When the county magistrate saw these people constantly shouting at each other, he ordered the officers to move forward and pull them apart. One of the officers saw a gong on the ground and picked it up and struck it at the people fighting fiercely, making them cover their ears and finally stop the fighting.
When the gong sound died down, everyone looked down at the ground and saw that Luo Yan's men were all beaten with bruises and blood on their heads, and they were gasping for breath as if a snake's nest had been poked.
Zhou Shancai had just entered the building. When he heard that the officials had been alarmed, he hurried out. Seeing the county magistrate coming in person, he was stunned at first, then put on a smile, stepped forward and bowed to him.
"Greetings, His Excellency the County Magistrate."
The county magistrate knew him and knew the connections behind him, but with such a big commotion happening and so many people watching, he really couldn't give him a good face, so he didn't respond.
Luo Yan also came downstairs. He and Zhou Shancai spat at each other like fighting cocks before stepping forward to bow to the county magistrate and saying, "Sir, it was Zhou Shancai who started it."
"You fart!"
"With so many people testifying, you still want to deny it?"
Seeing the two men about to quarrel, the county magistrate raised his chin towards the official who had just struck the gong. The official understood his intention and walked between the two men, raised the gong and struck it hard, causing them to jump three feet high.
When the onlookers saw this, they couldn't help but pick their ears.
The county magistrate sneered, "Still arguing?"
The two rubbed their ears and dared not speak, fearing that if it happened again, their ears would go deaf.
The county magistrate looked around and saw his own chief clerk lying on the second floor watching the fun. He pointed at him and glared at him, "Get down here now!"
The chief clerk agreed with an "Aiya" and quickly ran downstairs.
With his family present, the county magistrate did not need to listen to the arguments of both sides. He asked the chief clerk, who explained the whole story in a few words. Even if Zhou Shancai and Luo Yan wanted to add fuel to the fire, they had no chance.
After listening to the chief clerk's report, the county magistrate had an idea in his mind and immediately ordered the officers to bring all the people involved in the fight back to the county government office, including Zhou Shancai and Luo Yan.
Zhou Shancai was quite happy. Once he entered the county government office, he would not be able to examine the books in public. He could no longer bear with him, so he said, "I am willing to go back to the government office with you, sir. We can discuss it in court."
Luo Yan was well aware of his plan and quickly knelt down to beg, "Sir, the matter is not yet settled and the books have not yet been inspected. I beg you to give me a few hours to seek justice for the deceived buyer."
Before the county magistrate could even speak, Zhou Shancai retorted, "How else can we verify it? With the notarization of the chief registrar, has it ever been found to be fake? I think you're just trying to use this organization to trap me."
"Framed? If it's a frame-up, wouldn't we know after testing?" Luo Yan snorted, "If you didn't forge anything, why did you steal the book? If you couldn't steal the book, you even beat someone up. It's obvious you're guilty."
"you!"
The county magistrate had a headache. He waved to the officer holding the gong and then covered his ears.
Bang——
The two of them completely quieted down.
"Take them all away!" the county magistrate said and was about to leave.
The group of victims who wanted to inspect the books came running over, knelt down before his horse, and then presented the books, complaining in the street, accusing Jisheng Bookstore of forging books and cheating people out of their money.
"Sir, they cheated me out of three thousand taels, a full three thousand taels!" The young man in brocade clothes burst into tears, then put the book on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Please help me, sir!"
"Please, sir, make the decision for us!"
Zhou Shancai was about to shout again, but was frightened and shut up by the gong raised by the officer.
The county magistrate frowned and said, "These are two separate matters. If you have any grievances, please file a complaint at the government office. Don't make a fuss now."
Zeng Zhui could no longer sit still. He jumped out of the car and squeezed over, bowing to the county magistrate and saying, "Sir, these may seem like two separate things, but they are actually mutually causal. If they hadn't wanted to verify the book, there wouldn't have been a robbery, and they wouldn't have gotten so angry over the failure to rob that they resorted to violence. Therefore, they can't be considered two separate things."
Luo Yan nodded repeatedly, agreeing beyond words. "Right, right, right! Thank you so much for speaking up for this righteous man."
The kneeling crowd also echoed and once again requested the county magistrate to examine the book in public.
The onlookers came to their senses and saw that these people were kowtowing pitifully, so they couldn't help but plead for mercy.
"Three thousand taels, this is not a small amount, enough to buy several houses."
"Besides, we've already tested it, so it doesn't matter."
"Yes, why not check it out? If it's genuine, people will buy it with confidence. After all, it's such a large sum of money, so it should be checked thoroughly."
When Zhou Shancai saw Zeng Zhui, his eyebrows shot up, and he wanted to slap him twice. This killer again! Did he dig up his family's ancestral grave? He had to pick on him by being so nosy!
Seeing that the people were speaking for these buyers, the county magistrate became a little hesitant.
At this moment, a voice came from the sky, "Lord Luo, the people are publicly complaining about their grievances. Are you going to sit back and watch?"
The county magistrate looked up and almost sprained his neck. "Plague, Lou Shaoqing, why are you here too?"
Lou Yunchun replied, "I'm coming to eat."
What the hell is this? Is it dinner time?
The county magistrate smiled wryly, "What a coincidence."
Xu Jiang laughed out loud, but when she saw the three people in the carriage looking at her, she immediately restrained her expression and forced herself to hold back her laughter.
The county magistrate suppressed his humiliating words and thought, "With the Dali Temple here, this matter can't be sloppy." If Lou Yunchun interfered again, and got caught by those gossipers at the Censorate, and the prefect came crying, then he'd have to give up his position as county magistrate.
He cleared his throat, and with Lou Yunchun's icy gaze, he looked at the victim kneeling on the ground and said, "Then let's obey public opinion and test it."
When Zhou Shancai heard this, his face changed. Just as he was about to stop it, the gong was raised in front of him again.
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