Chapter 21: Confrontation in Court

  A group of constables arrived at the Xu family charity house in a fierce manner, driving away all the onlookers. The constables wielded their batons and beat people, while the busybodies shouted and scolded incessantly, but they didn't dare to resist and could only retreat cleanly.

  "Xu Ban Tou." The team leader, Ban Tou, walked up to Xu Chang with a smile, everyone was working in the same government office, so they all knew each other. This Ban Tou was considered Xu Chang's colleague, named Hu Wei. Colleagues were like enemies, although they usually called each other brothers, now that Xu Chang had fallen on hard times, he couldn't help but show his true colors.

  In fact, if it were Xu Chang who was in charge today, he might not be much better than Hu Wei. The workplace is treacherous, and as two leaders, they inevitably have friction with each other. Now that Zhang, the wealthy merchant from Qiantang, has personally filed a complaint against Xu's father and son, everyone knows that Xu's fate is all but sealed.

  Hu Wei suddenly smiled and said, "I am here under the order of County Magistrate Xu to take Xu Ban Tou and his nephew to the yamen for interrogation. Men, tie them up and take them away."

  Xu Chang coldly looked at Hu Wei and said, "I'm not running away, what's the point of tying me up? We've been colleagues for many years, don't we have any emotional ties? It's just going to the yamen, why bother you all? We can go by ourselves."

  The most words blocked Hu Wei back, the several runners brought by Hu Wei were familiar with Xu Chang after all, and they had some care in their daily lives. At this time, they didn't want to tear their faces like Hu Wei, so an old lictor came forward and said to Hu Wei: "The county magistrate only asked the two of them to go to the yamen for trial, not that they have already been identified as big thieves, they are all family members, so there is no need to tie them up."

  Hu Wei could only give a cold smile, puffed out his big belly, waved his large hand and glared at Xu Chang with one eye, saying: "Then, Captain Xu, please do."

  Xu Chang smiled slightly, turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back. Xu Qian was also calm, as he had already experienced many things in life, including visiting the residence of a high-ranking official like Wang Gonggong. He wasn't afraid of anything. Before leaving, he instructed Deng Jian, "Brother Deng, please take care of things here. I'll go to the government office with Father and be back soon."

  This tone is like going to the yamen for a tour, and after scaring Deng Jian, he still doesn't forget to admire Xu's brother's courage.

  Deng Jian hastily agreed, saying: "Xu brother, don't worry, if you really get into trouble with the law, I, Deng, will take care of your family and this charity house. And as for Dreaming Ting, I'll also take good care of her. Xu brother, rest assured, your father is my father, your siblings are my siblings, your maidservant is my maidservant, your silver...

  This is Deng Jian, he has a share in adding flowers to the brocade and sending charcoal in snowy weather, and when it comes to throwing stones at someone who has fallen into a well, he will definitely not run away from it. Xu Qian had known for a long time that this guy had been drooling over Zhao Mengting for a long time. He glared and said, "You dare!"

  Deng Jian felt embarrassed and hastily said, "Brother Xu misunderstood me, I was just making an analogy. Deng is a man of great righteousness, a loyal and chivalrous person, how could he be involved in...?"

  Hu Wei was already very impatient and shouted loudly: "Less nonsense, hurry up, if you don't leave now, don't blame me for not being polite."

  Xu's father and son went directly to the yamen, entered the yamen, and waited under the corridor. After Hu had gone in to report, they heard the stern voice of County Magistrate Su: "Bring in the prisoner."

  "Awesome..."

  The sound of gavel banging came out, and whenever this setup was made, it meant that the cases being tried were all major ones. Ordinary neighborhood disputes did not have such a grand setup.

  Xu Chang was an old official in the county government, so he naturally understood the inside story. Moreover, County Magistrate Su had not said that he would bring the accused person, but directly called Xu Chang and his son as human offenders, which made Xu Chang feel even more guilty. This shows that County Magistrate Su has already reached a tacit understanding with Zhang Taigong and has made up his mind to deal with Xu Chang and his son.

  Not asking what is right or wrong, treating human life as worthless, and calling a deer a horse - these phrases were originally the basic style of the officials of the Ming dynasty. Although the reputation of the county magistrate of Su was not bad in Qiantang, his reputation was created by the gentry, and public opinion in this county was also controlled by the gentry. Xu Chang had been a runner for dozens of years, so he naturally understood the inside story - collusion between officials and gentry was normal, and it would be news if they didn't collude.

  Xu Qian saw that the old man was running out of breath, so he gently patted the back of the old man's hand and said in a low voice, "Father, don't worry, I'll speak later."

  He knew that although Lao Laozi was an old slicker, his long-standing habit had cultivated a reverence for officials, so at this time only he could take the lead.

  The two entered the main hall and saw Su County Magistrate sitting majestically behind his desk, while Zhang Taigong was sitting on one side with a playful expression. When he saw Xu's father and son coming in, Zhang Taigong's eyes fell on them like a dragonfly touching water, and then immediately became indifferent again.

  With a loud bang on the wooden table, Magistrate Su had already thought of a plan and shouted: "Who is it below?"

  Xu Chang and his son Xu Qian kowtowed, Xu Chang said: "Your humble servant Xu Chang." Xu Qian followed by saying: "Your young servant Xu Qian."

  "Xu Chang, Xu Qian, do you two know your crimes?" The county magistrate's opening move was indeed powerful, and he didn't even plan to give Xu Chang and his son a chance to defend themselves, directly giving them a guilty verdict.

  Xu Chang was suddenly frightened, but Xu Qian remained calm and said, "Young man, what crime have you committed?"

  Magistrate Su looked at Zhang Taigong, who just smiled slightly at him. Magistrate Su nodded in understanding and then coldly laughed: "You dare to be so brazen and argue? Today, Old Man Zhang accused you of beating his son and disturbing the Zhang family by playing mournful music outside their door. What do you have to say for yourself?"

  Xu Qianzheng said with a straight face: "It's clear that the young master of the Zhang family beat me up. He brought two servants with him, and he's older than me by several years. I'm just a young man who has barely reached adulthood. May I ask your honor, sir, what kind of logic is it that three grown men come to my doorstep and claim that I, a mere youth, beat him up?"

  The county magistrate was speechless for a moment, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed in his heart. He secretly scolded Zhang Taigong for treating the government office as his own family's servant, using it to strike back at will, while also being angry with Xu Qian for daring to talk back at such a young age, not knowing what was good for him.

  Actually, according to the idea of Su County Magistrate, since Zhang's family wants to vent their anger, at most they can just fabricate a crime for these two father and son, and then let someone beat them dozens of times. But now Xu Qian is stubborn, and judging from Xu Qian's tone, he doesn't seem like an ignorant fool either, so today's matter might be a bit troublesome.

  He sat up straight, his eyes narrowed, and said coldly: "After all, it was you who injured the young master of the Zhang family."

  Xu Qian said: "In response to your words, Young Master Zhang was indeed injured, but I, a humble person, was also hurt. You don't ask about my injuries, but instead only care about Young Master Zhang's injuries. Why is that? Furthermore, Young Master Zhang led people into my home and ordered them to use violence against me. According to the laws of the Ming dynasty, even if it were an ordinary citizen, let alone a government official or a constable coming to arrest someone, they would need to have a warrant on their person. Young Master Zhang may come from a scholarly family, but he is not an official or a constable and did not have a warrant. This was a case of breaking and entering, and his attacking me was a crime. My fighting back against him was justified self-defense. In terms of both emotion and reason, you should be arresting Young Master Zhang and investigating his crimes."

  What he said was perfectly reasonable and he even cited the Ming Code, so there's no way to pick out any flaws.

  The original county magistrate only regarded it as a trivial matter to deceive the people, but now it seems that this young man is getting more and more difficult to deal with. He raised his eyes again and saw some onlookers outside the hall, apparently some busybodies who had seen Xu's father and son being taken away and had moved to the county government to watch. County Magistrate Su was secretly vigilant in his heart, looking at today's situation, it seems that neither side is willing to give up, they are all determined to fight to the end, this case wants to be done perfectly, not only to give Zhang's family an explanation but also to let Xu's young man willingly accept punishment, I'm afraid it won't be easy.

  Zhang Taigong watched silently from the side, seeing Xu Qian's sharp tongue, and couldn't help but coldly snort: "What a clever and cunning servant, in the public hall, he still dares to be stubborn!"

  Xu Qian coldly retorted: "What a shameless old thing, letting his son commit murder and still daring to deceive the county magistrate, reversing right and wrong."

  Zhang Taigong was originally watching in silence, waiting for Su County to take the lead. When he heard Xu Qian scolding him as shameless, he suddenly became furious, with new and old hatreds flooding his mind. He cursed: "You dog, do you really think there is no law? If I don't get rid of this worthless role today, my surname Zhang will be written upside down."

  Xu Qian sneered: "It's said that the Zhang family is a scholarly family, but it turns out to be an empty reputation. The word 'Zhang' spelled backwards is still 'Zhang', and they can't even recognize characters, yet they dare to pretend to be scholars?"