The bailiff interrupted their crosstalk performance and laughed bitterly. "You can't be the first to say that. The Guo family's complaint clearly states that Master Fan held a grudge against them, which is why he blocked the street in the middle of the night."
Lady Liu asked Fan Xian, "What happened in the restaurant?"
"I broke the nose of one of their guards," Fan Xian said, blaming himself.
"Are you alright?"
"How could I be alright? Everyone in the restaurant saw it. I'm not one to be taken advantage of. "
Lady Liu sighed and turned to the bailiff. "Listen, if you hold a grudge, of course you're the one who's taken advantage of. Our young master took advantage of you, how could he still hold a grudge?"
The bailiff had always been used to hearing litigators argue endlessly in court. He had never seen someone defend themselves before they even went to court. He was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. Lady Liu extended her finger, and a banknote appeared in the bailiff's hand. He looked at it, and his eyes shone.
Lady Liu had regained the dignity and nobility of a wife. She said lightly, "We will go to the yamen. We want to see what the Guo family is up to. But we can't go now. Go back and tell Master Mei that when Master Guo goes to court, our people will go there to confront him. "
One of the bailiffs thought this was against the rules. How could they go back with a banknote when they came to arrest someone? He was about to say something, but he was stopped by the young man, who said yes and hurried out of Fan Manor.
Fan Manor was finally quiet again. Aside from Lady Liu and Fan Xian, there was no one else in the reception hall. Fan Xian looked at Lady Liu with a smile, thinking that it would be great if she wasn't his enemy. He had seen her methods today, and for some reason, he admired her. Although Fan Manor was a large family, they had been ambushed by the Guo family, and his father was not there. Lady Liu was able to handle the situation clearly, and not be at a disadvantage was a small matter. The important thing was that she had bought a lot of time to deal with the situation.
As expected, Madam Liu took a sip of tea and faintly asked, "Why did you do this?"
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Father has always hoped that I could quickly make a name for myself in the capital, and I've thought about it. Writing poetry and writing is really meaningless. If I can fight a lawsuit against the family of a minister, I'm sure I'll make a name for myself a lot faster." This was, of course, a joke.
"If you want to fight, then fight. Why do you have to reveal your identity to fight? It's as if you're afraid that it won't be troublesome." There was a trace of anger in Madam Liu's words.
Fan Xian respectfully replied, "I just wanted to vent my anger. If I don't let the person being hit know that I was the one who hit him, how can I vent my anger?"
Lady Liu glanced at him and felt that the handsome boy in front of her was many times more capable than her son. Although he seemed to be doing some tyrannical things on the surface, looking at his bearing and steadiness, she knew that he naturally knew what he was doing. She couldn't help but sigh and feel a bit disappointed.
Fan Xian didn't know what she was thinking. He smiled and asked curiously, "Auntie, why did you help me earlier?"
Lady Liu slowly raised her head. There were already some fine wrinkles on the edges of her eyes. She seemed to be surprised that the young man would speak so directly. After thinking for a while, she faintly replied, "Although my surname is Liu, I am a member of the Fan family."
Fan Xian stared into her eyes. He knew that this woman's words couldn't be completely trusted, but he didn't know how to respond.
It was so quiet in the Reception Hall that you could hear a pin drop.
…
…
"Master Mei is my father's student. I've already sent someone to get the letter. Your father should have received the news by now. I'm sure nothing will happen to him. At most, he'll have to pay them a few taels of silver. " Lady Liu closed her eyes, seeming a bit tired. "In the afternoon, have the housekeeper accompany you to the capital government. Teng Zijing followed you last night. Don't follow him to the government office today, lest you attract too much attention."
Fan Xian looked curiously at Lady Liu's still beautiful cheeks. He couldn't understand why a woman with such a powerful family and such ability would be willing to marry his father as a concubine.
By noon, Fan Manor had made all the necessary preparations. Everything that needed to be done had been done, and the paths that needed to be taken had been notified ahead of time. They had also sent servants to find out that Guo Baokun had already been carried to the court on a stretcher. Only then did Lady Liu arrange for a carriage and a few servants to surround Fan Xian. Like a victorious general, they drove to the magistrate's office.
Sitting in the carriage, Fan Xian didn't care much about this trip to the court. He had really beaten Guo Baokun to vent his anger. The first time he noticed that Guo Baokun looked at Ruoruo strangely, he had wanted to beat him up. Being insulted by Guo Baokun at the poetry gathering in King Jing's manor had only made him more determined to beat him up. It was just that he had just entered the capital and caused such a ruckus. Although he had some tricks up his sleeve, he was still afraid that it would be difficult to clean up the mess later.
But he still wanted to beat Guo Baokun. Beating someone up was a means, but the key was to see what kind of effect it would have. Fan Xian wanted to beat Guo Baokun for three reasons. First, he wanted to see what kind of power his father had hidden in the capital's bureaucracy, so that he could make arrangements for the future. His father had always been secretive about these things, and if he asked directly, he wouldn't be able to get a clear answer. At the same time, he could confirm some of the questions that Fan Xian had hidden in the depths of his heart. Second, he wanted to smear some dirty water on himself. No matter what, going to court would solidify Fan Xian's image as a hedonistic, tyrannical, and unreasonable son of a rich family. This was exactly what Fan Xian wanted, because he was carefully controlling a certain degree of goodwill from the "palace". Although he had accepted his father's request to establish a scholarly side of himself, he had always been prepared to make his reputation known far and wide, so that the "palace" would take the initiative to cancel the engagement — all for the sake of Chicken Drumstick.
The third reason was simple: Guo Baokun really did need to be beaten up.
— — —
Arriving outside the yamen, Fan Xian was startled. Looking at the excited crowd outside the red wooden fence, he was very puzzled. With the help of a few servants, he squeezed in with difficulty. Standing on the cool stone floor of the court, he looked at the painting of the red sun rising from the east sea on the wall behind the case, and the sinister sticks of punishment standing all around him. He thought to himself that he had arrived at the Beijing High People's Court, and that his trip had not been in vain.
Turning around, he found that the people of the capital were even more excited than he was. They were desperately squeezing forward, wanting to get a better position. A few professional bachelors were almost sitting on the red fence.
Fan Xian curiously asked Zheng Ta, who had been sent by Lady Liu to follow him. Many years ago, Mister Zheng was a famous criminal teacher in the Jiangnan area. It seemed that he had a friendship with the current capital magistrate, so it was most appropriate for Lady Liu to send him.
Zheng Ta smiled and explained, "The people of the capital are all brave. Don't be fooled by their appearance. They might be poor relatives of the Duke, so no one is afraid of anyone. Like today … a lawsuit between a minister and an assistant minister is indeed rare. No one would want to miss out on something like this."
Fan Xian thought to himself, Are you guys here to watch a blockbuster? He shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. Zheng Ta quietly asked, "Young master, although we've already talked about this in the manor, I still want to ask one last time. Did you do this? Of course, I can't admit it in front of the magistrate, but if you tell me the truth, I can explain later. "
Fan Xian's face was full of sincerity. "Mister Zheng, I don't dare lie to you. I really didn't hit that Master Guo." Zheng Ta looked at the handsome young man's kind and honest face and laughed. He gently patted him on the shoulder to show his appreciation.
After a while, the shout that Fan Xian had been curious about finally rang out. The magistrate, Mei Zhili, came out of the back hall with a stretcher and sat down. After a while, a mummy was also pushed out from the back hall in a wheelchair. Behind him was a counselor who was waving a paper fan. Fan Xian looked at the mummy and couldn't help but laugh bitterly. He didn't hit him that hard, he thought. How could a minister's manor play such a pitiful trick?
The mummy was, of course, Master Guo Baokun, who had been beaten up in a daze. His whole body was in pain, especially the bridge of his nose. The doctor's treatment didn't have much effect. He didn't know that Fan Xian had put some hidden strength into his last punch. The zhenqi in Fan Xian's body was different from the zhenqi commonly seen in the world. It was overbearing and fierce, and it wasn't something that could be healed in a short time.
Guo Baokun looked at Fan Xian, who was standing in the hall like nothing had happened. His eyes, which were not covered by the bandages, showed a fierce expression, as if he was about to devour someone. Fan Xian pretended not to see this. He looked at the lawyer waving the fan and asked Zheng Ta in a low voice. Only then did he learn that the lawyer was the famous lawyer in the capital, Song Shiren. He had always been a bad person and only worked for the families of high officials. That was why he was known as "Fat Mouth".
The magistrate, Mei Zhili, who was sitting high up in the hall, slammed the gavel in his hand. The sound was loud and clear, and the noise inside and outside of the hall quieted down. The spectators who were leaning on the red fences were silent. After all, no one wanted to miss a good show.
"Who goes there?" Mei Zhili asked slowly. He had already been informed by both sides and had a rough idea of what to do. However, he still had to act according to the rules. He glanced at the people in the court with an authoritative gaze.
No matter who you are, in the capital government, you have to listen to me.
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