Crossing the Sword

Chapter 36: There is a Ye Qingtian in Shangdang

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Just when he was struggling to cope with the situation, drums suddenly sounded outside the yamen.

The drum sound indicates that someone is trying to appeal for justice or file a complaint.

Ye Shisan was not upset when he heard the name, but felt that it should be better to have someone complain than to attend these official social events. Thinking of this, he clasped his fists and said to the officials who came to support him, "I didn't expect that someone would beat the drum to complain today. Please have some refreshments first, and I will go to handle official business." This was the first time he used the "official escape."

Chi Songzi was amazed by Ye Shisan's performance last night, so he was very interested in him, so he called out: "I heard that Lord Zhang is very smart. How can I miss the first trial today? If you don't mind, how about letting me sit in?" He said it very politely, but Ye Shisan knew that he didn't take him seriously. He called him Lord Ye just to speak in official language, and sitting in was mostly out of curiosity about him.

Ye Shisan had already solved Chisongzi's fear yesterday, and hurriedly said respectfully: "Grand Master is so kind to me, I... ah, I dare not disobey." Just as he was about to tell the master to prepare a seat, he heard Zhuque Hou Lingguang on the other side say: "Haha, Grand Master wants to go by himself and leave me here, isn't that too unfriendly? I also want to go and listen, I wonder what Lord Ye thinks?"

Inspired by the two elders, other officials also began to be eager to try. However, Zhuque Hou glared at them and said, "You all should have tea here first. There are too many people listening, so it may not be appropriate." The implication was, you all should be quiet!

Ye Shisan was originally worried that there would be more officials than yamen runners attending the trial, but now he heard the Suzaku Marquis come to the rescue. He hurriedly said to the lawyer, "Open the court! Let the Grand Tutor and the Marquis sit down." Then he turned to the two old men and said, "Grand Tutor, the Marquis, please follow me."

"The court is open! Mighty and powerful..." Hearing this voice, Ye Shisan couldn't help but think: If there is another piece of music from "Justice Bao", it will be perfect. There is a Ye Qingtian in Shangdang, who is impartial and can distinguish between loyalty and treachery... Hehe...

Sitting in the main seat, Ye Shisan nodded to the two elders and asked, "Who is kneeling below? What's their grievance?" He remembered that this is how it was played on TV, so he just followed suit.

There were two people kneeling below, and one of them who looked like a butcher spoke first: "My name is Gousheng, and I'm a butcher. This person stole a copper coin from me at my butcher stall, and he still refuses to admit it."

Another person dressed as an ordinary citizen hurriedly cried out, "Sir, I am innocent! This copper coin is clearly mine. I accidentally dropped it in front of his butcher's stall while walking, but the butcher insisted that I stole his money. Sir, you must help me!"

After hearing what the two said, Ye Shisan was depressed. Just because of a copper coin, they could bring a case to the government office? He really wanted to beat these two troublemakers out. But today was the first day of the trial, and there were two elders sitting next to him, so he could only bear it. Fortunately, he had watched some detective stories before and had seen similar cases.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Before Ye Shisan could speak, the drum sounded again.

Ye Shisan smiled bitterly and said to the captain below: "Get a small pot and boil some water here. Also, bring in the drummer outside." He looked up and saw a familiar face in the crowd. It was Meng Lei, who had met him at school yesterday. Seeing Ye Shisan coming, he smiled and nodded.

Ye Shisan nodded in return and asked about the other two people who had filed a complaint. It turned out that a rice shop owner and a noodle shop owner were arguing over the ownership of a grain meal (a tool made of reed stalks used to select grain).

Ye Shisan smiled slightly and said as a matter of course: "This is too simple. Just ask Cangliang and you will know." Then he pretended to ask Cangliang: "Cangliang, let me ask you, are you Cangliang from the rice shop or the noodle shop? ... Don't tell me? I'll give you ten heavy blows! Beat him gently, don't beat him to death."

Seeing Ye Shisan's behavior, the crowd began to whisper to each other, most of them were laughing at Ye Shisan's stupidity. Chisongzi and Lingguang were old and experienced, and they didn't show any expression, just watching quietly. However, Ye Shisan saw a sneer on Meng Lei's mouth outside, and he had some thoughts in his mind.

Meng Wen, who was standing behind Meng Lei, said with a smile, "Master, I'm right. It's a small matter like this that no one would pay attention to, and there is no witness or evidence. Even if Ye Shisan is very capable, he would be overwhelmed. What's more, it's a double insurance. But this guy doesn't seem to have much ability, so he's going to make a fool of himself."

"Pah! Pah! Pah!..." After ten hits, some white powder actually fell from under the grain meal.

Ye Shisan asked the yamen runner beside him: "What is the thing under the grain?"

After checking, the yamen runner said, "My Lord, it's flour!"

Ye Shisan smiled and said, "Since this grain meal is often used to stuff flour, there is some residue in the gap, and it naturally falls to the ground under the impact. Therefore, this grain meal should belong to the noodle shop. As for the owner of the rice shop, it may be a mistake, so I will not pursue it."

After hearing Ye Shisan's verdict, there was an uproar. The onlookers who had previously been laughing at Ye Shisan immediately began to sing his praises. Ordinary people are fence-sitters, especially those in ancient times.

After a while, the water boiled. Ye Shisan ordered someone to throw the copper coin into the pot. After a while, a little oil was boiled out and floated on the water.

Ye Shisan said, "When a butcher sells meat, his hands are inevitably covered with lard. After receiving the copper coin, the lard naturally remains on the copper coin. Now there is oil on the water, which can only mean one thing: the copper coin belongs to the butcher. Come, give the thief twenty lashes of the cane."

After a burst of crying and shouting, Ye Shisan slammed the gavel and said casually: "Adjourn the court!"

Ye Shisan also paid special attention to Meng Lei's expression. When everyone was cheering, his expression was extremely unnatural. Although it was fleeting, it was still seen by Ye Shisan who paid special attention.

Meng Lei calmly scolded Meng Wen in a low voice: "Didn't you say that he felt it was impossible to find out? And you also talked about double insurance, huh! Now it's good, not only did you not let him lose face, but you also gave him a chance to make a name for himself. I'll deal with you when I get back!" After saying that, he went in with a big smile on his face to congratulate Ye Shisan.

A farce ended amid the cheers of the common people, and Ye Shisan lived a peaceful life afterwards. Shangdang had good public security, so he could study Chinese characters in peace every day, practice swordplay as usual in the morning and evening, and lead a regular life.

Half a month had passed in a flash, and Ye Shisan's ancient dictionary had become much richer, and now it could be said that literacy had been basically completed. And Biluo Jiuchong had become very proficient after these days of practice. Although it had not yet taken shape, it would not seem unfamiliar when used against the enemy.

That night, Ye Shisan was writing by the well in the courtyard. He mixed some unfamiliar words from the "Weak Water Sutra" with a bunch of other unfamiliar words, and planned to ask the master for clarification tomorrow. Then he could continue to cultivate his internal strength. It was very depressing to stop in the state of non-bottle path.

Putting away his pen and ink, he vaguely heard an unfamiliar voice speaking, so he quickly used his ears to listen carefully.