The playboy county magistrate

The words are fair and impartial.

Li Xuanzhi nodded frankly, "Your Excellency's impartial investigation has won my sincere admiration. An upright person has nothing to fear, and the accounts reflect the will of the people; all are verifiable and open to inspection."

Fuquan stared at Li Xuanzhi for a long time before speaking in a deep voice.

"Issue my order: the Shadow Guards shall immediately split into three groups. One group shall seal up all original ledgers, workshop records, and material approvals of the county government. Another group shall interrogate three witnesses, taking their statements in isolation to prevent collusion. The third group shall thoroughly investigate the black market for ironware in the city and trace the source of the rumors."

"Today we must investigate clearly what is genuine and what is false evidence. What are the beneficial new policies for the people, and what are the despicable framings!"

The shadow guards received the order and acted swiftly and silently.

Inside the study, Li Xuanzhi turned to the side and raised his hand to solemnly present the "List of Counterfeit Items" compiled by Gu Pan'er.

"Sir, this is a detailed list of the flaws in the false evidence that our county's accounting office uncovered overnight. Each item corresponds to the original documents, signature regulations, and civilian receipts. It can be examined and verified in court."

Fuquan took it, looked down and flipped through it, his eyes growing more and more surprised as he read.

The arguments are meticulously crafted, and the flaws are clearly identified. The opponent's fabricated account, a mixture of truth and falsehood, is thoroughly dismantled, with every loophole precisely hitting the nail on the head. There is not a single falsehood, nor a single far-fetched statement.

He looked up at Gu Pan'er, who was slender but had bright eyes, and nodded slightly.

"A mere female accountant, yet she managed to uncover the elaborate schemes meticulously crafted by the court's elites. She is thoughtful, exceptionally capable, and truly rare."

Gu Pan'er bowed her head respectfully, "This humble woman only knows that accounts are well-documented and that right and wrong are clearly distinguished. I dare not allow even the slightest bit of filth to tarnish Your Excellency's reputation or jeopardize the overall situation of the new policies."

Fuquan now truly held Li Xuanzhi in even higher regard.

I initially thought that Li Xuanzhi's act of "donating an official position" was merely a noble act to escape his family and improve the lives of the people. He may have damaged his personal reputation, but he had done something that would benefit future generations and the present.

I never expected him to be so good at recognizing and utilizing talent. He was able to guide even a woman to play such an important role. He really doesn't keep idle people under his command.

If all officials in the court and the country had such abilities and methods, and such a mindset, why would His Majesty be so troubled that he couldn't sleep all night?

It's a pity that Li Xuanzhi's mother only gave birth to such a promising child. If she had given birth to an older sister or younger sister, with her younger brother's political achievements, they could probably have been granted the title of concubine. Perhaps, as Li Xuanzhi's career became more stable, even the title of Imperial Concubine wouldn't have been out of the question.

The Imperial Guards were extremely efficient; in less than half an incense stick's time, all materials, files, and documents were sealed and neatly arranged on the table. Not a single page was missing, and not a single word was altered.

The other two teams are sealing off black market ironware distribution points in the city and have isolated and interrogated three anonymous vagrants separately.

The entire county government office was solemn and silent, with only the soft sound of fingertips turning pages.

Fu Quan had already picked up the impeachment ledger, his fingertips tracing the neat but stiff handwriting, and spoke softly.

"Lord Fan Wuwei impeached me in court, stating that this account was evidence of the county government's private sale of official iron and embezzlement of materials. Lord Li, please refute this in court."

Li Xuanzhi stood beside the table, his posture upright and composed. At this moment, he remained calm and collected, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Your Honor is wise to see the truth. The biggest flaw in this account is not the falsification of data, but the complete failure of the process, leaving no evidence to support its claims."

He pointed to the entries in the false accounts, which were clearly organized.

"The government-run ironware distribution system was strictly regulated. When leaving the warehouse, the craftsman had to sign, the inspector had to stamp, and the records had to be kept. When entering the market, the people had to give a real-name receipt, the township had to register, and the tax receipt had to be kept. If a case of embezzlement through private sales were true, the entire chain would be interconnected and verifiable."

"However, this forged ledger only records the amount of 'private sales after delivery,' without any delivery slips, private receipts, tax invoices, or village records. It has expenditures but no actual record. It is a baseless ledger, a deliberately fabricated forgery."

Fu Quan nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and turned to look at Gu Pan'er, who was huddled in the corner.

"You are the person in charge of the county government's accounts, so please explain the details of the regulations."

Gu Pan'er was somewhat stunned.

She really didn't expect that this eunuch from the palace would not only not kick her out because she was a woman, but would also let her step forward to answer the question.

Gu Pan'er suppressed all her thoughts, but still tried her best to remain calm. No matter what, she had to be careful in her words and actions, and never let her parents down.

"Your Excellency, the county government's workshop account books follow a fixed three-tiered approval system: the foreman's initial review, the clerk's verification, and the chief official's final review. Every material entry and exit and ironware distribution must be signed in three places. The line spacing is equal, and the ink depth is consistent; this is the standard procedure."

She first pointed out the fundamental principles of the system, and then exposed the key to counterfeiting.

"In this forged account, the newly added so-called 'private sales entries' have misaligned line spacing and sluggish ink. The handwriting style is completely different from the original old book, and it bypasses the three levels of approval without any official signature or signature to corroborate it."

"Furthermore, the workshop's monthly material losses and iron ore losses follow a fixed ratio and a predictable pattern, and have already been reported to the state government in full."

"The false accounts deliberately exaggerated the loss figures, creating material shortages out of thin air. There was no waste material left behind, nor any loss reporting, which is completely contrary to the common sense of workshop operations."

Fuquan listened and became increasingly clear-headed, personally comparing the left and right account books.

On one hand, there is false evidence riddled with loopholes and logical inconsistencies.

On one side is a list of interconnected and irrefutable evidence.

Right and wrong are clear at a glance.

Upon seeing this, Magistrate Cao, who was standing by, felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.

He had only known that the lord was innocent and that the false testimony was fabricated. He never expected that Miss Gu would be so meticulous, single-handedly dismantling the carefully fabricated evidence of the aristocratic family so thoroughly.

Just as the dust settled on the account verification, the Shadow Guard Commander, who had gone out to investigate, quickly returned, knelt on one knee, and reported in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency, the verification is complete!"

"First, all the ironware on the black market in the city comes from the Diao family's secret private furnaces, not from government-run workshops. The shape, firing temperature, and formula of the seized iron billets are completely different from those of the official iron produced by the county government, and can be compared and verified on the spot."

"Secondly, the source of all the rumors in the city is the vagrants and wanderers recently hired by the Diao family at great expense. They are specially sent to roam the countryside, spreading rumors, deliberately smearing the new policies and defaming Your Excellency."

"Third, the three individuals who testified as 'vagrants' gave contradictory and inconsistent statements after being interrogated in isolation. They had already suffered a psychological breakdown and confessed to the truth!"

Fu Quan's eyes sharpened: "Tell the truth."

The Shadow Guard Commander reported loudly, "All three are unemployed vagrants from outside the city. They were bribed with a large sum of money by Diao Mao's confidants, who promised them silver to settle down and exemption from corvée labor after the deed was done. They were forced to fabricate testimonies, falsely accusing the county magistrate of embezzlement and illegal sales. The previous inexplicable disputes in the workshops and the unrest in the city were also instigated by these three and Diao's hired laborers!"

All the fabricated accusations and impeachments from the court have been traced back to their root cause—

From beginning to end, it was all a massive miscarriage of justice orchestrated by Diao Mao in order to obstruct the new policies, seek revenge for personal grudges, and collude with the old faction in Beijing.

The atmosphere inside the study was solemn and austere.