Chapter 79: Dog bites dog
After all, County Magistrate Liu was a veteran in the officialdom, so he didn't show any clues on his face. He still finished his long string of words, took a sip of tea, and then asked: "When did you meet Wu Lei?"
Tang Sanshui said weakly: "Two or three years."
County Magistrate Liu asked, "Have you two ever done anything evil?"
Tang Sanshui's face changed slightly: "No, not at all!"
That "Wu Lei" was also shocked, and he cried out in protest: "Master, please be wise, I am just an ordinary citizen now, and I have retired long ago!!"
County Magistrate Liu snorted coldly.
He had just been asking this question out of the blue, but judging by the two men's behavior, was there something wrong? He handed out a note: "Bring the head of Jingui Village and the clan leader here! We'll hear the case again in half an hour!" He then walked away with a wave of his sleeves.
Tang Qingshan, Mrs. Lin, and the second brother and others were all a little surprised.
After all, they have been to the provincial capital before, so they are brave and experienced. What Magistrate Liu said just now obviously meant that he was going to make a judgment and give Tang Sanshui a heavy sentence. It was not surprising that Wu Lei just brushed it off lightly...
But why did he suddenly change and start questioning the case again?
At this moment, County Magistrate Liu was just taking a break. The bailiffs, the county magistrate and others were still in the court. Tang Qingshan was the plaintiff and it was not easy for him to move, so he looked at Brother Tang.
Brother Tang understood, and slowly walked over, humbly bowed to the county magistrate, and said: "We ordinary people don't have much knowledge, please judge for us!"
As he spoke, he took another step forward and bowed repeatedly.
Originally, this was a tacit agreement. He only had to bow and pass the banknote to the county magistrate, and the people behind him would not be able to see it.
Unexpectedly, the county magistrate took a few steps back, avoided his hand, and said kindly: "The county magistrate is a man of integrity and will enforce the law impartially and seek justice for you. You can rest assured."
Brother Tang didn't dare to say anything else. He could only thank him, stepped back, and shook his head slightly at Tang Qingshan.
Tang Qingshan felt a little depressed.
In this situation, he couldn't help but think back to the time when he was in the provincial capital.
He was covered in blood, crawling in front of the governor's mansion, watching the corner of his official robe slowly slide past his eyes... as if he was just an ant, not worth wasting even a glance on.
In front of the imperial officials, the lives of common people are as worthless as paper. Their families can be destroyed in a matter of seconds, and even if they try their best, they cannot change it.
Tang Qingshan took a silent deep breath and clenched his hands tightly.
The next moment, a soft little body fell on his back.
Tang Qingshan's back stiffened slightly.
Xinbao circled around him, turned to the front, and hugged his neck with both hands: "Daddy, Daddy!"
Tang Qingshan said anxiously: "Xinbao, what are you doing up here? Go down quickly and ask A Niang to hold you!"
Xinbao's eyes were red, but for the first time ever, he didn't shed tears. He said in a sobbing voice, "Xinbao wants to grow bigger, become more powerful, and protect daddy."
She had a thousand words in her heart, but she just couldn't say them.
She thought about her fourth brother fawning and bowing for a piece of candy, her eldest brother being subservient and fawning for a bundle of vegetables, and her father kneeling here, kowtowing humbly to the people in the hall.
She really wanted to grow up all of a sudden, become very powerful, and make her parents, brother, and everyone she cared about, all of them full of energy and not have to bow their heads or kneel to anyone.
She held him tightly.
Tang Qingshan held her little head and coaxed her softly for a long time, but she held on tightly and refused to let go.
Over there, Mrs. Liu finally figured it out. It turned out that it wasn't Tang Qingshan who committed the crime, but Tang Qingshan who sued them! !
How dare he!!
Granny Liu's face was ferocious. She suddenly jumped up and pointed at Tang Qingshan, ready to throw a tantrum: "You are such a conscienceless person..."
"How dare you!" County Magistrate Liu returned to his seat at some point and shouted coldly, "What a crazy woman! Roaring in court and refusing to change despite repeated admonitions. You are clearly disrespecting me!"
Mrs. Liu lost all her arrogance at that moment. She made a pitiful expression, her old face wrinkled like a walnut skin: "My lord, I was also very angry for a moment..."
"Shut up!" County Magistrate Liu threw a red stick and said, "Hit me!"
After being beaten with ten boards, Mrs. Liu lay on the ground and became obedient.
At this time, the head of Jingui Village and the clan leader also came over.
County Magistrate Liu opened the trial again.
According to their account, Wu Lei was a stranger and a distant relative of Zhou Laoqiao's wife in their village. He came here four or five years ago and had lived in their village ever since. He was a loner and was usually very sloppy, so he had no friendship with the villagers. Now that Zhou Laoqiao had died long ago, no one wanted to interact with him anymore.
Some people have seen Tang Sanshui go to see him, and heard someone call him "Hu Gua", and he agreed, so this seems to be his real name.
When she heard the name Hu Gua, Mrs. Lin couldn't help but narrow her eyes.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
Her family ran an escort agency and they were very familiar with all these well-known people in the martial arts world. If Hu Gua was her real name, then she had indeed heard of it.
It is not quite appropriate to describe this person as notorious in the underworld.
Because he was one of those people who had no future, he had a little fame, but it was not "famous".
It is said that he was originally a killer who did dirty work, the kind who had no style and would take any job for money.
Once he took a job from a wealthy businessman, but failed to kill him. So he came back and lied that he had done it, took the reward and ran away. Then the man came back and killed the rich businessman's entire family, but somehow one person escaped, and it was their family's young master. The news spread.
Then the young master spent all his money to hire a killer to take revenge, and also had that person's kung fu skills crippled.
Every profession has its own rules. Since Hu Gua didn't follow the rules, no one dared to hire him. Later, he lost his skills and disappeared.
I didn't expect that he was hiding here.
Magistrate Liu slammed the gavel again: "Hu Gua! You came here incognito, what on earth do you want to do? If you don't tell the truth, I will torture you!!"
Hu Gua raised his head.
The bite from the bamboo pit viper was extremely painful. He felt so much pain that he could hardly open his eyes.
He was an old hand and could detect the change in the county magistrate's attitude. He was just bluffing, and the other party would rather keep his distance, so he would take advantage of it. If the other party really wanted to make a fuss, then he... would just be waiting to die.
But who wants to die if they can live? Hu Gua said sincerely: "County Master, I did not have a good reputation in the martial arts world back then, but now I have abandoned most of my skills and have long since changed my ways. I really haven't done anything wrong!"
This is still using the underworld to scare people.
But County Magistrate Liu seemed to be fearless and said, "If you don't confess now, I will investigate and punish you three times more severely!"
He turned and shouted, "Tang Sanshui! If you know the bad deeds of this Hu Gua, tell them out and you can reduce your guilt!!"
He held a red stick in his hand and said, "If you don't tell me, I will continue to torture you!"
Tang Sanshui was trembling at the time. He was a weakling who could not resist torture. When he saw the stick, he trembled all over and muttered, "I..."
He looked at Hu Gua, hesitant.
Hu Gua was shocked.
He knew Tang Sanshui very well. It would be strange if he didn't confess under torture! Instead of waiting for him to speak, it's better to strike first! Hu Gua gritted his teeth and suddenly laughed twice: "Okay, I'll tell you."
(End of this chapter)