Sun Shiliu retorted calmly: "My lord, what you said is wrong. If anyone gives you advice, it's just a little old man asking people on the street where the case will be tried.
Your Excellency, you think it’s suspicious for a little old man to play drums and complain, but wouldn’t it be suspicious for hundreds of people to come to Beijing to complain?”
"You are so brave, you dare to question the imperial officials!" Yang Yin was immediately furious.
"I don't dare, I don't dare," Sun Shiliu chuckled, "Maybe it's because of Longxi's Feng Shui! Some people even dare to falsely accuse the prince, isn't that even more daring?"
"Okay, you said you wanted to confront me, what did you use to confront me?" Yan Yu didn't want to keep asking, "It's empty talk, just saying it won't do."
"Sir, I don't have any other skills. I have been running a tavern in Longxi for 20 or 30 years. As long as they are locals, I know everyone." Sun Shiliu said, "Your Excellency, you might as well call up those people who complained.
Little old man, identify them one by one to see who they are?"
Those who originally complained were kneeling on the other side of the court. An Guogong ordered those people to come closer and let Sun Shiliu and his son identify them.
When those people came over one after another, the two leaders looked at the Sun family father and son.
A discerning person will know at a glance that they know each other.
"I really recognize these people. They are indeed locals from Longxi." Sun Shiliu said, "But let my son do the talking."
His son Sun Shuanzhu has not spoken since he went to court, and his head hangs low.
Only when his father mentioned him did he raise his head.
Everyone was very surprised when they saw this man, because he looked like a fool. His eyebrows were widely separated, his eyes were very small, his nose was flat, his mouth was grinning involuntarily, and saliva was dripping from time to time.
"Your son is obviously a fool," Yang Yin said angrily, "You are contemptuous of the court and fooling the superior!"
"Sir, please calm down. How dare you, little old man?" Sun Shiliu kowtowed quickly, "It's true that my son is a fool, but a fool also has the advantages of being a fool. He won't lie.
Even if someone taught him to lie, he would never lie.
In addition, my son has been helping in the pub, and many of these people are regular customers of our family, and he recognizes them all."
"What this old man said makes sense," An Guogong said. "As the saying goes, even if a child asks for the truth, so do fools."
Then he called the fool's name and said, "Sun Shuanzhu, do you recognize these people?"
The fool blinked his little eyes, pointed at one of the leaders and said: "This is Li Guandai. He beats people and it hurts. He goes to our house to have a drink and never gives us money!"
"You stinking fool, you are talking nonsense! When did I stop paying for drinks?!" Li Baozhong glared and murmured, but his voice was very low, and only people close to him could hear it.
"That's right, this man's name is Li Baozhong. He is the commander of our Longxi military camp. He is not a commoner." Sun Liuliu said.
"This is prison chief Zhang. He specializes in bullying the little wives who deliver meals to prisoners. He ruined Yin Suo's mother and hanged her to death." Sun Shuanzhu, the fool, pointed at Zhang Lianjiu and resented her.
"This man is the head jailer in our Longxi Prison, and he can be considered a local tyrant." Sun Shiliu said, "If anyone is imprisoned, he has many ways to exploit them!" "Sun Shiliu! You old thief is really talking nonsense! We are all peaceful and kind people, but it is because we have been greatly wronged that we have to go to Beijing to complain.
You have been a lackey all your life, flattering others and confusing right and wrong. This is your special skill.
You opened a restaurant with usury money in the local area and married twenty or thirty wives. Which one of us has not borrowed money from you? Which one of us has not had your blood sucked?!"
"Yes, I actually brought your stupid son here today just to pour dirty water on us!
You are a native of Longxi, where do you come from relatives in the capital?!
When there was a disaster, you sold rice at a high price, how much money did you make?!"
Li Baozhong and Zhang Lianjiu were not easy-going people, so they began to fabricate and slander Sun Shiliu.
Anyway, if you want to verify it, you have to spend time, and the other party's words are unfounded. In this case, just muddy the water and make it difficult for people to distinguish the true from the false.
"Sir, please let the farmers make the decision! We are innocent farmers!"
"Sun Shiliu has ulterior motives! I don't know who he was bewitched by, and he falsely accuses us. Please make a clear decision!"
These complainants pleaded one after another, and for a while the court became noisy and chaotic.
"Quiet!" Yan Yu slapped the gavel into pieces, "You all these unscrupulous people, please shut up!"
The two teams of government officials also stabbed the water and fire sticks into the ground and shouted "Quiet".
The hall gradually became quiet.
"Both sides are insisting on their own opinions, and it is difficult to tell the truth from the false for a while." Yang Yin said, "It is better to keep the father and son in custody for the time being!"
This is a delaying tactic.
Who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, Sun Shiliu immediately shouted: "Wait a minute, little old man, I have evidence."
An Guogong immediately asked: "What evidence do you have? Tell me quickly."
"The adults don't need to send people to Longxi to inquire," Sun Shiliu said, "these two people carry the evidence themselves."
When everyone heard what he said, they couldn't help but turn their attention to Li Baozhong and Zhang Lianjiu.
The two people also looked at each other, and then showed a look of fear.
"One of these two works as a servant in the military camp, and the other works as an errand in the prison. They are both considered members of the public.
It is a custom in Longxi that all officers will have tattoos on their bodies, and these two people also have tattoos on their backs.
The tattoo on Li Baozhong's back is "Open Eyes Guan Gong", because he is the commander of the military camp and advocates bravery.
Open your eyes and Guan Gong's flower embroidery is not for use by people who are not members of the public family. This is a rule and cannot be wrong.
The tattoo on Zhang Lianjiu's back is the eye-catching white tiger. He is the prison head, and the white tiger is in charge of punishment and is the prison god.
It stands to reason that the white tiger is a fierce god, so why would ordinary people dare to have it tattooed on their bodies? But as a jailer, it’s a different story.
They often go to the little old man's tavern to drink, and they often wear shirtless clothes when the weather is hot, so they know it." Sun Shiliu said, "If you don't believe it, just take off their clothes in front of the court to verify it." Speaking of this, Yang Yin and Yan Yu couldn't hide it even if they wanted to. After all, the emperor was listening behind the screen.
So he had no choice but to say: "Come here, take off the clothes of these two people and see if there are any embroideries on their backs."
The yamen officer stepped forward and took off the tops of these two men in a few strokes.
As expected, there is a tattoo on the back of Guan Gong with his eyes open, and the other a tattoo of a white tiger head.
There is indeed a custom of tattooing in Longxi, and everyone knows it.
Both of these two people have their backs covered with flower embroidery. The tattoo master’s skills are so good that the tattoos look like they are alive.
He looks really murderous, fierce and vicious.
"Which of the good people in An An would have such vicious embroidery tattooed on their backs?" An Guogong sneered, "Even if the fifth prince bullies the people during disaster relief, he can't bully you, right?
It is possible for you to be the talons of eagle dogs and work for them."
