Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Faced with the old man's pleading, Zhang Liang's serious expression remained unchanged.

He said in a cold voice: "Whether it is unjust or not is not determined by who cries the loudest and who is right."

"After I investigate the matter, I will give justice to the wronged person!"

Hearing Zhang Liang's words, Luozhou Governor Jia Dunyi knew that he was going to protect his adopted son, so he frowned tightly.

With the woman and her parents as witnesses, this case should be able to be resolved into an ironclad case.

But when he saw that Zhang Liang and Zhang Chao looked calm, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Zhang Xingcheng, who was sitting on one side, was also frowning and thinking deeply.

He finished reading the petition written by Jia Dunyi overnight, and he also sent people to question relevant witnesses in advance. He believed that Zhang Chao should be imprisoned immediately.

Just as Jia Dunyi and Zhang Xingcheng were thinking in their hearts, Zhang Liang looked at the middle-aged couple and asked them with a serious face.

"You are the parties involved, please tell us the truth!"

"Although Zhang Lushi Military Officer is my adopted son, I will treat him equally!"

Although the young woman and the middle-aged couple were threatened by Zhang Chao, they originally wanted to tell the truth after seeing the imperial envoy from Chang'an.

But when the three of them heard that the imperial envoy was actually the thief's adoptive father, they immediately swallowed back the words they had about to say.

How could the three poor people dare to challenge the imperial envoy, who was such a giant?

The middle-aged man said with a guilty look on his face: "Your Excellency, what Zhang Lushi said is the truth. My beloved daughter and Your Excellency Zhang are truly in love."

"That ungrateful man came to threaten my family many times. It was only with the protection of Mr. Zhang that my family was able to escape harm."

Boom!

The middle-aged man's words were like a thunderclap in the old man's heart.

The old man turned to look at the middle-aged man in astonishment. He pointed at the middle-aged man with a trembling finger and said in an incredulous tone.

"Brother Chen, why...why would you say that?"

"My grandson is clearly engaged to your Cuiping. This was decided by me and your father!"

Not to mention the old man's astonishment, even the Luozhou governor Jia Dunyi did not expect that this middle-aged man would change his confession on the spot.

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said, "Old Huang, you said Cuiping and your grandson are engaged, do you have any proof?"

The old man said with a pale face: "Brother Chen, this is a verbal agreement between me and your father. How can there be any marriage contract or matchmaker?"

They were all illiterate peasants, and their engagements were just verbal promises. How could they possibly have the kind of matchmaking that only officials and gentry families would do?

"Oh!"

Jia Dunyi slammed the table heavily, then pointed at the middle-aged man and questioned him.

"Chen Dashi, when you were giving your statement, you didn't say these words. Why did you lie?"

"If someone threatens you, you might as well tell them now. This governor will definitely support you!"

"And a false confession is an even more serious crime. You should think carefully before you speak!"

Feeling the pressure brought by Jia Dunyi, the middle-aged man's face suddenly changed.

He couldn't afford to offend the Imperial Envoy, and he also couldn't afford to offend Governor Jia. No matter which choice he made today, he would offend one of the parties.

Just when the middle-aged man didn't know how to choose, Zhang Liang's voice rang out slowly.

"Governor Jia, please keep quiet while I'm judging the case."

"And your words seem like coercion of witnesses."

"I now feel that the petition you drafted earlier was a fake petition based on coercion and bribery, and it has no validity at all!"

Hearing Zhang Liang's threatening words, Jia Dunyi's beard stood up in anger.

But a higher-ranking official can crush a person to death, and Zhang Liang was the official sent by His Majesty to investigate the two cases with full authority. He clasped his fists with a look of reluctance on his face.

"Subordinate to obey!"

Seeing Jia Dunyi surrender, the middle-aged man no longer hesitated.

He dodged a glance and said, "Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy and the Governor, everything I just said is true!"

Then his wife and daughter also quickly spoke up, not only clearing Zhang Chao of all the evil deeds he had committed, but also turning the tables and putting the blame on the old man's grandson.

"this..."

When the old man heard his grandson's relative-in-law speaking for the thief, he suddenly looked as pale as death.

Zhang Liang turned to look at the Vice Minister of Justice Zhang Xingcheng and asked for his opinion.

"Minister Zhang, do you need further interrogation?"

Zhang Xingcheng did not respond to Zhang Liang's words immediately, but squinted his eyes and looked at the middle-aged man's family.

His people had gone to question them yesterday afternoon. The couple's confessions were consistent with those given by Governor Jia during the interrogation. They may have changed their confessions now because they were threatened by Zhang Liang and others.

The witnesses have already given their testimony in court, and there is nothing they can do to change their testimony later even if they want to.

Zhang Xingcheng frowned and said, "It is a fact that Zhang Chao's attendant accidentally beat three civilians to death. He must be severely punished according to Tang law!"

"As for the other matters, I have no objection."

The only witness was dealt with by Zhang Liang. The timing, location and people were all on Zhang Liang's side. What tricks could he get out of him?

Besides, he would not confront Shangguan Zhangliang for the sake of a few ordinary people. This was not in his personal interest.

The best explanation to all parties now is to convict the person who committed the crime.

Zhang Liang nodded and said, "Now that the case has been solved, we should also clear the name of Zhang Chao, the military officer."

"As for the manslaughter committed by Zhang Chao's attendants and guards, arrest them and put them in jail, and make Zhang Chao pay three strings of cash to this old man!"

"With this compensation, the old man can enjoy his old age in peace."

"I wonder if the parties have different opinions on this decision of mine?"

When they heard Zhang Liang read out the result of the trial, everyone present, except Jia Dunyi and the old man, spoke out in agreement.

The old man still wanted to continue to seek justice for his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, but when he saw Governor Jia shook his head slightly at him, he knew that the matter was a foregone conclusion.

Even the upright governor was helpless, and the imperial envoy was the thief's adoptive father, so there would be no result if he continued to make trouble here.

So the old man kowtowed heavily and said, "Thank you, my dear Imperial Envoy!"

Zhang Liang saw that the matter had come to an end, and in order to calm Jia Dunyi's restless heart, he immediately gave an order to his adopted son Zhang Chao.

"Zhang Chao, get someone to bring three taels of silver over right now and compensate this old man in front of all the gentlemen."

If you give the old man three strings of loose copper coins, he will definitely not be able to take it.

Zhang Chao responded readily: "Yes, sir!"

Not long after, he asked his servant to bring in the silver ingots that had been prepared long ago, and casually threw them at the old man's feet and said.

"Please forgive me, elder!"

The old man nodded numbly, then signed the petition and left the governor's mansion with the three silver ingots in his hand, feeling hopeless.

As he walked towards home in a daze, a horse-drawn carriage followed him not far behind.