The next day, Zheng Wuji and Xu Chunjun packed up and went to the Huaiyang Prince's Mansion with their invitations.
The King of Huaiyang was in his sixties, thin and pale, with a beardless face.
He has three sons and three daughters. Except for his eldest daughter, Yao Ruolan, who entered the palace as his queen, the other two daughters are also married.
The second daughter Yao Ruoqiang married the eldest son of Wang Chongnian, who once served as the magistrate of Huaiyang.
Now Wang Chongnian has been promoted to Minister of Civil Service.
The eldest son of the King of Huaiyang, Yao Hu, served as Minister of War in Beijing, and the second son Yao Biao served as Yanyun's military envoy.
Only his third son, Yao Zheng, who was a concubine, stayed with him to fulfill his filial piety.
The King of Huaiyang had no airs and brought his concubine Leng and his concubine Jiang to meet Zheng Wuji and his wife.
Xu Chunjun and others also brought gifts. The King of Huaiyang was very polite and said: "Master Zheng and his wife took the time to come after a long journey. I feel sorry for you."
"Wansheng arrived at the government office yesterday. He should have come early to pay homage to the prince, but he was so busy that it was disrespectful.
So I made some arrangements before I came to visit you. Your Majesty, please forgive me." Zheng Wuji smiled, and those who didn't know thought he meant to curry favor with him.
"Master Zheng is young and promising, and his wife is also known as a good wife," Princess Leng praised, "What a perfect couple."
Xu Chunjun was generous and did not feel embarrassed at all when facing the princess's praise. He only said modestly: "Princess, you are too complimentary. Chunjun is young and has little knowledge. Please give me more advice in the future."
The King of Huaiyang held a family banquet in honor of Xu Chunjun and his wife, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
Three days after Zheng Wuji took office, the seven magistrates under his rule came to pay homage to Shangguan.
The King of Huaiyang held another banquet and invited Zheng Wuji and the seven magistrates.
After the banquet, Zheng Wuji officially assumed his duties.
Notices were posted at the yamen gate to inform the people.
The seven magistrates looked respectful to Zheng Wuji on the surface, but in fact they were not convinced in their hearts.
Firstly, Zheng Wuji was too young and had the reputation of being a prodigal son.
Secondly, no matter who was appointed to govern the state, they would only listen to the King of Huaiyang.
Moreover, I have long heard that Zheng Wuji is not the Queen's man, so he will probably have a fight.
For many years, Huaiyang has never lost this game of chess.
If the officials who take office here comply, they will be dragged down.
If he refuses to collude, they have plenty of ways to drive him out.
In order to test Zheng Wuji's strength, they simply threw a hot potato at him and let's see how Zheng Wuji responded.
Shen Ding, the magistrate of Shangshui County, reported a case that had not been solved for two years. It involved human lives and a fight between two ethnic groups.
The county magistrate and the former magistrate tried to mediate many times, but everyone refused to accept it, so it has been delayed until now.
Zheng Wuji took out the file and looked at it to understand what happened.
The case occurred in Liuwu Village in Shangshui County.
Liu Shuangxi's wife Cui from Liujiazhuang is young and beautiful, and it has only been three years since the couple got married.
Liu Shuangxi was engaged in lamp grass business and was often away from home, leaving his wife alone at home.
There is a salesman named Wu Laoliu in Wujiazhuang next to him. He carries a load all day long and walks through the streets, selling needles, thread, rouge pollen, or other children's toys.
Cui, like the women in the surrounding villages, often buys his things.
On the night of the eighth day of September the year before last, some neighbors saw a dark figure jumping into Cui's yard, so they became alarmed.
Wu Laoliu was caught and brought to the clan leader.
He insisted that it was Cui who asked him to go there, but Cui refused to admit it and said that he was spitting blood.
The two couldn't argue, and in desperation, Cui stabbed the bound Wu Laoliu to death.
Naturally, people in Wujiacun got the news after a life was lost. Wu Laoliu's brother came with dozens of people to demand an explanation.
They insisted that Cui and Wu Laoliu had committed adultery. When Cui was discovered, she put all the blame on Wu Laoliu in order to protect herself, and even killed him to silence him.
Such harlots should be cut to pieces with thousands of swords.
After Cui killed someone, she was inevitably frightened and panicked, and wanted to prove her innocence, so she hanged herself while others were unprepared.
Her husband came home the next day and naturally refused to give up.
Both sides insist on their own opinions, and the parties involved are all dead. It can be said that there is no evidence of death.
Neither of the two families wanted to be buried, so they had to fight over each other.
While asking for each other's explanations, people from the two villages fought several times. Although no one was injured, the hatred became deeper and deeper.
Later, the case was reported to the government. The county magistrate not only punished a few people who took the lead in making trouble, but also preached many times in the hope that the big issue could be reduced to a minor one and less trouble would occur.
However, these people hold grudges against each other, and no one is willing to let go. They will start fighting if there is even the slightest quarrel between them.
For things like this, officials cannot always arrive in time.
Using legal sanctions will only make hatred grow bigger and bigger.
As for preaching, these people will not listen to it no matter what.
Shen Ding, the magistrate of Shangshui County, said to Zheng Wuji with a bitter look on his face: "To be honest with Lord Zhizhou, I often have trouble sleeping at night because of this matter.
The folk customs here are fierce and difficult to educate. Hundreds of people from the two villages often fight each other, and the intimidation from officials cannot stop them.
Please also ask Mr. Zhizhou to think of a way to calm down these two villages."
Immediately, people from two villages came to beat drums and complain about their grievances. When they learned that the new official had taken office, they all came to ask for an explanation.
Zheng Wuji naturally knew the difficulties of this case. The first difficulty was the matter of men and women, which was difficult to explain clearly.
Whether Cui and Wu Laoliu committed adultery or Wu Laoliu broke into a private house, it is fair to say that it is possible.
The second difficulty is that there is no evidence of death. Cui killed Wu Laoliu and then committed suicide.
It may be out of anger, or it may be fear of guilt after silence.
Therefore, the two villages of Liu and Wu held different opinions and believed that their own people had been wronged.
The third difficulty is that the hatred has deepened, and the hatred between two families has become the hatred between two clans.
Cui's incident is like a lead, which leads to a lot of grievances and grievances, big and small.
Shen Ding posed this problem to Zheng Wuji, and several other county magistrates were also happy to see a good show.
The new official will have three things to do when he takes office. It depends on whether Zheng Wuji can burn the fire.
"Tell those who are beating drums to complain about grievances to stop first." Zheng Wuji was not in a hurry to investigate the case. "We will wait until I and several magistrates have had lunch."
Several county magistrates looked at each other in confusion after hearing this, wondering whether this person was a straw bag or a loser.
The drums at the entrance of the Yamen were beating loudly, and the people who came to watch were packed with people.
But he didn't take these to heart, and was more concerned about his own meals.
"This matter has been delayed for more than two years, and it's not less than this time and a half." Zheng Wuji said with a relaxed expression, "Take them to drink tea under the big locust tree to calm down the fire, and wait for me to wake up and take a nap.
Let’s try again.”
The magistrates' jaws almost dropped when they heard this. Not only did they have to eat, but they also had to sleep.
Mr. Zhizhou is so good at maintaining health!
But no matter what, Zheng Wuji is also their boss.
These people always have to maintain a superficial respect.
I followed Zheng Wuji to the back hall, where the food was already ready.
