In fact, what Chen Yuteng did was very common in the Song Dynasty, and it was not a heinous crime. Many officials also annexed the land of ordinary farmers and played word games. There were even uglier things than this.
Why should my nephew be punished so severely
This is not fair!
Based on this, Wang Wenshan would certainly not be convicted of the crime of stealing his wife by his nephew, because this crime is too serious and is a criminal offense. Once convicted, he will have a tattoo on his face and his future is uncertain.
Of course, he would not look for tea eaters, because most of them were clerks who had retired from the government and were definitely not as talented as officials who were well versed in the law. So he looked for his student, Chen Yu, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice, to discuss countermeasures.
"It turns out there are so many twists and turns." Chen Yu nodded slightly.
Wang Wenshan sighed, "My nephew is not a bad person, but he is easily influenced by others. He did this because he listened to the woman's advice. He can just give up the interest. The land and Zeng can also be returned to Li Si. I just hope that the matter can be settled peacefully."
This matter has been brought to Kaifeng Prefecture. For him, it is a failure. As a minister in the court, he must first keep the peace and deal with future matters later.
Chen Yu shook his head and said, "Master, I'm afraid that won't work! If the interest doesn't count, then it means that the judgments made by Xiangfu County and Kaifeng Prefecture are both wrong. Xiangfu County is easy to talk to, but can Kaifeng Prefecture agree to it?"
Then he whispered, "As far as I know, this matter has already been reported to the Imperial Academy. I'm afraid it won't work if we just keep quiet."
Wang Wenshan was shocked and asked, "How could such a small case be brought to the Imperial Academy?"
Chen Yu sighed, "Master, you should know that Wang Jiefu is instigating the government to reform the law, which involves the people taking on debts. He will definitely make a big fuss about this."
Wang Wenshan panicked immediately, feeling completely unsure, "Then... what should I do?"
Chen Yu thought for a while and said, "Is this idea really from Zeng?"
Wang Wenshan nodded and said, "This is absolutely true."
Chen Yu said: "Master, do you think that this might be a conspiracy between Zeng and Li Si to blackmail your nephew?"
Wang Wenshan shook his head and said, "That's unlikely. They didn't blackmail my nephew."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly looked at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu said: "Maybe they want to use this case to blackmail your nephew."
... ..．
When the sun was high in the sky, Zhang Fei came out of the house leisurely. After throwing Li Si's bag to Kaifeng Mansion, he felt relieved. He happened to see Qingmei walking by with a bamboo basket full of fruits. He couldn't help but feel greedy and took the initiative to greet her: "Qingmei, this melon looks good."
Qingmei immediately moved the fruit basket to the other side and said, "This is not for you."
Zhang Fei asked, "Will there be any guests at home?"
Qingmei said: "What home? This is not your home."
In her heart, she always regarded Zhang Fei as a rapist and never looked at him kindly.
It's really hard to live under someone else's roof. Even a maid dares to confront me. Zhang Fei was a little unhappy and asked immediately, "By the way, how is my place to live?"
Qingmei was surprised and asked, "What residence?"
Zhang Fei said, "Didn't your sister Qian'er ask you to help me find another place to live?"
Qingmei shook her head and said, "Sister Qian'er never told me to do that!"
"What?"
Zhang Fei opened his eyes wide and asked, "No instructions?"
"Um."
Qingmei nodded.
“This is outrageous!”
Zhang Fei couldn't help but curse: "I knew that woman was unreliable."
Qingmei stamped her feet, pointed at Zhang Fei and said, "Who are you scolding?"
"The Widow Liu next door." Zhang Fei said unhappily.
Qingmei was stunned. "Widow Liu? There's no Widow Liu next door!"
When she came to her senses, she found that Zhang Fei had already walked away, and stomped her feet fiercely, "You lewd thief, I will tell Sister Qian'er."
... ...
"This woman is so hypocritical. She chased me away but secretly kept me here. It's obvious that she has some plans for me and is flattering you. It's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. Anyway, I have nothing to do now, so I might as well find someone myself. The money will be there soon anyway."
Zhang Fei cursed as he left Xu's house. When he came to the street, he looked around, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Why not go to Xiangguo Temple? I'm more familiar with that place, and there's also a touch and sing service, which is more convenient for a single guy like me."
But before he had gone far, a middle-aged man suddenly blocked his way.
"May I ask if you are Zhang Fei Zhang Sanlang?"
"it's me."
Zhang Fei nodded.
The middle-aged man cupped his hands and said, "My master invites you."
Zhang Fei asked: "Who is your master?"
"You'll know when you go there."
Is that so awesome? Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Sorry! I don't want to know. Excuse me."
After saying that, he walked around the middle-aged man. Suddenly, two burly men jumped out from the corner.
Zhang Fei frowned, stepped back, looked at the middle-aged man, took a deep breath, then lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry!"
The middle-aged man didn't care and turned aside, "This way, please."
Zhang Fei hesitated and said, "If you want to take me to some remote place, I will scream for help now. At worst, we can just break up."
The middle-aged man said, "My master is in the teahouse over there."
As he spoke, he pointed towards a teahouse across the street.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Please."
When we arrived at the teahouse, we saw only a gentle and refined old man in his fifties sitting inside.
Zhang Fei looked at the old man for a moment, then suddenly bowed and said, "I am Zhang San, your humble servant, to meet Wang Sinong."
The old man looked at Zhang Fei with a little surprise. After a moment, he stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Young people are really formidable! Please take a seat."
This person was none other than Wang Wenshan, the head of the Sinong Temple.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Fei sat down.
Wang Wenshan said: "I think you have guessed the purpose of my coming here."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Wang Wenshan sighed and said, "It is true that my nephew did something wrong, but the result of both sides being hurt is not what you want."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Please forgive me, Wang Sinong. I have no other choice but to do this."
"I can understand."
Wang Wenshan smiled and nodded, saying, "I have a better idea, is it feasible?"
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Wang Sinong, please speak."
Wang Wenshan said: "My nephew will return his wife and land to Li Si, and he does not need to pay back the money he borrowed. In addition..."
He suddenly looked at the middle-aged man who had just brought Zhang Fei here.
The middle-aged man immediately put a small wooden box on the table. When he opened it, he found two large silver ingots.
"Here is one hundred taels, consider it as my thank you to you." Wang Wenshan said.
Zhang Fei glanced at the silver and said with a smile, "Wang Sinong, do you know why I study law?"
Wang Wenshan asked, “Why?”
Zhang Fei said: "I am afraid that I might accidentally do something illegal. I really want this money, but I cannot accept it because it is against the rules."
Wang Wenshan frowned and said, "So you are determined to put my nephew to death."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "That's not it either."
Wang Wenshan asked, "Then what do you want?"
Zhang Fei said: "Let your nephew take the initiative to admit his mistakes, apologize to Li Si, and take out 500 strings of cash as a settlement..."
Wang Wenshan was slightly surprised: "Five hundred strings of cash? Your appetite is really too big."
But I thought to myself, it turns out he thinks it’s too little!
One hundred taels of silver is about one hundred strings of coins.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "How about one thousand strings of cash?"
Wang Wenshan narrowed his eyes and said, "Boy, you are just a commoner after all."
Zhang Fei shrugged slightly and said, "I am just a piece of broken tile. I won't lose anything if any porcelain touches me. Today, I can let your nephew and Li Si become cellmates. Maybe I can also make us two become cellmates regardless of age difference."
"boom!"
Wang Wenshan slammed the table.
The two big men at the door rushed in immediately.
Faced with such a sudden change, Zhang Fei looked at Wang Wenshan without fear.
Wang Wenshan looked at Zhang Fei for a moment and asked in confusion: "Aren't you afraid? No one will pay attention to the disappearance of an ear pen person."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Who are you trying to scare? Just try to touch me. I guarantee that many people are watching me right now. Hanlin Academy? Or Dali Temple? I think Wang Sinong doesn't want both sides to suffer losses!"
Wang Wenshan already felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have invited these two people in. Wasn't this just a joke? After a while, he smiled and nodded, "It's true that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger!"
With another wave of his hand, the two big men immediately went out the door.
He did not forget that Zhang Fei was now living in Xu Zun's house.
Although Xu Zun remained a bystander in this case, things might have been different if Xu Zun hadn't been involved.
Even Zhang Fei couldn't climb the steps to Kaifeng Prefecture.
"Even if my nephew is willing to reconcile, I'm afraid Kaifeng Prefecture will not agree." Wang Wenshan said.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "For Wang Sinong, it is easier to convince Kaifeng Prefecture than to convince me."
... ...
After Zhang Fei left, a man came out from the inner room. It was Chen Yu, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice.
"This kid is more greedy and cunning than we thought." Chen Yu said with a little frustration.
"How ridiculous! I will never let this kid off." Wang Wenshan pounded his fist on the table and said to Chen Yu, "Based on what he just said, can we sue him for blackmail?"
Chen Yu shook his head and said, "Without evidence, it will be difficult to sue."
It turned out that they originally wanted Zhang Fei to take the silver and then sue them for collusion and blackmailing them.
But they underestimated Zhang Fei. What a lawyer is best at is packaging illegal things as legal things.
What blackmail
This is called a settlement payment.
Wang Wenshan asked excitedly: "Are we just going to let him go like this?"
Chen Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, it is not too late for this gentleman to take revenge even after ten years."
The most important thing at the moment is to keep the peace. All the officials know that this kind of thing must be settled as soon as possible. The longer they stay in there, the more variables there will be.
"ten years?"
Wang Wenshan sneered, "If it takes ten years to avenge a spy, then there is no point in me being an official. When my nephew is released, I will never forgive him."
... ..
After leaving the teahouse, Zhang Fei did not choose to go to Xiangguo Temple again. He was not in the mood for that.
After returning to Xu's house, as soon as he entered the gate, he leaned against the doorpost, breathing slightly.
In fact, how could he not be afraid, but he had no choice. He was just a commoner, and if he were any more humble, he would definitely not be able to do this job as a lawyer.
It has to be hard.
No!
It has to be thick and hard.
It’s not that I can’t be tactful, but that I can’t do it at the moment.
After a short pause, Zhang Fei planned to go back to the house, but halfway through, he suddenly saw a beautiful figure hiding behind the potted plant. It could not be anyone else but Xu Zhiqian. He thought to himself, it's all your fault, you woman, for lying to me.
He was about to go forward to argue with Xu Zhiqian, but just as he took a step forward, he suddenly heard a man talking. He looked carefully and saw a handsome young man standing next to Xu Zhiqian.
The two were of similar age. Xu Zhiqian was beautiful, needless to say, and the young man was handsome and had an extraordinary temperament.
They look really good together.
"What a pair of bastards. Forget it. I won't disturb your tryst. I'll settle the score with you later."
Zhang Fei was very tactful and walked lightly towards his house quietly.
"Zhang Sanlang!"
Suddenly, a clear shout was heard.
I don't even want to disturb you, but you took the initiative to call me, and called me so kindly, are you trying to raise your price? Zhang Fei rolled his eyes, then turned around and greeted with a smile: "Madam Xu."
Xu Zhiqian smiled kindly and gently called out, "Come here, I'll introduce someone to you."
Is this woman being horny? Zhang Fei had never seen Xu Zhiqian so gentle before, and he couldn't adapt to it for a while. Then he thought, since her boyfriend is here, she must be gentler. Otherwise, who would dare to marry her
But he really didn't know why he had to go there by himself, but since the other party called out, he had no choice but to go there.
Xu Zhiqian extended her hand to the handsome young man beside her and said, "This is my father's student, Wang Ye."
"Your Majesty?"
Zhang Fei exclaimed.
The handsome young man nodded slightly and said, "A page of paper."
Zhang Fei let out a long sigh: "Wang Ye! Haha, this is such a good name!"