Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

Qin Yunhe thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry. This matter of Yunniang's brother is not a big deal. Even if he doesn't give money or use his connections, the county magistrate will have to release him when the time comes."

For such a small matter, no matter how incompetent the county magistrate is, he would not dare to delay the verdict.

Moreover, in this kind of fight, no matter how biased he is, the other party is actually fine, and at most he will be punished with flogging or something like that.

Qin Yunhe thought this was just right.

Nothing would really happen to her brother, and Yunniang could also vent the resentment she had been feeling for years.

Yunniang later broke her bracelet and refused to let him mention the letter, probably because she had figured it out. Even if she didn't let him help, the sentence wouldn't be too severe in the end.

Chen Er wanted to say something, but Qin Yunhe changed the subject.

"Do we have to pay money to win lawsuits in our county?"

"...I have heard that some people need to file a lawsuit or something, but there are not many people who go to court near our village, so I don't know if they all need to be sent."

Qin Yunhe nodded and had some idea in his mind.

The people living around Fengle Village are indeed quite simple and honest. Even if there is a lawsuit, most of them are conflicts between neighbors, and they are so angry that they take it to the government office.

If you have to deal with something like this, then it's probably pretty serious.

"How's the tax revenue in our area these past two years?"

"Taxes, aren't they always increasing?"

"More and more? More of what?"

The two previous and current magistrates of Fuyu County were not considered to be clean, but isn’t this becoming more and more common?

But Qin Yunhe had never heard his brother or her mother mention it.

"Like land tax and house tax. But because my land is registered in your name, the land tax is exempted. As for house tax, we are all farmers in our village, so we don't have to pay it if we have few houses. I heard that there is also shop tax in the city, but we can't pay it anyway."

Chen Er was still thinking about Yunniang's brother, so he took the opportunity to ask, "Ah Wen, is Yunniang's brother's matter... difficult to handle?"

Qin Yunhe naturally couldn't say anything to Chen Er that would make Yunniang vent her anger, so he casually said, "Oh, tomorrow I'll find a reason to urge Fuyu County to submit the case files for the past two months. It just so happens that they haven't been submitted for a long time."

Although Chen Er is honest, he is not stupid. He can tell that Qin Yunhe's words are a bit perfunctory and evasive.

This was Qin Yunhe, a person he was not familiar with, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Maybe this is what is called official language?

I felt a sense of helplessness, panic or something else in my heart, and of course, my expression kept changing.

Qin Yunhe was just thinking about what Chen Er said about land donation and house donation, and didn't think much about it. But when he saw Chen Er's expression, he immediately reacted.

"It's not that I don't want to help them, it's mainly because I can't say it directly."

Seeing that Qin Yunhe seemed to want to explain, Chen Er quickly asked seriously: "Why?"

Qin Yunhe was originally reluctant to tell his family about what happened outside, but now he has no choice but to tell them.

Qin Yunhe briefly recounted the entire process of his trial of the Jin Biao case and the impact this case had on Wei Chengji.

Chen Er had naturally heard of that case, and as a childhood friend, he was particularly proud of Qin Yunhe. But he didn't expect that the case would involve the county magistrate.

It is obvious that the county magistrate is only there to try cases.

But after Qin Yunhe's explanation, he understood one thing, that is, because of this matter, Qin Yunhe must have offended Wei Chengji. If he really asked for mercy, it might have the opposite effect.

Chen Er's expression became more complicated. Thinking of his previous thoughts, he felt guilty and distressed: "Ah Wen, I didn't expect it to be so difficult for you out there. Why didn't you tell us?"

Qin Yunhe smiled and said, "It's not difficult at all. These are all small matters. Wei Chengji can't do anything to me. In fact, our situation is just like... just like two neighbors in the village having a quarrel. Although they don't like each other, it won't be a big deal."

Chen Erque was silent for a while, then said, "But you've never had any trouble with anyone in the village..."

Qin Yunhe was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's Wei Chengji. It's not that I'm unhappy with him. He's just unhappy unilaterally. Just ignore him."

"Then don't go out of your way to find excuses to urge him to file the case, or he'll be upset again."

"It's okay. This is all normal official procedure. He can't do anything."

Qin Yunhe returned to the government office and found an excuse to send an official letter urging Fuyu County to submit the case files of the past few months as soon as possible.

Although Yunniang's brother could not be released directly, if he sent the letter at this time, Wei Chengji would probably think that the matter had been reported to him, and he would be urged to deal with it quickly.

Even if I didn't think about his urging, it has been delayed for so long that I should finish it and submit it.

Fuyu County, County Office

County Magistrate Yang Shi came in from outside, clasped his hands, and said, "Sir, there is an official letter from the government office in the city, asking us to sort out the case files on hand and submit them for review as soon as possible."

Wei Chengji paused as he was swishing his tea.

"Why are you urging me so suddenly at this time?"

Normally, all counties submit their submissions on time. Why are they urging us to do so? It's not like there's any urgent case.

Wei Chengji continued to skim the tea leaves, took a sip, and asked, "That Zhao something, he said he was related to Qin Wen, how is it going?"

"My family has been running back and forth several times, and when my parents came, they cried and shouted about their injustice."

Wei Chengji took another sip of tea and said, "It's not a big deal. I haven't judged them yet. Why are they wronged?"

A few days later, the case files of Fuyu County in recent months were sent to the government office.

Many of these case files are from before the litigation was suspended.

Qin Yunhe specifically asked to pay attention to the case files of the Zhao family fighting in Fuyu County, so as soon as he got these files, Liu Dianshi first sent the case file of Zhao Yunniang's brother.

The case was actually very simple, but the trial process was described as very tortuous.

Not only did it describe how the case was sent to the village elder and how the case ended up in court, it also described how two people exaggerated and falsified their injuries, and how Wei Chengji wisely discovered the loophole, distinguished right from wrong, and made a judgment.

In the end, the two men were each flogged thirty times for "beating others with objects without causing any injury."

Qin Yunhe was so angry that he laughed.

Not to mention how thick-skinned Wei Chengji was for daring to show off his wisdom, in the end, he even did himself a favor.

If someone hits someone with an object, "no injury" is already the lightest punishment, and both parties will be flogged thirty times. If they pay money to redeem themselves, it is basically the same as no punishment.

Wei Chengji is really something. He is not merciful when he should be, and he is merciful when he shouldn't be.

Qin Yunhe suddenly felt a little upset. Because of this matter, he had to accept a favor for no reason. Yunniang was probably very angry.

----

Fuyu County Government

"Sir, we want to redeem this caning with money."

"Let me see, Mr. Zhao... does not allow redemption with money!"

"Why, sir?"

"Why? Your son was causing trouble in the court, so the Lord ordered that no money be paid for his redemption."