After hearing Qin Yunhe's decision, Li Wei's face turned pale. He grabbed Li Yun's sleeve and looked more frightened than his brother.

Li Yun's expression wasn't much better, and she pulled her sleeves back with a cold face.

Lin Chan, Gao Yu and others finally showed some joy on their faces.

"I am now staying at the City God Temple. If the people in the county have any grievances or injustices, they can all come to the City God Temple to see me. I am adjourned."

Everyone in and out of the hall began to stand up and leave.

Lin Chan, Gao Yu and others were obviously still hesitant, and they probably still wanted Qin Yunhe to deal with Tian Zongyao.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Gao, would you be willing to come with me to my residence for a chat?"

The two of them were overjoyed and agreed happily.

After returning to the City God Temple, Qin Yunhe asked the two men to sit down before asking, "You accused County Magistrate Tian of deliberately delaying the case, forcing the two Caos to make arrangements at all levels, and forcing the yamen runners to go to the countryside and forcibly extort money. Do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?"

The two looked at each other and said, "Sir, we can testify that everyone in the county knows about this."

"Have you ever been involved in a lawsuit, or been oppressed and forced to pay money?"

The two shook their heads.

After all, they had made great achievements, so the yamen runners did not dare to extort money from them.

"Do you know anyone who has been forced to pay someone or extorted money?"

The two hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and then said, "Sir, this must be true."

Qin Yunhe sighed, realizing that he had to find the witness himself.

Lin Chan and Gao Yu finally realized the problem and said awkwardly, "Sir, there must be many people who have been extorted of money. Let's go back and look for them."

Qin Yunhe asked again: "In addition, how much was added to the Lianjia Haoxian, and what other names did Tian Zongyao come up with? Can you sort these out?"

This is the easiest to verify, and these two people can testify to it.

Lin Chan nodded: "Yes, Your Excellency, we can sort it out when we get back."

Qin Yunhe nodded.

"Have you ever been asked for money for your seals?"

Lin Chan shook his head and said, "I have never been asked for it. When Magistrate Tian arrived, I had already passed the imperial examination. Scholar Gao should have paid it to me."

Gao Yu nodded: "Yes, I paid fifteen taels at that time."

Fifteen taels is indeed a lot, but it is definitely not enough if Gao Yu is alone.

"Go back and find more scholars who have paid this money to testify. It would be best if they have proof."

The two people agreed immediately after hearing this, and then left with full confidence.

Not long after Lin and Gao left, an official came to report that Gao Yuan wanted to see him.

Qin Yunhe was a little surprised, but then he thought, he must be here to thank me for not punishing him too severely.

Qin Yunhe asked Gao Yuan to sit down before saying, "I originally intended to let you go today..."

Before Qin Yunhe could finish, Gao Yuan raised his hand to interrupt: "Today in the hall, that scholar was unyielding, and you couldn't just punish him. I know you have been very lenient."

Gao Yuan rarely gave a bitter smile: "It's all my own fault. I have to thank you for not punishing me too severely."

After a moment's silence, Gao Yuan said, "Sir... but you haven't found enough evidence to punish Magistrate Tian?"

Qin Yunhe was slightly surprised, nodded and said: "Indeed, there is insufficient evidence, and even if we have to punish him now, it won't be too severe."

Gao Yuan said: "I heard that there was a pair of half-brothers fighting for property in the county. The county magistrate took advantage of the elder brother and refused to recognize the younger brother's status. The younger brother did not get a share of the property, and he had no money to support himself to go to the government to file a complaint. Now he can only live in poverty.

The gift from my elder brother was a set of chess equipment passed down from our ancestors. It should be in the magistrate’s home now, and it may serve as evidence.”

Qin Yunhe didn't expect Gao Yuan to take the initiative to provide this information.

Before Qin Yunhe could react, Gao Yuan spoke again.

"I know there was a scholar named Liu Zizhen, who was once used as a guarantor by someone else in Li Yun's name. It was the teacher who helped Li Yun do that."

"Giving a guarantee in a false name? Using Liu Zizhen's name to give a guarantee to Li Yun?"

Gao Yuan nodded: "Yes. Later, when Liu Xiucai found out, he disagreed and demanded the guarantee back. He should still have it. But he might be a little scared after knowing what happened to Lin Chan and others, so he hides at home every day."

Falsifying a guarantee is more serious than asking for money.

Qin Yunhe was even more surprised when he heard this.

He didn't expect that Gao Yuan, who was so cautious and self-protective, would actually give him advice. Last time, he was trying to atone for his crime, but what about this time?

"Now that the magistrate is in office, many people don't want to cause trouble. I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to find people willing to testify. Why don't you find a reason to dismiss the magistrate and the teachers? Then everyone will come to protest their injustice."

Qin Yunhe was in mixed feelings; he didn't expect Gao Yuan to be so thoughtful.

Qin Yunhe thought of the seal and asked, "How much did Mr. Gao spend on the seal?"

Gao Yuan was stunned for a moment before he said, "I...didn't spend any money."

"No money spent?"

Doesn’t it mean that seals cost money?

"I...a gentleman I'm on good terms with has some connections with the county magistrate, so he didn't take my money."

Qin Yun understood clearly.

Gao Yuan quickly recovered and said, "Your Excellency, there is one more thing I must remind you of."

"You said."

"Mr. Lin and his people do have some justice, but they also have some selfish motives, so what they say is inevitably exaggerated."

In fact, Qin Yunhe had also thought of this, but he didn't expect Gao Yuan to remind him specifically.

Gao Yuan continued, "The county's embezzlement is indeed not low, but in my opinion, it is not enough to warrant punishment. There are not many taxes that can be used to make a fuss, and they are basically at the level where they can be investigated or not."

Although Lin Chan and others have public spirit, they do things without any method and just act on impulse.

Although Gao Yuan always weighs the pros and cons and seems a bit selfish and cold, he is very methodical in his work.

Qin Yunhe couldn't decide which type of person was better.

But Gao Yuan, at least if he really wants to do something, he can really do it beautifully.

Thinking of this, Qin Yunhe unconsciously made plans for Gao Yuan and said, "The imperial examination should be held again in the next two years. Although you have stopped taking one subject, if you can be admitted to the Imperial College, your future will still be bright."

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