The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 71 Tea Trees on Fire
"Stop, what do you think this government office is? Do you think you can come and go as you please? Do you know that if you beat the drum for no reason, I will punish you with a cane!" County Magistrate Gao was so angry at Shang Zishu's words that he became furious.

"Your Excellency the County Magistrate, no matter what, I am right in this matter!" Shang Zishu did not give in at all.

"You--" If it were in the past, County Magistrate Gao would have beaten her into submission without caring about anything else. But now he had to be cautious. Shang Mingshu saved the prefect's wife in public, and now everyone in Huizhou Prefecture knew that Shang Mingshu had the prefect's support.

"Daughter of the Shang family, I would like to ask you, why are you beating the drum?" County Magistrate Gao took a deep breath and did not bother with the young lady.

Shang Zishu curled her lips and said, "Your Excellency, someone hired thugs to set fire to my tea garden at night."

"Tea garden? Which tea garden?" County Magistrate Gao knew that the Shang family's tea gardens were all over Huizhou Prefecture, in the prefectural capital, She County, and other counties. Thinking about Shang Zishu's decision to change government offices just now, could it be a tea garden in another county?

"The tea plantations on Huangshan Mountain," Shang Zishu said. "Does Lord Gao know about the conflict between me and the Shi family yesterday?"

Does County Magistrate Gao know?
County Magistrate Gao knows it all!
He never expected to be stabbed in the back by his own men. When the document from the prefectural capital was delivered, the county magistrate returned to the prefecture without telling him the content. He did not even check it but directly stamped the document to Shi Houqiong. When this matter was reported to the prefect, it was his fault for dereliction of duty, and he could not push it onto the county magistrate.

It was just a coincidence that he was not in the county government office when the clerk from the capital came, and when Shi Houqiong came to him to rent a house, the county magistrate was not there!

Bringing up this matter would undoubtedly add fuel to the fire. How could County Magistrate Gao not know that this was the business's doing?
He asked sullenly, "Is it related to this matter?"

Shang Zishu didn't care whether his expression was ugly or not, she turned around and pointed at a few people: "These people are the vicious dogs that my sister and Mr. Cheng tied up and brought down from the mountain yesterday. Mr. Shi personally admitted that they were hired by the Shi family!
Yesterday, I learned that Mr. Shi was planning to seize the new tea trees I had discovered. Fortunately, I had already leased them, and the prefect signed the contract himself. Mr. Shi, being a cunning man, stormed out on the spot. Knowing he wouldn't let me down, I took my guards up the mountain and, sure enough, caught these men trying to burn the tea trees!

County Magistrate Gao frowned upon hearing this. He had a bad feeling, and in full view of the crowd, he had no choice but to turn around and ask the person Shang Zishu pointed out: "Who are you? Why were you arrested? Tell the truth!"

"Sir, sir, we are all from Shijia Village..." The strong man who was captured by Cheng Mian yesterday now had half of his face swollen and shiny, and he was also beaten so hard that he lost several teeth. His speech was a little unclear. "I...I was bullied by a merchant woman yesterday. I was so angry that I teamed up with others to burn the tea trees on the mountain to vent my anger..."

He still had some brains and didn't want to drag the Shi family into trouble.

"Is this your private act of revenge?" County Magistrate Gao's expression eased slightly.

"Yes, yes, sir." The strong man nodded repeatedly.

"Ha!" Shang Zishu sneered, "You're such a good dog!"

"Daughter Shang, this is the court!" County Magistrate Gao issued a warning.

"Sir, these people are not from the same place. You might as well ask others." Shang Zishu suggested coldly.

This was an inevitable process. County Magistrate Gao could only turn to the other groups, pointing at a few at random, and said, "You, you, you, and you, the people of Shijia Village are secretly taking revenge. You weren't arrested by the merchants yesterday, so why did you go up the mountain to burn the tea trees so late at night!"

After asking so many questions, there will naturally be different opinions. Shang Zishu had listened to Shang Mingshu's words long ago. On the way to the yamen, she told this group of people the difference between the main culprit and the accomplice.

They are not from Shijia Village and do not have that much respect for the Shi family. They are just doing things for money.

"Sir, I am from Zhoujia Village. It was the people from Shijia Village who paid us to go up the mountain and burn the tea trees!"

"Sir, I am from Xiahe Village. The people of Shijia Village paid us to go up the mountain to burn the tea trees!" "Sir, I am..."

The following words are almost the same.

"Do you know that if you falsely accuse others, this county can punish you with fifty strokes of the cane?" County Magistrate Gao threatened coldly after hearing this.

Several people did not understand and cried out for justice, including the people behind them, who all said in unison that they had not made a false accusation. They even talked about who hired them, how much money they had received, and where the money was hidden, all clearly stating.

Magistrate Gao's forehead veins throbbed when he heard this, and he slammed the gavel in anger: "Shut up!"

"Sir, I hope you will give me justice in this matter. The area involved is not limited to She County. If you think this case is complicated and difficult to judge, I will go to Taiping County to seek the judgment of Qi County Magistrate."

How could County Magistrate Qi let go of such a good opportunity to step on County Magistrate Gao?
County Magistrate Gao looked at the fearless Shang Zishu with a fierce look in his eyes: "Come here, tell Shi Erchuan to come."

Shi Erchuan was the person they turned themselves in to hire to guard and burn the tea trees in the mountains.

"Sir, these tea trees are not found in these places. Last night, I sent people to the mountains separately. The places I found myself were not attacked, but people were captured in the places found by the Shi family. Isn't this suspicious?" Shang Zishu was sure that it was Shi Houqiong who ordered it.

"This county will make a clear judgment. You, the daughter of the Shang family, are the victim and cannot be the master of this county!" County Magistrate Gao warned Shang Zishu word by word.

"It is my fault for the offense, I hope you will forgive me." Shang Zishu remembered Shang Mingshu's advice and should not speak rashly. The court was Magistrate Gao's territory. If he wanted to deal with her, he could easily find an opportunity.

Although she was willing to endure a little hardship in exchange for a bigger setback for County Magistrate Gao, her sister would definitely be angry.

Shang Mingshu hates killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of her own.

On that day, Shang Mingshu could have revealed her trump card later when she induced Shi Qingyu to attack Shi Guangbo. If Shang Mingshu or Shang Zishu had been beaten first, Shi Houqiong would have suffered more for her false accusation, even if County Magistrate Gao was biased. But Shang Mingshu would not allow it.

Shang Zishu's restraint made County Magistrate Gao even more unhappy. He wanted to find fault with her, but he didn't know where to start.

Shi Erchuan was still a little sleepy when he was brought to the court. He had a few drinks with his good brothers last night, just a few sips. With his alcohol tolerance, these few drinks were just appetizers. He slept very soundly last night, but not like a drunken sleep.

"Shi Erchuan, the county wants to ask you, did you hire these people to go up the mountain to burn the tea trees last night?" asked County Magistrate Gao.

Shi Erchuan was dazed and said, "Sir, they are talking nonsense. I only hired them to go up the mountain to look after the tea trees on the orders of the steward. I was drinking with my brothers last night, so why would I hire them to burn the tea trees?"

Shi Erchuan denied all the responsibility. The villagers who had been instigated by Shang Zishu had bloodshot eyes. Even the people in Shijia Village who favored the Shi family were chilled.

The villagers insisted that it was him, testified against each other, and even revealed the time. County Magistrate Gao sent someone to summon the person who had drunk with him, and confirmed that he had drunk before the villagers. Shi Erchuan insisted that he went home to rest after drinking, but there was no witness.

According to the villagers' confessions, the distance between the villages was so great that he went from village to village to hire killers after drinking!

(End of this chapter)