For the imperial court, this lawsuit came completely out of the blue, with no warning signs in advance.
After all, this was initiated by the people, and unlike last year, the target this time was the imperial court.
However, those old men who have been in the officialdom for many years are all shrewd people, and they quickly reacted.
Suddenly I realized that once this lawsuit begins, it will be crucial.
Because this lawsuit concentrates almost all the current contradictions within the government, and also involves the major problems currently facing the country.
It concerns the vital interests of every government office.
As a result, all the forces involved have joined in.
Officials from the Censorate, the Dali Temple, the Court of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, etc. immediately became popular among the public.
Officials from various departments and ministries presented their demands to the jury officials, either explicitly or implicitly. In short, they hoped to lead the lawsuit in a direction that was favorable to them.
For example, officials from the Three Departments found officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Criminal Justice, hoping not only to make Zhang Fei lose the case, but also to take the opportunity to convict Zhang Fei of a serious crime so that he would not be able to turn things around.
This is actually what many officials demand.
Given that Zhang Fei's purpose in filing this lawsuit was most likely linked to Wang Anshi's reforms, which they all opposed, the best outcome would naturally be to catch them all in one swoop.
Of course, there are also some officials who hate the Corvée Law so much that they hope to be treated fairly and use this lawsuit to completely change this evil law.
People like Chen Shengzhi and Lu Gongzhe all thought in this way.
As long as they were not in Kaifeng Prefecture, Lu Gongzhe would be more inclined to Zhang Fei.
Although they were also unhappy that Zhang Fei was too high-profile, compared with the two evils, the corvée system was obviously more harmful.
The jury officers all hoped to be more prepared, so they suggested resuming the trial one month later.
Unfortunately, the chief judges Sima Guang and Wang Anshi requested that the trial begin seven days later. They knew about this in advance, so they were very well prepared.
Of course, their reason was that this case involved the common people and had already spread widely, and dragging it out would be disadvantageous to the court.
Representatives were quickly elected from each ministry and department. Xu Zun was naturally the head of the Dali Temple, Lu Hui was the boss of the Censorate, Qi Hui was sent from the Court of Justice, and Liu Shu was the head of the Ministry of Justice.
The Criminal Justice Department is not among them. After all, this department is in charge of criminal justice. If it is a corruption case, they will definitely be involved.
Hanlin Academy.
Sima Guang handed the list to Wang Anshi and said, "This is very different from the previous trials. The people in the court are the spies, not the criminals. How do you plan to try them?"
Wang Anshi took a look and found that it was similar to what he had guessed. After putting down the list, he looked at Sima Guang and said, "It's not the first day we've known each other. If you have any ideas, just tell me directly."
Sima Guang stroked his beard and said, "You should know the situation in the court better than me. For the sake of fairness, why don't we let the jurors deal with Zhang San and we can handle it immediately."
They all knew in their hearts that the jurors all had purposes and inclinations. If they were not allowed to give full play to their powers, no one would be satisfied with the outcome of the trial.
Wang Anshi knew this, but he couldn't help but tease, "Are you afraid of losing last time?"
"... ... ?"
... ...
Today is the day of trial.
Early morning.
Zhang Fei was wearing white pajamas, sitting in front of a bronze mirror with his eyes closed.
Behind him, a beautiful woman was combing his hair carefully. This beautiful woman was Gao Wenyin.
She was dressed neatly and meticulously, which showed that she just came over to help Zhang Fei.
But it must be said that these days, she really did her best to take care of Zhang Fei's food and daily life. Except for sleeping, she really did everything else meticulously and impeccably.
As for sleeping...
In fact, it also helps Zhang Fei to conserve his energy and prevent him from overworked.
While Gao Wenyin was combing Zhang Fei's hair, she secretly glanced at Zhang Fei in the bronze mirror. She opened her mouth several times but finally held back.
"What does Madam want to say?" Zhang Fei suddenly asked.
Gao Wenyin was so frightened that she almost lost her grip on the comb in her hand. She was clearly with her eyes closed. She looked into the bronze mirror again and saw that Zhang Fei had opened his eyes and was looking at her with a smile.
She looked panicked and stammered, "Husband...Husband, is it...is it dangerous for you to go there?"
This woman is not stupid. She obviously wants to ask about success or failure, but she pretends to care about me. Zhang Fei smiled and said, "There is always danger. Once you go to court, anything can happen."
After hearing this, Gao Wenyin's eyes were filled with worry.
Zhang Fei wanted to reassure her, but the atmosphere was just like the life-and-death parting in an idol drama, so he followed the mood and said, "I also have something I want to ask Madam to agree to."
Gao Wenyin hurriedly said, "Please tell me, my husband. If Wenyin can do it, I will definitely agree to it."
Zhang Fei suppressed his laughter and recited the lines: "No matter whether we win or lose this time, I hope Madam will not have the thought of committing suicide again."
"ah?"
Gao Wenyin never thought that Zhang Fei would make such a request.
Zhang Fei said: "For this lawsuit, many people have taken risks and exhausted their energy, just to save your lives and clear your name.
If the lady is still determined to commit suicide, I think it would be unfair to many people, and it would make everyone feel frustrated and make this lawsuit meaningless. "
Gao Wenyin frowned, her almond eyes gradually filled with tears. After a moment, she nodded gently and said, "Okay, I... I promise my husband that no matter what, I will never commit suicide again."
Idol dramas are still reliable! Zhang Fei nodded, "That's right."
Gao Wenyin silently helped Zhang Fei comb his hair.
"Husband, your hair is done, it's time to get dressed."
After combing her hair, Gao Wenyin called out softly again.
"Bring me my robe."
Zhang Fei stood up again.
"oh."
Gao Wenyin hurriedly took out a turquoise robe from the closet.
"It's not this one." Zhang Fei pointed to the closet over there, "It's the new ones hanging in there."
"oh."
Gao Wenyin hurried to the long wardrobe again, and when she opened it, she was stunned, "This... How come they are all the same?"
There was a row of green robes hanging inside, about seven or eight of them.
Zhang Fei said, "No! Those are new. You can pick any one you want."
"Ah..oh, okay!"
Gao Wenyin took off the new dress, came to Zhang Fei, and asked carefully: "Does my husband always wear new clothes when he goes to court?"
Zhang Fei nodded. "Although they all look the same, I hope each one has its own story."
Gao Wenyin nodded dully.
I can only say that the person who wrote this ear pen is really rich.
With Gao Wenyin's attentive service, she soon helped Zhang Fei to take care of everything meticulously.
"How about it?"
Zhang Fei turned around and asked Gao Wenyin.
Gao Wenyin was also a very plain woman. Zhang Fei's outfit was even more charming than the one she wore that day at the Baifan Building. She nodded and said insincerely, "Very...very beautiful."
"Oh, almost there."
Zhang Fei went to the wardrobe again and took out a very exquisite small wooden box. He opened the box and saw more than ten brand new short pens inside.
Although they were exactly the same, Zhang Fei still selected them and said, "You are the one."
Take one and put it on the brim of your hat.
Gao Wenyin found it even weirder.
After some tidying up, the "couple" came to the hall.
Xu Zhiqian had been waiting here for a long time. She was so excited that she didn't sleep well the whole night.
This was her first time attending class, and although she was only assisting Zhang Fei, for her, it was a dream come true.
Today she was dressed like a man, and in a more retro style, a black robe with red edges, showing off her tall and slender figure, and the wooden hairpin on her bun was replaced with red silk. Her black hair was combed meticulously, and her fair, delicate oval face was fully exposed, looking heroic.
"Why are you dressed like this again?"
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei's fancy outfit and couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly.
I, a girl, dress so solemnly, but you, a man, dress so seductively.
"What do you know?"
Zhang Fei said: "This is called leading the fashion. Just wait and see. It won't be long before all the wise men in the world will learn from me. And hundreds of years later, when people see this outfit, they will still miss me."
Hundreds of years later? Xu Zhiqian curled her lips in disdain.
I don't believe you.
"If you don't believe it, forget it!"
Zhang Fei raised his head towards the door and said, "Let's go!"
As soon as the door opened, there was a huge crowd outside.
"Wow! What's going on!"
Zhang Fei jumped back quickly and asked in horror: "Are we being besieged?"
Xu Zhiqian said angrily and amusedly: "They are here to cheer you up. Besiege? This is the capital city, what are you thinking about?"
"Cheer?"
Zhang Fei didn't react for a moment.
Xu Zhiqian nodded and said, "This lawsuit concerns the people of the world."
Zhang Fei finally reacted and quickly tidied up, then asked Gao Wenyin, "Madam, is there anything else that needs to be tidied up?"
Gao Wenyin looked at him carefully for a moment, shook her head and said, "Very good."
Only then did Zhang Fei walk out with peace of mind.
His outfit was so dazzling that it could be seen from a long distance. When he stood at the door, he was definitely the focus of the whole audience.
"Zhang San!"
"Zhang San!"
... ..
The people in front of the gate all cheered and made deafening shouts.
Looking closely, even Ma Tianhao, Chen Maoqian and others were among them.
Zhang Fei has also fought many lawsuits, but this situation has never happened before.
I still remember that when I was helping Li Si to fight the lawsuit, there were even many people who gloated over his misfortune and sang a different tune.
This shows how much the people hated this corvée law.
To put it bluntly, you can choose not to borrow money at high interest rates.
The scariest thing in the world is that you can't say no.
However, this time almost all non-privileged people came spontaneously to cheer Zhang Fei on.
This time they really hope that Zhang Fei can create miracles again.
Every sound comes from the heart and is filled with anticipation.
Zhang Fei was also deeply moved and couldn't help but pull up the smooth, delicate, and boneless hand beside him.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Zhiqian withdrew her hand quickly.
Zhang Fei was startled, turned his head to look, and said depressedly: "Madam Xu, why do you always stand in my wife's position? Get out! Get out!"
"I'll settle the score with you later." Xu Zhiqian glared at him and stepped aside.
Zhang Fei tilted his head and looked back.
Gao Wenyin walked forward with a red face.
Zhang Fei took her hand, waved to the people in front, and smiled confidently.
The people became even more excited, and there was another louder wave of cheers.
"Ear Pen Zhang San!"
"Ear Pen Zhang San!"
... ..!
Zhang Fei frowned and put down his hands in embarrassment. You... you did it on purpose, right
When the carriage was on, the people consciously made way for it.
There were people standing on both sides of the road, and wherever the carriage passed, there was cheering. Zhang Fei felt as if the carriage had not moved at all.
"Madam Xu, why are you sweating?"
Zhang Fei turned around and suddenly found that Xu Zhiqian, who was sitting opposite him, had beads of sweat on her forehead.
"No...no!" Xu Zhiqian wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief anxiously.
Zhang Fei said: "If you feel uncomfortable, tell me quickly. I won't be able to take care of you all the time when we get to the hall later."
"I'm fine. I just...!"
"Just what?"
"It's just that seeing how much they are looking forward to it, I... I'm afraid I'll disappoint them." Xu Zhiqian said embarrassedly.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't overthink it. We are not their saviors. The decision-making power is not in our hands."