Chapter 118

"The Qin family sued?"

Zhang Fangyuan sneered in confusion.

"I never paid any attention to this Qin Shang, but he had the nerve to file a complaint with the county government."

Xu He had never been involved in a lawsuit before. Seeing the county court summons him, he felt a little uneasy: "What should I do?"

"I will definitely go if the government summons me. Fortunately it is tomorrow. I will go and hire a lawyer today."

Xu He always felt that things were not that simple and there was something unclear. He felt that the matter was caused by himself, and that both the plaintiff and the defendant would lose face in such a lawsuit. He didn't know why the Qin family would make such a big deal out of it.

Zhang Fangyuan comforted him, "We'll know what kind of monsters they are when we go there tomorrow."

At noon the next day, Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He went to the county government office together. If there was a lawsuit, it would be posted on the notice board at the entrance of the county government office.

As expected, a new notice was posted today, and people passing by were looking at it. Zhang Fangyuan was about to go forward to take a look, but was called in by the yamen runner.

The plaintiff had already arrived in court, and as he and Xu He entered the court, the door of the government office creaked shut.

Xu He looked at Zhang Fangyuan in confusion: "What's going on?"

Although he had never been involved in a lawsuit here, he had seen lawsuits going on when he passed by the county government office during his years in the city. As the saying goes, one has seen pigs run even if he has not eaten pork. Usually when the government office was handling a case, there would always be many relatives, friends and common people outside watching the fun. But this time, the door was closed.

"When the office is closed, the cases will not be open to the public, but the results can be seen, so it doesn't matter."

Xu He then breathed a sigh of relief.

Not only Qin Shang but also his father Qin Hongde came to the hall this time.

Zhang Fangyuan originally thought that Qin Shang came to complain because he was angry after being beaten, but it turned out that his father had also come to join in the fun.

When the two parties gathered and the time was up, the county magistrate banged the gavel, and both rows of people shouted in surprise. Then the gavel banged again and the court closed.

The plaintiff then filed a complaint.

A reading of the identity information of the plaintiff and defendant, the request, the facts and reasons...

"The incident happened when the plaintiff, Qin Shang, was inspecting his business at his home and was about to return home with his servants. On the way, he met the second defendant, Xu He. This young man took the initiative to talk to the plaintiff, spoke frivolously and with ill intentions, intending to seduce him."

"The plaintiff is an upright person and did not want to get involved with them. Unexpectedly, the second defendant pestered him and threw away the basket to blackmail him. He also turned the tables and accused the plaintiff of molesting him. The plaintiff Zhang Fangyuan suddenly appeared at this time and took the opportunity to beat up the plaintiff Qin Shang."

The more Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He listened, the more they felt something was wrong. Xu He was anxious. This was a complete false accusation. He said angrily, "You are talking nonsense!"

"What are you shouting for? You are not allowed to roar in court! You can speak your mind when it's your turn."

Scolded by the county magistrate, Xu He reluctantly shut his mouth.

"I now ask the great Lord of Heaven to uphold justice and order the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for medical expenses and other expenses, and punish the vicious business competition!"

After hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan finally figured out what was going on. His pursuit of justice today was fake. His real intention was to continue this trouble and use it to suppress the Zhang family's business.

He glanced at Qin Hongde and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Defendant Zhang Fangyuan, today the plaintiff Qin Shang sued you for vicious business competition. The couple colluded to frame Qin Shang for molesting you and took the opportunity to beat you up. Do you admit it?"

"I refuse to acknowledge the accusation filed by Lord Qin." Zhang Fangyuan said coldly, "My husband went to the market to buy vegetables. When he left, he was harassed by Lord Qin, who was trying to molest him. Lord Qin brought a group of servants with him. The weak man was no match for him. How could I sit back and watch my husband being humiliated? That's why I took action. It's not what the plaintiff said."

The county magistrate said, "Since both parties insist on their own opinions, then produce the evidence."

The Qin family lawyer quickly handed over the evidence: "The plaintiff's facial wound has not healed yet, and one of the servants was injured to a lesser or greater extent, and he is considered a witness. Now there is also a prescription written by the doctor of Shencaotang, and the account book is used as physical evidence. Please review it, County Magistrate."

The county magistrate glanced at it briefly, nodded, and then looked at Zhang Fangyuan: "Do you have any witnesses or physical evidence to submit?"

"The incident happened suddenly, and Qin Shang is frivolous and it is difficult to obtain evidence. We have no evidence yet. But I have some questions for the plaintiff."

"You ask."

Zhang Fangyuan said, "The complaint said that my business was in competition with the Qin family's business, and I colluded with my husband to take the opportunity to beat Qin Shang in revenge for malicious competition. If that's true, why were my husband and I the only ones to deal with Qin Shang on the day of the incident, while the Qin family brought several servants and strong men with them."

"The injured servants of the Qin family can also serve as our witnesses!"

"The defendant should not make false accusations in court. If there is evidence, show it." Qin Hongde said coldly, "If there is no evidence, this case is just your eloquence and you have confused right and wrong."

"Please, County Magistrate, handle this impartially and give me justice!"

The county magistrate banged the gavel again and said, "Since the defendant has not submitted any evidence, the case will be closed for the time being. We will open the court with evidence seven days later. If there is no strong evidence to identify the plaintiff, the plaintiff will be found in favor of the case."

Zhang Fangyuan was about to speak, but the county magistrate did not want to accept the case.

"Adjourn!"

"mighty……"

The county magistrate left. Qin Hongde straightened his sleeves and looked at the couple who were still standing in the hall without moving. He said, "Little brother Zhang, the county magistrate has left the hall. Let's go."

Zhang Fangyuan glanced at him coldly, then took Xu He out of the county government office.

Qin Hongde and Qin Shang followed him out and stopped the two people who were about to leave in front of the Zhang family's carriage. Qin Hongde smiled and said, "Little brother Zhang, the county magistrate will judge the case in five days. The county magistrate is very busy and the case cannot be delayed for too long. I heard that your son will take the imperial examination this year. If the case is recorded as a mistake of his father, I wonder if he can continue to take the exam next year."

"What do you mean?"

"My meaning is very simple. Brother Zhang has to deal with business and take care of his children for the imperial examinations. He is really busy. Why do you have to work so hard? Wouldn't it be much easier to close the two shops?"

Qin Hongde said casually, "This is not the first time that I have known Brother Zhang. We are old acquaintances. I will definitely not let Brother Zhang worry and withdraw the lawsuit on my own. This will also make the county magistrate feel relieved."

Xu He looked at the calm and composed old rascal and felt so angry that his teeth were itching. Only after the man left did he and Zhang Fangyuan get into their own carriage.

"The Qin family is truly shameful. It's fine if they just confuse right and wrong, but they even use the child as a threat." Xu He was angry and aggrieved, his eyes reddened: "What if we lose the lawsuit?"

He was genuinely worried. Both of them knew that Qin Hongde was so confident because, firstly, he knew it would be difficult for them to collect evidence, and secondly, although the county magistrate in the court did not say anything, he was obviously biased towards the Qin family.

"I have been doing a lot of things for the county government over the years. I have responded to all the matters handled by the county government. This is not the first time the county magistrate has met me. I don't know why he is biased towards the Qin family."

He did not ask for anything else, except that the county magistrate was fair so that he would not be troubled. Evidence could be found, but if the person in charge was biased towards one side, what was the use of even the strongest evidence?

This is undoubtedly the most difficult part.

The two returned with heavy hearts. Zhang Fangyuan sent people to inquire about the relationship between the Qin family and the county government, and also arranged to go and find evidence.

There is no physical evidence and it is difficult to find witnesses. Once you go to court to testify and stand on one side, you will inevitably offend the other side. And it's not just one person that is offended. To put it in a broader sense, it's an entire family and clan that are offended.

The Qin family has been lingering in Siyang for many years, and most of the people in the city know that they are bullies. For so many years, they have been able to bully the people in the village and bully men and women, but no one dares to say anything or sue them because they are afraid of offending others. Small families cannot win the lawsuit, and in the end they lose the lawsuit and are driven out of the city.

The incident happened in a busy city that day and there were many witnesses, but Zhang Fangyuan sent people to look around and no one dared to come forward.

The couple went out early and came back late. Although the case was not heard publicly, the notice was posted and people in the city still knew about the case.

Merchants generally just watch the fun. No matter which side loses the case, business will definitely be damaged, which is a good thing for competitors.

The common people would like Qin Hongde to be sued, so that the Qin family will no longer be so arrogant.

The city was in an uproar, and Xiaomao naturally learned about it, so he took Zhuang Qi to Zhang's house.

"The Qin family came here for the martial arts school. Qin Hongde has long been dissatisfied with the Ji'an martial arts school. This year, a branch was opened in the east of the city. He couldn't sit still. His son was taught a lesson again. He must be very angry. It's understandable that he would use this as an excuse to cause trouble."

Zhuang Qi frowned and said, "Business is important, but we can't let Ruijin suffer. If we can't find any evidence, we can negotiate with the Qin family and close the martial arts school in the east of the city."

"The martial arts school has been run hard over the past few years. Without much effort, the staff of the large martial arts school has been dismissed. How can the reputation that has been built with great difficulty be restored?"

Zhang Fangyuan sighed, "Qin Hongde is not picking a fight just because of the martial arts school. He was resentful because I didn't give him a profit when I was doing the charcoal business. In the past two years, I blocked his way and opened a trade route. He has repeatedly hit the Qin family's business. He naturally hopes that the Zhang family will die."

"Even if we take a step back today, he will continue to cause trouble in the future. This will only increase his arrogance. He will use this as a handle to continue causing trouble. He will not stop until the Zhang family is completely destroyed."

The atmosphere in the house was not very bright. Although the two children had not been told anything, they saw their father going out every day and the people who came in and out of the house to talk about things all had serious expressions. Rui Jin and Rui Li both realized that something had happened at home.

"Isn't it that the business is losing money? Dad is planning to sell the house to fill the hole. Will we have to live a hard life from now on? If he owes a lot of money and can't pay it back even after selling the house, will he sell me to someone else as a child bride?"

Rui Jin glanced at Xiao Li who was leaning on the door railing and peeking into the meeting room: "You eat so much every day, who can afford to feed you?"

Xiaoli ran to Ruijin and said, "If you don't sell me, you can only sell me. I will work like a slave for a rich family. How can I do that?"

"Why is it that you are sold as a child bride, and I am sold as a slave?"

"Of course it's because of my beauty!"

Ruijin put down his pen: "You and I are twins, what do you have that I don't have?"

"That makes sense." Little Li brother thought for a while, "If that's the case, then brother should go and be someone's child husband. I think Xiaoxing brother's family is richer than ours, and he's close to the water and the moon is in his sight. The teacher likes brother too, so maybe there's still hope."

"Ouch." After he finished speaking, Xiaoli was hit on the head. He quickly covered his head and pouted his lips and said, "It's because I was hit on the head so often that I'm not as tall as my brother."

"If you talk nonsense again in the future, I will not cover for you when you read the storybooks in the teacher's class. It must be because you read too many storybooks that you are like this."

"snort."

Little Li rubbed his head and fell on the couch.

Rui Jin glanced in the direction of the meeting room and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

He was precocious but young. As the eldest son and brother, he could not share the worries of family affairs and his heart was rarely at peace.

If his family was really worried about business matters, he would inevitably feel a little confused.

While his family was running a business, he was concentrating on studying for the imperial examinations and was unable to share his worries and strategies with his father. Was this the right thing to do? Perhaps he should learn from his father how to run a business and manage a shop.

Ruijin was feeling annoyed. Little Li tilted his head to look at his expression and asked, "Is my brother angry?"

"Go back to your room, and don't cause trouble and upset Daddy these two days."

"I know." Little Li said, "The results of the exam will be announced tomorrow. Daddy is busy, so my brother and I will go and check the list tomorrow."