Mrs. Xu was sent to prison, and within two days she pleaded guilty and wrote a confession.
When she first passed the court, she was bitten to death and refused to admit that she had taught people to secretly post a false accusation against the county magistrate Qi. The rolled flesh and dripping blood made her courage disappear.
The person she sent to find the rogue to post was Xu Sheng, the son of her mother Fang Di. After the matter was done, she also gave the man three hundred taels of silver to call him out of Beijing. But I didn't want to see Xu Sheng for so many days, and the next meeting would be in the imperial prison of Beizhen Fusi.
That Xu Sheng had already been tortured and looted like a blood gourd, so he pointed at her and said, "It's her, Mrs. Xu who gave Xiao 300 taels of silver, and asked Xiao to buy rogues and beggars in Beijing. Go to the Censor's Mansion and cast that false accusation! I don't know if it's a big crime, I'm just a servant, I can do whatever my master asks me to do, and I can't help myself..."
Just as Xu Shi wanted to argue strongly, Lu Xi, who was listening to the interrogation, sighed with a "tsk tsk": "In those days, the Taizu issued the imperial edict, telling the people all over the world, and telling everyone to have a set of them at home, you know. National law. You people who don't obey the Holy Order will have today's loss - if she gives you the post, you will take it from our Beizhen Fusi in the future. The thousand households still have to reward you with 10 taels of silver, it's better than eating Is this torture strong?"
Although he was smiling, his eyes were dark and cold, as if soaked with layers of blood.
Xu Sheng shivered and curled up on the ground, bowing his head and confessing his guilt, the rogue even had his breath out. Mrs Xu stepped back a few steps on his knees and said in horror, "It's not me, it's him who is trying to rely on me! I don't know the county magistrate Qi, how could I ask them to post! I'm Cui Langzhong's wife, You can't torture me!"
Xie Ying said in a pleasant voice in the hall: "Your official order has been stripped by the emperor, and there is no law that can not be punished. I already have two witnesses here, and there are several rogues who have not been bound to Beijing pending trial. , and Cui Langzhong said outside the door that you framed the county magistrate for framing your stepson, and framed him for injustice. You only have to admit it yourself - the emperor has a clear decree for me to judge with your heart, and you will not recruit again, this official Just got punished."
Lu Xi smiled and said, "What are you talking about with her? Bring those women's torture tools and use them one by one for her, and that's it."
A colonel had long since come with a pig iron torture tool covered in layers of dark blood and rust. Mrs. Xu gritted her teeth and kept calling her "unjustly wronged." She insisted on refusing to admit her guilt. Xie Ying also said, "After all, she is the daughter of an official family, and she was once a wife, so why use these things? Just fingers."
Someone else came up with a bamboo scorpion, stuffed the ten-fingered jade hand into it, and twisted the rope at both ends. Madam Xu screamed in agony, and she wanted to hit her head to death. In a trance, I heard Xie Ying say again: "Relax, don't break your fingers. Qian'an County has not really been convicted, and her false accusation can be punished with a maximum of 100 sticks and a flow of 300 miles. The redemption money is only 30% off. Six copper coins, it's not good to make people die for this idea."
Lu Xi smiled and said, "There are many redemption rods in the capital. Now copper coins are much more valuable than silver. Isn't that Cui Langzhong quite poor, and he can't even donate a yard to the court? I'm afraid he can't bear to redeem his wife."
Madam Xu listened to the phrase "Thirty-six passes" and couldn't take it any longer. She kept shouting, "I am willing to atone! I confessed my sin, but Cui Ju did not atone for me, and asked my parents to pay me the thirty-six. Six!"
Xie Ying waved her hand, ordered the person to remove the torture tool, and asked her for her confession.
She really wanted to put the false accusation on Cui Gu's head, but she had already asked Jin Yiwei to keep an eye on her. With Xu Sheng's identification, her crime would be hard to escape. If Cui Ju also loses office and her son becomes the son of a criminal, his future will be over. On the contrary, she is an ignorant woman, ignorant of laws and regulations. Even if she makes some mistakes, she can pay money to atone for her sins.
But Jin Yiwei only moved. Before she could be found, didn't Cui Ju hurriedly write a divorce letter to divorce her
She was divorced and went home with a dowry to survive. Brother Heng was still the son of a husband. He was able to study for the imperial examinations and even enter the National Children's Prison... Maybe the reputation was affected a little, it was better than not having that father who was an official, and he really became a commoner.
Mrs. Xu was full of pity, tenderness, and she gritted her teeth to take this crime on her body.
Xie Ying took her confession, and brought her confidant Di Mama and his wife and the stewards inside and outside the Cui House into the Beizhen Fusi, and finally recovered the truth of the case:
Cui Ju’s second wife, Xu’s wife, covets the dowry of the original spouse, and resented that his stepson had donated one of the bookstores to his native Qian’an County as a library, and even resented the local magistrate Qi Sheng’s promotion of the library, so he secretly asked his family to bribe Beijing. A rogue, falsely accusing Qi Sheng of cheating and defrauding the property of the people.
According to Xu's crime, he should take the two crimes of "voting an anonymous document to accuse the person" and "false accusation". According to the Ming law, "two crimes should be combined with seriousness and seriousness". , flow three thousand miles. Although she has been stripped of her official life, she is still the wife of an official. If there is divine grace to allow her to redeem bronze, she will be hanged to redeem forty-two, and the death penalty will be redeemed for thirty-six, with a total of one hundred and thirty taels of silver at the current price.
After hearing about it, her husband, Cui Ju, had planned to renounce the Xu family. Because he did not comply with the rule of "seven outs" and "absolute justice", the governor of Shuntian had not yet approved him for a divorce. Therefore, although Cui Ju did not first accuse Xu of the crime, but according to the example of "relatives must be compatible and concealed", he did not commit the crime.
A handbook was handed up, and he was shocked.
Such a major case, which was played by the official to the front of the imperial court, investigated by the imperial censor under the county, and the Jinyiwei turned over the land inside and outside the capital... The truth found out was not a crony attack, not the factory guard cleaning the critical officials, but a The woman in the house made a lawsuit for a small house that was not worth three or two hundred taels
Such a lawless woman is simply appalling!
When the news reached the Supreme Court, Liu Zan couldn't help but slapped the case and stood up: "I know this! If it wasn't for that woman who was not virtuous and deliberately ordered her brother to teach the son of his first wife, how could Cui Xie be a living member today!"
He wished he could immediately pick up a pen and write a letter to Dai Ren, the supervising censor of Beizhili Xuezheng, the admiral, asking him to take more care of this poor prodigy in Yongping. For a while, I remembered that Xu Ju, the younger brother of Chen Xu's family, had misconduct and could not bear to be an official. After hesitating for a while, I felt that I should put my personal affairs behind. For the sake of the people of Qishui, I should first play Xu Juren, who served as the magistrate there.
His letter asking someone to take care of Cui Xie was never written, because Dai Ren's letter was sent back to the capital first, and in the letter he proudly told his fellow supervisor Xu Jie: "I got one in Yongping's suspension test for Tongsheng. genius."
This talented person is Cui Xie, a candidate from Qian'an County.
Xu Jie stuffed the letter to Liu Zan, and said "hey", "Your Qian'an prodigy has been selected as a student, now you should feel at ease?"
Liu Zan pursed his lips and said solemnly: "Why is that a child prodigy in my family. I just cherish talents for the imperial court."
Having said that, he still opened the letter and read it carefully. Dai Ren wrote in the letter that when he first came to Yongping Mansion to hang the test, he encountered some small situations—
He was Yongping, who entered in a micro-service, and did not notify the local officials to go out of the city to meet him. Therefore, after reporting his identity in front of the yamen, he found that the local prefect, Tongzhi, and Fu Confucian professors and mentors were not there. Only one experience, Song Ji, brought the governor, Zhaomo, school inspector and other prison officials to greet him.
He was a little surprised, and asked, "Could it be that there are students in your house making trouble, or else why are the prefects, fellow prefects, and school officials not there?"
That's not it.
Lord Prefect Wang was taking the prefectural instructors to look at the papers in the exam room because the Yongping prefectural exam was late this time. And since Zhang Tongzhi sent the two imperial envoys back to Beijing, he personally condoled Cui Xie and also entered the Confucian Temple.
Ever since he heard Cui Xie's article praised by Yu Shi Liu, Zhang Gui couldn't help but guess what he meant - did he imply that Cui Xie's article was enough to be the head of the case
The deeper he thought about it, he felt that Liu Yushi appreciated the student very much, and Jin Yiwei treated him with some affection. And he himself felt that the two scriptures were very brilliant, with mature and steady brushwork, without the arrogance and impetuousness of young talents. The student himself is also a person who is loyal to the monarch, loves the people, and is loyal to the people. His character is suitable for his talents and studies;
Zhang Tongzhi had this thought, and he was afraid that the prefect of Wang Zhifu thought that Cui Xie was young and deliberately tried to suppress his ranking. .
Wang Zhifu asked worriedly: "But the imperial envoy asked him about the crime, so he is not allowed to take the test?"
Zhang Guidao: "That's not true. It's because Liu Yushi read his essays on the county exam so well before. He suspected that Qian'an County was cheating by leaking the questions, so he tested his essay in person. His subordinates read him..."
Wang Wen angrily said: "How could he cheat! If he writes well, he cheats, so wouldn't my government test also give him a leak? Well, you don't need to say, I will never dismiss this article, nor will I Will deliberately lower it - this is definitely a classic article, it can't be lower!"
He said that he was going to go back to his room and look over the test papers, but Zhang Gui quickly held him down: "Your Excellency misunderstood, he memorized the three-day test papers in front of the two imperial envoys, and he recited them very fluently and in writing. Alright. Master Liu is full of admiration and praises him as a child prodigy, so the lower official thinks, this paper seems to be the first one, right?"
The anger in Mr. Wang's heart was calmed, and he took up the role of an examiner again and coughed lightly: "It can't be said that if the censor is bragging, you must choose a life staff, otherwise people will know, why don't you say that this government is favoritism? ? I think there is a schoolboy named Li Zongshang in Leting who did a good job. He is also a few years older, and he is more stable. And the royal court of Luanzhou... "
Zhang Gui contended: "Cui Xie is also prudent. In front of the supervising censor and Jin Yiwei, he has no timidity. He has been tested by the censor generously, and he has memorized three and four articles without error. Wouldn't it be better? Is it rare?"
Wang Zhifu refused to follow suit, and insisted on selecting the top five classics first, and then comparing who was more suitable to be the chief of the case. Zhang Tongzhi simply waited outside the room, and neither of them went back to the house, but he didn't expect the school official to pick it up and come here at this time, and just told them to hang in the yamen.
Song experienced that they didn't know what happened in the Confucian Temple. They only knew that the two imperial envoys came to ask a question about a candidate, and they left him to accompany him to have a meal in the mansion. After the two imperial envoys left, Zhang Tongzhi went to condolences to the student for a while, and then went into the examination room to find Lord Prefect Wang.
After listening to Dai Ren, he frowned and asked, "Is Liu Yushi going to help him or Jin Yiwei to help him? Since the case hasn't been reported yet, take me to the school temple to see."
He wants to see how deep the background of the candidate is, and how the Yongping House plans to choose him!
Dai Ren changed into the official uniform of the imperial censor, put on the shelf of raising his studies, and went straight to the Confucian Temple. He was admiral of studying politics in Beizhili, and he had to correct his style of study. Even if it was just a government exam, he would never allow anyone to coerce the officials of the capital to force the local examiners to take a boy who was not talented!
He broke into the paper room, Zhang Tongzhi was sitting outside the door, Wang Zhifu and the academic officials were carrying Wujingkui's papers, and they were discussing who should be the leader of the case. When Lord Tixue arrived unexpectedly, they didn't go out to greet him, and they didn't even know that he was there. Wang Wen and Zhang Gui were a little scared and quickly got up to greet him.
Dai Ren waved his hand: "Don't be too polite, just follow me into the test room. Is there a test paper for a student named Liu Yushi who took the exam?"
Look at the people who are highly valued by the censors, can you not value the people who are also the censors
Zhang Gui glanced at Wang Zhifu, Wang Wen silently turned his head, picked out his first four-book question from the case, and handed it to Dai Ren: "This Confucian boy's paper can be regarded as the master of the scriptures, and the lower official and several others are taking the test together. Whoever has better papers between him and the other four Jingkui can be considered the leader of the case."
Dai Ren took the paper, and while looking at the names and official positions of the three generations of his father and grandfather written on the front page, he asked, "How did Yushi Liu comment on this paper and this person?"
Wang Zhifu did not know the details, so Zhang Tongzhi replied on his behalf: "Master Liu said that his writings are simple and clean, that he is good at using ancient prose as a contemporary prose, and that he will definitely be able to take him as a student..."
He quietly raised his head and glanced at Dai Ren, only to find that Lord Xuezheng no longer listened to him, he was immersed in the article, his fingers pressed the tempo on the scroll, and he recited the words inside. Wang Wen lowered his head to look at the papers on the case, and was silent. The professors and instructors didn't even dare to show their air, and stood by with their hands down.
After a long while, Dai Ren put down the paper, and the whole room seemed to come back to life. Wang Zhifu bowed and asked, "Does your lord think this candidate is acceptable?"
Dai Ren let out a long sigh: "Not only is it desirable, but it is also desirable to be thrown into Nanzhili. Brother Shang Gui has good eyesight."
Zhang Tongzhi's back was slightly straightened. Dai Ren added: "Although Wang Zhifu's question is not difficult, he can see his skill in deliberating and deducting questions. I'll see if there are any better papers from other houses."
He read another four scriptures.
The method of "fishing and crossing" in the text is also very familiar, which is quite impressive. After Fafan, the eight-bit even sentences are also well-formed, rigorous in use of dictionaries, and written in Tsinghua.
It’s just that compared to Cui Xie’s article, it’s a bit worse than the one that took more than ten years of argumentative essays of more than 800 words, 5,000-word academic year thesis, and 10,000-word graduation thesis. dialectical thinking. It's also short of a strong persuasive force that can make people sink into the article without realizing it, and treat the words he wrote as thoughts sent to their hearts.
Dai Ren put down the essays, pointed to Cui Xie's exam paper, and said, "This one is better. After the case is reported, Fu Zun can post the papers for others to compare."
Wang asked himself to be optimistic about this. It's just that he has changed a few articles for Cui Xie, the relationship is not clean enough, and he is afraid that someone will say that he ordered such a young man to please the censor, and he has always been hesitant. Since Lord Tixue also ordered him, then he doesn't have to worry anymore, so what if he ordered this desk
After publishing the list, he will post all Wujingkui's articles, even if there is a troubled student, he can have a clear conscience.
Zhuan Tianfu had a case, and Cui Xie was listed at the top of the case again. The children in Qian'an County were all proud of you, and they crowded around him to celebrate, and some people shouted the slogan of "Little Sanyuan", which caused the candidates in other counties to be a little dissatisfied. Something went wrong and went to the government office to make trouble.
As a result, they were not allowed to make trouble, and they were not allowed to celebrate, so the mansion simply posted another list: The imperial censor of the school has come to Yongping mansion, and three days later, all children in the mansion will be suspended for examination. Those who maliciously engage in school will be disqualified from the academy examination.