his legs softened, and he knelt down in the court with a "plop" and said tremblingly: "Common man Diao Yishui, see you." Cross the sky, great master!"
This time, Chen Xiaomu's gavel was slapped too hard, and his fingers holding the gavel felt a sharp pain that made him take a few breaths, and he was speechless for a moment. After a while, , Chen Xiaomu said in a deep voice: "Diao Yishui, do you know your guilt?"
Diao Yishui paused for a moment, then pretended to be puzzled and said: "Master Qingtian, what kind of crime do you think you are guilty of?"
Chen Xiaomu then asked, "Do you really not know?"
Diao Yishui thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "Oh! Mr. Qingtian, Cao Min has remembered it. It was probably that boy Zhou Zhi who falsely accused Cao Min in front of you, saying that Cao Min abducted his wife Fang, and then coaxed him to leave her with Fang. This matter of your family’s one thousand taels of silver!”
"Haha" Chen Xiaomu sneered, and then with a straight face, he said angrily: "Diao Yishui, stop pretending to be confused in front of me. I don't want to care about the trivial matters between you and Zhou Zhi now. You just need to tell the truth." Just tell me how you got three thousand taels of silver from Zhu Heihu years ago."
"What?" Diao Yishui was confused as soon as he heard this. He was stunned for a long time before he said hurriedly: "Master Qingtian, please find out clearly. The common people don't know this person named Zhu Heihu at all, let alone get three thousand taels of silver from him." It’s about that!”
Before he finished speaking, Chen Xiaomu picked up a file from the public case and threw it over. It landed right in front of Diao Yishui's eyes and shouted: "Take a good look. This is the official investigation document I just received from Yuntai County." , it contains the confession of Zhu Heihu, who committed dozens of crimes in Zheng State over the past year, eight of which were murders!"
When Diao Yishui heard this, he was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly argued: "Master Qingtian, you have to make decisions for the common people! This bandit named Zhu Heihu has nothing to do with the common people, let alone breaking away from him. For three thousand taels of silver, the common people have never even seen what the other person looks like!"
Could it be that Chen Xiaomu did this: "It's not that I don't want to excuse you from this matter. It's actually Zhu Heihu who confessed you in the Yuntai County government office. Look at his confession. It's true and believable. I really I can’t excuse you anymore!”
Diao Yishui subconsciously lowered his head and looked at the file Chen Xiaomu threw over. Sure enough, it was densely written with words. Unfortunately, he only recognized the three characters "Diao Yishui" on it. The rest seemed to him to be black ink balls. However, there was a small blank space in the lower left corner of the paper. There was indeed a bright red four-sided official seal stamped on it. Seeing this official seal, he was a little convinced, but he couldn't figure out how this bandit named Zhu Heihu, who he had never even met, suddenly bit him. !
Without allowing him to think too much, Chen Xiaomu said from above: "Well, Diao Yishui, since you don't want to say more, I don't want to interfere with it. This case is a matter of Yuntai County, and I don't have to go to the charge." God, I’m going to have you put in shackles and death shackles. I’ll put you in jail for the time being. I’ll send someone to escort you to Yuntai County early tomorrow morning!”
Diao Yishui was really panicked now. He thought that if he went to a place he was unfamiliar with in Yuntai County, there wouldn't even be anyone to visit the prison and bring him a change of clothes, let alone anyone who would run errands for him. He wouldn't just follow others when he got there. It’s better to be at the mercy of others than to be wrongfully accused and die! Diao Yishui simply did not dare to think about it further and hurriedly begged Chen Xiaomu: "Master Qingtian, the common people really don't know who this Zhu Heihu is, and why he came to frame the common people out of thin air. I beg Master Qingtian to find out!"
Chen Xiaomu said helplessly: "Diao Yishui, you keep saying these few words, but none of them are useful. How can I make the decision for you? Zhu Heihu's confession clearly stated that a year ago, he was in Yuntai A murder case was committed in the county. At that time, due to the tight pursuit of the government, he came to Xinjing City to hide. He met you in a tavern. As a result, you were so jealous of the money that you not only helped him find his hiding place, but also handled most of the crimes for him. The gold, silver, jewelry, and property were robbed from a wealthy family in Yuntai County. In the end, the two of them sat on the ground and divided the stolen goods, and you got three thousand taels of stolen silver."
Diao Yishui felt that he was about to be wronged and said feebly: "Master Qingtian, the common people really don't know this bandit named Zhou Heihu. The common people are really wronged!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled softly and suddenly asked: "Then your new house and new oil mill will cost two to three thousand taels of silver, right?"
When Diao Yishui heard this, he immediately screamed: "Master Qingtian, the house and oil mill of the grassroots actually cost less than one thousand taels of silver, but they can cost two to three thousand taels of silver!"
Chen Xiaomu shook his head: "I don't believe it, your large house alone costs more than a thousand taels of silver!"
Diao Yishui became anxious and spoke out: "If Mr. Qingtian doesn't believe it, please send word to the Fang family. All the money used to build the house and open the oil shop passed through her hands and was given to the common people. Just ask and you will know!"
Chen Xiaomu said with a smile: "So, the money for building your house and running the oil shop was all provided by the Fang family?"
Diao Yishui was startled when he heard the sound, feeling as if he had fallen into a trap, but the words had already been spoken and he couldn't take them back even if he wanted to, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Chen Xiaomu laughed and said: "Then I want to send Mrs. Fang to come and ask her where she got the money to build the house and run the oil shop. I saw in the case file left by Mr. Jia that she even treated her illness." We have to sell the Zhou family's old house to get all the money, so how come we have so much money in our hands out of thin air!"
Diao Yishui sighed after hearing this, and said with a wry smile: "Master Qingtian, now that things have happened, there is nothing to hide. Let the common people tell the ins and outs of this matter! If this matter is discussed, in the final analysis, it is Zhou Zhi's fault. , less than ten days after he and Fang got married a year ago, he was about to leave home and go to the Mongol Kingdom thousands of miles away to sell cattle. He said that he could make it before the spring of the next year, and the farmers happened to They were preparing for spring plowing, the price of cattle would rise very high, and they could earn a lot more money on this trip, but Fang begged him hard, saying that they had just gotten married, and their parents were gone, so he She was the only one left at home, so she would inevitably feel lonely and scared. Besides, there was a war and chaos outside, so it would be better to use the capital in hand to start a business in the city. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhi not only did not understand Fang's painstaking efforts, but also He scolded him for being ignorant and uninformed, saying that he was running a small business at home and selling cattle could make more money. Then he left Fang a thousand taels of silver and asked him to take good care of the house at home. He would be gone in two months at most. But when she came back, after Zhou Zhi left, Fang suffered at home for two months, and it was during this period that she found out she was pregnant. Who knew that Zhou Zhi not only didn't come back two months later, but he didn't even send a letter. The trustee brought it back. Several times during this period, Fang also paid someone to inquire about Zhou Zhi, but in the end nothing was done. At this time, Fang happened to be infected with the cold again and went to the doctor's shop to see a doctor and get medicine. , because she took out a five-tael silver ingot when paying, she was spotted by some gangsters on the street. These gangsters thought she was very rich, so they followed her to her home and tried to rob her. , by coincidence, the grassroots were passing by here at the time, and they immediately picked up a door stick from Fang's house, beat away the gangsters, and rescued Ms. Fang. Later, the grassroots found out through talking to Ms. Fang that her natal family also had In Linhe County, apart from being a fellow villager with Cao Min, her father Fang Zhiyao is also Cao Min's distant cousin. Three years ago, her parents died at the hands of rebel soldiers, so she came to Xinjing City alone to seek refuge with relatives. However, although this relative took him in She, but treated her very badly, and always used her as a maid in the family. Later, when she went to buy vegetables, she met Zhou Zhi who was selling cattle on the street, so she married Zhou Zhi. After this incident, the Fang family recognized After getting rid of Cao Min, a good-for-nothing cousin, and fearing that those gangsters would come back to cause trouble again, Fang simply sold the old house of the Zhou family, and took out the thousand taels of silver left by Zhou Zhi to build a house on Cao Min's land. He built a new house and used the remaining money to open an oil mill to make a living."
