the next day.
Shengjing Prefecture Government Office.
Zhao Lin and Sudi were still far away when they saw a large crowd of people bustling about in front of the yamen.
There weren't many people watching yesterday, but the news spread in the evening, so more people came to watch the fun today.
The main reason was that local government offices did not prohibit the people from watching, so that they could see with their own eyes that the law was punishing lawbreakers and be deterred.
But now it has become a place for people to watch the fun.
"Here he comes, Zhao Lin is here."
Someone shouted, and the crowd immediately parted to the left and right, revealing a passage to enter.
Zhao Lin walked in with a swagger.
"Unfaithful man!"
"Scumbag!"
Someone was cursing in the crowd.
Su Di immediately turned around and shouted angrily, "You're already cursing before the matter is settled. Are you guys one of Liu Qiaoniang's gang?"
"So what if we're in the same group? You dare to do it but you don't dare let people say it?"
A short man in the crowd looked Sudi in the eye without fear.
Zhao Lin took a look and saw that this short guy was the one who shouted the loudest yesterday. It seemed that someone had planted him here.
Zhao Lin stopped Sudi and said, "Don't waste time talking to them."
"Hmph, you have nothing to say, right?" the short man shouted provocatively.
Zhao Lin took a deep look at the short man and said, "Being a dog means worrying about having your legs broken."
Zhao Lin pulled Su Di into the Shengjing government office.
The short man felt a chill run down his spine when Zhao Lin looked at him, and for a moment he dared not utter a word. Only after Zhao Lin and Sudi entered did he react and curse, "You're about to die, yet you still act so arrogantly."
Zhao Lin and Sudi waited in the lobby for a while before Li Xingye came in wearing his full official robes.
"mighty……"
The yamen runners on both sides shouted loudly until Li Xingye sat down.
Bang!
Li Xingye slammed the gavel and asked, "Is Liu Qiaoniang here?"
Immediately, a yamen runner said, "My lord, Liu Qiaoniang hasn't arrived yet."
Li Xingye frowned slightly and asked, "Can Zhao Lin come?"
Zhao Lin flashed over from behind, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, I am here."
According to the Daqi Law, scholars did not need to kneel before officials, and Zhao Lin, a juren, did not need to do so either.
Therefore, many talented people work hard to take the imperial examinations in order to gain fame and fortune.
Li Xingye asked, "Yesterday you said you had evidence to prove that Liu Qiaoniang had made a false accusation. Where is the evidence?"
Zhao Lin said, "We have to wait until Liu Qiaoniang comes."
"Okay, then wait for her to come."
Everyone was waiting, but after waiting for an hour, it was almost noon and Liu Qiaoniang still hadn't arrived.
"Could it be that Zhao Lin killed him to silence him?" the short man shouted loudly in the crowd.
Everyone's expression changed and they all looked over with suspicion, including Li Xingye.
"No wonder they said they could prove it today. It turns out they killed people at night to silence them."
"Bah! Not only did he abandon his wife and children, but he also killed people to silence them. How disgusting."
"Sir, it must be Zhao Lin who killed someone to silence him. That's why Liu Qiaoniang hasn't come yet. Please help Liu Qiaoniang."
"Please, sir, make the decision for Liu Qiaoniang."
Many people outside the door were just ordinary people watching the fun, but now they were instigated by someone with ulterior motives, and they all shouted loudly as if they had been wronged.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Li Xingye had to bang the gavel several times to quiet them down. He looked down at Zhao Lin and asked, "What's your explanation?"
Zhao Lin said, "Why don't we just send someone to take a look?"
Li Xingye said, "Come here, go get Liu Qiaoniang."
"Yes, sir."
Immediately, two yamen runners ran to look for Liu Qiaoniang.
Zhao Lin waited there calmly. He didn't believe that he could have made a wrong judgment, and he didn't believe that the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion would lose face.
Seeing Zhao Lin's confidence, Li Xingye leaned towards him and said, "Come here, let Mr. Zhao sit down."
Two yamen runners came over with a chair. Zhao Lin thanked Li Xingye and sat down. He took out a book from his sleeve and started reading.
This behavior is naturally seen as calmness in the eyes of those who support him, but it is seen as pretense in the eyes of his opponents.
"Mr. Zhao is still in the mood to read. It seems that he has done everything well." The short man stirred up the crowd again.
Zhao Lin raised his head and looked at the short man, saying, "Did you see me kill someone to silence them?"
"No." said the short man.
"So you are slandering me?"
Zhao Lin looked at Li Xingye and said, "Sir, this guy actually slandered me in front of you. I suspect he and Liu Qiaoniang are in cahoots. Please arrest him and investigate thoroughly."
The short man said hurriedly, "Nonsense, I just couldn't stand it anymore so I said a few more words. Why are you arresting me?"
The short man said as he retreated out of the crowd.
Sudi had disliked this guy for a long time. Without waiting for the yamen runner to take action, he rushed over, slapped him to the ground, and dragged him directly into the yamen.
"Kneel down." Sudi kicked the short man.
The short man knelt down aggrievedly and cried out, "Sir, I am wronged. I just said a few more words. Is that illegal?"
Li Xingye's face darkened. "Just a few more words? Do you realize that you're talking about a successful candidate in the imperial examination? Are you qualified to talk about him?"
Apart from anything else, Zhao Lin's status and position have changed dramatically since he passed the imperial examination.
In the past, even if the short man was indeed slandering someone, there would be nothing that could be done without evidence.
But now Zhao Lin is a juren, which is similar to an official. How dare you, a commoner, openly slander an official?
According to the Daqi Law, it would be no problem to give him thirty lashes.
The short man shuddered with fear and said quickly, "Sir, I'm not slandering him. He can explain what he said today, but Liu Qiaoniang hasn't come yet. Isn't this taking advantage of last night to kill her and silence her? I have a well-founded guess. Even if it's wrong, it can't be called slander, right?"
"Hmph, you have some eloquence." Zhao Lin snorted coldly.
The short man said with a smile, "Mr. Zhao, calm down. I just can't stand seeing someone do such a bad thing as abandoning their wife and children. If I have offended you, I apologize."
"It's rare to find someone as enthusiastic as you."
Zhao Lin was too lazy to bother with such a person and said to Li Xingye, "Sir, there's no need to waste your breath on him. Once Liu Qiaoniang arrives, everything will become clear."
Li Xingye nodded.
Everyone continued to wait.
After waiting for over an hour, the two yamen runners hurried back and said, "Sir, we haven't found Liu Qiaoniang. Her neighbor, Mrs. Wang, also said that she hasn't seen her since she went back home last night."
"Um?"
Li Xingye's face darkened and he looked at Zhao Lin.
He couldn't help but wonder whether Zhao Lin really killed the person to silence him.
The people outside were also in an uproar.
Zhao Lin was speechless, secretly cursing the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion for being unreliable. It seemed that they really wanted to become famous.
Since the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion was determined to do something extreme, Zhao Lin did not hesitate to let the world know that they favored their adopted son and abused their biological son.
Zhao Lin stood up and sighed, "In that case, I'll tell you my evidence to prove that Liu Qiaoniang's words were all lies. More than a year ago, I was actually..."
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