The carriage shook and stopped.
Inside the car, Jiang Yushu hurriedly grabbed the armrest to steady her leaning body and asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
"I'll go ask." Cuimei stood up and lifted the curtain. In a moment, she returned to report: "There are people blocking the road ahead, crying out for justice!"
Jiang Yushu put the map aside, perked up, and asked, "What's the injustice?"
"Outside, a group of villagers were crying and shouting. It was too chaotic to hear clearly, but they seemed to be accusing others of 'occupying land and bullying others'."
Jiang Yushu frowned and asked speculatively, "Could it be that there are village bandits and bullies running rampant in the village?"
Cuimei answered uncertainly, "It sounds like it."
In a blink of an eye, the scolding outside became more severe, and the cries of injustice became more shrill, mixed with the children's frightened cries, which was extremely harsh.
Jiang Yushu listened for a moment and then ordered, "If the common people dare to block the road and cry out for justice, there must be a reason. Tell Li Dianshi not to arrest people indiscriminately. I'm in a hurry to get things done. Unless there are serious casualties, have the villagers go to the city first to report to the authorities."
"Hey!" Cuimei received the order and quickly passed it to Li Qigong.
On her first patrol, she encountered people blocking the road and crying out for justice. Puzzled, Jiang Yushu stood up, her index finger lifting the door curtain and observing intently:
At the front of the team, I saw more than a dozen people kneeling on the ground, divided into two groups, accusing each other and vying to protest their innocence.
On both sides of the road stood thirty or fifty villagers, some with their sleeves rolled up, some with their trouser legs rolled up, they all dropped their farm work and ran to watch the fun, talking a lot.
The yamen runners surrounded the people crying out for justice, trying to drive them away. Some drew their swords, others used their scabbards to stop villagers from crawling towards the carriage, and shouted, "Back off, back off immediately!"
"Shut up and stop making noise!"
"Can you afford to offend the magistrate?"
"If you have a grievance, report it to the government office. The authorities will uphold justice. Who gave you permission to intercept the magistrate? You are so audacious!"
"Why don't you make way?"
“Get out of the way!”
…
Li Qigong drew his sword and shouted, "Zhixian Jiang is busy with official duties and is on patrol. If you have any grievances, report them and we will discuss them in court. If you block the road and act wildly, don't blame the government for arresting all the troublemakers!"
Then, Jiang Yushu looked around: on both sides of the road, the terrain was flat, and the fields were full of crops, mostly potatoes, with low plants extending to the foot of the hills in the distance.
She thought for a moment, changed her mind, calmed herself down, and decisively lifted the curtain.
"Madam?" The guards of Guo's mansion were startled. Zou Gui quickly called his companions, rode their horses closer, and provided protection.
Li Qigong and several clerks were also startled. "Sir, you...?" They came to their senses and immediately announced, "This is the new magistrate. Why don't you quickly pay your respects to Lord Jiang?"
"Hurry and pay your respects to Magistrate Jiang!"
Dozens of villagers looked at each other in awe, then hurriedly knelt. In an instant, a group of people knelt down, kowtowed respectfully, and said in unison: "Your humble servants greet the lord."
"I'm honored to meet you, County Magistrate Jiang."
Jiang Yushu stood on the car, looking down from above with a serious expression, looking down at the villagers blocking the road, and said slowly: "Everyone, stand up, no need to be so polite."
"Thank you, sir."
The villagers stood up one after another. The two groups of people blocking the road nearby sobbed. Those watching the excitement around them whispered:
"Has the magistrate changed again? The previous one was surnamed Liu?"
"Zhixian Liu was transferred last month. Didn't you hear?"
"The autumn harvest is almost here. My family is short on manpower and has a lot of work to do in the fields. We are very busy and have no time to care about government affairs."
One villager narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Strange, that new magistrate looks like a woman."
Someone in the know chuckled: "Tsk, what do you mean by 'similar'? She is a woman, and she just took office at the beginning of this month."
"She's really pretty."
"Shh, keep your voice down, and don't look around, or your eyes will be gouged out!"
The officials were quite far away, so they couldn't hear any whispers. Jiang Yushu got off the carriage, slowly approached, and asked sternly, "What's all this noise? Who's the plaintiff? Who's the defendant? What's the grievance?"
The villagers who were blocking the road were suddenly excited. They knelt down again, looked up, and rushed to answer: "Sir, I am the plaintiff—" An old woman started to shout, but was interrupted by the other party:
"You old hag, you're talking nonsense!" A middle-aged man crawled forward on his knees, his eyes red, and said, "Sir, we are the plaintiffs. Please, sir, help us!"
The eight guards of the Guo residence, all tall and strong, cautiously surrounded the female official. Li Qigong was unable to approach the magistrate, so he stood aside, drawing his sword as usual, "Kneel down, don't move, and don't come near!"
"Yes, yes." The middle-aged man was terrified and knelt down to retreat.
Jiang Yushu remained calm and asked, "Plaintiff or defendant—these are just titles. It doesn't matter. The key lies in the reasoning and evidence. So, whoever blocks the road first is the plaintiff. Tell me, who blocked the road first?"
The old woman, fearing punishment, pointed without hesitation, "Him! Sir, he was the one who blocked the road first!" She beat her chest and slapped the ground, wailing, "Oh, this is so unjust! His family bullied an orphan and a widow, and occupied thirty acres of my land. And he was the one who complained first!"
The middle-aged man glared at the old woman angrily and tearfully replied, "Yes, sir, I was the one who blocked the road first, but it was her fault. Alas, we were cornered and had no other choice. We happened to hear the news of the 'County Magistrate's Inspection' and impulsively stopped your carriage. I beg your forgiveness."
"Whose fault is it?" the old woman glared at him and demanded, "Didn't you occupy my thirty acres of land? The villagers all know it, so don't try to deny it!"
The middle-aged man and his family were extremely worried and said anxiously: "Sir, please don't listen to her nonsense. Although we have cultivated thirty acres of her family's land, it is not usurpation, but is allowed by the government."
"Listen, listen! He admitted it himself! He took over my family's land!" The old woman beat her chest, tears streaming down her face. She led her children and grandchildren in wailing, "You are so heartless! You bully orphans and widows! You will be punished."
"Greedy and shameless old woman, be careful or you'll be struck by lightning!"
The two sides began to quarrel, their faces red and their necks thick.
Jiang Yushu patiently glanced at her subordinates. Li Qigong understood and spoke before his colleagues, angrily scolding: "Shut up and keep quiet!"
"You're yelling and shouting, and you have no manners! You should answer whoever the magistrate asks you. When the magistrate doesn't ask you anything, you should kneel down obediently."
The plaintiff and the defendant shrank back at the same time, not daring to argue. The women and children wept anxiously and knelt in a huddle.
Jiang Yushu paused for a moment, then calmly ordered, "Defendant, you speak first. Tell the truth without exaggeration. If anyone is found to have exaggerated or maliciously slandered you, I will show no mercy."
"Yes, I dare not lie." Behind the old woman, kneeling, her children, son-in-law, and grandchildren, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and angrily said, "We are from Shungou, Jing Town. A few years ago, when the northern bandits invaded our village, we fled with the rest of the people. Along the way, my old man, eldest son, and two grandsons were killed by the enemy. In the chaos of war, we fled all the way to the Central Plains and took refuge with relatives. Life was very hard, and we only returned to the village a few months ago."
"Who knew that our house was burned down by bandits, and our fields were taken over by the village head's nephew. Our whole family is doomed! Sir, please help us!"
The old woman wailed loudly, giving Jiang Yushu a headache. She raised her hand to stop her, frowning and asking, "Is the plaintiff the nephew of the village head?"
"right!"
Li Qigong interrupted and asked, "Could it be that the head of the village is partial to his relatives?"
"Everyone in the village has the surname 'Jing'. Every family is related to each other. There is no such thing as 'partiality' at all." The middle-aged man's face flushed.
The old woman retorted, "Bah! Although we have the same surname, the village head is your uncle, and our two families don't even have the same great-grandfather, so of course he favors you. Besides, your cousin's uncle is a juren, an official in the government, and Jing Jiaoyu supports you—"
"Wait! You are not allowed to make random accusations without any evidence."
Jiang Yushu disliked rude and noisy remarks. She waved her hand to stop the old woman and asked sternly, "Plaintiff, do you have any explanation for the defendant's claim of 'occupation'?"
The middle-aged man was impatient and, suppressing his anger, replied, "Sir, I am wronged! During the war, my family fled. We returned to the village at the end of the year before last. The government distributed relief grain and seed, but also ordered: 'Good farmland must not be left uncultivated. Villagers are allowed to cultivate their unused land, but they must hand over 70% of the grain to the government.' In addition, when the original owner returns home, the property must be returned to the original owner, and appropriate compensation must be given."
Appropriate compensation is due.
But how much is "appropriate"?
Jiang Yushu immediately understood the source of the dispute. She turned around and asked the clerk softly, "Was this order issued by the government office?"
The clerk bowed and replied, "Yes! At that time, the county's population had plummeted, and fertile farmland had fallen into disrepair. To revitalize Tuning, County Magistrate Liu devised this 'Tunning Order'."
Jiang Yushu nodded in realization, then asked in confusion, "Why isn't this important matter of public welfare recorded in the county government files?"
"This, this..." The clerk lowered his head and explained vaguely, "Well, the government office has been busy in recent years, but short of staff. But we are checking and filling in the gaps. I will report to County Magistrate Huang when I return, and ask him to fill in the details of the 'Substitute Farming Order' as soon as possible!"
Jiang Yushu was suspicious, but she remained calm and asked seriously, "Since the government has ordered compensation, plaintiff, have you compensated the defendant?"
"Compensation!"
The middle-aged man's family was aggrieved and complained, "How dare you take advantage of us, fellow villagers? In early July of this year, when the crops were sprouting, her family returned to the village, and the village head immediately summoned us to explain. That same day, her family not only received relief grain, but also received a thousand kilograms of potatoes as compensation from us."
"The village head made the decision, and both parties agreed: after the autumn harvest, my family would compensate us with another 1,000 kilograms of grain, and then the land would be returned to its original owner."
"Unexpectedly, her family was insatiable, constantly asking for food and money. They often dragged us up the mountain to cut wood and dig stones to help build the house... Oh, there are so many things, it would take three days and three nights to finish talking about them. It's so disgusting!"
"Alas, there's something even worse." The middle-aged man turned around, raised his hand, pointed to the fields, and continued, "Over there, we can dig potatoes next month. Who knew that her family would open their mouths and ask for half the harvest? My lord, my family works so hard, and we give 70% of the grain to the government, and we keep 30%. She didn't contribute a bit, so why should she take half of our harvest?"
The old woman said confidently, "Because the land belongs to our family! Your family has occupied it for nearly three years, and we've harvested tens of thousands of pounds of grain. We're struggling right now, so we only ask for half of this season's harvest. We're not asking you to make up for the losses from the past two years. We've done our best!"
The middle-aged man's face turned pale with anxiety. "In front of the government and the villagers, tell me, which eye of yours saw the 'tens of thousands of pounds extra harvest'?"
"I—" the old woman insisted, "In short, your family is taking advantage of my family!"
The middle-aged man was furious. "Hmph, if you calculate the accounts carefully, it's not clear who is taking advantage of whom! The crops are about to mature, and you are jealous. You even stole and destroyed them, deliberately destroying a large field of potatoes. This is simply too much!"
Destroy crops?
Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the product of hard work? Jiang Yushu knew the hardships of farming very well, and when she heard this, she became unhappy and asked in a deep voice: "Defendant, did you deliberately destroy the crops?"
"I, I didn't." The old woman shrank her neck.
The middle-aged man and his family were united in their hatred of the enemy. "Today, it's not just us. The villagers nearby have also seen it. We have caught the criminal red-handed. Don't even think about denying it!"
As it happened, I was planning to survey and estimate the autumn harvest. Thinking of this, Jiang Yushu walked towards the path in the fields and ordered, "Lead the way, let's go check out the scene."
"Ah?" Everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Cuimei stayed by her side, supporting her and urging the plaintiff: "Plaintiff, don't just stand there, lead the way! The adults will only be able to administer justice after checking the evidence."
"Oh, yes!" The plaintiff's family quickly stood up, trotted to lead the way, full of expectation and respect.
"Hey - sir?" The old woman and her family knew they were in the wrong, and they were panicked and followed him anyway.
So, led by Jiang Yushu, more than a hundred people including officials, plaintiffs, defendants, and onlookers rushed to the fields, quietly discussing how the female official would make the verdict.
At the same time, Heqingguo Mansion
The court physician Fang Sheng frowned and concentrated on diagnosing Guo Xiaoyan.
Wang frowned and asked, "Doctor, how is it? Is it serious?"
The baby girl is more than four months old, but she still looks thin, with her eyes closed and her face snow-white.
"The girl...is not in good condition. She is born weak and sickly. Medicine is three-quarters toxic. Babies cannot withstand the effects of medicine, so many medicines cannot be used." Fang Sheng sighed and reminded him cryptically: "Old Madam, please think of a solution quickly."
The author has something to say: Family and work, fish and bear's paw...
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