However, after Xu Yan returned to his villa in Santaishan by boat, he was surprised to learn that Zhou Dafu had agreed to identify Zhou Youde in court.

I don't know whether it was because Xu Wei and Shen Mingchen were too harsh or because Zhou Dafu's psychological quality was too poor, but he couldn't hold on so quickly.

However, Zhou Dafu had one request, which was that Xu Yan must ensure the safety of his wife and children. This was the bottom line.

Of course Xu Yan agreed.

In his opinion, even if Zhou Youde was desperate, he wouldn't be able to act so quickly. Xu Yan was confident that he could take Zhou Youde down in one fell swoop, without giving him time to react.

The next step is the highlight - reporting to the police.

According to Xu Yan’s previous plan, he definitely could not go to Qiantang County Government Office and Renhe County Government Office.

If you want to go, go to the Hangzhou government office.

As for the Governor's Office, he did not consider it.

Although he had a good relationship with Zhu Wan, he was the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang after all. It was too disrespectful for Xu Yan to come to him for such a trivial matter.

Judging from the current public opinion situation, as long as Zhou Dafu turns against them, Zhou Youde will undoubtedly lose.

Xu Yan took a deep breath and felt refreshed.

After laying out the net for so long, it’s finally time to close it.

…

…

Hangzhou government office.

Prefect Zheng Youhe looked solemn as he looked at a petition on the desk, feeling extremely annoyed.

The Xu family sued the Zhou family for stealing manuscripts, setting fire to the bookshop, and various other charges of threats and intimidation.

What gave Zheng Youhe a headache was not the case itself.

But it’s the background of these two families.

Xu Yan was a needless matter. His grandfather was a renowned imperial merchant in Hangzhou, paying a large tribute to the Hangzhou government every year. Xu Yan was also close friends with the Governor-General. It was rumored that the Governor-General's promotion was also due to Xu Yan.

As for the Zhou family, they were no ordinary family either. The daughter of Zhou Youde, the head of the Zhou family, was the favorite concubine of the current Governor Yao Wenzhao.

With this relationship, the Zhou family naturally acted arrogantly in Hangzhou City.

The Zhou family has done a lot of bullying and market dominance, but every time it was left unresolved.

There's nothing I can do about it. It's because he has a strong background.

Now, the two businessmen with strong backgrounds have somehow gotten entangled with each other and have developed irreconcilable conflicts.

On the surface, this was a dispute between businessmen, but in reality, it involved two adults.

Zheng Youhe could not afford to offend either the Zhejiang Provincial Governor or the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Headache, really a headache!

As the highest-ranking local official in Hangzhou, Zheng Youhe could not shirk this case.

Now that the lawsuit has been accepted, it is only a matter of time before the trial begins.

That's all. Since we have to review it anyway, it's better to review it sooner rather than later. There's no point in delaying it.

So, Zheng Youhe signed the ticket and ordered someone to bring Zhou Youde to court for trial!

…

…

Little Penglai.

Zhou Youde was in a good mood.

In his opinion, the Xu family's acceptance of the banknotes and people meant that they had accepted the Zhou family's sincerity.

After all, it would be bad for both families if the matter continued to escalate.

Although some money and reputation were lost, as long as the Zhou family's foundation remains, there will always be a day for it to make a comeback.

Right now, you just need to keep a low profile for a while and avoid the limelight.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

Zhou Liu, the second steward of the Zhou family, hurried to the pavilion and reported to Zhou Youde: "Someone from the government has come and wants to see you before the court for trial."

Zhou Youde frowned and said, "Government? Which government?"

"The ones who came were the officials from the Hangzhou government office."

Zhou Liu said timidly.

Zhou Youde sneered and said, "Then I'll go and take a look."

Her daughter was the concubine of the governor of Zhejiang Province, so officials in Zhejiang, especially Hangzhou, would give the Zhou family some face.

How dare this Prefect Zheng bring him to trial?

But Zhou Youde rushed out in a hurry and started to mock the officials from the government office.

"I wonder what law Mr. Zhou has violated that has troubled several officers to come all the way here."

The leading officer originally wanted to be polite to him, but seeing him being so sarcastic, he couldn't help but become a little tougher.

"Don't you know what Mr. Zhou has done? We are here to bring you to court on the orders of the Master. Please don't make things difficult for us, Mr. Zhou."

Seeing his tough attitude, Zhou Youde thought it was unusual.

"Do you have any tickets?"

The leading officer did not hesitate and took out the card ticket to show Zhou Youde.

Zhou Youde's heart sank when he saw the ticket.

A warrant was the official document used by the police to arrest someone. It proved that the government had officially accepted the case. Those who received the warrant had to appear before the court, or else they would be punished for resisting the police.

Zhou Youde naturally didn't want to make things awkward, so he forced a smile and said, "Excuse me, officer, why did the master send me there?"

"Oh, Mr. Zhou really thinks too highly of us. We are just running errands for the master. How can we know what the master thinks?"

Zhou Youde was very unhappy with his criticism, but he could do nothing about it.

"In that case, Zhou will go with you."

"Please come in!"

…

…

The second hall of Hangzhou government office.

The case involved many issues, so Zheng Youhe decided not to hold a public trial, but to hold the trial in the second court.

In this way, even if some emergencies occur, they will not become unmanageable.

In the hall were Xu Wei, the owner of the Xu family bookshop, and Zhou Dafu, the steward of the Zhou family. The trial could begin only after Zhou Youde, the head of the Zhou family, arrived.

Just then, two officers came over with Zhou Youde. Zheng Youhe braced himself, slammed the gavel, and said, "Court open!"

"Mighty..."

The yamen runners shouted loudly, and the floor was banging with the water and fire sticks.

Except for Xu Wei, who had the title of scholar and was allowed to meet officials without kneeling, everyone else present had to kneel during the trial.

Zhou Youde is naturally no exception.

After everything was ready, Prefect Zheng cleared his throat and said, "Is this person here Zhou Youde?"

In fact, he knew Zhou Youde. After all, the Zhou family sent him a lot of filial piety money every year.

But it must be done according to the trial process.

Zhou Youde was also very clear about this, and he did not care but cooperated and said: "Your Excellency, I am Zhou Youde."

Prefect Zheng nodded and said, "Xu Wei, the shopkeeper of the Xu family, accused you of instructing your servants to steal the Xu family's manuscripts. Is this true?"

Zhou Youde actually understood everything the moment he saw Xu Wei.

Well, he took the money and then reported it to the police. How cruel.

"Your Excellency, this is absolutely not the case. The Xu family is slandering me and insulting my innocence. I beg you to be discerning and make the decision for me!"

Zhou Youde took the initiative to grab the person and kowtowed to Zheng Youhe.

Prefect Zheng had originally wanted to keep the peace, but upon hearing Zhou Youde's words, he began to smooth things over, saying, "Xu Wei, is there any misunderstanding?"

Upon seeing this, Xu Wei quickly bowed to Prefect Zheng and replied, "Your Excellency, the evidence is irrefutable, and Zhou Dafu, the Zhou family's steward, can testify. Just ask him and he'll know the details."

…

…

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