Xiao Erlang was still dressed in white, and his hair was disheveled. After a year of fear, his face looked particularly haggard, so he almost looked like a ghost.
Magistrate Tang looked at it carefully, nodded and said, "No wonder some people think you are a ghost."
He was stunned and asked: "Who are you and what crime have you committed? I will punish you for it!"
Xiao Erlang cried and said: "Sir, the younger one is Erlang Xiao from Kangxue Street. I, I, I shouldn't be sick and pretend to be a ghost. I beg you to spare my life."
Magistrate Tang County had already heard the report from the yamen officer who was patrolling the night last night early in the morning, and sneered: "Are you sure you are suffering from madness?"
"Yes, yes, I have had this problem since I was a child. I don't mean to scare people."
"Then I'd like to ask you, who owns the vegetable patch in Yan's house?"
"The little one doesn't know. He likes to cry when he is sick. He also likes to walk around and burn paper money. Other than that, he doesn't know anything about it."
Magistrate Tang sneered, glanced at the government officials who said they had been detained separately, slapped the crowd and said: "Since you said so, okay, let's assume that what you said is true, someone will come and take him
I blocked his mouth, took him down to the hall, held him down, and escorted the eldest son of the Xiao family up."
The Yamen servant responded and went to pick up Xiao Dalang.
As soon as Xiao Dalang came to the court, Magistrate Tang slapped down the gavel and shouted angrily, "Pull him down and hit him ten times first!"
"yes!"
Before Xiao Dalang could recover, he was dragged into the yard by the government officials, his clothes were lifted up, and they started to beat him.
Man Bao was startled and reached out to cover her eyes. Zhou Lang was afraid that she would be frightened, so he quickly hugged her into his arms.
It was not the first time for Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang to watch someone play the board, but they were still not used to it, so they turned slightly sideways.
Only then did Magistrate Tang see them. Taking advantage of the opportunity to hit the board, he pointed at them and asked, "Who are they?"
Sensing the county magistrate's unhappiness, the yamen servant quickly bent down and said, "It's a witness. He was the one they caught last night."
"It turns out it's them," County Magistrate Tang's face looked better, and he couldn't help but be a little curious. The ghost in Kangxue Street has been haunted for two years. During this period, he not only sent people to check, but also went to see it himself, but
All in vain.
In addition, it was just said to be haunted, and nothing happened. He didn't even hear crying or anything like that, so after checking, he just thought it was the person there who was suspicious.
These five people are very powerful at catching ghosts, especially the two boys and a girl standing at the front.
So Magistrate Tang waved his hand and said, "Go and bring them up. I'll ask them a few questions."
The five people quickly walked to the hall, and Man Bao and three others stood at the front and bowed to Magistrate Tang.
Xiao Dalang was beaten in the yard and screamed. Magistrate Tang turned a deaf ear and curiously asked Bai Shanbao and the others, "Is this the ghost you caught?"
Bai Shanbao saluted and replied, "Yes."
"Why did you think of catching ghosts, and how did you catch them?"
Bai Shanbao glanced at the two friends and replied: "Sir, when we were at home, we heard the cry of a female ghost. She said she died unjustly, so we wanted to ask her why she was unjustly accused.
.So we hid in the firewood pile last night. As soon as he appeared, we went up to see him, but he was startled and screamed."
Magistrate Tang looked at them suspiciously. A person who has been pretending to be a ghost all year round should be very alert. How could he be startled by the sudden appearance of three people?
He looked back and forth at the three of them and asked, "What were you wearing at that time?"
Bai Shanbao said with a calm expression: "It's just ordinary clothes."
Man Bao and Bai Erlang nodded repeatedly as if they were testifying.
In just two or three sentences, Xiao Dalang finished typing and was dragged in by the yamen.
The banquets in the yamen were not that delicious. Although there were only ten large banquets, they were not beaten lightly. Xiao Dalang lay on the ground with a pale face, completely confused.
County Magistrate Tang waved Bai Shanbao and the others aside and patted the gavel again, "Xiao Dalang, do you admit your guilt?"
Xiao Dalang's eyes widened and he shouted quickly: "Sir, Xiao, what crime do you want to plead guilty to? Although I know that my second brother is crazy, I really never thought that he would sneak into the Yan family..."
Magistrate Tang sneered and said: "Xiao Erlang has done it all. He said that the reason why he went to Yan's house to open a vegetable field was because of your instructions. You deliberately took advantage of his madness to instruct him to work. Otherwise, who would
Are you going to find fault for yourself?"
County Magistrate Tang said: "The vegetable patch in Yan's family is open to all ages. Xiao Erlang is very tired, and you have made a lot of money, right? Xiao Erlang is a madman, and he did not do these things on his own. The crime is not serious."
, the biggest one is you, the person behind the scenes."
When Xiao Dalang heard that his second son was blaming everything on him, he couldn't help but became anxious. He wanted to turn his head to take a look at Xiao Erlang in the yard, but Magistrate Tang slapped him hard when he turned his head.
Mu shouted and asked: "Xiao Dalang, if you don't recruit me quickly, do you want me to torture you again?"
"No, sir, the younger one was unjustly accused. I, I am not the instigator." When Xiao Dalang heard that he was going to be tortured, he was immediately frightened and said quickly: "My second brother is not crazy at all. He is the instigator of this matter."
, it has nothing to do with me.”
Xiao Dalang said: "Since two years ago, he has been infiltrating the Yan family's farm and pretending to be a ghost to scare people. He has nothing to do with us at all."
Xiao Erlang, who was gagged and pinned in the yard, struggled angrily. Magistrate Tang slapped the wooden frame and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, it's the truth, it's the truth."
"Then tell me, why did Xiao Erlang go to the Yan family's garden to plant vegetables, when did he start, and why did he pretend to be a ghost servant?"
Xiao Dalang swallowed his saliva, his mind was in chaos, and he subconsciously said: "A corner of the utility room at the back of my house collapsed due to the flood. When I sorted it out, I found that the wall connected to Yan's house collapsed. A big hole. At that time,
Master Ziyan was taken away, and no one in the Yan family noticed the big hole. My family didn't have the money to repair it, so we left it alone. Later, the Yan family was ransacked, and my second brother was naughty, so he would sneak to the Yan family from time to time to play.
My son, I don’t know when he got up, but he quietly opened a vegetable patch at the Yan family’s place to grow vegetables.”
Xiao Dalang said: "Because the houses of the Yan family and the Yu family are also separated by a wall, we, no, it is him working there, which may disturb the tenants of the Yu family, so he is pretending to be a ghost to scare people.
"
"Woooooooooo..." Xiao Erlang, who was gagged in the yard, suddenly burst out and struggled fiercely.
Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and said, "It seems that Xiao Erlang has something different to say. Someone, bring Xiao Erlang up to me."
After saying that, he turned around and whispered to the Yamen servant: "Go and take the two elders of the Xiao family into the courtyard, and gag their mouths so that they cannot make any sound."
The officer responded and stepped back.
Man Bao was so amazed that he couldn't help but look back at Bai Shanbao.
Bai Shanbao was also amazed and turned to look at her.