Qing Yao

Chapter 87 Sorry, I'm an academic officer
One representative, a representative on behalf of others.

My cousin got the money from Jiangdu County and is going to get sentenced to three to five years in prison?

Hey, just because the principal doesn't cause trouble doesn't mean he doesn't have a temper!
We attach great importance to it.

"Why did my cousin hit my cousin's brother? Did he get injured? Sir, please don't rush, sit down and tell me slowly."

Fearing that his uncle might worry too much and fall ill, Zhao An quickly handed him the teacup he had poured and comforted him, saying, "I am now a seventh-rank professor at the prefectural school, and all the scholars in Yangzhou are under my jurisdiction. As long as he is not beaten to death, I will find a way to get my cousin out."

Zhao An wasn't just trying to comfort his uncle. In fact, although he, as the professor of the prefectural school, didn't have the power to directly revoke a scholar's academic title, the future of all scholars in Yangzhou Prefecture was in his hands.

The professor's displeasure isn't about whether you, a scholar who has passed the county-level imperial examination, can participate in the provincial-level examination; it's about whether you can retain your scholar status.

Because professors, like county magistrates, could petition the provincial education office to strip someone of their scholar title.

"Xiao Anzi, weren't you a student affairs officer? How did you become a professor?"

Wang Defa was a little surprised. He really didn't know that his nephew had become a professor. No one in the department had told him about it.

The fact that "Zhao Youlu" became a professor at the prefectural school must have been known to some people in the county, but the tax office only knew that Wang Defa's nephew was named Zhao An. Therefore, it was impossible for "Zhao Youlu" to become a professor to become a "hot topic" for the tax office, which was not a relevant unit.

Zhao An himself did not specifically tell his uncle, so Wang Defa was naturally unaware of this matter.

"It's a long story about my nephew becoming a professor. Uncle, please tell me first how my cousin got into trouble, so I can think of a way to get him out."

Instead of sitting behind the desk, Zhao An moved a chair directly to his uncle's side.

He wasn't wearing his official robes today; they'd been sent to a tailor shop to be used as a pattern.

I don't know what the Qing Dynasty was thinking, they only issued one set of official robes, making officials have to order another set themselves.

Otherwise, there's no way to change or wash them.

"That's great, great!"

The influence of a seventh-rank prefectural school professor is far greater than that of a ninth-rank school official. Wang Defa was overjoyed and immediately told them about his son.

He had only one son named Wang Wanquan, and his daughter-in-law, Qian, was a local from Jiangdu. He had three older brothers.

The eldest brother, Qian Xiuwen, passed the county-level imperial examination at a young age, but failed the provincial-level examination twice. He then gave up his studies and made a living by writing legal documents for others.

After working in this field for a long time, he became a well-known "litigation expert" in Jiangdu County, with connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, and was practically a "big shot" in Jiangdu.

The other two younger brothers, Qian Xiuwu and Qian Xiude, also engaged in unorthodox practices under the influence of their elder brother.

To put it bluntly, they're a family of three scoundrels.

However, the boss was a cultured hoodlum with connections in the government, and ordinary people couldn't afford to mess with him.

Wang Wanquan's brother-in-law was a genuinely honest man with no real skills. Moreover, his father's ancestral home was Xinghua, which, although both were in the same prefecture, was considered an outsider by the native Yangzhou people. Therefore, his three hoodlum brothers-in-law looked down on him.

When Qian gave birth, her three brothers, despite their dislike for their brother-in-law, still came to visit her. Wang Wanquan treated them to good food and wine. However, Qian Xiuwen, the eldest brother, got drunk and started arguing with his second brother, Qian Xiuwu, for some unknown reason.

As they argued, the two brothers actually started fighting. Of course, Wang Wanquan had to step in to break up the fight. In the chaos, he pulled one apart, but the other one came up. He pulled one apart, but the other one kicked him. Instead of stopping the fight, the two brothers smashed the house to pieces.

Qian, who was in confinement after childbirth, was so frightened by the fierce looks of her brothers that she didn't dare to come out and persuade them. She could only hide in the room and cry.

The adults cried, and the children cried too.

The cries of his wife and children enraged Wang Wanquan, who was usually honest. He roared and told the two Qian brothers to get out and fight. However, the second brother, who was drunk, pinned him to the ground and punched and kicked him. When the eldest brother saw this, he also came up and beat his brother-in-law.

Now their fists are united against a common enemy.

In the chaos, Wang Wanquan, who was hurt by the blow, grabbed a brick and smashed it on his elder brother Qian Xiuwen's head.

My brother-in-law was cut open, and he bled quite a bit, but it wasn't fatal.

Enraged, the three Qian brothers left the Wang family's residence less than half an hour later, and the bailiffs from the Jiangdu County government came to take Wang Wanquan to the county.

Upon learning of this, Wang Defa rushed to the county government office to inquire about the situation. However, the people in the jail refused to let him see his son, saying that Wang Wanquan had beaten a student and seriously injured him, and that according to the law, he would be sentenced to at least three to five years.

Terrified, Wang Defa rushed to the Qian family to plead for mercy, but they wouldn't even let him in. Having run out of options, he asked Ambassador Ding of the Tax Bureau to speak to Jiangdu County on his behalf. However, while Ambassador Ding's influence was strong in Ganquan County, it was weak in Jiangdu County.

With nowhere else to turn, Wang Defa thought of his cousin who was an official at the prefectural school, and with the idea of ​​trying anything as a last resort, he went to him.

After understanding the general course of events, Zhao An analyzed that the Qian family might not really want to ruin his brother-in-law; they were probably just bluffing and taking the opportunity to extort some money from his uncle.

Would he allow this?
Jiangdu Magistrate Zheng Sanwan and Zhao An knew each other. They had previously worked together under the prefect's supervision on a scheme to amass wealth through well-known trademarks. Now that Zhao An was a professor holding the prefectural examination quota, Magistrate Zheng couldn't possibly refuse to give him face.

If the people around you are not dead, then it's best to minimize the damage and let it go.

He asked his uncle to wait at the prefectural school, and then ordered Instructor Tong to arrange a special carriage and two attendants and guards to take him straight to the Jiangdu County Government Office.

When Magistrate Zheng, who was busy in the back hall, learned that Professor Zhao from the prefectural school had arrived, he greeted him with a smile. This was not simply because the two had a prior relationship, but mainly because Professor Zhao was the deputy examiner for the prefectural examination and had a great deal of say in the pass rate of the county school candidates.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Zhao An did not beat around the bush and frankly said that he had come to inquire about the case of Wang Wanquan beating up student Qian Xiuwen.

To everyone's surprise, Magistrate Zheng was completely unaware of the case. He summoned Zhou, the chief legal advisor, and only after asking did he learn that a man had been sent to the jail yesterday, supposedly for seriously injuring a scholar from the county. "The man was just sent here yesterday. The details of the case haven't been clarified yet, so I wanted to wait until things were clear before reporting to the magistrate."

When Master Zhou said this, he seemed a little guilty, clearly having been bribed by the Qian family to help intimidate the Wang family.

"The police are becoming increasingly unruly. How dare they arrest people without a warrant from the county?"

Magistrate Zheng was well aware of the underhanded tricks of the jailers, and he knew that Zhou, the clerk, must have received bribes. However, he couldn't reprimand him too much in front of outsiders, so he subtly inquired about the relationship between the prisoners sent to jail and Professor Zhao An.

"It's alright. I was just asked to come and ask. Lord Zheng, please just follow the law impartially."

Because his identity and educational background were fake, Zhao An dared not say directly that Wang Wanquan was his cousin. Following this line of inquiry, it would be easy to find out that he was from Xinghua, not Ganquan.

This is why he didn't directly approach the three Qian brothers as Wang Wanquan's cousin.

It's easy to be caught out.

Magistrate Zheng nodded and asked Clerk Zhou about the situation of the student who had been beaten.

"The one who was beaten is Qian Xiuwen, a student of this county. He is not seriously injured, but he should have suffered some superficial injuries. If the county magistrate thinks that this case does not need to be brought to court, I will ask Qian Xiuwen to withdraw the lawsuit."

Master Zhou was a shrewd man. He understood that the professors of the prefectural school wouldn't get involved in this matter without a reason. Since the Wang family had asked the professors to intervene, the matter could only be downplayed. In any case, the Qian family wasn't really trying to ruin their brother-in-law.

They're just using this as an opportunity to extort money.

"Qian Xiuwen?"

Magistrate Zheng had a deep impression of this man. He often went to the yamen to handle lawsuits on behalf of others, and they were quite familiar with each other. He never expected that this man would be beaten up by someone.

After glancing at Zhao An, he considered for a moment and then summoned Chief Feng of the Criminal Investigation Department and instructed him: "Go and tell Qian Xiuwen to withdraw the complaint. After the complaint is withdrawn, instruct the prison to release Wang Wanquan. From now on, no one may arrest anyone without a warrant from this county."

"Ah? Yes, sir."

Feng, the head of the department, was unaware that the county magistrate had learned of the Qian family's affair. Seeing that Zhou, the clerk, remained silent, he felt guilty and dared not delay in handling the withdrawal of the lawsuit.

On his side, Magistrate Zheng was "studying" the prefectural examination with the professors of the prefectural school. Unlike the prefect, who couldn't stand Zhao An no matter what, Magistrate Zheng spoke highly of Professor Zhao and subtly admired him.

Since Magistrate Zheng was giving him face, Zhao An naturally reciprocated. So he wasn't in a hurry to go back. Just as he was having a deep conversation with Magistrate Zheng, the head of the criminal affairs office, Feng, arrived. He stammered that the plaintiff in the case, the aggrieved party Qian Xiuwen, refused to withdraw his lawsuit and was registering and submitting his petition at the gatehouse.

Once the petition is submitted and registered, the county magistrate must investigate the case and, regardless of its severity, give a judgment; otherwise, the person can appeal to the prefectural government.

This put Magistrate Zheng in a difficult position. He couldn't very well force the aggrieved party to withdraw his lawsuit, especially since the aggrieved party was a scholar.

After thinking for a moment, he was about to ask Zhou Shiye to "coordinate" with Qian Xiuwen when Zhao An spoke up: "Lord Zheng, since the aggrieved party refuses to withdraw the lawsuit, why not ask him to come and ask about the case? If Wang Wanquan really deserves his punishment, then Lord Zheng can do justice for the aggrieved party."

The words sound perfectly reasonable, but in reality, they were meant to have Magistrate Zheng play a mediating role and try to resolve the case.

Magistrate Zheng was well aware of this, and waved his hand to signal Steward Feng to bring the person over.

Soon, Qian Laoda, whose head was wrapped in several layers of gauze, walked in with the help of his two brothers. When he saw the county magistrate, he even pretended to sob a few times.

"Student Qian Xiuwen (also known as commoner Qian Xiuwu or Qian Xiude) greets Your Excellency the County Magistrate!"

Qian Lao Er and Qian Lao San knelt down simultaneously, but Qian Lao Da did not kneel, for a scholar does not need to kneel before a county magistrate.

Looking at Qian Xiuwen, who appeared to be seriously injured, Magistrate Zheng shook his head and instructed the clerk beside him, "The plaintiff has the title of student; grant him a seat."

"Yes, my lord."

The clerk hurriedly brought out a chair, and Qian Xiuwen sat down calmly, then bowed slightly to the county magistrate: "Thank you for the seat, Your Excellency."

Magistrate Zheng nodded slightly and said in a consultative tone, "Qian Xiuwen, why did you, a scholar, quarrel with a commoner and cause trouble? Now that I see you seem to be alright, why don't we drop the charges? It's better to be lenient when possible."

"Sir, Wang Wanquan beat the student so badly that his head was bleeding. The government should punish him severely. How can we ask the student, the victim, to withdraw the lawsuit? Even if we are asked to withdraw the lawsuit, we cannot just let him beat us for nothing."

As Qian Xiuwen spoke, he gestured to his third brother to present his petition, implying that while the lawsuit could be withdrawn, the county magistrate should at least make Wang Wanquan pay compensation.

Magistrate Zheng was a bit troubled when he received the petition. Qian Xiuwen wanted Wang Wanquan to pay compensation, which was not an unreasonable request, but how much should he pay?
Sentencing him too harshly would be disrespectful to Professor Zhao, while sentencing him too leniently would be problematic if Qian Xiuwen objected.

Just as they were pondering the sentence, they suddenly heard Professor Zhao say to his attendant, "Go, remove this man's chair from my sight."

Without saying a word, the guard Lao Song, who came with the principal, stepped forward and pulled Qian Xiuwen up from his chair, while another attendant, Lao He, lifted the chair up and moved it to the side.

The three Qian brothers were completely bewildered.

"What are you doing?!"

Coming to his senses, Qian Xiuwen pointed at Zhao An with immense anger, as if he had been greatly insulted, and said, "The bestowal of seats upon students is a power granted to us by the imperial court. Even the county magistrate did not remove my seat. Who are you to dare to remove my seat!"

"I am an academic officer."

Zhao An simply said four words.

(End of this chapter)