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The two people who were beaten in the teahouse were named Huang Mengliang and Qian Chen. Both were former Ming Dynasty juren, and their identities as former Ming Dynasty juren were also recognized by Daqin.
Although the patrolling soldiers arrived in time, Xu Yongshun and his followers did not hold back and Huang and Qian were beaten so badly that their faces were bruised and swollen, looking quite miserable.
This incident attracted a large number of people to watch. Xu Yongshun was afraid that others would not know about it. On the way to Jiangning County Government, he struggled and shouted: "Let me go. I am a sixth-rank official of the Qin Dynasty. Why are you arresting me? These two pedants slandered the King of Qin. Beating them is not a light punishment..."
In fact, Huang Mengliang and Qian Chen were talking about the treacherous ministers in the court, and they did not directly slander the King of Qin. However, Xu Yongshun deliberately ignored the "treacherous ministers" who were scolded, and insisted that Huang and Qian slandered the King of Qin.
The subtext of Xu Yongshun's actions is that it doesn't matter who you slander, but you can slander my brother-in-law... uh, but you can't slander the King of Qin.
This incident was already a huge sensation, and as Xu Yongshun shouted along the way, more and more people gathered to watch.
Everyone was talking about it, but there were subtle differences in the opinions. Most ordinary people supported Xu Yongshun, while the scholars generally condemned Xu Yongshun for abusing his power and bullying others, and insulting civility.
Jiangning County Magistrate Zhong Chuwen was preparing lanterns for the evening with his family in the back office when he suddenly heard the yamen runners calling for help. He came out to see what was happening and was startled. There were so many people outside the yamen that at first glance he thought there was a civil riot.
He asked his advisor to come out and ask, a sixth-rank official ordered his followers to beat up two candidates who were said to have slandered the King of Qin. Nearly a hundred scholars followed and cried out for justice for the two candidates. Hundreds of ordinary people shouted that the two candidates should be beaten for slandering the King of Qin... ... .
What is going on? Don’t even mention it. I’m afraid we won’t be able to celebrate this Lantern Festival.
Zhong Chuwen hurried to the court. The case was not complicated. Although Qian and Huang denied that they had slandered the King of Qin, they did not deny that they had said that the King of Qin was bewitched by the treacherous ministers in the court, so that he did such a ridiculous thing as letting the concubines open an embroidery workshop. Not only did they not discuss this, they also argued in court and talked about principles and ethics. They also received warm praise from most of the scholars outside the court... ..
Xu Yongshun did not deny the fact that he beat people, and insisted that he beat them because he could not stand Qian and Huang slandering King Qin.
Yes, the case was very clear. But how to judge was a problem. The scholars and ordinary people outside the court were very emotional and had different opinions. If the judgment was not good, it might cause even greater waves.
Zhong Chuwen was in a dilemma. Lawyer Liu next to him came forward and whispered, "Sir, you cannot judge this case. Don't forget that Xu Yongshun is higher in rank than you. You can transfer this case to Yingtian Prefecture and let the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture judge it."
Zhong Chuwen thought about it and thought it made sense, so he quickly pushed this hot potato to Yingtian Prefecture.
That's it. The case was quickly transferred to Yingtian Prefecture, where Luo Runan, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, was in court to hear the case. Even more people came to watch the fun outside. After all, today was the Lantern Festival. Everyone had nothing to do anyway, so they had to wait until night to watch the lanterns.
Luo Runan asked about the case and Qin Mu said that they would not be charged for their speech. In other words, although Huang Mengliang and Qian Chen's speech was suspected of slandering the ministers in the court, it did not constitute a crime.
In this case, although Xu Yongshun ordered his servants to beat people out of the intention of protecting the King of Qin, according to the law, it is naturally Xu Yongshun who is wrong. Moreover, although Xu Yongshun is a sixth-rank official, he has no power to enforce the law. He has the right to report illegality, but it is wrong for him to overstep his authority and beat people without authorization.
Luo Runan sentenced Xu Yongshun to pay Qian Mengliang and Qian Chen fifty taels of silver each for medicine expenses. He also submitted a petition requesting that Xu Yongshun be demoted two levels in rank, and also beat his servants with twenty lashes of the cane each.
Huang Mengliang and Qian Chen found Luo Runan's verdict quite meaningful and had no objections.
But what about Xu Yongshun? Everyone present thought that Master Xu would not accept the verdict and would make a fuss.
However, to everyone's surprise, although Xu Yongshun still angrily accused Huang Mengliang and Qian Chen of slandering the King of Qin and said they deserved to be beaten, he did not raise any objection to Luo Runan's sentence.
Just pay it back, one hundred taels of silver is just feeding the dog.
As for demoting the official rank by two levels... ahem, what Luo Runan said doesn't count. This memorial will be submitted and the Ministry of Personnel will have the final say.
Xu Yongshun wished that Luo Runan would demote him to the bottom and strip him of his official rank, so that he would feel more aggrieved.
Things have come to this, enough is enough, I'm very busy and don't have time to compensate you for playing anymore.
Xu Yongshun directly took out a stack of precious Qin banknotes, counted out a hundred taels to pay for the medicine, then found a cart and asked someone to take the servants whose buttocks were beaten back to the mansion.
After entering the mansion, he rushed to his sister's boudoir in a hurry, "Sister, sister, come on, dress up, brother will take you to the art exhibition."
His sister is Xu Ruoshi, she is seventeen years old this year, with a beautiful face, a slim figure, a slender waist that can be held in one hand, a typical oval face, skin as delicate as jade, a pair of bright eyes that are full of affection, and she exudes the grace and elegance of a lady from a noble family.
"What art exhibition? My brother will definitely be confused again. I won't go." The boudoir was decorated gorgeously and elegantly. Xu Ruoshi was reading under the window. She raised her eyes and glanced at Xu Yongshun, and responded slowly and nonchalantly.
Xu Yongshun stepped forward and snatched the book from her hand and said, "Don't misunderstand, sister. This time I am serious. You don't know that the paintings on display this time are extraordinary. They were embroidered stitch by stitch by the palace Concubine Gu. It is said that they are so exquisite that it is difficult to distinguish between needlework and brushwork. Even a talented scholar like Dong Qichang praised them highly. And the King of Qin... Ahem, anyway, I promise that it will be worthwhile for you to go there."
Originally, Xu Ruoshi was quite moved, but when she heard him mention the King of Qin, she hesitated;
Xu Ruoshi knew that her brother had always wanted to send her to the palace, and her brother did not hide his thoughts. As a lady from a wealthy family, she also knew that it was normal for her marriage to be involved in politics.
Things are different now. The Xu family is no longer a prominent duke's mansion. Her brother is only in his early twenties, and it is not easy for him to support the family. As a younger sister, she can understand all this.
If entering the palace could prevent the Xu family from falling into poverty, Xu Ruoshi didn't mind doing so. After all, it was not up to a woman to decide who to marry.
However, the King of Qin had already refused to marry the Xu family, so Xu Ruoshi couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. After hearing her brother mention the King of Qin, she was no longer willing to go.
Xu Yongshun sighed and said, "Sister, the King of Qin only wrote a poem and exhibited it with the painting and embroidery. He did not go to the gallery. Sister, since our father passed away, we have been left to depend on each other, and my brother has never hidden his thoughts from you;
Yes, I had some selfish motives in asking you to go to the exhibition, but this was for the good of our Xu family and for my sister. I had been with the King of Qin for a while and knew him very well.
I'm not lying to you. Even if you look at it from the perspective of an ordinary person, the King of Qin is someone you can trust with your life. The current Queen Yang is also a virtuous person. You are my only sister. If the King of Qin is not a good person, I will never push you into the fire bed no matter what I do. "
After hearing this, Xu Ruoshi was already in tears. She wiped her tears and said, "Brother, don't say anything. I will follow you."
"Sister, listen to me. I asked you to go to the exhibition today for no other reason. You usually embroider some flowers and plants, right? Lady Gu's paintings and embroidery are really wonderful. We are going there today purely to appreciate the paintings and embroidery. Don't think too much."
Xu Ruoshi rolled her eyes at him, then dressed up a little and went out in a sedan chair with her brothers.
This time, Lady Gu's painting and embroidery exhibition was held in the Taoye Guild Hall next to Taoye Ferry. When the two brothers arrived at the guild hall, they saw many ladies from prominent families vying to watch, and the front of the hall was filled with sedan chairs.
But the strange thing is that although those literati who like to pretend to be cultured should have flocked to the exhibition, there were very few scholars coming. Xu Yongshun asked Han Zanzhou, who was hosting the exhibition, and found out that it seemed that most of the scholars were spontaneously boycotting this painting and embroidery exhibition.
Boycott? Could it be that they are like Qian Chen and Huang Mengliang, who think it is inappropriate for the imperial concubines to hold an embroidery exhibition
Xu Yongshun asked his sister to go in and watch, while he chatted with Han Zanzhou and thought about it. He was very keenly aware that this situation might not be simple and might cause an unimaginable wave.
The more Xu Yongshun thought about it, the more strange the situation seemed to him. The last time they argued about the eight-legged essay, the two sides were evenly matched, but why did all the scholars seem to be standing on one side this time
Xu Yongshun came from a powerful family and had a much more sensitive political sense than the average person. He thought carefully and hoped to seize an opportunity from the crisis.
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.(To be continued..)
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