The gate of the Xingfu is extremely solemn and majestic. It is divided into two small doors. One side is smaller, called the Xingmen, which houses various torture instruments used for executions. The other side is larger, called the Law Gate, where prisoners are interrogated. of the main hall.
There is an eagle made of stone on both doors, symbolizing discernment and resolute action.
Next to the Dharma Gate, there is also an eagle statue sticking out with its mouth open. When you want help from the Xingfu, you need to put a forging stone into it. The energy of the forging stone will make the statue make a sharp cry. , which is meant to inform the people that the Xingfu is about to do something, but after these forged stones are put in, the energy will be drained and become an ordinary stone. This is also to make the Xingfu officials honest.
After Jingru put in the forging stone, the statue's scream made some people poke their heads out to take a peek. Some shook their heads, some sighed, and some even took out some melon seeds.
After waiting for a while, the door was opened by the government officials. He was wearing tight-waisted loose clothes, a hair crown, a waist badge and a scimitar issued by the prison government. No matter who was standing in front of him, he would look straight ahead.
In his hand he held a wooden sign with the word "quiet" engraved on it, which meant that the main hall was already busy with business.
When the official walked away, a huge carved mural behind him came into view. It also looked like an eagle, but this mural was even more shocking. It is said that when people who have made mistakes see the mural, they will become arrogant. Subconsciously speaking out the facts that they want to hide, but in fact those people are just guilty of committing crimes. Those miraculous statements are just the effect of spreading. Naturally, they will not reveal their true colors in this solemn environment. For those who are determined, It's even more useless.
The same was true for Qin Jingru and the others. When they followed the government officials to the main hall, there was a man wearing a ghost mask sitting on the judge's desk. He wore a dark red wide-sleeved coat and a silk hat with feathers interspersed on his head. On the table in the red lobby are placed a ruler, hanging brushes, bamboo slips, inkstones, and official seals.
When the three of them looked at the people kneeling on the interrogation chair, their clothes looked very familiar - they were the businessmen who entered the city yesterday.
Those people sit on special chairs. Sitting on them will make people anxious. This is also to make the prisoners talk involuntarily. Their feet are also tied to the chairs with chains to prevent the prisoners from running around.
However, these are only used for those accused suspects, while those who come to report to the police use ordinary chairs, which certainly does not make people feel like they are sitting on pins and needles.
Qin Feng asked in a low voice: "Sister Jingru, why are they treated as prisoners?"
Qin Jingru shook his head, and they both looked at Qin Yue. After all, his thinking was the best among the five, and Qin Yue lived up to expectations and expressed his opinion:
"Maybe they originally wanted to report the city guard's misdeeds to the Xingfu, but the Xingfu was bribed by the city lord, so they used various reasons to convict these businessmen as criminals."
The judge suddenly slapped the ruler and said, "You have to accuse and frame me again and again without any evidence. What's worse, if you refuse to obey the discipline, you will be punished severely."
After saying that, their shackles were opened one by one and they were taken to the torture room next door by the yamen.
After the merchants left, the judge said to Qin Jingru and the others, "What do you have to report?"
Qin Jingru held hands and worshiped, and then said: "I am greedy for money for the city guard and forcefully accept customs duties."
"In that case, do you have any evidence?"
Jing Ru replied: "According to today's laws, when multiple people report the same incident, the criminal government should take over the investigation. Of course, if evidence is not required, a pair of blue bracelets of mine was also taken away by the city guards."
After the judge thought for a moment, he called the county magistrate to discuss countermeasures in a low voice, and finally said: "Captain Cao, go and investigate this matter and bring the violators of the law and discipline."
"yes."
After the county captain left, the judge speculated on the origins of the three people. This move was discovered by Qin Yue, so he told Jing Ru about the judge's actions. Obviously, the judge was a little panicked.
Soon after, the county captain came back. There were indeed more of them than when they left, but it was only one more.
Seeing this extra person, he was indeed the one collecting money at the city gate just now.
The county lieutenant said: "My lord, after investigation, it was found that the forcible collection of customs duties by the soldiers guarding the city was all done by one person. This is physical evidence." After saying that, he put the bracelet on the hall table and continued: "As for the forcible collection of customs duties, , all due to the recent appearance of some people with evil intentions in the city, the tariff has been temporarily raised to prevent further expansion. "
"That being the case, this case has been concluded. Do you have any objections?"
This absurd reason is obviously not the first time he has told it, but there is nothing he can do now. If he continues to pursue it, he will only end up with the same fate as those people just now.
So Qin Jingru took the bracelet back and took the two of them away. Qin Jingru said:
"Let's go, let's go find Qin Xi and Xiao Zhuo."
"Insolent." A sudden roar came from the prison office, "How dare you act lawless and speak shamelessly in the courtroom. Your crime will be increased to the next level and you will be punished with a slap on the mouth."
What followed was a burst of miserable screams, which made people's scalp numb.
"But where should we find it?" Qin Feng asked, but he kept looking elsewhere while talking.
Qin Jingru said: "I don't know, hey, Xiaofeng, what are you looking for?"
"Where's our horse?"
Qin Yue asked tentatively: "Did the horses not be tied up when we went in?"
Several people were speechless now. It was inconvenient to go back and forth in the city, but the horse was stolen. Now they couldn't wander around. They could only stay here and listen to the screams, waiting for Qin Shi to come back.
Fortunately, Qin Zi did not keep the three of them waiting for long. With the sound of horse hoofbeats, Qin Zi and Qin Zhuo, who were regarded as saviors, arrived on horseback. However, the first question he asked after seeing the four people was: But the words were: "Where is your horse?"
…
Qin Jingru ignored him and said, "The entire Fengya City is filled with the smell of corruption. It seems we have to go directly to the city lord's mansion."
Suddenly, the door of the prison palace was opened, and the government officials escorted the businessmen out. They were now bloated, their bodies were in tatters, and there were a few blood stains on their bodies.
Qin Zhuo asked doubtfully: "Aren't they the same businessmen as yesterday? How could they become criminals?"
Qin Ci also looked puzzled and asked, "Jingru, what did they do?"
Qin Jingru also shook his head, but at this moment Cao County Lieutenant came out and gave a few instructions to a yamen servant. Qin Feng, who was closest to them, heard the conversation and whispered to the others:
"It seems that those businessmen are going to be put on trial for hiding something."
Public trial means a public trial, which means imposing punishment in front of the people in order to warn the people.
"What." Qin Xi's surprised tone almost made him jump, "What's going on? They are so good that they are going to be put on trial? Also, didn't they go to the criminal government to report them? What's the result?"
Qin Jingru could only answer a series of doubts with a sigh. She said, "Well, Qin will go back to the hotel to get his things, and we will go directly to the city lord's mansion to find out."
Qin Chi said angrily: "Why don't you go to the hotel with us first? I argued with the shopkeeper for a long time about a room. There were about 60 energy forging stones left in total, but I spent another 30 points all at once. , I won’t rent it now, are you kidding me?”
Qin Jingru just spread his palms and said: "Well, our horse was stolen. It's troublesome just to go to the city lord's mansion. I don't know how long it will take to get to the hotel with you. Besides, I don't know how long it will take to get to the hotel with you." , it’s not like the forging stone won’t come back, okay, that’s it.”
After saying that, Jing Ru led Qin Yue and Qin Feng and ran towards the city lord's palace. However, Qin had no choice but to turn his horse around and go back to the hotel to get the forging stone back.
Since there were no horses, Qin Jingru could only trot with them wearing coats that were not suitable for running.
After running for a while, Qin Feng said breathlessly: "Sister Jingru, how far is it? If I keep running, I will be exhausted!"
Qin Jingru said: "Aren't you usually very active? Why are your physical fitness so poor?"
"But running so far all at once will definitely make you tired, not to mention wearing the clothes of a businessman."
"It's okay, just hold on a little longer and it'll be fine. There's only one kilometer left."
"What! It's still so far away, ah~"
With a scream, Qin Feng suddenly collapsed on the ground.
"Get up, don't be embarrassed here, and you're not afraid of others laughing at you."
"All right."
Qin Feng reluctantly stood up on the ground, but as soon as he stood upright, Qin Feng yelled again, sat down again, and hugged his left leg with his arms.
Qin Jingru was obviously not fooled by this clumsy acting and said helplessly:
"Okay, it seems I'm too eager, let's slow down a little."
"Okay." Qin Feng suddenly stood up and shouted as if he had been beaten to death, with an excited expression.
Qin Jingru grabbed his ear and said, "Please keep your voice down, this is not a busy city, I can let you shout at will."
"Hey, Qin Yue, what are you thinking about?"
At this time, Qin Yue was facing the place where they came from, looking at the road they were running attentively. He came back to his senses when he heard someone calling him, and he whispered:
"I always feel like someone is following us."
"ah."
A man with an unstable foot suddenly appeared next to them. He staggered backwards and soon fell to the ground. Two strong men came out of the door. One of them said:
"Get out of here now, you dare to come here to order food if you don't have money, and you don't even think about whether your bag is qualified or not."
After saying that, the two strong men returned to the store.
The man who fell on the ground stood up and dusted himself off. He was wearing a silk coat with wide sleeves. If it hadn't been for the scene just now, I would have thought he came from a wealthy family.
He said kindly to the three of them: "I made you laugh. I wonder if you can help me pay for the banquet. Gao is very grateful."
Just when the three of them were confused, the man continued: "I am the eldest son of the Gao family in Fengya City. Our Gao family has always liked to interact with businessmen, and we are also doing big business. I am here to taste the dishes. It's a pity that I didn't bring enough money, and now I still owe twenty points, and I was kicked out by them. I hope my brother can help me."
Seeing that the three of them were still unmoved, he still said kindly: "I see that you haven't eaten yet. If you can help me, I will definitely invite you to Gaofu to have a good meal and drink. I will not treat you unfairly."
The three of them still did nothing, so he said again:
"Is there something urgent for you guys? I have horses in my house. I can give them to you as a gift in return."
Impatient, he turned around and asked Qin Yue: "Xiao Yue, do you still have the forging stone?"
"No more. I handed them all over when I entered the city."
Qin Jingru said to this man: "You see, we had already paid customs duties on all the forging stones when we entered the city, and there was no money left."
The man smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. Since you guys are willing to help, Gao is grateful. If you have nothing important to do, please come sit down at home and introduce yourself. My name is Gao Lei." .”
