Traveling through ancient times, the empress insisted on having a child with me

The capital of Yingtian Prefecture was divided into two counties according to local administrative divisions, roughly speaking, Shangyuan County was to the north of the city and Jiangning County was to the south of the city.

The area where the three lanes are located is the north of the city and is under the jurisdiction of Shangyuan County.

Being a county magistrate in the capital is not an easy job. The aristocratic families, royal relatives, and officials in the court are all people that a mere seventh-rank county magistrate cannot afford to offend.

However, the current Shangyuan County magistrate, Lu Chong, is from the Fanyang Lu family, one of the top ten aristocratic families in Dasheng.

The patriarch of the Fanyang Lu family was Lu Chong's father, who was also the Minister of Revenue of the current dynasty.

Without such a background, it would not be easy to hold the position of Shangyuan County Magistrate.

Lu Chong still had some impression of Yunfu Ji in San Tiao Xiang. After all, there were so many guys wandering around the street with flags on their heads, it was hard not to know him.

The unbelievably handsome young man in the hall claimed to be the owner of Yunfu Ji and sued the waiter of Chen Hewei Hesheng for beating up his own waiter.

There was no need for a trial. Lu Chong understood about 30% of the situation. It was nothing more than a dispute caused by doing business. There was nothing to say. He just had to handle it impartially.

Then he sent bailiffs to summon the owners and clerks of the two shops to the court.

But unexpectedly, twenty or thirty people came at once. Except for the two guys who were brought into the hall, the rest started shouting outside the hall.

Some evil guy is the first to file a complaint, some bully is dominating the market, the noise is more lively than a vegetable market.

Lu Chong slammed the gavel and said, "How can I judge a case when you are making so much noise? All the yamen runners, if anyone makes any more noise in front of the gate, drive them away."

The hall finally quieted down. Lu Chong asked, "Chen Minggao, He Dong, Ling Chuan, the shopkeeper of Yunfuji, is suing you two for instructing the shop assistants to beat others for no reason. Will you two plead guilty?"

Chen Minggao was a sturdy man in his thirties. He immediately replied in a muffled voice, "My Lord, I didn't beat you up for no reason. It was because Yunfuji was bullying the market and sent its employees to hawk their wares in front of my shop all day long. We all sell snacks, and hawking in front of my shop was just cutting off people's sources of income. That's why I got so angry that I attacked you."

"Ho Tung, what about you?"

He Dong bowed and said, "Me too."

Lu Chong then looked at Ling Chuan: "Is what they said true?"

When Ling Chuan saw this, he immediately understood that the county magistrate was planning to give each of us fifty lashes. Could we afford to suffer this loss?

"May I ask, magistrate, is there any law in the imperial court that forbids merchants from hawking their wares on the street?"

Lu Chong raised his eyebrows slightly. Oh, he is still a disobedient person. However, although he is unhappy, he cannot break the law.

"There is no such article in the law." Lu Chong snorted and said, "But according to folk customs, it is not a glorious thing to cut off someone's source of income."

"Since there is no such article in the imperial law, then how have I done anything wrong?" Ling Chuan said without showing any weakness: "If you want to say that I am cutting off someone's source of income, then it is purely a malicious and false accusation. Our Yunfuji dim sum is delicious and cheap, and everyone is willing to buy it. Is this still our fault?"

Lu Chong frowned, but before he could speak, Ling Chuan continued, "Being jealous of your peers, beating up your peers, suppressing your peers, may I ask, sir, does this count as bullying and cutting off people's financial resources?"

After hearing these words, not only the two shopkeepers in the lobby, but even the shopkeepers standing outside the door to show their support were dumbfounded. How come this kid surnamed Ling made us blame just by opening his mouth?

Lu Chong was also slightly stunned. The owner of Yunfu Ji was quite eloquent.

However, as the county magistrate, Lu Chong didn't care who was right or wrong, and immediately turned to the other side: "Chen Minggao, He Dong, what do you two have to say?"

Chen He and the other man were a little dumbfounded. They were obviously the ones being bullied, so how did the situation become the other way around? They looked at each other and then looked outside the lobby. It was obvious that the shopkeepers outside the lobby were also at a loss as to what to do.

But at this moment, the two saw Xu Ping rushing over, and they felt that their savior had arrived.

Xu Ping did not disappoint them and walked directly into the lobby: "I am Xu Ping, and I also want to sue Yun Fu Ji."

Lu Chong frowned, obviously knowing who was behind Xu Ji. Xu Heng was from a noble family after all, so he had to give him some face.

"What are you going to sue him for?"

Xu Pingyi bowed and said, "Your Excellency..."

"Wait a minute."

Ling Chuan interrupted Xu Ping directly, and then bowed to Lu Chong: "Sir, this case is one case. If this shopkeeper Xu wants to sue me, he has to wait until the case in front of him is over. Otherwise, wouldn't it be ignoring the laws of the court?"

These words shut up everyone in the court, and even Lu Chong was speechless for a while.

Chen He and the others were also dumbfounded, and hurriedly looked at Xu Ping: "Manager Xu, you have to help us."

Ling Chuan immediately caught the issue: "Oh? So, they beat up my shop assistants because of you, Shopkeeper Xu?"

Xu Ping quickly stepped back, waving his hands and saying, "You're talking nonsense. I didn't do that. This has nothing to do with me."

Ling Chuan sneered: "If it has nothing to do with you, then retreat outside the hall to avoid being conspicuous here."

Xu Ping was so angry that his face turned pale: "You..."

'boom! '

"That's enough, everyone, shut up."

Lu Chong was also very angry. This kid could say anything and he couldn't find any reason to blame him. Who has the final say in this hall?

"Chen Minggao, He Dong, you two instructed your men to beat others. Do you admit your guilt?"

The two men had sad faces. Even Xu Ping was kicked out. What else could they do but to plead guilty.

"So do you accept the penalty or the compensation?"

"We accept the loss. We accept the loss."

"Okay, since you are willing to pay, Chen Minggao, your shop assistant injured two people, each of whom must pay two taels of silver. He Dong, your shop assistant injured one person, and you must also pay two taels of silver. Do you have any objections?"

The two were about to nod in agreement, but Ling Chuan stepped forward and said, "Sir, I have an objection."

Lu Chong frowned: "What objection do you have?"

"My Lord, I do not think the compensation is sufficient."

"Not enough? Then how much do you think is enough?"

Ling Chuan cupped his hands and said, "I'm so bold. Three of my shop assistants were beaten for no reason. In addition to the medicine fee, the loss of work time should also be calculated."

“What is lost wages?”

"Sir, you see, after you beat someone like this, he'll need to rest for ten days or half a month. During this half month, you have to pay for food and drink. 50 coins per person per day, that's not too much, right?"

Lu Chong glanced at Chen He and the other man and asked, "Do you two recognize him?"

The two thought that they had already paid for the medicine, so the money for food and drink was nothing, so they nodded in agreement.

Ling Chuan added, "If the three of them hadn't been beaten, they could have worked and earned wages. Now they can't work, so it's okay for the two shopkeepers to compensate them for half a month's wages."

The two men did not need to wait for the county magistrate to ask, and they thought how much a few men could earn in half a month, so they nodded and agreed directly.

Ling Chuan immediately showed a triumphant smile on his face: "Since you two have no objection, then I'll pay you forty-six and a half taels of silver each."