The people who were watching looked surprised, and they told the county that Shuntian Prefecture really brought the magistrate here.
In the Ming Dynasty, the case of citizens suing officials only appeared in the Hongwu Year. I have only heard about it until now, but today I have seen it!
No matter what the outcome is, being able to witness this scandal with your own eyes will make you feel better when you go back, and you will have something to talk about for the rest of your life.
Under the leadership of the police officer, the county magistrate Wang Ying slowly walked into the lobby.
He didn't even bother to take a look at the so-called "plaintiffs". Instead, he walked straight past them and saluted: "I am the magistrate of Changping County, Wang Ying, and I pay my respects to Mr. Fu Yin!"
Wu Zhide asked: "Wang Zhixian, do you know why I summoned you to come here overnight?"
Wang Ying shook her head slightly and said: "I don't know, I don't know."
Wu Zhide added: "Fifteen people, including Xie Jin, jointly sued you for unfair treatment and framed Liu San of Wangjiazhuang. Is this possible?"
Wang Ying suddenly laughed. He glanced at Xie Jin and others with disdain, and said: "Liu San's case in Wangjiazhuang was tried by a lower official. Liu San's relatives died, but he framed others with the intention of extorting money.
The evidence is conclusive. To say that the dismissal of a lower official is unfair, where do you start?"
Seeing the proud smile on his face, Xie Jin couldn't help shouting: "You're talking nonsense. It's obvious that you took advantage of Wang Shichang and framed Liu San with him!"
"That is, Liu San's sister and mother were killed by Wang Shichang. This matter has been spread for a long time."
"Liu San went to sea this time and received a total of five hundred taels of silver. How could he blackmail others?"
"It is said that you and Wang Shichang are from the same family. If this is fair, then it would be strange!"
Seeing all the crew members saying something to each other, they were extremely excited, but a smile appeared on the corner of Wang Ying's mouth.
Even if you have been to the sea and seen the world, so what?
At the end of the day, they are still just a bunch of bastards, what can they fight with me?
Sure enough, Wu Zhide clapped the gavel again and said angrily: "I have said that only representatives will be sent to speak. Others will wait aside for the time being. They are not allowed to speak without asking questions! If you hear anyone making noise again, you will be kicked out of the lobby immediately!" Xie Jin had no choice but to say: "Yes, we are just following Master Fu Yin's orders!"
Wu Zhide then continued the interrogation: "I have heard what you just said. Xie Jin, do you have any evidence that Wang Zhixian received benefits from Wang Shichang?"
Xie Jin was stunned for a moment, and then said: "It must be him..."
Snap!
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the gavel.
"It must be, it must be, you say it is? I will ask you again, do you have any evidence?"
Xie Jin looked distressed and could only say: "For now...no!"
Wu Zhide continued: "Okay, someone just said that Liu San's sister and mother were killed by Wang Shichang. Is there any evidence for this?"
"This... all the villagers in Wangjiazhuang know this."
"Really?"
Wu Zhide sneered and said: "The files I saw were testified by thirteen villagers from Wangjiazhuang. The death of Liu San's sister and my mother had nothing to do with Wang Shichang!"
"Sir, there must be something wrong with this. They must be... they must be..."
When Xie Jin said this, his voice became lower and lower unconsciously.
Wu Zhide showed a playful smile on his face and said: "That means there is no evidence?"
Xie Jin looked very depressed and said: "Not yet..."
"I seem to have heard someone say that County Magistrate Wang and Squire Wang Shichang are from the same family. Do you suspect that they have a close relationship and collude with each other?"
Xie Jin seemed to see hope, nodded repeatedly and said: "This matter is true, Mr. Fu Yin can go and investigate it!"
"What nonsense!"
Wu Zhide suddenly darkened his face and said angrily: "Wang Zhixian's ancestral home is Linfen, Shanxi. He took the orthodox imperial examination for ten years and was selected as a Jinshi by the emperor. He was also appointed as the magistrate of Changping County. He has nothing to do with Wangjia Village. How dare you to frame the imperial court like this?"
Officer, do you still have my Ming Law in your eyes?"
Xie Jin turned pale and murmured: "No, no, that's not the case..."
Snap!
Wu Zhide clapped the gavel again and said, "Xie Jin, do you know your guilt?"
Xie Jin didn't know what to do even more. They came to complain in order to stand up for Liu San, but they didn't expect that they would end up like this.
All the rumors are untrue or there is no evidence. What should I do...?
Wu Zhide slowly turned around, looked at Peng Qing, and said with a smile: "Master Peng, do you think this official complied with the law during the trial here?"
Peng Qing's face was extremely ugly. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to speak when he saw Wu Zhide subconsciously stepping back.
"Master Peng, this is the lobby of Shuntian Mansion. Everyone is watching. People who are still watching outside the hall, you... don't mess around!"
Peng Qing sighed and said, "You're so careless!"
Wu Zhide was puzzled and asked: "What's the matter?"
"I didn't expect that you were quite well prepared. After all, it will be as difficult as going to heaven for the people to sue the officials!"
He said these words out of emotion. If the officials join forces, ordinary people will not have the strength to compete with them.
Think about it, who are the people who can be officials?
The imperial examination was held every three years in the Ming Dynasty. Students across the country fought hard to the end, and there were only 300 places on the list. In such a competitive environment, all those who could be left were the best of the best.
As for the current case, Peng Qing has also done some investigation. Whether it is Liu San's personality or the clues provided by insiders, it is enough to prove that the murderer is Wang Shichang.
However, he used some means, perhaps bribery or coercion, to actually get the villagers to give false evidence.
This is the crux of the problem. You know there are problems with these testimonies, but you have no evidence!
The most important thing in a trial is to talk about evidence. It is understandable that Shuntian Mansion should speak for itself with evidence.
As for Wang Ying, as the county magistrate, how could he not know what Wang Shichang did?
It's even possible that he was behind all of this.
The current situation is that the county magistrate is colluding with the murderer, and the governor said that I only look at the evidence. In this case, Liu San can only die in vain!
Peng Qing was helpless, he thought things were too simple.
With Xie Jin, there is no way to fight with these people.
When the plot is over, not only Liu San will die, but he will also be settled by Qiu Hou for beating people in the street.
By then, the title of Cabinet Bachelor will definitely be lost.
He is not worried about these false reputations, he just feels a little sorry for the emperor.
The emperor trusted himself so much, but in the end, he messed up the matter...
…………
ps: I’m so sleepy that I sent it directly after I finished writing. There may be some typos. I’ll proofread it tomorrow when I’m free!
ps2: Actually, I have a free request for leave, but I don’t want to use it, because we are authors and have received professional training. No matter what the circumstances, we will never stop updating... unless we are too lazy to write~~