The playboy county magistrate

Li Xuanzhi lifted the hem of his robe and squatted down without regard for his image. He cupped the soil in his hands and carefully piled it into a long mound.

"Like this, it needs to be a long, straight strip."

Wang Bo quickly understood Li Xuanzhi's meaning. With just a few simple swings of his hoe, he achieved the result Li Xuanzhi wanted.

"Yes, yes, that's it! We need to plant all the seeds in this high mound of earth, and next year we'll level the mound and turn the pits around it into mounds!"

Although Uncle Wang didn't know what kind of method this was, he was sure that his second young master had more strange and wonderful knowledge than he did, so he just did as he was told.

When the master and servant finally finished planting the land and could finally sit down to rest, the drum that had been placed outside the yamen for thirty years without being sounded suddenly rang out.

"Hmm? Is court about to begin?"

Li Xuanzhi was a little excited.

But when he finally changed into his official robes and entered the courtroom, he frowned deeply when he saw the aggrieved party kneeling on the ground.

This person looks familiar.

Li Xuanzhi went through the process in his mind and finally figured it out.

The kneeling woman was none other than the widowed mother of the little boy whose leg had been injured when he first arrived.

Why are you here beating the drum to appeal for justice?

"My lord! Please, I beg you, grant me justice!"

Li Xuanzhi sighed helplessly. This woman had been crying and sobbing since she arrived in court, and now she was crying even harder. All she did for a long time was cry; the only complete sentence she uttered was asking him to make the decision for her. Her crying was giving him a headache!

Unfortunately, besides himself, the only other person in the yamen was Uncle Wang, who was acting as his assistant. After all, according to normal procedures, there should always be an official responsible for recording how cases were decided and for filing case files.

Such people cannot be allowed to speak. No matter what they say, it will be considered malicious disruption of court order. If things go wrong, they may be accused of leading the case in an uncontrollable direction and exerting pressure.

Therefore, only Li Xuanzhi could stop the woman from crying.

Li Xuanzhi slammed the gavel down hard, startling the woman so much that she let out a sudden sob and turned deathly pale.

Li Xuanzhi cursed inwardly, thinking that this woman was really a pain in the ass.

"Calm down. I can't understand anything you're saying while you're crying. Wait until you can speak clearly and coherently before you speak again."

The woman was frightened, but after hearing the magistrate's words, she lowered her head in shame.

Yes, she came to report to the authorities for help and to seek justice, not to have the magistrate sit there and listen to her endless weeping.

Everyone in Fuyu County is currently busy with construction. The county magistrate, who is responsible for coordinating all the work and inspecting the results, is very busy.

Perhaps it's the magistrate's rest time right now, and he'll be going to inspect the work later.

The more she thought about it, the lower the woman's head drooped, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had been too insensible.

But when she thought of her son, who was still lying in bed at home recovering from his injuries, the woman's tears, which she had managed to hold back, turned into large, heavy drops that fell to the ground.

Li Xuanzhi sighed silently and shook his head slightly.

It seems this case won't go anywhere today. Let's take a break and give her some time to process it.

"Uncle Wang, let's take her behind the screen to rest for a while. We'll resume the court session in a quarter of an hour."

The woman thought the magistrate was not going to help her, and she was so frightened that she immediately tried to kowtow.

Fortunately, I heard the second half of the sentence, and my heart slowly calmed down.

Uncle Wang smiled, stood up, nodded, and led the woman away to calm down. He couldn't help but praise himself: his second young master had truly matured; he now showed patience even with strangers.

Indeed, if you want children to grow up, they must face the storms of life themselves. Only then can they thrive and be able to protect others.

Although the practice of donating official positions was not done well, the final result seems to be acceptable.

I need to write this down before going to bed tonight and send it to my wife.

We must let the master know how outstanding their second son is!

Soon, a quarter of an hour had passed.

When Li Xuanzhi returned to the courtroom, the woman's emotions had indeed stabilized considerably.

Li Xuanzhi didn't waste any time and said directly:

"Who are you here? What is the matter you are suing and who are you accusing? Speak quickly."

The woman respectfully kowtowed to Li Xuanzhi before calmly and clearly stating what she wanted to accuse.

"I, Qian Sunshi, have been forced to relinquish the land I received after the family division to my mother-in-law and brother-in-law's family. They also forcibly evicted me and my two sons from our house. I implore Your Excellency to uphold justice!"

Li Xuanzhi raised an eyebrow.

Nowadays, the prevailing social trend is to uphold the principle that parents should not separate their households.

This woman, surnamed Qian, had lost her husband and was raising two children alone, making her life extremely difficult.

Nowadays, the fact that she can still stay at home and live a peaceful life with her two children is already a rare example of upholding traditional feminine virtues. Many women, after losing their husbands, would take the next step: remarry with their children, or leave the children with the husband's family and go off to live a better life on their own.

Logically speaking, it's not easy for a daughter-in-law like this to support the whole family alone. Her in-laws should treat her well. Even if three people can eat a lot, how much can they possibly consume?

Not to mention that all the children this woman gave birth to were male offspring, the most beloved members of the clan. Was this woman's mother-in-law crazy? Not only was she pushing her daughter-in-law away, but she was also pushing away her own grandson.

Thinking back on what the woman said, they had already separated from the family.

Was this division of the family property done before her husband passed away, or after his death when she didn't want to be burdened by them?

"The village head, Qian Sun's mother-in-law, and her elder brother-in-law are here!"

The reason Li Xuanzhi still wanted to bring the village head was that he wanted to get some other information from him.

After all, even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. If this matter was indeed caused by the wicked intentions of Qian Sunshi's deceased father, elders, and elder brother, then it would be much easier for him to handle.

But what if the person has their own difficulties, and this widow is deliberately picking a fight?

There's a saying that goes, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."

The drum, which hadn't sounded for thirty years, was sounding today. It's possible that this woman was taking advantage of the new magistrate's ignorance and was deliberately trying to find fault and file a complaint.

In short, Li Xuanzhi is not someone who makes decisions easily when it comes to other people's affairs.

The village head was busy at work when he suddenly heard someone calling his name. He turned around and saw—

Yoho!

Isn't this the magistrate's most trusted confidant?

The village head hurriedly shoved the vegetable seedlings in his hand to the people around him, quickly wiped his hands clean, and ran all the way to Uncle Wang.