I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 389

The shopkeeper of Xinglong Grocery Store withdrew the money for buying a thousand catties of tung oil from the bank in advance?This means that someone informed him of the news, and shopkeeper Hong knew that the tung oil would be sold, so he prepared it in advance.

This also shows that Chu Qianshi had planned to set fire to the Suzhou government office a long time ago, and the nature of this case is completely different.

As for Tong Mingyuan, a merchant who sells tung oil, Lord Yao read his signed statement, and said in a deep voice, "Tong Mingyuan, step aside first, and you must not leave Suzhou City until this case is closed."

"Yes, my lord, grass people remember." Tong Mingyuan finally let go of his hanging heart. As a businessman, what he fears most is getting into a lawsuit. If the people don't fight with the officials, how can the merchants dare to fight with the officials?
In particular, this case involves not only the affairs of the Commanding Division, but also all the officials of the Suzhou government office, and even the disciples of Gu Xueshi. Tong Mingyuan wishes to turn back the time, and he would rather dump all this batch of tung oil , and don't want to get involved in the vortex of power struggle.

"Hong Xing, don't invite me for real!" shouted angrily, Master Yao slapped the gavel, and looked majestically at shopkeeper Hong who was kneeling below, "If you don't invite me, I will be sentenced to death."

The body trembled twice, shopkeeper Hong kowtowed and begged for mercy, and cried out in panic and fear, "My lord, Caomin was wronged. The reason why Caomin took money from the bank in advance is really a coincidence."

"Tong Mingyuan happened to come to the shop to sell this batch of defective tung oil. Caomin bought them all to earn money. Who would have thought that someone would buy them the next day? If he knew that the poor man who bought the tung oil was going to burn the government office, Caomin would just eat it. Xiongxin and leopards dare not sell tung oil to him." Shopkeeper Hong insisted that all this was a coincidence.

Shopkeeper Hong raised his head again, and looked at Zhan Feiyu pleadingly, his tearful appearance did not look like a criminal at all, "Girl, there are old and young among the grassroots, just because they took the money in advance. The girl slandered her as an accomplice in the burning of the government office, and the grassroots wronged her, so please let the grassroots go free!"

Shopkeeper Hong kowtowed again, with such force that his forehead was broken in the blink of an eye, and blood flowed from the wound, which was a little shocking to watch.

"Master Yao, is it possible to conclude that shopkeeper Hong is guilty based on Zhan Feiyu's few words?" Commander Xie made the old god Zai Zai speak, relaxed his body and leaned on the chair, and joked: "I suddenly wanted to eat tofu a few days ago. Buns, I just sent a boy to buy them, who would have thought that the bun shop would be robbed the next day, could it be that this official is the thief who stole the money?"

"After all, everyone in the command department knows that I don't eat tofu, but this time I suddenly changed my taste. If this is a case involving a stupid official, they may think that it is fake for me to eat steamed buns, and it is true that I ordered it in advance. In order to sneak into the steamed stuffed bun shop that night to steal."

Shopkeeper Hong changed his habit of taking money from the bank for many years. This may be just a whim on his whim, so it is too far-fetched to judge Shopkeeper Hong's guilt.

"Thank you, sir." Shopkeeper Hong kowtowed gratefully to Commander Xie, and the hands that wiped the blood on his forehead trembled with excitement, as if someone finally believed his words.

Zhan Feiyu looked at the two people who sang together, and said to Master Yao, "Reply to your lord, there is still a witness on the student's side."

As soon as this remark came out, the expressions of a group of people in the courtroom were different, Commander Xie's expression remained unchanged, and he even let out a slight snort.

Chu Qian's face darkened, and he looked out the door subconsciously. He wanted to see what other witnesses Zhan Feiyu had!
After a while, footsteps sounded outside the courtroom, and Chu Qianshi's complexion suddenly sank, with a fierce look in his eyes.

"The humble Cheng Haiping pays homage to your lord." Wearing the military uniform of the Metropolitan Command Division, although Cheng Haiping is just the most common official errand, there are many people present who know him.

Several officials of Zhao Tongzhi's Suzhou government were astonished. On that day, Mr. Yao, Mr. Zheng, and Chu Qian came to Suzhou. Zhao Tongzhi took the officials of the government to greet him at the gate of the city. Cheng Haiping followed Chu Qian things around.

Later, Chu Qianshi ordered Zhan Feiyu to be arrested without evidence, and Sun Baihu brought soldiers from the guard station to support him. When the scuffle broke out, Cheng Haiping also stayed by Chu Qianshi's side, knowing him without looking. He is Chu Qianshi's confidant, but now he is in court.

"It's you?" If Zhao Tongzhi and the others were just shocked and puzzled, and Chu Qian was angry, then the shopkeeper Hong who exclaimed was pale, his body trembling uncontrollably when he just stood up, and his legs went limp. He fell to his knees on the ground.

This kneeling, everyone in the courtroom turned their eyes over, and saw shopkeeper Hong's panicked expression.

Mr. Yao understood in his heart, and at this moment he shouted majesticly, "Hong Xing, why are you so flustered? Do you know Cheng Haiping?"

Shopkeeper Hong opened his mouth, and a hoarse voice finally sounded after a long while: "Returning to my lord, Caomin has seen this man... that day he came to the grocery store...to buy tung oil."

If shopkeeper Hong is innocent, then he is just like Tong Mingyuan, a tung oil businessman, no matter who goes to court, he will not panic.

But the shopkeeper Hong was so terrified that he couldn't stand up, presumably he and Cheng Haiping met not only when they were buying and selling tung oil.

Master Yao looked at Cheng Haiping who was kneeling on one knee, "Cheng Haiping, do you know shopkeeper Hong from Xinglong Grocery Store?"

"My lord, I have met shopkeeper Hong three times." Cheng Haiping didn't hide anything.

Hearing this, Chu Qianshi's complexion became extremely gloomy for an instant, and Shopkeeper Hong trembled all over as if he had fallen into an ice hole.

Commander Xie's face was also ugly. He didn't know Cheng Haiping, a nobody like Cheng Haiping, but seeing Chu Qianshi's expression of wanting to kill someone, he knew that Cheng Hai must be betrayed.

Things that are not enough for success and more than failure!Commander Xie suppressed the anger in his heart, and still sat on the armchair, but he lowered his big hands on his knees and tightened them a little, and the raised veins on the back of his hands could be vaguely seen.

Master Zheng raised his brows slightly, looked at Zhan Feiyu meaningfully, and then looked at Cheng Haiping who was kneeling on one knee. This is interesting, it depends on how this person speaks.

"The first time I was ordered by Chu Qianshi to stop shopkeeper Hong on the way home and told him to buy a batch of tung oil, and Tong Mingyuan happened to have a thousand catties of defective tung oil in his hand." Cheng Haiping explained in detail He told the exact time when he saw shopkeeper Hong that day, his clothes and attire that day, and even gave a detailed description of the three passers-by in the alley.

"At that time, shopkeeper Hong didn't believe in the words of the humble job." Cheng Haiping still remembered Hong's suspicious expression, and he almost shouted to catch the liar.

It's right to think about it, if you need tung oil, Cheng Haiping can go directly to the inn to buy it from Tong Mingyuan, why bother to take it from shopkeeper Hong and let shopkeeper Hong earn the difference.

Glancing at the clerk on the right side who was writing and taking notes, Lord Yao signaled Chen Haiping to continue.

Cheng Haiping took out the waistband that he carried with him, "In order to convince shopkeeper Hong, I showed him the waist badge of Hong, and shopkeeper Hong agreed. On the second day, Beizhi lurked outside the grocery store and watched. The shopkeeper took the silver from the bank, and bought a thousand catties of tung oil from Tong Mingyuan and piled it in the grocery store, and then the humble staff left."

"The second time we met was when you went to buy tung oil?" After Master Yao asked this sentence, he looked at Zhan Feiyu who was standing aside with a dark look. , or the Forbidden Dragon Guard made a move.

"Yes, at that time Miss Zhan and Zhao Tongzhi were retreating to the government office, and Chu Qianshi ordered the humble officer to go to the grocery store to get the tung oil back." Cheng Haiping said this, and glanced at the shopkeeper Hong who was limp on the ground. Shopkeeper Hong bought tung oil with a 100 tael bank note, and at that time Beizhi was injured on his hand, so the lower left corner of the bank note was stained with a little blood."

"You..." Shopkeeper Hong is a businessman, he loves money, and he is cautious by nature, so after receiving the bank note, he carefully verified the authenticity, and still suspected that Cheng Haiping was a liar.

Therefore, shopkeeper Hong remembered the blood on the bank note clearly, but later he re-deposited the bank note in the bank. Thinking of this, shopkeeper Hong felt a ray of hope in his heart. I don't know who owns the bank note.

Cheng Haiping spoke again: "The third time we met was after Chu Qian was imprisoned by the adults. I was ordered to warn shopkeeper Hong not to say what he shouldn't say. In order to frighten shopkeeper Hong, the dagger in my hand was cut off. At the corner of the long table, adults can send someone to the grocery store to check."

The three times Cheng Haiping and shopkeeper Hong met, the first time was in the alley that shopkeeper Hong had to go home. Three passers-by who passed by can attest that they may not remember Cheng Haiping in uniform, but they all live in the alley. I must know the shopkeeper Hong of the Xinglong grocery store.

The physical evidence of the second meeting was the 100 tael bank note, and the physical evidence of the third meeting was the long table in the grocery store.

"Hu Butou, take people to the grocery store, Master Zhao, take people to the Dingyuan Bank where Hong Xing often goes..." After Master Yao finished speaking, he looked at Master Zheng and Commander Xie who were sitting at the bottom, "Both Would you like to send someone to go with you, my lord?"

Since Cheng Haiping has betrayed Chu Qian, it is meaningless to send someone to check the physical evidence.

However, since Mr. Zheng is an official of the third department, he must perform his duties, so he sent two people, one to follow to the grocery store, and the other to follow Zhao Tongzhi to the bank.

During the waiting time, Chu Qianshi had calmed down from his rage, and looked at Cheng Haiping as if he was looking at a dead person. As for Zhan Feiyu, Chu Qianshi laughed coldly, "Miss Zhan is young but she has great means. This officer is very impressed!"

After Chu Qian was imprisoned by Master Yao, he didn't panic. Since he was a member of the Min family, Commander Xie would naturally come forward to protect him.

What's more, although the burning of the government office was bad, but Zhan Feiyu refused to be caught first, and Zhan Feiyu's crime was even greater.

Gu Xueshi would not do such things as hitting a mouse or touching a vase, so as long as Zhan Feiyu can be exonerated, then Chu Qian will also be safe, but he never thought that his confidant Cheng Haiping would betray.

(End of this chapter)