This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Upon hearing this, the eight clerks of Chang'an County immediately stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Magistrate Lin.

Before they arrived, the magistrate of Chang'an had reminded them that this was only to assist the Ministry of Personnel in apprehending money officials, and that they should not act rashly if they encountered resistance.

"Chief Clerk Lin, he is the son of the Duke of Wu, we dare not..."

One of the clerks looked troubled.

Lin Lingshi angrily said, "So what if he is the son of a duke? You all saw him slap the ward official just now. Don't you even have the courage to uphold justice?"

The clerk clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and said solemnly, "Please forgive my incompetence..."

Lin, the clerk of the Ministry of Personnel, was furious but helpless. After all, they were not in the same government office and were not in a superior-subordinate relationship. He could only wave his hand to dismiss the eight county clerks and stare at the son of the Duke of Wu, questioning him: "Yuchi Baolin, if you won't let us in, you have to give us a reason, right?"

"You must move aside if you have no reason to!"

Yu Chi Baolin snorted, "If I didn't have a reason, would I be standing here preventing you from entering?"

"To tell you the truth, I was invited to Du Jingjian's house today, but when I arrived, I discovered that something of mine was missing. This item is valuable and cannot be lost, otherwise my father will not let me off the hook. So I must find it first. Until then, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"

Lin Lingshi asked, "When can we find it?"

"It's hard to say. You can go back first, and I'll send someone to let you know when we find the item. Then you can come back."

Lin Lingshi pointed to the eight clerks from the Chang'an County government behind him and said, "I can have them find it for you."

Yu Chi Baolin waved his hand and said, "No, I can't trust anyone right now!"

Seeing that he was unmoved by reason or coercion, Lin Lingshi turned to him and said, "Zhu Fangzheng, go and call for help!"

"promise!"

Yu Chi Baolin frowned as he watched Zhu Fang ride away on horseback. He then turned to the clerk in charge of collecting money from the Ministry of Personnel and said, "Your surname is Lin, right? You work for the Ministry of Personnel, while Cheng Jun works for the Censorate. You are not subordinate to each other. Why do you insist on making things difficult for him?"

Lin Lingshi sneered, "I don't know Cheng Jun, nor do I want to. I'm here for Du Jingjian!"

What did Du Jingjian do wrong?

"You have no right to interfere!"

"Then let's just wait and see!"

Yu Chi Baolin rolled her eyes.

Before long, oxcarts, horse-drawn carriages, and donkey carts appeared on the four streets in front of, behind, to the left and right of the Du family's residence. Each cart carried a money collector, ranging in age from twenty to fifty.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed as the money-collecting clerk rode his horse toward them.

In an instant, the area was completely surrounded by all kinds of vehicles and horses.

So many people have come?

Yu Chi Baolin's eyes narrowed. He roughly counted and found that there were more than 600 money-collecting clerks. He asked, "If I remember correctly, there are more than 70 government offices in Chang'an, and each office has nine money-collecting clerks. Have you summoned them all?"

Lin Lingshi said calmly, "Not bad!"

Yu Chi Baolin was somewhat puzzled and said, "Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss over two hundred coins? I'll pay back those two hundred coins for Du Jingjian today!"

After saying that, he took off the money pouch from his waist and took out a small gold nugget.

Lin Lingshi glanced at it and said, "This money isn't enough!"

Yuchi Baolin was stunned, and holding the gold nugget, he said, "Look carefully, this gold nugget of mine is worth three hundred coins!"

Lin Lingshi said in a deep voice, "Yuchi Baolin, to tell you the truth, the reason I brought the clerks of Chang'an County to arrest Du Jingjian is to inquire about the whereabouts of his 50,000 coins!"

"We learned from the shopkeeper Liu, who lent money to Du Jingjian, that he believed Du Jingjian had a way to make money and make up for the deficit, so he exchanged the 50,000 cash he borrowed from me for eight taels of gold and handed it all over to Du Jingjian!"

"The imperial court is now thoroughly investigating whether borrowers can repay their principal. They've found out that shopkeeper Liu is penniless and has no money to repay. So, we can only start with Du Jingjian and make him return all the money that belongs to the imperial court!"

Yu Chi Baolin couldn't help but gasp.

During the Zhenguan era, one tael of gold could be exchanged for six thousand coins, or six strings of cash.

Eight ounces, that's half a catty!

He couldn't help but glance back at the courtyard gate, knowing that Du Jingjian and his mother were standing behind it.

Behind the gate of the Du family compound, Du Jingjian's eyes blazed with anger as he exclaimed, "I didn't take any gold! He's framing me! I'm going to confront him!"

Du's mother was right next to him. Upon hearing this, she quickly grabbed him and said, "Since Cheng Sanlang asked Yuchi Baolin to help guard the door and prevent them from coming in, he must have his reasons. At this time, you must not respond, and you must not go out!"

Outside the door, Yu Chi Baolin came to his senses and felt something was amiss. He asked, "What evidence do you have to prove that Du Jingjian took eight taels of gold?"

Lin Lingshi seemed to have anticipated his question, and took out a contract and a statement from his pocket, saying, "This is the contract given by Shopkeeper Liu regarding the whereabouts of the eight taels of gold, and it bears Du Jingjian's signature! This is his statement, which can prove what I just said!"

Yu Chi Baolin glanced at the more than six hundred people who had gathered around him and sneered, "You are all clerks from various departments in the capital. It's easy for you to imitate Du Jingjian's handwriting. This contract is worthless!"

Lin Lingshi shouted, "Then let us in, and we'll confront Du Jingjian face to face!"

Yu Chi Baolin remembered that Cheng Jun had said before he left that he must guard the Du family's gate and not let anyone in until he returned.

"no!"

Yu Chi Baolin said firmly, "I've already said, none of you are allowed to enter until I find what I'm looking for!"

Lin Lingshi couldn't help but yell, "Yuchi Baolin, you're obstructing us from performing our official duties! You can't bear this crime!"

Yu Chi Baolin chuckled and said, "Du Jingjian is inside, he can't escape, what's the rush? If he runs away, I'll take full responsibility!"

In one sentence, Lin Lingshi was left speechless.

Yuchi Baolin is still the most reliable... In the distance, Cheng Jun watched this scene with great satisfaction. Then he focused his gaze on Lin, the clerk in charge of collecting money in the Ministry of Personnel, and narrowed his eyes.

He was certain that this whole affair was orchestrated by someone from the Ministry of Personnel.

The duty of the money collector was to collect money for the imperial court.

Those who amassed wealth were granted official positions by the Ministry of Personnel according to the magnitude of their contributions.

Therefore, only someone from the Ministry of Personnel could command so many money-collecting officials to come here.

This person holds a high position in the Ministry of Personnel... Cheng Jun seemed to be deep in thought.

That person in the Ministry of Personnel thought he could tarnish his reputation by spending two hundred coins through Du Jingjian.

However, because he slapped Zhu Fangzheng, the other party's plan failed.

The other party simply escalated the incident and framed someone!

What a filthy and rotten heart...

Cheng Jun clicked his tongue. If he wasn't mistaken, the other party's framing was intended to send Du Jingjian to prison and ruin his career, thus warning the young people in the neighborhood that anyone who dared to associate with him, Cheng Jun, would end up like Du Jingjian, and thus make them distance themselves from him.

Thank goodness I took precautions... Cheng Jun breathed a sigh of relief. Having spent his previous life in the workplace, he had witnessed too many cases of framing others, so he kept a watchful eye and had Yu Chi Baolin guard the Du family's gate.

The other party probably didn't expect me to make this arrangement, causing my plan to fail.

Of course, it was also thanks to Yuchi Baolin's ability to withstand the pressure.

Otherwise, if those clerks rush in and drag Du Jingjian to the government office, the situation will be terrible.

Who could it be...? Cheng Jun decided to wait and see, waiting for the person behind the scenes to surface.

"Guards, drag Yuchi Baolin aside!"

At this moment, outside the gate of the Du residence.

Knowing that he could not delay any longer, and that things might change if he did, Lin Lingshi immediately turned around and shouted at the more than 600 money-collecting clerks from various departments behind him.

"Young Master Yuchi, I'm sorry to offend you!"

A middle-aged money collector rolled up his sleeves and strode toward Yuchi Baolin.

Yu Chi Baolin raised an eyebrow, and when the other party got close, he raised his knee and kicked out hard!

boom!

The hard sole of the shoe kicked the middle-aged money collector in the chest, sending him tumbling like a gourd before he fell to the ground.

"Go on!"

Lin Lingshi shouted loudly.

He has over six hundred men, while Yuchi Baolin only has himself and six retainers behind him. Six hundred men against seven, the advantage is on my side!