If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 115: Official law is like a furnace, it cannot defeat the evil in people’s hearts (Subscribe)
Xianghehao covers an area of ​​more than one acre, and from the pawnshop door facing the street to the two red-painted wooden doors in the backyard, it is more than one hundred meters.

The area of ​​more than one acre is definitely not all pawnshops.

In fact, it was cut in half.

Facing the bustling Xiaolianghe Street District is the pawnshop, and the back door connects to "Yimin Street", which is the Hu family residence.

Previously, the bailiffs came to arrest the shopkeeper Hu and demanded the Xu family's golden carp jade pendant. Mrs. Hu and her fellow apprentices guarded the front yard's Xianghe gate, but gave up the back door on Yimin Street (actually, from Yimin Street, it was also the front door).

Shopkeeper Hu was sentenced by the City God to wear shackles for three months. Now he was paralyzed in bed as if he had suffered a stroke, crying out in pain day and night.

Mrs. Hu naturally would not leave him in the shop in the front yard, so Manager Hu was carried away from Yimin Street by the yamen runners.

At this moment, Madam Hu closed the door of the Xianghe and remained in the lobby of the pawnshop with a dozen smartly dressed martial arts apprentices.

A thin man in his thirties jumped down from the roof and ran into the lobby from the back door, panting heavily. He started shouting anxiously before he even stood firm.

"Big sister, something terrible has happened. Zhu Yitao has gone crazy and wants to send the city defense battalion to encircle and destroy the Xianghe ship!"

"Encirclement and suppression? We are not thieves, why do we have to encircle and suppress us and mobilize the city defense camp?" Madam Hu asked in surprise.

She is of medium build and well-proportioned, neither fat nor thin, with a slightly wide square face, but not ugly, rather soft and plump, with neat facial features. Her jet-black hair is tied into a bun at the back of her head and wrapped with a small pearl net.

She is decent and generous, and even though she is over 40, she still retains some charm.

But when he spoke, the corners of his eyes turned up, showing a bit of ferocity and harshness.

The thin junior brother quickly recounted what happened in the government office and sighed, "Zhu Yitao is serious this time. He even wants to beat Aunt Liu from Hongxiufang. Can your Xianghehao be more powerful than Hongxiufang?

Alas, Zhu Yitao sent someone to ask for the Xu family jade pendant. You should have just given it to him. Why did you have to kick all the officials out? "

"The jade pendant is not in my house." said Mrs. Hu.

"At this time, you are still trying to fool us with this kind of words?" The junior brother said unhappily, "We don't care whose treasure you covet.

But the problem is that now everyone in Yingxiang Mansion knows that Madam Xu’s jade pendant is in your house.”

A bearded senior brother who was sitting at the table drinking stood up and said, "Senior sister, the soldiers are about to encircle and destroy the Xianghe. We will definitely not fight for you. You should understand this."

The other brothers also advised: "Senior sister already has such a big family business, why do you have to keep staring at a jade pendant?"

Madam Hu thought for a moment with a gloomy face, and said, "Brother Chai, come out with me."

When they arrived at the backyard, Madam Hu took out a yellow cloth brocade bag from her sleeve, handed it to the thin man, and said, "Brother, among all the brothers, you have the best Qinggong, now you take it and leave Tianmen Town.

Unless the fake silver case is completely resolved, don't show up and don't come to see me again."

Junior Brother Chai touched the yellow cloth bag and found a hard object inside. "Is it the jade pendant? Is it that serious?"

Madam Hu stared at him with fierce eyes, "I don't want to hear any more nonsense!"

"Oh, I understand."

The thin man stuffed the cloth bag into the small pocket of his belt, jumped up, and landed on the eaves.

"Clang, clang, clang~~~" Listening to the almost inaudible sound of tiles under his feet and feeling the cool night breeze, Junior Brother Chai felt a sense of joy as if the world was so vast that he could fly freely.

"Master, Master, you are really getting old and confused. With my talent and skills, I deserve to be recommended to the palace as a coach, but you arranged for me to escort stolen goods for a merchant woman. You don't think it's a disgrace to your school, but I think it's a waste of my talent - ugh!"

A willow leaf, silently and swiftly like a sharp sword, "stuck" to the Fengchi point on the back of his head from the side.

His neck tilted and his body fell limply downwards. Before he hit the ground, he had fallen asleep peacefully.

Xiaoyu came to his side like a ghost almost the moment he fell to the ground. With a hook of her instep, he gently rolled down from the roof and landed in the yard without any sound.

"What's wrong with him?" Aunt Zhang asked nervously.

"Nothing, I fell asleep."

Xiaoyu bent down, took out a small cloth bag from his waist, took out the jade pendant and looked at it carefully.

"Is it that Madam Hu is too greedy, or is there something magical about this jade pendant?"

Even a layman like her could see that the golden carp pendant was of extraordinary quality.

It was pitch dark at the moment, with only a dim candlelight coming from afar, but the candlelight fell on the jade pendant, giving it a sparkling and lustrous color.

It's like it's glowing on its own.

Aunt Zhang hesitated and said, "This jade pendant..."

Before she finished speaking, there was already something in her hand.

Xiao Yu stuffed the jade pendant into her hands and said, "As a righteous citizen, you will take the initiative to hand over the jade pendant to Zhu Yitai and tell him about Mrs. Hu's misconduct.

I think that although Zhu Yitao is rude and cruel, he is a good official who speaks up for the people and should return the jade pendant to the Xu family."

Aunt Zhang said with a bitter face: "How can I be a righteous citizen? Why don't you come--"

"I can't." Xiao Yu waved her hands quickly and said, "My status is embarrassing and it's not suitable for me to be in the limelight."

"How about just returning the jade pendant to Lao Xu?"

After saying this, Aunt Zhang shook her head vigorously, "No, gamblers can't be trusted! If you give it to Lao Xu, you will have to give it to Bu Sigui in the end.

"It has to be handed over to Hui Er. But that won't work, she's still too young to take care of it. Oh, what a hassle!"

"Auntie is the elder, and you decide how to deal with the jade pendant." Xiaoyu said with a smile.

The jade pendant weighs less than two taels, but the psychological pressure it brings to Aunt Zhang is visibly heavy.

When she saw Zhu Yitai beating someone before, she was very happy and laughed non-stop.

I was even interested in going to Hu's Pawnshop to watch the show.

Now they have all returned to the yamen. Madam Hu, Shopkeeper Hu and the head of the Du family who is unwilling to return are all present. Madam Zhang still looks like she is worried and her eyes are a little dazed.

"Catch this bitch and give her thirty lashes to put an end to her arrogance and banditry."

As soon as he saw Madam Hu, without any verbal communication, Zhu Yitao threw out the sign and ordered the bailiff to beat her with a stick.

"My lord, why are you beating me with a stick? I don't accept it. I'm innocent!" Madam Hu's scream was as loud as a pig being slaughtered.

"You still dare to say you are innocent, Qian Dutou, come over here and tell me."

Qian Dutou, who looked like a weak scholar, first bowed to Zhu Yitao, and then told him about how he brought the yamen runners to the Hu family to ask for the jade pendant, but was stopped outside the door by Mrs. Hu's brothers.

"You are also a coward! As the head of the county government, you have my master's badge on you, and you have a group of brothers behind you, but you were subdued by a mere fierce woman. It's shameful."

Zhu Yitao first spat at Qian Dutou, then cursed at Mrs. Hu: "You bastard, how are you going to argue now? I'm telling you, if you argue one more time, I'll give you one more beating."

"I won't quibble. I'm telling the truth. My family doesn't owe anyone a jade pendant." Madam Hu shouted with her neck stiffened.

"Hey, you really want money but don't care about your shame." Zhu Yitao sneered several times, pointed at the shopkeeper Hu on the stretcher, and said: "I am a disciple of Confucius, I respect ghosts and gods but keep my distance.

Let’s not talk about the City God today.

But your husband is lying down there!
There is also Jia Yintong who counterfeit silver.

No matter how you argue, you can still eat two witnesses?"

Mrs. Hu said, "They are also my witnesses! I just hope the best for them."

Zhu Yitao said in surprise: "Interesting, interesting, come and give me your excuse. If your excuse is good, I won't punish you. If your excuse is poor, I will punish you twice for one sentence."

Madam Hu said: "Your Majesty is a disciple of Confucius, and I am a disciple of Lord Tao Zhu.

Tao Zhugong taught us merchants two great principles. One principle is called "making a huge profit with an investment", and the other is called "payment in full is settled on the basis of goods".

May I ask Master Lingjun, did my son Lao Hu pay five taels of silver to Jia Yintong?
Was the payment completed at that time?
Jia Yintong used counterfeit silver and deserved to be put to death, but our Lao Hu was just doing business with a bad guy, so what crime did he commit?

How many days did Jia Yintong stay in Tianmen Town? What did he eat and where did he sleep?
The vendors who sold him food and provided him with shelter couldn't all be guilty, right?
Yes, the golden carp jade pendant is worth five hundred taels.

But selling five hundred taels with an initial investment of five taels is only a "hundred-fold profit", which is far less than Tao Zhugong's ten thousand-fold profit.

Tao Zhugong made a huge profit and was not only innocent, but also respected by others.

I, Old Hu, have made a great profit, and I don't ask for praise from others. At least the master wants to acquit him."

Zhu Yitao twirled his beard lightly, nodded in appreciation and said, "What a shrew! Fortunately, I am an official and you are just a merchant woman!"

Madam Hu asked, "Your Highness is naturally the master, and I am also a merchant woman, so what's the matter?"

Zhu Yitao threw out four sticks and shouted, "I am the master. I cannot argue with you, a shrew. I can still beat you with a stick. Beat you, forty times!"

Mrs. Hu was furious and yelled, "Zhu Yitao, don't forget that this is a court, and the villagers have eyes and ears, and they also have mouths!
When it comes to national laws and reason, you are at a loss for words and you resort to torture.

When the news gets out, I want to see how you explain it to the Lord of the Mansion and the King of the Country!" Zhu Yitao shouted, "Bitch, you still know this is a court. You roared in the court, and your crime is even more serious. I will give you ten more strokes of the cane!"

After saying that, he threw another order down.

"I don't accept it, I don't accept it, I don't accept it~~~"

Madam Hu screamed wildly and waved her hands, knocking away all the yamen runners who came to pull her away.

"What are you guys doing here? Take down this shrew!"

As soon as Zhu Yitai gave an order, seven or eight masters of the True Qi Realm jumped out from the back of the hall and attacked together. With two or three moves, they pinned Madam Hu to the ground.

When the guards started to beat Mrs. Hu with sticks, Zhu Yitao laughed and said, "This shrew, I just told her to quibble.

What is sophistry?

Talking nonsense and confusing right and wrong is just sophistry, and yet you still talk about national laws and reason.

Let me talk to you about the laws of the country.

Your Old Hu clearly knew that Jia Yintong used fake silver, and he deliberately let Jia Yintong use the fake silver to harm Madam Xu.

Hey, Sa Xingfang, you go tell this bitch that she and Lao Hu have violated several laws of the Shu Kingdom."

The criminal officer behind the next copy put down his pen, stood up, bowed to Ling Jun, and then said solemnly: "Article 107 of the Shu Law Commentary, if A and B conspire to commit a crime, A is the main culprit and did not commit the crime directly, but participated in the profit sharing afterwards, he will still be punished as the main culprit.

Shopkeeper Hu deliberately used Jia Yintong to harm Madam Xu, which meets this crime.

In addition, Shopkeeper Hu knew that Jia Yintong used counterfeit silver but did not report it, which is also a serious crime. "

Zhu Yitao waved his hand and asked him to sit down. He smiled and said to Mrs. Hu, who was lying on the ground and being beaten with a stick, "Do you understand? The prison guards have taken the sheep, wine, and fruits from your old Hu. They will definitely not show partiality to me, the master."

Sa Xingfang stood up hurriedly, "Ling Jun, I——"

Zhu Yitao waved his hand again, "Sit down! Accepting gifts is nothing. I accept and give gifts. As long as you do your job seriously and don't deliberately cover up evil, that's all."

"Let's talk about reason." Zhu Yitao sneered several times and started to curse again, "The word 'reason' smells like shit when it comes out of your stinky mouth.

You said that Tao Zhugong made a huge profit from his investment, but your Lao Hu made a hundred times the investment.

Tao Zhugong made money with his wisdom, and every penny he earned was clean.

Your old Hu knew that the Xu family was waiting for money to save their lives, but he was not satisfied with "ten times the profit" and insisted on making a hundred times the profit. He watched Mrs. Xu jump into the river in despair and did not repent.

Believe it or not, if you continue to compare Tao Zhugong to your old Hu who is destined to have no descendants, sooner or later God will use a few thunderbolts from drought to send you to the underworld and reincarnate as an animal in advance. "

"Master, please stop hitting me. I surrender. I plead guilty." Madam Hu wailed.

She had beaten the yamen runners with her iron fists without mercy and with great pleasure.

The bailiffs beat her without mercy. Before she had even received half of the forty strokes, her buttocks were already rotten.

"Listen, listen, this bitch has confessed her guilt! Since she is a sinner, she deserves to continue being beaten with the stick!"

Zhu Yitai felt refreshed and turned to look at the next target.

The head of the Du family stepped forward, clasped his hands and said, "I report to you, my lord. I am guilty!"

Zhu Yitao narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is your crime?"

"A few days ago, your Highness rebuked Manager Liao for forcing Wang Xiaohu, the manager of Busigui, into prostitution without authorization.

Shopkeeper Liao agreed on the surface, but secretly hid his resentment in his heart. "

The head of the Du family bowed his head and sighed, "Alas, it's my fault that I neglected to discipline him.

These days, several of us heads of the family have been visiting old friends in Yingxiang Mansion.

I never expected that Manager Liao would go to Lao Xu again with the deed and insist on taking Lao Xu's daughter away according to the contract signed by both parties.

This afternoon, Shopkeeper Liao even went so crazy as to openly resist the officers.

I received the hummingbird message in Yingxiang Mansion. I was terrified and restless, so I hurried back.

You can go back to the time when you don’t want to go home.”

He suddenly raised his head and stared at Zhu Yitao with a venomous and vicious gaze, sighing and saying softly, "Manager Liao has committed suicide out of fear of punishment!"

"What, Manager Liao is dead?" Zhu Yitai's body trembled violently.

Aunt Liu's pupils contracted, and there was shock and fear in her eyes as she looked at Boss Du.

The Du family had a sad expression, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He took out a letter from his arms and murmured, "Please read it, sir. This is the suicide note he left before he hanged himself."

The yamen runners were also shocked and at a loss, and no one moved for a long time.

Finally, the clerk stepped forward with a complicated expression, took the letter, and turned around to hand it to the county magistrate.

Zhu Yitao waved his hand, signaling him to take the "provocative letter" away, leaned back in his chair, stared at Du Da's eyes that seemed to be mocking and provocative, and sighed: "Is my request so difficult to do?

Taking the jade pendant back from the Xianghe will be enough for Lao Xu to pay off the debt he owes to your gambling house.

I'm not asking you to tear up the gambling debt agreement for nothing."

The head of the Du family sighed, "Who said it wasn't true? It was just a small matter, but he insisted on making a fuss about it and he was really upset."

Zhu Yitao closed his eyes and remained silent until Mrs. Hu finished beating him with fifty strokes of the cane.

"Madam Hu, you heard it, another life is lost! While Mr. Du is still here, quickly hand over the jade pendant and cancel Old Xu's IOU in public so that this case can be concluded sooner."

He seemed a little tired, and was no longer as arrogant as before.

"The jade pendant has been sold. I'm willing to redeem it for five hundred taels of silver." Mrs. Hu groaned.

Zhu Yitao smiled coldly and said, "Where is the receipt? Who bought the jade pendant?"

"It's a shady business, the other party's identity is unknown, and I didn't issue a receipt." Mrs. Hu said.

Zhu Yitao said: "Without the receipt, even if you didn't sell it, or sold it for 50,000 taels, you can still say you only sold it for 500 taels."

"If I really sold it, it was only five hundred taels. I swear, if I lie, I will be a widow for the rest of my life!" Mrs. Hu cried.

"Humph, you think it's nice to be a widow!"

Zhu Yitao sneered, then sighed and said, "I don't want to argue with you. Take out two thousand taels of silver and I will personally write a contract for you and Xu Huier.

Of the two thousand taels of silver, after deducting Bu Sigui's gambling debts, Old Xu can take away one hundred taels to bury Mrs. Xu and support his family.

The remaining 1,800 taels of silver were sealed in the county government's silver vault.

If Lao Xu never gambles again, I, or the next ruler, will return the remaining money in full three years.

If Lao Xu gambled once, he would gamble countless times. Sooner or later, he would squander the one hundred taels he had taken away and start selling his daughter again.

But these two thousand taels of silver were obtained by Madam Xu at the cost of her life.

If Old Xu continued to be a useless person, he would give Xu Hui'er 30 taels of silver every year to support the family. When she turned and found a husband, he would take the remaining silver to her husband's family as a dowry.

But before Xu Huier gets married, Madam Hu, if you can buy back the jade pendant you sold, you can come to the government office and return the one thousand taels of silver.

If you dare to keep the jade pendant privately, or sell it at a higher price, once discovered, not only will the jade pendant be returned to Xu Huier, but you will also lose a single copper penny of the two thousand taels of silver.

Those who secretly purchase jade pendants are guilty of the same crime as you.

All of the above will be written down in a document, stamped with your Majesty's seal, guaranteed by the six departments of the county government, and witnessed by the neighbors in the streets and villages.

When the case is concluded, notices will be posted at the city gates and the government offices to make the matter known to the public."

Mrs. Hu asked, "I paid a total of two thousand taels of silver, why are you only returning one thousand taels?"

Zhu Yitao's eyes widened and he shouted, "You have committed a crime, and you still refuse to accept the punishment?
I tell you, Madam Xu's case is closed today, but your family's 'fake silver case' has just begun.

From now on, anyone who has been directly defrauded by the Xianghehao or cheated by counterfeit silver near the Xianghehao can come to the county government to register with witnesses or material evidence.

When I have time, we will try them together.

Mrs. Hu, for the next five years, you are not allowed to leave Tianmen Town. At the beginning and middle of each month, yamen runners will go to Xiaolianghe Street District to check on you.

If you dare to disappear suddenly... Humph, go to the back court later and ask the painter to leave a shadow picture of you.

If you dare to run away, I will put you on the wanted list of notorious thieves, alongside the likes of 'Fu Hai Gun', 'Sha Tong Tian', 'Du Jiao Lao He', and ask the ten best detectives of Shu to serve you well. "

(End of this chapter)