Qin Nian knelt down and kowtowed, saying in a clear voice: "I greet the county magistrate."
I cursed in my heart, if you are a confused official, you will have to return this kneeling to me sooner or later.
The county magistrate's voice was very cold, a bit like the mechanical voice in his previous life, without any warmth: "Stand up and talk."
"Thank you, sir."
Qin Nian stood up and stood on the left. Opposite her were several yamen runners, who looked at her unscrupulously.
I am a modern woman, how can I be afraid of you looking at me? Qin Nian ignored her.
"Zhang Heng."
"The little one is here."
Zhang Heng moved out from behind Mr. Zhang, at a very slow speed, slower than a sloth. Qin Nian then realized that he had also been summoned.
Because she was hiding behind Mr. Zhang, she didn't see it.
Zhang Heng's face was pale, tears were in the corners of his eyes, and blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth. Upon closer inspection, he found that two of his front teeth had fallen out.
He couldn't even stand up, his legs were spread out, his buttocks and legs were covered in blood, it looked like he had been beaten quite hard with a stick.
The county magistrate asked, "Zhang Heng, you colluded with Qin Nian and threatened Mr. Zhang by saying that the land price would continue to drop, inducing him to sell the 100 acres of land to Qin Nian. Did you do that?"
Zhang Heng didn't dare look at Qin Nian, nor did he raise his head to look at the county magistrate. After a long while, he answered with a trembling voice, "Yes."
As soon as he uttered this word, tears began to stream down his face. He did not even wipe them away, and the tears dripped onto the ground.
How can a person who does not want to harm others not feel sad and condemned by his conscience when he is forced to tell lies under power and violence?
He was unable to break free from the cruel feudal system, unable to break free from oppression and exploitation, and could only use his remaining conscience to torture his heart.
"Qin Nian, the witness is here, what else do you have to say?"
Qin Nian stepped forward and said, "Sir, Zhang Heng is a witness, just ask him questions. Why did his tooth fall out?
His clothes were all covered in blood, why was he beaten?"
"How dare you! Do you have the right to interfere in my trial? I am asking you now. With all the witnesses, what else do you have to say?"
Qin Nian said: "First of all, Mr. Zhang is an adult. Even if Zhang Heng said that the price of the land had to be reduced, it was just Zhang Heng's judgment, not inducement.
This is the first point. The second point is that Zhang Heng was beaten until he was covered in blood and his front teeth fell out. This was a confession obtained under torture, so he cannot be considered a witness.
Thirdly, Mr. Zhang sold the land voluntarily. I did not force him to buy or sell the land. The land deed was also approved by the government and stamped with the government seal, so it was reasonable and legal.
These one hundred acres of land are mine now. I planted strawberries, raised caged chickens, and built a greenhouse.
I put in a lot of effort and hard work to start making money. I don’t want to sell it, just like Mr. Zhang is willing to sell it. No one can force me to do it.”
The county magistrate was so angry that his eyes narrowed into slits, like a street scoundrel:
"So you are unwilling to return the land to Mr. Zhang?"
"Mr. Zhang sold the land to me voluntarily. Now I don't want to sell it to him voluntarily. Did you understand clearly, sir?"
"How dare you! It's obvious that you colluded with Zhang Heng from the pawnbroker and induced Mr. Zhang to sell the land.
Now that you are willing to return the land, Mr. Zhang will give you an extra ten taels of silver, and both your families will be happy.
If you don't want to, don't blame me for torturing a girl like you. It would be ugly if you were really beaten with a stick."
Qin Nian showed no fear on his face: "As the saying goes, if you are right, you can go anywhere in the world, but if you are wrong, you can't go anywhere.
In your case, it is just the opposite. I am a commoner, but I understand the truth. I would like to advise you not to put your career at risk by judging a case like this."
Qin Nian even wanted to say, don’t even mention his name.
It would be nonsense to say that Qin Nian had no anger at all during such a simple and rough trial.
She just controlled herself well and hid her emotions. In fact, Qin Nian had murderous intentions again.
After hearing this, the county magistrate narrowed his eyes again, leaving only a negligible gap.
If you don't look carefully, you might think he didn't open his eyes.
As he looked at Qin Nian, he also thought of a problem: one hundred acres of land and six hundred and sixty taels of silver.
How could an ordinary country girl get so much money? Could she have a background?
Not really. Which wealthy and powerful family would allow a girl to farm the land herself? Or to work with a bunch of peasants?
No, to be on the safe side, I have to investigate and not capsize in the gutter.
"Qin Nian, Yi County has been hit by disasters for consecutive years. You bought 100 acres of land and paid 660 taels of silver.
I want to ask you, where did you get the silver from? "
Qin Nian said: "This has nothing to do with this case."
"It doesn't matter. If you stole the silver, the deal is invalid."
"What if it wasn't stolen?"
The county magistrate was stunned. "That, that doesn't make sense either."
The county magistrate shouted angrily: "Come here, put Qin Nian in jail temporarily and let her reflect in the cell.
Suppress Zhang Heng as well."
Although he didn't believe that Qin Nian had a background, he still had to investigate. If he really offended someone, it would be difficult to end up like this.
He turned sideways and whispered something to the master behind him.
Qin Nian had the ability to ensure his own safety, so he was not afraid and was taken to the cell by the bailiffs.
Zhang Yuanwai was anxious: "Sir County Magistrate, Qin Nian is just a little girl, just torture her first.
At most, I'll give her two strokes of the cane and she'll have to admit that she was in collusion with Zhang Heng. I'll hand over the land deed and I'll be done with it.
Why put him in jail?"
A while ago, Mr. Zhang heard from his servants that the girl who bought the land planted red fruits and raised chickens on the land.
He was dumbfounded when he told the whole story. He started to curse the unfairness of the heavens, saying that if it hadn't rained, he wouldn't have been able to sell the land.
It rained the same night the land was sold. Isn't this going against him?
Knowing that Qin Nian was making money from his land, he began to feel uneasy and decided to take the land back.
I don't believe a country girl would dare not give it.
Even if the girl was ignorant and really refused to give it to him, he would go to the county government to file a complaint.
His son is a high-ranking official in the capital, and he doesn't believe that the county magistrate would dare to offend him.
He was really anxious to get the land and make money using Qin Nian's method, which was why he opposed putting Qin Nian in jail.
The county magistrate smiled apologetically and said, "Mr. Zhang, don't be anxious. You have to go through the formalities.
Otherwise, if it gets out, the people of Yi County will curse me, and it will be difficult for me to do anything.
Don't worry, the girl will collapse in jail in two days at most, and then she will voluntarily return the land to you. Isn't that better than beating her with a stick?"
Mr. Zhang was not very happy, his face was gloomy: "I hope you can solve this case quickly."
After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and left.
"What the hell."
The county magistrate spat in the direction where Mr. Zhang left:
"If I hadn't considered his son, I would have definitely given this old man a beating for being so disrespectful to me."
The master shook his head slightly: "Sir, why bother to argue with an old man like him? Stay calm."
"Master, go check Qin Nian's background, the sooner the better. She can come up with more than 600 taels of silver. I always feel that this girl is not simple."
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