Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

"Young Master Gao?" The official was slightly taken aback when he saw Gao Zhao, then laughed, "What brings you here to play in the middle of the night, young master?"

Gao Zhao was also somewhat surprised. It turned out that these officials who roamed the streets all knew him. He patted the dirt off his hands, stepped forward, pointed at Shi Qian, and said, "I'm the one who asked him to report to the authorities!"

"Oh..." The official glanced at Shi Qian, then turned to look at Fu Jin. Seeing the man's pleading eyes, he smiled meaningfully, then turned back and said, "So it was the young master who reported the case! Was the young master also involved in tonight's fight?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao narrowed his eyes and coldly scrutinized the other party, but the official seemed completely unconcerned.

What happened to Gao Qiu's son?

Normally, I'd be fine with you if you gave me some face, but when it comes to my own interests, nobody cares about you!

Although Gao Qiu holds a high official position, he can't control me. We're not in the same system. Promotion and ranking are matters for the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he won't pay any attention to Gao Qiu!

Besides, I'm just a lowly candidate, and I might never be promoted to a high-ranking official in the capital. As long as you're not my direct superior, I don't care what you do. Nothing is more important than making money!

Gao Zhao could tell from his expression that Gao Qiu's influence was waning, and his face darkened as he said, "Judge, you seem to have made a mistake! May I ask what brings you here today?"

"Someone reported that child trafficking was taking place here, so we came to investigate!" The judge answered crisply and decisively, without any ambiguity. He added, "However, our military patrol specializes in handling cases of fighting and assault in Beijing. How can we ignore this serious assault case?"

"You damned official, you're clearly protecting this scoundrel!" Lu Zhishen roared in anger when he saw that the judge was twisting the truth so perfectly that it was obvious this wasn't the first time he'd done this.

The official's face turned cold, and he pointed at Lu Zhishen, shouting, "Let me ask you, were those people outside injured by you? Did you come here in the middle of the night to cause trouble? Where have I said anything wrong, where have I covered for someone?"

Lu Zhishen slammed his monk's staff down, making the ground tremble, and said coldly, "You official come in and immediately accuse me of committing murder, without asking a single reason, yet you pin the crime on me, and then say that Fu Jin is a good person. How is this not covering it up!"

"What you say makes sense!" Judge Wei Da didn't refute it; instead, he readily admitted it, nodding and saying, "It's just that I know Fu Jin; he's a kind person, so I assumed he was a good person! But you, monk, look fierce, so naturally I assumed you were a bad person!"

He then turned to the crowd and said, "The so-called legal principles are nothing more than human sentiment, so my actions are understandable, right? However, this monk's criticism is very insightful! We should pay attention to this point when handling cases in the future!"

The archers all agreed.

The judge nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and said, "From what you've said, it seems you have a grudge against Fu Jin, and that's why you injured him in anger?"

Just as Lu Zhishen was about to answer, the official raised his hand to stop him and asked, "Since you have been wronged, why don't you report it to the authorities?"

"You..." Lu Zhishen was so choked by his words that his anger surged up, and he just wanted to draw his monk's staff and beat this corrupt official to death!

"Alright! Stop talking!" Gao Zhao raised his hand to stop Lu Zhishen. He had figured it out. This judge was a seasoned veteran who had been mingling in the yamen for a long time. Even if he was being biased and protecting others, it was all within the rules, making it difficult for anyone to find his mistakes!

These kinds of people are the most difficult to deal with. In comparison, those who are loud and aggressive are much easier to handle!

But that's normal. Since they're in the public sector, they must be good at cultivating themselves. What kind of people haven't they seen? How could they let anyone easily find fault with them?

Isn't that clerk Song from Yuncheng County, Shandong, always smiling and unassuming? But where do you think his wealth came from?

If Lu Zhishen continues speaking, a fight might break out, and then even if one is in the right, one will be in the wrong!

"To tell you the truth, two of my maids were sold into slavery today. I followed them here, worried about their safety, and that's why I broke in. I then discovered that these villains were committing acts of cruel mutilation and mutilation, so I immediately reported it to the Kaifeng Prefecture!"

The official looked at Gao Zhao with surprise. With one sentence, Gao Zhao dismissed the matter of Gao Zhao's accusation against the monk for fighting and brought up the case he was investigating!

This young master Gao is something else!

"Such a thing has happened! Men, go down and investigate!" The judge looked shocked and angry, and hurriedly ordered two people to enter the cave.

Then, with a hint of reproach, he said to Gao Zhao, "Young master, you should know the principle that a son of a wealthy family should not sit under a dangerous roof. How could you personally venture into such a perilous place!"

Gao Zhao smiled and asked, "Judge, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

The judge's expression turned solemn, and he said sternly, "If this matter is true, he shall be severely punished without exception. I will report it to the prefectural judge, and then submit it to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice for sentencing. Such a person, devoid of conscience, deserves to be executed by slow slicing!"

"I am deeply grateful to the judge for upholding justice!" Gao Zhao cupped his hands in greeting, but inwardly he was unconvinced.

Before long, two archers hurriedly returned, carrying a terrified child. The child was blind in one eye and had lost an arm...

Lu Zhishen stared blankly at the child, then looked at the cave, and suddenly remembered the strange movements of Gao Zhao and the others earlier. He had thought they had discovered some stolen goods, but he never expected it to be like this!

When he looked up at Fu Jin again, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. Lin Chong had told him what it meant to "harvest and mutilate," but hearing about it was nothing compared to the impact of seeing it in person!

He now wishes he could beat Fu Jin to death!

"Heinous! Absolutely inhuman!" the judge roared, then pointed at Fu Jin and demanded, "Did you do this?"

Fu Jin blinked and said, "No!"

"You dare to deny it!" the judge roared. "Isn't this your house?"

"No!" Fu Jin shook his head and said, "This isn't my house. It's a haunted house, nobody wants it. I just see these beggars staying here, so I often come to persuade them to turn over a new leaf!"

"Oh, I see!" The judge nodded, then ordered, "Such an outrageous act must have been committed by those beggars. Go and arrest them and bring them back to Kaifeng Prefecture. I will interrogate them thoroughly!"

After speaking, the official turned to Gao Zhao and asked, "What does the young master think?"

Gao Zhao smiled, pointed at Fu Jin, and asked, "What about him?"

"Him?" The judge looked bewildered and asked, puzzled, "Didn't he just say that he came to persuade the beggars, that he was just passing by, and that he had nothing to do with them?"

Gao Zhao shook his head and sighed, "They really are officials! They dare to tamper with such a big case! No wonder the case of Wang Family Thirteen Son was left unresolved back then!"

The official's face darkened as he said, "Young master, don't make trouble like this. The case is clear; it was the work of a few beggars and has nothing to do with anyone else. How can you make baseless accusations!"

"Since the young master's maid has been rescued, she should go home! Interfering with the Kaifeng Prefecture's investigation might cause trouble for your father!"

Are you threatening me?

"Heh, I am of lowly rank, how dare I threaten anyone? I'm afraid if the censor heard that... heh heh..."

"What if we, the imperial censors, hear this? Speak up!" An imperial censor dressed in a blue official robe stepped out from behind the crowd.

The judge's face turned deathly pale instantly!