Chapter 28 Chapter 28 When Jiang Wan and his group arrived at the county government office, the door...

When Jiang Wan and his group arrived at the county government office, quite a few spectators had already gathered at the entrance.

The captain pushed through the crowd and led Jiang Wan and the others into the main hall. Jiang Wan looked up and saw Magistrate Li, dressed in his official uniform, sitting in the hall. Facing the spectators, he projected a look of righteous authority. He slammed the gavel and shouted, "Who dares to kidnap civilians in broad daylight? Confess the truth!"

The captain of the police was startled and quickly interrupted Magistrate Li, saying, "Sir, please allow me to report the situation first."

After saying this, he leaned over to the magistrate's desk and whispered for a while. Magistrate Li tilted his head to listen, his face first surprised, then embarrassed, and finally cursed softly and gave a few instructions to the legal advisor standing beside him.

The lawyer listened carefully, bowed and agreed, then left the court.

Magistrate Li then looked up and down the hall, meeting Jiang Wan's inquiring gaze. He couldn't help but touch his nose guiltily and coughed softly, "Miss Jiang, now that we've found this man, take him back to recuperate. Stop making a fuss."

Make a scene? Jiang Wan glanced at the still unconscious Wang Er. Her apprentice had been bullied like this, and she was being told to just swallow her anger and stop making a scene?

Jiang Wan sneered and was about to speak when he suddenly felt his sleeve being tugged. Turning around, he saw his brother Jiang An gently shaking his head.

The lawyer had gone out earlier, presumably to inform the Huang family. This was clearly a robbery by the Huang family, and since Wang Er's household slave documents hadn't been registered at the government office, he wasn't considered a household slave. Magistrate Li was well aware of this, so he wanted to make a big deal out of it and let Wang Er go, not filing a case, to give the Huang family some face.

Who asked the Huang family to give him 20% of the profits every year? That's 400 taels of silver!

Jiang Wan could guess a thing or two from the County Magistrate's reaction. Judging from the Huang family's behavior, Huang Xingquan valued his son like his lifeblood and would certainly not let Wang Er off easily. Perhaps he would offer better terms to bribe County Magistrate Li and make the fake document real.

Jiang An had seen these tactics before, having served under Lord He. It was precisely because of this that he had just thought of this and warned his sister not to act rashly. Seeking justice for his apprentice was certainly important, but even more important was taking advantage of the magistrate's intention to release Wang Er and quickly bringing him back to heal his wounds.

The magistrate couldn't go back on his words in front of so many people. As for justice, it wouldn't be too late to appeal when the high official arrived.

After Emperor Yan mentioned the Jinyiwei commander that day, Jiang Wan specifically asked his brother if he had heard of this Lord Shen when he was with Duke He. Jiang An also confirmed that Lord Shen had a good reputation for impartiality and had never participated in factional disputes. He was unlikely to be in cahoots with Magistrate Li.

Therefore, Jiang Wan nodded imperceptibly to her brother and raised her voice to answer, "Thank you, sir, for your help in finding it. I will take my disciple back first.

County Magistrate Li nodded, ordered someone to bring a stretcher, and asked the maid to give Wang Er a simple bandage.

After all, he still has the birthday gift cooperation with Jiang Wan. If Jiang Wan is willing to give in, he is happy to do him a favor.

Jiang Wan understood Magistrate Li's intentions. Ever since she was released from her official duties, she had always behaved submissively in front of the Magistrate. Logically, she should now express her gratitude to Lord Li.

But she pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.

It's not that she didn't understand that, but looking at her little apprentice's bloody back, she really didn't want to join in the performance of the unity between the government and the people.

Not only Jiang Wan felt distressed, but Wang Da also rushed to his brother's side, wanting to touch his brother's head but afraid to touch his wound. When Wang Da saw his brother at the city gate, his eyes reddened. He wanted to take his brother back for treatment immediately, but he was afraid of ruining his master's plan, so he had to hold back. Finally, when he could finally let his brother go, Wang Da felt relieved and tears welled up in his eyes.

A hand rested on his shoulder, patted it gently, and then handed him a handkerchief.

Wang Da turned around and met his master's concerned face. The master and disciple looked at each other in silence, and saw guilt in each other's downcast eyes.

Wang Da felt that he had failed to protect his brother and was always causing trouble for his master; for Jiang Wan, she, as a master, had betrayed her disciple's trust and was unable to avenge her disciple on the spot.

More and more people gathered around the government office. Most of them had just learned the whole story from Jiang Wan's stall. Now, witnessing the scene of brothers hugging and crying, and the master and apprentice looking at each other in silence, they shouted for the county government to investigate the truth and give Jiang Wan justice. Many people also began to curse Huang Xingquan for his vicious heart and disregard for the law.

Huang Xingquan walked into the county government office amid a chorus of curses.

Led by his master, he walked quickly through the crowd of onlookers. He was covered in vegetable leaves and the smell of vegetables all over his body caused the master in front of him to glare at him with disgust.

Jiang Wan raised his head and saw Huang Xingquan bowing and nodding to County Magistrate Li, then taking out a document from his sleeve and handing it to the lawyer.

The lawyer took it, holding his nose, and placed it on the magistrate's desk. Magistrate Li glanced down, unable to help but curl his lips. But then, remembering that the people were watching, he clenched his fist and coughed, his face stern again.

He slammed the gavel and shouted in a deep voice, "Silence! The plaintiff, Wang Da, is suing Huang Xingquan for kidnapping his brother. However, the defendant, Huang Xingquan's steward, has produced Wang Er's indenture, stating that Wang Er voluntarily sold himself into slavery."

Magistrate Li raised his hand and ordered the indenture to be brought forward. He held it up for the onlookers to see, then said with a stern face, "Once your fingerprint is affixed, it becomes effective. Wang Er is now the personal property of Huang Xingquan and has nothing to do with plaintiff Wang Da. Therefore, the appeal is dismissed. Plaintiff, do you have any objections?"

"It wasn't voluntary at all! It was Huang Xingquan who knocked my brother unconscious and forced him to press his fingerprints," Wang Da said angrily. "And he was only arrested yesterday. He definitely hasn't registered with the authorities."

The master chose to endure it just now because it was for his brother's good. He was willing to trust the master. But how could he, as an older brother, tolerate others bullying his younger brother like this?

The magistrate stroked his beard and smiled. "The plaintiff is right. Someone, go check the archives to see if there's any registration documents for Wang Er."

The lawyer bowed and replied "yes". When he stood up, he met the magistrate's meaningful gaze.

The master's shoulders trembled and he stepped back.

According to the law, selling oneself into slavery required official confirmation from both parties before the contract could be registered. According to Huang Xingquan, Wang Er had sold himself voluntarily, and his handprints could be pressed even after he fainted, but he would never pass the official verification stage.

But for some reason, Jiang Wan always felt something was wrong.

In the courtroom, with the people watching, Magistrate Li didn't say a word to Huang Xingquan. But when the paper was handed over, Jiang Wan clearly felt that the Magistrate's attitude had changed.

She couldn't see what was written on the paper, but if she guessed correctly, it was a deal. If Magistrate Li accepted the deal, then everything that followed would be disadvantageous to them.

As the legal advisor left, the county government office became quiet.

Jiang Wan was rapidly thinking about what the county magistrate was planning. On the other side, County Magistrate Li sat there leisurely, even twirling a brush.

The people outside the government office quieted down. After Jiang Wan arranged for the craftsmen to explain the entire story, the people all believed that Wang Er had been forced to press his handprint. Many of the onlookers, shop owners who had long been exploited by the Huang family, were also well aware of their practices.

But the reason why the Huang family has been able to stir up trouble for many years is because of the government; similarly, the key to today's incident lies with Magistrate Li, and Jiang Wan brought some people here just to exert pressure.

In the feudal era, power was concentrated in one person at the local level and in one person at the central level.

Not only were the people angry but dared not speak out, Jiang Wan couldn't help but curse in his heart that the feudal dregs were killing people.

After a while, the lawyer returned with a booklet and placed it on the magistrate's desk. "Your Excellency, I found it. There is indeed a registration record. The time is yesterday at 8:00 PM."

Wang Da looked up in shock, his eyes wide open as he looked at the page. But he had learned martial arts since childhood and couldn't understand the words. He could only shake Jiang Wan's shoulders pleadingly, "Master, Master, please help me see. That's not my brother's record. It's impossible... my brother couldn't have sold himself voluntarily, right?"

Jiang Wan was also in disbelief and said to the magistrate, "Sir, could you please show me this booklet?"

The magistrate nodded and tossed the booklet in front of Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan picked it up and saw the following inscription: On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Wujing, Wang Er voluntarily sold himself into slavery, and Huang Xingquan paid fifty taels to buy him.

The ink has not yet dried, obviously it was just written.

Jiang Wan met the magistrate's warning gaze and couldn't help but sneer. She said something didn't seem right, and it turned out that the record had been forged temporarily and was waiting for her.

But before Lord Shen arrived, the magistrate was a local tyrant, and she had no chance against him. However... since he dared to falsify the facts, she had evidence.

There must be no record of the fifty taels in Huang Xingquan's account book, because he didn't pay any money at all.

Because in court, although the county magistrate accepted the benefits from Huang Xingquan on the paper, they had no chance to exchange them. The record was false, and the fifty taels Huang Xingquan offered was naturally false. The only solution now was to stabilize the county magistrate, undermine the trust between him and Huang Xingquan, and prevent the two from reconciling the accounts privately.

Only in this way can Wang Er be temporarily kept in the county government office and prevent him from falling into the hands of the Huang family.

"Master, Master, this isn't my brother's, is it?" Wang Da's voice brought Jiang Wan back from his thoughts.

Jiang Wan glanced down at his squatting disciple, then looked away, remaining silent.

Wang Da instantly understood what his master meant. He sat down on the ground and muttered in despair, "How could it be... How could it be possible?"

Yes, how could it be possible? The two brothers were learning from Jiang Wan, and Jiang Wan's progress these days was obvious to the entire city. Life was clearly getting better and better, so why would he voluntarily become a slave at this moment? Moreover, seeing how anxious their master and brother were, and how injured the person was, any normal person could see that it was unreasonable.

The onlookers shouted for a thorough investigation, but the power to judge the case lay in the hands of the county magistrate. After accepting the benefits from the Huang family, County Magistrate Li faced the people's questioning, although he felt guilty, but he did not intend to change.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Wan had already figured out how to deal with it.

She met the magistrate's dignified gaze without fear and said slowly, "Sir, I think there is something wrong here."