The examination hall and the county government office were not far apart, and Zheng Ruqian had a loud voice, so even if there was a grievance drum, it would not affect the fact that it reached the ears of the people.
Immediately, those who hadn't gone far, those who were just watching the spectacle, and those who were concerned about the fairness of the imperial examination all gathered around.
The drumbeats continued, and so did the discussions.
In the backyard of the county government office, Magistrate Xieyang pinched the bridge of his nose.
In the past, my brother-in-law Gao Hu would handle these kinds of things; he didn't have to do anything to solve all the problems.
Now that Gao Hu has been arrested, he has no choice but to step in himself.
The magistrate's wife was even more furious, slamming her hand on the table. "How dare they! How dare they come here to beat the drum and appeal for justice? My son Hu'er has been persecuted to this extent by them, how dare they!"
The magistrate of Xiyang County had a gloomy expression.
He knew why the beggars were beating the drum to appeal for justice: to force him to deal with the perpetrators of the crime at the examination hall, and also to escalate the situation to an uncontrollable degree.
And they did succeed.
The magistrate of Xiyang County stood up and looked at the gatekeeper who was walking briskly towards him.
The so-called gatekeeper was a person appointed by the former emperor of the Dayu Dynasty to be in charge of the examination hall.
Although their rank was not high, they only received orders from the emperor and were not subject to the control of any local officials.
The gatekeeper of Xieyang County was a scholar in his thirties, with a fair complexion, no beard, and short stature. He looked at the magistrate of Xieyang County with slight dissatisfaction, saying, "Your Excellency, you should give an explanation for this matter."
The magistrate of Xiyang County forced a smile. "That's inevitable."
Not long after, he appeared in the lobby.
Above him was a "clear mirror hanging high," in front of him was a gavel, and kneeling below was a young man—who else could it be but Xu Mo?
With a resounding thud of the gavel, the court was opened: "Who is here? What injustice have you been accused of? Speak quickly!"
"Your Honor," Xu Mo straightened up, "I wish to file a complaint against the Imperial Examination Hall for lax oversight, which has allowed violence and harm to students."
The entire lobby fell silent.
The magistrate of Xiyang County was even more startled.
This kid's accusation is wrong. Shouldn't he be accusing... accusing himself?
But then I thought, who would sue the local official in their own county? That would be like cursing a dog at a dog.
So after discussing it with his younger siblings, Xu Mo decided to directly sue the Imperial Examination Hall.
The gatekeeper of the examination hall, who was innocently caught in the crossfire, was speechless.
"My lord, the person in charge of collecting the documents and two yamen runners witnessed my being beaten and my documents destroyed. The perpetrator has also been detained. I implore you to investigate everything and restore peace of mind to the people of Xiyang County."
After Xu Mo finished speaking, he solemnly bowed down, but did not kowtow.
At the entrance of the lobby, Zheng Ruqian quickly joined in the shouting, "Please, Your Excellency, restore peace of mind to the people of Xiyang."
"Please, Your Excellency, restore peace of mind to the people of Xiyang!"
"Please, Your Excellency, restore peace of mind to the people of Xiyang!"
When everyone voluntarily shouts out slogans, the hearts and minds of the people are already united.
The magistrate of Xieyang County trembled, slamming his gavel on the table. He had no choice but to shout, "Summon the person who collected the papers and the yamen runners in charge!"
Xu Mo, kneeling below the hall, had a slight smile on his lips.
He knew it had worked.
The magistrate of Xiyang County was ruthless; every time he made a move, he ruined someone's future.
But his biggest mistake was dragging the Imperial Examination Hall into it.
The gatekeeper was a unique official position, not subject to the jurisdiction of any local officials, and naturally, he was unwilling to take the blame.
In the midst of this struggle, if the magistrate of Xieyang County wanted to extricate himself, he would have no choice but to cut off his own arm.
At the end of the trial, the magistrate of Xieyang County pronounced the sentence: "The perpetrator shall be sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and imprisoned in the dungeon for five years without being allowed to leave."
That's where it ends.
But Xu Mo was ruthless, and he kowtowed silently, saying, "Your Excellency, there is still one thing I do not understand."
The magistrate of Xieyang County paused in his hand as he threw the burning edict, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
The next moment, Xu Mo spoke again, "My lord, the murderer has no grudge against me. Why would he kill me? I beg you to investigate thoroughly."
In the entire Xieyang County, the only family that has a grudge against Xu Mo is the Xieyang County Magistrate.
But how could the magistrate of Xieyang County reveal himself?
Therefore, the only one who can be identified is Gao Hu, who has repeatedly clashed with Xu Mo and his sister and is imprisoned in Yunshui County, where he will not be able to leave for the next seven years.
Thanks to the fact that the criminal law of the Great Yu Dynasty could be accumulated.
The constable Gao, who was waiting for his sister and brother-in-law to rescue him in Yunshui County, was delighted to receive fifty strokes of the cane and an additional three years of imprisonment.
I heard that when the county magistrate's wife heard the news, she immediately collapsed.
On the donkey cart.
Fang Heng disagreed, saying, "Our rash beating of the drum this time is already a provocation to the magistrate of Xiyang County. Now we are forcing him to increase the punishment for the constable Gao. I'm afraid he will hate us to the bone."
If the magistrate of Xiyang County were to openly use his reputation and resort to underhanded tactics, Fang Heng feared he would be unable to protect everyone.
“Third brother, you’ve misunderstood.” Zheng Ruqian shook his head. “Even without this incident, would the magistrate of Xieyang County have let us off the hook?”
Fang Heng remained silent.
From the moment they brought the constable Gao to justice, they were destined to be hated by the magistrate and his wife.
Why did you offend the yamen runner?
Because he failed to respectfully hand over the tiger whip and tiger skin, and failed to readily give away the fifty taels of silver.
How ridiculous! They hadn't done anything wrong, yet they became a thorn in the side of the county magistrate.
“I don’t regret being forced today,” Xu Mo murmured. “At least from now on, he won’t dare to tamper with things at the examination hall, and I can walk the path of the imperial examination fairly.”
However, it was foreseeable that the magistrate and his wife of Xiyang County would devise schemes in their new location.
Chang Yan was good at using reverse thinking. He thought for a long time, but he couldn't think of any way to kill someone without leaving a trace.
Zheng Ruqian's business owner was at Youranju, which was owned by the Jiang family, and the magistrate of Xiyang County had no say in the matter.
The examination hall became a forbidden area, and underhanded tactics could no longer be used in the imperial examinations.
Everyone else, whether it's Fang Heng, Wen Zhiyun, Chang Yan, or Jiang Sheng, is without fault.
They hardly ever go out, preferring to stay in bed all winter.
When the siblings returned to the dilapidated temple, they saw several yamen runners standing at the temple gate.
Xu Mo's eyes widened suddenly.
Chang Yan frowned deeply.
"Who are you?" Fang Heng tied up the donkey cart and strode over. "What, we just left the main hall, and you're already here to silence us?"
The dilapidated temple is located at the entrance of the village, and it is frequented by local people.
Upon hearing Fang Heng's words, the constables were all startled. "You can't say such things. The magistrate treats the people like his own children and would never do such a thing."
"We are here today on the orders of our lord to clean up all the temples in Xieyang County and to repair and enshrine them. This has nothing to do with you."
After he finished speaking in a resounding voice, before Fang Heng and his sister could react, he kicked open the door of the dilapidated temple, and with a flick of his spear, threw everything inside out.
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