Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

Old Cao looked at the crowd that had been behind him, and as the advisor finished speaking, they all took a big step back and kept their distance from him.

He gritted his teeth in hatred, cursing all these people in his heart.

Hmph, you think you can take my money and not do anything?

impossible!

"My lord, I am the aggrieved party, and I will go with you. However, these people are my witnesses; everyone heard what happened. Could they also come to the yamen?"

If anything happens to him today, none of these people will escape!

Xu Qing also didn't want to let these accomplices get away with it, so he immediately chimed in, "That's right, sir, let's take them all to the yamen."

The clerk made the decision: "Alright, all of you come back to the yamen with me!"

After the advisor gave the order, Xu Qing had Zhao Da bring the carriage, and after he and the advisor got in, they headed towards the town.

Before the carriage set off, the clerk rolled up the window and said to the people of Caojia Village, "Hurry up and follow, don't keep the magistrate waiting."

Then he walked away.

After the advisor left, Cao Zheng punched Old Man Cao on the shoulder and shouted angrily, "Are you trying to kill us?"

Old Cao staggered from the blow, but stubbornly shouted:

“If it weren’t for your greed, taking my money but not completing the task, and even betraying me.”

How could this have happened? If we're going to be unlucky, we're all unlucky together!

Cao Zheng and the others were speechless.

Left with no other choice, they could only slink away towards the town.

Xu Qing and his advisor arrived in their carriage first, followed by the rest of the Cao family village, who arrived breathlessly.

Inside the county government office, the magistrate sat in the hall, listening to his clerk briefly recount the events.

The magistrate slammed his gavel and shouted, "Who is kneeling before me? Tell me the whole story!"

Old Cao spoke first, embellishing Xu Qing's story with exaggerated accusations.

After saying that, he didn't forget to drag others into it: "These people can all testify for me, sir, you must give this old man justice!"

Cao Zheng smiled bitterly to himself; he and Old Man Cao were now in the same boat.

If he doesn't help Old Man Cao, Old Man Cao will expose their scheme to embezzle Hui Niang's family property, and then he won't have it easy either.

He might as well take a gamble now; if it works, he can get another sum of money.

Therefore, Cao Zheng nodded in agreement.

The other men were already afraid, but seeing the village chief's stance, they followed his lead.

Xu Qing merely sneered, and after they finished speaking, he slowly and deliberately said:

"The scholars in our town should all be registered with the government."

The booklet not only recorded the scholar's name and address, but also included his portrait.

If you don't remember what the scholar looks like, it doesn't matter; you can still recognize him by his handwriting.

"You've said so much, but all we need to do is find the scholar who wrote it for us, confront him in court, and we'll know the truth."

The county magistrate was very puzzled. When did the yamen have such a thing?

Isn't it just the roster of students from the county school?

And it only recorded the names, there was no portrait at all!

Old Cao panicked instantly.

His confidence stemmed from the fact that the person who wrote the IOU could not be found, and his nephew had already passed away.

Now that this scholar has been found, how can his lies still be covered up?

The village chief of Caojia Village collapsed to the ground. He knew that the situation was truly hopeless, and if he remained obstinate, the punishment would only be more severe.

He forced himself to speak and said, "My lord, I have something to say!"

The magistrate said, "Speak."

Cao Zheng, trembling, recounted the whole story clearly.

Finally, Cao Zheng pleaded for himself:

"I had no choice but to give false testimony for him because Cao Laotou had the leverage over my attempt to seize Hui Niang's family property."

"Now I am willing to return all of Hui Niang's property. I beg you, sir, to consider that I have taken the initiative to admit my mistake and to give me a lenient punishment..."

The magistrate slammed his gavel down and looked at Old Man Cao: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Old Cao knelt down in terror and begged for mercy: "My lord, I was bewitched. I know I was wrong. Please spare my life!"

The magistrate pondered for a moment, then struck the gavel again.

“Old Cao, you maliciously framed others and even attempted to bribe witnesses; this is a serious crime. Cao Zheng, although you confessed in the end, your behavior was still egregious. Considering that you were willing to return the property, your punishment can be mitigated.”

Old Cao collapsed to the ground in despair.

The magistrate pronounced the sentence: "Old Cao shall be fined fifty taels of silver as a warning to others and shall be sentenced to three months of hard labor in prison; Cao Zheng and his accomplices shall be fined twenty taels of silver and shall be sentenced to one month of hard labor."

After the verdict was announced, the bailiffs escorted Old Man Cao and his party away.

Xu Qing bowed to the magistrate in thanks and walked outside, but the clerk quickly stepped forward to stop him:

"Madam Xu, please wait a moment. The master has something to say to you. Please move to the inner courtyard."

Xu Qing stopped and said, "Inner courtyard? Could it be that your county magistrate's wife is going to cause me trouble again?"

The clerk said awkwardly, "It's not Madam, it's the Master who's looking for you."

"Alright, I'll trouble you to lead the way, sir."

Xu Qing followed the clerk into the inner courtyard.

Upon arriving at the county government's reception room, the clerk stopped and gestured for them to enter.

Xu Qing stepped inside, where the county magistrate and Zhou Chenggong were already waiting.

Upon seeing Xu Qing enter, Zhou Chenggong's eyes immediately reddened, brimming with tears. He called out in a pitiful voice, "Aunt Xu..."

Xu Qing raised his hand: "Stop, I don't deserve it."

"I wonder what business the magistrate has with me? I'm in a hurry to get home to assure my family of their safety, so I can't stay any longer."

Two tears streamed down Zhou Chenggong's face as he quickly said:

“Aunt Xu, that was all my parents’ fault.”

You should be angry with them, not with me!

If you don't forgive me, I...

The magistrate sighed: "Madam Xu, I apologize for my previous offenses."

However, it really had nothing to do with success. After the kid found out, he turned his house upside down, and his mother even got sick from anger.

He went to your house several times but never saw you, so he didn't apologize to you in person.

Your mother knows about this; I'm not lying to you.

The reason I called you here today is because I wanted to apologize to you in person.

You can hate us, you can hate us, but please forgive my child. He has never had any ill intentions towards you.

Today in court, I did not expose the matter of the booklet you mentioned.

Please, for this sake, give him a chance.

After speaking, the magistrate bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow. So this child had come to her house to look for her.

However, she had already gone to Haiqu by then, so of course we couldn't see her.

Although he still disliked the county magistrate and his wife, Zhou Chenggong was still a good kid.

How can he stop his parents from doing what they want?

Xu Qing said, "Okay, let's keep things separate. Success! Bao Bao and Zhen Zhen have been talking about you for a long time. Come visit them at my house sometime."