The Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness of Crossing

The gate of the yamen sits facing south from the north. As soon as the time comes, the bell rang three times, and the two vermilion lacquer gates of the main hall were slowly opened. A large gold plaque was hung in the hall, and the five big characters of "Zhongmu County Main Hall" were written on the inner pillar. The couplet reads, "If you bully others, you bully the sky, don't bully yourself; if you bully the people, you bully the country." On the high platform is a three-foot law table, behind which sits the local parent official Wang Qingshan in a crimson robe.

The sound of "mighty" was majestic, and two rows of soap-clothed government servants came out of the government soap room in pairs, holding the killing stick tightly, and stood on both sides of the lobby.In the east corner are two rows of instruments of torture, hemp rope chains, shackles and shackles, one pile after another neatly placed on the shelf, the forest is cold and cold, and it is frightening to look at.

After shouting the prestige, the outside of the yamen was already crowded with people who came to watch the excitement, gathering in small groups in the corridor, whispering non-stop.

"I heard that the murder case of the cloth merchant in Sanyuan Street has been solved!"

"Really? Didn't he die of a sudden illness a few days ago?"

"Where are you talking? He was stabbed to death by a gangster with a long nail in his head..."

"Hey..." There were boos everywhere, and the onlookers sighed, "What a vicious thought..."

"Do you know how this murder case was solved? We know a brother in the yamen. It was the ghost of the deceased who entrusted his dream to his wife, saying that he was impaled to death by an iron nail. That's how the case was solved..."

As soon as the words fell, there was a louder sound of inhaling and exhaling...

The gavel sounded crisply, and Wang Qingshan shouted: "Quiet down the hall!" Looking around, everyone was dead, all were silent, and then said, "Come here! Bring the suspect Lai Ziqi to the hall !"

"Yes!" Two majestic Bu Kuai, each with one arm, carried the thin Lai Ziqi into the lobby through the ear door.

"Let Zhang Liu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrive at the hall!"

After a while, a beautiful young woman came to the hall together with an old woman in her sixties. The county magistrate sympathized with Zhang's old mother and exempted them from kneeling and worshiping.Outside the hall, Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, who were listening among a group of common people, couldn't help secretly applauding Wang Qingshan's act of favor.

The sound of Xingmu sounded, Wang Qingshan described it seriously: "Lai Ziqi, can you be convicted?"

Lai Ziqi trembled, lying on the ground, tremblingly said: "Young...you don't know."

"Do you know Zhang Ren, a cloth merchant in Jixiang Lane, Sanyuan Street?"

"Young one... I don't know the young one..." Lai Ziqi replied desperately.

"I see that you don't cry when you don't see the coffin!" Wang Qingshan sneered, "Come here, present the evidence!"

A person staggered out of the ear door, dressed in soapy clothes, tall and thin, holding a tray covered with a white cloth in both hands, and walked quickly to the front of the hall.

The person who came was Pan Pan, who was depressed with the iron nails and incense in his stomach: "This is really a good wedding, why don't we just look for a plate to delay the meeting, and almost kick us to the court...

"Take it and show it to him." Wang Qingshan ordered.

Pan Pan walked up to Lai Ziqi who was kneeling on one side, knelt down, tore off the white cloth on the tray, and said, "Here, see clearly."

With just one glance, Lai Ziqi was blown out of his wits, sitting down in the hall like a paralyzed muddy mud, his nostrils "wheezing and wheezing" panting, his mouth opened and closed like a dead fish for a long time, he didn't jump up Come up with a word.

"Or don't tell? Then the county will let you hear the ins and outs of this evidence." Wang Qingshan said in a deep voice, "The seven-inch long nail on the plate is the murder weapon used by the murderer to kill Zhang Ren. It was pierced into the brain. One nail kills you! The brown medicinal fragrance next to it is also known as "chicken crowing and five drums returning to the soul." An apprentice at the Shoucai Shop resigned on the 21th. In just over ten days, there was a shortage of spikes in the shop, and Zhang Ren was murdered at night on the [-]st. There is also this remaining half of the medicinal fragrance, which was also found in your house just now. Lai Zi Seven, do you have a correct answer to these coincidences?"

"The county master is clear! The villain was wronged! The villain never stole the nails, let alone killed anyone. The medicine fragrance was picked up by the villain on the side of the road, and he put it away after smelling good. What's the use..." Lai Ziqi repeatedly kowtowed.

"How dare you deny it!" The gavel sounded again, and Wang Qingshan shouted, "Come and confront him with quick witnesses!"

"Heir's certificate to the hall!" All the guards shouted loudly.

Pan Pan froze with a tray: Witnesses?Could it be Uncle Wu from the old Feng shop?Crap!If he wanted to recognize us... wouldn't Xiong Fei follow suit?Although it's not a big deal to be cheated, if the coffin shop is really weird, they must be on guard, and they can't find anything anymore... Just as they scratched their heads in anxiety, the two witnesses had already arrived.She held the plate high, and half of her face was covered by the small white cloth hanging on the plate, revealing only a pair of dark green tricks, spinning around.

Ah, no...fortunately...the two kneeling in front of the hall, it is estimated to add one piece, and they are not as old as Uncle Wu.She breathed a long sigh of relief, then raised her head and chest again: Pull the wind, pull the wind... We can stand under this "mirror hanging high" and hold the tray, but we can't help it if we don't have any image points!There are lines and actions, which are fundamentally different from the two rows of sidelines who are yelling stupidly with sticks... While thinking about it, they looked towards Dengwengu, and Zhou Xiaodao, who got up early and argued with him for the plate, was slamming it faintly. sleep!I feel even more satisfied in my heart.

"The grassroots fan kowtowed to the county master together."

"Caomin Feng Shaoyuan kowtows to your lord."

The two witnesses greeted Wang Qingshan in turn.

"Get up and talk."

"Thank you sir."

"Fan Tong, you have to answer the county's questions truthfully."

"Yes yes yes! Grassroots understand!" Fan Tong answered with a headache.

Pan Pan looked at Fan, with thick shoulders, round waist, and a fat body, and secretly laughed: Whose family is this... a bucket of rice, it really looks like...

Wang Qingshan nodded in satisfaction and asked: "Fan Tong, do you know the person kneeling next to you?"

Fan Tong thought it was because his eyesight was not good enough, and one glance was not enough, so he bent down to get closer, and after a long while, he said firmly, "Cao Min sees clearly, is he the Lai Ziqi from Dongying?"

"Don't talk nonsense! Why have I never seen you before?" Lai Ziqi panicked.

Fan Tongtong was also in a hurry, grabbed Lai Ziqi by the collar, pointed his nose with one hand and shouted: "You, how dare you say you don't know me... last month in Fuguifang, you...you bullied our eyes No, it’s obviously three characters and three acts, but you cheated it into four characters and two acts, cheating us of half a year’s wages..."

"What nonsense are you talking about..." Lai Ziqi quibbled.

"Shut up! Wait until you yell at the court again, and drag them down to beat the board together!" Wang Qingshan slapped the gavel angrily.

The two quickly fell silent, only to hear Wang Qingshan say again: "Come here, take Yaoxiangna and Fan to identify it together."

Pan Pan did as he said, and handed over the medicinal incense, and Fan Tong squinted his eyes for a while, and replied: "Master County, this half piece of 'Chicken Crows and Five Drums Returning to the Soul' is exactly what Cao Min gave to Lai Ziqi last month. of."

"Where did you get this medicinal fragrance, and why did you hand it over to Lai Ziqi? Please tell me quickly and in detail. If there is any concealment, the county will definitely punish you severely!"

Fan Yiyi heard this, his knees softened, and he knelt down on the ground immediately, crying, "Caomin is guilty! Caomin was blinded by lard for a while, and committed a wrong thing! Caomin is the servant of Liujiazhuang, and this medicinal fragrance is from my family members. On the [-]th day of last month, the grassroots got their wages, so they thought of going to Fuguifang to come to Xiaolai. I didn't expect to meet this killer, who cheated us out of money and owed us a lot. There are eight grassroots Xun's old mother, with a three-year-old child, has to be supported by the grass-roots people, and she is really forced to do nothing... Then Lai Ziqi said that as long as the grass-roots people can steal some medicinal incense for him, they will cancel it all. Master, please spare me!" After saying that, he knocked his head loudly.

"Lai Ziqi, what else do you have to say?" Wang Qingshan stared at him like a torch.

"This... well, I took this medicinal fragrance because I wanted to medicine animals, not people." Lai Ziqi panicked and said nothing.

Wang Qingshan sneered: "More than half of the medicinal fragrance has been used up, but which animal are you talking about?"

"Small, I didn't remember..." Lai Ziqi murmured.

Wang Qingshan ignored him, slapped the gavel, and shouted to Fan Tong: "Fan Tong! You have misbehaved, abused gambling, and stole the owner's property. You will never be forgiven!" Looking around, he ordered, "Come on! People, drag him out and punish the [-]th board!"

"The county master is merciful! Caomin, Caomin's family is poor, they have suffered so much, and they have no money to buy medicine..." Fan Tong wailed endlessly.

"No more noise, double the responsibility!"

A punishment stick was thrown out, and three Zaoli came out, and the two dragged Fan out together, one picked up the punishment stick, and followed closely behind with the punishment stick.Not long after, screams like killing a pig came to the hall... Every time she howled, Pan Pan frowned and twitched. After twenty times, she recited the Buddha's words again and again: "It's okay, it's okay... The screams continued loudly, The fat man is thick and fleshy, so he probably won't hurt his muscles... This Liujiazhuang is really not upright and crooked, outsiders are easy to gamble, and it's easy to gamble with those servants...

"Feng Shaoyuan!"

"The grass people are here."

"Are you the owner of the old Fengshou material store in Shishiwei?"

"Yes, my lord."

Pan Pan froze for a moment, it turned out to be him... the nephew of the deceased old owner of the coffin shop?Immediately pricked up his ears and listened intently.

"Did Lai Ziqi come to work in your shop last month?" Wang Qingshan said unhurriedly.

"Yes, do some odd jobs of nailing and tenoning. Ten days ago, he thought the work was hard, so he resigned." Feng Shaoyuan answered with his hands clasped, with a respectful expression.

"Did you find anything missing after he left?"

Feng Shaoyuan thought for a while and said: "Yesterday, a clerk came to report that one of the 'offspring nails' attached to a pair of precious longevity coffins in the store was missing. It was kept by Lai Ziqi before."

Wang Qingshan signaled Pan Pan to pass the long nails to Feng Shaoyuan for identification: "Boss Feng, can you recognize the nails on this plate?"

Feng Shaoyuan took a closer look at the nail, weighed it again, and replied: "According to my lord, this iron nail must be a 'children's nail' that is scarce in Caomin's store."

Wang Qingshan said in a deep voice: "Boss Feng, human life is at stake, you should watch carefully."

"It will never be wrong, Caomin dares to guarantee the head of the item." Feng Shaoyuan said with certainty, "This long nail was custom-made by Uncle Shaoyuan ten years ago at Gaoji Knife Shop. Each nail is seven inches and three cents long. It weighs one, two, four, six cents, adults can weigh and verify it. Three years ago, Cao Min bought this shop from his brother. At that time, there were exactly [-] long nails left. There should have been thirteen sticks left in the store, but now there are only twelve left, and the missing ones are here."

Wang Qingshan nodded: "Boss Feng, you can step back." Fu looked at Lai Ziqi again, and said sternly, "There are all witnesses and material evidence, even if you deny it, it will be useless. Is there someone behind the scenes? Is there an accomplice? Come quickly!"

Before Lai Ziqi could answer, Yang, who had been silently helping Zhang's mother, suddenly let out a mournful cry, which was moving.Pan Pan felt disgusted, and despised this woman even more: Look at the tears...pretending to be serious...

Wang Qingshan clapped the case: "Quiet! Mrs. Yang, how can you be sobbing in the courtroom? This county misses you and thinks of your dead husband, and it is inevitable to mourn. Let me forgive this time. If you commit another crime, you will definitely be coaxed out of the court!"

Lai Ziqi, who was kneeling in the hall, sighed suddenly, as small as a mosquito, only Pan Pan who was close at hand could hear it clearly.Feeling puzzled, he heard him shout loudly: "Master County, Zhang Ren was indeed killed by a villain! The villain did not instigate or accomplice him."

Pan Pan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Lai Ziqi, with a determined expression on his face, showing that he was going to die generously.Looking at Yang Shi again, the light in her eyes was flowing in the mist of tears.Immediately, I understood seven or eight points: This guy...is he stupid and infatuated...

Wang Qingshan didn't expect that Lai Ziqi, who had been resisting to the death just now, let go, and hurriedly exchanged winks with Kuang Zhen who was beside him, signaling him to record the confession.

"Forget it, you will explain in detail the reason and process of killing Zhang Ren, so as to avoid the pain of flesh and blood."

Lai Ziqi calmed down at this moment, and said slowly: "The little one used to work in Zhouji cloth village. I met Zhang Ren a few times, and I heard that he had a good heart, so I remembered it. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the villain Money was a little tight, so I wanted to get some money to spend, and I borrowed a few places, but I didn't find it. I didn't expect to meet Zhang Ren, but he was very straightforward and lent the villain 20 taels of silver. Knowing that this piece of benevolence is more serious, after two months, he came to my door every day to ask for it, and kept saying that he would report to the police. Can you be in a hurry? Seeing that he can't get it, I want to kill him. I once heard a person who went to the rivers and lakes mention that the medicine of Liu Ye in Liujiazhuang is very fragrant, so he tried to deceive some people, and happened to go to the longevity material shop as an apprentice, and thought that the long nail was easy to use, so he secretly took one. After a few days, The villain sneaked into Zhang's house at night, burned the incense, and fascinated everyone in the front and back rooms, and committed the incident of being stabbed."

"Damn you! You paid my son's life back..." Zhang's mother, who was on the side, had already burst into tears.

"This county sees that you are not a martial arts practitioner. The courtyard of the Zhang family is very high. How did you sneak in? Could it be that you knocked on the door?" Wang Qingshan's eyes were burning, and Lai Ziqi was sweating.

Lai Ziqi responded wisely in a hurry: "Small man... the villain got in through the dog hole in the back garden."

Before the words were finished, the people outside the hall burst into laughter.

Wang Qingshan patted Xingmu anxiously, still suspicious: "How big can the dog cave be? Can you enter and exit freely?"

"The little one started to harm others, so he went to the dog hole every night to dig out, loosened two or three yuan a trip, and saved seven or eight yuan, so the little one could go in and out without hindrance." Lai Ziqi was originally thin and small. Such rhetoric is impeccable.

During the cup of tea, Kuangzhen had finished recording the confession and submitted it to the county magistrate for review.Cinnabar and Hubi, who co-authored the confession, were placed in front of Lai Ziqi.Lai Ziqi didn't hesitate, picked up the pen and drew the bet, then dipped his thumb in the cinnabar, and pressed a bright red spiral seal on the confession.

"Come here! Take the murderer Lai Ziqi to the death row in South Prison and put him under strict surveillance. Without a warrant from the county, no one is allowed to visit! Back out!"

The sound of "mighty" came again, and Pan Pan came to his senses. He took the plate and went to the second torture room to place the evidence, sighing all the way: "This Lai Ziqi is really hateful and pathetic... What I hate is Zhang Ren who is innocent, but he was killed by him." But it is even more sad to think that he was bewitched by Yang Shi, and his infatuation was played in the palm of his hands.

Passing around the screen door, I suddenly saw a person hurriedly coming from the direction of the third hall. He was petite and dressed in green. "Sister Cuifeng!" Pan Pan hurriedly waved at her, "What is sister doing in the second hall?" She asked curiously.

"Xiao Pan, can you see our master?" Cuifeng asked anxiously.

"I just left the hall, my lord should be in the meeting hall right now. What happened? I'm so anxious..."

Cuifeng stomped her feet: "Isn't it really imminent? I just passed out my wife!"

"Ah?" Pan Pan was startled, and stammered, "Then...then call a doctor quickly, what's the use of just looking for an adult..."