☆, Chapter 243 Investigate Li Changyi
When Zhao Yunjing decided to give Fang Bo a chance to make amends, he knew that this day would come, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.
He knew very well that if he failed to handle this matter fairly and justly, he would lose the support of the people, and an official who lost the support of the people would find it difficult to carry out his work in Nanjiang City in the future.
Five madmen were bound hand and foot and thrown on the roadside, their mouths stuffed with rags, still howling. Next to them were the corpses of seven or eight dogs, beaten to death.
"Lord Zhao, you're not really going to chop off Xiao Er's head, are you? Fang Bo is a person, and so is my Xiao Er! Besides, my Xiao Er is an idiot! He's an idiot, what does he know!"
"Yeah, yeah, my eldest son is an idiot too. He even eats poop, how would he know it was rice seedlings? Besides, he didn't do anything, it was those dogs that caused the damage! Those beasts have already been killed by us, they've already paid the price!"
"If we're talking about stupidity, my third son is second to none! The eldest son of the Lin family eats the shit on the street, but my third son even eats his own shit! He also beats his family members! His two older brothers have been fighting since they were little, and he doesn't understand anything!"
The family members were all talking at once, comparing whose child was the dumbest, but that wasn't the point. The point was that they felt the dogs were already dead and that was the end of it, without mentioning anything about making amends.
Zhou Mujiao felt that Zhao Yunjing was too calm and too easy to talk to, which was why these people dared to take advantage of her.
She sneered and said, "Since everyone has brought up Fang Bo, they must know that Fang Bo wasn't immediately beheaded because he was able to make amends for his mistakes. You guys are just able to make amends for your mistakes—or rather, your family members can help them remedy the situation, so your heads don't need to be beheaded immediately either."
What if it can't be remedied?
“Naturally, it will be handled according to the laws of the Great Liang.”
"What? Handle it according to the laws of the Great Liang? The laws of the Great Liang do not say that a fool who does something wrong should be beheaded!"
"The laws of the Great Liang Dynasty don't say that a fool who does something wrong doesn't have to be beheaded!"
The arrogant family members exchanged glances, finally showing some fear, and pulled their mentally challenged son back a few steps: "What do you mean?!"
"It means to handle it according to the laws of Daliang."
“You are just a doctor. Even if you are Lord Zhao’s wife, you are not an official appointed by the imperial court. You have no jurisdiction over local affairs!”
"I can't control my wife, and I can't control her either?"
Zhao Yunjing said coldly, "You have two choices. If you can save these five acres of rice seedlings, I will report everything to the court after the harvest. At that time, the court will decide whether they live or die. If you fail to save them, you and your families will also bear the responsibility!"
The group exchanged bewildered glances, and soon someone made a decision. They pushed their fool forward, saying, "He did it, it has nothing to do with us. Here, take him. Do with him or not, it's none of our business!"
Once there was a first, there was a second. Soon all seven 'idiots' were abandoned. They lay motionless next to several dead dogs, looking as if they were dead. Meanwhile, the families who had previously vowed to protect them now kept their distance.
Hu Peiran, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up: "Who said it has nothing to do with you? Since they are idiots, and you, as their family, failed to keep a close eye on them, leading them to do wrong things, then it is your negligence in supervision, and you should be held accountable for your oversight!"
"Your Honor! You must investigate this matter thoroughly! We are truly innocent! We really knew nothing about it! We were just—"
"One option is to go to jail with these guys right now, and the other is to immediately take remedial action. The choice is yours!"
Five acres of rice seedlings have been completely destroyed. What can be done to salvage the situation? But if we don't choose to take remedial action, we'll end up in jail!
That prison was no place for humans. Not only would people who had caused trouble go badly, but even those who hadn't done anything wrong would be skinned alive when they came out.
These officials claimed to be giving them two choices, but it was clear that they only had one path in front of them. The problem was that this path was not a path to survival, but a dead end no matter which way they went!
"I don't have the patience to waste time with you guys. Choose one or two, one, two, three!"
"Two! We choose two! Sir! We choose two! Please grant us a few more days, we will find a way to make amends!"
"Even if I and the imperial court can grant you leniency, ask the villagers whose crops were destroyed whether they would be willing to grant you leniency!"
Of the five mu of paddy fields, two mu belonged to Hu Quan's family, one mu to Liang Jincai's family, and the remaining two mu to several other villagers. Even if the other villagers were willing, and Liang Jincai was willing, Hu Quan was certainly not willing to extend the time limit.
He was already poor, and after the flood, he lost his only house. Everyone survived, but his family was large, and the few acres of land they had were not enough to feed them. Now that two acres had been destroyed, it would be the death of him.
Hu Quan was the first to declare: "If you can't save these seedlings within three days, even if the imperial court doesn't hold you accountable, I'll fight you to the death!"
Liang Jincai also stated that he would only give them three days, and the others followed suit, saying that this matter could not be left unresolved.
"Since that's the case, then three days it is. If you families can't save the rice seedlings within three days, then you can go to jail and keep them company! Guards, arrest all these 'fools' and take them back to the yamen to be imprisoned!"
Those 'idiots' struggled even more fiercely, each one looking fierce and menacing, showing no trace of foolishness.
"I think these people are treating us like fools," Zhou Mujiao scoffed.
Li Changyi arrived unnoticed and chimed in, "Ajiao is right. These people are treating us from the capital like fools. If they were just ignorant and fearless, that would be one thing, but they're afraid of being instigated by someone behind their backs."
"Brother Zhao, in my opinion, the autumn rice harvest will definitely be bountiful. However, if those people were indeed instigated today, then after we leave, the grain yield in Nanjiang City will surely drop back to its previous level. If that's the case, our trip to Jiangnan will have been a failure from the outset. If other places do the same, Brother Zhao, when will we be able to reunite in Lingnan?"
"Your Highness's concerns are reasonable. Xie Jiang, you and He Jiu should thoroughly investigate Nanfeng Village and invite the village's experts out for tea. Prince Song, Xiao Ran, you two should immediately establish seedling protection teams in each village. I hope today will be the last incident of seedling destruction!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone quickly dispersed, and even Li Changyi returned to Fangjia Village to continue his observations of the Miao people. Soon, only Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao remained at the scene.
Watching Li Changyi's retreating figure, Zhou Mujiao said, "Brother Zhao, investigate Li Changyi."
Zhao Yunjing stared in the direction Li Changyi had disappeared until he could no longer see her figure before he spoke:
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