Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

When the case was being tried in court, the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture was packed with people, and no one could get in or out.

The capital city hasn't been this lively for a long time. Ever since the war broke out in the south, the court has been collecting grain and recruiting soldiers. In addition, prices have risen, and people have been in a panic after the defeat. Even the teahouses where people love to gather have become much quieter. Who would have thought that such a case would be exposed now.

But Qiao Hong was worried about this. As the prefect in charge of the capital area, this position was not easy to hold. He had to be good at dealing with people and at the same time be cautious as if treading on thin ice. If he was not careful, he would be doomed. Investigating and trying cases was not difficult for him, but the difficult part was how to weigh the pros and cons and try not to offend anyone.

But now, it is impossible. This matter is known to everyone and is under the watchful eyes of the public. He certainly cannot be partial or try to smooth things over. After all, the case is very clear and the person who made the complaint has even helped to capture the evidence and witnesses. Can he still play dumb?

But if he handled the matter impartially, he would inevitably offend those two families. The Third Prince was behind the Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion, and the Pingyuan Earl's Mansion had a Princess Anping who was favored by the emperor. They were also relatives of his family in a roundabout way. His son-in-law's sister married Meng Chonglou. How could he easily turn against them?

However, if the case is handled in a light manner and the Gu family cannot be given a satisfactory explanation, the Sun family will not be happy either. And Han Shaoping from the Dali Temple is a stubborn person. When he gets involved in a case, he is so stubborn that nothing can stop him. He will not give up until he gets to the bottom of it. What good will come of being entangled by him?

Qiao Hong was so confused that he had a headache. Two forces were pulling and fighting in his mind. He was wavering, not knowing which side to bet on. It was like standing at a poker table. If you made the wrong bet, it would be a disaster.

Seeing this, Master Qi, who had followed him for many years, advised, "Sir, if you really don't know how to choose, then just handle it according to the law."

Qiao Hong heard this and smiled bitterly, "Be impartial? Don't I want to? But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is the fault of the Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion and the Ping'an Marquis' Mansion. They asked the housekeepers and maids to spread rumors and slander that Su Zhe and Gu had an affair. The evidence is irrefutable. How do you want me to judge? It's easy to convict those people, but it's a slap in the face of those two families... Can I bear their anger and revenge?"

Master Qi said meaningfully, "If those two families want to take revenge, they will first target the Gu family and the Sun family. You are impartial and handle the case impartially. This is our duty. It is unreasonable for them to vent their anger on you. You are upright and you don't have to worry about their revenge."

Qiao Hong frowned, hesitant, "But it's better to resolve a feud than to create one..."

Master Qi sighed, "Sir, in the past you were able to balance the relationship between the parties because there was always a difference in strength between the two parties. But now, their power is equal, so you can no longer think of taking everything into consideration. Sugarcane cannot have two sweet ends. You don't need to worry about who is right, but stand on the side of who is right. In this way, you won't make big mistakes."

Hearing this, Qiao Hong was finally persuaded, "What you said makes sense, let's do it this way."

Master Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and complimented with a smile, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Qiao Hong raised his mouth in satisfaction, "Sitting on this seat, with a confused mind, how can you sit still?"

After sighing for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Get ready for the court session. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can feel at ease."

"Yes, my lord."

The spectators finally waited for the court session to begin. Unfortunately, there were too many people and it was impossible to let them all in to watch. They could only rely on passing messages to each other to follow the progress of the matter.

There are smart storytellers who make up jokes on the spot. The plots told by them, after some artistic processing, become even more attractive, with ups and downs and exciting.

Everyone listened with great interest and cheered from time to time.

And in fact?

In court, there were not so many complicated stories. After so many days of investigation by the Sun family and Han Jun, everything had been sorted out long ago. Even the confessions were obtained. All they had to do was go through the motions and convict them.

Of course, it would be even better if Qiao Hong had the ability to get the master who instructed Ma Guanshi and Yu Pozi to reveal the truth.

But obviously, this wish is not easy to realize. Both Manager Ma and Mrs. Yu signed a death contract. If they really give out their master, they will definitely die. If they grit their teeth and hold on, taking all the responsibility on themselves, they will not be sentenced to death and can also earn a good future for their children. There is really no need to hesitate about what to choose.

From the moment they took on this task, they were mentally prepared to be exposed. They were the scapegoats of their master, pawns that could be abandoned at any time. So, when disaster struck, they did not quibble and thus avoided being punished. They answered whatever Qiao Hong asked and cooperated perfectly.

The interrogation and signature process went very smoothly. Qiao Hong felt relieved, and felt grateful and happy in his heart. This was a much better result than he had imagined. It showed that the two families had made full preparations. Also, since they dared to take action, they must have thought of how to get out.

The housekeeper who came on behalf of the Sun family became displeased upon seeing this, especially when he saw the two people kneeling in the hall, looking calm as they were ready to die, without any fear or remorse. His face was as gloomy as water. This kind of trick is used by all big families. It's nothing more than pushing a few servants to be scapegoats. They hold their weak spots and are not afraid that they will turn against them and bite back at the master. Therefore, it is almost impossible to open their mouths.

But who doesn’t know that the mastermind behind all this is their master?

But there is no evidence.

Even if the Sun family came forward, or Lord Han came to judge in person, they would not be forced to implicate their masters. At most, they would be sentenced to a heavier sentence, and the two masters would be charged with the crime of keeping silent. However, such charges were not serious, so they would just apologize and make amends afterwards as a formality.

The case is almost over at this point. Qiao Hong punished the two men without any favoritism and completely in accordance with the laws of Dayong. Those who maliciously slander others will be beaten with twenty strokes of the stick. Those who are serious and cause adverse effects will be sentenced to three years in prison. As for their master, for not disciplining him strictly, he will be fined 1,000 taels of silver as compensation to the victim.

Some people are satisfied with the result, while others feel sorry for Gu Huanxi. No matter how stupid one is, one should have guessed that only superficial information was uncovered in this case, while the real evil doers were cleared of all charges and are still sleeping soundly. This is only treating the symptoms but not the root cause. Wouldn't there be danger in the future?

Qiao Hong didn't care about all this. He still thought that everyone was happy with the current situation. He was about to announce his adjournment, but who would have thought that Gu Huanxi, who had been silent and calm all along, stood up and asked, "Master Qiao, I still have something to understand. I have no grudges against the two of them, and I have never even met them before. Why are they making up rumors and slandering me? There must be a reason, right?"

Qiao Hong's face froze, and he felt unhappy in his heart. He couldn't guess why Gu Huanxi would create trouble at this time. If the trouble continued, both sides would suffer, didn't he understand?

But since she asked, he couldn't avoid it, so he used the words of Manager Ma and Mrs. Yu to prevaricate. The two of them just said a few vague words, the general meaning of which was that they heard that Su Zhe and Xu Huaiyi had a good relationship and were doing business together, which they didn't quite understand. After all, there was a big gap between their status, so how could they be so close?

After that, Xu Huaiyi left, and Su Zhe went to Gu's house to avoid suspicion. They started to have wild thoughts and had dirty ideas. They thought that Su Zhe must have taken a fancy to Gu Huanxi, and for her sake, he took Xu Huaiyi to do business to make money, and also used this opportunity to hook up with Gu Huanxi. They didn't keep their mouths shut, so they spread such unfounded speculation. In their hearts, they had no ill intentions.

Such an explanation could only fool the ignorant children, but Gu Huanxi insisted on lifting the veil. She did not want to force the two families into desperate measures, but she was unwilling to do so in a half-hearted manner.

At the very least, she had to give them a hard time and make them feel a little afraid. Don't think that just because Xu Huaiyi is not at home, she will become a soft persimmon that she can bully and squeeze at will.

So, she said sternly, "Master Qiao, do you believe this?"

Being caught off guard, Qiao Hong's breath was stagnant, and he shouted evasively, "Madam Gu, I only believe in evidence."

This voice contained some warning meaning, telling her to stop while she was ahead and not to make things out of hand.

Gu Huanxi was unmoved and stood there calmly. She was now a person with an imperial decree, so she did not need to kneel down and perform formalities when meeting an official. Such occasions could not scare her. Even if Qiao Hong showed off his authority, she continued to speak as usual, and her words were straightforward, "Master Qiao, I don't believe what they said. They are just servants, and no matter how incompetent I am, I am still a fifth-rank concubine. Master Su Qi has no official title, but he is also a descendant of the richest family, the Su family. If there was no one behind them to instruct them, how could they have the courage to frame us? And they spread it out without restraint. Did they say it unintentionally? They deliberately spread rumors and caused trouble. They gave money to the little beggar in the city, and they wanted to spread it to everyone. Can you say that there is no malice in such behavior? They would never do this unless they had a great hatred."

Hearing this, Qiao Hong began to feel uneasy, but he still avoided the main point, "Madam Gu, I have already sentenced you severely. As for your Huai Yi, there is no evidence."

Gu Huanxi sneered, "I know that some people dare to do it, how could they leave any evidence? They must have been dealt with long ago. Even if I beat them to death today, they will not tell the truth."

Qiao Hong frowned, puzzled, and tried to probe, "Then why are you still..."

Is this a waste of time?

Isn't this causing trouble for everyone?

I didn’t expect that there would be even worse traffic jams ahead.

Then Gu Huanxi said righteously, "If I were just an ordinary woman, I would accept being bullied today if I couldn't find out who was behind it. But they are from a wealthy family with power and influence, and there are countless servants willing to take the blame for them..."

Qiao Hong suddenly felt his scalp tingling and his heart pounding. He had the urge to rush down and cover her mouth.

Gu Huanxi stared at him steadily, with a sneer in her eyes. She spoke every word with great emotion, "But I am still a soldier's family member. My husband is on his way to the battlefield day and night. What awaits him are the brutal Japanese pirates and the test of life and death. As a student of the Martial Academy, this is his duty. He is deeply favored by the emperor. Even if he dies for the country, it is his honor. What do the soldiers want? Isn't it to defend the country and ensure peace and prosperity? But what about now?"

"Gu, Mrs. Gu..." Qiao Hong's voice trembled a little, because he vaguely guessed what she would say next.

as predicted.

"Now, someone is bullying the families of soldiers, especially at a time like this, which makes me doubt their sinister intentions. If they have a personal grudge against me, it would be fine, but they don't. Do they think everything will be fine if they just stop talking? I reasonably suspect that they have ulterior motives and want to shake my husband's confidence in fighting against the Japanese pirates by humiliating me. Now my husband has learned about this. He is fighting for his life on the front line, but his wife is being maliciously bullied. What exactly is the intention of the people behind the scenes?"

After she finished speaking, there was silence for a moment.

After a while, Manager Ma and Mrs. Yu, who thought they had escaped a disaster, began to cry out in fear that they were innocent and swore to heaven that they had no such intention. In a panic, they even started to talk incoherently about personal grudges in order to prove that they really didn't do it.

This is no different from changing one's confession.

There was chaos in the hall.

Qiao Hong's face turned blue with anger. He hated the two men for losing their temper and showing their cowardice after a trick and a coercion. He also blamed Gu Huanxi for digging such a big pit for him. It was dangerous to jump in. Why didn't he jump? In front of so many people, he was the chief officer. Could he escape from the battlefield?

When the Sun family's steward saw that things were developing in this direction, he thought for a moment and then followed Gu Huanxi and joined the team seeking justice and explanation. Before coming, Minister Sun had instructed him to cooperate. Now, although they had deviated from the original path, it seemed that they had taken a wider path.

He represents the Sun family, so his words carry more weight than Gu Huanxi's. Qiao Hong could not ignore it. After receiving the hint from his master's eyes, he could only accept such reasonable suspicion and detain the two men first, and then make a judgment after the facts are clarified.

When the two men were dragged away, they had long lost the composure to face death calmly. Their faces were as white as paper and their eyes were filled with fear. Spreading rumors was one thing, but to be charged with the crime of shaking the morale of the army, their entire family would have to be executed, right?

Who can afford this?

They are willing to be beaten and imprisoned for a few years in order to provide a way out for their children and grandchildren. But now if things go wrong, they may lose their lives. How can they not be afraid?

After the court was dismissed, Gu Huanxi left calmly. She ignored the stares from the onlookers. Her social phobia was that she was afraid of being stared at by strangers when dealing with people. That was nothing to be afraid of. Before getting in the car, she thanked Butler Sun and whispered a reminder, "Don't let anyone kill those two people in prison."

Once a person dies, it is difficult to pry open their mouths, and all the charges can be put on them. This is a common tactic.

After Butler Sun agreed, he immediately rushed back to report to Minister Sun, including the detailed process of the trial, step by step, not even missing out on what anyone said.

After listening to this, Minister Sun was silent for a moment, and then he said with emotion, "Huaiyi married a good wife, no wonder he could leave home and go to war without any worries..."

Without a man, she can still support the family and handle the work. She stands in the hall, neither humble nor arrogant, and responds calmly. At the critical moment, she strikes a blow, which disrupts the situation that was about to be implemented again, forcing Qiao Hong to take on this trouble and investigate it thoroughly, otherwise, he will not be able to explain.

After all, this rumor-mongering case is no longer a simple slander, but an act of humiliating the families of soldiers and suspected of shaking the morale of the army. Who dares to bear such a crime?

If the war on the front line fails, anyone who participated in covering up the incident will be the best target for punishment.

"In prison, have people keep a close eye on them. If anyone is careless and does something violent, we'll catch them and punish them even more severely."

"Yes, sir."