amaotonovel Chapter 1127 Being an official is not as good as being a person, being a person is not as good as be
Chapter 1127 Being an official is not as good as being a person, being a person is not as good as be
At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), at the prefectural school and government offices.
A row of birdcages hangs under the eaves of the main hall; if a bird moves, the cage will sway.
In front of the cage, Huai Gongwang, with his hands behind his back, bent over and propped his neck up, saying to a bird, "Chirp—chirp chirp—my little darling, chirp once, chirp—chirp!"
The bird ignored him and just kept flapping its wings. He laughed and said, "You naughty little darling, I have to cut off your feathers."
He opened a small drawer on the table and started selecting scissors: "Hmm... which pair should I use...?"
"grown ups!"
Just then, Wu Shun rushed over in a panic, startling the caged bird into squeaking and chirping.
"What is it?" He frowned in displeasure, but his gaze never left the small drawer.
Wu Shun glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then said in a trembling voice, "Sir, the yamen is really going to hold a trial for Wang Huai'an... and his wife has been taken to the yamen as well..."
"Open court?" Huai Gongwang picked up a pair of scissors and took out a whetstone, saying without looking up, "We're not even trying you yet, what's your hurry here?"
No hurries?
Wu Shun looked puzzled. "Sir, our man has been captured. What if he can't withstand the torture and confesses about us...?"
"Who?" Huai Gongwang finally turned around and asked him with a puzzled look, "Who were they arrested? What does it have to do with us that the government is holding a trial for criminals? Why don't we try them?"
Hearing Huai Gongwang's "sincere" question, Wu Shun felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet, and the coldness went straight to the top of his head.
The scissors in Huai Gongwang's hand frightened him.
He instinctively took a half step back, his teeth chattering: "Supervisor, last night, it was you who ordered me to send him to release..."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I think you're talking nonsense!" Huai Gongwang glared angrily, raised his hand, and pointed the scissors at Wu Shun's nose. "What rubbish are you spouting? What does the arrest and trial by the government have to do with me? Wu Shun, if you're confused, go see a doctor. Don't come to the government office spouting nonsense and making yourself a laughingstock!"
At this moment, Huai Gongwang was a completely different person from the night before.
Wu Shun was utterly astonished, even forgetting to dodge the scissors. "Your Excellency, Governor..."
“Wu Shun… we can’t let them continue investigating this matter. Someone in our prefectural school administration has to step forward, don’t you think?”
Huai Gongwang put away the scissors and walked over, patting his shoulder lightly and saying, "If I remember correctly, your wife is very strict with you and doesn't allow you to take a concubine, so... you also kept one outside, and she even gave birth to a son and a daughter for you, right?"
The force that landed on his shoulder wasn't heavy, but Wu Shun's waist was bent over from the blow.
It was expected.
From the moment Wang Huai'an survived, his fate was already sealed.
After the truth came out, in order to prevent Shen Zheng from continuing the investigation, someone had to step forward and take all the blame.
At this moment, he is the best "scapegoat".
"I understand..." He stared blankly at the caged birds and said, "It was all my doing. If I meet with misfortune, I beg the Governor to have mercy and spare a trace of my bloodline..."
Being a good person is worse than being an official.
It's better to be a bird than a human.
Birds rarely die an unnatural death, but people, and officials even more so.
Huai Gongwang laughed happily: "Between you and me, what's with all this talk of 'great mercy'? Wu Shun, you're being too polite."
Wu Shun also smiled, but it looked worse than crying: "To receive the Governor's sympathy is my good fortune..."
Not long after, people from the government office arrived.
Wu Shun did not resist and followed them out of the prefectural school.
......
At 9:00 AM, the courtyard in front of the government office was packed with people.
Some people tiptoed to look up the steps, while others huddled together and whispered among themselves, until several figures emerged from behind the hall. The crowd exclaimed, "Lord Shen and Lord Yu are here! The trial is about to begin!"
Under their watchful eyes, Shen Zheng walked straight to the desk and sat down in the main seat, while Yu Zhengqing, Xu Yunyan, and Yi Mingli sat on the side of the hall.
The common people exclaimed "Wow!" and started discussing again: "The case hasn't even been handed over yet, and it's already been assigned to Lord Shen for trial? Lord Yu trusts Lord Shen too much. If he accidentally makes a mistake in the trial, who will take the blame?"
One sentence sparked public outrage.
"What nonsense are you spouting? How could Lord Shen possibly misjudge a case? Just shut up and watch carefully!"
"Exactly! This is my first time watching Lord Shen preside over a case, so don't cause any trouble for everyone here!"
The man sheepishly touched his nose, "I just said it offhand..."
"You can't just say it casually!" The crowd pushed him to the back in unison. "If you don't want to watch, then don't watch. You're so annoying!"
"Bang—" The sound of the gavel echoed in the courtroom.
"Da da da—" The yamen runners at the gate started banging their fire sticks.
The front courtyard suddenly fell silent, and the people stared intently at the hall, afraid of missing a single move by Shen Zheng.
Shen Zheng glanced down at the hall below, her voice not loud, but it carried throughout the front courtyard: "Announce the culprit in the arson case at the Prince's Mansion: Tang Cai."
The clanging of chains came from the end of the corridor. The people craned their necks to look, whispering among themselves, "Who is Tang Cai? Does anyone know him?"
"Never heard of it... Maybe they have a grudge against the Prince's Mansion."
"Could it be Madam Wang's lover? Otherwise, why would Madam Wang have been arrested as well..."
This conjecture was only put forward for a short time before it was accepted by all the people.
When the "lover" arrived in shackles, the people stared in disbelief: "Is Lady Wang's eyesight... not working properly?"
Tang Cai was less than five feet tall, thin and wiry, and even his hair revealed his poverty and listlessness.
When he was brought to court, he tried to hide his face, but the constables forced him to raise his head.
Shen Zheng didn't beat around the bush and directly picked up the confession book on the table. "Tang Cai, you confessed that you were instructed by the school official Wu Shun to drug Wang Huai'an at dawn yesterday and push him into the well at the end of Zhuqing Alley. After Wang Huai'an was rescued, you set fire to Wang's house at 1-3 AM today. Is your confession true?"
Tang Cai's Adam's apple bobbed, and before he could finish speaking, the crowd erupted in uproar.
"An educational official? Is the prefectural educational official involved in this?"
"Wu Shun? I know him! He was one of the examiners for this year's prefectural examination!"
"Why would he send someone to kill Lord Wang? What grudge could he have? He tried once and failed, so he dared to do it a second time. This is practically a case of relentless pursuit!"
As they spoke, the people were stunned. "Could it be... that Lady Wang's lover is not Tang Cai, but Wu Shun? Wu Shun wanted to be with Lady Wang openly, so he ruthlessly killed Lord Wang, just to be with the one he loves forever!"
The inexplicable guess has come true once again.
Even Shen Zheng almost listened in.
"Bang—" Shen Zheng slammed the gavel again, and said sternly to Tang Cai, "Speak!"
Tang Cai was so frightened that he trembled violently.
Thinking of the dark and terrifying prison, his shoulders slumped: "Yes! Yes! Wu Shun ordered me to attack Lord Wang... I followed his orders, and when the first attempt failed, he ordered me to set fire to the Prince's mansion. He even said that if it succeeded, he would guarantee my son's admission to the mansion's school, and might even make him a scholar..."