I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 170 The oriole is behind
"Who goes there?" the man roared as he dodged.

The man in black remained silent, only hacking and slashing.

The men looked burly and strong, but they were surprisingly agile. After the men in black had been slashing for a while, the men only suffered minor injuries.

Cluck cluck cluck! A few bird calls rang out, and the men who had been running around like chicks trying to avoid an eagle exchanged glances, then ignored the money box on the ground and ran towards the main road.

The men in black exchanged a glance and simultaneously gave chase, but the men, seemingly harmless like deer in the forest, were impossible to catch.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves came from afar, and several soldiers in armor rode tall horses, galloping towards them.

"Sir!" the man cried, "Sir, save me!"

Upon seeing this, the man in black turned and ran back.

The horses galloped and quickly overtook the men to catch up with the men in black. The two sides fought for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before the men in black were all captured.

Song Shi raised his hand and dislocated the man in black's jaw to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide.

The man knelt down with a thud, "Thank you so much for saving me, sir!"

“No need to be polite,” Song Shi said, turning his head. “Do you know who they are, and why they are hunting you down?”

"Your Honor, we are ordinary people from Luoyang, making a living by trading and sailing. We have always believed that we have been kind to others and never made enemies. If anyone could be so ruthless as to take our lives, it would be the An family."

Settle down? Song Shi pondered.

"I was away making money as a merchant, and I was afraid that my wife would suffer because of me, so I left her at home. Who would have thought that the young master of the Ministry of Rites would take advantage of my absence to humiliate my wife!"

"I originally intended to report this to the authorities, but who doesn't know that officials have two mouths and that those with grievances but no money shouldn't come in? Helpless, I had no choice but to agree to the An family's compensation and plan to take the money to start a new life elsewhere."

"Who would have thought that the An family would break their promise and send assassins to kill me and my brothers when we were handing over the money?" The man bowed his head and wept bitterly. "Please, Your Honor, do justice for us!"

By removing the embellishments from the Han language, Song Shi could clearly understand the ins and outs of this attempted murder case.

The An family, the Assistant Minister of Rites, is the maternal family of the second wife, An, who caused them and their two children to end up in such a state; it is also the maternal family of the old lady An, the wife of the Duke of Wei, who ignored them and even regarded them as a disgrace.

It's truly a blessing from heaven!
Song Shi personally interrogated the men in black one by one, and sure enough, some of them couldn't withstand the torture and admitted that they were indeed guards of the An family, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Having obtained the confession from the man in black, Song Shi was completely relieved. He helped the kneeling man up and asked, "Are you willing to come with me to the Luoyang government office to file a complaint?"

The man hesitated.

"If you are unwilling, that's fine too. The fact that An Jia ordered his men to kill civilians is enough to give him a hard time," Song Shi promised. "Don't worry, I will do everything in my power to uphold justice for you!"

"If you say that, sir, we should cower like turtles. We would have no face to live in this world anymore," the man gritted his teeth. "The three thousand taels of silver from the An family are still by the wild forest. We'll hand them over to you as evidence!"

"it is good!"

Upon receiving the signal, the soldiers behind Song Shi followed the men to collect the certificate money. The group, carrying the bound and immobile man in black, rushed towards the Luoyang government office.

In the back hall of the government office, the prefect was enjoying a cup of tea.

On the occasion of the Empress Dowager's birthday, His Majesty has granted a special decree to reduce taxes by 30% this year, which has made the people as happy as if it were the New Year.

When people are in a good mood, they become more tolerant and generous, and they argue, fight, brawl, steal, rob, or even murder for money much less often.

As the Prefect of Luoyang and the official in charge of the people of Luoyang, Yin Wei was greatly gratified and sincerely hoped that the Empress Dowager would be in good health and live a long and healthy life!
A bailiff rushed into the back hall, shouting, "Sir, someone has been beating the drum to appeal for justice!"

"What grievance do you have?" "Someone impersonating an assassin killed me on the official road to cover it up!"

Yin Wei felt ashamed. He had just praised the people for being law-abiding, humble, and courteous, and then someone committed murder on the official road!
Is there nowhere else in Chongqing?!

Lord Yin Wei composed himself, stood up, straightened his official robes, and strode to the front hall.

"Who is in the hall?"

The people below the hall were kneeling and lying on the ground, with the man kneeling at the very front. "I am Wu Laoda from Xinghua Lane, a man from Luoyang."

Old Wu spoke clearly and spittle flew everywhere. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he recounted in detail how An Shangbin had taken advantage of him while he was away on a business trip, how he had caught them in bed together, and how the An family had attempted to kill him to silence him.

Yin Wei sighed. There wasn't a single good person in the An family, from top to bottom.

No wonder, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will naturally be crooked as well.

Although Yin Wei believed it to a large extent, as an upright official, he only looked at the evidence. "Are there any witnesses or physical evidence?"

Song Shi, who was standing to the side, bowed and said, "Reporting to my lord, I happened to witness the Anfu guards committing murder on my way back to the city. My colleagues and I can all testify to this."

Song Shi pressed the black-clad man who had confessed earlier forward, saying, "This man is a guard of the An Prefecture. I obtained his confession from him."

The man in black, who could barely kneel upright, confessed in a hoarse voice that the An family had ordered them to commit the crime.

Yin Wei slammed the gavel, "Guards, summon An Shangbin and Old Master An to the court!"

The four yamen runners left the government office, but half an hour later they only brought back an old servant named Yu.

The bailiff stepped forward and reported, "Your Honor, both Old Master An and An Shangbin are bedridden and unable to get up. Assistant Minister An is at the Ministry of Rites. Everyone else in the An household claims to know nothing, except for this old servant, Yu, who confesses to his crime."

Yin Wei sneered, "A coward who dares to do something but not to admit it."

The old servant knelt down and bowed his head, "This old servant confesses his guilt. Because I could not bear to see the young master being framed and falsely accused by those treacherous people, I took it upon myself to order the guards in the manor to kill someone."

"Framed and falsely accused?" Old Wu shouted. "We ordinary folks, who would dare to falsely accuse an official? If we weren't forced into this situation, we wouldn't even have the guts to sue the officials!"

Yin Wei glanced at the three thousand taels of silver that dazzled the eye: "That's right. If the An family hadn't wanted to kill him to cover their tracks, they might have already taken the money and run away."

“Old servant Yu, I am not a three-year-old child. How could you, a mere servant, command so many guards without your master’s permission?”

Yin Wei slammed the gavel again, "I'm giving you one last chance. Was it Old Master An who ordered the An family guards to kill civilians?"

The old servant knelt on the ground and stubbornly refused to admit it.

Song Shi stepped forward to add insult to injury, saying, "My lord, according to the laws of Dayu, if an official or noble family commits a serious crime of murder, it should be reported to the imperial court and handled jointly by the Ministry of Justice."

Yin Weizheng had this intention, so he ordered his men to imprison the group and then rode in a sedan chair to the palace.

Outside the Imperial Study, Chief Eunuch Zhou scolded, "Oh dear Lord Yin, why are you bothering His Majesty with such unsavory matters on such a joyous occasion?"

Yin Wei smiled apologetically, remaining rooted to the spot.

Knowing Yin Wei's temperament, Eunuch Zhou did not try to persuade him further, but said, "Please wait a moment, sir. Princess Zhaoshan is inside."

(End of this chapter)