After traveling through time, she still led the villagers to make money as a county magistrate

"Didn't I allow you to take a day off to rest at home? Why do you still have those panda eyes?" Gu Niannian asked in confusion.

Li Jing, "It's okay, I couldn't sleep yesterday."

"Our Lord Li is so worried about something that he has even suffered from insomnia. Tell us so that we can help you relieve your worries." Zhang Da said jokingly while holding a few volumes of case files.

Li Jing touched the tip of his nose and changed the subject. "Nothing serious. Has anything happened in the government office these past two days?"

"Well, it's nothing serious, just some family matters. The Zhang family stole the Li family's chickens, and the Xu family occupied the He family's land. I have dealt with them all." Zhang Da put the case file on the desk.

"Bring this here for your approval, sir."

Gu Niannian picked up the case file and looked at it carefully, "Brother Li, if you are not feeling well, you should go home and rest for a day. Lord Zhang and I can also stay here."

Li Jing was about to nod, but then shook his head as if he thought of something, "It's okay, I can't sleep at home either."

Are you kidding? If Le An was a woman, would I let you two stay alone together? That's absolutely impossible. I'd stay here even if I died of exhaustion.

"Okay! If Lord Li is so persistent."

As Gu Niannian spoke, she looked up at Li Jing, raised her eyebrows, and then casually threw a case file to him.

Li Jing subconsciously reached out to take it, but before he could react, he heard Gu Niannian say, "Please help me look at the case file."

He was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Okay." Then he walked to the table next to him, sat down, and quietly began to read.

For a moment, the yamen became silent, with only the sound of shuffling papers and soft breathing.

Zhang Dadu felt that he seemed a little redundant here, but it was not easy to leave, so he had to stand aside silently and watch the two people busy.

After a while, Gu Niannian suddenly said, "There are doubts in this case." Her voice broke the silence, making everyone nervous.

Zhang Da walked over and said, "This case is clear and straightforward. What are the doubts?"

Gu Niannian pointed to a detail in the case file. "Here, the wall of Wang Sheng's house is twice as thick as the He Si family's next door. He occupied He Si's land. Why did he build such thick walls?"

"This is indeed a bit strange." Li Jing agreed, and he moved forward to carefully examine the case file.

"I asked him about it carefully at the time, and Mr. Wang said it was for soundproofing."

Gu Niannian shook her head. "If it was just for soundproofing, there's no need to make it so thick. Besides, when he built his house, He Si next door hadn't finished his yet, so how could there be such loud noises? He had to make the walls so thick, and thickening the walls is an additional expense... There must be something fishy going on."

"Your Excellency is quite right," Li Jing agreed. "In my opinion, this matter requires further investigation."

"Zhang Da, this case was finally closed after Wang Sheng paid the silver for the land to the He family?" Gu Niannian turned around and asked Zhang Da.

Zhang Da nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Wang is quite straightforward. He agreed to pay compensation in silver as soon as I asked him. He didn't argue about the amount and just hoped that the case could be closed as soon as possible."

"I thought it would take a lot of wrangling before the case could be closed. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. It's really strange to say that. I have never met a defendant who is so easy to talk to..." Zhang Da was thoughtful.

Gu Niannian, "What's the situation with his family members?"

Zhang Da, "Wang Sheng has an old mother at home. She is crazy and has been ill for a long time and is difficult to cure. She went missing more than half a year ago and there has been no news of her since then. His wife is a new bride and she is quite charming.

Gu Niannian, "Zhang Da, take your men to He Si's house tomorrow to check and inquire about the situation. Li Jing, come with me to Wang Sheng's house and conduct a thorough inspection and questioning."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Da and Li Jing responded in unison.

The next day, Gu Niannian and Li Jing brought a few yamen runners to Zhang Sheng's house.

Seeing Zhang Sheng sweeping the yard, his wife cracked melon seeds and instructed him, "Sweep this, and that..."

He looked up and saw Gu Niannian and the others. He was startled at first, then stood up. "Mr. Zhang, the officials are here."

The yamen runner asked, "Mr. Zhang, where is Mrs. Liu?"

Zhang Sheng hurriedly supported his wife and said, "I am Zhang Sheng, and this is my wife, Liu. What brings you here, sir?"

Gu Niannian looked at the man and woman in front of her. The man had a lopsided leg, and his clothes were as ordinary as could be. He was just average looking. But Liu was dressed like a woman, and she looked to be around thirty years old. She was wearing gold and silver. Although her clothes were a bit rustic to Gu Niannian, the two of them standing together didn't look like a couple, but more like master and servant.

Zhang Sheng, "Didn't the last incident already end? I've paid the compensation I owed..."

Gu Niannian, "If it weren't for this matter, didn't your mother disappear a year ago? I'll investigate and maybe I can find her."

The Great Sage Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety. Whether it was the common people or the officials, filial piety always took the top priority. If the common people were known to be unfilial, not only would they be despised by everyone, but they would also lose their land. This was even more true for the officials.

In cases like this, if a family's mother is still alive but has gone missing or cannot be found, they will be more or less ostracized and their land will be reduced.

As a farmer, planting less land means less income.

So it was a good thing for Zhang Sheng that Gu Niannian offered to help him find his mother. After all, having an official to help him find his mother would definitely make things more efficient.

"No... no need, please don't meddle in other people's business," Zhang Sheng said with a somewhat excited expression.

Mrs. Liu was even more impatient, "Why bring back his crazy mother? She died outside..."

Before Liu finished speaking, Zhang Sheng quickly covered her mouth.

"You guys should go quickly! There's no need for you to look for mother. She knows the way back. She will come back by herself after staying outside for a while."

"Liu, you are not bad looking, why did you marry Wang Sheng?" Gu Niannian looked at Liu.

"I...I, he treated me well, so I married him. Why does the county government care who I marry?"

"No matter what, just asking, where is your mother's room? Take me to see it." Gu Niannian looked at Wang Sheng and asked suddenly

"Mother...Mother's room has not been used for a long time. I use it to store my stuff. It's probably dusty now. Please don't dirty your clothes." Wang Sheng felt uneasy when he was looked at, and he stuttered when he spoke.

"I told you to take us to see it, so just do it. There's no need to talk so much nonsense." Wu Bo had been a yamen runner for so many years that he knew exactly what to say and when.

"I'm looking for my keys. I haven't been there for a long time and I don't know where I lost them."

"By the way, my wife Liu is pregnant and can't breathe too much dust. Can you let her stay in the yard?" Wang Sheng found the key and pleaded.

Gu Niannian, "Yes."

Gu Niannian and Li Jing walked into the Queen Mother's room. Gu Niannian was attracted by the dressing table in the room at first sight. The dressing table was made of nanmu and was finely carved. It should not be something that this farmer's family could afford.

"Mr. Wang, is this dressing table your mother's?"

Wang Sheng lowered his eyes and said, "This dressing table is my mother's dowry, and it is her favorite thing."

"My mother was originally a young lady from a wealthy family in another place. She was deceived by a scholar and married into this small village. She didn't dare go back after her body was defiled. My maternal grandparents just thought they had lost their daughter and only sent this dressing table. We have no contact since then."

"My mother is a very capable person. She manages the house in perfect order. But that man is not a human being. He drinks and gambles all day long. When he is drunk, he beats my mother. After my mother got married for several years and still hasn't gotten pregnant, he beats her even more fiercely, calling her a chicken that doesn't lay eggs." Wang Sheng said this with an excited tone.

"You are not your mother's biological son?" Gu Niannian thought that since the Queen Mother was a daughter of a wealthy family, she should be good-looking, and she was deceived by the scholar, so the scholar should be even better-looking. How could he give birth to a child like this?

Wang Sheng nodded and said, "My mother picked me up. She thought she would never be able to have children in her life, so she saw me by the river and took me home to raise."

"My arrival hasn't brought any improvement to Mother's life. That beast always scolds us. A chicken that doesn't lay eggs got a son for free. Haha... How good can he be?" Wang Sheng said this with his teeth chattering.

"Why don't you divorce?"

"Haha, divorce, both mother and I want it! But that beast won't even let us leave the village. With so many people watching, how can mother divorce? No matter how she divorces... Not to mention divorce, mother would even be willing to be divorced..."

"Oh~ I, a commoner, also found a chance to report to the police, and ended up like this." Wang Sheng pointed at his lame leg.

"That bastard had no money to gamble, yet he let my mother...let her go..."

"What are you going to do?" Gu Niannian asked after hearing him unable to say anything for a long time.

"Go and receive guests..." After saying this, Wang Sheng fell to the ground and burst into tears.

"That beast hung a sign at my mother's door and spread the word everywhere in the village. I just hated myself for being only ten years old at the time and unable to beat that beast."

Gu Niannian's expression became gloomy when she heard this. This kind of thing happened from time to time not only in ancient times, but also in later generations.

"At first, my mother said she was unwilling to do anything, but as a woman, she was no match for those beasts. Later, she became half crazy and half insane, and then she ran away..." Wang Sheng stood up and wiped the tears from his face.

"Okay, this is everything about my mother. I've told you everything. Can you leave now?"

"How did your father die?" Gu Niannian asked while touching the patterns on the dressing table.

"Haha... that bastard got drunk half a year ago and fell face first into a ditch and drowned himself." Wang Sheng laughed.

"Can I open the drawer of this dressing table?" Gu Niannian asked.

"Please go ahead, but please be careful. Some of these are old items, and it would be a shame to break them..."

"Your mother went missing a year ago?" Gu Niannian asked while checking

Wang Sheng, "Haha, it's good that you're gone, it's good that you're gone..."