If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 106: No matter what happens, the gods and ghosts will take care of it (for the leader "vghkkj")
Xiao Yu asked, "Aunt Zhang, where is the Xianghe Jiepu?"

Aunt Zhang pointed to the east and said, "After crossing the bridge, look south and you will see the banner of the Xianghe brand. Walk another twenty steps and you will almost reach the entrance of the shop.

Oh, a two-story building with blue bricks and gray tiles and a red painted front door, it looks very old-fashioned. "

Xiaoyu looked up and saw a wide riverside street across the bridge. There were many pedestrians on the street, as well as letter writers, fortune tellers, and fruit and vegetable stalls lined up in a long row under the willow trees.

Someone had died nearby and most of the stalls were empty. Even the stall owners had squeezed over to watch the fun.

"If Madam Xu sold the jade pendant to someone else, passers-by would definitely see it."

"This little heroine is speaking the truth!" Hu Laosi was so excited that his goatee was trembling.

He looked around and cried out in grievance: "Which of my fellow villagers and neighbors can be kind enough to speak up? I'm sure someone among you has seen this. Please stand up and speak up.

Do you want to be reborn as a good person in China in your next life?

Now is a good opportunity to accumulate good karma!"

Xiaoyu immediately noticed that several people in the crowd looked hesitant.

She coughed lightly and said, "In fact, judging from Madam Xu's reaction, the fake silver should not have flowed out of the pawnshop.

If she had gotten fake silver from the pawnshop, she would have only fought with Hu the shopkeeper, but would not have been so desperate as to commit suicide by jumping into the river.

"My dear girl, you have done a lot of good deeds, you deserve to be reborn in China in your next life!" Shopkeeper Hu's eyes filled with tears, he looked around and shouted, "Did you hear me?
This is a very simple truth. Before Madam Xu jumped into the river, she did not go to the Xianghe to make trouble.

Put yourself in my shoes. If you were deceived by me using fake silver, would you be able to just jump into the river obediently?
If you don’t tear me apart alive, you will die with your eyes wide open.”

Everyone showed a look of thought and approval, and no one accused Manager Hu of being rich and unkind.

Old Xu was anxious and glared at Xiao Yu fiercely, "You are in cahoots with Hu Laosi, my poor old wife, you died so tragically and unjustly! This girl is so young, but she has already started to take human lives lightly——"

"Pa!" A man with a mustache and a short knife on his back raised his hand and slapped him hard, shouting, "Shut up! This is Miss Yu, how can you bite her so recklessly?"

After saying this, he gave Xiaoyu a flattering smile.

Xiaoyu looked at him with a conflicted expression.

Because of his words and his statement, the way people around him looked at her changed. It was not a change she liked.

"Who are you? Do I know you?"

"Sister Yu, I am the 'Tiger that has gone down the mountain' and never wanted to return home! Of course, you can just call me 'Little Tiger' like Aunt Liu did."

"Sorry, I don't remember." Xiao Yu tilted her head to emphasize to Aunt Zhang: "Aunt Zhang knows that I live in Hongxiufang, but I really don't know this guy."

Aunt Zhang nodded vigorously.

Xiao Yu coughed twice and continued, "Just because Madam Xu didn't sell the jade pendant to Xianghe, it doesn't mean Xianghe has nothing to do with the fake silver.

Why did Madam Xu happen to meet someone buying a jade pendant outside the Xianghehao?
Knowing that the Qilin jade pendant is worth five hundred taels, would a normal businessman watch the gold ingots fly away?
"Please put yourself in Hu's shoes. If you were in Hu's shoes and saw another person trying to steal his business worth 500 taels with two ingots of silver, would you just stand by and watch indifferently, or would you hurry up and grab Madam Xu, persuade her with kind words, and also pay two ingots of silver?"

Everyone's expression changed again, and they looked at Manager Hu thoughtfully.

Lao Xu shouted again, "Oh, so that's how it is, you are in cahoots with that guy who used fake silver!"

"No, that's not the case." Shopkeeper Hu waved his hands repeatedly and shouted anxiously, "My dear lady, your analysis makes sense, but you don't know that when Madam Xu left, I didn't follow her out at all.

I thought she was in urgent need of money and would come back sooner or later.

If you don't believe me, you can ask Wang Er, Wang Er, did I say that at the time? "

Wang Er nodded.

Xiao Yu shrugged and said, "You don't have to look at me, I'm not an official.

Now that someone has died, only you can judge the case, and you must judge it.

Human life is at stake, and five hundred taels of silver is not a small sum."

To Xiao Yu's surprise, Lao Xu, Hu Laosi, Wang Er, and even the "Little Beard" who didn't want to go home, all changed their expressions at the same time, and shouted in unison: "We can't look for Lingjun!"

"Why don't you look for Lingjun?"

Several people looked embarrassed and hesitated to speak.

Xiaoyu turned to look at someone else. Aunt Zhang opened her mouth and wanted to say something but held back.

The neighbors around had rich expressions and their mouths were tightly closed.

Xiao Yu seemed to be thinking about something, and said: "The two large ingots given to Madam Xu must not have appeared suddenly.

If there are two fake silver ingots today, it would not be surprising if ten or twenty more appear tomorrow.

It is difficult to sell the big ingots, so they may be broken into small pieces of silver, one or two taels, to buy everyone's fat pigs, fat chickens, and cloth. In short, if the people who make counterfeit silver are not caught, everyone may become the next "Mrs. Xu".

Shopkeeper Hu was not feeling well either.

We arrested Madam Xu at the door of your shop today. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we will continue to arrest people who make counterfeit silver.

If this happens too often, how can people not suspect that you are in cahoots with him?

Of course, I am just a weak little girl with little influence. It is up to you to decide how to make the decision.

There is only one thing, it is summer now and the weather is hot, Madam Xu needs to settle down early!"

"Yes, yes, death is the greatest thing, and we should rest in peace." Madam Zhang nodded repeatedly and said, "No matter how the fake silver case is judged, it has nothing to do with Madam Xu. There is no need for a coroner to perform an autopsy, and she can be buried early!"

"How can I put her in the coffin? There is not a single copper coin in the family, and we are counting on the Qilin jade pendant to make money!" Old Xu grabbed Shopkeeper Hu and howled in grief and anger: "You killed her and stole my precious jade. She cannot rest in peace after death. You are so heartless!"

"Manager Hu, Madam Xu's matter has something to do with you. Please be kind and spend some money to prepare a thin coffin for Madam Xu!" an old neighbor sighed.

Shopkeeper Hu stiffened his neck and shouted, "Listen to what old man Xu is yelling! If I show any sign of fear, he will have me in his arms!"
I have enough money to buy a coffin, but I can't afford a murder lawsuit, let alone the crime of 'counterfeiting silver'!"

Hearing him say this, the old neighbor was helpless.

Madam Zhang fumbled in her pocket for a while, took out a small cloth bag, and poured out more than thirty copper coins and two silver coins the size of a fingernail, counting them in the palm of her hand.

Finally, he left four copper coins and placed the rest of the silver next to Madam Xu, saying, "Alas, Madam Xu suffered enough when she was alive. Let her rest in peace soon."

Passers-by and neighbors on the bridge all stepped forward silently and put down a silver coin or a few copper coins.
There are also wealthy people who just throw out a small ingot.

Lian Chun'er took a handful of copper coins and gave them to Madam Xu.

In a short while, the ground was filled with money.

A 40-year-old official in a brocade robe came out and bowed to the crowd, saying, "I am Zhou Fu, the owner of the Fu Shou Lai Coffin Shop on Hexi Street. I will now shamelessly accept this money and prepare a twelve-yuan paulownia wood 'old house' for Madam Xu, plus a set of Sichuan brocade shroud. What do you think?"

An old man who had prepared funeral clothes and coffins for himself praised him immediately: "Manager Zhou is a kind man. Twelve yuan for the old house made of paulownia wood. This money is not even enough for half of it, let alone a set of Shu brocade funeral clothes."

Zhou Fu waved his hand and said, "I am a businessman. When I sell coffins to others, of course I won't sell them at cost price."

He pointed at the pile of money on the ground and said, "With this money, I definitely won't make a penny, but I won't lose much either. Like everyone else, it's all out of my good intentions."

The neighbors nodded slightly.

Zhou Fu immediately arranged for his men to carry the coffin, and the people on the bridge gradually dispersed.

"Hu Laosi, don't even think about running away!" Shopkeeper Hu also wanted to leave with the crowd, but was held tightly by Lao Xu.

"I have made it very clear—"

As soon as Hu opened his mouth, Lao Xu interrupted him and said, "Don't tell me, we're going to the government office, you go talk to Lingjun."

"You are crazy. You are going to see 'Zhu Yitai'. Can you withstand his 'Seven Bowls'?!" Shopkeeper Hu exclaimed.

Lao Xu is now more sober than ever before.

He had been pestering Hu before, just to extort some money to solve his current predicament. But Hu refused to even pay for the coffin for his old wife, so it was almost impossible to extort money from him.

Then he had no other choice.

You can only report to the police!

Then he insisted that Manager Hu was an accomplice of the people who used the counterfeit silver.

"I would rather eat seven bowls of Zhu Yitai than avenge my old wife!"

Seeing the determination in Old Xu's eyes, Shopkeeper Hu seemed to understand something and sneered, "Okay, okay, okay, if you have the guts, Old Hu will accompany you to the end! Let's go see Ling Jun and see who will be unlucky in the end."

"Wang Er, bring some sheep, wine and fruits and go find Sa Jun in the torture room. Tell him what happened to us and ask him to help write a petition."

Although Manager Hu said this in a low voice, he did not deliberately avoid speaking to others.

The term "litigation lawyer" was already in existence in the Spring and Autumn Period in ancient times.

The "famous scholars" among the hundreds of schools of thought in the great Chinese nation were the ancestors of lawyers.

Asking someone to debate for you, or writing a petition explaining the case and submitting it to your ruler, is quite common in Western Shu.

"Alas, Madam Xu died so unjustly, you should come back to me and let me pay some tribute to you."

After learning what happened on the bridge, Jinlian not only did not blame Xiaoyu for making trouble, but also regretted that she could not help at all.

"Sister, you are thoughtful. I gave you a few dimes, and Sister Chun'er gave you a handful of copper coins, so it's also your contribution."

Xiao Yu comforted Jin Lian and asked curiously, "Why don't they dare to see the officials? What's so special about the commander of Tianmen Town?"

Jinlian laughed and said, "Hehe, our Lord's surname is Zhu, and people nicknamed him 'Zhu Yitai' because when he tried a case, he used a whole set of seven kinds of punishment to beat the prisoners to death.

Not only would he beat the ringleader, but he would also beat anyone he believed was at fault, regardless of whether they were the defendant, the plaintiff, or even the circumstantial witnesses.

Anyone who entered the yamen might be beaten.

Old Xu was in debt from gambling, which was the reason why Mrs. Xu was robbed. He would definitely be beaten to death by Zhu Yitao.

Bu Sigui forced Lao Xu to sell his daughter to pay off his debts, so he is also guilty and will most likely have to eat all seven bowls.

Even if Manager Hu really had nothing to do with the counterfeit silver case, he was greedy and indirectly caused the death of Madam Xu, so he could not escape the beating from "Zhu Yitai".

So they are afraid to see the officials.”

"Oh, so County Magistrate Zhu is not a bad person."

Xiaoyu suddenly developed a favorable impression of "Zhu Yitai", a person she had never met before.

"It's not bad, but it's not good either. The means are too harsh." Jinlian said.

Jinlian guessed most of it right.

The morning of the third day, Soy Sauce Lane.

Xiaoyu sat on the eaves with his legs hanging down, a bowl of porridge on his left hand and a fried cake in his right hand. He ate with relish while listening to Aunt Zhang's emotional narration of "Zhu Yitao's trial of the forged silver case."

"Zhu Yitao is indeed Zhu Yitao! Before Lao Xu had finished his complaint, he heard that he had lost all his family property in gambling. Zhu Yitao could not hold back and cursed him as a 'scumbag gambler' and threw down a red stick.

Lao Xu was given ten slaps.

After the beating, Lao Xu continued to appeal. When they heard that Lao Xu wanted to sell his daughter, Zhu Yitao threw out another red stick and a capture stick, and dragged eight hooligans from Bu Sigui. Without saying a word, he beat each of them with forty lashes.

While the guards were beating them, Zhu Yitao was cursing them from above, cursing every one of their ancestors for eighteen generations.

The insults were so ugly that even I, a vulgar woman in my late 50s, felt embarrassed and blushed when I heard them.

But spanking is just the beginning!"

There was a tremor in Aunt Zhang's voice, as if she was very frightened, but her big face was full of smiles.

"This is what they call "evil will be punished by evil!"

Uncle Li sitting next to him avoided the gap on the edge of the bowl and slurped a mouthful of the porridge happily.

A 30-year-old woman surnamed Huang was feeding her baby while saying, "Zhu Yitai has seven big dishes. The board is the first hard dish, and cursing is the second 'delicious soup'. There are still five big dishes!"

Aunt Zhang nodded and said, "Later, Lao Xu had his fingers pinched because he used his hands to gamble.

The rascal who didn't want to go home was clamped by the legs, and he cried so miserably that it made my heart tremble~~"

Sun Ergou, a soy sauce worker wearing a short shirt with bare arms, stood by carrying a soy sauce jar and asked, "Where is Hu Laosi?"

"Hu Laosi is fine, he wasn't beaten." There was obvious regret on Mrs. Zhang's face.

"Even if Hu Laosi is not the culprit, he is still guilty of a serious crime. How could Zhu Yitao let him go so easily?" Uncle Li had a serious and puzzled expression and stood up from his squatting position.

"Zhu Yitao was originally going to give him seven bowls of rice, but then Sa Xingfang handed him a petition, which was full of nonsense and seemed to be discussing the Great Shu Code. I couldn't understand it.

Zhu Yitao slammed the gavel angrily and said that no matter whether the counterfeit silver came from Xianghehao or not, Hu Laosi had lowered the price of someone else's treasure worth five hundred taels of silver to fifteen taels, which was simply insane. He would have to be beaten to extinguish the evil fire in his heart.

Sa Xingfang said that merchants buy and sell goods just like farmers cultivate the land.

Merchants pursue huge profits in the sale of goods, just like farmers desire a good harvest next year. It is natural and there is no sin or fault in it.

If your lord beats Hu Laosi on the grounds that he is guilty, how should other profit-seeking businessmen in Tianmen Town be dealt with?
If you beat Hu Laosi just to vent your anger, the people will be at a loss, because the laws of Dashu are written in black and white, and there are laws to follow. No one can control your anger except you. "

Madam Zhang sighed, spread her hands, and said, "Zhu Yishi gritted his teeth and stared at the torture chamber for a long time, but finally let Hu Laosi go."

"Well, Sa Xingfang is actually a good man. He is very kind on weekdays. If you ask him to help write the application, he will do it seriously even without gifts. He does a very good job, but sometimes he is too..." Uncle Li sighed and continued to drink his porridge.

No longer taking small sips with loud sounds, but silently and quickly sipping the drink into the mouth.

"How was the case finally decided?" asked Sun Ergou.

Madam Zhang's eyebrows were knitted together, no longer as proud as before, and she sighed and said, "Later, the 'man-eating tiger' who didn't want to return home also came to the county government with a petition.

After saying that it was a legal business and that everyone should be honest, he sent the eight scoundrels away with their buttocks bruised.
They are not even Bu Sigui's people, but the young men caught by the Tong brothers (yamen runners) at Bu Sigui's door. They probably owed Bu Sigui gambling debts and came to take the punishment."

"It should be more than just Shen Wen, right? The head of the Bu Si Gui Du family is very prestigious in Yingxiang Prefecture and is a guest of honor of Prefect Wen. In our Tianmen Town, out of the west gate, less than 10 miles away is the outer city of the county.

No matter how powerful Zhu Yitao is, he is only the magistrate of Fuguo County!" Uncle Li sighed.

Sun Ergou nodded and said, "The man-eating tiger must have gone to Yingxiang Mansion, so it was delayed for some time."

Madam Zhang shook her head and said, "I don't know, I was just watching outside the county government office.

Even if he really wanted to use Prefect Wen to suppress Zhu, he wouldn't shout it out loud for ordinary people like us to hear."

"That makes sense!" Uncle Li nodded.

After finishing a bowl of porridge, he sighed softly and turned to walk towards the door of his house.

Sun Ergou continued to carry the jar of soy sauce and deliver goods to the "Ke Zailai" restaurant on the street.

Before leaving, Aunt Zhang looked up.

The two legs dangling under the eaves were no longer there, and Xiaoyu left quietly.

Two more days passed.

Xiaoyu, who was practicing sword on the roof, saw Aunt Zhang again with a blushing face, chatting in the back alley.

This time, her voice was even louder than the day before, and her laughter continued “hahahaha”.

"God has eyes! If people don't take action, God will. If the officials don't care, the City God will take care. Hu Laosi is finished this time, hahahaha!"

(End of this chapter)