Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 74 Opening of the Court

It was already daylight when the donkey cart entered the city gate.

Lu Jia got out of the car first, and as she looked around, Tang Yu was already in front of her.

"Come with me, young lady!"

Lu Jia followed him into a nearby alley, where Shen Qingzhou was lifting the curtain to reveal his face in a large carriage that had just squeezed in.

Shen Qingzhou jumped out of the car, and several people followed suit from the carriage behind him. With each person who disembarked, Lu Jia's eyes widened further!
Who is this!
There were five people in total. The first four had bruises and swelling on their faces, and the other two had suffered some kind of serious injury to their hands and feet, which hung limply as if they were useless!
As the last one came down, before Lu Jia could even see his face clearly, she smelled a strong stench of urine!
She took two steps back and covered her nose: "Where did this come from?"

“They’re from the Zhou family.” Shen Qingzhou pulled a thick stack of papers from his pocket. “These are their confessions, with signatures and fingerprints all included.”

"The Zhou family's confessions?!"

How long has he been here? Not only has he found several members of the Zhou family, but he has also managed to obtain their confessions.

"How did you do it?"

This guy is a government official. No matter how powerful he is, how can he mess with government officials? Does he have a death wish?
In this city of Tanzhou, there are few people more powerful than this man surnamed Zhou!
"Maybe I was just lucky and bumped into them, so I just grabbed them." Shen Qingzhou hooked his nose with his finger. "See if there's anything else you're missing?"

Listen!

Listen!
"Is there anything else missing?"
He actually said it like it was like buying groceries!
Lu Jia quickly reviewed the confession, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and said, "This was not easy, you've worked hard. But unless we can get a confession from the man surnamed Zhou, there's no way we can make him admit defeat!"

"I'll find a way to make him admit defeat. You just go ahead and sue him, and don't back down. If you don't sue him, you don't have any other way to vent your anger, do you?"

This is true.

Lu Jia glanced at him again, quickly put the confessions into her sleeve, and then had Tang escort the men out of the alley.

Back in the group, he briefly explained what had happened to Liu Xiyu, and then sent someone to beat the Dengwen Drum.

Zhou Sheng stayed up all night with Guo Yi in the hall, looking at those case files that were all lies. The first half of the night was agonizing, but after all the people he had sent out returned to report, he felt completely at ease and didn't care anymore.

As dawn broke, he even invited Guo Yi to stroll around the garden.

Even a minor official like the Zhou family, holding only the rank of fifth grade, possessed a large mansion with four courtyards. The back garden even featured a pond with a small wooden boat moored along the bank, creating a truly picturesque scene.

Guo Yi said, "This house didn't come cheap to build."

Zhou Sheng smiled and said, "I heard that you have three generations living under one roof and even have a two-courtyard house in the capital. This is really unworthy of the status of Scholar Guo and you, Lord Guo. When will you be leaving Tan? Please let me know in advance, and I will bring a small gift to see you off."

"Everything is expensive in the capital, and this drop in the bucket is not enough to make a big difference."

Zhou Sheng paused slightly, glanced at him, and said, "Sir, you may speak frankly. We are all on the same side, after all."

Guo Yi laughed and said, "How could I possibly accept that?"

"Brother Guo, you're being too polite." Zhou Sheng smiled meaningfully. "The government only provides such a meager salary, how much can that even cover? You can't expect a horse to run without feeding it. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Guo Yi smiled knowingly and nodded, saying, "I truly regret not having studied under Master Yan in my younger days. Otherwise, why would I be so envious of Brother Zhou's residence today?"

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Zhou Sheng smiled obsequiously, but inwardly he was utterly disgusted. This Guo fellow had put on airs earlier, making him seem like some kind of virtuous person, but it turned out he was nothing more than a quack peddler. Now, his true colors had finally been revealed.

However, this made him even more at ease. He wasn't afraid of the other man wanting it; he was afraid he wouldn't accept it. Only if the other man wanted it would they be kindred spirits.

"master!"

Just as Zhou Sheng was scheming, a servant rushed up to the garden gate. "Someone from the government has arrived! The prefect has just held a hearing and requests your presence, sir!"

Zhou Sheng stopped: "What urgent matter is it so early in the morning?"

If there are no cases to handle, the government office will not hold a court session.

The servant frowned, as if constipated, and after looking at him, he looked at Guo Yi beside him, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Guo Yi said, "Since it's an urgent summons from the Prefect, it must be something important. What is it? Am I not allowed to hear it?"

The servants couldn't speak openly because he was standing by, but now that the general was here, they had no choice but to speak.

"Many people have come from Shawan County and they've filed a complaint against you, sir!"

Zhou Sheng was taken aback: "Why are the people from Shawan suing me?"

The servant, his teeth chattering, said, "They say that the master secretly ordered people to open the two sluice gates at Luokou Wharf, deliberately releasing floodwaters to inundate Shawan County! Deliberately flooding the rice paddies and villages on both banks!"

Zhou Sheng took a deep breath, which hung in his throat!
"Such a thing is true?" Guo Yi looked at the two of them. "This is definitely a frame-up! Tell the prefect that I said it was my order, and that they should be sent back with their disciplinary rods!"

"But they also brought witnesses!"

The servant was at a loss for words, his legs trembling: "Our steward and four guards—including Zhao Jiu and his men—are all in their hands!"

"...How is this possible?!"

Zhou Sheng, who was still hanging on by a thread, was forced to snap out of his daze upon hearing this!
Last night, the steward was clearly on duty in the study as ordered by him, and Zhao Jiu and the others came to report to him at dawn. They had clearly returned to the manor and received their reward money. How could it be in their hands now?
“That’s absolutely impossible!” he said firmly. “They’re talking nonsense!”

“Yes, I saw Steward Zhou last night. How did I end up testifying for them in the blink of an eye?” Guo Yi said with a serious face. “These scoundrels are too despicable! They actually dared to frame an official of the imperial court. This is outrageous!”
"Someone! Go and inform the Prefect that I am going to supervise the trial!"

After giving the order to his entourage, he strode out of the garden.

Zhou Sheng was completely flustered and quickly took off to follow!

The government office was not far away, so the two of them decided to skip the sedan chair and hurried to the entrance of the government office.

Before the gate was even closed, a chorus of accusations could be heard coming from inside: "...Your Excellency, please do justice for us! The steward and four guards of the Zhou family have confessed that they were the ones who notified Zhou Sheng to personally order them to go to Luokou to open the floodgates and release the floodwaters!"

"Now that the witnesses are here, and their signed confessions are here as well, Zhou Sheng, as a local official, has committed such heinous acts, disregarding human life and poisoning the people. It is truly an outrage against heaven and earth!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng tripped as he stepped through the door and nearly fell flat on his face!

When he clearly saw the five people being forced to kneel before the hall, a surge of blood rushed to his head!

(End of this chapter)