After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The group entered the lobby one by one.

In the hall, Prefect Han Zhong of Shuntian Prefecture sat high, his face stern.

The bailiffs stood solemnly on both sides, holding water and fire sticks.

Wang Shouren entered, straightened his clothes, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your humble servant Wang Shouren greets Prefect Han."

Sitting in the hall was Han Zhong, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fourteenth year of the Chenghua era and had served as an official for nearly thirty years. He was known for his integrity and uprightness. Yesterday, he sent someone to inform Wang Shouren, which was already considered a gesture of leniency.

Unexpectedly, this Wang Sizhi was even more stubborn and actually rejected his kindness.

Since that's the case, let's proceed with the proceedings according to procedure, whatever you want!

Wu Youfu knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Excellency, Prefect! I have been wronged! I beg Your Excellency to uphold justice for me!"

Han slammed his gavel: "Silence!"

Wu Youfu immediately shut up, and the hall fell silent.

Han Chong looked at Wang Shouren and asked, "Wang Sizhi, you are in charge of Wuqing County. Now, the people under your jurisdiction have accused you of extortion and murder. This prefecture will handle the case according to the law. Do you have any objections?"

Wang Shouren calmly replied, "This humble official has no objection. The innocent are innocent, and I am willing to accept the prefect's questioning."

"good!"

Han nodded, then took the complaint and said, "Plaintiff Wu Youfu, this is the complaint you submitted yesterday. Please check if there are any errors."

The bailiff brought the complaint to Wu Youfu.

Wu Youfu glanced at it and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, this is my complaint, word for word! I wish to inform Magistrate Wang Shouren..."

Snapped!

The gavel struck again.

Han Chong said in a deep voice, "You shall answer only when I ask you a question; you shall not speak without being asked!"

Wu Youfu shrank back: "Yes... this humble subject understands."

Han Zhong began to inquire about the case, and Wu Youfu answered each question.

When he got to the point of being heartbroken, he beat his chest, stamped his feet, and wailed loudly, which made the onlookers outside the hall sigh with emotion.

After asking the question, Han Zhong turned to Wang Shouren: "Director Wang, did you hear everything the plaintiff said?"

"I heard you clearly."

"What do you have to say?"

Wang Shouren said calmly, "All of Wu Youfu's accusations are false!"

Han Zhong looked at Wu Youfu: "Plaintiff, do you have any witnesses or evidence?"

Wu Youfu perked up and quickly said, "Yes! Liu left a will before she died! And my servants can testify that Wang Shouren did indeed come to my house for a drink that day!"

The bailiff presented the will, which Han Chong took and read before handing it over to Wang Shouren.

Wang Shouren took it, glanced at it, and frowned slightly: "Nonsense! That day, I spent the whole day in Hexi Town measuring the fields, and the local headman and his entourage can all testify to that."

Wu Youfu immediately shouted, "Those are all your people, of course they'll speak on your side! They're your subordinates, why wouldn't they help you give false testimony?"

Wang Shouren said in a deep voice: "I have never done anything wrong, nor have I asked anyone to give false testimony for me."

Wu Youfu retorted, his neck stiff: "You're an official, I'm just a commoner! If you hadn't driven me to this point, would I have dared to sue you?"

The murmurs of the onlookers outside the hall grew louder.

"That's true... Who among ordinary people would dare to sue the government?"

"If they hadn't truly suffered injustice, would they have brought a coffin here?"

"This Magistrate Wang seems quite upright, but I never expected..."

Just as Han Zhong was about to speak, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the yamen.

"Make way! Please make way!"

The people turned around and saw a teenager leading a large group of people, crowding towards them.

Wang Shouren breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the person who had arrived.

The person who came was Yang Shen. When he reached the door, he was stopped by the constable.

He pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve: "Student Yang Shen has come to file a complaint!"

Han Zhong's expression changed slightly when he heard the name Yang Shen.

Yang Tinghe's son? What's he doing here?

I heard that this kid is very close to the Crown Prince and runs a workshop in Wuqing County. Could it be related to Wang Shouren's case?

Thinking of this, he waved his hand: "Let him in."

Yang Shen walked through the crowd to the front of the hall, bowed, and said, "Student Yang Shen greets Prefect Han!"

Han Zhong waved his hand and said, "This court is currently conducting a trial; please step aside!"

Yang Shen straightened up: "I have come here today specifically for this case."

Han Chong frowned: "Don't be ridiculous! What does it have to do with you that the local gentry Wu Youfu has filed a complaint with County Magistrate Wang Shouren?"

Yang Shen pulled a stack of papers from his pocket and presented them with both hands: "The students are in the Hunhe Development Zone, which belongs to Wuqing County. There are 173 local residents who have jointly filed a lawsuit against Wu Youfu for extortion, seizure of land, and causing deaths!"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Wu Youfu's expression changed, and he immediately retorted, "You...you're talking nonsense!"

Yang Shen glanced at him: "This Mr. Wu kneeling on the ground, you're making a complaint to seek justice, while I'm just spouting nonsense. Isn't that a bit too domineering?"

Wu Youfu choked on his words, then angrily retorted, "Why didn't you kneel before the Prefect?"

Yang Shen smiled and said, "I have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), so I do not kneel before officials."

Wu Youfu's face turned pale and then flushed, but he had nothing to say.

Han Zhong took the petition, quickly scanned it, and frowned: "This is a case from Wuqing County. According to the law, you should go to the Wuqing County government office."

Yang Shen nodded: "I was originally going to the county government office, but when I got there I found out that the magistrate of Wuqing County was holding court in Shuntian Prefecture, so I came here instead."

Han Zhongdao said, "You can go back and wait!"

Yang Shen said solemnly, "The students can wait, but the people cannot. Every extra day Wu Youfu's usurious loans are delayed, more people will die!"

Wu Youfu quickly retorted, "You're making baseless accusations! My interest rates are all in accordance with the rules..."

Snapped!

The gavel struck, and Wu Youfu immediately shut up.

Han Zhong stared at Yang Shen: "Yang Shen, I ask you, what is your identity in this lawsuit filed by over a hundred people against Wu Youfu? Are you a lawyer?"

Yang Shen hurriedly replied, "I am merely a scribe. The common people are illiterate and cannot write legal documents. I am helping them write them and representing them in the lawsuit. I am not a lawyer and have not received a single penny throughout the entire process. I am simply helping out."

Han Zhong sneered: "Your actions constitute the behavior of a lawyer! The laws of the Ming Dynasty explicitly prohibit the instigation of lawsuits among the people. Your actions have violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty!"

Wu Youfu immediately perked up: "Yes, yes, yes! This is a troublemaker! Arrest him!"

Han Chong glared at him, and Wu Youfu immediately lowered his head.

Yang Shen remained calm and explained, "The Ming Dynasty law does indeed prohibit the instigation of lawsuits by the people, but the students' actions were communicated with the Wuqing County government beforehand, and they only wrote on behalf of the people with the county government's consent. There is written evidence to prove this!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Wang Shouren: "Wang Sizhi, document."

Wang Shouren took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

Yang Shen took it, glanced at it, and presented it to Han Zhong.

Han Zhong took the paper and his expression changed drastically. He immediately threw it down.

"How dare you! You insult this official residence!"

Yang Shendun was at a loss, picked it up and looked at it...

A panda head, an emoji, and the words "Eat shit!" in big letters.

"Wrong, wrong! That's not it!"