On this day, the Tuning County Court opened to try a major case.
Because a large number of armed police officers were dispatched during the arrest, and there was a fierce fight at Li's house, and then the prisoners were taken back to the yamen in a mighty manner, the news could not be concealed and spread quickly.
The people nearby were shocked and couldn't believe it. They ran around to tell each other:
"Oh my, that's terrifying! Just now, a large group of officers armed with swords surrounded the Li residence. They fought for a long time and several people died on the spot!"
"Why did you fight?"
"I heard that Li Zhugan and Fatty Wen got into trouble, and the magistrate ordered them to be arrested and brought to the yamen for trial."
"Strange! That uncle and aunt have been bullying others for a long time, relying on their official positions and power. Why were they suddenly arrested?"
"Is there anything strange about this? They have committed many evil deeds, and their injustice will eventually lead to their own destruction."
"I heard the case is under investigation."
"Let's go to the government office and see what's going on!"
…
Back Court
Summer is here, the sun is scorching and the weather is hot.
Jiang Yushu's official robe was straight and straight, and she walked with her usual proud stride. She hurried to the front hall and asked as she walked, "Have all the wounded been settled?"
"It's settled." Huang Yichun followed, sweating profusely. "According to your instructions, I called in several doctors in advance. They are now bandaging the wounds of the wounded. There was no delay at all!"
"What are the casualties among our people?"
Huang Yichun replied, "There were injuries but no fatalities, so the arrest went smoothly. Li Qigong is a skilled fighter, but he was desperate and fought back desperately, leading a gang of scoundrels. We even used poison arrows and fought back so stubbornly that he almost escaped. Fortunately, we had enough manpower to subdue the criminal."
"Poison arrow?" Jiang Yushu couldn't help but feel relieved. "Yes, thankfully we were well prepared. Otherwise, I'm afraid several innocent people would have been killed."
"yes."
The followers were already accustomed to the magistrate's pace, and they all walked with great speed.
After a while, a group of people walked out of the moon cave door, and suddenly they heard the sound of chasing footsteps behind them.
"sister in law!"
Guo Hongxuan rushed over and looked at his second sister-in-law's official robes with envy and admiration. He asked with concern, "What's going on with all the commotion in the front hall?"
"When a case is heard in court, there will be more noise if there are more people."
"Oh." The men of the Guo family are all handsome. Guo Hongxuan is tall and fair-skinned. He usually looks either carefree and confused, or passionate and impulsive, or scratches his head, looking a little childish. "If there is anything you need my help with, just tell me, sister-in-law!"
Unconsciously, Jiang Yushu treated her brother-in-law like a child and warned him, "Not yet. There are often troops coming and going outside. You are unfamiliar with the place, so it is best not to go out alone."
"Know!"
"If you're bored, you can go to the small study. There are some calligraphy books and books collected by your second brother. You can practice calligraphy and read some books there."
"It's all military books, very boring." Guo Hongxuan muttered, then asked tentatively, "You're trying a case. Can I go into the courtroom and take a look?"
Jiang Yushu shook her head and replied gently, "Non-public officials, witnesses, prisoners, etc. are not allowed to enter the courtroom during the trial."
Huang Yichun suggested, "If Mr. Guo is interested, he can join the people outside the hall and watch the trial."
"Okay! Then I'll watch from outside the hall." Guo Hongxuan was very curious. "It's a rare opportunity to come to Tuning. I just have the chance to see my second sister-in-law judging a case."
"Style?" Jiang Yushu laughed, looked at the sky, and said hurriedly: "It's up to you, if you want to see it, then go ahead. I have to go to the court."
In the blink of an eye, the court
As soon as the magistrate appeared, the clerk shouted, "Silence!"
"Opening the court—"
Immediately, the yamen runners divided into two groups shook the water and fire sticks, and the crowded people outside the hall gradually quieted down, and the noisy discussions slowly disappeared.
Among them, a servant led Guo Hongxuan and stood in a corner, watching the trial in the county government curiously.
Jiang Yushu's expression was calm, and her steps were steady. As she walked towards the desk, she raised her eyes and glanced at the plaque:
The four big characters "A bright mirror hangs high" are upright and solemn.
She calmed herself down, sat down behind the desk again, banged the gavel with practiced force, and ordered, "Bring the prisoner."
"Yes!" The Dianshi and the chief clerk were imprisoned. The detectives who had close relations with Li Qigong and Wen Xi were uneasy, fearing that they would be implicated, and they gritted their teeth and ran to the prison to pick up the prisoners.
Not long after, Wen Xi and Li Qigong were shackled and gagged. Their clothes and hair were disheveled and their faces were covered in dust as they resisted arrest. They struggled and made "Mmmmm~" sounds, looking in a miserable state.
Jiang Yushu gave a look, and the captain understood and personally pulled out the cloth that was blocking the mouths of the two prisoners.
"Sir, cough, cough—"
Wen Xi's face turned pale. As soon as he was free to speak, before he could even catch his breath, he wailed, "Sir, I am innocent, innocent! Please don't listen to my instigation. Jing, Instructor Jing's death has nothing to do with me!"
"It has nothing to do with me." Li Qigong was injured while resisting arrest, blood oozing from his forehead. He tried to hide his panic and cried out, "Sir, I am innocent. Who instigated you? Why did you arrest us so suddenly?"
Jiang Yushu sat high up in the chair, looking down at her two former subordinates. Her face expressionless, she replied sternly, "How could I be easily instigated by a villain? The government wouldn't arrest people without reason. If there's no evidence, there's no way they'd go to great lengths to make an arrest."
Huang Yichun was still terrified and couldn't help asking, "If you had a clear conscience, why did you fight so hard to resist arrest? You even used poison arrows and nearly took me hostage."
"Humph, you suddenly led a large number of officers and soldiers into a private residence and arrested people without warning. Who could remain calm?" Wen Xi was shocked and angry, shaking with fear and anger. His double chin trembled as he asked tentatively, "Sir Huang, we have no grudges in the past or present. Why did you frame Qi Gong and me?"
"False accusation?" Huang Yichun said righteously, "Why are you pretending to be stupid? You know the reason why you were arrested!"
Li Qigong's hair was disheveled, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You have destroyed my home. No one can remain calm. I have always respected you. I never expected that you would actually-"
"Bang~", the gavel made a crisp sound, interrupting the quarrel.
Jiang Yushu frowned unhappily and shouted, "Call witness Li Chang! Also, bring up the rest of the suspects in the murder case!"
Li Chang? The other prisoners? Wen Xi and Li Qigong stared at each other, each one filled with fear, thinking to themselves: Oh no, it's over.
"Yes!" Several constables trotted over, all more diligent than usual, fearing that their slowness would displease the magistrate or the county magistrate.
Many people watched and talked about it.
Guo Hongxuan had just arrived and was completely confused. "The Dianshi and the Zhubu were arrested together? What crime did they break?"
"I heard the main charge was murder. They conspired to murder the former bishop," the attendant said. "There are several other charges that will be read out later."
Guo Hongxuan was shocked. "Tuning is quite a mess."
"Hehe, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so it was even more chaotic before." The servant was young and outspoken, revealing: "The two kneeling on the ground, especially the skinny one, are the local tyrants here. They have been powerful for many years, but today they finally fell!"
The next moment, the witness Li Chang was brought into the courtroom and knelt down and kowtowed, "I, the humble servant Li Chang, greet you, sir."
Jiang Yushu's expression softened slightly, "Get up, wait a moment."
"Oh, yes." Li Chang stood respectfully and obediently beside him, looking down at Li Qigong who had tortured him. He felt relieved and wanted to laugh out loud.
Then, two other prisoners were brought in, trembling, their handcuffs and shackles clanking.
The constable shouted, "Kneel down, kneel down! Behave yourself."
Wen Xi turned his head and saw it. His eyes widened instantly and he cried out: "Ah? You, you...what are you doing——"
"Alas! Brother-in-law, didn't you pat your chest and say, 'Old Deng will never be caught'?" Li Qigong complained in his whisper. His face suddenly turned pale, and he muttered, "It's over. It's really over now."
Wen Xi was caught off guard, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he was speechless.
Outside the court
The onlookers scrambled forward, looked at him for a moment, and then said, "Hey, that middle-aged man has six fingers on his left hand!"
"Really? Let me see."
Someone who knew the situation whispered, "I've seen that guy before. He's a notorious old scoundrel in West City, nicknamed 'Six-Fingered King.' He's a tyrant and a tyrant. None of the neighbors dare mess with him."
Jiang Yushu glanced around and signaled for the prisoner to speak.
As soon as the cloth was removed, the middle-aged man, the Six-Fingered King, immediately opened his throat to cry out for justice, crying, "Sir, I am innocent, innocent! In fact, I am just a broker, entrusted by the Chief Clerk to help him find a servant. I know nothing about the rest of the matter. Please, sir, please look into it!"
Jiang Yushu raised an eyebrow, "Housekeeper?"
The Six-Fingered King nodded vigorously, his face mournful, and insisted, "Yes, help find a servant! My Lord, I am really just a broker."
Jiang Yushu raised her hand to stop him and asked, "Deng Fa, is he right? Let me tell you first, murdering an imperial official is a capital crime, but whether it's lingchi or beheading depends on whether you can confess the truth."
Wow! Guo Hongxuan folded his arms, looked up at his majestic second sister-in-law, and shrank his neck in awe.
"I, I..." The lean man nicknamed Lao Deng trembled with fear. Even the most ruthless person would fear the pain of being cut into pieces. In order to die a quick death, he trembled and said, "Brother Wang is indeed a broker, that's true, but he introduced me to Master Wen specifically, not to be a servant, but to be a killer."
"nonsense!"
Wen Xi interrupted harshly, glaring at Six-Fingered King and Deng Fa, and flatly denied, "You, you're talking nonsense. I don't even know you. Stop accusing me."
"Anyway, I wasn't the mastermind. I was simply 'taking money to do things for them,'" Deng Fa said, stiffening his neck. "I had no grudge against that old man fishing. It was Brother Wang who told me to follow him, look for an opportunity, and quietly push him into the river to create the illusion of drowning."
"No, that wasn't my idea! It was all Master Wen's idea. I was just an errand boy." Seeing his lie exposed, the Six-Fingered King burst into tears, regretting and complaining, "Master Wen, now that things have come to this, you dare to take the blame. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have dared to take the job no matter how much money you offered."
Wen Xi was furious, shaking like a sieve, and insisted on denying it: "False accusation! You are so vicious, you killed someone and then blamed an innocent person. My lord, please don't believe these lies, I am innocent!"
Li Qigong remained silent, staring at the magistrate with a gloomy look in his eyes.
Jiang Yushu remained calm, picked up the gavel and banged it, shouting, "Butler of the Rumor House, produce the physical evidence!"
"Yes!" After a while, several constables presented a pile of banknotes, account books, gift lists and other items, and brought the steward of the Wen Mansion with them.
The old butler was uneasy. He glanced at Wen Xi quickly and then quickly looked away.
Jiang Yushu examined the witness. "Butler, you must answer honestly. Does Wen Xi know the Six-Fingered King?"
The old butler wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and bowed, "To answer your Excellency's question: Our Master and the Six-Fingered King have known each other for over ten years. They have a very good relationship, and many people inside and outside the palace know this. The Master occasionally employs him to do things that would be inconvenient for him to do himself."
Jiang Yushu nodded, vowing to eradicate the corrupt officials. She calmly instructed, "First, you need to explain in detail the death of the former instructor, Jing Yuanshan. The rest will be provided later."
Wen Xi gasped for breath, his whole body swaying, and he almost fell off his knees. He glared at the butler, "You ungrateful old thing, you actually betrayed me, you, you——"
The old housekeeper knew that the master was doomed this time, and with a look of embarrassment on his face, he simply turned his face away. To protect himself, he reported in detail: "Teacher Jing is a straightforward person. He has always disliked our master. The master also dislikes him, calling him 'an old sour scholar, a hypocritical noble man, a know-it-all, a meddler.' And so on. The teacher once got drunk and angry and publicly called our master 'greedy, self-enriched, and lawless.' The two of them had a deep hatred. In the end, the master decided to kill him and, together with Li and Li Dianshi—"
Li Qigong's eyes were fierce and he suddenly shouted, "Jiang Yushu!"
Suddenly, there was silence inside and outside the hall, and everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Huang Yichun and the others came back to their senses and quickly scolded him, "How dare you! How dare you call the magistrate by his name?"
"Shut up right now and kneel down, or I'll slap you in the face!"
Li Qigong raised his head, his chest heaving violently. He ignored everyone around him and stared at the magistrate. "Tell me, when did you start investigating us?"
Jiang Yushu remained expressionless and didn't answer. She said calmly, "The net of heaven is vast and wide, and nothing escapes it. Not only did you murder an official appointed by the imperial court, but you also embezzled and accepted bribes of enormous amounts, seriously violating the law. You cannot expect to remain at large forever. The evidence is irrefutable, and your denials are pointless. I can directly sentence you."
"Tell me, have you been investigating us for a long time? You must have, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to collect all the evidence in such a short time." Li Qigong's teeth chattered, he was furious and full of hatred, he wanted to skin the magistrate alive and eat him raw, he cursed at the top of his lungs:
"Jiang Yushu, you are so cruel and ruthless, so sinister and vicious, you will not die a good death!"
"You evil woman, you will die a miserable death!"
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