Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1142: A soldier never tires of deceit

In her anger, Huai Zhizhen also realized that she had underestimated Lao Quan in the past.

The lowly broker, who initially couldn't even read many characters, had surprisingly learned to keep records and registers in just a few years, which was quite a "surprise" for him.

He knew very well that he had never seen the ledger, let alone left any trace on it.

If that's the case, how can the government convict him and his father?

After thinking it over, he stared intently at Xu Yunyan, waiting for her answer.

Xu Yunyan glanced at him indifferently, then casually flipped through the ledger a few times and shook his head: "There are no signatures from either of you in the ledger."

Sure enough.

Huai Zhizhen slowly raised her chin: "If that's the case, how can Lord Xu be so sure that this account book is related to me and my father?"

The people in the courtyard also began to whisper among themselves.

Someone said, "Just witnesses aren't enough... this physical evidence has no persuasive power whatsoever. I think today's court hearing is doomed..."

"What's so suspenseful about it!" Before the words were even finished, a little girl with golden hair stood on her hips and glared angrily: "If you want to watch, watch quietly, don't say such discouraging things for no reason!"

The man was stunned by the insult: "What discouraging words? Young lady, I'm just stating the facts! Don't go around insulting people like that."

Cui Jinyin bared her teeth: "I think you're completely unfair!"

"Hey—" The commoners also put their hands on their hips: "Young lady, you're dressed so nicely, but why do you speak so rudely?"

Cui Jinyin was so angry that her nose twitched. Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Zhiming blocked their way: "Alright, alright, let's all keep quiet... Look! More evidence has been presented!"

The two were immediately drawn to the "evidence" and turned to look at the courtroom.

One birdcage after another was carried into the courtroom by the yamen runners, and the chirping of birds filled the entire courtroom, creating quite a lively scene.

The people stared in disbelief: "Blue...blue birds? So beautiful..."

"Look at that one! It's pure white, cleaner than my undershirt!"

"And that one! How come it's so big? It's like a chicken!"

As everyone chattered amongst themselves, suddenly, they heard the bird in the cage speak: "Chirp—my darling—is it delicious?"

"It's talking!" Everyone gasped in surprise, their eyes filled with the joy of witnessing the spectacle. "We'd heard parrots could mimic human speech, but this is the first time we've actually heard it! Look at that green one, it's even flapping its wings! Hahahaha—"

Ever since these birdcages were moved into the hall, Huai Gongwang's gaze has been fixed on them.

His darlings...

His painstakingly collected treasures... are now treated like mere toys, being watched and amused by these lowly people.

These lowly people...

Do they deserve it?

Overwhelmed with anger, Huai Gongwang bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to calm down.

The pain brought him back to his senses. He quickly scanned the birdcage, making sure that the leg bands on each bird were still in place, before asking Shen Zheng, "Lord Shen, I purchased these birds many years ago, before I even took up my post in Liuyang Prefecture. Therefore, I do not know the meaning behind Lord Shen's actions."

Shen Zheng had been waiting for this question, and immediately retorted, "Are you sure these parrots look the same as they did years ago, with no changes even in the details?"

Huai Gongwang was terrified by Shen Zheng's trickery, but he had no choice but to nod and say, "I'm sure."

“Alright.” Shen Zheng looked at Xu Yunyan: “Lord Xu, then you shall answer everyone’s questions.”

Xu Yunyan nodded, asked the yamen runners to bring pliers, and then ordered them to catch a few parrots.

When the pliers were aimed directly at the parrots' leg bands, Huai Gongwang panicked completely: "What are you doing? They've been wearing those leg bands since they were little. You'll hurt them if you do this!"

Xu Yunyan didn't even glance at him, and with a series of forceful blows, he clamped off all the anklets one by one.

The copper anklets clattered to the ground, one of which rolled to Huai Gongwang's feet, and he immediately picked it up.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something was wrong.

"No! No!" He held up the anklet and shouted at Shen Zheng, "This isn't the original anklet, it's yours! You switched it beforehand! You fabricated evidence!"

Shen Zheng frowned angrily, her voice directly overpowering him: "Huai Gongwang! Before Lord Xu put the leg rings on the parrots, I clearly asked you, and you answered clearly that you were certain that these parrots were no different from before. Only then did I allow Lord Xu to come forward to collect evidence! Moreover, before Lord Xu collected evidence, you yourself said that these leg rings were worn by the parrots since they were young. How come you are now denying it and framing the government office!"

"That's right!" Before Huai Gongwang could react, the people outside the court chimed in, "Lord Huai, in broad daylight, you can't just say whatever you want! That copper ring was clearly clipped off your bird's foot, we saw it very clearly!"

Huai Gongwang stared in astonishment at the bronze ring in his hand, experiencing for the first time what it meant to be "a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express his suffering."

This copper ring is clearly newly made; it's not the one he originally put on the bird.

However, the inscription inside the ring is... exactly the same as before.

He was tricked by Shen Zheng again.

Only then did he truly appreciate the meticulousness of Shen Zheng's thoughts.

No wonder, no wonder.

No wonder that official didn't want her to have an easy time.

If she is allowed to take root in the officialdom, the future of the Great Zhou officialdom... will probably have to change its name to "Shen".

"This is pure slander! You're just looking for a pretext to condemn me!" After his outburst, Huai Gongwang made his final stand.

In full view of everyone, he stuffed the brass ring into his mouth.

As long as he can leave behind a copper ring, he will have left evidence that the government office fabricated evidence, and he will still have a chance to turn the tables.

The people had never seen anything like this before. Gasps filled the courtyard, and some of the more timid even covered their eyes.

Shen Zheng reacted quickly and immediately shouted to Xu Yunyan, "Don't let him destroy the evidence!"

Almost simultaneously, Xu Yunyan kicked Huai Gongwang in the chest.

Huai Gongwang was kicked backward and fell backward, spitting out the copper ring with a "plop".

After the copper ring was pried open, its edges were extremely sharp, so he couldn't swallow it and missed a golden opportunity.

With a clanging sound, the copper ring fell to the ground once again.

Xu Yunyan, disgusted by the saliva on the ring, took out a handkerchief from his bosom and picked up the copper ring through the handkerchief.

Huai Gongwang, his eyes blazing with fury, reached out to snatch it.

"You're the ones trying to destroy the evidence! Give me the bronze rings! I'm going to the capital! I'm going to appeal to the Emperor! These bronze rings aren't the original ones at all; they're fabricated evidence to frame me! If you have nothing to hide, give me the bronze rings! I'll personally take them to the capital and beg His Majesty to uphold justice for me!"

The people were bewildered.

Shen Zheng was furious: "How dare you, Huai Gongwang! Even now, you still dare to think about destroying evidence! This is an outrageous crime!"