After Dai Tongzhi and Zhang Yi saw the prefectural magistrate, they were still arguing with each other. Yu Junting sat at the side with a carefree expression. From time to time, he would add a sentence. Even though it was only a few words, it sounded like he was trying to persuade both sides to be more rational. But the effect was to add fuel to the fire, making the originally unintelligent Zhang Yi so anxious that he was sweating profusely.
Zhang Yutong was a younger generation and did not have any official duties. He could discuss matters with his father in private, but he could not appear in this kind of situation. Even if he appeared, it would not be appropriate for him to interrupt. Therefore, Prefectural Magistrate Zhang could not find anyone to discuss with.
Zhang Yi was his brother, and Dai Tongzhi was publicly acknowledged as his trusted aide. No matter which side he judged was in the right, it would still cause the other side to be dissatisfied. In this current situation, it was obvious that regardless of whether he judged fairly or not, it would still cause resentment to arise in one side.
Dai Tongzhi said: "Prefectural Magistrate, Pu Jie is waiting in the hall. Prefectural Magistrate, you will know once you summon him up."
Zhang Yi said: "Big brother, only my son Xiaotian, Pu Jie and Dai Chonghua's daughter were at the top of the pagoda. If we want to find out the truth, how can we not summon his daughter to the court?"
Zhang Yi thought it through. If the murderer was really Pu Jie, then it would be fine. If not, Dai Tongzhi would not be able to find any clues. But his daughter was only thirteen years old and was an innocent little girl. If she was the real murderer, she would be easily exposed in front of everyone due to her guilty conscience. Therefore, he insisted on summoning her to the hall.
Dai Tongzhi said: "My daughter saw the bloody scene yesterday and was frightened. Now she is in a daze. What can she ask in court? My daughter has been weak since she was young. If something happens to her because of the disturbance, can you, Zhang Yi, bear the responsibility? "
Dai Tongzhi turned to Prefectural Magistrate Zhang and said: "Prefectural Magistrate, the murderer Pu Jie is below the steps and he has admitted it himself. Zhang Yi insists on summoning my daughter to the court. I am not satisfied! Zhang Yi has never been on good terms with me and is purposely causing trouble for me. "
Yu Junting rolled her eyes and said to Prefectural Magistrate Zhang, "Prefectural Magistrate, Zhang Tushe and Dai Tongzhi have their own arguments. It is useless to listen to them. Why don't we bring Pu Jie to the court? If there is something we are not clear about, we can find other evidence."
Yu Junting did not care about Dai Tongzhi or Tongzhi. She only wanted Fatty Zhang to take the case. Once he took it, he would be in trouble. No matter what the verdict, it the case, it would be good.
But Fatty Zhang had already been warned by his son. He knew that no matter what, he could not interfere. Otherwise, he would lose an arm. So he immediately shook his head and said seriously: "County Supervisor Yu, you are wrong. This matter involves Dai Tongzhi and my brother. If I decide this case, even if it is fair, who would believe it is fair?"
Yu Jun Ting was taken aback. Based on her understanding of Zhang Duo, this damned fatty was a completely incompetent and unassertive idiot. If he hadn't been born two years earlier than his brother, he definitely wouldn't have had the chance to become the prefectural magistrate. Why did he seem to have his own ideas today?
Zhang Duo said seriously: "The new Supreme Judge Ye Xiaotian comes from Gourd County. He has no relationship with any of the departments in Tongren County. We can judge impartially. Let's send this case to the punishment hall and let Supreme Judge Ye handle it. Dai Tongzhi, second brother, I only hope that the younger generation is young and ignorant. No matter what happens between them, as the arms and confidants of the prefecture, you can be united. Don't let this cause a rift. "
Yu Junting's delicate eyebrows slightly wrinkled. Ye Xiaotian? The dead monkey that she caught in Tongren and left to dry? There is no doubt that whoever this case is pushed to will be unlucky. But the problem is that she wants to use this case to make things difficult for Fatty Zhang. What's the point of torturing that dead monkey?
If this case is really pushed to Ye Xiaotian, then no matter what the verdict is, Prefectural Magistrate Zhang can stay out of it. If the verdict is that Dai Tongzhi's daughter has nothing to do with the case, then naturally everyone will be happy. But this is exactly what she and the County Supervisor don't want to see.
If Prefectural Magistrate Zhang decides, no matter what the truth is, she can make a big deal out of it. If this case decides that Piao Jie is the real murderer, then she can spread the news that Prefectural Magistrate Zhang is afraid that Dai Tongzhi will not be loyal to him, so he would rather wronged his own brother. This will make the local officials who don't know the truth look down on Madam Zhang even more.
If Prefectural Magistrate Zhang decides that Dai Tongzhi's daughter has to pay with her life, then Dai Tongzhi, who was originally with her, will rush to the front and be the vanguard of "reversing the Zhang family". This will maximize the strength of the Yu family. Now that it is handed over to Ye Xiaotian, won't this wishful thinking be messed up?
If Ye Xiaotian decides, no matter what the result is, the case will be judged by Ye Xiaotian and also by Ye Xiaotian. Yu Junting will not be able to add fuel to the fire and benefit from it. However, she, who hasn't entered the magistrate's office for a long time, appeared today under the guise of bringing her cousin who is involved in the case to help solve the case. If she interferes too much, Fatty Zhang will certainly be vigilant.
Yu Junting weighs the pros and cons, and hesitates a little in her heart. Before she can think of a way, Prefectural Magistrate Zhang has already decided on this matter.
Zhang Yi and Dai Chonghua also have their own plans. Zhang Yi is a chieftain of the Zhang family. He has always been in the tribe to help his brother manage the internal affairs of the tribe. He doesn't pay much attention to the affairs of the officialdom.
He only feels that he is the younger brother of the prefectural magistrate, and what he wants is real justice. If the truth is related to the daughter of the Dai family, he can't let it go. If it has nothing to do with her, he won't pester her endlessly. Since this surnamed Ye is holding his big brother's rice bowl, it shouldn't be difficult for him to find out the truth and make an impartial decision. If he insists on letting his big brother judge the case, perhaps Dai Tongzhi will have another excuse to evade. Moreover, the situation of the Zhang family is very unfavorable now. He also knows that this point can't be ignored. He also doesn't want to make things difficult for his big brother.
But on Dai Tongzhi's side, although he doesn't have much contact with Ye Xiaotian, he is still closer to him than to Zhang Yi. Moreover, from his contact with Ye Xiaotian, he has the impression that Ye Xiaotian is an extremely slippery person. When he was asked to mediate the chaos in Mercury Mountain, he also used the means of muddying the water and shirking the responsibility. It can be seen that the so-called "Crazy Warden" rumor is not true. This person is actually a smooth and slick person.
The case is given to him. The Zhang family only wants the murderer, and he has already given it to him. As long as Ye Xiaotian can cooperate with him to prove that Pu Jie is the murderer, the Zhang family will have nothing to say and he will owe Ye Xiaotian a favor. With Ye Xiaotian's slippery personality, he will know what to choose. So he also agreed to Magistrate Zhang's arrangement.
Fatty Zhang saw that the two have no objections and secretly let out a sigh of relief. He immediately ordered, "Someone, quickly bring Election Official Ye to see me!"
…
The person sent by Fatty Zhang returned from the interrogation room in a short while and said to Fatty Zhang, "Magistrate Zhang, the people from the interrogation room said that Election Official Ye has just arrived in Tongren and is not acclimatized to the climate. Last night, because he drank too much wine, he is suffering from a serious illness, vomiting and diarrhea. He is currently on leave and has not come to court."
Fatty Zhang was stunned for a moment and suddenly understood. He slammed the table and said angrily, "Nonsense! It's not his first time coming to Tongren. How come I haven't seen him acclimatize before? Gourd County is 100,000 miles away from Tongren, huh? He is actually not acclimatized! If he is so afraid of trouble, how can he do anything! "
Fatty Zhang turned to Yu Junting and said, "Master Yu, please make a trip. The Election Official is in charge of the Magistrate Zhang, this case must be handed over to him!"
Yu Junting was about to refuse, but after thinking about it, he nodded and agreed. He only smiled and asked, "Master, what if Ye Xiaotian can't refuse?"
Fatty Zhang glared and said, "Then tie him up and bring him here!"
When Ye Xiaotian returned to his mansion, Professor Li happened to bring a teacher over. This teacher was quite famous in Tongren Province. Unfortunately, Tongren was not very studious. Up until now, he had not taught many students that could make him proud. However, the teacher's moral essays were quite good.
Since it was introduced by Professor Li, Ye Xiaotian naturally trusted him. He immediately called Duo Ni and Yaoyao over and asked them to pay their respects to the teacher. The teacher looked at the two female students. The older one had bright eyes and white teeth, the younger one had makeup on. They were both beautiful girls, very pleasing to the eye.
Even if the female students were willing to study wholeheartedly, they would not be able to become famous in the imperial examinations in the future. However, he was already very old, and fame was far less important than the benefits in front of him. Ye Xiaotian gave him a generous tuition fee, so the teacher was happy to accept the two female students.
Li Zhongyin sat for a while and then took his leave from the prefectural school. The teacher immediately got into character and brought the two female students to study. Ye Xiaotian took off his official uniform and changed into casual clothes. As soon as he sat down, Li Qiuchi finished his leave on his behalf and hurried back from the torture hall.
When Li Qiuchi was on leave, he took the opportunity to inquire about the dispute between Madam Dai and Madam Zhang. As soon as he saw Ye Xiaotian, Li Qiuchi told Ye Xiaotian the information he had inquired, and said, "If this case is perfunctory, the Zhang family will certainly not agree. If we really go to the trial, I'm afraid that there will be a 'case within a case'. If Pu Jie is really a scapegoat, the Dai family will certainly bear a grudge against Dongweng. Fortunately, these two families are not insignificant. They will go to the Prefectural Magistrate to seek justice, so Dongweng can avoid this disaster. It's very fortunate, very fortunate! "
Ye Xiaotian shook his head and sighed, "This Tongren Province is really not like Hulu County. There are too many temples here, and there are too many gods and Buddhas. To solve a case, you can't only consider the case itself, but also the relationships between all aspects. Being a Prefectural Magistrate who wants to do something is really not easy to be an idle official, no wonder …"
Before he finished speaking, Ruo Xiaosheng ran into the living room and reported, "Master, this prefecture's County Supervisor Yu Daren has arrived."
Ye Xiaotian was shocked, Yu Junting? What is that witch doing here? She came with bad intentions, and those with good intentions will not come. Ye Xiaotian quickly said, "Mr Li, you go and receive her. I will go to the bedroom and wait. Remember, I am sick, very sick!"
Ye Xiaotian rushed to the bedroom, took off his boots and pulled a quilt to cover his body. He thought about it carefully and jumped up. He went to the table and poured some incense ashes from the incense burner. He rubbed the ashes on his palms and wiped his face. He then jumped back to the bed and pulled the quilt over himself. He pretended to be dying.
Ye Xiaotian closed his eyes and lied on the bed. Suddenly, he thought of the Hulu County Registrar Wang Ning who loved to pretend to be sick. Once upon a time, this kind of behavior of Wang Ning was the most despised by Ye Xiaotian. Who would have thought that today, he would learn from Wang Ning. It was really a great tragedy.
