Chapter 104 My husband and I have some private matters to attend to
Xuan Qi patted the village chief on the shoulder and said, "With the general and his wife here, you can speak boldly."
After spending a night together, the village chief had a general understanding of the two men's personalities.
Naturally, we know that they have different personalities from other powerful people.
If Xie Jingci was still a general, then there would be hope for Zhang Ling's injustice to be redressed.
But unfortunately, these two people were demoted and exiled.
Even if they wanted to intervene, what could they do?
Although the village chief thought so, he told the whole story in detail.
"Our Qinghe Village is under the jurisdiction of Guining County. The county magistrate's eldest son, Peng Juncai, is a frequent visitor to the red-light district. Zhang Ling was... Old man Zhang went to the county government office to file a complaint, but he was beaten out by the bailiffs before he could even get through. They said they needed a complaint before they could open the office."
The village chief couldn't continue, looking reluctant: "So it's not that I don't want to help him, it's that I really can't help. This is obviously an excuse. It's obvious that the county magistrate would never really punish his own son."
Moreover, he guessed that the county magistrate would find an excuse to beat Old Man Zhang to death in order to protect his son.
After all, he had no power and his only daughter had been killed, so no one would bother with him.
That's why he stopped Old Man Zhang, fearing that he would get into trouble again at his old age.
But he didn't dare say this to Lu Wanyin and the others.
But even if he didn't say it, Lu Wanyin and others could understand his meaning.
Xie Jingci's expression was quite stern. This was Da Sheng under the rule of the new emperor, with corrupt officials everywhere.
This is not surprising at all.
Because the new emperor's power was not stable when he came to power, he had to rely on a few ministers and turned a blind eye to the evil deeds done by their subordinates.
Just like the Hou family, even though the emperor knew that the Hou family was doing evil things, he still kept using them.
How can such a country go far?
Lu Wanyin also found it outrageous. The chance of encountering corrupt officials along the way was too high.
If it weren't for Xie Jingci's manipulation, I'm afraid Ren Mingyuan and his ilk would not have been able to take up their posts in Qi County.
Lu Wanyin said, "This Dasheng is truly rotten from the root."
Xie Jingci nodded lightly.
The village chief standing by was dumbfounded. Is this something he can listen to?
How dare they say such things so openly! No wonder Lu Wanyin and the other two were exiled.
Xuan Qi looked at the village chief who suddenly began to tremble in confusion: "Why are you standing there?"
The village chief reacted and found that Lu Wanyin and the other person had already climbed up the hill.
Didn’t they say that General Xie’s tendons in his hands and feet were cut? Before, when he was at home, he had to rely on Xuan Qi and Lu Wanyin for support.
Now, even with Lu Wanyin supporting him alone, he can still walk so fast.
The village chief thought about it and felt that it was reasonable. After all, it was not surprising that Lu Wanyin could cure General Xie with such medical skills.
If such a good person were to become disabled forever, God would be blind.
Thinking of this, the village chief hurriedly followed.
"Uncle Zhang!"
Lu Wanyin took the initiative to greet Old Man Zhang: "I am the person who came to the village chief to help you write the complaint."
Old man Zhang was shocked and stood up from his chair tremblingly: "Are you really here to help me write the complaint?"
Lu Wanyin pointed at the village chief who was rushing over from behind: "Of course, if you don't believe me, ask the village chief."
The village chief hesitated.
Lu Wanyin and the others are obviously going to take care of this matter.
But, is this really manageable?
Don't let Zhang Ling's problem be left unresolved before he gets dragged into this too!
Old Man Zhang looked at the village chief expectantly. Lu Wanyin urged him, "Village chief, please speak!"
Hou Yuanji couldn't afford to offend Lu Wanyin, and as a village chief, he couldn't afford to offend her even more.
The village chief thought about it, gritted his teeth and nodded: "Yes, that's right!"
Old man Zhang burst into tears immediately. He grabbed Lu Wanyin and Xie Jingci's hands and trembled as he was about to kneel down: "Benefactor, benefactor!"
Lu Wanyin felt bad. He had to kneel down just to write a complaint.
If Old Man Zhang knew that writing a complaint was useless, he would feel so sad.
Xie Jingci supported Old Man Zhang firmly and said soothingly, "It's just a small matter. No need to be so polite. Please tell us the details of the situation and I will write a complaint for you right away."
Old man Zhang thanked them profusely and led them into the house.
The room was very shabby. There was nothing in it except a table and two old and broken stools.
"You guys take a seat first, I'll go get some paper."
Old man Zhang staggered to the east room and took out a cloth bag from the closet.
He spread out the cloth in front of everyone, very carefully, for fear of getting it dirty.
Old man Zhang took out two sheets of rice paper and wiped the table clean with his sleeves before spreading the food on it.
Xie Jingci frowned: "This is ink-colored rice paper."
Old Man Zhang said, "I don't know either. Someone at the government office said that this kind of paper is necessary for writing a complaint. It's really too expensive, so I only bought two sheets."
Lu Wanyin had always been a servant in the Chenyang Marquis Mansion. She had never attended a formal school and didn't know much about literary matters.
But despite this, she also knew the reputation of ink-colored Xuan paper.
Because of its soft texture, it can make the colors of brushes and inks more vivid and is easy to preserve, so it is used by literati in painting.
The price is naturally very high, and children from ordinary families simply cannot afford this kind of paper.
Old man Zhang was already poor, and buying these two pieces of paper almost made his situation worse.
Xie Jingci immediately sneered.
There is no provision in the laws of the Dasheng Kingdom that requires specifying the type of paper used when writing a complaint.
In fact, ordinary people don’t even need to write.
They were all filled in on the spot by the clerks of the yamen.
Lu Wanyin understood from his cold smile that Xie Jingci would not let the Ning County Magistrate go.
"Two is enough," Xie Jingci picked up the pen and ink, "You tell me, old man, and I'll write."
Old man Zhang burst into tears when he talked about this: "The old man's name is Zhang Fugui, from Qinghe Village, Ning County. His daughter Zhang..."
A simple complaint almost made Old Man Zhang cry all his tears.
After finishing writing, Xie Jing said, "You are old, you don't need to go. We can go for you."
Old man Zhang looked surprised: "Is it okay if I don't go?"
Xie Jingci nodded: "Of course."
The village chief also chimed in, "Yes, these two are very capable lawyers, you can rest assured."
Old man Zhang was happy at first, but then he felt very embarrassed: "But I don't have much money... I'm afraid I can't pay..."
The money for his daughter's funeral and the purchase of rice paper drained his savings.
Lu Wanyin said, "We are General Xie's men, we don't want any money."
Old man Zhang was slightly stunned: "Is it Xie Jing who is resigning from the post? He is such a good man!"
It seems that Xie Jingci is indeed supported by the people. No wonder the new emperor is so wary of him.
After leaving Old Man Zhang's house, Lu Wanyin instructed Xuan Qi: "Find two people to repair his house and buy him some winter supplies."
Xuan Qi responded: "Yes."
Lu Wanyin held the petition written by Xie Jingci in her pocket and said, "As for your general and I, we have some personal matters to attend to."
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