Before the Zhou family was raided, Xu Jiang had already received news from Lou Jing. He said that the Minister of the Central Secretariat had bypassed the Ministry of Personnel and issued an imperial decree directly, accusing the Zhou family of oppressing innocent people and causing trouble in the capital. He also imprisoned them and confiscated all their property, including Wanjuan Tower.
Oppressing innocent people and causing trouble in the capital city was a crime that could have been either a big one or a small one, but it shocked the court because the prisoner confessed and listed hundreds of evil deeds he had committed.
Many of the evidences involved high-ranking officials in the court, and the government had no authority to try the case, so it was transferred to the Dali Temple.
After the Dali Temple took over, it merged the case into the case of Zhou Huai forming a clique for personal gain and accepting bribes, and then submitted the evidence of his crimes to the Secretariat. The Secretariat quickly approved it, ordered the arrest of the suspect, and confiscated Zhou's house and Wanjuan Tower.
Although Minister Kou wanted to stop them, he was afraid of being implicated, so he had to abandon his chariot to save his master. He also notified each family overnight, asking them to be careful and guard against being dragged into the water.
After receiving the order, the Dali Temple surrounded the Zhou family and Wanjuan Tower overnight. At dawn, they arrested all the members of the Zhou family involved in the case, headed by Zhou Huai, in public. All the managers of Wanjuan Tower were also arrested and interrogated.
The rest were confined to their place of residence, awaiting summons and sentencing.
When the Wanjuan Building was sealed off, Shoukangfang was packed with people. The owners and managers of various bookstores, candidates waiting for the examinations, and people who came to watch the fun surrounded the Wanjuan Building so tightly that no one could get in or out.
Xu Jiang was of course indispensable to such a satisfying scene. If she missed today, she would probably have to jump out of bed and hit herself on the head from time to time even if she lived to be eighty years old.
Zeng Zhui obviously thought so too. The two met unexpectedly in Shoukangfang and each smiled knowingly.
You Zeng chased and cleared the way, and the guards split up, so Xu Jiang successfully squeezed to the front.
She found Wu and the fat one among the prisoners strung together with ropes, and could not help cursing: "You are accomplices of the tiger and you will suffer the consequences. You deserve it!"
Zeng Zhui snorted and echoed, "When the Jisheng Bookstore collapsed, they still refused to repent and continued to aid the evildoers. Now they deserve the retribution, don't they? This truly proves the saying that evil will be punished. It's not that there is no retribution, it's just that the time has not come yet."
As he spoke, he shouted angrily at the captured criminals: "There is a blue sky above our heads. You lackeys who bully others and commit crimes by taking advantage of your power deserve retribution!"
When he shouted, the oppressed bookstores, bookshops, and scholars responded one after another and scolded this group of people until they could not even raise their heads.
Manager Wu had been in a state of panic recently, feeling regretful and afraid. His face had become dark and sharp, and he could hardly hold up his face. But now that he had been arrested, he felt relieved.
He heard Xu Jiang's scolding and didn't dare to look her in the eye. This woman, whom he had always looked down upon, now made him feel guilty and timid.
Zeng Zhui, Xu Jiang and others followed the patrol guards to the Dali Temple. On the way, they met Wu Qingchuang, Dan Si and several other shopkeepers. They were all happy when they talked about this matter.
When they arrived at the forbidden area of Dali Temple, they saw that many people had gathered, all of whom were here to see the Zhou family get their retribution.
Xu Jiang and Zeng Zhui braved the scorching sun and squeezed into the crowd without feeling any pain. Suddenly they heard a shout from the crowd and realized that the Zhou family was being brought in.
The two men stretched their necks and saw Zhou Huai, Zhou Shancai, Zhou Chengwen, Zhou Huai and others were all on the list. They felt both disgusted and happy.
They also have this day!
Zhou Huai and Zhou Shancai looked dejected, no longer as arrogant as before. The two brothers Zhou Chengwen and Zhou Huai also had hunched backs and looked timid, without any of their usual arrogance.
The Zhou family had suffered from the tomb bookstores in the capital for a long time. Many bookstore owners who were bullied by them brought rotten eggs, rotten vegetable leaves and other things to throw at the Zhou family to vent their anger.
Seeing this, the patrol guards quickly gave way to avoid being affected.
But in just a moment, there was no clean clothes left on Zhou Huai, Zhou Shancai and others.
It was not until the person was taken to the Dali Temple that the onlookers gradually dispersed.
"It feels so good! It feels so good!" Dan Si clapped his hands. He had just smashed things the hardest, and it was his revenge for their smashing up his bookstore.
Wu Qingchuang was beaming. He clung to Dan Si and suggested to the other people in the bookstore, "It would be a shame not to have a good drink on such a good day. Come on, I'll treat you. Let's go to Taikang Restaurant for a nice meal!"
"I have the same idea. We can just take Wanjuan's wine downstairs!"
"Finally, I've gotten rid of this humiliation! Everything is clear now!"
Wu Qingchuang invited Xu Jiang, saying, "Manager Xu, why don't you join us? I've been so grateful for your kindness. I've wanted to host a banquet for you for a long time, but I never found the right time. Today is the perfect day. While everyone is here, and it's a great occasion, let's celebrate together."
Xu Jiang declined politely, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Wu, for your kindness. However, I still have an unresolved lawsuit with the Zhou family, so I'll have to wait and see. I'll talk to you all again once this is concluded."
Everyone knew that her bookstore had been set on fire and expressed their understanding.
Dan Si said, "Shopkeeper Xu, don't let him go!"
Xu Jiang nodded, "No."
As he was speaking, a patrolman came over here, as if looking for Xu Jiang.
Upon seeing this, several shopkeepers said goodbye to Xu Jiang and Zeng Zhui, and then went to Taikang Restaurant to drink and celebrate.
Xu Jiang and Zeng Zhui each bowed to the patrol guards.
After returning the greeting, the patrol officer said to Xu Jiang, "Madam Xu, the two servants sent over a few days ago, one of whom is named Xu Twelve, have been clamoring to see you. Despite your repeated requests, I've ignored you. Now that I've met you, I'd like to ask if you would like to see me. If you do, I'll inform you and arrange a meeting. If not, I'll let him know so he doesn't want to see me."
When Xu Twelve was mentioned, Xu Jiang's joy suddenly faded and he declined, saying, "Please tell him to stay put. When his prison term is over, I will take him to the county government office to exonerate him."
The two of them seemed to have a deep grudge against each other, so the patrolman didn't force it and just said, "I'll convey my wife's wishes to him."
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