Chapter 934

Wang Jin was panic-stricken, and the government office Runner holding him was panicked too, gripping him tightly as he dragged him toward the county government office.

The Censorate Inspector is in Hangzhou— if the petitioner sees him and runs off, how can he possibly survive in Hangzhou?

Eight villagers followed nervously into the county government office.

The magistrate had already donned his official robes and sat beneath the plaque reading "The Mirror of Justice Hangs High"; seeing the eight villagers enter, he too felt uneasy—hoping it was a new case, yet fearing it was a new case.

Since Xue Shao arrived in Hangzhou, he has been immersed in reviewing past case files and Juan Sect records.

One of these suspicious cases, long unsolved, was cracked by Xue Shao after careful examination of the records, accompanied by his team.

This matter was minor; the magistrate admitted his own incompetence compared to the Censorate Inspector from the capital—unsolved cases were Xue Shao's achievement if solved, and if unsolved, the magistrate would merely be scolded again, which he'd already endured before.

But two other cases turned out to involve wrongful convictions.

One was judged during his tenure; the other during his predecessor's.

When uncovered, half his heart turned cold;

Then, when Xue Shao not only investigated the cases but also examined the Household Office's records, the rest of his heart turned cold too.

It was said that before arriving in Hangzhou, Xue Shao had already handled numerous cases of official-gentry collusion, reclaiming eight hundred and sixty-eight mu of land.

Hangzhou…

Hangzhou naturally had such matters too—clear water yields no fish.

But the magistrate could swear this was rare, since few had ever filed complaints.

For every case that reached court, he had tried to render fair judgments.

The magistrate stared intently at Wang Jin and the other seven approaching, hoping they were here over water disputes or a lost ox—anything but…

"My lord, I accuse Wang Qi of the eastern city—he lured us into usurious grain loans and seized our fields." Wang Jin had barely crossed the threshold when he fell prostrate with a thud.

The magistrate's suspended heart finally died.

What he feared most had come to pass.

The magistrate fixed Wang Jin with a dark gaze, unable to contain his fury—he slammed the wooden gavel hard and roared: "Do you even know the rules? Can you not even file a complaint? Don't you know to first pay respects to your magistrate?"

The government office Runner who had dragged him in immediately yanked Wang Jin upright and shoved him forward, whispering: "Go to the center, first pay respects to the magistrate, then state your name, then explain why you are accusing whom…"

Wang Jin's face flushed crimson; he scrambled up, hurried a few steps to the center, and knelt down—his fellow villagers, trembling, followed suit in a flurry of prostrations.

Along the way, Young Master Xue had only taught him to memorize that one line; now, in his panic, he forgot everything else.

Wang Jin had never before entered a government office to file a complaint.

Kneeling on the ground, he stammered his obeisance to the magistrate, then gave his name.

The magistrate's anger did not fade; after he finished, he asked coldly: "Why file now for something that happened last year?"

Why didn't you file last year?

Had you filed then, I would have ruled—today, when Xue Shao investigates, it would be my achievement!

Now, filing about last year's matter under Xue Shao's watch—this life-threatening matter—is this an attempt to kill me, or to strip me of my office?

The magistrate even suspected this was instigated by his rival.

No sooner had this suspicion arisen than Xue Shao, in full official robes, entered slowly with Xi Jin, smiling lightly: "Magistrate He, you're in quite a rage this morning. Xi Jin, brew a pot of tea to cool the magistrate's temper."

Seeing Xue Shao, Magistrate He immediately suppressed his anger, forcing a smile, rising to greet him: "Why has Lord Xue come?"

Wang Jin and the others, seeing Xue Shao in his fresh official attire, instantly brightened—their demeanor changed completely.

Seeing the magistrate rise to meet him, they knew Xue Shao's status was extraordinary.

He was an official!

Xue Shao bowed to Magistrate He and smiled: "I am merely passing through, here to observe. Magistrate He, proceed with the case as usual—ignore me."

You're already sitting here—how can I possibly remain calm?

Magistrate He twitched his lips, ordered a chair brought and placed beside him, waited for Xue Shao to sit, then returned to his seat to resume the hearing.

Xi Jin truly borrowed the government office's small kitchen to brew a cooling tea for Magistrate He—mostly because Xue Shao wanted to drink it.

For some reason, today the young master drank far more water than usual; previously, to save time for reviewing case files and avoid frequent trips to the latrine, he had deliberately drunk as little as possible.

Most cases in this world are not complex—the complexity always lies in human hearts.

Magistrate He ordered someone to summon the defendant from the eastern city, while instructing the plaintiff to submit all available evidence.

Soon, Wang Qi arrived in haste with his steward.

He had purchased a nominal title—an honorary Assistant Minister with no actual authority.

The advantage: not only did it grant him prestige, but also exempted him from bowing before officials.

Before Wang Qi arrived, Magistrate He had already interrogated the plaintiff.

This complied with Great Ming legal procedure: The Great Ming Code required magistrates to "exhaustively interrogate the plaintiff" in court; if the plaintiff's testimony or evidence contained even the slightest inconsistency, he could be subjected to torture without summoning the defendant—beaten with bamboo rods and expelled immediately, the case closed.

This morning, from the village to the city, Xue Shao had instructed Wang Jin to memorize only that one line of the petition, and insisted they tell the truth, keep their evidence secure, and ensure every detail of principal and interest stated matched the loan contract exactly—no deviation permitted.

Wang Jin and the others remembered this well; before Wang Qi arrived, all eight had recited their testimonies, and with the submitted evidence, their accounts were consistent—only then did Magistrate He begin interrogating Wang Qi.

Wang Qi suppressed his fury and declared: "My lord, before lending the grain, I clearly explained everything to them—they all agreed. This was mutual consent; how can this be considered a crime?"

He added: "Last year's wind disaster was devastating—if I had not lent them grain, their entire families and village would have starved to death. Now that they've survived, they deny their debt—is this not ingratitude? Such ungrateful, immoral people—I deeply regret helping them."

The kneeling villagers flushed crimson; even Wang Jin momentarily felt like an ungrateful wretch, and blurted out: "Master Wang, we were deeply grateful you lent us grain—but—but the compound interest… it's too high!"

"You think the interest is high? Then don't borrow!" Wang Qi shouted. "If you don't borrow, I have plenty of others who will. Now that your household survived on my grain, you turn on me? Next time disaster strikes, I won't dare lend grain to your family again—nor to your entire village."

Wang Jin's face burned red; those kneeling behind him flushed hotly, growing anxious.

They couldn't let the stigma of ingratitude spread—if it did, their village would have no place left to stand.

Xue Shao remained silent, sipping his tea slowly, then lifted his eyelids and cast a cool glance at Magistrate He.

Magistrate He did not meet Xue Shao's gaze, but that didn't stop him from rolling his eyes at Wang Qi—he slammed the gavel with a crack, cutting off Wang Qi's words, and turned to Wang Jin and the others: "I ask you again: before the loan, what exactly did Wang Qi tell you? Did he say the interest would compound monthly?"

"No!" Wang Jin broke free from guilt and regret, answering quickly: "He only said one dou per month—none of us knew the interest would compound!"

"Lies! The loan contract clearly states it in black and white—who among you never attended school? Who can't read?" Wang Qi exploded. "Look at your fingerprints—who didn't sign with their real name?"

Wang Jin hurriedly said, "I was nearly fainting from hunger—my mother was barely clinging to life, desperate for grain to save her, so I had no time to read carefully; I just glanced at the total amount borrowed and the monthly interest—one dou—and hurriedly signed and stamped the contract."

"That's your own fault—what does it have to do with me? I…" Wang Qi opened his mouth to retort, but County Magistrate He slammed his gavel angrily and roared, "Wang Qi, I haven't called on you to speak yet! If you dare interrupt again, I'll have you flogged!"

Wang Qi was also angry now. "County Magistrate He, I pay vast taxes to Hangzhou Prefecture every year, and I'm not a commoner—dare you lay hands on me?"

County Magistrate He sneered. "A title bought with money—dare you disturb court order again? Just see if I dare!"

With so many scandals piling up, he might lose his post anyway—what did he have to fear?

He wasn't from Hangzhou, nor from Zhejiang—once demoted or dismissed, he'd leave this place anyway. Who feared whom?

At this moment, he had only two goals.

First: prevent Xue Shao from seizing further evidence to expand the charges;

Second: vent his anger, release his fury!

"You!" Seeing County Magistrate He's firm stance, Wang Qi's bravado faltered; he dared not provoke him further and turned his head aside—only then did he notice another official seated beside him, young, handsome, and utterly composed.

Wang Qi froze. Who was this man?

He'd never seen him before—why did he seem more confident than County Magistrate He?

Xue Shao nodded amiably at Wang Qi, then resumed observing County Magistrate He's trial.

It turned out County Magistrate He had some ability—he questioned each of the eight villagers about their circumstances when borrowing grain.

As he proceeded, both County Magistrate He and the government office Runners noticed something odd—only the crowd outside, craning their necks to watch, wiped their eyes in shared sorrow, completely unaware of the anomaly.

Xue Shao gently set down his teacup and beckoned to Xi Jin with a finger.

Xi Jin hurried over.

Xue Shao whispered, "Go out and explain to them—clear up their confusion."

Xi Jin softly agreed, slipped out quietly from the side, exited through another entrance, then squeezed back into the crowd.

Seeing everyone immersed in grief over last year's wind disaster, someone said, "Come to think of it, it's lucky this Master Wang lent them grain—if he hadn't, they and their families surely wouldn't have survived last year—it was so hard."

"Yes, last year was terrible. My neighbor's family of five lost four—only one half-grown boy survived. Now he begs on the streets."

"At least one survived. Three households in our village died out completely."

Xi Jin interjected, "Clearly you weren't listening carefully. Master Wang didn't lend them grain out of kindness—if he truly had good intentions, why didn't he lend when they first came? Why wait until they'd starved for days, until grain prices soared, until they were nearly fainting?"

Xi Jin said, "Every single person who came to borrow grain was turned away the first and second time—only when they knelt, begged, and claimed their families were starving, dying, did he agree. Even then, he made them wait outside for two hours, until they fainted, then gave them a sip of water, woke them up, and only then lent them grain. Why?"

The onlookers froze. "Why?"

"So they'd sign and stamp the loan contract while dizzy and blind," Xi Jin asked. "When you're near death from hunger, do you have the strength to read every word of the contract? I've starved—I was so desperate, I saw nothing but grain."

"That's right," the crowd suddenly understood, murmuring, "Master Wang even placed the grain aside—how could anyone carefully read the promissory note then?"

After finishing his questioning, County Magistrate He sneered at Wang Qi and slammed his gavel. "Wang Qi, did you deliberately wait until they were starving and unable to think clearly before lending them grain?"

Wang Qi cried out in protest. "My lord, I share ancestry and kinship with them—we have the same ancestor! How could I be so cruel? I truly had no grain left—my household supports many, daily consumption is enormous. I never wanted to lend. But they came begging, I pitied them, and since we shared the same surname and lineage, I couldn't refuse. So I saved grain from my own family's rations to lend them. How could I have known lending grain would be wrong?"

"If you share ancestry and kinship, why charge such exorbitant interest—and compound it?"

Wang Qi wiped his tears. "Grain prices soared then. Evil-minded people borrowed grain from me and resold it at high prices. My grain wasn't blown in by the wind—it was saved by my family's lives. This grain truly saved their lives—surely their lives aren't worth more than a few dou of grain?"

County Magistrate He sneered repeatedly. "You're clever at arguing—but I'm not them. I know your scheme, and so do the clever ones inside and outside this court. I ask you only one question: The Great Ming Code strictly forbids usurious lending. Have you broken the law—or not?"

Wang Qi turned his head stubbornly. "I've read few books—I didn't know this law. Ignorance is no crime."

County Magistrate He's face turned purple with rage; he raised his gavel high, ready to strike.

Xue Shao feared his fury would worsen the situation—he'd already misstepped half his words.

Xue Shao lightly tapped his teacup, producing a clear chime.

County Magistrate He's anger halted; his raised gavel didn't fall—he turned to look at Xue Shao instead.

Xue Shao met his gaze, then smiled at Wang Qi. "Master Wang hasn't read the Great Ming Code?"

Wang Qi didn't know who he was, but as Xue Shao looked at him, he instinctively stiffened his back, sweat breaking out. He paused before answering, "I'm shallow and unlearned—I haven't read it."

Xue Shao smiled. "Have you read the Da Gao?"

Wang Qi's heart pounded. He didn't understand the connection between these questions—he regretted not hiring a scribe beforehand, but forced himself to say, "No."

Xue Shao's smile widened. "Then your household doesn't own a copy of the Da Gao?"

Of course his household had one—he knew the Da Gao. Though Master Wang had little education, he loved pretending to be cultured and kept such ordinary books.

But who said owning a book meant reading it?

Realizing this, Wang Qi answered confidently: "We have one—but I haven't read it."

County Magistrate He was baffled, but the secretary beside him understood instantly—his eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to whisper urgently into the magistrate's ear, then whispered again.

County Magistrate He looked at Xue Shao with a complex expression, then turned to Wang Qi, pitying him as he said, "So it is. Wang Qi, you falsified information and deceived the throne—your purchased title is revoked. Take him to the jail."

(End of Chapter)