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

Qin Yunhe called Han Fang and his son, Liu Mao, and the witnesses, and asked them all the same questions as before. Finally, he made a conclusion:

"The Han party wore mourning clothes for Han Ting, and buried him with banners and mourning, which is enough to prove that he was adopted. In addition, the village head testified that he saw the adoption ceremony when he was seven or eight years old, and heard him call his biological father "Second Father" with his own ears, which shows that he was not adopted because of the imperial examination.

Since the adoption was true, Han Fang was a good citizen, and his son Han Lin was also a good citizen, so he was allowed to take the imperial examination.

Magistrate Lu, have someone copy down today's testimony from the neighbors and make an announcement, making it clear that Han Lin did not take the imperial examination under false pretenses. Do not let the students and gentry in the county misunderstand and cause unnecessary trouble.

In addition, if anyone still has questions, they can go to the county government or here to file a complaint within five days, and I will make the decision for them. "

Liu Mao was very dissatisfied when he heard the result: "Sir, these neighbors and the head of the village have close ties with the Han family, so they will naturally speak for them. Their words are not trustworthy."

"To guarantee someone's property is risky. If they come to testify only because they have a close relationship with the Han family, it shows that the Han family has good character, so they can move the neighbors to testify for them. With such character, aren't they good citizens?"

Liu Mao was obviously still dissatisfied, but he didn't know how to argue anymore. After a while, he said:

"Even if...even if he is not a pariah, what if he hired someone to tamper with the register? Tampering with the register should also be a crime, right?"

Han Lin said, "My father was adopted, and I am not in my uncle's line, so why do you want to change the register? How can you be so unreasonable?"

Liu Mao seemed to have found his train of thought and said, "Perhaps it was because I went to the government and the Education Department to report you that you were afraid that they would conclude that you were a pariah, so you asked someone to change your registration. The words of these neighbors are not trustworthy in the first place."

Qin Yunhe didn't want to say anything about him, but he had to jump out.

"What evidence do you have that he changed the register?"

"Sir, this... does this require evidence? Han Yang is a top official, he must be on the list."

Qin Yunhe took a case file and said, "You don't have evidence, but I do. The case file from seventeen years ago clearly states that because Han Yang was not registered but someone proved that he had been a police official, the head of the village at that time was asked. Not only was Han Fang asked whether he was adopted, but also whether Han Yang had been a police official."

As he spoke, Qin Yunhe signaled an official to take the case file to Liu Mao for review.

Liu Mao took the case file and read it over and over again in disbelief. Finally, he handed the case file back to the officer unwillingly.

"Liu Mao, I have now concluded that Han Lin has a clean background. I will also report the result to the Education Commissioner. You must not create trouble again in the future.

Since you have read the books of sages and have achieved fame, you should cultivate yourself and set an example for the common people. You should be more tolerant and calm in your behavior. "

Liu Maorang's face turned red and he had to grit his teeth and leave.

After everyone left, Qin Yunhe ordered the magistrate to send out a notice as soon as possible, and asked Wang He to work with the clerks assigned by the magistrate to sort out the files.

Qin Yunhe specifically instructed: "Wang He, make sure to check the files carefully after they are sorted out to make sure there are no mistakes or omissions."

The next day, Qin Yunhe began to review the old case files in the county.

I thought the Han family's matter was settled, but unexpectedly, within two days, Liu Mao brought many people to complain.

"......Sir, I have evidence that the Han family bribed a witness. The witness, Hu Xiaoyi, now has a purple clay teapot made by a famous artist, which was the one Han Yang loved so much.

The village head Tian Qing is Han Fang's childhood friend, and the evidence he provided is not credible.

Not only that, I may have found a witness who can prove that the Han family hired someone to tamper with the book."

Qin Yunhe frowned. Putting aside other things, didn't the book say that Han Yang was no longer on the list seventeen years ago?

"I have checked the register of magistrates and found no signs of tampering. Moreover, Han Yang's name was not on the register from seventeen years ago. How could the Han family have tampered with it?"

"My Lord, Han Yang's name was not in the register from seventeen years ago because the register had been tampered with before that. Here is a former clerk who can prove it."

Qin Yunhe looked at the clerk, who looked to be about thirty-four or thirty-five years old. When he saw Qin Yunhe looking at him, he immediately bowed and saluted.

"Sir, I have indeed seen the original book, and Han Yang's name was clearly on it. That was about eighteen years ago, at least before Han Fang was accused of impersonating a good person. I was still an apprentice at that time, and one day I saw the master quietly peeling off a page from the book and replacing it with a new one. That was the master's unique skill, and even if someone else had replaced it, they wouldn't have been able to tell.

I asked the master what he was doing, and he said that Mr. Han from Chun'an Town wanted his son to take the imperial examination, so he paid money to have his son change his fortune.

The next year, Han Fang was accused of impersonating a good official. The county magistrate checked the household registers and found that Han Yang's name was not on the list. I was still an apprentice at the time and did not dare to say anything.

But I secretly hid the manuscript of that page."

Qin Yunhe said: "Where is the manuscript?"

The clerk seemed to be very regretful and said, "Last year, when Liu Xiucai came to report the incident, the current county magistrate said he would check the records. I remembered this and showed him the page, but the county magistrate tore it up on the spot."

"Torn up?" Qin Yunhe was very suspicious of this sentence: "Why did the county magistrate tear up that page of paper?"

"Sir, I didn't know at the time, but later I found out that the Han side had already bribed the magistrate. Only then did I understand why the magistrate had always protected the Han family."

"How do you know that Han Fang has already bribed the county magistrate?"

"I have seen Han Fang and the county magistrate's housekeeper get along very well and call each other brothers. Everyone in the county knows that if they need anything from the county magistrate, they just need to find his housekeeper."

Qin Yunhe looked at him for a while, then asked the clerk who was transferred from the county government office, "Is this man really a clerk in the county government office?"

"Your Excellency, it is true. But I was fired last year because I missed an important part."

"Sir, it was because of these things that the county magistrate caught me and kicked me out. I am not the only one who missed something in the case room."

"Do you know what he said?"

The clerk hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, I came late, and I don't know what the old books looked like."

Qin Yunhe asked other people again. Although some of them had arrived earlier, they didn't know whether the booklet had been tampered with.

Qin Yunhe turned around and asked the clerk who testified, "Is your master still alive?"

"Your Excellency, my master is now confused and cannot testify."

"Do you dare to confront the magistrate?"

"I dare to confront you."