There was a big gossip in Suzhou Mansion today. Suzhou citizens who like to be lively but not very afraid of the government have already got the news. They flocked to the gate of the government office early in the morning, discussing and waiting.
What everyone is talking about is naturally the matter that has been rumored in Suzhou in recent days and has gradually attracted the attention of the entire Jiangnan—the dispute over the family property of the Ming family.
No one expected that Young Master Ming Qi, who should have died of illness long ago, suddenly appeared in front of everyone, and transformed himself into the leader of the Jiangnan Water Village, a famous figure in the underworld, and through the incident of the inner treasury, this Ming Qi The identity of the seventh son changed again, becoming the imperial merchant in charge of marketing on Neiku North Road.
But no matter how his identity changes, the most striking thing is that he is a descendant of the Ming family. Today Xia Qifei went to the Suzhou Mansion to file a petition to file a family property lawsuit. I don't know how the people living in Mingyuan will react.
And whose hands will the family property of the Ming family, which is so rich as an enemy, fall into
In the hearts of most people, they still favor the Ming family. One reason is that the Ming family concealed their dark side well, creating an extremely clear image in the hearts of the gentry and common people in the south of the Yangtze River. Secondly, Ming Qingda is the eldest son of the Ming family, even if Xia Qifei is really the seventh son of the Ming family, according to the Qing law and the established practice throughout the ages, the family property should naturally be inherited by the eldest son.
What's more, who can prove that Xia Qifei is really Ming Qingcheng
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At this moment, the yamen of Suzhou Mansion was bustling with activity, but the yamen was extremely nervous. The magistrate of Suzhou Mansion lay on top of the big case with a headache, and lamented weakly to the master beside him: "Tell me, what should we do today?"
The centuries-old clan of the Ming family has no idea how many connections it has with the Jiangnan officialdom. The family fed the other party earlier, and today Xia Qifei is going to file a family property lawsuit. Of course, Suzhou Zhizhou has to consider the issue from the standpoint of Ming Qingda and the old lady, but... Xia Qifei is behind the imperial envoy, not the Zhizhou lord People who dare to offend.
The master was also full of panic, he turned around on the ground in a hurry, suddenly he stood upright, closed the paper fan in his hand, and made a snap.
"My lord, it's time to be an upright official." The master gritted his teeth, his brows huddled into ugly circles.
Suzhou Zhizhou panicked and said angrily: "What kind of nonsense is this? Is this official not a clean official?" After saying this, thinking of something, Zhizhou adults suddenly lost his temper and said: "This is a matter of the Ming family. It's not good for me to stay out of the matter, after all, I have relied on the old lady to sit in this position in the past."
The master knew that the master had misunderstood what he meant, so he hurried forward and said a few words, and explained in a low voice: "Master, do you think anyone in the Ming family has said anything in the past two days?"
The governor of Suzhou was taken aback for a moment, and after thinking about it, he said strangely: "That's right, the Ming family has never sent anyone to communicate with this official."
The master smiled slyly: "From this point of view, the Ming family is naturally confident, knowing that no matter how the lawsuit is fought, what is in Xia Qifei's hands... The huge family property of the Ming family can only be owned by the old man... Don't worry, naturally you have the confidence to win, why should the master worry about them?"
Suzhou Zhizhou lowered his head slightly, and asked in a very low voice: "Then according to you, what should I do?"
This master specializes in criminal names, and he is not familiar with Qinglu. He opened the folding fan with a swipe, and said proudly: "Whether Xia Qifei can find the old man and prove his own background, even if he is really the seventh son of the Ming family, Yi Qing Lü Lun, this family property does not belong to him. Since the master does not want to offend both parties, and the Ming family is now protected by Qing Lv, then what are you worrying about? Today you only need to report to the public to handle the case according to Qing Lv... Presumably the Imperial Envoy It's not good to blame you."
I don't know how many pairs of eyes were watching this case that shocked Jiangnan. The governor of Suzhou frowned and thought for a long time, and felt that the only way to do this was to report to the public to handle the case and make a decision according to the law. He could not offend Fan Xian and watch the Ming family Success can also raise the official voice, which seems to be a win-win situation.
Thinking of this verse, the Zhizhou lord finally relaxed, and said with a long sigh of relief: "That's it, if you don't move, you move."
At this moment, the broken drum outside the government office rang.
Zhizhou frowned, and scolded: "This water bandit surnamed Xia is really in a hurry." Having said so, he didn't dare to neglect, tidied up his official uniforms, piled up his majesty with a kind smile, and walked out of the study. Go to the courtroom.
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When they came to the court, they could only hear the commotion outside the mansion, and there was a burst of killing power, which suppressed the shouting voices of the Suzhou citizens outside.
Lord Zhizhou squinted his eyes and looked down the hall, and was a little surprised to find that Xia Qifei came to the court today alone, without bringing other people with him. It seems that the imperial envoy didn't send anyone to help Xia Qifei.
"Who is in the hall?"
"Grassman Xia Qifei?"
"What's the matter?"
Xia Qifei was silent for a while, a little distracted, and forgot to answer for a while. He is wearing a pure green cotton robe today, the beard on his chin has been shaved clean, and his green skin is exposed. He looks full of vigor and energy, and his hands outside the cuffs tremble slightly. It seems that what happened today is not for this The significance of being the Seventh Young Master of Ming Dynasty is indeed great.
Lord Zhizhou glanced at him with some disgust, and felt that this person standing proudly in the hall was a big challenge to his authority, and even in front of the official, he... did not kneel!
He was about to go crazy, but found that his sleeve was pulled by the master.
The master said softly: "Fan... Fan... don't worry about small things."
Zhizhou was surprised, thinking about it, why care about these small things
At this time, Xia Qifei finally spoke in a deep voice, and he clasped his fists and said loudly: "The grassroots Xia Qifei, whose surname is Ming, and whose name is Qingcheng, is the seventh son of the old master Ming of the Ming family in Suzhou. The shrew was expelled from the house and has been in exile until now. She lost her father and lost her family. Today, she had no choice but to enter the government office. She sued the old lady of the Ming family in Suzhou and Ming Qingda, the head of the house, for colluding with bandits, murdering people and taking my property... Please Lord Qingtian seek justice for Xiaomin!"
As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the courtyard. We all know that Xia Qifei is here to grab the family property today, but no one would have thought that the moment he opened his mouth, he pointed out that the old matriarch and Ming Qingda had wanted to harm people's lives in the past, with every word to punish their hearts, and they were even shrews and bandits in their words. People come out one after another, leaving no room for it!
The people outside the yamen started to make a fuss. In their hearts, the old matriarch Ming was a kind old woman. She had done many good deeds over the years, so how could she have anything to do with the shrew
In fact, these people also vaguely guessed in their hearts that the seventh young master of the Ming family disappeared strangely back then, probably because the old matriarch Ming was inseparable from the current master of the Ming family, Ming Qingda... But people are always willing to believe what they believe, I believe that I have convinced myself, so I booed Ming Qingda's accusation.
The governor of Suzhou also frowned, and said in disgust: "This is a big matter, you must be careful with your words, where is the pleadings?"
Xia Qifei took out the paper from his bosom, and handed it to the next teacher with both hands. After the master handed the pleadings to Mr. Zhizhou, the two of them took a closer look and felt shocked. The pleadings were written gorgeously and sharply, and every word directly pointed to the old lady, and it cleverly avoided Qingluli. Regarding the rules in this regard, they just blindly put words on the will of the old man Ming, but regarding Xia Qifei's miserable life of wandering in these years, he spared no effort to write and ink, which moved everyone who saw it.
Master Zhizhou was moved, but he sneered secretly in his heart, squinting his eyes, thinking that such articles are good for making novels, but they can be used for lawsuits, but they are useless.
He slapped the gavel and shouted sharply: "Xia Qifei, do you have evidence to present?"
Xia Qifei said calmly: "The people from the Ming family have not arrived, why should you be so anxious?"
Seeing Xia Qifei's calm and confident expression, Lord Zhizhou frowned, wondering if the other party really had some deadly weapon in his hand? He pondered for a while, discussed with the master, and then sent someone to invite people from the Ming family to come to the lawsuit.
According to the explanatory notes in the Qing Law, this kind of civil lawsuit does not require the defendant to come to the lawsuit, but today's dispute is too big, the forces behind the two sides are too big, and the impact in the south of the Yangtze River is too great. He didn't dare to push too much, anyway, he knew that the Ming family would definitely not stay out of it, so he sent someone to invite him.
Sure enough, the yamen servant went out, and the people from the Ming family followed in. It seemed that the Ming family had already prepared the suitors, just waiting to fight the battle that must be won.
Seeing the person coming, Suzhou Zhizhou frowned again, and said coldly, "Who is coming?"
The noble young man smiled slightly, bowed his body and saluted, "Ming Lanshi, send your greetings to your lord."
Of course, the young master of the Ming family knew that the governor of Suzhou was acting at this time, and he had to play the upright role in front of the citizens, so he spoke so coldly. Normally, the governor of Suzhou was much more affectionate in front of him, but these days After the analysis of the Ming family, they decided that this property lawsuit was a win-win situation, so Ming Lanshi understood the thoughts of Suzhou Zhizhou and didn't mind much.
"En." Suzhou Zhizhou said: "Master Ming has been unwell recently, and it is reasonable for you to respond to this matter as the eldest grandson of the house. Come here, and hand over the pleading paper to Ming Lanshi for a review."
The master took the pleading paper down, but unexpectedly Ming Lanshi would not accept it, instead he smiled and saluted: "My lord, my Ming family is not a villain who likes to litigate, so I don't really understand the entanglement, so I invited a litigator to help .”
After he finished speaking, he glanced to the side, and the so-called "litigious villain" was naturally aimed at Xia Qifei who stood aside. Xia Qifei didn't react, and he didn't even look at his eldest nephew.
As Ming Lanshi's words fell to the ground, a person flashed in from behind, took the certificate handed over by the master with both hands, and smiled flatteringly.
The magistrate of Suzhou and his teacher saw this man, and immediately let go of some suspenseful hearts. This litigator is surnamed Chen Mingbochang, and he is the most famous litigator in the south of the Yangtze River, or the most notorious litigator. He is very close to the state government. Apparently, in lawsuits, this person has always been able to turn black into white, dead into living, and male into female.
Today, the Ming family moved this Chen Bochang out, and with the escort of Qinglu's dead clause on the succession of the eldest son, this family property lawsuit will definitely not lose.
Chen Bochang held Xia Qifei's hair-shaped paper and looked at it carefully, a contemptuous sneer appeared on the corner of his lips, he underestimated the other party and even the imperial envoy behind him, he cleared his throat and said with a frivolous smile: "What a good one A story that moves heaven and earth... I just don't know... What does the story of Chief Xia have to do with the Ming family?"
The litigator called Xia Qifei the leader of Xia, naturally to influence public opinion, and let the citizens who were watching remember that this Xia Qifei was the murderous leader of the underworld on the river and lake.
Xia Qifei said with a blank face, "It's all about the Ming family's 20-year history, what do you think has anything to do with the Ming family?"
Chen Bochang suddenly sneered twice, and sarcastically said: "Mr. Xia is really ridiculous. If you say it is a story about the Ming family, it is the story of the Ming family? If you say that you are the seventh master of the Ming family, is it the seventh master of the Ming family?"
He bowed his hands to Suzhou Zhizhou in the hall and said with a smile: "My lord, this case is too absurd, there is really no need to continue."
Suzhou magistrate frowned falsely and said, "Why did Meng Lang say such a thing?"
Chen Bochang laughed and said: "There is no evidence at all, so he claims to be the seventh son of the Ming family... My lord, if there is another person who claims to be the seventh son of the Ming family at this time, so what? Everyone in the south of the Yangtze River knows that the old man of the Ming family had seven sons and four daughters in total. The seventh son was born to a concubine. He was sick and weak since he was a child. He died of an illness more than ten years ago. How can there be another seven sons of the Ming family now? If one person is allowed to call himself a descendant of the Ming family, it will be You can go to court, slander the reputation of the Ming family, slander the name of the Ming old lady and the Ming master, how can there be any justice in this?"
He looked at Xia Qifei and said with a smile: "Of course, everyone now knows that Boss Xia is not an ordinary person... It's just that I'm very curious. After the bidding was opened in Neiku, Boss Xia made such a ridiculous move. I don't know why? Is there some sinister intention hidden behind it?"
The most famous litigator in the south of the Yangtze River felt that today's lawsuit was too unchallenging, so he attacked Xia Qifei as soon as he came up, and shook his head while looking at Xia Qifei: "If you don't have evidence, don't start a lawsuit indiscriminately. There are no witnesses. , don’t gossip about it... Boss Xia, you have insulted the Ming family’s reputation today, and later, you will be accused of false accusation.”
Those who personally witnessed the killing of Xia Qifei's biological mother and driving Xia Qifei away by the old matriarch of the Ming Dynasty have been silenced in the past ten years. It is impossible for Xia Qifei to have any evidence or witnesses at hand, so the Ming family is very confident .
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And at this moment, a greasy, lazy voice that made people's skin crawl came from outside the Suzhou government office.
"Who says you can't sue without evidence? Who says you can't sue for murder without witnesses?"
"In the first year of Qingli, in the case of a concubine murdering her husband in Dingzhou, the main wife sued without evidence. Afterwards, she found a saber in the stable, and the case was solved."
"The one hundred and thirty-seventh file of the Spring Scroll archived by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, based on the example of the king of the Song Dynasty in Nanyue, stated that civil cases are third-class, involving disputes involving more than 10,000 yuan, and are not subject to punishment and death rules, and are not subject to counter-examination. There is no need to provide full proof..."
"The Ming family's wealth is more than ten thousand?"
"There are two cases before, why can't this lawsuit be fought?"
"For matters such as evidence, after the complaint is made, the government will investigate the scene and search for criminal evidence. Why are you so anxious about litigation?"
"What's more... who said that Mr. Xia has no evidence?"
The man who came from the Yamen was dressed in a Confucian shirt and held a golden fan. He was extremely ostentatious and arrogant. A series of words, citing cases, and writing in the archives of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, although a bit preposterous, succeeded in overwhelmingly the Ming family. The momentum was suppressed, and everyone's eyes were attracted to him.
The magistrate of Suzhou stroked his beard slightly angrily, and said, "Who is here? He went to court without a pass! Come here, hit me!"
The man in the Confucian shirt inserted a metal fan behind him, bowed his hands in respect to the hall, and said, "Your Excellency, you can't beat him."
After saying this, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, shook it in the air, and said with a playful smile: "Wan Sheng is just like this Mr. Chen Bochang, he is also a lawyer, but he is the lawyer invited by Mr. Xia Qifei. He came earlier. It's late, please forgive this crime, my lord, let me stand in the hall and talk to the Ming family with my body intact... Before the case was tried, my lord knocked one of the litigators unconscious... When the news spread, only I'm afraid it will hinder the adult's clear name."
Everyone was taken aback, only then did they realize that the person who came was actually Xia Qifei's lawyer.
Xia Qifei smiled wryly, wondering why the imperial envoy sent him such a litigator who smelled too much of nonsense.
The magistrate of Suzhou was stifled by the words of the litigator, and he was very angry, but he didn't dare to really fight, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to the imperial envoy, and he was speechless for a while.
He couldn't speak, but that Chen Bochang's eyes lit up, staring at the litigator with the golden fan on his back, he felt that he had finally met a sharp-mouthed opponent, a little excited, he thrust the fan behind him, and spoke Said: "Your Excellency's previous two cases are special cases, especially the spring file notes of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, which are only for reference by the Criminal Department of Dali Temple in Beijing, but have never involved local trials."
The man shook his head and said: "Otherwise, in the fourth year of Daxing, Lin Ruofu, the former senior minister who was a judge in Suzhou at that time, used this spring file to annotate and judge a family property case, why did you say that you didn't get involved?"
Chen Bochang's heart tightened, but he didn't have any impression of the case mentioned by the other party. Either the other party was talking nonsense, or the other party's familiarity with Qing Law and the jurisprudence... was far superior to his own!
The man continued to smile and said: "Brother Bochang, don't say that Qinglu doesn't follow the precedents. Whether the precedents are used or not is not limited by Qinglu's express text, it's all at the discretion of the chief officer."
He raised his hand to curry favor with Master Zhizhou of Suzhou, but the Zhizhou of Suzhou scolded his mother in his heart. He knew that just by reading four words, he forced himself to Dongshan.
Who is this lawyer? Chen Bochang and Ming Lanshi looked at each other, feeling a little strange, where did such a shameless litigator come from Jiangnan
The magistrate of Suzhou finally couldn't bear to ask: "Dare to ask, who is this gentleman's name?"
Xia Qifei also looked at his lawyer. The litigator clasped his hands and said with a smile: "Student Song Shiren, who is a director of the Kyoto Litigation Guild, has been granted a transfer by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and came to Jiangnan today to have the honor of participating in the largest family property case in history. "
Song Shiren!
The magistrate of Suzhou immediately had the idea of running away, Ming Lanshi also felt his mouth dry, and that Chen Bochang's eyes were straightened!
Who is Song Shiren? The most famous king in Kyoto, or the most famous king in the entire Qing Kingdom, Chen Bochang's reputation is only in the south of the Yangtze River, but this Song Shiren is known all over the world for being clever, tricky and difficult to mess with. I don't know how many officials have lost their face and how many sufferers have shed tears when they studied Qinglu at a young age.
Even the people of Suzhou City had heard of Song Shiren's notoriety. Hearing his self-signed name at this time, there was a commotion outside the government office, and everyone knew that today's show was even better.
Ming Lanshi looked at Chen Bochang worriedly. Chen Bochang regained his composure after a little panic, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a strong fighting spirit burst out of his body, he said with a sneer, "Don't worry, young master, I have never lost a lawsuit before, but Song Shiren has lost it before!"
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It's just that this Chen Bochang seems to have forgotten a very important point. The only lawsuit Song Shiren has ever lost in his life... was the last time that the illegitimate son of Nan Bo, the chief judge in the capital, beat Guo Baokun... Song Shiren only lost to Fan Xian once.
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Since it is going to be a family property lawsuit, of course the first thing to confirm is Xia Qifei's real life experience, whether he is the seventh son born to Mrs. Ming.
Regarding this point, Chen Bochang's stand was extremely firm. If the other party could not prove this matter, he would not bother to argue about the rest of the matter. Only in this way could Song Shiren, who is notorious outside, be given the opportunity to seize his own loopholes.
The magistrate of Suzhou also frowned and asked Xia Qifei to provide tangible evidence to prove his identity.
Song Shiren was no longer as relaxed as before, he shook his head at Xia Qifei, and invited his first witness.
This witness is a stable woman who is very old and trembling when she walks. When she walked to the hall, she was out of breath and confirmed that she was the one who took care of Mrs. Ming's concubine back then. There is a blue birthmark.
Xia Qifei undressed in court, and there was indeed a green mark on the back of his waist.
Chen Bochang frowned, gritted his teeth and whispered to Ming Lanshi, "Why didn't you talk about this yesterday?"
Ming Lanshi's teeth were clenched, and he whispered angrily, "This Wen Po... is a fake! She died of illness two years ago!"
Chen Bochang sighed, even if he knew that Mrs. Wen was a fake, how could he prove it? The steady woman looked confused, but in the previous question and answer, she clearly remembered the location of Mingyuan back then, the appearance of the old man Ming, the clothes of the concubine, and the house. From the perspective of onlookers, this Wenpo is really, really can't be more real.
Damn it, the Overwatch Council's fraud is really serious!