The yamen took Uncle Li and a few villagers to court.
The first thing Luo Mingda asked was Uncle Li. After asking him to report his name and other basic information, he asked, "Uncle Li, how long have you been a helper in Jia's house?"
It was the first time that Uncle Li went to a court like this. He was very frightened. He bent over and lay on the ground. Hearing the question from the magistrate, he just raised his head slightly and replied, "Go back, go back to what your grandfather said. , Caomin was fifteen years old and was sold to Jia's house, and it has been thirty-six years since then."
Luo Mingda asked again, "Have you ever looked at the courtyard of Jia's House near Wulipo Village?"
Uncle Li replied, "Yes."
"When did you visit the courtyard of Jia's house? How many years did you see it? Did something happen during that time?"
Uncle Li replied: "Ten years ago, Caomin was in poor health and could no longer do heavy work, so he was sent to another courtyard to look after the house. Five years ago, he was transferred to another courtyard. Sent back to Wulipo Courtyard."
"Do you know why the Jia family transferred you away in the first place?"
Uncle Li replied, "I don't know, I just heard that there is great use there."
"What's the big use?"
"It seems to be for someone to live in."
"who?"
"This grasshopper doesn't know."
"Then do you know why you were sent back to Wulipo yesterday?"
Uncle Li shook his head and said, "The housekeeper who picked me up said that no one lives there and needs someone to look after the house."
"Then did you find anything strange when you returned to Wulipo Courtyard yesterday? What's different about the courtyard?"
Uncle Li thought for a while and replied, "It's very messy, there are a lot of things, some wooden stakes and so on, there are many scratches in many places on the courtyard wall, the previous flowerbeds are gone, the room is also messy, the cabinets are in a mess. The drawers were open and closed, as if they had been robbed. Oh, yes, there's still half-eaten food in the kitchen and on the table, and there's still a fire in the stove."
Luo Mingda raised her eyebrows and asked, "That means there are still people living there before you arrive at the other courtyard? Is that what you mean?"
Uncle Li nodded and said, "Yes sir."
"How many people do you look at those meals?"
Uncle Li recalled for a moment and said, "There are eight or nine sets of tableware and chopsticks on the dining table, and there are a few more in the kitchen pot. There should be more than a dozen people."
Luo Mingda asked: "That is to say, during the five years that you were not in the Wulipo Courtyard, there were more than a dozen people living there. Before you arrived at the Courtyard yesterday afternoon, they were having lunch, but for some unknown reason. Suddenly gone?"
Uncle Li nodded and said, "Yes."
"Thank you Uncle Li, you can go down to rest." After Luo Mingda asked Uncle Li, he turned to ask the villagers.
The villagers' answers here are relatively consistent. There are more than a dozen men living in the other courtyards. They are fierce and domineering. They often go to the village to catch poultry, livestock, and vegetables without giving money. This is the same as what Cao Yuan said.
Then some villagers saw that a dozen or so men left the yard with their baggage at noon yesterday, and even the uncle who was cooking and sweeping also left.
At this time, outside the court, a group of people came behind the crowd watching the people, and the yamen guarding the door saw the person, saluted, and was about to shout, but was stopped by the leader.
The yamen nodded and helped them squeeze out of the crowd and let them stand in a place in the crowd where they could see the inside of the hall.
After asking the villagers, Luo Mingda looked at Jia Xiaoren and asked, "Jia Xiaoren, you said before that your house is uninhabited, but now according to the testimony of Uncle Li and the villagers in Wulipo, there have been ten A couple of men and a couple of cooks and cooks live in it, what's your explanation for this?"
Jia Xiaoren was beaten the day before yesterday, and his buttocks were sore. After spending two more days in prison, he looked very embarrassed. His thoughts were not as flexible as before, and he was stunned for a long time without finding an excuse to refute.
Upon seeing this, Master Lu gave Jia Fu a wink and motioned him to explain.
Father Jia quickly stepped forward and said, "Sir, I have something to say."
"Who's making a noise?" Luo Mingda asked aloud.
Father Jia hurriedly entered the court, knelt down, and said, "Jia Mingming, a grass-roots man, is the father of Jia Xiaoren."
"Oh." Lominda asked, "What did you say?"
Father Jia said: "My mansion is in the other courtyard in Wulipo, because I don't often go to live there, so I rented it out five years ago. The housekeeper and the servant went to the other courtyard to collect rent, and the people living there also It's not like the villagers say that he is my servant of Jia's house."
rented out
Yu Qingze turned his head to look at Father Jia, fortunately he was able to react at this time to find such an excuse.
Luo Mingda raised her eyebrows and asked, "It's rented out? Who is it rented to? The name and age are reported. Why did he just go to the yamen to investigate, and the place was empty?"
This was originally thought up by Father Jia temporarily. How do you know who it is rented to? He wiped the sweat from his forehead, hesitated for a moment, then made up a name and said, "Rent to, a man from the north, surnamed Qian, called Qian Duoduo, in his forties, as for why he suddenly moved away , the grass people do not know."
Luo Mingda frowned and asked, "Jia Mingzhi, are you sure? In court, if you deliberately lie to mislead this official, this official has the right to deal with you."
Father Jia has been domineering all his life, but this time he feels a little guilty.
Luo Mingda obviously does not sell favors to his family. The relationship that his family relies on is Lu Hongsheng, who is the prefect, and his younger brother, who is the servant of the Ministry of Rites, but these are not useful to Luo Mingda. The day before yesterday, I wanted to give gifts and bribes. It didn't work either. Without a strong backer, his Jia Mansion in Qingzhou is just a big family with some money, and in this Tongshan City, people will not buy his account.
But for the sake of his son, he still gave it up, nodded and said, "Sure."
Luo Mingda didn't ask Father Jia any more, and said, "The witness!"
And witnesses
Jia Xiaoren and Jia's father all looked back to see who it was. Seeing this, my heart suddenly froze in half.
Niu San was also surprised when he saw the witness. How did you find them
"Caomin Zheng Liang (Zheng Liu Shi) has seen Lord Luo."
A couple of husbands in their forties went up to the hall and knelt down and kowtowed.
Luo Mingda said to them: "Zheng Liang, Zheng Liu, above the court, any question that this official asks you must answer truthfully, if there is any deception or misleading the case, this official will not be lenient, you can wait. Do you hear clearly?"
Zheng Liang and Zheng Liu lowered their heads and replied, "It's clear."
"Okay, then, this official asks you, where have you been working in the past five years? Who is the owner?" Luo Mingda asked.
Zheng Liang replied: "Caomin and his husband are servants of the Jia Mansion in Qingzhou City. They have been working in the Jia Mansion for more than ten years. In the past five years, Caomin's husband has been ordered by the eldest young master to go to another courtyard to cook and cook. Sweeping work."
"Who is the eldest young master? Say the name."
Zheng Liang raised his head and glanced at Jia Xiaoren. Seeing that the other party was staring at him fiercely, he shrank his neck and quickly lowered his head: "The eldest young master is, Jia, Jia Xiaoren."
Luo Mingda said: "Where is the other courtyard? Tell me the specific address."
"It's the other courtyard in Wulipo outside the city." Zheng Liang replied.
Luo Mingda asked again: "In addition to the two of you, are there other people staying in the other courtyard?"
Zheng Liang replied, "Yes."
"Who are they?"
Zheng Liang secretly glanced at Jia Xiaoren again, Jia Xiaoren narrowed his eyes and stared at him dangerously, silently threatening.
Seeing this, Luo Mingda gave the gavel a shot, snap!
"Zheng Liang, you don't have to be afraid of him, answer truthfully."
"Yes, yes." Zheng Liang was startled by Jing Tangmu's voice, and his waist couldn't help lowering, and said, "Master Hui, in addition to me and my husband, there are also fourteen men. They are all between 18 and 27 years old. The eldest young master did not know where they came from. They used to be gangsters. jailed."
The more Zheng Liang spoke, the lower his head and the lower his voice, but it could still be heard clearly by everyone in the hall.
"Zheng Liang, raise your head and say it again, speak louder." Luo Mingda demanded.
Zheng Liang couldn't, so he had to look up and say it again.
"Go ahead and look at the man with a mole on the chin on the front right. Do you know him? Is he one of the people in the other courtyard?"
Zheng Liang walked to the front on his knees, saw Niu San, glanced at him, then returned to his original position, nodded and said, "Master Hui, this man is Niu San, and he is one of the men living in the other courtyard."
Luo Mingda nodded and asked Zheng Liushi again, "Is there any error or omission in what Zheng Liang said?"
Zheng Liu shook his head and said, "There is no mistake."
Luo Mingda asked, "Why did you all suddenly leave the courtyard at noon yesterday?"
Mrs. Zheng Liu replied: "In the words of your lord, yesterday we were having lunch, and the young servant next to the eldest young master suddenly came, and then let us hurry up and go wherever we want, and we have to take all our belongings, even I only ate half of my lunch and didn't clean it up."
"Did he say why?"
"I didn't say it, just let us go clean within a quarter of an hour."
Hearing this, Luo Mingda slapped the gavel and said sternly: "Jia Xiaoren, before you threatened the merchants to suppress Yu Qingze's snack bar and Jufu Building, and then sent Niu San to sneak into Yuji Jufu Building to take medicine. Now, the facts are clear, Niu San is your servant, and everyone gets all the stolen goods, the evidence is solid, what else can you say?"
Jia Xiaoren was completely stunned. Zheng Liang's husband and wife from another courtyard were actually found by them. Now they can't find any excuses.
He slumped down and fell to the ground for a while, but the injury on his butt was not healed, and he immediately fell forward with bared teeth.
Father Jia felt anxious at this moment. He looked back and gave a wink to the little servant who was listening at the door.
That servant was Jia Xiaoren's personal servant, the one who went back to Qingzhou to report the news.
He received Father Jia's eyes, nodded, and then shouted: "Lord Luo, my eldest young master was wronged. It wasn't him who ordered Niu San to go to Jufu Building, but someone else."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and it was a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old.
Jia Xiaoren's eyes lit up, Dad, do they have any other tricks? His eyes flashed with hope again.
Luo Mingda frowned, why is there another person? !
"Who? Come in and answer!"
The servant immediately entered the hall, knelt down and kowtowed, and said, "Sir, the villain Wu Shun is the personal servant of Jia Xiaoren, the eldest young master of the Jia residence. The one who ordered Niu San to go to Jufu Building to take medicine is not My eldest son."
Luo Mingda frowned and asked, "Who is that?"
The servant replied, "Yes, it's Shi Sheng, my eldest young master's husband."