In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

Han Zhi grabbed Su Zhen and ran towards the government office. However, as more and more people wanted to go, Han Zhi was afraid of not getting a good spot, so he simply picked Su Zhen up and ran over.

Han Zhi looked completely normal, but Su Zhen was a little stunned. She was still following along, so how did she suddenly get picked up? Anyone who didn't know better would think she was going to class.

They soon arrived at the hall, where Han Zhi put Su Zhen down and secured a prime spot. He looked around, clapped his hands, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing him like this, Su Zhen raised her hand to tidy his stray hairs and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Why are you running so fast, my lord?" Su Zhen asked with some concern.

"Didn't Eighth Sister say she'd never seen a court hearing before? Let's grab a good spot and satisfy our curiosity." Han Zhi rubbed his hands on his clothes, then took Su Zhen's small hand again.

She smiled and held the candied hawthorn in her hand to Han Zhi, saying, "My lord, please have some too."

Han Zhi shook his head: "I won't eat it. I wouldn't dare take anything from Eighth Aunt."

"I am informing you, my lord, not discussing this with you," Su Zhen said, shaking the candied hawthorn.

What a convenient "This is a notification, not a discussion."

After Han Zhi took a bite, he heard a loud shout of "Court is in session!" Looking over, he saw three people being brought into the courtroom, while Tian Kuang sat on the throne.

The three were separated and made to kneel on the ground.

Who is the aggrieved party?

Kneeling below were a mother and child, and an old woman. The old woman then stood up and cried out:

"Your Excellency, you must do me justice!"

Tian Kuang sat up straight and asked, "What grievance do you have to accuse?"

"Your Excellency, I wish to sue this mother and son. They killed my son! Then they burned his bones to ashes and made this pottery basin." As she spoke, the old woman took out a pottery basin and placed it on the ground.

Upon hearing this, Han Zhi's expression immediately changed—why did this case sound so familiar? Tian Kuang's brows furrowed slightly as he asked:

“The aggrieved party shall tell us the details of the matter.”

“Your Excellency, my son and I are from Ba County, and we depend on each other for survival. This mother and son are from a neighboring county. Some time ago, my son was traveling to the neighboring county on business and stayed with them.”

“But they coveted the gold and silver, killed my son, and burned his bones to ashes to make this basin.”

Tian Kuang found it increasingly strange and asked, "My lord, where did you get this pot? And how do you know it belongs to them?"

“Your Excellency, the villagers in the surrounding area all bought their pottery basins from his family. When his wife went to buy groceries, she had a premonition and bought this pottery basin.”

"But how do you know that this basin was made from your son's bones?" Tian Kuang asked again.

"Ever since I bought this pot, I have had strange dreams. It is my son who appeared to me in my dreams."

Now Tian Kuang fully understood the situation, then shifted his gaze to the mother and son making pottery and asked:

"What are your names, mother and son?"

“Your Excellency, I am from Ba County, surnamed Tao, and I am a widow. My son will take my surname, Tao.”

Tian Kuang then asked, "Then tell me, what happened that day?"

“Your Excellency, that man did indeed stay at my house, but he left the next morning. As for where he went after he left, or whether he is alive or dead, we have no idea,” said Madam Tao.

Tian Kuang looked at the victim and the suspect. He thought it wouldn't make sense to believe the victim, since supernatural matters couldn't be brought to court as evidence. But if he believed the mother and child, he might very well let the real culprit go.

This presented a real dilemma. The only physical evidence they had was the earthenware basin in the old woman's hand. Tian Kuang had no choice but to give the order:

"Bring that earthenware basin here so I can take a look."

The official obeyed, stepped forward, took the old woman's earthenware basin, and placed it on Tian Kuang's desk. But it looked like an ordinary earthenware basin, nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Han Zhi smiled slightly as he looked at Tian Kuang's somewhat troubled expression, thinking to himself, "This case is so simple."

Su Zhen, seeing his smile, felt something was amiss and asked, "What are you smiling about, sir? Do you know the real culprit?"

Han Zhi shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. As his bedmate, Su Zhen knew his true nature quite well; he was incredibly shrewd when it came to matters that didn't concern him.

"Since you have some suspicions, why don't you tell the prefect? ​​What if you're right?" she asked in a low voice.

"I don't think this is necessary, right?"

Su Zhen glanced at her and began to scold her again: "Look at you, acting all mysterious."

Tian Kuang looked at the earthenware basin and pondered for a long time, but still couldn't come up with anything. He then said, "That's enough. There is insufficient evidence for today's matter. Let's adjourn the court for now. I will personally send people to investigate later. If there are any irregularities, we will hold another hearing."

Having said that, he picked up the gavel, ready to strike. But another voice interrupted him:

"Wait a minute!"

Everyone looked over, and there stood Han Zhi in the crowd. Even Su Zhen was somewhat surprised by the shout.

Han Zhi pulled Su Zhen inside. The official who had come to pick them up yesterday also came up, intending to stop Han Zhi. However, the official pulled him back instead and whispered a few words in his ear.

The official was taken aback and looked at Han Zhi in surprise, who simply nodded slightly in return. So he ran back to the courtroom and whispered a few words in Tian Kuang's ear.

Tian Kuang's expression was the same. After thinking for a moment, he nodded slightly and waved for him to leave.

Han Zhi then went inside, but Su Zhen stopped at the door.

"My lord, you cannot eat in the courtroom. I will wait for you outside." As she spoke, she shook the half-skewer of candied hawthorns in her hand.

Helpless, Han Zhi had no choice but to go in himself and bow to Tian Kuang: "Student Han Zhi greets Your Excellency, Prefect."

Tian Kuang looked Han Zhi up and down, then asked, "Han Zhi, what brings you to the court today?"

"Your Excellency, my wife and I were just listening to the court proceedings outside the courthouse. We think there's something fishy about this case, and it would be bad if we let the real culprit go now. That's why we came here to share our thoughts with Your Excellency."

"But do you know that lying in court is a serious crime?"

"I know that if I am lying, then please let the Prefect deal with me as he sees fit," Han Zhi said with a slight smile, looking quite confident.

Seeing his expression, Tian Kuang wondered if he really had that ability. So he said, "In that case, tell me your thoughts."

Han Zhi did not state his thoughts directly, but instead said, "I wonder if Your Excellency would allow me to ask the Tao mother and son some questions?"

"Yes!" Tian Kuang placed his hands on the table and began to listen attentively.

"Then the first question," Han Zhi said with a smile, turning around to ask the Tao family mother and son, "are all the ceramic pots in your house made of the same material? Or, to put it another way, did you cut corners?"