Naturally, the Ming family would not be thrown into confusion by a midwife who came out of nowhere. Chen Bochang was also an eloquent person. Grabbing the birthmark and the midwife's age, the evidence could not be completely trusted, he attacked fiercely. In any case, they could not just admit to it.
With Xia Qifei's past, it would not be enough if there was only this false evidence. Furthermore, the Suzhou government's Zhizhou and Jiangnan Road officials were all on the Ming family's side.
Song Shiren flew into a rage. He thought to himself that the Jiangnan people were indeed unruly people. He had worked so hard to "design" this midwife, yet the other party refused to admit it. However, looking at the Suzhou Zhizhou's expression and words, Song Shiren knew that the matter involved the Ming family's property. His side's evidence was indeed a bit weak and not very persuasive.
However, Song Shiren was full of confidence. He had discovered the Suzhou government's secret bias and was not willing to accept his argument. Inevitably, he used his own annoying sharp tongue to wantonly belittle the Ming family. He also secretly stabbed the Suzhou government a few times. His words were filled with mockery and sarcasm. In any case, he was a famous person in Jingdou and didn't care about the methods of the Jiangnan nobles. Relying on Sir Fan junior's support, he was very daring.
The Suzhou Zhizhou sitting with Ming Lanshi and Chen Bochang was not in a rush. He watched with a smile as this world-famous litigator performed and listened to the saliva flying around the court. Although he hated this bastard in his heart, he forcefully suppressed it.
"Sir Song, if you want to prove that Xia Qifei was the seventh son of the old Ming master, do you have any other evidence?" The Suzhou Zhizhou clenched his fist in his sleeve and asked with furrowed brows.
"Sir, the midwife earlier clearly remembered it clearly. Why can it not be used as evidence?" Song Shiren's feet were uncrossed and he stood in the court like an ace.
"Ah, Brother Song's words are not appropriate." Chen Bochang bowed to the side. "That old woman's movements are already difficult, and her cheeks are weak. She is already a person about to die. This old and muddle-headed person, how can her words be accurate? Furthermore, she does remember the Ming family's layout clearly, but who knows if someone with ulterior motives told her what happened back then … and then had her remember and come to frame us? "
Song Shiren narrowed his eyes and said, "What a shameless frame."
Chen Bochang was slightly angered. He thought to himself, "You guys can even do such a shameless thing, but can't I even say it?"
Song Shiren couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore. He directly asked the people in the hall, "Sir, do you also say the same thing?"
The commoners outside the hall had already mostly believed in Xia Qifei's past. After all, the midwife's acting skills were truly exquisite. The surrounding crowd could see that the Suzhou Zhizhou and the Ming family were probably going to deny it to the death. Some of the more lively ones began to cheer.
However, most people were still silent. After all, in their hearts, they were still partial to the Ming family. In particular, Xia Qifei seemed to have a power from Jingdou behind him. The Jiangnan people were very opposed to this kind of situation.
The Suzhou Zhizhou's old face blushed slightly. He knew that it was not appropriate to deny the midwife's confession to the death. Looking at Ming Lanshi's gaze, he knew he could only continue like this. He cleared his throat and said, "That midwife is indeed old and muddle-headed. The right to accept the truth is still in my hands. If it was a common case, then it would not be inappropriate for Sir Song to say it. However, Sir mentioned earlier that the Ministry of Justice is classified as third-class. This matter of the Ming family property is, without question, a first-class case. If there is no more detailed and reliable evidence, I truly cannot judge the case."
Song Shiren had been waiting for these words. He furrowed his brows slightly and pretended to be disappointed. In a sharp voice, he said, "Sir! This won't do! The matter has been so long ago, where can we find other evidence? I have already found a witness. If you say it won't do, then what kind of evidence do you need? "
The Suzhou Zhizhou's heart was slightly happy. No matter how arrogant and famous Song Shiren was, in court, he would still be kneaded like dough by us officials. No matter what kind of witness he brought up, I would always find a way to not accept it. Hearing Song Shiren's panicked question, he unconsciously said, "Witness and material evidence are both present before the case can be decided."
Song Shiren did not wait for him to continue. His lips parted and words shot out like a cannon, "Sir? Who will judge the case? "
"Naturally, it will be me …"
"Since it is you who will judge the case, dare I ask what is material evidence?" Song Shiren was overbearing and did not give the Suzhou Zhizhou any more time to react.
The Suzhou Zhizhou was slightly startled and hesitated to speak.
Song Shiren raised his hands in a salute and stared straight into the other's eyes. "Just what is material evidence?"
The Suzhou Zhizhou jumped in fright at his imposing manner. It was as if he had returned to many years ago when he was taking the law exam. He unconsciously replied, "Traces, murder weapon, documentary evidence …"
"Documentary evidence? Good! "Song Shiren's eyes narrowed into crescents. He gave a great compliment and said," Sir is wise. "
The Suzhou Zhizhou was startled again. He had no idea where he was wise. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth and asked, "Sir Song …"
Song Shiren still did not give him a chance to finish his sentence. In a rush, he asked, "Sir, if there is documentary evidence, can it be used as proof?"
"Naturally, it can …"
Song Shiren once again cut him off. "If there is documentary evidence, you cannot deny it!"
The Suzhou Zhizhou angrily nodded and said, "What are you saying? I am also someone familiar with Qing law. How can I not know the power of documentary evidence? You, a litigation master, speak too rudely. If you can bring out documentary evidence, naturally, it will be more trustworthy than that midwife earlier."
After these words were said, the Suzhou Zhizhou suddenly felt that he had said something wrong. Why did he suddenly become so talkative? He unconsciously looked down the hall and saw Ming Lanshi and Chen Bochang's shock and a glimmer of disappointment. The litigation master called Song Shiren had a pleased and evil smile on his face.
…
…
Song Shiren repeatedly cut off the Suzhou Zhizhou's words and completely blocked the response he had thought of. In the end, he suddenly gave an opening. After a few provocations, he had the Zhizhou follow his intentions and confirm the importance of documentary evidence in front of everyone before he presented his evidence. This was to prevent the shameless scene of him not admitting it again later.
In fact, this was just a very superficial psychological and verbal skill in debating. It was like dangling a sausage in front of a dog, but refusing to let it take a bite. In the end, when you stuffed a banana in front of it, the dog would be overjoyed and eat it all, forgetting that it originally wanted to eat the sausage and not the banana.
Chen Bochang found that the Zhizhou had fallen for Song Shiren's trick and sighed to himself. Earlier, he didn't have a chance to interrupt because Song Shiren spoke too quickly. Furthermore, his arrogant and shameless tone was indeed easy to anger.
He and Ming Lanshi met each other's eyes and shook their heads helplessly. They felt a glimmer of confusion in their hearts. Just what kind of documentary evidence did he have in his hands that could prove Xia Qifei's past?
The Suzhou Zhizhou knew he had been played by Song Shiren. Looking at that person's hateful smiling face, he wanted to order someone to beat him up. However, he could not do so now. He could only ask in a heavy voice, "Since you have documentary evidence, why didn't you present it earlier?"
Song Shiren bowed respectfully and said, "I will present it now."
The Zhizhou smiled coldly and said, "If your documentary evidence has no effect, don't blame me for closing the case."
Song Shiren smiled darkly and said, "Sir, don't worry. Although this documentary evidence is old, it is a dead object. It will not go senile … don't worry, sir."
The Suzhou Zhizhou choked unhappily.
…
…
Song Shiren moved closer to Xia Qifei's ear and said something. Xia Qifei furrowed his brows slightly as if he had not thought he would have to take out that thing so quickly. It looked like proving his past was indeed a very difficult matter.
He took out the little box from his clothes and carefully handed it to the advisor. His eyes kept staring at the advisor's hand holding the box as if he was afraid someone would take the box away in broad daylight.
Looking at Xia Qifei's cautious expression, Chen Bochang furrowed his brows and moved closer to Ming Lanshi's ear to ask, "Young master, can you guess what it is?"
Ming Lanshi's expression was slightly confused. Suzhou was not like Jingdou. There was no such thing as birth papers. What exactly was this documentary evidence?
At this time, the Suzhou Zhizhou had already opened the box. He and the advisor scanned it together and their expressions immediately changed.
Ming Lanshi and Chen Bochang were startled.
The Suzhou Zhizhou swept a complicated gaze over Ming Lanshi.
Song Shiren's face was full of smiles. He was incomparably calm, but he raised his voice an octave and said in a clear voice, "This documentary evidence is the will the old Ming master personally wrote. The will clearly states that all of the Ming family property will be left to the seventh son, Ming Qingcheng … this will has always been kept in Sir Xia's hands. This is enough to prove that Sir Xia is the seventh son of the Ming family!"
Without waiting for everyone to wake from their shock, Song Shiren changed the topic and rushed to patch it up. Gazing at the Suzhou Zhizhou, he smiled coldly and said, "Of course, some stubborn and stupid people can say that Sir Xia accidentally picked up this will and came to pretend to be a descendant of the Ming family … however, with the midwife in front and the documentary evidence in the back, if there is still someone who dares to frame him so openly … hmph, the eyes of the people are not blind, and it's not like they don't have brains. Who among the officials of the Qing court and the people of Jiangnan would believe it?"
The will of the old Ming master!
The wind in the court changed abruptly. The people watching outside the yamen clamored. In the court, Ming Lanshi and Chen Bochang seemed to have been struck by lightning and stood dumbly. Ming Lanshi's face was full of shock as he muttered to himself, "Impossible, when did grandfather write a will? This must be fake! "
Song Shiren looked at the young master of the Ming family from the side and smiled insincerely. "As expected, someone didn't even look at it and already said it was fake … is young master Ming an immortal?"
Ming Lanshi was still in a state of shock. Hearing Song Shiren's words, he angrily waved his sleeve and said, "This will must be fake!"
Hearing his words, Song Shiren felt proud in his heart. He knew that the situation he was most worried about had not happened. He had put in a timely patch. If the other party did not struggle with the authenticity of the will and did as he said earlier and insisted that Xia Qifei had picked up this will and was now pretending to be the seventh young master of the Ming family to steal the family property, that would have been the most difficult to deal with. If the other party continued to be shameless to the end, he would truly have no way of dealing with it.
Now, the young master of the Ming family, in his shock, only cared about whether the will was real or fake and did not accuse Xia Qifei of picking up the will to pretend to be him. Thus, as long as he could prove that the will was real, then the fact that Xia Qifei was the seventh young master of the Ming family could be confirmed.
Song Shiren gently let out a breath. It looked like he was fooling around in court, but every word he said and the order of his plan had been carefully thought out. Only by doing this could he lead this difficult situation in the direction he wanted it to go.
The best litigation master in the Qing Kingdom indeed lived up to his reputation.
… …
The Suzhou Zhizhou's face was ashen. He waved his hand for the litigation masters on both sides to come closer to the table and said, "The written evidence is here, but we don't know if it is real or fake …"
It was destined that Song Shiren would not let this Zhizhou be happy today. He cut him off and said, "Sir, whether it is real or fake, we will know once we examine it. What do you mean we don't know?"
Chen Bochang was, after all, a famous litigation master in Jiangnan. He had long shaken off his earlier shock and knew that Song Shiren was using the tactic of beating the grass to scare the snake. He smiled slightly and said, "Sir, since the other party says this is the will of the old Ming master, then it must be examined. At this moment, the young master of the Ming family is present. Why not have him come and take a look?"
He turned to Song Shiren and warmly said, "Sir Song, you don't have any objections, right?"
"As long as the young master doesn't go crazy and swallow the will, what harm is there in looking?" Song Shiren narrowed his eyes and smiled sinisterly. "Brother Chen's ability to remain calm is indeed impressive."
"Likewise, likewise," Chen Bochang replied with a slight smile.
The Suzhou Zhizhou did not understand what these two litigation masters were praising each other about. Only Song Shiren and Chen Bochang knew that since it was a family property lawsuit, proving Xia Qifei's identity was only a primer. The most important part was where that enormous family property belonged. Even if the will that Xia Qifei took out was real, according to Qing law, the Ming family could still stand in an invincible position.
Thus, Chen Bochang was not panicked, but Song Shiren was not happy. They both knew that the long road was still ahead.
At this time, Ming Lanshi had already walked over and was examining the will on the table with an uneasy expression.
In the Ming Garden, there were still many of the old Ming master's handwriting. The descendants of the Ming family read them every day and had long memorized them. Thus, when Ming Lanshi saw the thin and dry handwriting on the will, he knew it was indeed written by his grandfather. And the paper used for the will was indeed the old Ming master's favorite Qingzhou paper.
Ming Lanshi's expression was slightly frightened. He bowed to the Zhizhou and retreated.
Chen Bochang moved closer to his ear and said in a quiet voice, "Is it real or fake?"
Ming Lanshi furrowed his brows and said, "I'm afraid … it is real …" However, this young master Ming had, after all, started to help the family take care of business these years. His will had been tempered to be firm and resolute. However, in an instant, he felt a glimmer of strangeness. He then thought of some of the secrets his father had once revealed. His expression became strange. Lowering his voice, he said, "No … this is fake!"
Chen Bochang said with a strange expression, "Oh? How do you judge? "
Ming Lanshi gritted his teeth and said darkly, "My family's old ancestor's methods … if she wanted to act back then, why would she have left behind a will?"
Chen Bochang was startled. He knew that the other party was talking about the old Ming matriarch. Thinking about it, it was indeed so. If the old Ming matriarch had wanted to take the family property, kill people, and expel the family, the first thing she would have done would have been to deal with the matter of the will. Logically speaking, this will could not have been left in this world.
"Then this will …" He furrowed his brows.
Ming Lanshi said gloomily, "Just like that midwife, it's probably a fake made by the Overwatch Council."
Only now did the Ming family realize with shock how much effort and effort the Overwatch Council behind Xia Qifei had put into this matter. That perfectly forged will could not have been made so meticulously without a few months of time. Just the age of the paper and the choice of material were all complicated matters.
This kind of Qingzhou paper had already stopped production 10 years ago. Who knew the Overwatch Council would still be able to find it?
Furthermore, the methods the Overwatch Council used were powerful enough. The lawsuit method they used was shameless to the extreme. They had been faking it all the way to the end … was there still justice in this world?
Ming Lanshi thought sorrowfully. He couldn't help but think of a person. That young and delicate imperial envoy seemed to be standing somewhere, looking at him with a warm smile on his face. His lips were slightly parted, as if he was about to eat a feast.
Behind the scenes, Sir Fan junior was in charge.
…
…
Since the will had appeared, it had to be checked for authenticity. The Suzhou government had already sent people to the Ming Garden to compare the handwriting with the old Ming master's handwriting. At the same time, according to Song Shiren's seemingly fair opinion, they had gone to the palace treasury transport company to retrieve the signature of the bidding document from that year. At the same time, they had invited the officials of the Suzhou branch of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council to come and check the age of the will and the paper used.
Everyone knew that the Overwatch Council was best at doing this kind of work.
Since they were good at making fakes, they were also good at discerning fakes. However, it was a fake the Overwatch Council had made. Asking the Overwatch Council to come and check it was like asking a wolf to solve the missing sheep case.
The Suzhou Zhizhou cursed loudly in his heart, but he didn't dare speak badly of the Overwatch Council in front of everyone. He could only agree to this suggestion. At the same time, he had other thoughts. He sent someone else to invite the patrolling Imperial Censor and the Jiangnan governor's manor to invite the powerful criminal teacher to judge the authenticity of the will.
Because of the appearance of the will, the Suzhou government's investigation temporarily came to a halt. Checking wills always took time, so the surrounding commoners quickly went to the tea shops to buy tea and cakes. After satisfying their hunger and thirst, they rushed back to watch the show.
However, when those people came back, they found that the best spots had already been taken by the hungry spectators. They could only curse quietly, but they couldn't take it back.
The Ming family had long sent over a box of food. Ming Lanshi ate without tasting it. Chen Bochang said something by his ear, and only then did Ming Lanshi's spirits improve.
On the other side, Hua Garden did not hide anything and brought over a box of food for Xia Qifei. There were very few people there. Only Song Shiren and Xia Qifei were eating. Song Shiren glanced at the Ming family and quietly said to Xia Qifei, "Once the will appears, Master Xia's past will be made clear."
The excitement in Xia Qifei's eyes was immediately hidden. He gratefully said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."
"However …" Song Shiren said seriously, "confirming Master Xia's past as a descendant of the Ming family does not mean you can take back what belongs to you."
Xia Qifei understood what he meant.
Song Shiren sighed and said, "The Qing laws are strict and follow scriptures. In the Qing laws, the rules regarding inheritance of family property are too rigid. The other party is the eldest son of the eldest branch and has an absolute advantage. Even if you have the will of the old Ming master in your hands, it is impossible for the government to award the Ming family property to you. Furthermore, these Jiangnan Road officials … looking at it, they all listen to the Ming family."
Xia Qifei nodded slightly and said with a determined expression, "If I can clear my name today, it will be an unexpected joy. As for the matter of the family property, everything will be as you say. Sir has also said that this matter cannot be rushed. As long as the will is confirmed, it is fine not to fight this case."
Song Shiren smiled slightly and shook his head. "We have to continue fighting. Even if we know we cannot win in the end, we still have to continue fighting. We have to beat the Ming family until they are badly battered and powerless to respond. We have to drag out the Ming family and embarrass them. I have this ability."
This litigation master spoke easily and confidently, but in reality, he had a bellyful of complaints.
He had been summoned all the way to Jiangnan by that Sir Fan junior. Who knew that he was going to fight a case that he was certain to lose? Furthermore, Fan Xian had ordered him to drag out the process of this lawsuit as long as possible. In this life, Song Shiren had only lost to Fan Xian once in court. Now, he was going to lose a second time because of Fan Xian. When he thought of it, he was full of resentment. But, there was nothing he could do. Who asked him to vote for Sir Fan junior? Who asked him to be generous?
In the afternoon, a joint inspection team consisting of officials from the Overwatch Council, Suzhou government, Imperial Censorate, and the Jiangnan governor's manor's criminal division studied the yellowed paper for a long time.
First, it was to compare the handwriting and signature. The old Ming master's thin and withered handwriting was extremely difficult to imitate. Furthermore, his personal writing habits, such as the fact that he would drag at the end of his writing … all of this was fully displayed in this will.
Furthermore, the paper used was indeed Qingzhou paper that had long stopped production. The advisor of the Ministry of Justice determined from the degree of yellowing and the degree of dampness that the time the will was written was very close to the year Xia Qifei claimed.
The tone and use of words in the will were also completely in harmony with when the old Ming master was alive.
Most importantly, after the seal was compared to the old Ming master's seal that Ming Garden had brought, it was not the slightest bit different.
…
…
However, it was this lack of difference that made the experienced old official in the Jiangnan governor's manor feel a glimmer of strangeness. A will had been stored for a dozen years. The color of the seal was indeed old and faint, but the fine threads were still not the slightest bit different from the current seal … this was too strange.
However, this old official also understood that this matter was very complicated. Furthermore, this point could not be considered suspicious, so he did not pay too much attention to it. As for the officials of the Suzhou government and Imperial Censorate, they wholeheartedly wanted to prove that this will was fake. In the end, they even used a large piece of glass that was a specialty of the palace treasury … but still could not find a single flaw.
After the officials discussed it for a while, they came to a consensus. The Suzhou Zhizhou had no choice but to announce in the court that the will was real. Naturally, Xia Qifei was also the seventh young master of the Ming family who should have died a long time ago, Ming Qingcheng.
…
…
On the first day of 2008, I was going to write something but decided against it after thinking about it. I won't say too much nonsense. I just wish everyone a happy New Year and live happily. Casting more monthly votes is good for the body and mind, haha …
Last month, I was fourth in the monthly votes. It has nothing to do with my ability to pull votes. Everyone knows that my ability in this area is very poor. It was all because everyone gave me face and gave me an extra 3,000 yuan as a bonus to buy a new mobile phone, a Nokia 6300, a subpar product. I also had to buy a Sony Ericsson 608C for my mother because it has handwriting so she can learn to send text messages … oh, the happy 3,000 yuan is all from everyone, my sincere thanks.
Last night, I drank three bottles of beer and fainted for a long time. Today, I woke up late … this shows that I'm already old … during the Spring Festival in February, I might have to ask everyone for some time off because I have to go back to my hometown to warm my uncle's grave. I also have to go back to the village. The mountain roads are difficult, so I'm afraid I won't be able to work during those days. I'll say this in advance, asking for leave awaits approval. Happy New Year, enough nonsense.
I said less nonsense, but still so much nonsense. Of course, this paragraph doesn't count. I wish everyone a happy New Year, sincerely.)
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened after, please go to WWW. CMFU. com. There are more chapters. Support the author, support the original reading!)
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