Yin Chengliang was sweating all over, and he stammered, "This... this... Lord Qiu seemed to have mentioned this case to me. I was busy with my affairs, and I seem to have forgotten what I said at the time..."
Zheng Xin traveled thousands of miles to Jiangnan in order to rectify the officialdom in Jiangnan. The first thing to be dealt with in rectifying the officialdom in Jiangnan is to take action against Yin Chengliang. How could he let him get away with it by saying "I forgot a little bit"
So he sneered a few times and said to Yin Chengliang relentlessly: "Master Yin, you'd better think about it carefully! If you can't remember... then you can think about it slowly here, I have plenty of time to wait for you!"
Yin Chengliang realized that this prince was definitely not easy to deal with. It seemed that he was deliberately coming after him. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and said, "I am old and have a bad memory. I really can't remember what I said at the time. I guess it was just some empty words asking Lord Qiu to handle the case impartially and not to condone evil or wrongly accuse good people."
Zheng Xin knew that Yin Chengliang was just denying it, but he was still in a position of mediating and not being able to intervene. He turned around and asked Qiu Yizhi, "Master Qiu, did Master Yin really say that to you?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Although I am younger than Lord Yin, my memory is no better than his. Therefore, I specially asked for a piece of paper to keep beside me so that I won't forget it. If you don't believe me, please take a look."
After saying that, Qiu Yizi took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Zheng Xin's desk under the gaze of more than two hundred pairs of eyes from Jiangnan civil and military officials.
Zheng Xin glanced at the note and said to Yin Chengliang, "Master Yin, your calligraphy is also well-known in China. Take a look. Is this note written by you?"
Upon hearing this, Yin Chengliang took the note in his hand tremblingly. He saw that the note, which was as wide as two fingers, only had written on it "Ask Shanyin County Magistrate Qiu Yizi to immediately release the corresponding prisoners" - written in the extremely conceited Zhong Wang small regular script - this note was originally given to Yuezhou Governor Cai Min, but he didn't know when it fell into Qiu Yizi's hands.
"This... this... this is indeed my humble handwriting, but..." Yin Chengliang wanted to argue, "But what it means is that the prisoners that were originally imprisoned by Lord Qiu's predecessor, Lord Li Shenshi, were all punished for minor offenses. After Lord Li left office, it might be difficult to convict them, so he simply reprimanded them and released them..."
Hearing this, Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Master Yin, it's meaningless for you to say that. This case has now become a big deal. There may not be many people who know the whole story, but there are countless people who have heard about it or participated in it. It is really unnecessary and useless for you to deny it."
Yin Chengliang also knew that Qiu Yizhi's words were not false, but he could not stand seeing Qiu Yizhi's smug look, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Master Qiu, what do you mean by this? Yin has done the right thing and walked the straight path, what is there to deny?"
Hearing this, Qiu Yizi burst into laughter and said, "In that case, I still have the main culprit, the demon Taoist Miao Zhen, and the former county magistrate Li Shenshi, who intended to kill and silence the witnesses, imprisoned in the Shanyin County Jail. Should I transfer the two of them out and have them tried together in the court? I'm afraid Lord Yin doesn't dare to do that!"
Of course Yin Chengliang didn't dare to do that, but he found another excuse and said, "Master Qiu is so bold. Master Li Shenshi is also an official appointed by the court, and his rank is equal to yours. How dare you imprison him without authorization? Don't you know that you have violated the law?"
Qiu Yizhi immediately retorted, "What's the point of imprisoning a seventh-rank official like Li Shenshi? Even Lord Yin was temporarily detained in the lobby of the county government office by me, right? Don't scare me with such empty words!"
Yin Chengliang was also unyielding and immediately hit back, "Lord Qiu is extremely courageous, so he naturally doesn't take our Jiangnan civil and military officials seriously. My Jiangnan Dao is just a small town in the south, so naturally we can't afford to support a great Bodhisattva like Lord Qiu!"
So the two of them started arguing with each other.
The officials from the south of the Yangtze River standing on both sides, who had all suffered at Qiu Yizhi's hands, also started to speak in unison. The originally solemn and dignified Buddhist temple suddenly became chaotic and noisy.
But this angered Zheng Xin, who was sitting in the middle. He spread his palms and slammed the desk in front of him, angrily scolding: "If you guys keep making noise like this, do you still have the dignity of an official? Do you still have the teachings of a saint? Can you still be a role model for the people?"
After hearing Zheng Xin's scolding, the officials finally fell silent and returned to their original positions.
Zheng Xin was still angry, and said angrily, "Before I left Beijing, I thought Jiangnan was an enlightened place, with customs and culture that were no less than those of the capital. I never thought that a governor would argue with his subordinates in court over a case that was neither big nor small; I never thought that a mere seventh-rank county magistrate would have the courage to argue with his superiors in person; and I never thought that none of my colleagues would come out to persuade them. Look at what you did just now, what's the difference between you and the stupid people in the market?"
He paused and continued, "In my opinion, Lord Yin and Lord Qiu were just arguing over political views and were just being rude. The most abominable thing is you guys who are joining in the discussion without any reason. I have noted down everything you said just now. Go back and write a self-criticism and send it to me. Don't you want to run away!"
Qiu Yizi listened quietly to what Zheng Xin said, but he couldn't help but admire him in his heart: asking these officials who interrupted to send in their self-criticisms would tie them to this case, and then he would be able to punish them as he pleased - this move was really smart.
Zheng Xin continued, "I was ordered to inspect the officialdom and people's sentiments in Jiangnan. Originally, I should not have interfered in government affairs. However, now it seems that the case involves thirteen lives, which is less important than the harmony of Jiangnan officialdom. In my opinion, it is not appropriate for this case to continue to be investigated by Lord Qiu or handed over to Lord Yin for supervision. It is better for me to try it myself. There must be someone among you who is proficient in the laws of the Han Dynasty. I wonder if there is anything wrong with this handling?"
All these officials were silent as a cicada, who dared to speak out against it
Zheng Rong saw this and sneered secretly, saying, "Since all the gentlemen have no objection, then please ask Lord Qiu to transfer all the case files and evidence to me today. As for the criminals in this case, it is not appropriate to detain them in Shanyin County. However, I am temporarily staying in Qixia Temple and cannot disturb them too much. Please ask Lord Qiu to only escort Miaozhen and Li Shenshi, two important figures, to my place for detention. Also, send the plaintiff Yang Ying'er here together, do you understand?"
Qiu Yizhi had already discussed these points with Zheng Xin. He certainly had no objection, so he stepped forward and said, "I will obey your orders."
Zheng Xin nodded with a wooden face, and then said, "One more thing. Governor Yin, Governor Cai, this case happened in your jurisdiction after all. If I were to judge it alone, it would be hard to convince everyone. Please do not leave Jinling before the case is finalized, so that we can judge it together."
Without waiting for Yin Chengliang and Cai Min to agree, he stood up, glanced at all the officials in the hall with a very cold look, and said: "What I said today is really disappointing. I hope you gentlemen will not do this in the future. Otherwise, I will report this to my father in anger, and the emperor will be furious, and you will all be embarrassed!" After that, he turned away.
When Qiu Yizi saw this, he smiled, turned around and bowed to the officials who were looking at each other in bewilderment, and said, "Your humble servant is here to receive the emperor's order. Please stay with me for a short while." Then he jumped and left the Buddhist hall for meeting.
He left Qixia Temple without stopping for long, and went straight to the manor of "Mr. Bansong" Lin Shuhan. After having a quick meal in the garden, he did not spend the night there. He called Yuchi Jiming, and they each rode on a horse and left for Shanyin County overnight.
Qiu Yizi had walked this road from Jinling to Shanyin County countless times in just one or two months and was already familiar with it.
Therefore, Qiu Yizi and Yuchi Jiming returned to Shanyin County without any trouble.
General Cui Nan, who was originally invited by Qiu Yizi, had already returned to the Quzhou camp. He only sent a battalion of about four to five hundred soldiers to guard the county town, but they were all under the command of Zhao Chengxiao.
Zhao Chengxiao was a man who was reliable and capable of doing things properly. Although he saw that all the officials from Jiangnan had left, he did not dare to slack off in the slightest and still commanded the troops to patrol day and night for fear of any accidents.
Qiu Yizhi knew that Zhao Chengxiao had been working hard these days, so he encouraged him a few words and said, "Now that the Grand Prince has arrived in Jinling City, he has discussed with me that he wants to use this case as an opportunity to punish the officials in Jiangnan. Therefore, Miaozhen, Li Shenshi and others should be escorted to Jinling; in addition, Yang Ying'er should be asked to go with him. I think it is still early, so I will not stay overnight. You should bring the criminals and ask Ying'er to follow me north to Jinling."
Zhao Chengxiao nodded, but stood still, as if he had something to hide.
Seeing him hesitate to speak, Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother Zhao has always been a straightforward person. He has accompanied me through all the hardships. Why are you being so shy today?"
Zhao Chengxiao sighed and said, "If it weren't for the fact that you and I have known each other since childhood and we have a life-long friendship, I would not want to say the following words. After I said it, you blamed me for not knowing the big picture, but I have no complaints. I am very happy that you can listen to me finish my words."
Qiu Yizhi saw Zhao Chengxiao's sad expression and knew that he was not joking with her, so she said seriously: "Brother Zhao, just say whatever you want to say. If you say something right, I will accept it; if you say something wrong, I won't blame you."
Zhao Chengxiao was relieved, and sighed, "A few days ago, Ying'er told me that she didn't want to sue anymore..."
Qiu Yizhi was shocked when she heard this and said hurriedly, "Brother Zhao, are you kidding me? Yang Ying'er has been wronged so much. No matter how Li Shenshi threatened and bribed her, and even threatened to kill someone in the middle of the night, she never gave up the idea of redressing her husband. Why is it that when things are about to be done, she backs out?"
"I asked her the same question at that time." Zhao Chengxiao said, "But she said: For her husband's case, Lady Qiu had to run back and forth countless times, and the government troops launched a large-scale attack. The people of the whole city were implicated and have been unable to return home until now, and so many government troops died for no reason. She was really guilty of a serious crime, and now her husband's injustice is nothing..."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi was speechless for a long time. After a long pause, he said, "I didn't expect Yang Ying'er to have such a kind heart..."
Zhao Chengxiao thought Qiu Yizi had agreed to Yang Ying'er's withdrawal of the lawsuit, so he asked tentatively, "So, Ying'er can give up this lawsuit?"
Unexpectedly, Qiu Yizi said firmly: "How is that possible? This lawsuit must be fought to the end!" (To be continued)