Hearing these familiar words, Wei Pingxiao looked sharply back and forth between Shi San and Lao Liaotou's family.
Shi San was as confident as ever and seemed to be on the right track. But Lao Liaotou and his family, like the previous two families, were frightened and did not even dare to say anything in rebuttal.
A government official came forward to take the house deed and handed it to Wei Pingxiao. Wei Pingxiao only looked at it twice and then put it down. The house deed was the same as the previous two times.
But when things got to this point, he could still tell that something was fishy.
If he said it once, he thought it was understandable; twice, he just thought Shi San was unlucky; but three times, it was thought-provoking.
What's even more coincidental is that each of these families who "occupied" Shi San's house either lost or destroyed the property deeds.
Wei Pingxiao already had a guess in his mind. He called a yamen servant to run errands, handed the house deed to the yamen servant, and ordered: "Go and check with Hu Cao to see if the house deed is fake. In addition, confirm the title of this house."
Who is the owner of the house?"
As soon as these words came out, not only the old Liaotou family, but also Shi Sanmian panicked.
Shi San lowered his head and rolled his eyes around, as if he was thinking about something.
The old Liaotou family also lowered their heads and exchanged glances. Wei Pingxiao could even see their shoulders shaking.
The two groups each had their own interesting thoughts. Wei Pingxiao took some time to look at the people in the hall, and he became more and more sure of his guess.
After all, Lao Liao and his family could not withstand the pressure of silence. In the end, the family seemed to communicate through eye contact, and Lao Liao trembled and forced himself to speak.
"Sir... Your Excellency, Cao Min wants to... confess. That house is not owned by Cao Min's family..."
Before he finished speaking, Shi San, who was thinking about his own thoughts, quickly climbed up the pole and said, "Sir, they admitted that the house is not theirs, and it is not their fault that they can't get the deed.
Sir, since he has confessed his crime, please give justice to the common people."
However, Old Liaotou also hurriedly said: "Sir, although the house... does not belong to the Cao Min family, the owner is Tong Shu, and the house deed is also there. The house is not owned by anyone in this hall. If you don't believe it, you can send Tong Shu to testify.
.”
Wei Pingxiao didn't listen, and only scolded the two of them, "If you dare to make noise without my permission again, I will first reward you with twenty big boards."
As expected, Lao Liaotou's family and Shi San were frightened and did not dare to say another word.
Everyone in the hall was waiting quietly. The Yamen servant soon came back with two pieces of news.
"The house deed is authentic. But the content does not match the Hu Cao's book. The owner is not Shi San, but Tong Shu."
The old man was so excited that he almost spoke, but as he spoke, Wei Pingxiao glared at him, and he was so frightened that he swallowed his words back, and then looked at Shi San with some pride.
Shi San's eyes were a little panicked at this moment. He lowered his head and occasionally glanced at the feet of the Yamen servants on the left and right out of the corner of his eyes.
Wei Pingxiao put Shi San's house deed on the table, and then suddenly slapped the gavel with a thud, shattering the silence and making everyone in the hall tremble.
"Shi San, you forged the house deed, are you guilty of this?"
Shi San's eyes kept rolling for a while, and then he said in a panic: "Sir, Cao Min's house deed is real. The fake one is Tong Shu, and he is the fake one."
Wei Pingxiao suddenly exclaimed, "How dare you claim that you are my servant and colluded with Hucao to frame you?"
If you dare to speak harshly even when you are about to die, I think you are offering a toast instead of eating and will be fined with wine. Come and capture this thief and give him twenty blows first."
Shi San panicked on his face, knocked his head on the ground, and said in horror: "Sir, please spare my life, Cao Min doesn't know what's going on. The Cao Min also asked Tongyuan Chaifang Yazhong for the property deed."
If you don't believe me, sir, the common people are willing to confront Chaifangya. Or, if you call Tong Shu to the court, the common people are willing to confront Tong Shu and Chaifangya."
Wei Pingxiao stared at Shi San carefully. Shi San was heartbroken, but he could only bear the gaze.
The government officials who were about to be sentenced didn't know whether to advance or retreat, and they all looked at Wei Pingxiao. Wei Pingxiao thought about it, today's matter is indeed not simple, I'm afraid it is more than just a matter of rogues and tax evasion.
He thought for a moment with a deep brow, raised his hand to signal the government officials who were about to be sentenced to step aside temporarily, and then ordered a few people to tell Tong Shu and Chai Biao.
Neither Tongyuan nor Yinzhen Village was close to the Zhizhong Yamen, so Wei Pingxiao ordered the Yamen servants to temporarily detain Shi San and Lao Liaotou's family in the back hall, and then retreated from the hall to wait in the inner Yamen.
While he was waiting, he ordered the yamen servant to go and invite Yan He, the director of the Commercial and Taxation Institute, to the inner yamen.
...
Two hours later, Tong Shu and Chai Biao arrived in the hall. However, Chai Biao was holding a cane and his head was wrapped with gauze, looking as if he had been severely tortured.
As for Tong Shu, he was detained by the government officials for no apparent reason and had not yet recovered from the shock.
Wei Pingxiao invited Yan He to the lower seat to watch. Then he sat in the hall and continued the interrogation.
"Chai Biao, Tong Shu's house on Metasequoia Street in Tongyuan, but you were the mediator a year ago and sold it to one of them?" He pointed at Shi San and Lao Liaotou.
Chai Biao said sarcastically: "Sir, common people can no longer remember what happened a year ago."
"So, you don't admit that you have anything to do with one of these two mediators?"
Chai Biao nodded anxiously: "The common people really don't remember."
Wei Pingxiao looked at Tong Shu again, "Tong Shu, that yard on Metasequoia Street is still yours. Do you want to sell it?"
Tong Shu was frightened, glanced at the others, shook his head and whispered: "Grass people, I never sold."
Wei Pingxiao continued: "If you haven't sold it, how about leasing it? Who in this room did you rent it to?"
Tong Shu glanced at it a few more times, and finally pointed at Lao Liaotou's family tremblingly, "The common people rented it to their family."
"Is it Chai Biao, mediator?" Wei Pingxiao asked again.
Tong Shu nodded subconsciously.
"In that case, you two, take out each other's lease and prove to me that you are not lying."
As soon as they finished speaking, both Old Liao Tou and Tong Shu panicked. Tong Shu didn't know what was going on, so he said in a hurry: "The grassroots... the grassroots' lease deed was accidentally lost."
Old Liaotou's originally open mouth immediately closed again, and his face turned pale and red. After thinking about it, he couldn't find an excuse, but he really couldn't say what he had lost, so he could only tremble in silence.
Wei Pingxiao stared at the old man seriously again, "His lease was lost, what about yours? Could it be that he lost it too?"
Lao Liao was lying on his back with his head bent, sweat dripping from his forehead. Lao Liao's son was also covered in cold sweat. As for his wife and mother, they had not dared to say anything for a long time and could only bury their heads in the shape of a turtle.
Wei Pingxiao's sharp eyes swept over the people in the hall, and the alarm bell suddenly clapped, sounding like a bell, "You still haven't summoned me from the truth. Is your lease agreement lost, destroyed, or there is no lease agreement at all?"
.”
Everyone in the hall was so frightened that they dared not speak out. Lao Liaotou's wife almost fainted from fright, and the whole family huddled together and shivered.
Wei Pingxiao snorted coldly and stood up, "Okay, since you don't want to say it, I will say it for you."