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

“It’s just ordinary material. My son and I are able to do business among our neighbors because of our honesty. How can you say we cut corners?” Tao said.

Han Zhi nodded and said, "That puts my mind at ease."

These words, however, confused everyone. Su Zhen, standing outside the hall, looked at Han Zhi curiously. He, facing the door, gave her a knowing look.

"Have your earthenware basins been sold within the prefectural capital?"

Tao nodded: "If we don't go into the prefecture and don't have a shop, it's not easy to do this business."

Han Zhi then turned to Tian Kuang and said, "Prefect, please send someone to buy two brand new earthenware basins, and at the same time, have someone bring a vat of water."

Tian Kuang nodded and said, "Do as he says."

Several constables ran out, and since the government office was not far from the bustling city, they quickly returned with the goods. The water vat was then placed directly in the courtyard of the courthouse.

"What's next?" Tian Kuang asked.

Han Zhi approached the two earthenware basins, and after confirming their location, said, "Please place these earthenware basins carefully into the water vat, and also place the basin belonging to the aggrieved party in the same way."

The group did as instructed, and after a short while, Han Zhi said, "You can take it out now and put it on the table so that the villagers can see it too."

The officials took out the earthenware basins and placed them one by one in front of Tian Kuang. Han Zhi then smiled and said, "Your Excellency, can we now confirm the true culprit?"

Tian Kuang frowned, glanced at Han Zhi, and then began to examine the earthenware basins on the table—the earthenware basins brought by the two officials were more than half wet at the bottom; while the earthenware basin brought by the old woman was only about 40% wet.

He slammed his gavel, pointed at the Tao mother and son, and shouted, "You audacious suspect, why don't you confess your crimes!"

"To murder others for money and burn their bones into ceramic pots is truly outrageous! Guards! Take him away and deal with him in the autumn!"

Two constables came up and were about to take the person away when Tao and her son hurriedly shouted, "Your Honor, you've wronged us! We really didn't kill anyone!"

Han Zhi said, "If you want to hear something, you might as well listen to me, it will be clearer and easier to understand—you use clay to make pottery, right?"

The Tao mother and son, unaware of the reason, simply nodded. Han Zhi then said, "Then I'll tell you where the problem lies."

"Everything in the world has a specific gravity. If they are the same size, the greater the specific gravity, the greater the weight. The specific gravity of clay is about 28%, while the specific gravity of human bone is 18%."

"I see that these three earthenware basins are the same size, but why do they hold different amounts of water? Naturally, it's because their specific gravities are different."

“It’s just that the weights are different. How could you say that my son and I are made of human bones?”

"Report——"

No sooner had Tao finished speaking than the official who had just left rushed back, glanced at Tao and her son, and shouted, "Your Excellency, I just rushed to the Tao family's house and found fifty taels of gold!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Kuang slammed his gavel and demanded, "What else do you have to argue?"

"He's only twenty..."

Tao only came to her senses halfway through her sentence, and immediately lost her spirit.

"Twenty what?" Han Zhi bent down with a smile. "Twenty taels?"

"What you say is correct, sir. We did find twenty taels of silver," the official said with a smile, then placed the silver bag on the table.

Tian Kuang waved his hand and said, "Take the prisoner away, and then return the silver to the aggrieved party."

"Thank you very much, Prefect!"

The old woman then bent down and began to kowtow, but fortunately, two constables stopped her. Han Zhize looked at Su Zhen, raised an eyebrow at her, seemingly showing off.

Su Zhen pretended to spit, then glared at him and turned to leave. Han Zhi hurriedly ran up to him, forgetting even to greet Tian Kuang.

"Eighth Sister, Eighth Sister, why are you running? I haven't caught up yet!"

He ran up to Su Zhen, took her hand, and said in a fawning tone.

Su Zhen gave a light "humph" and said, "My lord knows the truth, yet you didn't tell me first, instead leaving me to guess for a long time."

Han Zhi smiled, cupped Su Zhen's small hands in his palms, and gently stroked them, saying, "I just wanted to attract Ba Niang's attention, because I was afraid she would ignore me again later."

"Such a good opportunity. If I tell Ba Niang in advance, she will ignore me again after she finishes reviewing the case."

"Pah!" Su Zhen pulled his hand away and continued walking forward. "My lord has the nerve to say such things. What a scoundrel! How shameless!"

Han Zhi caught up with her again, pulling her along and giving her a quick peck. Then, he whispered in Su Zhen's ear, "Eighth Sister is covered in the scent of ink; her talent must far surpass that of an official like me."

"Eighth Sister is still so beautiful. There must be more men who like Eighth Sister than my wife."

Su Zhen was amused by his actions and covered her mouth to laugh. She finally managed to stop herself from laughing and said, "My dear, stop talking. We're still playing outside. How can you be so shameless?"

"If this continues, I will truly stop paying attention to you, my lord."

Upon hearing this, Han Zhi immediately beamed with joy and said, "That's good, that's good. I'll act normal. Don't ignore me, Eighth Sister."

"My lord is so intelligent; he can solve cases that even the prefect couldn't understand with just a few words. But when he comes back to my side, he acts like a child, making me seem like a vixen who brings disaster to the country," Su Zhen said reproachfully.

"How could that be? How could that be! Who said that? I'll go and smash their mouth in."

It seemed Han Zhi had actually believed it; his face was full of anger, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront the person. Startled, Su Zhen quickly grabbed him, saying, "My lord! Nobody said that."

Upon hearing this, Han Zhi abandoned his arrogant demeanor and obediently returned to Su Zhen's side. Seeing Han Zhi's behavior, Su Zhen's interest was piqued again, and she asked, "My lord, may I ask you a question?"

"Ask away, Eighth Sister. There's nothing I don't know, from ancient times to the present," Han Zhi said, patting his chest.

"Then may I ask—" she asked, "If I were to die one day, what would you, my lord, do?"

"Pah, pah, pah, don't talk nonsense, Eighth Sister." Han Zhi quickly raised his finger to cover her lips.

Su Zhen slapped his hand away and said, "I was just asking a question, it's not true, why are you so worried, my lord?"

Han Zhi pulled her close, gently holding her in his arms, and said, "But I just hope that Eighth Sister is alright. Men's mouths can't always tell the truth. Rather than waiting for them to swear, let's see what they do."

Su Zhen was somewhat lost in thought, gazing at him intently, her eyelashes shimmering slightly in the sunlight, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

"Instead of doing things after Eighth Sister is gone, it's better to do more while she's still here. Trying to salvage something after it's lost is worthless, even worse than grass."

"Alright, alright," Su Zhen understood perfectly what he meant. "I won't ask anymore. My lord, save your energy. You still have to accompany me shopping."

"Yes, I won't say anything more."