Magistrate Cao's expression changed, sensing that something was wrong, and he quickly stood up.
"Old man, there's no need for such formalities. Tell me your grievances quickly, and I will help you."
"Reporting to the master, a few days ago I took my granddaughter to the temple to offer incense and we ran into Young Master Mo and his men. Young Master Mo saw that my granddaughter was young and beautiful and tried to flirt with her, but I scolded him and stopped him. Because there were many people in the temple, they did not dare to make a move."
When we returned, Young Master Mo said he had lost ten taels of silver at the temple. His men said my granddaughter had stolen it, so they forcibly searched her and found ten taels of silver. Without further ado, they took my granddaughter away.
Anyone with eyes could see it was a trap. My granddaughter is timid and doesn't dare to speak to anyone. When we got to the temple, she held my hand the whole time. How could she possibly steal their silver? This is clearly a setup.
When I went to the Mo residence to demand my granddaughter's release, they pushed me out, saying that my granddaughter had stolen Young Master Mo's silver, and that they had caught her red-handed. They said they would release her, but I had to pay one hundred taels of silver to ransom her; otherwise, they would send her to the government jail.
"Sir, I am but an old woman; where would I get a hundred taels of silver? Besides, my granddaughter has been framed. Please, Your Honor, make a wise judgment and do justice for me."
After the old woman finished speaking, she continued to kowtow, her forehead bleeding from the effort. This frightened Magistrate Cao, who quickly rose from his seat and helped the old woman up.
At this moment, Magistrate Cao's eyes were practically spitting fire. He glared at Mo Heng and asked:
"Mo Heng, is this true?"
At this moment, Mo Heng began to tremble, and he became incoherent.
“Master, my ten taels of silver were stolen by her granddaughter. My servants all saw it and can testify to it.”
"I'm asking where that old woman's granddaughter is now!" Magistrate Cao roared.
"In the dungeon of the Mo residence."
"What? Your Mo family has a dungeon?" Magistrate Cao was quite surprised.
"Guards, go to the Mo residence and bring that girl to the county government office. When you go, be gentle and comfort her, and do not frighten her further."
"Yes, sir." Several constables accepted the order and immediately went to the Mo residence.
Mo Heng stood up from the ground and watched the departing officials.
"Master, I'll go too."
"This is none of your business. You can keep kneeling." Magistrate Cao glared at Mo Heng with an imposing look.
At this moment, Mo Yasi, who was standing to the side, felt that something was very wrong. He really didn't know when his son had forcibly taken a woman and locked her in the dungeon at home.
He sensed that he was in big trouble today. He was just a lowly clerk who had set up a dungeon in his home. If it was found out, his whole family would be imprisoned.
A commotion broke out among the crowd outside, and several more people came into the hall, knelt down, and began to enumerate the crimes of the Mo family father and son.
Everyone present was shocked. They never imagined that the Mo family father and son had done so many bad things in the past few years. Magistrate Cao was filled with deep remorse.
Just as people were taking turns to enter the courtroom to recount the crimes of the Mo family father and son, the yamen runners who had just gone out returned, carrying a stretcher.
A girl lay unconscious on a stretcher; judging from her condition, she must have suffered terribly.
"Girl, what's wrong?" The old woman was so worried when she saw her granddaughter's condition that she fainted.
"Quickly send them to the clinic!" Magistrate Cao said anxiously.
Soon, yamen runners took the two to the clinic. Magistrate Cao was shocked to see that more than ten people had entered the main hall to accuse the Mo father and son.
"Guards, arrest the Mo father and son. I will personally handle the case and will not bend the law for personal gain. Everyone, disperse and adjourn the court."
Seeing that the people outside had dispersed, Magistrate Cao walked up to Zhao Xian and the others and invited them to the back hall.
The back hall of the county government office was essentially Magistrate Cao's private space. There were no outsiders there, and Magistrate Cao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Young Master Zhao has been frightened. I also bear responsibility for such an incident at the county government office, and I will thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Seeing that Magistrate Cao had a clear attitude toward the matter, Zhao Xian decided not to take it to heart.
However, the fact that such a big incident occurred in the county government office shows that Magistrate Cao is still somewhat muddle-headed, and it is time to take this opportunity to thoroughly rectify the situation.
"I came to the county town on business, but I didn't expect to encounter such a thing. I have disturbed the county magistrate."
"The Mo family was a cancer in the county. It was thanks to Young Master Zhao that this cancer was eradicated. The county should be thanking Young Master Zhao."
"Young Master Zhao was having lunch at the restaurant when that brat disturbed his meal. It's already noon, so there's no need for you to rush off. Please stay and have your meal here."
"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer. Thank you, Magistrate." Zhao Xian said politely.
Because of the arrival of people from the county government, a few more dishes were added for lunch. Even so, the meal was not very lavish, indicating that Magistrate Cao was relatively poor.
After lunch, Zhao Xian and the other two got up to say goodbye, and Magistrate Cao saw them off at the yamen.
After leaving the county government office, the three felt relieved. At that moment, a carriage arrived beside them; it was the very carriage they had hired.
"Are you alright? I followed you when the yamen runners took you away and waited outside the county government office until I saw the magistrate escort you out."
"Thank you for your concern, Master. Everything is alright now, let's go." After Zhao Xian finished speaking, the group boarded the carriage.
"Where are we going now?" the driver asked.
Zhao Xian thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any horse-drawn carriages for sale in the county town?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhao wants to buy a horse-drawn carriage?"
"I'll take a look first, and if I see one that suits me, I'll buy it."
"Alright, I'll take you there to have a look." The coachman flicked his whip, and the carriage drove off.
The group got out of the car at the entrance of the car dealership, and the dealership owner immediately came to greet them.
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