Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Ji Yongling glanced at Zhu Gou Niu with a cold smile, then bowed to Huo Zhenglian and said, "Sir, my family is not wealthy, but we have recently been doing business with the Xu family's pharmacy in the market outside the city. It is perfectly normal for us to carry dozens of taels of silver. You can send someone to check if you don't believe me."

Zhu Gou Niu immediately chimed in, "Sir, sir, don't listen to this girl's nonsense. Even if a family is rich, any girl can easily give away twenty taels of silver."

Ignoring Zhu Gou Niu, Ji Yongling continued speaking to Huo Zhenglian in the courtroom: "Sir, those five copper coins were a gift to Li Shi, but these two silver ingots were not a gift to Li Shi. I heard that her mother is good at raising silkworms and making silk, so I asked her to help me collect silk. My aunt is currently doing a dyeing business, and it's selling very well. I want to buy some silk thread to dye."

In Ningping County, many women raise silkworms to supplement their family income. Yang's family is an example of such a woman, so the claim that she collects silk is quite credible.

The old woman selling cloth quickly chimed in, "Sir, the girl's thread is indeed dyed very well; I saw it with my own eyes."

Huo Zhenglian looked at Zhu Gou Niu and asked, "You said that Li Shi didn't have any silver ingots, only two pieces of pastry and ten copper coins. Where are the pastries?"

"It was...it was eaten by me—"

The cloth seller hurriedly said, "Sir, even Dog Ox himself said that his wife does have ten copper coins. He must be lying and pretending that the two silver ingots are pastries."

The others in the hall nodded in agreement.

Some people took the opportunity to bring up Zhu Gou Niu's past misdeeds: "Sir, Zhu Gou Niu has been a scoundrel since he was a child. He bullies and monopolizes the market. None of us who do business in the market have escaped his oppression and humiliation. He often turns black into white."

The magistrate's sharp gaze swept over Zhu Gou Niu.

Zhu Gou Niu quickly kowtowed and said, "My lord, I dare not deceive you. These people are just kicking me when I'm down and trying to frame me. I really didn't see the silver ingots, nor did I harm Li Shi. Please don't believe their slander and wrong an innocent person."

Ji Yongling looked coldly at Zhu Gou Niu, then bowed to Huo Zhenglian again and said, "Sir, Li is dead. Zhu Gou Niu himself said that the money was still there when Li arrived home, so he must have taken it himself. My family is not wealthy, and this money was a deposit from someone else. I beg you, sir, to order Gou Niu to return my money."

"You, you, you—" Zhu Gou Niu pointed at Ji Yongling, trembling with anger, and said, "You brat, how dare you deceive adults in court? You have some serious nerve."

Ji Yongling stood up straight, ignoring Zhu Gou Niu, and looked directly at Huo Yonglian in the hall.

Huo Zhenglian also scrutinized Ji Yongling.

In his memory, over the years, only the children of royalty and officials dared to look officials in the eye without kneeling. Children from ordinary families would be lucky if they didn't tremble with nervousness when meeting officials.

So this girl in front of you is either from a powerful background or is ignorant and audacious.

"Zhu Gou Niu, since you say you haven't seen the silver ingots, what about the other ten copper coins?" Huo Zhenglian stopped looking at Ji Yongling and continued to press Zhu Gou Niu for answers.

"M-Master..." Zhu Gou Niu hesitated, because he had put the ten copper coins in his mother's kang cabinet, but there were several ten-tael silver ingots in his mother's kang cabinet.

Seeing Zhu Gou Niu's evasive words, Huo Zhenglian slammed his gavel, startling Zhu Gou Niu, who gritted his teeth before saying, "It's... in my mother's kang cabinet."

"Guards, immediately search Zhu Gou Niu's house for copper coins, silver ingots, and other suspicious items. Zhu Gou Niu, since you have admitted to taking ten copper coins from the Li family, I hereby order you to return them immediately. As for the other two silver ingots, we will discuss them after the search is completed."

"My lord, my lord—" Zhu Gou Niu cried out unwillingly.

"Thank you, sir!" Ji Yongling bowed respectfully.

At this moment, a yamen runner stepped forward to report that doctors from several clinics in the county had been invited over.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yongling immediately bowed and said, "Sir, you just said that there are no coroners in the county. I happen to know some medical skills. The old doctor of Xu's Pharmacy can testify for me."

"I happen to have some knowledge of examining corpses. Although I cannot compare to a coroner, I am a woman, and examining a woman is more convenient for me. Moreover, I had an encounter with this Ms. Li at the market, which can be considered a kind of fate. I am willing to volunteer to assist in the examination."

Zhu Gou Niu hurriedly scrambled forward a couple of steps and said, "Sir, you mustn't! This is a courtroom, how can we let a little girl act so recklessly? I absolutely will not allow this girl to offend my wife like this."

Huo Zhiyuan, who had been watching from a corner of the main hall, excitedly clenched his fists, pulled over a constable, and whispered in his ear, "Go tell my father quickly, this girl was the one who saw through the fake deer antler last time."

Helpless, the bailiff could only step forward, bend down, and whisper a few words in Huo Zhenglian's ear.

Huo Zhenglian glared at his son in the corner, then turned back to stare intently at Ji Yongling. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Someone, take Li's body downstairs and have the doctors at the clinic examine it. Also, take this woman with you."

"Yes--"

Zhu Gou Niu was still desperately shouting, "My lord, my lord, you mustn't—"

Huo Zhiyuan became even more excited, shrinking back as he prepared to sneak out to see how Ji Yongling was performing the autopsy. Huo Zhenglian shot him a glare, making him shudder and slowly stand still.

By the time Ji Manchuan and his group squeezed their way to the front of the county government office, the crowd had already surrounded it in layers, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

The crowd included people who were simply watching the spectacle, vendors carrying goods on shoulder poles, and of course, petty thieves. It was lively and crowded.

Seeing this, Ji Manchuan said anxiously to Ji Mantun, "Second brother, thank you for watching the car. Manqing and I will go find Ling'er."

“Third Uncle, I’ll go too,” Ji Yongbai and Ji Yonghua said hurriedly.

Hu Xirong quickly added, "I definitely have to go."

So, apart from Ji Mantun who stayed behind to watch the car, the others crowded into the county government hall.

"Hey, fellow villager, what's going on inside?" Ji Manqing squeezed next to a young man, patted him on the shoulder, and stood on tiptoe to peek inside.

The man turned around, glanced at Ji Manqing, tilted his head and leaned closer to him, covering his lips with one hand and whispering, "A young wife died. Her husband said she jumped into a well and committed suicide. The county magistrate is still interrogating her, but a young girl just came and said she's going to examine the body."

"What? An autopsy? My great-grandfather!" Ji Manqing stared wide-eyed at the man beside him in disbelief.

The man glanced at Ji Manqing with disdain: "You're making a fuss over nothing! Although she's a little girl, she's at least thirteen or fourteen years old. She's dressed like a boy and is carrying several gourds on her back. Maybe she's a disciple of some master from Mount Kongtong."

Hu Xirong squeezed in and nudged Ji Manqing, asking, "Have you seen Ling'er?"

Ji Manqing swallowed hard and said, "I heard they're going to perform an autopsy."

"What did you say? God of Heaven, autopsy? You must be talking nonsense!" Hu Xirong said, trying to fall on Ji Manqing, but Ji Manqing pushed her away in disgust.

A sharp "snap" echoed through the hall.

Those watching from outside all stood on tiptoe.

Hu Xirong quickly recovered from her dizzy, half-paralyzed state to full health, hunching over and trying to squeeze into the crowd.