Chen Ping silently took the initiative to chase after him, and Zhao Jin didn’t say much.
That day in Lihua Village, the child gave him enough surprises to help him avoid an unjust, false, and wrongful conviction.
Especially when it comes to reasoning about cases, he has an extremely keen eye, no less than most of his detectives.
After all, Chen Ping's talents are not limited to arithmetic.
Zhao Jin did not rashly choose to visit the Huang family alone at night.
Instead, he took Chen Ping and met up with several government officials and headed towards the Huang family's old house, with a businesslike attitude.
Exploring information does not always have to be secretive. There are not only conspiracies but also conspiracy in official circles.
Many times, all you need to do is find the right person in a fair and honest manner.
See what he will say and do, and visiting him openly and honestly is the most effective channel. Even if it is fruitless, it can still have the effect of knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger.
Chen Ping's suggestion is to ask Zhao Jin to directly bring people to visit.
No matter whether Huang Xian Cheng is thanking guests behind closed doors or giving in, it is a very obvious attitude.
No one is perfect, even a shrewd person like Huang Xiancheng will always reveal his flaws unintentionally, and he can only analyze the information he wants by grabbing the clues.
Arriving near the Huang family's old house, Zhao Jin lowered his head and took a look. Chen Ping was carrying two crude snacks wrapped in oil paper and without even a wooden box.
He said with a slight embarrassment: "How about we go back and prepare the gifts first?"
"It's really unreasonable for a group of us to come here with two bags of bad food, right?"
Compared to Zhao Jin's embarrassment, Chen Ping looked innocent.
He asked in surprise: "The bad cake is already very good, but it costs dozens of pennies."
"The monthly salary of the capital is only five taels of silver, and the county magistrate's salary is only a few dozen taels, and he has to support a large family."
"I guess even the county magistrate's family doesn't always get bad food, right?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhao Du's head turned red instantly but he did not dare to say anything. There were also bursts of laughter from the officials behind him.
No matter how incorruptible they are, few officials in the Dayu Dynasty can really live off their meager salary, let alone support a family.
Zhao Jin nodded Chen Ping's head and whispered in his ear: "Don't say this nonsense, otherwise if others hear it, I don't know how many people you will offend!"
The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional. Chen Ping also understands this truth.
Chen Ping nodded obediently, and then said softly to the Huang family's ancestral home: "In the same way, without the protection of Huang County Cheng, so many pampered and wealthy children in the Huang family and the servants in the whole government will have to rest on their laurels?
”
"Perhaps all our capital will be lost, because without the official authority of Huang County Cheng, the foundation of the Huang family will inevitably be unstable, and most of the business will probably be lost."
"So, neither the Huang family nor Huang County Prime Minister himself can afford to take this risk. There must be a hidden secret in this matter!"
Zhao Jin nodded seriously, no one would turn a deaf ear to this.
The key is, what is the secret?
Could it be that someone really threatened them with a steel knife?
Or perhaps Huang Xiancheng's body is not as healthy as it appears.
In fact, I couldn't hold on anymore, so I just found an excuse to resign and left the job gracefully.
Chen Ping thought for a moment and then dismissed these thoughts in his mind.
A group of people came to the door of the Huang family's old house. Zhao Jin tried her best to smile, and walked up to knock on the door with Chen Ping, who was carrying two bags of junk.
The doorman of the Huang family was shocked at first by the pomp and circumstance.
It wasn't until they saw the person clearly that they finally couldn't help but show off their angry expressions. Children are shallow-minded and can express both joy and anger. Their expressions were obviously dissatisfied.
Our third master just resigned and still doesn’t have half a day to spare.
The tea in this county government is getting cold too fast!
The doorman gritted his teeth and glared at Zhao Jin, directly treating him as an official with a tiger crown who came to deliberately humiliate him.
Fortunately, Zhao Jin didn't argue with him too much. The first priority was to see Huang County Cheng first, so he suppressed his embarrassment and said bravely: "I heard that the third master of your house has been ill recently."
"I brought my old colleagues from the county government here to pay a visit and hope to hear from you!"
As he said this, Chen Ping respectfully handed over the two bags of dumplings with both hands like a small official.
At this time, Zhao Jin still wanted to smooth things over and was polite.
"A mere gift is disrespectful!"
The doorman of the Huang family was so angry that he almost shook his hand and threw the bad guy out.
What a small gift!
It’s even thinner than the gifts we servants use to visit relatives and friends!
Fortunately, I have heard about Zhao Dutou's reputation every day. I knew that this was a respectable person who could not afford to offend, so I didn't dare to get angry in person, so I pinched my nose and reported it.
Outside the Huang family's gate, Zhao Jin and Chen Ping even waited for a full quarter of an hour before they heard the sound of the gate opening.
Huang Xian Cheng, who was judged by Zhao Jin to be ill, invited Zhao Jin and his party into the hospital with a cold face.
The Huang family's ancestral home is large in scale and the interior decoration is elegant and luxurious, which shows that the Huang family is not short of money.
But it lacks a kind of elegance unique to literati.
The head of the family, Mr. Huang Sanye, was born in Juren, but there is no scholarly character in his family at all, and there is not even any arty and artificial decoration. It seems that the title of Juren is somewhat watered down.
At the same time, it can also be seen that although this kind of wealthy family, which has never produced a Jinshi, can become famous, it still has a lot of shortcomings in its foundation.
It is estimated that it will be difficult to accumulate such a foundation in one or two generations.
All the way to the Huang Family Main Hall.
Huang Sanye took his seat in the east direction, Zhao Jin took his seat in the second seat, and then the rest of the two parties took their seats in turn. There was no greeting, only necessary dialogue and polite consent, and the atmosphere was like falling into an ice cave.
Mr. Huang's complexion didn't seem to have any problems, and he was still full of energy. "I'm really flattered that Zhao Dutou can come to visit me."
"I thought that this official seal had just been hung up, and before the court could take it back, it would depend on your faces!"
Faced with Huang Xian Cheng's sarcasm, Zhao Jin remained calm, stood up and said, "The county magistrate already knows the injustice Huang Xian Cheng has suffered, and specifically asked me to apologize to you on his behalf."
"According to the wishes of the County Lord, as long as you keep nodding, the County Lord will come to visit in person tomorrow and return the official seal robe."
"I wonder if Huang County Cheng is willing to betray the county magistrate and give him a chance to relax?"
These words pushed and pulled, not only extending an olive branch, but also showing off the face of County Magistrate Wang.
Of course, Magistrate Wang did not give such an order. These were all just made up by Chen Ping on the way here. For the sake of official business, Magistrate Wang must not care about these nonsense.
If Huang Xian Cheng really wants to ease the relationship with Huang Xian Cheng.
They immediately went back to report to the Ming County Lord, and it would not be difficult for them to visit in person tomorrow.
The situation is urgent and we have to cut it off first and then report it later.
After all, in Magistrate Wang’s heart, nothing is as important as road construction.
Mr. Huang was stunned by this question, and his eyes flickered erratically a few times, as if he was hesitating about something.
However, this expression did not last long, and soon a resolute look appeared on his face, and he shook his head firmly.
He said flatly: "I have made it very clear about the reasons for this matter. Merchants must not be allowed to interfere with the official affairs of the county government."
"If there is insufficient money and food for road construction, then go to the government and the court to ask for it."
"If the imperial court is unwilling to allocate money and food, then we should postpone the road construction for a long time. Only then will I take back my words of resignation!"
Huang Xian Cheng said it categorically, leaving no room for change.
Zhao Jin's heart sank, and she suddenly felt that this time was in vain.