Chapter 251: Jingzhao Prefecture, Dengwengu
In Jingzhao Prefecture, Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan were led by officials to the side hall to wait while the broker and his accomplices were taken away to record their statements.
After a long time, the magistrate finally arrived. He adjusted his official hat with a hint of impatience on his face.
Since the case filing procedures of Jingzhao Prefecture were complicated, such civil disputes were usually mediated privately first. If the mediation was successful, all parties could avoid a lot of trouble. Only when mediation was really impossible would the case be formally brought to court for trial.
The magistrate's surname was Chen. He didn't even sit down when he arrived at the side hall. When he saw Zhu Lan and the others, he asked, "What's the matter? Tell me quickly. My time is precious. Please don't be long-winded."
This tone made Zhu Qingyan feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Your Excellency, please allow me to report." Zhu Lan saluted the prosecutor and narrated the incident in a steady tone.
After hearing this, the judge frowned and said, "For such a small matter, you can just settle it among yourselves. Is it worth bringing it to Jingzhao Prefecture?"
At this time, the man and his accomplices had finished their statements and were brought over.
When the broker came in, he happened to hear what the judge said, and he immediately argued loudly:
"Sir, I am really wronged. These two girls were not satisfied with the house, and I agreed that they would not rent it. But they insisted that I was running a shady shop and wanted to cheat them, and they even beat me up. Look at my face..."
As he spoke, he even came closer to the prosecutor and pointed out the wound on his face to him, as if he was afraid that the other party could not see clearly.
The judge frowned, moved away with disdain, looked at Zhu Lan and the others and said:
"Did you really hit him?"
Zhu Qingyan said: "I was the one who hit them, but they were the first to -"
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the judge.
"Article 145 of the Daliang Law states that anyone who assaults another person and causes minor injuries shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane." He paused and raised his hand, saying, "But your case has not yet been filed. In my opinion, you should pay compensation."
When the dentist heard that he had to pay compensation, his eyes immediately brightened.
Even if Zhu Qingyan gets beaten, he won't get any benefit. What he will actually gain is compensation!
What's more, if you don't just pay the money instead of being punished, you can get more!
"How about this, young lady? Twenty taels of silver, and we can settle this privately. Otherwise, I will sue you in court, and you will definitely get a beating."
Zhu Qingyan was so angry that he almost lost his mind. He didn't expect to meet such a shameless person today!
Zhu Lan suppressed his anger, looked at the magistrate and said coldly:
"Sir, may I ask what Article 143 and Article 287 of the Daliang Code say?"
The judge glanced at her and coughed softly, "Someone, bring the Daliang Law."
"No need." Zhu Lan took a step forward, looked straight into the eyes of the magistrate and spoke slowly:
"In the 143rd article of the Fraud Law of our dynasty, it is stated that those who cheat others of their money with false words and trickery to conceal the truth shall be punished according to the amount of money they have obtained and the severity of the crime. Those who have obtained more than 15 taels and less than 100 taels shall be sentenced to imprisonment.
Article 287 of the Market Exchange states: In any sale or lease of a house, the seller must show the real title deed as proof of the transaction. If the seller does not have a title deed, or shows a fake title deed, the transaction will be invalid and the seller will be held responsible. The buyer has the right to verify the authenticity of the title deed before the transaction, and may also ask the government to verify it.
Zhu Lan's every word was powerful. Although he was dressed in plain clothes, his speech was more powerful than the man in official uniform in front of him.
The magistrate looked at Zhu Lan with some suspicion, flipped through the Daliang Law handed over by his subordinates, and found the two clauses that Zhu Lan mentioned, which were exactly the same!
"Ahem." The judge put down the thick Daliang Law, concealed his embarrassment, and put on a dignified posture again, "You said that the two of them were fraudulent first, but words are not enough, you need to show solid evidence."
"Why didn't you ask for evidence earlier?" Zhu Qingyan snorted coldly, grabbed the broker's collar and pulled out three or four identical blank leases from his arms.
She pointed directly to the small line of words on the lease and showed it to the magistrate.
"For house sales and leasing, how can you pay the money first and then hand over the house a month later? If they run away with the money during this period, where can we seek justice?"
The judge read the terms of the lease carefully, shook his head, and said with a smile: "It is written in black and white. If you sign it, it means you agree to this agreement. How can you be cheated?"
"That's right, my lord, you are wise!" The Ya people echoed.
Zhu Qingyan held back the curse of "corrupt official" that almost came out of his mouth, and gritted his teeth and said, "Then how do you explain that they can't even produce the land deed?"
The judge looked at the man and let him speak for himself.
The broker stared at me with innocent eyes and said, "Sir, the deed is indeed not in my hands, but the house belongs to my distant relatives. I will return to the capital as soon as possible and will be able to show it to them."
Then he looked at Zhu Qingyan and said shamelessly, "Young lady, I have told you all these things clearly, right? Why do you still want to hit someone?"
"It's obviously you—"
"Forget it, Qingyan." Zhu Lan raised his hand slightly, indicating that Zhu Qingyan didn't need to continue.
This is often how things are in the world. It was clearly the other party who made the threat first, and the two of them successfully fought back in self-defense, but they became the perpetrators in the eyes of others.
If you continue to try to prove yourself, you will only fall into the trap of the other party's language.
The key issue now is not to determine who started it first, but to prove that this pawnshop was a fraud. This group of people are so familiar with this, it is obviously not their first time to commit fraud. As long as the Jingzhao Prefecture opens a case for investigation, they will definitely be able to find evidence.
Zhu Lan thought for a moment and was about to speak when the sound of the drum was struck again outside the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Not long after, another person was led into the side hall.
The man came in hurriedly, and when he saw the magistrate, he obviously knew him and called out "Brother Chen".
"Brother Chen, something happened in my house, you have to take charge of it for me!"
Zhu Lan's expression changed slightly. He felt that the voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
After the man sat down, Zhu Lan finally saw his face clearly and couldn't help but frowned slightly.
Where have I seen... before?
In an instant, Zhu Lan remembered Lord Li who had been staring at him when he met him outside Anhe Hall after the palace examination. Before leaving, he gave him a strange look.
Zhu Lan thought about it and remembered that the man introduced himself as Li Duchang, a chief official in the Honglu Temple.
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