Gu Zhihe, the magistrate of Bo County, was quite unlucky. He never expected that while he was doing well in the county government office, he would be hastily put on a wooden shackle by a team of yamen runners from another place and taken to Pizhou.
When he was taken to the Pizhou lobby, Gu Zhihe still couldn't believe it: "Cao Zhenguo! Although you are the prefect of a prefecture, I am under the jurisdiction of Haizhou! How dare you arrest me without permission? Is there any law?"
Cao Zhenguo slammed the gavel: "You are so bold, County Magistrate Gu Zhihe! Bo County has suffered a disaster, yet you have failed to comfort the people. You have embezzled, accepted bribes, and extorted money. I have been ordered by the Emperor to interrogate you. Do you admit your guilt?"
Gu Zhihe said weakly, "Even if you have the Emperor's order, do you have any evidence? You want to arrest me based on a mere imperial edict from His Majesty. Who can tell if your edict is genuine? Besides, I am honest and upright. Do you have any evidence of bribery?"
Cao Zhenguo was furious: "Let's not even talk about whether the imperial seal is real or not. Three boxes of antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, and over five thousand taels of silver were found in your home. How could a mere county magistrate like you have so much money? And you dare to say it wasn't embezzlement or bribery?"
Gu Zhihe was speechless, and after a long while he stammered, "This, this, these silver coins are, this is my wife's dowry."
"Nonsense!" Cao Zhenguo slammed the gavel. "This official has already found out that your wife, Gu Sun, is the daughter of a teacher. How could your father-in-law have such a huge fortune?"
Gu Zhihe shuddered with fear: "Even if it is, it's not from my wife's family. Do you have any evidence that I accepted bribes?"
The Song Dynasty's punishment for the crime of unexplained wealth was very lenient. Song Dynasty law emphasized the capture of the perpetrator and the evidence. Without solid evidence, it was not considered a serious crime.
Cao Zhenguo waved his hand: "Bring it up!"
Soon, the yamen runners brought Mai Sui and his daughter up. Gu Zhihe was shocked when he saw them. "Yes, it's you?"
Mai Sui said fiercely, "You dog official! Bah!" and spat in his face.
Mai Sui's father, Guan Damin, pointed at Gu Zhihe and trembled, "Sir, it was this bastard official who accepted Huang Shiren's money. He was the one who conspired to wrongfully kill my son!"
Gu Zhihe yelled, "What nonsense are you talking about? It was your son who stole property from Huang Shiren's house and was beaten to death. How dare you falsely accuse me!"
The wheat ears tore at Gu Zhihe: "Give me back my brother's life! You, a bastard official, will not live well!"
Gu Zhihe dodged her attack and said, "Nonsense! It was that stupid brother who stole other people's things and was caught and beaten to death. What does this have to do with me?"
Cao Zhenguo slammed the table and said, "Silence! Gu Zhihe, you still dare to quibble after all this. It seems that you won't confess unless I punish you severely!"
Gu Zhihe was shocked. "Cao Zhenguo! I'm an official of the imperial court, the magistrate of Bo County. A sixth-rank official! You have no evidence, and based on just a few words from a father and daughter, you dare to torture me!"
He was right. Cao Zhenguo was the prefect. Without sufficient evidence, he would not dare to torture Gu Zhihe, the county magistrate, without orders from above.
At this moment, a cold voice rang out from the back hall: "He can't torture you, but what about me?"
Zhao Huan walked in from the back hall, Cao Zhenguo came down from the hall and knelt, and the yamen runners also knelt hurriedly to greet him. Then Wu Ge and the imperial guards gathered below.
Gu Zhihe saw that the man was indeed dressed as an imperial guard, so he knew he was the current emperor. He collapsed, cold sweat pouring down his face. "Your Majesty! Please help me! I have been wronged."
"You know me?" Zhao Huan asked curiously.
Gu Zhihe fell to the ground in fear: "Your Majesty's secret visit has already spread among the people."
Zhao Huan was secretly shocked. News of his incognito visit had spread so quickly among the people. It seemed he would need to keep a low profile going forward. He sat down in the hall and banged the gavel, "You bastard official, Gu Zhihe, you claim you're innocent. I'll show you the evidence!"
Zhao Huan picked up a petition from his sleeve and said, "This is Huang Shiren's confession. This rich man Huang said that you embezzled his property, causing Huang Shiren's family to be destroyed. He has already filed a complaint with the Pizhou government office!"
Gu Zhihe didn't know Huang Shiren was dead, but Huang Shiren's family was destroyed and lost, but he had absolutely nothing to do with him: "Your Majesty, please understand. Huang Shiren and I did have some contact. But his family was destroyed because the victims robbed his house, and his wife eloped with her lover. This is what led to his family being destroyed and lost. This matter has nothing to do with me."
Zhao Huan sneered, "You do know a lot, but what Huang Shiren is complaining about is that you had someone seduce his wife in an attempt to divide up his family's wealth!"
Gu Zhihe trembled with fear. "Your Majesty, please understand this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me. This is a false accusation made by Huang Shiren."
"Whether it's a false accusation or not, I'll call that rich man Huang and ask him. He said that he bribed you with three thousand taels of silver in the case of Guan Daming's son. You can't quibble about this!"
Gu Zhihe was shocked: "No, Your Majesty, no, no..."
Zhao Huan shouted, "Come here! Drag this bastard official down and give him twenty lashes of the cane. See if he confesses! Then bring Huang Shiren up from the death row and confront him face to face!"
Captain Kong Feizhou picked up a wooden stick, different from the one used to beat Er Gouzi. This stick was heavy in the hand and no more than three inches wide. The yamen runner pressed Gu Zhihe down on the stool.
Kong Feizhou hit him with a stick, and Gu Zhihe screamed like a pig being slaughtered. After only four or five hits, Gu Zhihe's butt was already broken open and blood was immediately dripping.
Zhao Huan pointed at him angrily and said, "I hate corrupt officials the most in my life. If you could be less greedy and confess the truth, I would think twice. You actually embezzled a full three thousand taels of silver from the wealthy Huang. Tell me! Did the silver in your house belong to Huang Shiren?"
Gu Zhi screamed like a butchered pig, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must be very careful. Huang Shiren only gave me 200 taels of silver. How could there be 3,000 taels? It's clearly Huang Shiren who falsely accused me! 3,000 taels of silver? How could that be possible? Huang Shiren, that stingy fellow, gave me 200 taels of silver in two installments."
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