Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Upon seeing the newcomer, the judge instinctively turned to look at Gao Zhao, his eyes filled with shock!

You can't afford to play this game, so you throw sand!

You actually summoned the Imperial Censor!

He then hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This humble official greets the Imperial Censor..."

"I am Huang Baoguang, the Acting Censor!" The censor interrupted him coldly, glancing around the room before pausing briefly on the child's disability. He then turned and angrily rebuked, "Is this how you handle cases? Who instructed you to cover this up? Was your prefect involved?!"

The judge shrank back, cold sweat pouring down his back. He thought to himself, "This censor is truly ruthless! He came up and immediately seized the charge without any explanation, and then, considering my low rank, went straight to the prefect..."

Looking at his appearance, which suggested he was in his forties, I immediately understood: he was eager to make a name for himself!

The position of Inspector-General is not a formal censor, but rather a probationary censor. However, it still has the power to supervise and impeach. Originally, this position was abolished after the Yuanfeng Reform, but Grand Tutor Cai was kind and knew that the career path of young officials was difficult, so he restored the position!

To get out of this internship, you must make a contribution!

This censor is using himself as a stepping stone for promotion... No, he's not qualified. His goal is to become the Prefect of Kaifeng!

The judge was numb; he didn't care about the prefect's life or death, but he was sure he would suffer if the two started fighting!

"Your Excellency, I am truly ashamed. I have never dared to act in my own way, and I have never shown any favoritism or intention to cover up wrongdoing!" the judge quickly said, insisting that he had not done anything wrong.

Huang Baoguang snorted coldly and said, "Hmph! I've been listening here for ages, and you've been blatantly protecting Fu Jin. You still dare to argue!"

The judge quickly explained, "Why do you say that, Censor Huang? My actions are all in accordance with the law!"

"Ha, so you have a law to follow! I think the laws of the Song Dynasty have been ruined by you petty clerks!"

Huang Baoguang said coldly, "You don't believe a word of the victim's report, but you regard that excuse about paying money as gospel! Is this how you follow the law?"

The judge was so angry at his words "petty officials" that his face turned red. There were many officials in the Song Dynasty, but the vast majority of them were selected through a selection process, spending their entire lives in the sea of ​​selection. Those who could step out of the selection process and become officials in the capital were extremely rare.

Su Shi once said that when selecting officials, they are treated like servants by their superiors and called upon like slaves, unable to express their true feelings and aspirations.

But he was a legitimate official! He was just unlucky!

Seeing the censor's aggressive manner and insulting words, the judge's anger also rose.

He slowly straightened his body, looked directly at the censor, and said in a deep voice, "Fu Jin is a well-known benevolent and kind man, while this monk still smells of wine and meat on him. He is clearly someone who does not abide by the rules of celibacy. With these two in mind, tell me, whose version of me should I believe?"

Huang Baoguang was taken aback, clearly not expecting that this lowly military patrol judge would dare to contradict him.

"Is Censor Huang trying to make me disbelieve good advice and instead believe the words of that drunken monk?"

The judge knew that the censor had come with ill intentions, and that simply tolerating him wouldn't solve anything. So he decided to go all out, his voice growing increasingly stern: "If I am punished for this, I dare to take this case to the Emperor!"

Gao Zhao glanced at the censor and sighed inwardly, "This man is hopeless! How can a censor like you not know how to argue? Look at your predecessors!"

Lu Zhishen was furious when he saw the judge humiliating him time and time again, and immediately went forward to argue with him.

Gao Zhao held on tightly, staggering several steps as she was dragged along. She hugged him tightly and whispered, "What are you doing? They didn't say anything wrong. You were just drinking and eating meat! Why are you so angry?"

Lu Zhishen was taken aback. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that the logic was sound, but something seemed off.

Their commotion quickly attracted the attention of others. Overwhelmed by the judge's imposing manner, the censor changed the subject, asking, "Do you have anything to say?"

Gao Zhao rushed ahead of Lu Zhishen and laughed, "Imperial Censor Huang, I think this judge makes a lot of sense! What's the difference between a monk who doesn't even abide by the rules and regulations and what he says? He's absolutely untrustworthy!"

Lu Zhishen was furious. This damned young master was always going against him and would seize any opportunity to kick him while he was down. He was utterly despicable!

Imperial Censor Huang frowned slightly, feeling dissatisfied. He was trying to help him, but the man had turned against him at the last minute. This kind of person was truly ungrateful and couldn't even distinguish between sides.

Just as he was about to speak, Gao Zhao continued, "That makes sense, but the problem is, is this person Fu Jin a good person? You can't just say he is, because he is!"

Censor Huang's eyes lit up; this was a great angle! He had only recently been promoted to the Censorate and lacked experience in dealing with people!

Seeing Gao Zhao launch another attack, the judge immediately said, "Fu Jin is a kind and virtuous person; this is universally acknowledged!"

"Who agrees? I don't think so!" Gao Zhao blurted out, "He's clearly the leader of the Beggars' Sect, committing all sorts of evil deeds! And we all agree that he bribed you, that you're protecting him, exonerating and whitewashing him!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" the judge roared. "Though I am of low rank, I am still an official appointed by the court. Your baseless accusations are punishable!"

"Is it fraud? It's easy to find out!" Gao Zhao smiled slightly. "Whenever someone does something, they will inevitably leave traces. Investigate this person's social connections, investigate how they make a living, and you're sure to find something!"

Fu Jin's face turned pale, and he cursed Gao Zhao inwardly for his treachery!

Gao Zhao, however, didn't care at all. He then looked at the judge and said, "This one is even easier to investigate. If he accepted bribes, he certainly won't run away with the money. First, search his house, and then check if the furnishings and his daily expenses match his salary! The truth will naturally come out!"

The judge's expression immediately turned ugly. Putting everything else aside, his spendthrift wife was someone who couldn't keep a secret!

Huang Baoguang naturally noticed the expressions on the two men's faces and was overjoyed. He was about to arrest them when suddenly there was a rustling sound behind him.

Everyone turned to look and saw a group of soldiers walking in.

"The Investigation Department is on duty; all bystanders, please get out of the way!"

This group of soldiers was extremely arrogant, barging and shoving aside the archers from Kaifeng Prefecture. A man who appeared to be an officer slowly stepped forward and said calmly, "I am Zhang Yong from the Imperial City Guard Bureau. We'll take this case!"

Huang Baoguang's face darkened, and he stepped forward, shouting, "Your Imperial City Guard has overstepped your bounds! Interfering in civilian cases without authorization—don't blame me for impeaching you!"

The official in charge, however, remained calm and said, "Imperial Censor Huang, your duty is to supervise all officials, while our task is to investigate the person behind this practice of mutilation and killing. The two are not contradictory, and we can even exchange information. Why not do it?"

Huang Baoguang's expression softened slightly, and Director Na smiled faintly, waving his hand and saying, "Arrest them!"

The soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged Fu Jin, who was terrified and whose legs were weak, away, along with the members of the Beggars' Gang.

"Come with us too!" Huang Baoguang looked at the judge and beckoned. The two clerks he brought with him stepped forward and invited the judge to come.

"Wait!" Seeing everyone about to leave, Gao Zhao hurriedly called out to them, pointing at the young child and asking, "What should we do with these children?"

"Have the nursing home send someone to pick us up," Huang Baoguang ordered, and someone immediately went to carry out the order.

Gao Zhao and his companions waited for a while longer until the staff from the nursing home took the children away before they finally left.

Lu Zhishen was very satisfied with the result of getting revenge and saving people tonight, and chatted and laughed with Lin Chong all the way.

The two young girls clung tightly to Gao Zhao's back, still shaken, afraid of getting lost and being sold off again.

Only Gao Zhao frowned slightly. Although Fu Jin appeared very scared when he was taken away, Gao Zhao did not see any fear in his eyes!