Chapter 66: What Happened in the City [Update 1]
This unexpected discovery made the atmosphere of the entire team depressing. The convoy quietly rolled along the official road and arrived at the nearest county town.
The city gate was bustling with activity, a typical crowd around festival times. Thanks to the numerous horses in their convoy, they were able to enter the city through a special passage.
There are many shops on both sides of the main road, and the people coming and going do not have the anxiety of being oppressed or the numbness and silence of long-term slavery. Judging from the surface, the county magistrate here should be a good local official.
Wei Shengxue lifted a corner of the curtain to observe. Her focus was different from others, and her eyes were fixed on the small stalls on both sides.
Some of them occupied a part of the main road for business, and some locations still had obvious marks of tables and chairs, which must have been traced by long-term placement.
This is a place with relatively prosperous business and very few people riding horses in the downtown area.
This is obviously closely related to the strict governance of local officials.
From these details, we can see that people here really live and work in peace and contentment.
What about the farmers outside the city who didn't even have the necessary tools? There weren't just one or two of them; almost everyone they saw had the same equipment.
"Go to the county government office." Fusu's command came from the front.
So the caravan split up, with the merchants taking their people to find a place to stay, while the others went to the county government office.
But the carriage stopped before it got close.
"Master, we can't go forward." The driver reported outside the carriage.
Fusu frowned: Could it be that someone got the news in advance and came to block the road?
"What happened?"
The driver said, "There's a huge crowd of people up ahead. There's almost no way for people to pass through."
Fusu lifted the curtain and saw a sea of human heads.
"Go and find out what happened and why these people gathered."
So the rickshaw driver who had just gone to look for the farmer became an errand boy again, running into the crowd and randomly picking a lucky person to hand over a handful of snacks.
Everything edible has value, everything delicious is a treasure, and snacks carefully prepared by chefs are obviously very popular in the market.
The driver just handed it over and the man started talking.
"What are you doing here? Just watching the fun." The man said with a matter-of-fact tone, "The county magistrate is going to decide a case today, and we're all here to watch."
The driver was a little surprised. It was almost common for people to avoid officials, but this was the first time he encountered someone who was eager to see an official.
He realized that the key point had come, and hurriedly asked, "Aren't you afraid? The officials over there are very fierce."
The man chewed and swallowed the snack in his hand in a few bites, and patted the driver's shoulder with his free hand. "You haven't seen this before, right? Then you'd better broaden your horizons."
"Our county magistrate is one of the kindest men around. He won't be angry. He'll just complain that we didn't come here actively enough. The action is about to begin. Follow me. I'll take you to a good spot where you can clearly hear the officers."
The driver asked, "What are they going to say?"
The man said, "Let's talk about the Qin Code. It's so difficult to learn, we can't even remember it. But when this county magistrate arrived, he had us come to watch him judge cases. Every time he tried a case, he would have the bailiffs shout outside about what law the criminal had violated. We watched and listened, and I memorized it so well."
The driver chatted with him for a few more words, then found an opportunity to get away and returned to the carriage to report.
After listening to this, Fusu pondered and said, "If it is true as he said, then this county magistrate is truly an outstanding talent."
"Go back and let the immortal know if we should go down and take a look."
This distance was not a problem at all for Wei Shengxue. She even heard the conversation between the coachman and the man earlier than Fusu. When someone came to ask her, she agreed.
She looked at the appearance of the people outside, then looked at the appearance and dress of their group, and directly made a hand gesture to perform a breath-suppressing technique on each of them.
The Breath-Restraining Technique is a technique to reduce one's presence.
With the help of Wei Shengxue's cheating spiritual power, the group successfully squeezed to the front and occupied the best viewing position outside the county government gate.
Inside the county yamen, two rows of yamen runners stood leaning on canes. The county magistrate, in his official uniform, sat at the head. A plaque hung high from the beams, and several people involved were surrounded in the middle, creating a scene of immense oppression. Anyone with average mental fortitude would have been unable to contain themselves and would have spoken out the truth.
This is a very qualified court.
However, the object of today's trial seems to be a little different.
Two pairs of young men and women stood below, and next to them was a man dressed as a yamen runner holding a swaddling baby. It looked like the scene of a human trafficker being arrested.
She condensed a branch, poked the locals nearby, and asked, "What case is being tried today?"
The man was craning his neck to look inside. Under the influence of the Breath Containment Technique, he didn't realize anything was wrong and answered casually, "Two families are fighting over a child."
"They were neighbors from a nearby village. They had just had a big, fat baby boy together not long ago. They had a very good relationship and always showed off their child when they came to the market to sell goods. But who knew they would suddenly start fighting today?"
"Well, they smashed up other people's stalls and attracted the county magistrate who was patrolling the city with his runners. Then they found out that one family's child was missing, and two families were fighting over the child."
Wei Shengxue:???
The others were also confused.
The child is missing. Instead of going to look for him quickly, why are you snatching the neighbor's child?
The man said quietly, "They all said that the remaining child is theirs."
Someone nearby added, "Both spouses are relatives and look alike. When the child was lost, no one could tell whose child it was. Now both families claim the child is theirs."
"How do you tell the difference?"
Shaolan interrupted and asked.
After attending the training class, she already knew that the blood test to identify relatives was very inaccurate and unreliable.
"It's a blood test to identify relatives," the onlookers said firmly. "As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. Blood that can mix must be family."
Shaolan: I knew it.
Before learning about blood types, she also believed in this method.
While they were talking, the plot in the county government office had already progressed to the stage of blood test to identify relatives.
The yamen runner held a bowl of clear water and walked slowly in front of the onlookers to show that it was just a bowl of clear water.
There is nothing much to say about the process of blood test. What is important is whether the blood is compatible.
The result was surprising; the blood of both mothers could mix, but the blood of the fathers could not.
"Ah?" The onlookers cried out in shock.
"This child is born to his mother, but not to his father. Who is being cuckolded?"
"It doesn't matter whether he is cuckolded or not. Now the child has two mothers." But the child obviously has only one mother, so this blood test will not work.
Shao Lan took the opportunity to shout, "There are only four types of human blood: A, B, AB, and O. If the biological father is A and the biological mother is B, they can give birth to children with A blood, B blood, AB blood, and even O blood. As long as it's the same blood, it can mix. So the blood of the two mothers can mix because they happen to have the same blood type."
Wei Shengxue's mouth twitched when she heard her words. This description was a bit unprofessional. She had to go back and retake the exam!
But it was enough to deal with the current situation, so she didn't correct it.
This unprecedented statement was obviously unconvincing, and someone immediately started shouting, "Don't talk nonsense, what do you know? This is a method passed down by our ancestors, it must be true."
"They are all relatives and share the same blood."
The first time she applied what she had learned, she was questioned. Especially since the questioning was about the knowledge taught by an immortal, Shao Lan couldn't stand it and immediately refuted it, "I'm talking about the method taught by the immortal. Can your ancestors be more powerful than the immortals?"
When it came to the immortal, the other party hesitated and dared not say anything more, but someone also refuted, "You said that what the immortal said is what the immortal said?"
"Doctor Zhao! Go get Doctor Zhao!" someone in the crowd shouted. "Doctor Zhao went to Xianyang and took classes taught by the immortal's disciples. He's the immortal's disciple, so he definitely knows if this is the immortal's method!"
After a while, someone brought Doctor Zhao and successfully confirmed Shao Lan's words.
So the question is, how do we tell which family this child belongs to?
Shaolan retreated into the crowd.
She answered silently in her heart: genetic testing.
But Daqin doesn’t have it. This is something that only the immortal artifacts in the immortal world can do.
Princess Yangzi's eyes widened as well. She asked, "Who are the biological parents of this child?"
She had no doubt that the immortal would not be able to see it.
Wei Shengxue did know, but she was distinguishing it by the breath.
The auras of blood relatives are similar, and they are connected by causal lines, which any cultivator can easily see.
She pointed to the couple on her left.
Then he spread his hands and smiled helplessly.
She could tell, but she had no convincing evidence.
Fusu looked up at the county magistrate sitting at the head of the table. He saw that his face was solemn, but his eyes were gleaming with thought. He couldn't help but think, "They say the county magistrate is a great judge. Why don't we see what he says first?"
This is not as simple as just drawing a conclusion, but also making everyone convinced.
Under everyone's gaze, the county magistrate stepped down from the platform, pulled out a knife from the yamen runner's hand, and walked back and forth a few steps with the knife in his hand. After everyone could see how sharp the knife was, he stopped and sighed:
"I don't know how to judge this matter. How about this? I will cut the child into two pieces, and you can each take half back. This will complete our family relationship."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was an uproar.
This guy is nothing. He can be used even if he is cut into two pieces. But such a small child can be broken in half with a little strength. How can he survive with just one cut?
"My Lord, please don't!"
"Sir, this is our child! He has a mole on his butt. We told you about it!"
"My Lord! There's a gray birthmark on his arm! He must be our child!"
The county magistrate didn't even look at them and said, "Even though both of your families can describe the characteristics of your child, it doesn't count. I think it's better for you to use my method." He continued to instruct the yamen runners to hold the swaddling clothes at both ends.
He raised the knife high...
Shao Lan closed her eyes, not daring to look any further. She only whispered, "Teacher Weisheng, can you save that child? I can support him in my maternity and children's hospital."
Fusu turned his head to observe Weishengxue's expression, relaxed after a moment, and looked at the county magistrate with curiosity.
How will he distinguish his biological parents?
In the blink of an eye, the county magistrate raised his knife and brought it down. Everyone closed their eyes in pain.
"ah!"
Two screams were heard, followed by the sound of metal falling to the ground.
When everyone opened their eyes, they saw that the woman standing on the left had already pounced on the child, while the man was kicked to the ground by the yamen runner.
He actually dared to attack the county magistrate just now!
He covered his stomach which hurt from being kicked, and kept his head raised up. Only after he saw that the child was firmly protected by his wife did he relax, covering his stomach and taking a hissing breath.
The county magistrate waved away the bailiffs who were about to arrest the man, turned back to the platform, slammed the gavel, and announced, "I already know who the child's parents are. They are these two!"
"Parental nature compels them to do whatever it takes to protect their child. They even dared to act so brazenly in court, all for the sake of their child. Therefore, they must be the child's biological parents."
This ending and this judgment are very consistent with people's cognition and preferences.
"good!"
"The county magistrate is right!"
"This child must be theirs. If it weren't for their own offspring, would they risk their lives like this?"
A minor official came out holding a scroll of bamboo slips, his voice resounding with energy: "According to Article 723 of the Qin Law, anyone who steals or robs another person's child..."
The onlookers were very satisfied with the result and were also happy to learn about the Qin law that was being read. They all listened attentively.
Wei Shengxue and his group knew Qin Law by heart, and were very familiar with it, so they left the crowd early.
Shao Lan said excitedly, "That county magistrate is really clever. He took advantage of his parents' instincts. How did he come up with that? He's really amazing."
Fusu was silent for a long time before he said, "If the ones who risked their lives to protect you today weren't your biological parents, how would you know? Not all parents in this world love their children."
As soon as he said that, everyone else fell silent, especially the last sentence which was full of implications, making people at a loss as to how to respond.
Everyone is very secretive about the history between their Majesty and the late Queen Mother.
"Then let him stay with another family that loves him more."
Wei Shengxue has no parents, so she can see things from an outsider's perspective.
"Those who are willing to risk their lives to protect him are the parents who love him the most and are best for him. What does it matter whether they are his biological children or not?"
"There's no throne in his family to inherit."
Wei Shengxue ignored the few people who subconsciously took a step back because of her last sentence, and talked about the purpose of their entry into the city.
"This county magistrate is very popular and goes down to the grassroots level. He is willing to manage such trivial matters. He doesn't seem like someone who would maliciously delay spring plowing."
Fusu was curious: "Can't even the immortals tell whether he is good or bad?"
Wei Shengxue said, "He is a Qin official, protected by the national destiny. If I want to see it, I have to tear open that layer of destiny first. It is not very friendly to the little black bird you have just begun to condense."
"Furthermore, he manages a region, and every decision he makes benefits some and harms others. Karma itself is inherently entangled with both black and red, and it's not always clear-cut."
"So, we still have to start with the Spring Ploughing Festival in two days?"
Wei Shengxue asked, "Could it be that the farm tools haven't been delivered yet?"
Fusu immediately rejected the idea: "Impossible. This place is near Xianyang and is one of the first to benefit. There is no way it would be left out."
You can doubt the quality of our officials, but you can never doubt our efficiency!
"Then we'll wait until the Spring Ploughing Festival the day after tomorrow to see what they're up to."
"Maybe we can just ask him directly?"
But Wei Shengxue thought of those well-packaged government officials in the Interstellar Era and immediately rejected her own opinion. "That's not right. No matter how well they appear, their inner qualities can't be guaranteed. It's better for us to investigate ourselves."
"If he's good at solving cases, he's certainly better at covering up." Fusu glanced back at the county office, which was still surrounded by thousands of people. "If he's a good official, I'll definitely recommend him to my father and have him work under the Chief Justice."
The Minister of Justice, one of the Nine Ministers, was in charge of law and justice.
According to Weishengxue's understanding, it is the Legislative Department + the Judicial Department, a big boss who can cover the sky with one hand.
"Given his ability to exploit every opportunity to promote Qin Lu, it would be a shame if he didn't go to the publicity department."
Princess Yangzi had a different view: "Teach students in accordance with their aptitude and be a teacher to others."
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