Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 409 Unjustly Accused
South City Wharf.

The head constable and several constables rushed over and, upon seeing the docked boats, went up to arrest and question the people inside.

Do you know Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan? Where is their ship docked?

The boatmen were taken aback at first, then exchanged glances and shook their heads.

The constables inquired along the riverbank but received no definite answer. However, some boatmen ran to inform Guo Chuan. The Guo brothers were highly respected at the South City Wharf. Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan had been fighting against the four major families on the Bian River for years. They had always treated their employees well, and recently they had even built a fleet of boats and raised wages for their workers. With the Guo brothers taking the lead, many employers followed suit.

In Guo Xiong's words, "This matter has to be done by someone. The guild has this rule and that rule. Why can't the wages of hired workers be included in it? Once more people do it, everyone will agree."

Guo Xiong said it, and he did it.

It truly benefited the employees.

A while ago, the boatmen sued their employer. After the lawsuit was filed, the yamen ruled in favor of the boatmen. The boatmen not only got their wages back, but also received several dozen strings of cash for medical treatment. The employer was also flogged, although he was only flogged ten times, which was nothing compared to the boatmen's injuries. But at least it made the workers understand that employers cannot beat people at will, and the yamen will take care of it.

Since then, several more cases have been adjudicated. In the most serious case of beating to death, the landlord was imprisoned and tried, and at the very least, he was flogged or exiled.

The people we should thank for this are Duan Dalang, the owner of the perfume shop, and the Guo brothers. Therefore, in a place like the South City Wharf, if anyone tries to cause trouble for the Guo brothers or Duan Dalang, they won't help.

Of course, there are always some people who are greedy for small gains, but when they saw the menacing constables, they didn't dare to step forward and speak to them.

The head constable and the yamen runners thought the job wouldn't be difficult, but they didn't expect to run into such a scare.

It's been a long time since I've been to Nancheng Wharf. I don't know when it started to look like this.

The constable frowned. When he got back, he would tell Lord Weng to investigate the South City Wharf thoroughly, as it might be the gathering place of the Demon Cult.

It wasn't until the Zhou family rushed over that the constable finally received the definite news.

“The Guo family’s boatmen are eating at the restaurant up ahead. I’ll lead the way for you adults.”

His steward and boatmen were rushing to help because Guo Xiong and his gang had been imprisoned. Now that the tide had turned in the case, they were eager to step forward.

It would be best to take this opportunity to throw all the Guo family members into prison.

The group headed straight for the restaurant.

When Guo Chuan learned that the constables were searching for him everywhere, he did not leave with his men. Instead, he instructed several older boatmen to hide and not to show themselves no matter what happened. These men were old and their bodies might not be able to withstand the ordeal.

As for them... well, they're young and strong, so taking a walk around isn't a big deal.

The old lady said that even if the Zhou family found officials to distort the truth, they would get away with it quickly. Guo Chuan believed the old lady; if she said everything was alright, then everything would be alright.

Guo Chuan had just finished arranging everything when the restaurant door was kicked open by the yamen runners.

The once bustling restaurant suddenly fell silent as everyone looked towards the entrance.

The head constable from the Ministry of Justice stood there and shouted, "Who is Guo Chuan?"

"Where are all the Guo family's boatmen? Come out, all of you."

No one spoke; most people simply lowered their eyes, avoiding looking at Guo Chuan and the others, lest they give these constables directions.

The head constable reached out and grabbed one of the men, about to interrogate him, when Guo Chuan stood up: "Don't make things difficult for him, I'm here."

Guo Chuan walked forward, and seven or eight people behind him got up and followed.

Some boatmen from other boat families saw this and were about to get up, but Guo Chuan reached out and pressed their shoulders down: "Our Guo family's boat fleet has not done anything illegal or unethical. We are not afraid of the authorities coming after us. You can rest assured that we will be fine."

"It's just that I can't drink with everyone anymore. I'll definitely buy some wine to make up for it when we get back."

Guo Chuan clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd.

The constable sneered, "Whether something happens or not is not up to you. Stop dawdling and hurry up and come with me to the yamen to report, lest we take action."

Guo Chuan wasn't afraid and quickly reached the captain. The captain stared at Guo Chuan and said, "You're not a bad guy."

Even so, he still gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist, thrust it forward, and slammed it hard into Guo Chuan's stomach. Guo Chuan doubled over in pain.

The head constable said, "You've given us quite a runaround. You'd better behave yourselves from now on, or you'll suffer the consequences." With that, he waved his hand, and the constables bound the men.

"Where did the woman on your boat go?" The constable almost forgot that there was another person to be taken to the yamen.

The head constable was certain that Guo Chuan wouldn't easily reveal the truth and was preparing to make him suffer a bit more when Guo Chuan suddenly said, "You're asking our boss?"

The constable asked in surprise, "Master?" Guo Chuan replied, "Master was on the boat when we were helping the yamen arrest people today."

The head constable pressed further, "Isn't the Guo family's fleet yours, brothers'?"

“Who said that’s the Guo family’s fleet?” Guo Chuan said. “We brothers don’t have the money to buy those big ships. The ships were bought by the landlord, and there are three or four new ships that will be launched soon.”

The people in the restaurant had never heard such words before and were quite surprised.

"Is there really an employer?"

Guo Chuan responded, "Of course, not only me, but this restaurant also belongs to our owner."

The group immediately looked at the restaurant owner, who nodded with a smile: "Guo Erlang is right, it is the owner's."

This news attracted everyone's attention, and they began to whisper among themselves.

The head constable hadn't expected this situation. He frowned and continued, "Where is your boss? Call her out."

"How would I know?" Guo Chuan said. "The boss has so many shops. After disembarking, he will go back to the city. Maybe he will be running a restaurant in the south of the city, or maybe he will be running a perfume shop outside Yunqi Temple in the east of the city."

Guo Chuan talked on and on, completely piquing everyone's curiosity, and they all started asking questions all at once.

"You mean perfume? Isn't that from the Duan family?"

"How come there are restaurants in the south of the city? What kind of food do they sell? Can it be better than what we eat here?"

The head constable's mind was in complete disarray, and he couldn't make sense of things at all. The situation was clearly different from what they had expected. For now, they could only take Guo Chuan and the others to the yamen and then report the truth to their superiors.

The rest of the restaurant staff were about to surround Guo Chuan when the head constable suddenly shouted, "Get out of the way, we're taking the prisoner away!"

As soon as the constable spoke, the surroundings fell silent again.

Someone asked a question.

Who is the criminal?

"How did he become a criminal?"

"There was no trial at all."

The constable was furious, but seeing that there were too many people around, he could only barely suppress it and looked at the constable beside him: "Let's go back to the yamen first."

The head constable and the yamen runners escorted Guo Chuan and the others to the Ministry of Justice prison. The boatmen at the South City Wharf followed behind, as if they were afraid that the yamen runners would attack Guo Chuan on the way.

Just as they were about to reach the Ministry of Justice, a group of people suddenly swept past the constable and his men.

The constable stopped and looked at the group. The leader's face was familiar; he must be an official from the Court of Judicial Review. The constable couldn't help but gasp. The Court of Judicial Review had sent so many men; he wondered who was going to be in trouble.

The group continued on their way, and soon the head constable discovered that people from the Dali Temple had appeared at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice.

Could it be that the Minister has already reported this case to the court, and the court has asked the Court of Judicial Review to assist in the investigation? The constable felt something was not right. Just as he was thinking about it, the official from the Court of Judicial Review, who was about to enter the yamen, suddenly turned to look at him.

The head constable immediately stepped forward and bowed: "My lord."

Cai Zheng frowned, glanced at Guo Chuan, and then asked, "Where have you been?"

The head constable dared not conceal the truth: "Just now we went to the South City Wharf to arrest these suspects."

Cai Zheng continued, "Are these people suspects?"

"They..." the constable revealed some details of the case to Cai Zheng, "colluded with others to deceive the imperial court, but what other crimes they committed will only be known after the trial."

"Deceiving the court?" Cai Zheng suddenly sneered, then paused slightly before continuing, "I'm afraid there's someone else involved."

The constable didn't understand what Cai Zheng meant, but Cai Zheng quickly revealed the answer: "Take these people down."

As the constable watched the people from the Dali Temple approach, he was about to look at Guo Chuan when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Then his arm was twisted behind his back, and the same happened to the constables beside him. In contrast, Guo Chuan and the others stood perfectly fine to the side.

The constable finally understood that the people the Dali Temple officials wanted to arrest were actually them.

"Your Honor is innocent!" In his haste, the constable could only shout.

“Don’t rush to cry out your innocence,” Cai Zheng said. “You might as well wait a bit. There are many others behind you who are doing the same thing. Why don’t you all shout together? It will be louder.”

That's all for today, everyone. Read the new chapter tomorrow!