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

Qin Yunhe looked at the document in his hand and then at Zhao Huan.

"How did you find this document?"

"Sir, I searched everywhere where the clan kept the documents these days and finally found it."

This document shows that the Xu family was redeemed as civilians by Xu Zhao’s grandfather forty-two years ago.

"Forty-two years ago?"

This document looks quite old, but the wear and tear is not serious. It must have been stored somewhere for a long time and has not been moved much.

With Qin Yunhe's eyesight, he couldn't see any problems.

However, it is impossible for both to be perfect, and it is impossible for the Xu family to redeem themselves twice.

Qin Yunhe knew that Zhao Huan was just a branch of the Zhao family and might not be particularly clear about the Zhao family's affairs, so he said, "Can you ask Zhao Qi to come? He has a reputation and I can't force him if he doesn't want to come in person. You are the elder, maybe you can persuade him a little."

Zhao Huan waved his hand and said, "Sir, you don't need to ask him. He is a junior and young, so what can he know? He may not even know that the Xu family was redeemed by the Zhao family.

I am just a little older and of a higher generation, so I have heard about it from the elders in my family, and I have also met Xu Zhao’s grandfather.”

"Okay," Qin Yunhe nodded, "Then you go back first. The county court will be open tomorrow, then you can come back and confront Xu Zhao."

Zhao Huan bowed and took his leave, then turned away gracefully.

Qin Yunhe called Wang He and the clerk he had borrowed from the magistrate.

"You clerks are more familiar with this. Here are two redemption documents. Can you tell which one is a fake one?"

Everyone often deals with paper and text, and everyone has their own experience with paper pages. When they get together, they quickly start discussing aspects such as feel, texture, color, ink, etc.

"I think this is a little fake. The aging effect is a bit deliberate. It's impossible for a document like this to be passed around and read over and over again. It shouldn't have such obvious wear and tear."

Another person said, "Sometimes documents like this need to be shown to others, so it's normal for them to be worn out. But this one is from 42 years ago, and it looks fake to me. After so many years, shouldn't the paper be a little more crisp and old?"

"Maybe it's because it's well preserved. Rich families have rooms dedicated to storing manuscripts, and there are people who take care of them."

……

"...If Elder Chen were to take a look at this, he should be able to tell it apart at a glance, right?"

After everyone had discussed for a while, someone suddenly said this. Qin Yunhe quickly asked, "Who is Mr. Chen? Is he particularly good at identifying the authenticity of paper pages?"

One of the clerks bowed and said, "Sir, Mr. Chen's name is Chen Fu. He was the former magistrate's advisor and has now returned home. Because he is quite old, we respectfully call him Mr. Chen. He is very experienced in restoring and appraising paper, calligraphy and paintings. In the past, he helped the magistrate solve several cases with this skill."

Qin Yunhe's eyes lit up: "Where is this person now?"

The former legal advisor not only understands the case and has the ability to identify authenticity. Isn't this exactly the person we urgently need right now?

"Mr. Chen... should have returned to the countryside. We know he is from this county, but no one knows where his home is. At most, we can only see Mr. Chen when we are sorting and delivering case files and documents..." The man said, and suddenly said, "Sir, why don't you ask the brothers in the fast and strong squads? They often go around on errands and may know where Mr. Chen's home is."

Qin Yunhe immediately called in an official.

The official who was called in was also a little embarrassed: "…..Sir, I don't know where Mr. Chen's home is. How about I go back to the yamen and ask other people to see if anyone knows."

"Okay, go back and ask. If you can find out where Mr. Chen lives, be sure to invite him here respectfully."

The officer took the order and left.

After everything was arranged here, Qin Yunhe arranged for someone to notify Xu Zhao to go to the lobby of the county government tomorrow to confront Zhao Huan.

Afterwards, he arranged for an official to go to Zhao's house and again propose to invite Zhao Qi to come.

Qin Yunhe hadn't expected Zhao Qi to come, but he didn't expect that Zhao Qi would really come more than half an hour later.

"Student Zhao Qi greets His Excellency the Inspector. I am late for some reason, please forgive me."

Qin Yunhe returned the greeting and said, "Mr. Zhao, you are too polite. It is rude of me to disturb you while you are preparing for the exam. Please take a seat."

Zhao Qi sat down, and Qin Yunhe asked He Sheng to serve tea.

"I heard that Zhao Xiucai is the current head of the Zhao family?"

"I am just taking care of the ancestral hall, not the head of the family. There are still some uncles and great-grandfathers above me. I am a junior, and I don't know much about many old things in the family. I still have to consult the elders for many family affairs."

This means that he is too young to know about the old stories of the Xu family's redemption.

Qin Yunhe knew that Zhao Qi would definitely not want to get involved in these matters, so he could only say, "I didn't want to disturb Mr. Zhao from preparing for the exam, but I do need your help with something."

Qin Yunhe asked Wang He to give the two redemption documents to Zhao Qi.

"These two are the Xu family's redemption documents submitted by Xu Zhao and Zhao Huan. Take a look."

Zhao Qi was obviously a little surprised. He then took the two documents and looked at them in confusion, and gradually frowned.

Zhao Qi looked at the two documents over and over again.

"Sir, I also..."

Qin Yunhe said, "I know you don't know how to identify. I asked you to come here to check the seals and handwriting on the documents. These two documents are from different periods, and the seals belong to different family heads. You are the family head now, so you should be able to identify the seals of your ancestors."

Zhao Qi picked up the two pieces of paper again and read them carefully several times, frowning all the time, as if he was very hesitant.

"Mr. Zhao, have you discovered any problem?"

"Your Excellency, I didn't find any problem. But I haven't studied the seals of my elders very carefully before, so I can't tell them apart for the time being. Your Excellency, can you allow me to take it back and compare it with the manuscripts stored at home?"

Qin Yunhe raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm afraid this is not very convenient. These two documents are evidence. If I let you take them back, Mr. Zhao won't be able to explain if anything goes wrong."

Zhao Qi finally realized what was happening and said, "Yes, Zhao Qi is being rude. So, sir, I will go home and look for the seals and old manuscripts at home, and then I will compare them for you."

Qin Yunhe nodded: "That's fine, then I'll have to trouble Mr. Zhao."

After hearing this, Zhao Qi seemed reluctant to hand the two documents back to Wang He, then stood up and said goodbye.

Qin Yunhe suddenly asked, "Mr. Zhao, where did Zhao Huan find this document?"

Zhao Qi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Sir, I don't know where Fourth Uncle found this document. I always have to ask the elders for many things in the clan. I guess Fourth Uncle must have found it from where the clan kept the documents."

Qin Yunhe nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. Then you should go back and look for the seal and old manuscripts at home. The county government will hold a hearing tomorrow, so please find them as soon as possible."

Zhao Qi bowed and accepted the order and left.