When the people watching saw that Guo Fuwei had won the lawsuit, they suddenly burst into cheers of joy.
When Guo Fuwei saw this, his face was as dark as water, his head was lowered, and he said nothing.
Lord Zhizhou felt happy when he saw that the people recognized his verdict so much. He praised himself for being fair and honest today and for handling the case like a god.
Song Cheng was observing Ye Ming's gestures to see when he would let him go. However, without waiting for Ye Ming's gestures or winks, he was kicked in the butt by Ye Ming and rushed out of the crowd and rushed down the hall.
Master Zhizhou, who was about to withdraw, became interested when he saw a scholar wearing a scarf "stumbling" up. He didn't know what this man was going to say.
Song Cheng, who was kicked in by Ye Ming, was still a little confused. After he came to his senses, he immediately said:
"The student has met Lord Zhizhou and is here today to complain."
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, his eyes lit up:
"Who are you suing?"
"The students want to sue Lord Pingzhou Zhizhou!"
Song Cheng raised his hands and said solemnly.
As soon as these words came out, the whole place was silent.
Both Guo Fuwei and members of the Thirteenth Family looked at Song Cheng in surprise.
Especially the head of the Du family rubbed his ears, a little unbelievable.
Lord Zhizhou was also surprised, thinking that he, a good official who served the country and the people, would be sued. It is really unpredictable in the world, and good people are not rewarded!
Although he felt a little uncomfortable, Master Zhizhou boasted that he was as clear-minded as Yan Qingtian. Even though he was accused, he went to court as usual and asked:
"Who in the hall is suing me for what reason?"
"Student Song Cheng sued the magistrate of Pingzhou for not employing people properly, and he was guilty of negligence!"
Song Cheng answered with cupped hands.
Uncertain employment or oversight?
Master Zhizhou was stunned for a moment and asked:
"Who was wrongly used, and where was the oversight?"
Song Cheng asked: "Excuse me, sir, if there are people under your administration who bully others, use their power for personal gain, and abuse the people, is it a case of unclear employment or a crime of negligence?"
Upon hearing this, Lord Zhizhou nodded and asked:
"Yes, I wonder who the person you are talking about is?"
Song Cheng pointed at Guo Fuwei and said:
"That's Shanyi Mansion's Lieutenant, Mr. Guo."
Guo Fuwei, who was originally watching the show, never expected that this matter would involve him again.
The Thirteenth Family also reacted. This person told Zhou that it was a lie, but he was actually here for Guo Fuwei.
Seeing this, everyone looked at the excitement with ease.
Master Zhizhou also looked at Guo Fuwei:
"It turns out you are ruining my reputation!"
After hearing this, Guo Fuwei hurriedly stepped forward and said:
"Sir, this is a false accusation. I have always fulfilled my duties as an official and served the people wholeheartedly. I have never done anything corrupt and perverted the law..."
Not only did Guo Fuwei say that he was honest and upright, he also praised Lord Zhizhou in passing.
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, he felt that Guo Fuwei, who spoke so nicely, must not be a bad person, and immediately said to Song Cheng:
"Bold Song Cheng, how dare you make false accusations..."
Song Cheng said immediately:
"Sir, the students have evidence!"
"Evidence? Submit it quickly."
Lord Zhizhou's speed of changing his face is truly extraordinary.
Four large baskets were carried on the backs of donkeys, and the evidence was brought up.
Song Cheng took out a book full of crimes from the basket, opened a page at random and read:
"In March this year, Guo Fuwei rode through the city and killed a citizen.
Guo got drunk from Wenhua House and beat a singer to death in a rage.
In order to forcefully buy land, Guo's housekeeper forced a family of five to death..."
"That's enough! Lord Zhizhou, this is a false accusation, fabricated evidence, and malicious slander!"
Lieutenant Guo cut off Song Cheng's accusations and wanted Lord Zhizhou to favor him.
Song Cheng said: "Sir, these four baskets are all evidence collected by students. Please send someone to check."
Lord Zhizhou looked at the four baskets of evidence and listened to Guo Fuwei's clever defense. He didn't know whose words to believe.
Seeing Lord Zhizhou's hesitation, Lieutenant Guo Fu quickly stepped up his rhetorical offensive when he knew there was an opportunity.
At this time, I heard Song Cheng say:
"Sir, students have always respected you, Your Majesty, and think that you are even better than Yan Qingtian of the previous dynasty.
If Yan Qingtian were here, he would definitely make a judgment based on the evidence instead of listening to rhetoric without evidence. "
Lord Zhizhou's eyes lit up when he heard this. Yes, he is the great master of this dynasty. Of course, he must judge the punishment based on the evidence.
Thinking of this, Lord Zhizhou was about to sentence Guo Fuwei.
When Guo Fuwei saw this, he was anxious and wise, and said:
"My lord, please don't be deceived by him. Yan Qingtian has also encountered many false evidences, and finally solved the case by relying on his own intelligence. The so-called evidence cannot be trusted!"
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, he turned to Guo Fuwei again.
The two sides began to argue, but Lord Zhizhou was unable to make a decision.
After the heads of the thirteen families looked at each other, they all spoke up and helped Song Cheng attack Guo Fuwei.
Guo Fuwei could not defend these people by himself, but fortunately he was not alone.
Before coming here, he specially prepared a dozen aunts who were extremely quarrelsome. At this time, these people also came in handy and helped him argue together.
Later, the two sides developed into a war of words, with no one submissive to the other.
Seeing this, Master Zhizhou felt that he had encountered a case that would never be solved.
When Shen Qixian was about to propose using the compass to convict again, he heard a voice.
"Please listen to what I have to say."
When this voice came, everyone became quiet and looked at the person.
This person Song Cheng knew was the old man with extraordinary bearing who he had met before.
When everyone saw this person, they all bowed.
"I've met Mr. Zheng!"
Even Lord Zhizhou didn't look down upon this man when he saw him and called him "Brother Zheng."
It turned out that this person was actually the former Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the kind who retired from old age and returned to his hometown safely.
Even Lord Zhizhou didn't dare to look down upon it.
Seeing this person appear, Song Cheng felt a lot more at ease, knowing that he had a chance of winning this complaint.
Guo Fuwei's expression changed slightly. He knew that this man had always criticized him. If he appeared here today, he might be coming with bad intentions.
"Brother Zheng, are you here related to this case?"
Zheng Gong smiled and said: "Yes, I came because I knew you were having difficulty in solving the case, so I came here to help you.
Just like when Yan Qingtian encounters a suspicious case, Mr. Fifth appears to help. "
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, his face was filled with joy. He thought that Mr. Zheng was his "fifth gentleman". He stood up and pulled Mr. Zheng to sit beside him:
"Brother Zheng, since you are here to help me, you must have a solution. I wonder what it is?"
Zheng Gong stroked his beard and said with a smile:
"Just ask the people for their wishes."
“How to ask for the people’s wishes?”
"It is enough for the tens of thousands of people present to state whether Guo Kan's actions were good or evil."
When Lord Zhizhou heard this, his eyes lit up and he thought it was feasible.
When Guo Fuwei heard this, he was so frightened that he hurriedly spoke to stop him:
"No, since ancient times, how can the people participate in the rewards and punishments of officials? This is absolutely forbidden!"
But at this time, Lord Zhizhou already compared himself with Yan Qingtian and regarded Duke Zheng as the "fifth gentleman". How could he listen to Guo Fuwei?
He immediately said: "The people here can report the good and evil of Guo Fuwei. I am here to hear it."
As soon as Mr. Zhizhou finished speaking, the scene became quiet and no one spoke.
Everyone found it unbelievable and thought it was impossible.
Why can the people convict officials?
Ye Ming in the crowd suddenly stretched out his hand and pinched the back of a skinny man.
"ah!"
The man was in pain and screamed subconsciously.
"Oh, do you have something to say?"
Master Zhizhou asked quickly when he saw someone making a sound.
The man didn't see who pinched him, but when Lord Zhizhou asked him, he didn't dare not answer:
"To tell you my Lord, the grassroots people originally owned an orchard and lived a good life.
Two years ago, people from the Guo Mansion took a fancy to Cao Min's orchard and wanted to buy it at a low price.
When Cao Mu disagreed, they beat Cao Min and his family.
The old mother of the grassroots was beaten to death by them!
Sir, please make the decision for me! "
The more the man talked, the more aggrieved he became, and finally he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.
When the people around saw that Mr. Zhizhou had really listened to what this man said, they all spoke as if some shackles had been opened.
"Sir, Lieutenant Guo used his power to bully others and raped the daughter of a common man..."
"Sir, Guo Fuwei buys and sells by force, and seizes the ancestral property of the grassroots..."
"Sir, Lieutenant Guo indulged his slaves and beat to death the brother of the grassroots..."
...
As the charges were stated one after another, Guo Fuwei's face turned as pale as a sheet of paper, his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground.
At this moment, Master Zhizhou was enjoying the kind of treatment that Yan Qingtian received, and he was in a very good mood.
At the same time, he also completely lost trust in Guo Fuwei and no longer believed what he said.
The collection of evidence was not completed until the evening, and there were still a large number of people waiting for complaints.
The four scribes in charge of recording almost burst into tears. They were not finished writing and their hands were almost broken.
Lord Zhizhou was in high spirits. He only had a light meal in the middle and then continued the trial.
Lieutenant Guo Fu had already been stripped of his official robe by the government officials and was kneeling on the ground.
At this time, Song Cheng saw that time was almost up and knew that it was time to kill. He immediately stepped forward and said to the magistrate:
"The students want to sue the governor Guo Kan again."
After hearing this, Guo Fuwei, who had already turned ashen, looked at Song Cheng with resentment.
Lord Zhizhou asked:
"What else do you want to sue?"
"Students want to report that Guo Fuwei colluded with thieves five years ago to seek wealth and murder, and killed a whole family."
When Guo Fuwei on the side heard this, his eyes widened.
If there were crimes such as bullying the people, he could still avoid the death penalty by relying on his connections and money.
But if this crime is proven, it will be a serious crime of beheading.
"Nonsense, you are spitting nonsense!"
Guo Fuwei argued vigorously.
Lord Zhizhou no longer trusted Guo Fuwei, and no longer favored him. He looked at Song Cheng and asked:
"Tell me more about it."
"To be honest, this complaint is not a complaint from a student, but a complaint from a deceased person.
In the past, Yan Qingtian had the ability to judge the yang during the day and the yin at night, and he could summon ghosts into the hall. Why don't you follow suit and summon the ghosts who complained to come here to redress their grievances? "
Hearing what Song Cheng said, Master Zhizhou suddenly became energetic:
"Okay, set up the underworld immediately, I want to interrogate the ghosts!"
The so-called Jiayin Hall is just more black curtains.
When the people heard that the magistrate was going to interrogate Yin at night, they were also curious. They temporarily stopped complaining and watched the scene.
As a loyal fan of "The Case of Yan Qingtian", Master Zhizhou knew quite a lot about how to interrogate the underworld at night. After setting up the underworld hall, he took out the official seal and said to the official seal:
"The ghost of the complaint!"
The official seal shone brightly on the copper coins hanging on Song Cheng's chest.
A stream of white smoke floated out of the copper coin, and in front of everyone's eyes, it transformed into a beautiful and charming woman.
Since it was the power of the official seal that made her visible, everyone could see Gu Hongying this time.
Everyone exclaimed when they saw that the woman's body was transparent, her feet were not touching the ground, and she was floating in the air.
Many people see ghosts for the first time. Although the ghosts in front of them are not scary, they are still a little scared.
It was also the first time for Mr. Zhizhou to see a ghost, but he was not afraid at all. Instead, he felt the blood boiling in his body.
Today, like Yan Qingtian, he will have to examine Yin at night.
He had already made up his mind that no matter what the woman said, he would win the case!
What's the reason...
Without him, ghosts won all the seventeen sinister cases that Yan Qingtian had judged.
Therefore, Lord Zhizhou unconditionally believed in ghosts and had sentenced Guo Fuwei to death in advance.
Later, Gu Hongying personally stated the crimes of Guo Fuwei's family.
The heads of the Thirteen Families who were watching felt chills running down their spines when they saw Gu Hongying in a ghost state.
They had also targeted the Gu family back then. If this female ghost turned into a fierce ghost to take revenge...
For a time, the thirteen family heads were planning to invite monks and Taoists to come to their homes for several days and nights to perform rituals and drive away evil spirits!
The verdict this time was no surprise. Guo Fuwei was sentenced to death row and was taken to the capital for trial three days later.
Because Guo Fuwei's official position was too high, even the magistrate could not directly sentence him to death. He had to be taken to the capital and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for questioning.
But with Zheng Gong, the former Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, here, it can be ensured that Guo Fuwei will only die when he enters the city.
...
