Jiangshan is hired [rebirth]

Chapter 17

"Who is standing in the hall? What's the matter?" County magistrate Zhang Yuanbai asked loudly.

"Yun Miaoqing, a folk daughter, sued the Pan Bao family in Liuhe Village for stealing six pieces of gold and jade jewelry, and defrauded her property for a total of 850 yuan."

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the hall. More than 3 yuan had to be packed in several boxes. Even if it was converted into gold, it would be more than eight taels. Many people here have never seen so much money in their entire lives.

The person had been arrested long ago, and Zhang Yuanbai just went through a process after asking.

Of course, according to the procedure, a white body like Yun Miaoqing would have to kneel and show affection, but Yun Miaoqing's father had a letter from the emperor. There is no need to kneel in court.Zhang Yuanbai asked her identity in the hall, not only did she not make Yun Miaoqing kneel down, but also asked someone to set up a seat for her.

Previously, there were only rumors about the identity of the owner of the house at the foot of Bailu Mountain, but Zhang Yuanbai's gift of the seat confirmed the authenticity of the rumors in front of everyone.

"Her father is really the prime minister..."

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, some people said that the defendant was going to be unlucky, some said that he was going to use his identity to bully others, and some wondered why a good lady from the Xiangfu came here.

Zhang Yuanbai waved his hand in the hall: "Take the prisoners Pan Baoshi and Pan Wu."

Not long after, the yamen servants escorted Bao Ying and Pan Wu to the court. The two stayed in the prison for a few days, and they had long since lost their previous brash appearance. Their faces were quite haggard, but there was no blood on their bodies, so it seemed that they had never been tortured. This was beyond the expectations of everyone in the hall.

"Are you Pan Bao, the woman from Liuhe Village?" Zhang Yuanbai asked.

Bao Ying had never seen such a scene before, she was only trembling, and the yamen servant pushed her: "The magistrate is asking you something!"

"Yes, Mrs. Pan Bao, a private woman, met the county magistrate..."

Zhang Yuanbai checked his identity with Pan Wu again in this way, and then said: "This girl Yun accused you two of stealing six pieces of her gold and jade jewelry, is there anything wrong?"

"Wronged! I was wronged, the magistrate, please investigate!" Bao Ying kowtowed repeatedly, and Pan Wu followed suit.

Zhang Yuanbai ignored the yelling of these two people, and asked someone to bring up a tray, which contained two pairs of jade bracelets, a gold hairpin, a jade pendant, and two step rocks, exactly six pieces of jewelry.

"Miss Yun, did you lose these six pieces?"

Yun Miaoqing nodded slightly: "Exactly."

After Zhang Yuanbai asked Yun Miaoqing, he looked at Bao Ying's mother and son again: "Of these six pieces of jewelry, four pieces were found from your home, and the other two pieces were taken to Qi Hong's pawn shop in Yangxu Town that day and were arrested by Zhou. The head was taken on the spot, and now the stolen goods are taken together, what else do you have to say?"

"I was wronged! She gave it to me, I didn't steal it!" Bao Ying pointed at Yun Miaoqing and cursed in a trembling voice, "You set me up, you wronged me! You did it on purpose!" Yes! You hate me for exposing your adulterous relationship with that little bastard Huo Lan, and you deliberately wanted to kill me!"

She seemed to wake up from the panic at the beginning, screaming like crazy and rushed towards Yun Miaoqing, trying to fight Yun Miaoqing.The yamen servant who escorted her to the court saw this and tightened the chains on her wrists, and the other two yamen servants stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, escorting her back to kneel again.

Compared with Bao Ying's hoarse voice, Yun Miaoqing was much calmer, speaking slowly and in a very steady voice.

"The only thing I compensated her was a pair of gold bracelets and a pair of gold earrings. The shopkeeper of Nanyu Pavilion can testify, and I bought these six pieces for myself."

As soon as Yun Miaoqing finished speaking, Zhang Yuanbai raised his voice and said, "Bring the shopkeeper of Nanyu Pavilion."

Nanyu Pavilion was the jewelry shop that Bao Ying took Yun Miaoqing to that day. The shopkeeper was a skinny middle-aged man. When he was brought into the hall by the yamen servants, his left leg gave way and he almost fell over.However, he was testifying in court, not a prisoner. Although he was a little frightened, he was still calm.

"The girl did say in the store that day that the two batches of jewelry were packed separately. The gold bracelet and earrings are for the eldest sister, and she wants the rest herself."

"You're talking nonsense! I see, you are a gang, and you gang up to frame me!" Bao Ying said excitedly, "Mr. County, I really didn't steal anything. After I go back, these six pieces of jewelry will be in the house by itself." In my carriage!"

"That's strange. Could it be that this jewelry will run to your carriage by itself? Then why didn't it come to me?" Zhang Yuanbai's tone was exaggerated, and the audience burst into laughter.

"I don't know...I, I..." Bao Ying suddenly turned her head and stared at Huo Lan outside the hall: "It was you, right? You were the one who secretly stuffed things into my carriage while we were away to frame me no?"

All eyes focused on Huo Lan. Huo Lan was used to being surrounded by people because of Bao Ying's slander, so he didn't panic at all, and said coldly: "I was in my carriage that day. If you don't believe me, I can ask you about it." driver of a carriage."

"Come on, bring me the coachman too." Zhang Yuanbai gave an order, and after a while, another yamen servant escorted a thin young man up.

The man hesitated at first, but after being threatened by Zhang Yuanbai, he immediately became honest.He confirmed that Huo Lan wasn't lying, and stammered to explain: "I don't know what's going on, their store and their guy brought two boxes."

Although I bought a lot of things that day, these two boxes of jewelry were the first to be brought, so the driver remembered it clearly, but it was just that he had to bring the shop assistant up to confront him.

Hearing what the coachman said, seeing that the responsibility was about to fall on him, the man blushed with anxiety, pointed at the coachman and asked, "Did I ask you that day if you came from Songliu Town? Are there five people together, two fair and white girls, one aunt with a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, and one scar-faced man, you clearly said 'yes'!"

Others might not understand it yet, but Huo Lan suddenly realized when he heard this.

That day, their two carriages parked one behind the other, Bao Ying's carriage was parked at the intersection of the main road, and theirs was parked at the edge of the woods a little behind.Presumably it was Yun Miaoqing who spoke vaguely, the guy didn't know that they were two groups, he asked the driver in front, he only said that they all knew each other, so he gave the things to the driver and asked them to take it back and divide it up, without asking. come to her.

"So, it turned out to be a misunderstanding..." Zhang Yuanbai stroked his beard.

"Yes, yes, yes." Bao Ying quickly borrowed the slope to get off the donkey, and smiled flatteringly: "It's all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Yuanbai yelled suddenly, and the gavel gave a "slap", causing many people present to tremble in fright.

"It's a misunderstanding for the guy to send the wrong thing, and it's also a misunderstanding for you to pawn the thing? You know it's not yours, why don't you return it to others, instead sell it in the pawn shop?"

Bao Ying couldn't answer, instead Lai Yun Miaoqing: "This box of jewelry has been in my place for so long and she didn't come to me, I thought she didn't want it anymore!"

"Ms. Bao, I don't understand what you're saying." Yun Miaoqing's eyes showed a little bit of surprise: "I treat you as a good person, and when I went back, I found something missing. I didn't expect it to be you who took it. I just thought it was on the way. I was attacked by a thief, so I reported it to the official, so why is this wrong? I guess that the thief will always find a way to sell the stolen goods, so I asked the county magistrate to send someone to help guard some nearby gold shops and pawn shops. Is this waiting for you?"

There was nothing wrong with these words, the audience nodded frequently, this was caused by Bao Ying's greed for money, no wonder others.

Bao Ying was still waiting for sophistry, Zhang Yuanbai said angrily: "I originally sympathized with you as a woman, and you are a first-time offender, so you don't want to use punishment. However, you have repeatedly denied it and tried to deceive me under the solid evidence. It seems that there is no need to punish you. I won’t tell you the truth, come here, give her [-] blows first!”

Bao Ying hadn't been beaten since he was arrested. This time he finally panicked and kept yelling for mercy. However, Zhang Yuanbai's execution stick had already been thrown down. A yamen servant stepped forward and tied Bao Ying to the execution bench. The yamen servants in charge of the execution stood still one by one on the left and one on the right, and began to report the number one by one.

Bao Ying screamed, Pan Wu lowered his head and shrunk himself into a ball, fearing that it would be his turn to be beaten next.

The twenty big boards were beaten very quickly, and the yamen servant untied Bao Ying from the execution bench. Bao Ying couldn't kneel anymore, and she prostrated herself on the ground with her hands propped in front of her body.

"Do you still dare to lie to deceive me?" Zhang Yuanbai asked.

Bao Ying shook her head, her movements were very slow, her voice was hoarse during the torture process, and it was difficult to speak.

"The jewelry theft case has been cleared. Next, let's talk about the 3 yuan..."

Bao Ying pulled her throat that was still in pain and subconsciously shouted: "I am wronged..."

"You're wronged too? Are you sure you didn't deceive me again?" Zhang Yuanbai wanted to touch the lottery on the table while talking, but Bao Ying shook her body and didn't dare to say any more.

"So what's with the 3 yuan?" Zhang Yuanbai looked at Yun Miaoqing.

Yun Miaoqing recounted how she met Bao Ying that day, how she promised Bao Ying to pay for Huo Lan, and how Bao Ying opened her mouth and took her to many shops in the city to buy things.

"... After I went back that day, the more I thought about it, the more strange it became. The man from the Pan family is just an ordinary carpenter in a county town. What exactly does this Mrs. Bao's family do? She is willing to give her daughter a dowry of pure gold, a silk quilt cover, and a silver inlaid with jade. Chopsticks, cups from Yu Fu Kiln? Out of curiosity, I asked someone. It turned out that Mrs. Bao also had an older sister and a younger brother. The sister’s dowry was a quilt, two pairs of embroidered shoes, a silver hairpin and A pair of ordinary porcelain bowls, and the total cost of my younger brother's betrothal banquet is only three to five thousand yuan, how come it is nearly ten times higher when it comes to Mrs. Bao, is it possible that the parents are partial to this?"

Most of the people who came to watch the trial today recognize Bao Ying and know the situation of Bao Ying's family, but Yun Miaoqing's eloquence can't be restrained. A simple matter made her talk full of suspense, and everyone was aroused by her , waiting for her to continue.

"I have grown up so much, and I have seen many parents who favor their sons. It is rare for them to favor their daughters like this. As a woman, I admire Madam Bao's parents very much. I really want to meet them and express my love to them personally. In addition, I am very sorry for my sister. They are both daughters, so how can they be treated so differently from my sister? It is a pity that this legendary couple has already died, and I cannot seek justice from them on behalf of my sister, but I heard The old couple's house, fields and other properties have all been inherited by the younger brother's family, so should the younger brother's family compensate the elder sister on behalf of their parents?"

Bao Ying's siblings were waiting for trial outside the court at this time, and other relatives were watching at the gate of the county government office.The two families always had some rifts. The elder sister's relatives from her husband's family immediately began to make noise when they heard that they wanted to ask her for money, while the younger sister's mother's family refused to do it.

Few people came from the sister-in-law's family today, so they are not rivals from the sister-in-law's family.Seeing that her family was at a disadvantage, the younger sister-in-law ran up to the hall and kowtowed to Zhang Yuanbai without waiting for the county magistrate to summon her: "My father-in-law and mother-in-law are all ordinary farmers. Where can I leave so much money? The flower that my family got married that day It’s still borrowed by his relatives, my parents-in-law didn’t pay back the money until they died, we didn’t inherit the money at all, we only inherited a butt debt, please be careful with the county magistrate!”

Zhang Yuanbai stroked his beard as if in deep thought, but did not speak to him.Seeing that this didn’t make sense, the younger sister-in-law couldn’t help feeling sad when she thought of how hard her husband and wife had worked so hard to pay off their debts, and saw that life was about to get better but suffered such unexpected disasters. She cried and grabbed Bao Ying by the collar and slapped her across the face. On her face: "You bloody bitch, you won't pay a penny for the debt owed by your parents, and we didn't take a penny of your greedy money. Why should we pay for the disaster you caused? You memorize, you speak!"

Bao Yinggang received [-] boards for lying, and now he doesn't dare to cry out for injustice.Her hands were tied and she couldn't fight back. She was slapped four or five times by her sister-in-law.

The hall was in chaos, Zhang Yuanbai slapped the gavel: "Quiet!"

"So it's true that Pan Bao's dowry was as much as she said?"

"How is it possible!" The younger sister-in-law heard that the county magistrate was finally willing to ask, let go of Bao Ying sobbing and replied: "My mother-in-law told me about the dowry given to the two elder sisters before she was alive. The eldest sister is a silver hairpin, and the second sister—— It’s Pan Bao’s, a pair of silver bracelets, which were distributed from her old man’s dowry, and the rest are the same for the two elder sisters, a quilt, two pairs of embroidered shoes and a pair of porcelain bowls.”

"Is your sister-in-law telling the truth?" Zhang Yuanbai turned to Bao Ying.

After being beaten, Bao Ying finally became honest, and nodded timidly.

"Then the case of more than 3 yuan will be considered clear. Pan Bao was convicted of stealing property and defrauding money..."

Zhang Yuan hadn't finished speaking when he was suddenly interrupted by Yun Miaoqing: "Wait a minute!"

"Miss Yun, is there anything else you want to add?" Zhang Yuanbai asked.

Yun Miaoqing stood up from her seat and walked into the hall: "The more than 3 yuan was originally because Pan Bao insisted that my friend Huo Lan stole her property, so I compensated her for my friend. If Bao Ying's words are true, No matter whether she cheated me on the dowry or not, I can not pursue the more than 3 yuan, provided that my friend really stole her property."

As soon as this remark came out, there was another discussion in the hall.When Yun Miaoqing sued Bao Ying at the beginning, there was no such thing. Everyone only thought that Bao Ying was greedy for money and kicked the iron plate. After hearing this, they finally came to their senses—it turned out that all the previous things were just foreshadowing. He wants to argue for Huo Lan.