In fact, Feng Nanxi did not completely trust Zhang Fei. After all, they had only known each other for less than an hour. It was just because of what Zhang Fei had done before that he had a good impression of Zhang Fei. In addition, Gao Wenyin was determined to commit suicide, so he chose to believe Zhang Fei.
Therefore, he did not ask all the brothers to go and live in Zhang Fei's house. Instead, he asked Longshan to send Zhang Fei and Gao Wenyin back first to avoid exposing any flaws. After two days, he would go over to check the situation himself.
As for Shi Tingxiu and Niu Beiqing, they were providing support from outside.
It is said to be support, but in fact it is just to guard against Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei knew it very well, but he didn't care because he had already decided to take the lawsuit.
After leaving the ruined temple, Zhang Fei found himself in Hexi, the outer city. He felt that this piece of land was really unlucky for him, so it would be better for him to avoid coming here in the future.
... ...
"Brother Zhang San!"
"Brother Zhang San!"
... ..
As soon as I returned to Bianhe Street, I heard shouting everywhere.
"I'm here."
"Is it Brother Zhang San?"
"Yes."
"Brother Zhang San is here."
"We found Brother Zhang San."
... ..
After a while, a horse came galloping over. It was Taozi, the idle man beside Cao Dongdong.
"Brother Zhang San, where are you going? We are having a hard time finding you!"
"I went to the outer city to get rid of the alcohol." Then Zhang Fei asked, "What happened?"
Taozi immediately told Zhang Fei the reason.
It turned out that Xu Zhiqian saw that Zhang Fei had not returned for a long time, so she sent someone to Baifan Tower to inquire. Only then did she find out that Zhang Fei had left long ago.
Xu Zhiqian suddenly panicked.
That kid has too many enemies, and he was ambushed last time.
Fan Zheng, Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi and others were also afraid that something might happen to Zhang Fei, so they sent people to look for him everywhere.
Zhang Fei asked Taozi to go back and inform Cao Dongdong, and he took a carriage back to his home.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw Xu Zhiqian walking quickly.
When she saw Zhang Fei, she was so angry that her eyebrows raised.
"do not talk!"
Zhang Fei quickly raised his hand and said seriously: "From now on, I will listen to you. If you point east, I will never go west. Today it is finally confirmed that you are really a fortune teller. I am completely convinced."
Xu Zhiqian was confused. When she opened her red lips slightly, she suddenly saw another beautiful young woman coming out of the carriage. She was stunned, "Who is she?"
Zhang Fei turned around and glanced at Gao Wenyin, then said to Xu Zhiqian, "Let's go back to the house and talk!"
Xu Zhiqian glanced at the young woman, knowing what might have happened, and said, "Why don't you go to my house first and tell my father that you are safe."
Zhang Fei asked, "Did you disturb the benefactor?"
Xu Zhiqian was furious: "How dare you say that? I sent someone to Baifan Tower to inquire, and Fan Dalang said that you had been gone for more than an hour. Look, it's almost dawn now. How can I not tell my father?"
The fifth watch had long passed, but it was a cold winter, so it was only just beginning to get light.
"Thank you, Madam Xu, for your concern." Zhang Fei said sincerely.
The fact that Xu Zhiqian sent someone to inquire so late at night proved that she had not slept and was waiting to come back.
Xu Zhiqian snorted: "Who cares about you?"
"Anyway, I'm very sorry."
Zhang Fei said again: "Okay! Let's go to your house first! It just so happens that I also have something to discuss with my benefactor, uh... But wait a moment, I'm going to take a shower and change clothes."
Xu Zhiqian then realized that Zhang Fei was covered in dirt, so she nodded and said, "Then I'll go tell my dad first."
After Xu Zhiqian left, Zhang Fei first asked Li Si to settle Gao Wenyin, while he quickly took a shower, changed his clothes, and went to Xu's house.
When he arrived at Xu's house, he told Xu Zun and Xu Zhiqian everything that had happened tonight. When it came to official matters, he usually would not hide anything from the father and daughter of the Xu family, because they were the only people he could completely trust in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Xu Zhiqian's hatred of evil began to flare up again. "I never thought that the Transportation Bureau had become so corrupt. They sacrificed several innocent lives for a few thousand taels. This is simply unscrupulous."
Xu Zun also frowned, his face full of anger, and nodded, "Qian'er is right. This can no longer be called corruption. It is murder for money. This must be investigated strictly."
Zhang Fei suddenly asked, "My benefactor, can this be found out?"
Xu Zun was stunned. "How can we know the result if we haven't even started the investigation yet?"
Zhang Fei said: "I heard from them that this is not uncommon in our dynasty. It must have happened before. I wonder if it is easy to investigate?"
Xu Zun said nothing.
Xu Zhiqian said frankly: "Initially, the imperial court asked wealthy families to escort the government silver in order to prevent the officials from stealing. However, it is not uncommon for the rich families' property to be confiscated due to accidents on the way. However, it is very rare for an official to steal and kill for money like this."
Zhang Fei said: "If I hadn't been kidnapped by them today, this would probably be what Madam Xu said happened all the time."
Xu Zhiqian nodded gently, "That's true, there must be a lot of injustice hidden in this."
When she said this, she couldn't help but sigh.
This is really common knowledge.
Xu Zun said: "Since this matter has been exposed, the law is long and wide, and nothing can escape it. As long as the government investigates it seriously, they should be able to find some clues."
Zhang Fei asked, "My benefactor, is it certain that we can find out this?"
Xu Zun was slightly stunned: "No one can guarantee this."
This is not a simple civil criminal case. It also involves the government and the Transportation Bureau. This department is really complicated and involves many interests. It has become a cancer in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Once an investigation is launched, it will no longer be a simple case investigation, but a game of power.
This requires wisdom.
Zhang Fei asked again: "What if we can't find it?"
Xu Zun frowned and said nothing.
If you can’t find it, then what else can you do
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Zhang San, do you have other plans?"
Xu Zun also looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
Zhang Fei said: "This matter involves the Transportation Department, and it happens all the time. If we follow the clues, we may find a large number of people. Then these people will definitely do their best to stop the investigation. Moreover, they are the first to file a complaint, so they have the upper hand. I am worried that if we can't find evidence, everything will be irreversible. Not only will they be imprisoned, but I may also be implicated by them."
It is said that such things happen frequently, so one can imagine how dark the situation is. Moreover, the imperial court itself is one of the culprits. Although there are twists and turns in it, the imperial court just confiscated the property and sold the people.
Checking the right hand with the left hand, does Zhang Fei dare to believe it
And Zhang Fei was really scared about this.
Because he had just arrived here, he was arrested and locked up for several months and almost died in there. Others really cannot understand that kind of despair.
Xu Zhiqian knew Zhang Fei's worries and frowned, "But there is no other way."
Zhang Fei said: "Investigating the case is not something we are good at. The key is that it is beyond our control. Once we start investigating this case, our lives will be controlled by them. Then we can only leave it to fate. The best way is to sue."
Xu Zun did not have the authority to investigate the case, so if anyone was to investigate, it would be Kaifeng County and the prefectures along the way.
And when Xu Zun faced a huge bureaucracy, he was insignificant.
Zhang Fei could only wait for the results.
But in Zhang Fei's opinion, this is a very dangerous thing.
Xu Zun was puzzled and said, "This is a case of corruption and murder for money. Even if we want to sue, we have to find evidence first. There is no other way."
"That may not be the case."
Zhang Fei said: "If we can avoid this corruption case and sue the court directly, there will be no need to launch an investigation."
"What?"
Both Xu's father and daughter were shocked.
Good job!
He never stops until he says something shocking!
Are you crazy
Xu Zun asked in a silly and cute way: "What are you suing the court for?"
Zhang Fei said: "Let's assume that this is really a shipwreck. Can the imperial court really confiscate the other party's property and even make the other party's wife a government maid?"
Xu Zun sighed and said, "There are provisions in this regard in the Corvée Law."
Zhang Fei asked: "But is this regulation legal?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "This is determined by the court, so it is naturally legal!"
"Not necessarily." Zhang Fei shook his head.
Xu Zhiqian was surprised and asked, "Not necessarily?"
Zhang Fei thought for a while, "I have some ideas, but I need to verify them specifically. But if I want to avoid investigation, I can only sue the corvée law. Since I want to sue the law, I can only sue the court, because the law was set by the court."
The logic is very rigorous, but is it illegal to sue the law
Xu Zhiqian was confused, "How do I sue this?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Just remember, as an informant, there is nothing you can't sue for, and of course you can sue according to the law."
Xu Zun was also confused by what he heard and said, "But no one has ever sued the court. I don't know whether this is allowed."
Although there are no legal provisions for citizens to sue officials, there are precedents. However, there is no precedent for suing the imperial court.
"Since there is no rule prohibiting it, then it is tacitly allowed." Zhang Fei said: "The key point is that I heard that some people in the court have been saying that the current corvée law has many drawbacks and needs to be improved."
Xu Zun finally realized that this guy was not letting go for no reason, but wanted to use the old trick again, taking advantage of Wang Anshi's favorable wind. This was not impossible. He nodded and said, "I know what you mean, but reform is reform. They may allow you to make such a fuss, but they will probably not rule that the court loses. After all, this is not a case by case, they have to consider the overall situation."
Zhang Fei said: "I don't want the court to admit defeat, I want to force the court to find out the real culprit."
Xu Zhiqian's eyes lit up, "So you were planning to ask for a sky-high price and pay it back on the spot!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's right."
Xu Zun's mind was a little confused, so he had to calm down and think carefully, so he said: "This matter must be handled with caution. Anyway, the government has all been on vacation, and you can't sue. Think about it carefully."
"yes."
Zhang Fei nodded.
"Also, write me a seal first, so that you won't be accused of harboring a criminal."
Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "You are very thoughtful, benefactor. I will write it later."
After the conversation, Xu Zun went back to his room to rest. He had not slept all night. Fortunately, he was on vacation now and did not need to work tomorrow.
"Huh..."
Zhang Fei collapsed on the chair and suddenly looked at Xu Zhiqian: "Do I have to serve in the army too?"
Xu Zhiqian was slightly stunned. "Usually, they do, but you can also hire someone to serve on your behalf."
Zhang Fei asked, "If something goes wrong, will you still confiscate my property?"
Xu Zhiqian nodded.
Of course, with Xu Zun around, this would most likely not happen.
However, Xu Zhiqian didn't want to say it clearly.
Zhang Fei sighed, "You are right!"
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
Zhang Fei sighed, "I am not afraid of anyone in court, but if they want to punish me, they have too many ways to do it. If I am not careful, I may end up like Shi Dalang, and my whole family will suffer. Sigh... I still have to gain power and status. If I can't even save my life, what's the point of talking about law?"
Compared with the case of Li Si, this case had a greater impact on him, because Li Si was the one who took the initiative to borrow usury, but Chen Yuteng was a little too cruel, and you can't hide from this matter unless you are a privileged person.
Xu Zhiqian said angrily: "My father wanted to recommend you before, but you refused."
"Now I can do it too! But..." Zhang Fei frowned and said, "But I have to seriously consider this path. Maybe this case is an opportunity."
“Third brother!”
Li Si suddenly ran in, "Third brother, Cao Yanei and others are here to congratulate you."
Zhang Fei was puzzled and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Happy wedding."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei couldn't help but look at Xu Zhiqian awkwardly.
Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips, and seeing him looking at her, she smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me?" Then she added, "But for the time being, you have to comply, don't alert the enemy."
"Yes?"
Zhang Fei was very angry and said, "I bought her, how can I make her look fake? Yes, they should congratulate me, how many gifts did they bring?"
"It seems I didn't bring it."
“… … !”