I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 74 Divine Lord
Xue Xiang waved his hand, "No need for further words, Tang Tiezui, go and see for yourself."

Tang Tiezui agreed, then moved closer to the two land deeds, looking at one and smelling the other. After a while, he sat up, looking troubled, and said, "Sir, these two land deeds are quite old."

This land deed doesn't look like an antique.

If an antique is fake, it is easy to identify no matter how much time has passed.

Forged land deeds are made by faking their age.

If a skilled craftsman, like myself, were to create an old fake land deed and leave it there for several years.

Once it's artificially aged, it becomes genuinely old, and there's no way to tell the difference.

"If you're not capable, just admit it. Don't pretend to be all high and mighty."

Tong Sheng perked up. "Director Xue, you say my judgment was unfair? Why don't you do it?"

Su Shunqin also raised his voice, "Sir, if there are no new doubts, I request that the previous judgment be upheld and that I be found in favor of the plaintiff."

“You are shameless. No matter who judges me, if I am wronged, I will appeal.”

Zhao Fengju also roared in the hall.

"shut up!"

Xue Xiang was furious. He returned to the table and slammed his gavel. "I have said this more than once: anyone who dares to interrupt without my permission will be punished for shouting in the courtroom. Guards!"

"exist."

The police officers responded loudly.

"Take down Tong Sheng, Su Shunqin, and Zhao Fengju together, and give each of them ten lashes."

After Xue Xiang finished drinking, all the police officers were stunned.

Just as Tong Sheng was about to explode, he suddenly saw Xue Xiang staring at him coldly, and in the end, he didn't dare to openly break ties with his superior in the hall.

"Are you all deaf?"

Xue Xiang threw out three command tokens.

The police officers, as if waking from a dream, pounced like wolves and tigers, pinning down the three men. In an instant, the long plank flew through the air.

The three endured the pain without uttering a sound.

After the caning, Xue Xiang pointed at Tang Tiezui and said, "Do you have the ability to forge a land deed?"

Tang Tiezui paused for a moment, "Of course I can, but I need to find a good woodblock engraver to work with me. I'm only good at making antique designs."

"Tell me, if it were your turn, how would you age it?"

“If others ask, I certainly can’t tell them, but if you ask, sir, the only thing I can do with my cooking skills is sell them.”

Take the engraved land deeds, and first use egg white, milk, and vermilion heart powder to prepare a coating to give the paper a basic old color.

After drying in the shade, place the land deed into the earthen wall and let it absorb the earth's essence for several months.

Finally, soak the stained land deeds in lime water, let them dry, and repeat this process several times until they develop a natural old yellow color…

After Tang Tiezui finished speaking, Xue Xiang's eyes lit up. "Normally, making this kind of contract paper requires the use of lime water."

Tang Tiezui shook his head, "Using too much plant ash water and lime water is too strong, and the paper made from it will turn yellow and look old, so nobody will use it."

"Bring a basin of clean water, a basin of lime water, two pieces of contract paper, and a dish of fine salt."

Xue Xiang gave the order in a loud voice.

Having witnessed the new chief's formidable power, the patrol officers were all terrified. At Xue Xiang's command, all the patrol officers sprang into action.

"Chen Jun, go and do it."

Chen Jun agreed, and the group of police officers shrank back and stood there, looking listless.

Tong Sheng, lying on the ground, was in pain and angry, panting heavily.

In a short while, the item Xue had requested was delivered.

Outside the hall, the onlookers, knowing the climax was about to arrive, all rushed forward, and the police officers maintaining order almost lost control of the situation.

"Open the hall door and let them in to see."

After Xue Xiang finished speaking, a flood of people surged in like a tide, crowding into various parts of the hall, with some even climbing to higher places.

"You are all local elders, and it is only natural that you would like to observe this case."

Xue Xiang said loudly, "But I hope you will all strictly abide by my laws, otherwise, you will be punished by water, fire and sticks without mercy."

The commotion immediately subsided. After all, the three unlucky guys who had been talking so much earlier were still lying on the ground with their swollen buttocks.

"Since this case is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, I will ask the local people and water resources to make a judgment."

As he spoke, Xue cut off a corner of the Su family's land deed, soaked part of it in water, and then took a pinch of salt and carefully ground it on the soaked part.

Then, two brand-new pieces of contract paper were placed in lime water and clean water respectively, with one corner of each paper soaked. Then, fine salt was used to grind the two pieces of paper separately.

After a dozen or so breaths, the changes became apparent, causing an uproar throughout the hall.

On the land deed of Su Shunqin, irregular, yellowish-brown patches appeared where salt had been ground on the ground areas.

The same reaction also occurred on the new contract paper that had been soaked in lime water.

However, the contract paper soaked in water did not show this change.

Although the people of Suiyang Town may not have chemical knowledge about the reaction between calcium and sodium ions, a simple and intuitive control experiment is right in front of them, so there is no need for further explanation.

The facts of the case have been determined.

"The local earth god has appeared."

"The local earth god has appeared; the Su family's land deed must have been artificially aged with lime water, it's obvious to the blind."

"He's too cunning. If it weren't for an upright official like Director Xue, he would have surely fooled us."

"........."

The people cheered loudly.

No judgment was needed; Su Shunqin felt a chill run through him and kowtowed repeatedly.

Xing Hu, who was giving the testimony, suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly, "My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life! I did borrow money from the Su family."

He couldn't pay it back, so he wanted to take my wife with him to pay off the debt. I had no choice..."

"Take it down."

Xue Xiang waved his sleeve, and two police officers rushed out and dragged Xing Hu and Su Shunqin away.

Tong Sheng was completely dumbfounded. Of course, he didn't believe that Xue Xiang could invite any local deity. The key was how Xue Xiang had done it, which he couldn't understand at all.

"It is said that there were divine rulers in ancient times, whose divine power was like a prison, and whose judgment was as clear as the smallest detail. Today, we common people have witnessed it."

Zhao Fengju struggled to his feet and bowed to Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang stepped down from the hall. "Mr. Zhao, there's no need for such formalities. By the way, Mr. Zhao, where did your family move to?"

Zhao Fengju was taken aback.

"The record mentions Anlu City, right?"

"No, that's right."

“Anlu is two hundred li from Yunmeng and one hundred and seventy li from Suiyang Town. The Xiang River has changed its course for almost twenty years. Is your old servant only discovering this this year?”

"My lord, why, why are you bringing this up?"

“You said I am as powerful as a prison, so I can’t help but make a judgment. But I would also like to ask the local earth god to examine your land deed.”

"Plop"
Zhao Fengju also knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your judgment is wise and I am completely convinced."

It's not that some unscrupulous person deliberately forged it; it's just that my family's land deed has been lost.

Back then, when the Xiang River changed its course, I wanted to take it back, but…

He suddenly stopped talking and wouldn't continue.

Xue Xiang continued, "But even if we take it back, it will still be a wasteland. We will need to use water conservancy to improve the soil and remove the rocks, which will require a considerable amount of cost."

So you should remain still and wait for a greedy person to discover that wasteland.

Later, the greedy Su Shunqin appeared.

He first made a fake land deed just in case, and then over the next ten years, he continuously invested heavily in improving the land, eventually turning it into fertile soil and good fields.

You seized the opportunity to appear, showing up with a fake land deed that had been prepared beforehand.

You thought that since you were the landowner and had the land deed to protect you, you could say some nice things to Su Shunqin, such as not charging him for renting the land over the years, or selling the land to him instead, and Su Shunqin would agree.

Unexpectedly, a jackal has encountered a tiger, and Su Shunqin has started this endless lawsuit with you, which has been troubling you ever since.

Driven by your own greed, you stirred up a major case and corrupted the morals of the region. Do you know your crime?

(End of this chapter)