Chapter 48: Standing Side
"Master Zhao, please go ahead and do your work. If you need any files, witnesses, or documents, please feel free to bring them along. When the jury sits in court, Master Zhao will preside over the trial, and I'll be supervising."
He breathed a sigh of relief after saying this. Even if he wanted the credit, he wouldn't dare compete with Zhao Yan. As long as the Left Prime Minister and His Majesty knew about his existence, benefits and promotions would be inevitable.
After hearing what he said, Zhao Yan stopped trying to avoid it and agreed to be the chief judge and write the petition.
After confirmation, Xu Tongren proposed to directly interrogate Jiang Cheng the day after tomorrow, wait for Jiang Cheng to confess Jiang Huaxiang, send someone to the capital in a letter to state the crimes, and then he would take people to Fuzhou to directly detain him.
After the matter was settled, Zhao Yan came out from Xu Tongren. The sky outside was already full of rosy clouds. The crimson clouds transmitted golden light, which made people's hearts and eyes feel warm.
Before he was exiled, he did know that His Majesty was dissatisfied with the Queen Mother's excessive interference in state affairs.
There were indeed many court officials who supported the empress dowager and wanted her to emulate Empress Wu.
Zhao Yan had indeed been noticed by His Majesty before because he had made too many reports to the Ministry of Justice.
Although his father was a supporter of the emperor, he was a good man who was good at dealing with people. He also had to secretly give gifts to the empress dowager.
Everyone thought that if the father supported the emperor, the son would definitely be one.
Then what Zhao Yan did must have been what was meant above.
But in reality he is nothing. He is known as a stubborn person whose brain is ruined by reading too much.
Today, he allowed Xu Tongren to misunderstand him and allowed himself to use his father's name.
In the past, he despised and resented them, but when he really became such a person, he felt relieved.
Whatever the heart desires, the form does not matter, because he has not lost his original heart.
…………
Yu Huatang hasn't seen Zhao Yan since that day.
Even during the last trial, she just sat outside and listened.
Today, Mrs. Hua said that all the lights in the house were broken by her naughty son. It was getting dark soon, so she was in a hurry to send someone to deliver the lights.
Yu Huatang went to Yan's house in person.
After entering the compound, I happened to run into the doctor who was about to leave.
Yu Huatang asked, "Is Master Yan ill?"
Hua sighed and cursed at the people inside, "Why did you pretend to have a cold for no reason? Now you really have a cold."
Yan Quan already had a headache, and he didn't care that there were people around. "It was your idea. You said it was a cold, but most people can't tell if it's real. You gave me two big bowls of leftovers for lunch. Even a strong body can't stand it."
When Yu Huatang saw them arguing, he pretended not to hear and just lowered his head to work.
Not long after, a servant came running in from outside, "...Master, Mr. He from the government office is here. He said he has something urgent to see you..."
Yu Huatang looked up and saw that Dianshi He was also out of breath from running. He didn't even notice anyone in the courtyard and went straight into the inner room. "Oh... Lord Yan, you are still pretending. Jiedushi Xu has already come here and said that he will attend the trial with Lord Zhao tomorrow."
Yan Quan jumped up from the bed in shock. "Did you just say that Lord Zhao really invited Governor Xu?"
He Dianshi took a few sips of tea, calmed down, and said solemnly, "Indeed, the government office is now entirely staffed by Xu Jiedushi's men. Even the yamen has been replaced with people brought from Fuzhou. They say this is to prevent others from colluding with the criminals, and they're separating us."
Yan Quan was so shocked he was speechless. After a while, he said, "...Xu Jiedushi has received a lot of money from Jiangzhou Mu. Is he really investigating the case with Lord Zhao? This is too unbelievable."
He Dianshi sneered, "What's so incredible about this? He's just deserting the dark side and joining the light side. Lord Zhao must have promised the Jiedushi some benefits, otherwise why would he come here and obey Zhao Yan's orders?"
Yan Quan understood immediately, "Benefits, yes, it must be..." He realized that Yu Huatang was still standing outside. He immediately closed the door and lowered his voice to explain the details to He Dianshi.
Yu Huatang also guessed what it was about. Putting aside personal grudges, Zhao Yan had indeed done it and could indeed be called a caring official.
At this moment, her original worries were finally relieved.
Inside the room, Dianshi He asked worriedly, "What should we do now? If Lord Zhao brings these people to submit a petition, even if it succeeds, we won't have a share. We might even be isolated from the center of government in the future."
How could Yan Quan not know this? As an official, the most important thing is to stand on the right side. If he fails to stand on the right side this time, there will be no next time. "You say, why don't we return the benefits we got? We only got a box of cakes and some silver. If we return it now, even if Jiangzhou Mu retaliates, we can still explain it."
"How do you explain it? Say, we were cheated?" He Dianshi asked with a squint.
"How can you say that!" Yan Quan said sternly, "Just say that Lord Jiang invited us for tea, and we didn't know there was money in the cakes. When we came back, our children found out, and that's how we found out."
Then he asked, "Do you still remember the money case at Jianzhou Bridge two years ago?"
He Dianshi thought for a moment and said, "You want to use this case to surrender to Lord Zhao and tell him that we are willing to help him."
Yan Quan's mind cleared up at this moment, and he spoke clearly, "The case involves a huge amount of money. Lord Zhao will definitely need witnesses. It just so happens that one of the witnesses is feeding horses in my house."
He Dianshi breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and said, "That's fine too. I'll follow your instructions, sir."
Things finally took a turn for the better, and Yan Quan breathed a sigh of relief. After He Dianshi left, Yan Quan told Hua about the matter and asked her to be careful recently and not talk to anyone with the surname Jiang to avoid being implicated.
Hua also knew the importance of this matter, so she didn't dare to show off anymore.
After a few days, the Jiang timber case, which involved so many people, spread throughout the streets and alleys, and everyone was talking about it.
Some people said that many officials were imprisoned, and the government office also posted a notice asking all those who participated in the construction of "Jianzhou Bridge, Huajia Bridge, Xuyuan Bridge, and Heyuan Bridge" to go to the government office to explain the situation.
If you voluntarily provide evidence or testimony related to the case, you will be rewarded ten cents.
Zhang Hu was talking excitedly and added, "Besides this, I heard that there will be a reward for those who take the initiative to offer advice."
Zhang Dong laughed, "With your brain, what kind of strategy can you offer? Just eat your melon seeds."
Everyone started discussing again, trying to see if they could come up with some solution that would help the government handle the case.
At this time, Yu Huatang said to Zhang Dong beside him, "It's easy to ask for a ten-cent reward. Why don't you suggest to the officials at the government office that we find some good people to help us find evidence?"
"This case involves a wide range of people. Ordinary people are more familiar with some of the terrain and places where the stolen money is hidden, which can speed up the investigation."
"Yes, yes, why didn't I think of that? I'll go tell the governor right away." Zhang Dong was so happy to hear that that he couldn't wait to get the ten cents and ran away.
Yu Huatang was happy to see that the case was going smoothly. When it was almost time to get off work at the government office, she had some free time and followed many villagers to the government office.
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