It was only halfway through the fourth watch, and everything was still dark, but the lights of the Zhang family and the Xu family were already on.
"ah...!"
Zhang Fei yawned, rubbed his eyes that couldn't be opened, and complained: "Zhi Qian, do you want to rush like this? Wow...it's not even bright yet."
"You think that everyone is like you. They always go to Kaifeng Mansion to play drums. Usually when you file a lawsuit, you have to rush to submit the petition at the fifth watch. Otherwise, you may have to wait for several days. Hurry. Let’s go!”
As Xu Zhiqian spoke, she urged Zhang Fei to walk out the door.
Gao Wenyin, who was sending them out, encouraged Xu Zhiqian and said, "Ms. Xu, I will help you prepare the celebration banquet at home."
Xu Zhiqian hurriedly said: "Sister Gao, please don't do it. Even if you win, you may not be able to get the verdict today. Your husband is fighting a different kind of lawsuit, which is different from ours..."
"ah?"
Gao Wenyin looked at her in astonishment.
Zhang Fei also opened his eyes and said energetically: "What are you talking about? I am also your husband, okay."
Xu Zhiqian blinked and argued: "I...I wasn't wrong either!"
Zhang Fei nodded: "Absolutely correct."
Gao Wenyin blushed with embarrassment and remained silent.
It can be seen that a threesome may be exciting for one person and embarrassing for the other two.
Xu Zhiqian glanced at Gao Wenyin, then glared at Zhang Fei who was still embarrassed, "Hurry up and leave!"
Just pull Zhang Fei into the carriage.
Although it is still dark, there are already many hard-working vendors on Bianhe Street bravely rushing to their stalls.
When they arrived at Si Lusi, it was a little bright. As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw many people standing in line waiting in front of the gate of Si Lusi. Some of them had short pens on the brim of their hats.
"So many people!"
Zhang Fei said in surprise.
Xu Zhiqian said: "Si Lusi and the left and right Xiang Gong are the busiest."
Both the Si Lu Division and the Left and Right Wings handle civil litigation. There are many people in Bianjing, and they can get a lot out of disputes every day.
It took Li Guozhong three days to file the lawsuit until today, but he had to rush early. No one knew how long the previous lawsuit would take, and the officials must have gotten off work on time, so they could only push it back.
Of course, Xu Zhiqian didn't have to submit the petition in person. The law firm had arranged for someone to handle these matters for her.
But she also had to come early, and her name would be called later.
Zhang Fei was very ashamed: "I have never experienced this before."
When he went to the left and right halls, he always used the back door because he went with Lu Jia.
Xu Zhiqian was absolutely right. He was fighting a different kind of lawsuit, which was different from ordinary ear pens.
Ordinary ear pens are much more difficult to use.
"Lawyer Xu! Lawyer Xu is here!"
"Lawyer Xu, we are here to support you."
"Lawyer Xu, we must not let the unfilial son succeed."
...
Several ladies suddenly came a few steps away from them to cheer Xu Zhiqian up.
Damn it! And a support group? Zhang Fei asked Xu Zhiqian, "Did you pay for this?"
"Why should I spend money to hire them?" Xu Zhiqian glanced at Zhang Fei in confusion and said, "I don't know them."
But she still nodded and thanked those ladies.
In fact, there are usually not so many people in the Department of Records. Today, many people came specially to watch the trial, and 99% of them came because of Xu Zhiqian's lawsuit.
First of all, no woman has ever come to court to litigate. This is a precedent. Everyone wants to see what it is like for a woman to litigate in court.
Secondly, she doesn’t charge money.
This is the most important thing. For many people, this is good news. In addition, Xu Zhiqian was well-known in the capital for her charity.
Citizens all believed that Xu Zhiqian really litigated cases for free.
Everyone wants to know whether Xu Zhiqian is powerful. If she is, then they can also seek help from Xu Zhiqian in the future.
Zhang Fei suddenly turned his head to look at the ladies, and then walked over with a stern face.
Xu Zhiqian was stunned for a moment and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I am busy."
Zhang Fei came to those ladies and asked seriously: "Do you know me?"
One of the aunts said: "I know it, I know it. Aren't you the big-eared pen?"
Zhang Fei was very puzzled and said: "Why do you call her Lawyer Xu, but you call her Zhang Dayerbi?"
The lady next to me said: "You are a man, so of course you are called Erbi. Madam Xu is a woman. There has never been a woman as an Erbi before. We don't know if we can call it that. Isn't the name of your shop called a law firm?" , we...we thought about it and called her Lawyer Xu."
"That's it." Zhang Fei nodded, feeling very unwilling to give up. I asked my wife to pick peaches for the name I created, and then said: "Then can you also call me Barrister Zhang?"
"Huh? Oh, okay...Okay, open the big ear pen."
"Thank you. Excuse me."
Zhang Fei returned to Xu Zhiqian with a depressed look.
Xu Zhiqian shrugged her shoulders and tried her best to hold back her laughter. She knew that Zhang Fei was very resistant to this ear pen, although she didn't know why.
Zhang Fei warned: "Don't laugh, I'm very angry now."
He didn't say it was okay, but Xu Zhiqian laughed out loud when he mentioned it.
"Sister Qian'er!"
"Qian'er!"
Suddenly I heard several pleasant sounds.
Zhang Fei looked back and saw several young ladies wearing curtains and hats getting off the carriage. Although their appearance could not be seen clearly, they were all in good shape.
"Ah! Why are you here?"
Xu Zhiqian immediately walked over quickly.
"We are here to support you!"
"You! You found the right man, but you forgot about us sisters."
"It's so shameless."
"What are you talking nonsense about? I will lose later, but it will be up to you."
...
"Why don't you introduce me to my best friend? After all, my nickname is the best friend killer!"
Compared with those ignorant ladies, Zhang Fei still prefers chatting with young ladies, and he is about to take the initiative to walk over, say hello, add WeChat and so on.
Suddenly a person stopped in front of him, "Zhang Sanlang."
"Yo! Li Xingshou!"
It was Li Guozhong. Zhang Fei asked casually: "Li Xingshou personally went into battle?"
Li Guozhong replied: "I am a tea eater, and I am only responsible for writing petition papers. This lawsuit is handled by an ear pen in my shop."
The ancient industry was very strict about rules, who did what.
Li Guozhong asked again: "Since Sanlang is free, why don't you fight this lawsuit yourself?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Can't you guess that Li Xingshou, that aunt can't afford to treat me?"
Li Guozhong frowned slightly: "I don't know whether I should say something or not?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Li Xingshou has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it."
Li Guozhong said: "I heard that Mrs. Xu helps people fight lawsuits for free."
"yes!"
"I'm afraid this will break the rules of our industry." Li Guozhong said doubtfully.
Zhang Fei chuckled and said: "Our industry is different from other industries. The key is not free or charged, but whether you can win the lawsuit. If you can't win the lawsuit, you will just pay for it, and people will not come to you. If you If you win, you get free money, and people will put money in your mouth.”
Litigation is either about money or life. Ability is the key, and it has nothing to do with whether you charge money or not. There is no malicious competition at all.
Not to mention now, this was the case in the era before Zhang Fei. You were free and no one would look for you.
Li Guozhong nodded, but his expression was a little unnatural.
Zhang Fei glanced at him and said with a smile: "Actually, Li Xingshou is not worried about breaking the rules, but he is worried that it will increase the cost of your lawsuit, right?"
Li Guozhong said with a smile: "I really can't hide anything from Zhang Sanlang!"
It turns out that many ordinary people can't afford ear pens, and the most they can do is go to Er Bi Hutong to buy a piece of paper. The rich take a big advantage, and their bookstores rarely lose.
If Xu Zhiqian hadn't been there this time, she might have threatened her with a little money, and then Aunt Liu would have compromised.
Xu Zhiqian now helps the poor with their lawsuits for free, which will greatly increase the cost and pressure on their bookstores.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Only with competition can progress be achieved. How much money you earn depends on your ability. This is reasonable."
"That's it! That's it!" Li Guozhong smiled and nodded, but he was thinking in his heart that the couple were here to destroy it.
Anyone who encounters this kind of thing would feel unhappy. In the past, you could make money by just writing a petition, but now...!
At this moment, a junior student ran over and gasped: "At the beginning of the line, we are the first in line."
Li Guozhong nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei said depressedly: "It turns out we were the first to arrive! I just said there's no need to rush."
Li Guozhong explained: "It's not that we arrived early, but this lawsuit has attracted a lot of attention because of Mrs. Xu. If the lawsuit is tried first, it will be affected. Moreover, Liang Silu tried it personally. Now this case The weather is hot, and the first session is the most comfortable.”
"It turns out there are so many ways here."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked again: "From what I heard, isn't that Director Liang doing the interrogation in every scene?"
Li Guozhong said: "Of course not, but several prison officers took turns to interrogate." As he said, he was curious again, "Sanlang seems to know nothing about this?"
"Well... I used to be very casual in the county. After coming to the capital, the first time I was beaten was in the Court of Justice. Haha... I'm not too familiar with it." Zhang Fei explained calmly.
Li Guozhong was speechless.
This guy's lawsuits are at least in the Kaifeng Mansion, and at most they have gone to the Government Hall.
Li Guozhong suddenly frowned and thought to himself, could it be...could he think that this Secretary Lusi's level was too low? If so, that would be great, at least we wouldn't be able to meet him.
After a while, the door opened.
Xu Zhiqian also came back quickly. Without introducing Zhang Fei to her best friends, she hurriedly led her maid Qingmei into the courtyard through the small door on the side.
The first thing is to name and register.
Zhang Fei would not go to court with her, because if he were there, Xu Zhiqian would definitely choose to rely on him.
So they rehearsed at home.
Of course, Si Lusi would not allow the couple to go into battle.
After all, Zhang Fei is not even allowed to enter through the front door.
"Hey... I'm Xu Zhiqian's husband, why don't you let me in?"
Zhang Fei complained to the government servant at the door.
The yamen officer glanced at him: "Aren't you just an ear-pen? You're not a witness in this lawsuit, so why should you be allowed in?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "So Brother Cha knows my identity, so don't do anything illegal in the future. If I catch you... hum...!"
The yamen officer immediately became frightened and begged for mercy in a low voice: "Don't blame me, Sanlang. This is all the orders from above, and there is nothing we can do about it."
After hearing this, Zhang Fei thought to himself, It seems that I have offended the entire officialdom. I can meet enemies wherever I go. From now on, I have to hold my thigh tightly, otherwise, I will not be eaten alive by him.
Just as he was talking, a person came inside, it was Fan Chunren.
"Fan Sijian."
Zhang Fei quickly said hello.
Fan Chunren glanced at the doorman and said, "Let him in."
"Thank you very much!"
Zhang Fei immediately slipped in.
Then he followed Fan Chunren to stand under a big tree on the left side of the hall.
Suddenly, he discovered that there were several women standing in the corridor opposite. They were all Xu Zhiqian's best friends. Xu Zhiqian's sisters must also be from official families, so naturally they would not stand outside to watch.
Zhang Fei thought, after all, they are Zhi Qian's best friends, I have to go over and explain to them. He glanced at Fan Chunren and said, "Fan Sijian, why are we standing here instead of on the corridor?"
Fan Chunren said with a straight face: "Didn't you see that there is a woman over there, how dare you stand over there."
"Yes. Why is there a woman over there? I just discovered it." Zhang Fei quickly changed the subject, "Is Fan Sijian here to perform official duties?"
Fan Chunren shook his head: "I am also observing the trial."
Zhang Fei said hey, "Isn't Fan Sijian here to study?"
Fan Chunren did not deny it, but said: "I went back and thought about that lawsuit, and I felt it was unfair to me."
Zhang Fei snorted: "How do you say this?"
Fan Chunren said: "For a county magistrate like Wang Hong who has been an official for more than ten years, there are a few who can keep themselves clean and not stained with mud. You can use this to attack him. In addition to that incident, he is already at fault." , so it’s not fair to me.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "You can't say that. If you just convict someone of the crime, even if you are convicted, you will win, but the result..."
"It's not because of you that the sentence is so harsh." Fan Chunren shook his head and said, "If you help Huang Laoer and I help Aunt Liu in this lawsuit, I will not lose."
Zhang Fei chuckled: "I don't know whether you lose or not, but Aunt Liu will definitely suffer a big loss."
Fan Chunren said: "You help people every time, so you will always have an advantage."
Zhang Fei said depressedly: "You think I always want to help good people. Originally I planned to help Huang Laoer, but Zhi Qian stopped me. Next time if a wealthy businessman offers me a lot of money to hire me, Fan Sijian will help me. Please advise Xu Zhiqian?"
Fan Chunren nodded and said: "It's a deal."
Zhang Fei was surprised: "Really or not?"
Fan Chunren said with a serious face: "Really."
He is really dissatisfied. He is not the kind of civil servant who only knows how to write and write. He also took the judicial examination and came first.
But he was also unwilling to help the bad guys with their lawsuits. He thought it was moral restraint that restricted him. At that time, he simply gave up on Wei Yushan. To be honest, this was indeed a bit hurtful. He hoped that Zhang Fei would help the bad guys and he would help the good guys.
Zhang Fei really wanted it. He was so excited that his eyes welled up with tears, and he repeatedly cupped his hands and said: "Then Lao Fan Sijian will be here."
After chatting for a while, I saw many government officials entering the venue and lining up.
The court hall of Si Lu Si is just a big playground, and dust will fly into the air after just two steps.
Of course, the gentlemen sit under the eaves directly in front. There is a roof above and a stone slab below, so they are not exposed to wind or sun.
The yamen and ear pens all stood outside.
sit?
table?
I really think too much.
After a while, Liang Dong and six officials entered the interrogation platform from the corridor together. Liang Dong and three officials took their seats, while three others stood aside.
Three of them are wardens, that is, judges.
One is a court recorder, and the other two are responsible for providing professional assistance such as audits and autopsies.
The Recording Division has to hear many cases every day. Many judges take turns to hear the cases, and there are a large number of professionals present to assist.
This is also the reason why litigation was so prevalent in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Among the internal assessments of the imperial court, the most difficult aspect is the judiciary.
Judicial officials are tested once a year for six days.
This led to the fact that all courts were judged by professionals. Those scholar-officials who were eloquent in writing usually did not appear on such occasions. They only appeared once in a while, that is, just for a while, the judges were still professionals.
It is a pity that this entire judicial system established by the Song Dynasty was completely destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty and never appeared again.
In the feudal dynasty, the judicial system of the Song Dynasty was definitely at its peak.
After a while, Xu Zhiqian and a man in his thirties came into the hall. This ear pen is named Li Lei, and it is said to be the most powerful ear pen in Li Guozhong's bookstore.
They first bowed and then presented the paper.
Liang Dong carefully looked at the pleadings from both parties, and then said: "Xuanhuang Yongli comes to court."
After seeing this, Zhang Fei frowned: "He didn't use our interrogation method."
Fan Chunren said: "You are just an exception."
Zhang Fei scratched his head: "This is terrible."
