Qin Official

The eldest son of Huyang Pavilion, named Zhen, was more than 20 years old and lived in the county. It is said that he was a relative of the county right lieutenant. He inherited his father's title and was the third-level "hairpin" (zān niǎo). He relied on his martial arts skills to pass the official examination of the Qin State and was appointed as the head of the Huyang Pavilion. He was ambitious at a young age and had always been frivolous.

Perhaps because Zhen holds a title and official title, he was the first to tell what happened...

"So that the superiors will know."

Zhen seemed to be very familiar with the prison interrogation procedures. She bowed respectfully to the presiding judge and said slowly:

"That day, I was in Huyang Pavilion, practicing weapons with the two or three sons in the pavilion. Suddenly, Bao, a local businessman, came to ask for help, saying that a group of thieves were attacking him nine miles south of the pavilion."

"I didn't dare to neglect, so I immediately summoned the thieves and the pavilion soldiers and went quickly. When I arrived at the place, I saw that the three thieves had been tied up, but the two who captured them were whispering on the spot, wondering what they were discussing."

"I was suspicious, so I stepped forward to interrogate them. I checked the two people's biographies as usual, and also asked them how they captured the thief with two enemies and four. Unexpectedly, the soldier named Heifu resisted, and when he disagreed with me, he actually started fighting with me. He started to fight and beat me! Later, when he saw the officials' carriages and horses, he knocked down the thieves and pavilion soldiers, ran into the road and falsely accused me of stealing credit and defrauding rewards... That's what happened, there is no other explanation."

"He lied!"

Ji Ying was anxious, but at least he remembered why he was beaten just now, and endured until the Huyang Pavilion Chief finished speaking before he hurriedly refuted him.

"Chief Huyang Pavilion, I didn't know you before and we have no grievances or enmities. Why should I falsely accuse you? With my own strength, how can I dare to beat you, the pavilion chief, in front of everyone in Huyang Pavilion?" Hei Fu couldn't bear it. Stop and start questioning him.

The head of Huyang Pavilion rolled his eyes: "Maybe you have something to hide, or maybe you rely on your martial arts skills and don't have a long-term official."

At this time, Xi signaled Heifu to make a statement, so Heifu recounted the story about how the Huyang Pavilion Chief coveted the rewards of the three thieves, first tried to persuade them to share the work together, but failed, and actually planned to rob them by force...

"It's just that the villain was too eager when he ran to the roadside to complain to the officials, and accidentally knocked down Qiu Pi and the pavilion soldier. That's all. As for the pavilion chief's claim that I resisted with force and even beat him, that's absolutely not the case. , I don’t know why he said that...that’s just the way it is, there’s no other explanation.”

Heifu has almost figured out the operating rules of the Qin court. It emphasizes procedural fairness, judges have strong rigor and logic, and both witnesses and material evidence are used. It is really very similar to later court trials.

Under such circumstances, the director of Huyang Pavilion still dares to talk nonsense. Is it because he is lucky? Or are you already prepared?

Heifu felt a little uneasy. He looked at the merchant Bao, who was still sweating profusely in the late autumn heat, and vaguely guessed the reason...

In the hall, the presiding judge Xi listened to the two statements, while writing down the two contradictions in their statements on the slips, and raised questions.

"First, did Chang Zhen of Huyang Pavilion ever induce the two black men to share the work and defraud the rewards?"

Of course Heifu and Ji Ying said so!

The pavilion chief, Qiu Pi, and pavilion soldiers categorically denied it, saying no!

When I asked the three thieves again, they said that they were tied to one side at the time and were far away, so they could not hear clearly.

Therefore, the businessman Bao, as a witness, became a key point. Xi looked at him with a consulting look, but saw Bao hesitate for a long time and then cautiously answer: "The villain didn't know about this..."

"No! This guy really retracted his confession!"

As soon as these words came out, Heifu's heart sank, and Ji Ying became furious and shouted: "You profiteer, we obviously saved your life, but you repay kindness with hatred and join in the fraud with others!"

"I've never been locked up with them, how can I collude with them to confess and deceive?"

Businessman Bao also took the risk and took on the posture of quarreling in the market. He patted his chest and said: "It's true that you two saved me from the bandits, but in this hall, in front of the prison guards, I dare not have half of it." If you say something that is not true, I will let Qiu Gui visit my home!"

The Qiu ghost is one of the many superstitious ghosts and gods in the local area. It is said that any house it visits will make that house poor. As a businessman, it is quite hard for a businessman to make such a poisonous oath.

Ji Ying was so angry that he wanted to jump over and beat the merchant, but Hei Fu held him back and said to Xi: "Prisoner, this merchant is from Huyang Pavilion and is familiar with the pavilion chief and others. He made a speech for him that day. The guest wants us to share the credit with Huyang Pavilion, but his testimony cannot be trusted!"

"It's not up to you to believe it or not! It has to be investigated by the prison guards!"

Seeing the situation turn around, the leader of Huyang Pavilion began to smile.

However, Xi did not listen to either side's words, but turned the page and asked the next question.

"Secondly, did Mr. Hei really attack Pavilion Chief Huyang?"

Heifu knew why Huyang Pavilion Chief and others wanted to slander him like this. Qin law stipulates that if a soldier fights with others, he is guilty of "private fighting". Because the other party was an official, the crime was even more serious and he was punished as "a thief who hurts someone". They should have their heads shaved and be punished with a year of hard work like building royal tombs and city walls.

Therefore, Huyang Pavilion Chief and others insisted that Hei Fu had done something with sinister intentions.

Of course, Heifu and Ji Ying denied it, saying that they knew this was not allowed by law and did not have the guts to use force with the officials.

Everyone in Huyang Pavilion was convinced that they saw Hei Fu beating someone, probably because he relied on his strong martial arts skills and had no official eyes.

As for the three thieves, they said that their sight was blocked by the guards and they could not see clearly.

The two sides said opposite things, so the businessman Bao became a key witness...

"I saw with my own eyes that Heifu punched the pavilion director!"

At this time, Bao no longer cared about his uneasy conscience, and began to pour dirty water on Hei Fu. He vividly described how Hei Fu quarreled with the pavilion chief, how he became angry out of humiliation, and how Hei Fu relied on his strong martial arts skills to hit him with just a raised fist...

When Bao made his statement, Heifu pursed his lips and said nothing. Ji Ying listened to all this and became anxious like an ant on a hot pot.

"We are in danger, we are in danger!"

Ji Ying knew that something was very wrong. The two questions raised by the jailer and the final testimony were both unfavorable to him. If they were all proven true, he and Heifu would face heavy punishment!

Not to mention the "crime of thief and wounding" for beating an official, if the two of them sue the chief of the Huyang Pavilion for stealing merit and defrauding rewards but are not found guilty, they will also face the crime of "false accusation!" According to Qin law, the false accuser will be punished according to the false accusation. The punishment is "false accusation and rebellion".

If the two crimes were committed at the same time, not only would he and Hei Fu not get any reward, they would also be severely punished. Maybe tomorrow they would have their faces tattooed, become official slaves, and be sent to the frontier as garrison soldiers, and even their families would be implicated.

On the other side, Huyangting Changzhen seemed to see that the balance of victory was slowly tilting towards him, and he suddenly felt proud.

It seemed that the news from the outside was correct, and those secret operations were of some use. The merchant Bao had always been timid, and after a little scare, he came to their side.

He was already thinking about how he would celebrate after winning the case. Maybe he could go to the city's female concubines to have fun and laugh at Hei Fu's stupidity and overestimation of his abilities to the women clinging to him...

How dare you, a small army of soldiers, sue the government? ridiculous!

By this time, merchant Bao had finished his statement.

After Xi wrote down the key testimony, he looked at the two men: "Wait, do you have anything else to say?"

This is their last chance to defend themselves, otherwise they will have to pin their fate on Xi's verdict.

But Ji Ying had no other choice. He muttered that he was wronged, but his head dropped lower and lower...

At this time, Heifu stood up. He asked for permission and said happily: "Sir, can I ask merchant Bao and others a question?"

Xi was slightly surprised that Hei Fu could remain so calm in such a desperate situation. He nodded and said, "But it doesn't hurt to ask."

Hei Fu walked up to the merchant Bao: "You said you saw me punching the leader of Huyang Pavilion with your own eyes?"

Bao tried to straighten up: "I saw it."

"How many punches did you get?"

"One... one punch."

In order to prevent his testimony from being too inaccurate, he only dared to fabricate that Heifu punched the pavilion chief, but was stopped by everyone.

"Then let me ask you, can you see clearly which hand I used to hit him?"

Hei Fu raised his hands. His family has been farming for generations. These are a pair of hands that have been working all year round. The palms are calloused and the arms are thick and powerful. It seems that with a gentle hand forward, he can strangle Bao, a merchant with a deer head and rat eyes...

Bao took half a step back guiltily, looking left and right with his two small eyes, unsure of what to pay attention to. Finally, he could only follow his own common sense and said firmly: "It should be the right hand! Yes, it is the right hand!"

Hei Fu smiled and said nothing, then turned around and asked everyone in Huyang Pavilion: "You also claimed that you saw me punching people, which hand did I use?"

Qiu Pi and the pavilion soldiers looked at each other in confusion, and finally chose to agree with the merchant Bao: "It's the right hand."

Finally, Heifu stood in front of Changzhen in Huyang Pavilion. The two were about the same height and looked at each other. They both regarded each other as enemies. Either you will die today or I will die!

Hei Fu sneered and said: "Pavilion Chief, you have been beaten, don't you remember it?"

Pavilion Chief Huyang felt that there might be fraud in this matter, but if he gave a different answer now, it would definitely make the prison guards suspicious, which would be bad, so he impatiently pointed at Hei Fu's right hand: " It was his right hand that hit me, hitting my abdomen..."

As he spoke, he also lifted up his shirt, and there was indeed a shallow bruise on his abdomen - this was caused by the Huyang pavilion chief asking one of his soldiers to hit him hard.

Before he finished speaking, a burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the corner of the hall!

"Hahaha, ridiculous, so ridiculous!"

Everyone took a closer look, but it was the shackles-bearded thief "Pan" who was laughing so hard that his whole body was shaking.

"Crime, why are you laughing?" Xi stopped the jailer who was about to punish Pan.

Pan raised his head and said: "I laughed at the stupidity of the pavilion chief and the merchant. I remember clearly that Hei Fu drew the sword with his left hand, and he has always held the blade with his left hand since then. This is why we did not expect his moves. , suffered a plot."

"When he fought with me bare-handed, his left hand was stronger. Whenever he punched me, he always used his left hand first, which hurt my body. The pavilion chief and merchants didn't know it, so they falsely accused him of hurting people with his right hand. Wouldn't it be ridiculous?"

As soon as these words came out, merchant Bao, Huyang Pavilion Chief and others were stunned, and the sound of clerks quickly recording testimonies could be heard in the hall.

"Yes, how could I use my right hand?"

Heifu also rolled up the sleeve of his right hand and handed it to the official in front of him. He saw a scabbed wound on his right elbow: "The official noticed clearly that my right hand was injured when I was catching a thief. I still have difficulty moving. What's wrong?" Hurt someone?”

"Doctor, this is indeed the case." After careful inspection, Nu turned around and reported.

Xi's face showed surprise, and Xiao listened to Hei Fu's statement with interest, while the Huyang Pavilion Chief and the merchant's faces were already ashen.

Heifu slowly walked to the center of the lobby. At this moment, he had become the well-deserved protagonist of this interrogation.

"What's more, as Pan confirmed, even if I am not injured, when I fight with others, I always punch first with my left hand. As for why..."

Heifu smiled at them, showing his big white teeth, and then raised his left hand above his head, like an athlete announcing victory after a game:

"Because I'm left-handed!"