The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Sun Shan kindly ordered, "Xia Dianli, put them both in solitary confinement, one cell each. Make sure the conditions are better. There's an innocent person in here, and we can't let him suffer any more injustice."

Xia Dianli secretly glanced at the cloth. Lord Sun had been staring at it intently and couldn't let it go just now. It must be worth more than 4 taels, right?

If it was only 4 taels, Lord Sun would not have revealed his naked greed.

Xia Dianli took another secret glance at the cloth. Forgive him for coming from a remote small county, but he really couldn't tell what was so precious about this cloth.

It's just a little better than ordinary cotton cloth.

Xia Dianli came to his senses and quickly agreed: "Yes, sir, I will make the arrangements."

Since Lord Sun came, the cells in Yuanlu County have become much emptier.

For those who were wrongly accused, offended others, or committed minor crimes, Lord Sun either let them go or asked them to pay a ransom.

The rest were all guilty of heinous crimes and could not be released, so they had to be locked up and forced to twist hemp ropes and weave sacks in the cells for use in the guano fertilizer workshop.

Lord Sun also said that after the spring plowing, they would continue to build the road and send these criminals to build the road, which would be a good use of their talents.

Now, the cells in Yuanlu County have become much cleaner, sunnier, and more lively.

So going to jail for a few days is not very uncomfortable.

Sun Shan then said to Xia Dianli, "Let Zhang San and Li Siye twist hemp ropes. It's better to have something to do in prison than to sit there doing nothing. Just twisting them like this will make the day go by."

Xia Dianli:...

Can you swear on behalf of Zhang San and Li Si?

Going to jail for a piece of cloth was pitiful enough, but I never thought there would be labor reform.

Emma, ​​their Lord Sun is really amazing!

Xia Dianli immediately replied, "Yes, sir, I will arrange it right away."

Just rub it, it’s not you who’s rubbing it anyway.

According to the report from the yamen runners, they were advised from the beginning not to go to the yamen runners whether they had something to do or not, but they refused to listen.

Look, now you know how powerful the government is, you deserve it!

After Sun Shan made all the arrangements, he stared at the cloth, frowned, and asked, "Master, who do you think this cloth belongs to?"

Master Zhang shook his head and said, "Sir, based on their testimony alone, we can't tell who the owner of the cloth is. Words are not enough. We need evidence."

Mr. Zhang didn't think Sun Shan would be greedy for the cloth.

His master Sun never coveted the common people's things. If he really wanted to be greedy, he would only steal the stolen goods of the most heinous criminals or the things of the rich.

It was obvious from the clothes worn by Zhang San and Li Si that their families were not wealthy, so why would they covet their cloth?

Master Zhang added, "Sir, I've already arranged for someone to check on Zhang San and Li Si."

Start by interrogating Zhang San and Li Si about where they are from. If what they say is true, you will soon find out where they are.

Sun Shan nodded: "Well, we need to see if there are any problems with the identities of the two people."

Master Zhang asked in a low voice, "Master, should we send someone to Chenzhou Prefecture to find the supplier? Once they find the supplier, we'll know exactly who's lying and who's not."

Sun Shan also wanted to find a supplier, but it was not easy to find one.

Maybe he passed by Chenzhou Prefecture and continued to go south. As for where to look for him, no one knows.

Or maybe there was no supplier at all, and one of the two people lied and did not explain the true source of the cloth, not only deceiving Zhang San or Li Si, but also deceiving the government.

Sun Shan thought for a moment and said, "Let the officers find out who they are before we make any plans."

Sun Shan looked at the sky outside. An entire morning had passed. Trying a case was troublesome, and it was even more troublesome that the case had not been closed yet.

Sun Shan finally understood why officials were so afraid of people coming to the yamen to file complaints.

Whether the case can be solved is one thing, but the main problem is that it is too troublesome. If there is such a delay, other things will not be done.

If it were in the Great Celestial Empire, there would be an independent department to handle it, but in Daqian, the magistrate is responsible for everything.

If it was a major case, he would have to personally review it because it was too important. But for trivial matters like this, he would have to go to the government office to file a complaint. Even if Sun Shan was prepared to work 360 days a year and 996,007, he would still be too busy to handle it.

No matter what, man is iron and food is steel. If you don’t eat for a meal, you will feel hungry.

As soon as it was time to get off work, Sun Shan quickly ran back to the inner courtyard to eat.

Nanny Wang made chicken soup again today and said with concern, "Master, are you tired today? Come and drink some chicken soup to replenish your energy."

Gui Ge'er answered for Sun Shan: "Madam, how can I not be tired? Brother Shan is busy from morning till night. The moment he lowers his head and the next moment he looks up, the sun has already set."

Nanny Wang said distressedly, "Poor old master, he's working so hard."

After a pause, he continued, "Master, I will make soup tomorrow. I need to replenish my body."

Sun Shan had just finished his meal when he heard news from the express team.

Captain Yang came over and said, "Sir, the identities of Zhang San and Li Si have been ascertained."

Sun Shan asked anxiously, "Are they lying?"

Captain Yang shook his head and said, "What they said is true. Zhang San is indeed from Niujiao Village. He has a sister who is getting married. This time he went to Chenzhou Prefecture alone to ask his aunt to borrow money for his sister's dowry. He has been gone for several days and has not returned. His family is very worried."

After a pause, he continued, "I contacted the escort agency again, and indeed, on their return journey, someone was sneakily following them. After being discovered, we learned that he had followed them back. The escort agency asked him to pay the escort fee, but he refused, so they drove him away and forbade him to follow."

What Captain Yang said matched exactly what Zhang San said.

This proves that Zhang San did not lie before he met the supplier.

Captain Yang continued, "Li Si was indeed from Lijiawan. He ran away not long ago. At first, his family thought he had been taken away by a wolf. Since he was a peddler who traveled from village to village, he would occasionally pass through the mountains and it was not surprising for him to encounter wild beasts.

The family sent people to look for him everywhere, but they couldn't find him. Finally, they found a farewell letter next to his bed. He said he was going to Chenzhou Prefecture to seek refuge with his cousin and do big business. This made the family furious and they wanted to catch him and beat him up.

Sun Shan asked, "Have you asked about Brother Li Si?"

Captain Yang nodded. "When Li Si's parents heard that Li Si had gone to live with his cousin and was talking about getting rich, they were more afraid than being taken away by a money wolf. This cousin may look good and kind, but in fact he is an expert in all kinds of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. He is simply detested by everyone.

He's been in Chenzhou Prefecture for the past few years, only occasionally returning to Lijiawan. As for what he's been doing in Chenzhou Prefecture, his family members aren't entirely clear. This time, when he wrote to Li Si, asking him to go do business in Chenzhou Prefecture, the Li family members said he had bad intentions. Li's parents planned to send someone to Chenzhou Prefecture to look for him after the spring plowing was over.

Captain Yang's words proved that Li Simei was lying and had indeed gone to live with her cousin.

Li Si initially said that he was sold to a gambling house by his cousin. Sun Shan thought he was lying, but in fact he went to gamble on his own and lost all his money.

Now it seems that Li Si was not lying, and it is really possible that his cousin sold him out.