The next day, the entire Wang family, their neighbors, and Yang Ling were once again brought to the main hall. Last night, after receiving Yamachi's report and having Ma Lian 'er carefully teach him according to Yang Ling's instructions, County Magistrate Min had a well-thought-out plan. He couldn't say those elegant words, but he was a wily old soldier who didn't have three points of reason. Naturally, he could use his own words to make the case seem fair and just.
Lord Ma hid behind the screen behind County Magistrate Min to listen to the interrogation. When Ma Ang was escorted into the hall, County Magistrate Min slapped his gavel and said to the two sons of the Wang family in a friendly manner, "Wang, Da, and Er, yesterday, this official found the pearl belonging to Miss Ma on your father's body. Shopkeeper Wang was greedy at the sight of wealth and embezzled other people's pearls. Do you two have any objections to this?"
"This …" Da Wang and Er looked at each other. They didn't know what the County Magistrate was planning. The two brothers exchanged glances and said to County Magistrate Min, "Master, when my father and Ma Ang had a dispute, this lowly one wasn't by his side. Whether my father was blinded by greed or whether Ma Ang was deliberately framing me, this lowly one really doesn't know."
Ma Ang knelt in the hall and angrily said, "Bullshit! Don't tell me father has wrongly accused him? That old bastard took my younger sister's pearl and then flatly denied taking it, deliberately swindling my family's property … "
County Magistrate Min slapped his gavel and shouted, "This official didn't question you. If you dare to interrupt again, I'll slap your mouth!"
Ma Ang snorted and angrily said nothing. County Magistrate Min smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "So, when you say that your father was beaten to death by Ma Ang, you didn't see it with your own eyes?"
Da Wang choked and angrily said, "Master, although I didn't see the murderer beat my father with my own eyes, my father has always been healthy. If it wasn't for this person, how could my father suddenly die? When he saw that I had come out to stop him, he shook off my father and wanted to assault me. Everyone in the neighborhood saw this and can testify to it. "
County Magistrate Min chuckled and said, "This is going to be difficult. Yang Ling, Scholar Yang was there at the time and saw everything clearly. According to Scholar Yang, your father coveted the pearls of the Ma family's young mistress. The elder brother of the Ma family's young mistress held him back and argued with him, but never once did anything to him. Based on this, it seems that your father was old and weak. When his unjust act was exposed on the spot, he was overwhelmed by shame and died!"
When Wang Da Er heard this, he kowtowed and said, "Sir, my father is innocent, my father …"
County Magistrate Min waved his hand and said, "Slow down, slow down, I haven't finished speaking. But according to your brother, your father has always been healthy and definitely wouldn't die because of a moment of anger. At that time, Ma Ang was arguing with your father and then your father fell to the ground and died. Although you didn't see it with your own eyes, everyone in the neighborhood can testify that from the beginning to the end, only Ma Ang was arguing with your father. Therefore, the murderer must be Ma Ang. "
Wang Da Er kowtowed again and again and said, "Sir is wise, sir is wise. My father was beaten to death by this crazy murderer. At that age, how could my father withstand his punches and kicks? Not to mention that my father never coveted his belongings, even if he really did have evil intentions, it wouldn't be a crime worthy of death. I beg Master to uphold justice. "
When Ma Ang heard this, he became anxious and straightened his legs to stand up. The water and fire rods in the hands of two bailiffs crossed on the ground and pressed down on his knees. Ma Ang cried out in pain and knelt there, unable to move.
When Ma Lian 'er saw this, she hurriedly went over to support his shoulder and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. Sir Min is honest and upright, he will naturally make a fair decision!"
Ma Ang opened his eyes wide and said anxiously and angrily, "When did brother ever punch or kick him? That old man extorts money and his son is also such a piece of trash. It's obvious that he's tricking me. Quickly go find father … "
Before he could finish speaking, his shoulder was ruthlessly pinched by Ma Lian 'er. When he looked up in shock, he saw his sister glaring at him. He suddenly understood and immediately shut his mouth.
County Magistrate Min looked at him with a smile and thought, "This brave but not astute idiot. If it weren't for the fact that your father and I are both officials in this Chicken Crow Post, I really wouldn't bother to save you. If you don't know what's good for you, then you deserve to be tortured."
At that moment, County Magistrate Min cleared his throat and said solemnly, "I've been in this Chicken Crow Post for two years and have always enforced the law impartially. I'm honest and upright, the people under my rule prosper and have a good reputation. I will not condone a criminal, nor will I wrongly accuse a good man …"
When Yang Ling heard this, he wanted to laugh. These words didn't need others to praise him. It was hilarious enough that he praised himself in public, but this bearded man said it so seriously and laboriously, as if he was reciting from a book. But when he thought about how people in later generations would praise themselves like this when writing their year-end summaries, making themselves look like a fresh flower, he felt relieved.
County Magistrate Min changed the topic and raised his voice, "Since I received this case, I braved the snow to visit the neighbors last night to investigate and collect evidence. I also ordered the servants to examine your father's remains. As far as I know, there are no external injuries or bruises on your father's body, so it's difficult to say that he was beaten to death … this … there is no direct evidence."
County Magistrate Min secretly swallowed his saliva and thought to himself, "Where did this Scholar Yang get such a hard to pronounce phrase, but … it sounds quite profound, heh heh!"
He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, then continued, "According to what this county knows, your family moved here from southern Min two years ago. Your esteemed father suffered a serious illness last autumn, so the story that his body has always been healthy cannot be believed.
Also, according to Honest He of the sauce shop, your father told him that he was bitten by a snake in Huguang on the way here. Because of this, his journey was delayed for more than ten days. Because he was in a hurry, he had to start again before he had fully recovered. All of these could be the cause of his death.
In order not to wrongly accuse a good man and not to indulge a bad man, I've decided that Ma Ang will be detained and guarded. He will not be released until the case is clear. At the same time, I'll open your father's chest and examine his body to see if he suffered any internal injuries. At the same time, your family must find the doctor who treated your father last year and ask for the prescription to prove that your father's illness is not fatal.
In addition, your family must quickly send someone to Huguang to find the doctor who treated your father last year and ask for the prescription. Of course, you must also ask the famous doctor in the prefecture to provide an appraisal to prove that the venom of the snake has not been cleared in his body and that he will not die. Based on this, I will sentence Ma Ang to death. "
"Ah?! Find the doctor who treated my father, that's easy. Go to the prefecture to find the famous doctor, that … can be done with some difficulty, but … we still have to go to Huguang to find the doctor who gave the prescription. What if he has already moved to another place? Wouldn't the long journey be a waste? "
County Magistrate Min smiled sinisterly. This was only the first move. If the Wang family was determined and really went all the way to get the prescription from the doctor, he would arrange for Ma Ang to protest and the Wang family would have to go to Huguang again to get the certificate from the pharmacy. If that still didn't work, he could send the two brothers back to their ancestral home to find the certificate from the local government and the land protector to prove that their father had always been in good health.
In short, the further the journey, the better. The more detailed the evidence, the better. This would not only show that he was cautious in investigating the case and valued human life, but it would also make him tired and tired until he gave up. This was one of the common tricks of insurance claims.
Wang Da and Er Er were dumbfounded. Before they could defend themselves, County Magistrate Min had already glared at them and slammed the gavel. He shouted, "Come, take the suspect Ma Ang back to the prison and keep a good watch on him. The rest of you, go back to your homes. When the victim's family, the Wang family, finds the evidence, I will go to court to interrogate him. Court dismissed!"
The bailiffs roared in agreement. Immediately, two sturdy bailiffs rushed out and dragged Ma Ang out like wolves and tigers. Although this fiendish act was directed at Ma Ang, it scared the Wang brothers so much that they swallowed the words that were about to come out of their mouths.
When the Wang brothers returned home, they were speechless. They were unwilling to give up just like that. After discussing for two days, they decided that Wang Da would pack his luggage and go to Huguang. After he got the evidence, he would go to the prefectural city to invite people. At home, Wang Er would take care of the business.
While they were discussing, Wang Da's wife hurriedly ran in and said anxiously, "Husband, I thought that we didn't have any guests for the past two days. I thought it was because someone had just died and the villagers had some misgivings during the New Year. But it turns out that the people from the Deputy Post Office were spreading nonsense everywhere. They said that we were doing business by passing off fake goods as genuine goods, passing off shoddy goods as quality goods, and forcing people to buy and sell. Not only did the entire Chicken Crow Post know about it, I heard that those damn couriers were passing official documents everywhere and spreading rumors everywhere. If this goes on, how can we still do business? Won't our whole family just be waiting for death? "
When the Wang brothers heard this, they were shocked. Doing business was most afraid of losing a bad reputation. Not only did the Deputy Post Office spread rumors locally, but they also used the convenience of their hundreds of couriers to travel north and south to spread nonsense everywhere. The Wang family's musical instrument shop could only close down.
The Wang family didn't have any land in this area and relied entirely on business for a living. Although the family was wealthier than ordinary farmers, at that time, they valued agriculture and despised business. Their social status was even lower than that of farmers.
Ming Destiny's imperial court decreed that farmers could wear silk like officials, but even the wealthiest merchants didn't have this kind of treatment. So even though farmers couldn't afford silk, wealthy merchants could afford it, but they weren't allowed to wear it. Even those wealthy merchants could only wear silk and satin at home. When they went out, they still had to change into coarse clothes. Otherwise, if someone reported them to the authorities, it would be a great crime.
Because of this, the Wang family was already in a disadvantageous position when they went to court. If they messed up their business, it wouldn't be worth it. Looking at this big family, could it be that because of a dead person, the whole family couldn't continue living?
With this, the two brothers' desire to fight the lawsuit to the end lessened. Thinking that the end of the year was approaching, it wasn't appropriate for them to go far away. It was better for the two brothers to take care of the shop first and wait until after the Spring Festival.
The two brothers ran to the front hall together to solicit business. After two days, not only did they fail to make a deal, but they also heard rumors that Old Master Wang was extorting money from others. He was exposed on the spot and died of shame and anger. The two sons of the Wang family were even more greedy than their father. In the dead of winter, they left their father's body in the butcher's room and let the butcher cut open his chest and bones to examine the wounds. They wanted to swindle some money. As the saying goes, "A person's words are a fearful thing. Others don't care if it's true or false. In short, don't associate with them and ruin your own reputation. So some of the friendly neighbors became strange when they saw them these two days and gradually began to drift apart.
The two brothers indignantly went to see the county magistrate, only to hear that three families' houses had collapsed in Liujiaping due to the heavy snowfall. The county magistrate, who loved the people like his own children, had already gone to pacify them. They would go back the next day. They also heard that the county magistrate had gone to Xuan Fu to transport winter rations from the local government and the Deputy Post Office.
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