Song Cheng looked at the four full baskets on the donkey's back and the pile of extra coins in his hand, and didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Originally, he used scraps of silver to buy evidence of the Guo family's crimes and didn't expect to uncover any serious crimes, but after asking around, the results were jaw-dropping.
Many people would rather pay him to accept the information and evidence they provided.
At the end of the day, fifty taels of silver were not spent, and a few taels of silver were earned.
Those four baskets are full of testimonies, physical evidence, etc. provided by everyone. The testimonies are basically the kind where someone has pressed their fingerprints.
After filling it with evidence, Song Cheng covered it with a piece of linen cloth. Because he didn't see the night light and knew that the other party would come to him, Song Cheng was not in a hurry and found a roadside shop to sit down and ordered something to eat. .
The person sitting at the same table with him was an old man wearing coarse linen clothes, but he had an extraordinary bearing and a measured manner. Even though he was dressed in coarse linen clothes, he could not hide his aura.
The old man glanced at the four baskets covered by linen on the donkey's back, looked at Song Cheng, and asked with a smile:
"Scholar, do you want to fight against the Guo family and eliminate harm for the people?"
Song Cheng also noticed that this person was unusually popular and knew that he was not an ordinary person. He was afraid that the other person was on the side of the Guo family. Song Cheng did not answer truthfully and only pretended not to know:
"The old man is joking, there are just some groceries in Song's basket."
"You don't have to be suspicious of me. I have been dissatisfied with the Guo family's trip for a long time. It's just that for some reasons, I can't stand on the bright side. Now that you have this ambition in this life, I will not hesitate to help you."
The old man said with a smile.
When Song Cheng saw that this person had a sincere attitude and did not have the temperament of a cunning villain, he couldn't help but believe him:
"May I ask what the old gentleman has to teach me?"
The old man smiled and said: "It's not convenient to say it now. You will know it by then."
After Song Cheng heard this, he stopped asking questions and just chatted with the old man about other gossip.
After the two had a meal, they said goodbye.
It's just that the old man has never revealed his name, making him seem a bit mysterious.
Separating from the old man, Song Cheng continued to wander the streets, trying to see if he could collect some more evidence.
As I was walking, I heard noises on the street over there, but it was two people in rich clothes arguing with each other.
Song Cheng stepped forward and asked passers-by what happened.
It turned out that these two men were both wealthy young men in the city. They fought many times because they were fighting over a red card for a brothel. Today they met on the street and they started to quarrel again.
Seeing this, Song Cheng shook his head and just sighed:
"A fat and dandy man has nothing to do with him."
It was originally a sigh, but I heard a man in his forties who looked like a Confucian scholar next to him echoed:
"Not only is it bad, the reputation of the famous family has been ruined by these scum!"
The two of them looked at each other and felt that they were kind to each other. After chatting for a few more words, they found that their words were quite congenial. After a while, they felt like they had found a close friend.
The two exchanged names. This man who looked like a Confucian scholar was also a civil servant. His name was Shen Qixian, and he turned out to be the son-in-law of the magistrate of Pingzhou.
Shen Qixian did not despise Song Cheng because he was not as famous as him or younger than him. Instead, he admired Song Cheng because of the many similarities in their ideas.
Song Cheng also fully agrees with Shen Qixian's idea, and due to the loss of his fortune, he now doesn't care much about external things. Even when facing a big shot like him, he still behaves in a measured manner, neither humble nor overbearing, and has a calm temperament.
Seeing this, Shen Qixian gave Song Cheng a high look and invited him to chat in a restaurant together.
Song Cheng happily agreed. Shen Qixian was a little surprised when he saw that the donkey beside Song Cheng didn't need a leash and just walked along carrying four baskets.
"Yanhou, you donkey is still a spiritual person, not like an ordinary domestic animal."
Song Cheng said: "When you are charged with an unjust case, your spirituality will grow on its own."
Hearing this, Shen Qixian curiously asked about the reason for this incident. Song Cheng told the truth, but concealed the matter about Gu Hongying, saying that it was because he could not tolerate what the Guo family did.
After listening to what Song Cheng said, Shen Qixian also sighed deeply:
"I also hate the trip to the Guo family. It's just that the magistrate doesn't care about things. The magistrate in charge, my father-in-law, is really..."
A son never talks about his father's fault. Shen Qixian didn't say anything bad about Lord Zhizhou, but his meaning was made very clear.
"Yanhou, it will be extremely difficult for you to bring down the Guo family."
"Three things in this world depend on heaven, seven parts depend on man, and everything depends on man-made things. How do you know if you don't try?"
Song Chengyi said righteously.
Shen Qixian was greatly moved and said to Song Cheng:
"My father-in-law likes to solve cases the most. He takes over all the cases of the local magistrate. There will be several cases tomorrow. I can take you to the side hall for hearing, but you can't appeal tomorrow. Everything will be done after hearing my father-in-law's case. Word."
Song Cheng was very grateful for Shen Qixian's willingness to help and thanked him repeatedly.
Afterwards, the two went to a restaurant, exchanged glasses, and had a great conversation.
When leaving, Shen Qixian gave Song Cheng a waist badge, which he could use to enter and leave the state government office.
After the two separated, Song Cheng sighed:
“There are many people with lofty ideals in the world!”
"It seems that Lao Song had a good harvest today!"
Ye Ming's voice came, and Song Cheng looked back and found that Ye Ming was already looking through the evidence in the basket on the donkey's back.
"Mr. Yang, you are back. The Guo family has been domineering in Shanyi Mansion for many years, and has committed countless crimes. I have collected them, but I have only been able to get one-tenth or two of their crimes. If I collect them for a few more days, , there will be more evidence.”
Song Cheng reported to Ye Ming excitedly.
Ye Ming chuckled and said:
"There is no need to be so troublesome. In many cases, there is no difference between a thousand crimes and one crime. It just depends on whether it takes effect."
Song Cheng was thoughtful...
After an uneventful night, Song Cheng and Ye Ming arrived at the gate of the state capital early the next morning. With Shen Qixian's waistband there, the two of them were immediately warmly served by the guard, who led them to Shen Qixian.
Shen Qixian expressed curiosity about Ye Ming, and Ye Ming said that he was just a fortune teller and followed Song Cheng to learn more.
Since it was still a while before the trial started, Ye Ming did some fortune-telling for Shen Qixian and told him that a happy event was coming in the near future.
Shen Qixian was used to hearing compliments, so he didn't comment on what Ye Ming said. He looked at Song Cheng's face and didn't say much.
Before the meeting started, Shen Qixian led two people to listen in the side hall.
Through the gap in the door curtain, Song Cheng saw clearly the appearance of Pingzhou's largest official, Lord Zhizhou.
The Lord Zhizhou was an old man with white beard and hair. He looked quite old. His eyes were squinted and he seemed to be a little presbyopic. He was shaking his official hat and looked like he couldn't wait to start the trial.
Seeing this, Song Cheng had a pretty good impression of this Lord Zhizhou. At least he seemed to be an official who was keen on political affairs, much better than those officials who were lazy and did nothing.
The person who is following Lord Zhizhou is the Magistrate of Sanyi Prefecture. However, he is an aggrieved magistrate. He does not look like a grand master of the government at all. His power has been taken away by Lord Zhizhou. All day long, he can only be the Lord Magistrate. Followers.
Soon, the court case started and two people were brought up.
One of these two people was named Liu Li and the other was named Chen Si.
Liu Li sued Chen Si for home invasion and robbery, but Chen Si said Liu Li beat him without any reason and the two were entangled.
When Master Zhizhou heard that it was such a tangled "mysterious case", he immediately became energetic and asked the two of them to state the case in detail.
Liu Lidao: "The villain was sleeping at home. This man broke into the house and stole. He was discovered by the villain. When he saw that the theft failed, he started to rob!"
Chen Sidao: "Sir, this person is talking nonsense. The villain has always had a grudge against him. When he was passing by his house, he punched and kicked the villain. You see, the villain's face was swollen and his nose was bruised by him. Bite through.”
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, he was shocked and said to Liu Li:
"You Liu Li, you hit someone for no reason! You deserve to be punished!"
Liu Li was shocked when he heard this:
"My lord, he was the one who broke into the house and robbed him first. Please be aware of this."
Lord Zhizhou stroked his gray beard and slapped him again:
"Chen Si is so bold that he dares to break into a house and rob. He deserves to be punished!"
"Sir, the villain is wronged. The villain did not rob at all. Otherwise, there must be something from his family on him. Look, the villain doesn't have anything on him!"
Lord Zhizhou heard this and nodded:
"That's right, Liu Li. Chen Si doesn't have any of your belongings on him. That means there was no robbery and you made a false accusation."
The smart Lord Zhizhou thought he had caught a loophole.
Liu Li hurriedly said: "Sir, he didn't defeat the villain, so he didn't get anything!"
"Oh, Chen Si, you obviously didn't grab anything, how can you talk nonsense?"
"Sir, if the villain has nothing on him, doesn't that mean there was no robbery? The villain is unjustly accused."
"Well, that makes sense. Come on, put Liu Li in jail."
Liu Li was horrified when he heard this. He was about to be taken away, and he wisely said:
"Sir, the villain didn't hit anyone, he didn't hit anyone!"
"Oh, you didn't hit anyone?"
"I didn't hit the villain."
"Hmph, are you stupid for taking me as an official? How can the injuries on Chen Si's body be faked?"
"The injury...the injury, the injury was caused by himself!"
"Bold Chen Si, the injury was caused by yourself, why did you falsely accuse others?"
Chen Si never expected that the situation would turn out like this, and he shouted that he was wronged:
"Your Majesty, it's clear to me, what's the point of a villain beating yourself up?"
"That's right, Liu Li, why do you think Chen Si beat himself?"
"This... the neighbors around him say he is a bitch and he just likes to beat himself up."
"Oh, in that case..."
"Sir, he is talking nonsense. The villain's nose was bitten by him. How can he hit it by himself?"
"Sir, he bit his nose by himself."
"Bold Chen Si, he bit his own nose and dared to frame a good person. Come on, put Chen Si in jail and Liu Li acquitted!"
Chen Sida shouted that he was wronged, and Liu Li shouted, "Your Excellency is wise."
After handling this case, Lord Zhizhou held his hand with satisfaction and said to the prefect beside him:
"Hey~~ I have to be a good official who is diligent, loving, considerate of the people, fair and honest to resolve the case clearly.
Without me, there would be so many unjust, false and wrongful cases in this world!
It's a pity that there are really few good officials like me in the world. Otherwise, everyone in the court would be like Haiyanheqing! "
The magistrate on the side silently wiped his sweat and complimented:
"Your Excellency, you are like a god in solving cases. No case in the world can escape your eyes. I admire you!"
Lord Zhizhou was very happy when he heard this. He took a sip of tea and said again:
"There are still many cases that need to be solved. I really can't take a break even if I want to!"
As he said this, Master Zhizhou, who "worked tirelessly", said:
"Bring in the next criminal!"
In the following period of time, Mr. Zhizhou, who thought he was "doing his best", tried seven cases in a row, which was very hard.
"Bring away the prisoner Zhen Yuan who raped his wife, and his wife and righteous man Lu Mao will be released without charge."
After pronouncing the verdict on the last case of the day, Lord Zhizhou leaned back on his chair to rest:
"Hey~~ If you work as hard as me in solving the case, it's not too much compared to Yan Qingtian in ancient times, right?"
The prefect looked helpless and said:
"My lord's hard work was nothing more than this even when Yan Qingtian was alive in ancient times."
Lord Zhizhou heard this and laughed with satisfaction:
"It doesn't matter, for the sake of the common people in the world, what does it matter if I work a little hard and be tired?"
After that, he was served and went down to rest.
Song Cheng, who had watched the whole process in the side hall, looked at Shen Qixian:
"Is this always the way Lord Zhizhou handles cases?"
...
