Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 616 The Story Under the Archway
When Li Jianwu told how Xiao Hongji shielded him and covered up his crimes of corruption, he did so with a kind of sarcastic pleasure.

You all in the Censorate have gone crazy and are merciless to my Tianguan Yamen, so... I will bite out your people as well.

In the Ministry of Personnel, if you want to help someone get a better position or arrange a candidate official into a vacant position, it is not something that the chief official can decide alone.

In order for it to operate smoothly, we need to find a way to win over everyone on this line and make them "accomplices".

Li Jianwu judged others by himself. Since someone in the Censorate gave him convenience, it was impossible that Xiao Hongji made the decision on his own.

If he betrays Xiao Hongji, Xiao Hongji will betray more people, and the Censorate will fall into civil strife.

When Li Jianwu said Xiao Hongji's name, there was a sudden silence in the classroom, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Yang Yuan was stunned for a moment, then he slapped the Jingtang Wood and shouted, "Li Jianwu, framing a minister is a heavier crime."

Li Jianwu retorted, "Reporting the offending officials can atone for the crime."

"you……"

"Why, Li dares to speak, but you don't dare to listen? Hahahahaha..."

Li Jianwu suddenly burst into laughter.

Lu Chengze sneered and said, “What are we afraid of listening to?”

He strode to the side of the clerk and said, "Get out of the way!"

Lu Chengze drove the secretary away, sat down behind his desk, picked up the pen, and shouted, "You tell me, and I'll write it down for you."

"You have the guts!"

Li Jianwu has given up hope. If we are going to destroy something, then let's all destroy it together!

Li Jianwu immediately said proudly: "In fact, before your Procuratorate investigated the Qiu Shunquan case, Li had exposed his true colors because of another case.

However, your Deputy Chief Censor of the Censorate, Xiao Hongji, was in charge of this case. During his visit to my Ministry of Personnel for investigation, he was very lenient towards me as a suspect and gave me time to deal with the aftermath.

I will naturally return the favor..."

Li Jianwu said one sentence, and Lu Chengze wrote it down. When he finished speaking, Lu Chengze had written down every word. He put down his pen and said, "Come forward. If what you said is true, please sign and seal it."

Li Jianwu snorted coldly and strode up to him. Without even looking at the transcript, he pressed his thumb on the paper, then picked up the pen and wrote his name casually. He threw the pen away, curled the corners of his mouth and sneered.

Lu Chengze immediately picked up the transcript and handed it to Yang Yuan's case: "Minister, take a look."

Yang Yuan looked solemn, glanced at the transcript, and said to Lu Chengze: "Lock him back. I have to report this matter to the Chief Censor for a decision."

Lu Chengze nodded, turned around and shouted, "Take Li Jianwu back and keep him under strict supervision."

Li Jianwu didn't need anyone to escort him, he just laughed loudly towards the sky and left.

Yang Yuan picked up the transcript and slipped away from behind the screen.

In a short while, Xiao Yiran, who was interrogating other prisoners in the side hall, heard the news of the adjournment of the court and hurried over.

Xiao Yiran couldn't tell whether he was surprised or frightened. When he saw Lu Chengze, he said excitedly, "I heard that Li Jianwu bit out Deputy Xian Xiao?"

"Silence!"

Lu Chengze looked around, lowered his voice, and said seriously: "Brother Xiao, why are you not so steady? The truth of this matter is still unknown. It concerns the dignity of my superiors in this yamen, so it cannot be made public."

"Oh, yes, yes!"

Xiao Yiran followed suit and said with shame: "My dear brother is calm and composed when faced with difficulties."

Lu Chengze nodded and whispered, "Go and investigate the case yourself and pretend you don't know. I will inform you in time if I have more accurate information."

Xiao Yiran agreed with this and turned around and left in a hurry.

Just after taking two steps, he suddenly remembered that “deep water flows slowly; slow speech makes people more valuable” and he must not be impatient or Lu Tanhua will look down on him.

So he calmed down, walked towards the side hall with a gait, and continued the court session.

Lu Chengze smiled slightly and walked away, keeping his achievements and fame to himself.

Wen Tian and Wei Shun were both transferred from other places by Yang Chenxian, and were obviously Yang Chenxian's disciples.

There are some things that he doesn't need to take credit for. How could he not mention those two people in front of Yang Qianxian?
By listening to their stories and hearing about his own achievements, Yang Qianxian felt that he was a steady person capable of shouldering important tasks.

When Zhu Zhuo saw the transcript handed to him by Yang Yuan, his face suddenly darkened.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Hongji was also involved. After thinking for a while, he asked Yang Yuan to go back for the time being, and then summoned the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief Tan Qi.

After reading Li Jianwu's transcript, Tan Qi's face darkened immediately: "I never thought that Xiao Zuoxian would do such a thing.

Chief Censor, if this matter gets out, it will be very disadvantageous to our Censorate.

Will the Ministry of Personnel take this opportunity to propose that the Dali Temple take over the case and exclude our Censorate?"

Zhu Zhuo said: "What Tan Youxian said is exactly what I am worried about. However, Li Jianwu reported it in court, so this matter cannot be concealed.

If we try to delay the handling of the situation, we will be in a more passive position.”

Tan Qi's eyes flashed, and he said, "General, the only plan now is to go with the flow and make a quick decision."

"how to say?"

"Given Xiao Zuoxian's status, it is inconvenient for the Chief Justice to arrest him, and he should immediately ask the Regent for permission.

As long as the regent nodded, Xiao Hongji would be arrested immediately and interrogated as a co-conspirator with Li Jianwu and others.

It's not appropriate for the Dali Temple to use this as an excuse to snatch people from us, right?"

"Makes sense!"

Zhu Zhuo said in awe: "I will go to Prince Jin's Mansion right now."

At that moment, Zhu Zhuo asked someone to prepare a carriage and sedan chair and immediately rushed to the Prince of Jin's Mansion.

Tan Qi thought about how Xiao Zuoxian, who was on equal footing with him yesterday, would become a prisoner in the blink of an eye. He couldn't help but shook his head: "It's hard to predict what will happen in this world... Huh?"

He suddenly thought of his good friend Yang Wenjing from the same year.

Yang Wenjing was the prefect of Jiangling. After completing his three-year term, he returned to Beijing to report on his work.

As a result, on the day he reported on his work, Yang Yuan blocked the palace gate and arrested a group of officials from the Ministry of Personnel, almost paralyzing the Ministry of Personnel.

The matter of how to arrange the meeting of his good friend Ren Man was delayed.

For a while, no one in the Ministry of Personnel paid attention to this matter, and Old Yang now lives in the inn all day long, staring blankly.

Xiao Hongji is finished, and this leaves the position of Zuo Xian vacant.

I have to tell this to my old friend right away, and ask him to make some arrangements and get transferred to the Censorate to take over Xiao Hongji's position!

Tan Qi slapped his forehead, immediately asked someone to prepare a carriage, and he hurriedly left the Censorate.

……

Fan Shi and Aunt Deng polished the imperially bestowed "Sanyuan Jidi" archway until it looked as shiny as new.

Climbing up and down the stone archway with four pillars, three doors and two eaves requires a lot of energy and effort.

Moreover, it was July and it was still extremely hot with the scorching sun.

Fan Dong couldn't stand the sun, so he pushed his cart to the shade.

Fan Shi and Aunt Deng were sweating profusely and exhausted.

But the guards were sitting in the shade, staring at them all the time, preventing them from slacking off.

On the Yang family's side, servants brought in a few mats, fruits, and tea, and laid them out in the shade of the trees at the foot of the wall to entertain the neighborhood guards.

The guards watched more diligently this time. Whenever they saw a stain, or even a trace that looked like a stain, they would have the two of them use their water-grinding skills to wipe it off carefully.

In the afternoon, Fan Shi, who was hungry, tired and with trembling legs, fell off the ladder. Seeing that the family of three had been entertained to the point of being almost bored, the guards showed mercy and said that the archway had "passed the acceptance inspection".

As if he had been pardoned, Fan Shi pushed his son's wheelchair, and the family of three left Renmeifang.

Because there are no mobile vendors selling snacks in these "high-end communities".

The three of them went outside the town and found a snack shop. They had tea and rice and had a big meal.

They went to buy three bamboo hats, put one on each of their heads, and then returned to Renmeifang in a rage.

"Back off!"

"Do you see this stone archway? Beyond this archway is the land of our Yang family. Anyone who dares to step into this land without permission..."

A dozen servants of the Yang Mansion, dressed in green and wearing small hats, each holding a whistle stick as high as their shoulders, stood inside the stone archway with their heads held high and their chests puffed out.

"I am your Marquis' concubine Dan... Ouch!"

As soon as Fan Shi stepped over the stone archway, a servant from the Yang residence poked his toes with a whistle stick.

Fortunately, Fan Shi retreated quickly, and the stick hit his straw sandals, tearing one side of the sandal open.

"I am your father-in-law..."

Fan Shi did not give up and took another step forward. This time a servant reacted quickly and poked him in the calf with a stick.

Fan Shi cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Seeing another stick coming at him, he quickly rolled out of the memorial archway, and the stick finally stopped. Fan Shi was in so much pain that tears came to his eyes. He endured it for a long time before limping to his feet.

Seeing this situation, he really didn't dare to cross the line, so he started shouting and cursing at Aunt Deng across the stone archway.

They used all kinds of foul language when they cursed, and now they were angry and hateful, and they didn't hold back at all. Their curses were not only vicious, but also extremely filthy.

Some people came over to watch the fun, but the foul language was so unbearable that even they, the onlookers, quickly covered their ears and ran away.

Some children who came to watch were hurriedly taken away by their family members, grabbing their ears.

Renmeifang belongs to the Zuoyi North Wing, where Xue Liang currently works as the wing office.

After hearing the news from the Yang family, Xue Liang immediately became excited and called his friends.

Soon, he gathered a large group of people, including the street clerks, the officials, the porters, and the shop keepers, and they rushed to Renmeifang.

His nephew Lu Ya is now in charge of a huge fleet. Every time he returns from the sea, which crew member doesn't make a lot of money?

Countless people from the Lu and Xue families benefited from the help. Xue Liang's second son, third son, and even the children of several of his relatives were introduced to work in the fleet.

That's a lucrative job, a position that many people would try their best to get.

But who do we depend on for all this?
If it weren't for the Yang family, they wouldn't have had such a good life.

Now that the Yang family has asked him to help with such a small matter, is there any reason for him not to bow down to them?
Now that Xue Liang had money, he often treated his colleagues in the office to food and drinks. Everyone owed him a favor, so naturally everyone responded to his call.

No one discussed it beforehand, but just talked casually on the way there, and they came up with no less than a dozen ways to deal with the Fan family.

When they arrived at Renmeifang, they heard the three members of the Fan family cursing so badly that Xiang Diandong and his entourage laughed.

"Everyone, be quiet. Let me hear what they are saying."

Xiangdian is responsible for citing and interpreting legal provisions related to litigation.

He was responsible for mediating and handling minor local criminal cases and civil disputes that were not worth going to court at the county government, such as neighborhood disputes, family conflicts, etc.

"Swearing is punishable by ten strokes of the cane."

As soon as Dong Yixing finished speaking, the official Hao Zheng immediately wrote it down with a charcoal pen.

"Eh? Insulting an official, another ten lashes."

Hao Zheng continued to take notes.

"Swearing at someone is 'unrivaled', ten."

"Swearing at someone and saying 'you'll die a miserable death' is ten."

"Ten."

"Ten..."

In ancient times, cursing was also against the law. However, just like today, if the consequences were not serious, the judicial officials would generally not pursue the matter.

Just like in modern times, there are many people who curse on the streets, but unless the person you curse is angry to death or commits suicide, or causes a major public opinion impact, he or she will usually not be held accountable.

But that doesn't mean it's not illegal.

The difference between ancient and modern times is that, in addition to causing serious consequences, there are some situations that would be severely investigated in ancient times.

That is insubordination because it offends the laws of propriety.

The most serious crime of insubordination is insulting one's grandparents or parents. As long as they go to the government to file a complaint, their complaint will be approved and they will be sentenced to death.

The next level is insulting officials, including low-level officials insulting high-level officials. If they are investigated, they will be flogged.

There are also detailed regulations here, namely the “Seven Things Not to Do”, and if you curse, the punishment will be increased.

For example, vicious curses such as cursing someone to have no descendants or cursing someone to have a bad death are among the “Seven Things Not to Do With Curses”.

Aunt Deng is a hot-tempered woman. She was used to swearing when she lived in the countryside, and these words are exactly the ones that hot-tempered women like to use when they curse in the streets.

Fan Shi was not good at verbal attacks, but he had just been hit with a stick and was so angry that he followed suit and started to curse his daughter viciously.

Fan Dong could only sit in a wheelchair now and could not do anything else, so he stretched his neck and kept cursing like a fighting rooster.

Xue Liang, a man from the market, couldn't stand the dirty talk. He frowned and said, "Boss, is that enough?"

Dong Yihang said, "Chengchengcheng, Xiao Hao, how many strokes should be given?"

"Hey, you guys fight first, I'll do the math."

Hao Zheng hurriedly started to mumble and calculate.

Inspector Wu Sixi led a few servants and rushed over impatiently. They pressed Fan Shi and his family of three to the ground, with each of them facing a door of the stone archway.

"You have cursed people in public and insulted an official appointed by the imperial court. You have committed all seven offenses. You should be flogged. Beat me."

The inspector Wu Sixi announced loudly, and the servants pressed their hands or feet. Someone in the middle swung a three-foot-long rattan stick and started to beat them with a whistling sound.

"Ah~"

When the screams started, the cursing naturally stopped.

……

“It’s so chaotic…”

Yan Chengyu held the mortar in one hand and the pestle in the other, standing under the eaves, pretending to pound medicine while watching the excitement.

Luo Chengan walked out of the room and looked at the chaotic scene.

The servants complained that the sun was too strong, so they dragged the three members of the Fan family to a shady place and continued to flog them.

The officer Hao Zheng was probably not very good at math and hadn't figured out how many times to hit him.

Luo Chengan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice: "Qingyu, this opportunity is not bad."

Yan Qingyu's eyes moved, and he suddenly looked at Luo Chengan.

Luo Cheng'an didn't look at him, but just stared at the chaotic situation on the street, and said softly: "In less than an hour, Yang Yuan will be released from office. We can take advantage of the chaos to take action."

Yan Qingyu suddenly became excited: "I'll get ready right away."

Luo Chengan nodded, and Yan Qingyu quickly walked into the pharmacy.

Luo Cheng'an took one last look at the chaos on the street, then turned around and walked in.

……

At the "Zhejiang Ferry" wharf, Fang Hu and Fang Jiao helped Old Master Fang ashore.

"Lin'an, I'm back again, hehe..."

Ever since the last time officials from both the Lin'an Prefecture and Lin'an County level gave him a one-stop on-the-spot investigation of a case, Mr. Fang fled back to Huzhou and never dared to set foot in Lin'an again.

Dan Niang eventually converted the shares into shares for her Fang family as a shareholder, and she has received dividends every year over the past few years, which have increased year by year.

The Fang family initially held a 10% dry stock, but after the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant and "Songjia Fengweilou" exchanged shares and merged into the Song family, its share was diluted to half.

But even this half dividend is increasing year by year. By the end of the year, every family in the Fang family can share a considerable fortune.

How profitable is this? If the Fang family can take back the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant, wouldn't it be like owning a gold mountain?
As for whether or not one can run a business, that is not important at all.

There are also scholars in the Fang family. They have heard that the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant has been regarded as a holy place by scholars.

Whenever someone came to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination, he would not feel at ease unless he had a meal and a drink at the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant.

Do they care about the drinks and food at Shuiyunjian? Not at all.

Even if they were only served a plate of vegetables with sauce and a pot of water mixed with wine, those who sought fame and fortune would still come to pay homage to this holy place.

Money can move people's hearts, and the Fang family was moved.

Bachelor Ye Quan was very cautious and separated from them after landing.

However, he had already encouraged the Fang family and told them to just go ahead and sue.

We will go to Lin'an County early tomorrow morning. The person involved in this case is no longer the penniless Yang Yuan. He is careful about his reputation and must be afraid of fighting a lawsuit with the Fang family.

Since such a high-level official was involved, Lin'an County would certainly not dare to make a decision, especially since the case had already been decided by Lin'an Prefecture.

Therefore, Lin'an County will definitely transfer the report to Lin'an Prefecture, and then their Hanlin scholars can stand up and speak up for the Fang family.

Thinking of this, Old Master Fang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Huzi, Xiaojiao, let's go find an inn near the Lin'an government office to stay, so that we don't have to go through so much trouble when we return."

Old Master Fang smiled and ordered, "Didn't they say that the Yang Mansion is in Renmeifang, opposite Lin'an Mansion?
After we settle down, Xiao Jiao, go and ask around the Yang family.

This time we come here, we must know ourselves and the enemy, and we can't be as reckless as last time."

"Old Master, don't worry. Jiao'er is now a married man and has a calm temperament."

Fang Jiao, who had kicked the door of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant and was beaten with an iron ruler by the Lin'an County constable, and whose calves were bruised for more than half a month, said with a smile. Then, together with Fang Hu and supporting Old Master Fang, they rented a sedan chair and went to find an inn near the Lin'an government office.

I'm going to be rich soon, so who would be stingy with the little money for renting a car?
PS: I am less than 3 words away from finishing that article, but as a result: I have to attend a local reception in TJ on the 4rd and 6th, and then I will go to the train station without going home, go to SY to attend a meeting, and then return on the 10th. I will go to SH to attend an event on the 12th, and to DL to attend an event on the th... This is the situation of activities that I can no longer postpone after I have already postponed several activities. I will report to you all, woo woo woo ~
(End of this chapter)