Meng Huaining waved his hand: "I'll give you half an hour. No matter what method you use, let Cui County Cheng come to see me immediately."
After the officials looked at each other for a while, they took the order and left.
Meng Huaining was not idle either. He called for the boy he had brought.
"Meng An, go to the county government office right now and spread the news, saying that today I will hold a trial for Cui Xian Cheng in person, so that those who have grievances and no way to redress their grievances can all be present, and I will make the decision for them today.
.”
As an experienced county magistrate, Meng Huaining could be sure without even thinking that Cui County Cheng could do such a thing to the Mo family, which showed that he was such a person, and he would definitely do things for the common people.
He had just arrived in Yuncheng today and took office, so he first targeted Cui County Cheng, a corrupt official.
Meng An responded and ran out to do errands.
Meng Huaining looked at Mo Jiuye and his wife.
"Why don't Brother Mo and Madam-in-law follow me to the court?"
"Okay." Mo Jiuye pulled He Zhiran up and followed Meng Huaining.
After sitting in the court for a long time, no one came to complain about Cui County Cheng's evil deeds.
At this time, Meng An also ran back.
"Sir, I have conveyed your message to the people just now, but..."
Meng Huaining raised his eyebrows: "Just what?"
"You can tell that when the people hear Cui County Cheng's name, they gnash their teeth with hatred, but they don't seem to believe that you can help them get justice."
Meng Huaining stood up and walked outside the courtroom.
"I will tell the people personally."
The court hall faced the county government gate, and Meng Huaining went straight to the door.
At this time, there were more people in front of the door than when he took office.
Moreover, many people's expressions were very complicated.
Meng Huaining did not intend to waste time and said loudly to the people:
"I just came to Yuncheng today and heard a lot of news about Cui County Cheng's dishonesty as an official. Today, I will put Cui County Cheng on trial in front of everyone.
If you have ever been oppressed by Cui County Cheng, please inform me and I will certainly uphold justice for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, an older couple came to him supporting each other.
The old couple both knelt in front of Meng Huaining.
"Sir, can you really make decisions for me?"
Seeing that his lord was being questioned, Meng An quickly stepped forward and said, "Mr. Meng is a well-known upright official, so he naturally wants to make decisions for the people."
Hearing this, the old couple kowtowed three times to Meng Huaining again.
Meng Huaining took the initiative to help the person up.
"There is no need to be polite, old man. If you have any grievances, just speak out."
After hearing what he said, the old woman burst into tears.
"Master Qingtian, please make the decision for my poor daughter... Wuwuwu..."
Seeing that his mother-in-law was crying and unable to speak coherently, the old man was worried that the county magistrate would be impatient, so he quickly said:
"Sir, three years ago, my sixteen-year-old daughter went to the market to sell eggs. Because she was quite pretty, she was taken back home by Cui County Cheng to be his concubine.
Although our family was poor, we didn't want our girl to be a concubine. After hearing about it, we took our two sons to Cui's house to ask for someone.
The servants of the Cui family refused to argue and beat my two sons severely. Today, one of my two sons is still paralyzed in bed, and the other is also walking with a limp.
My poor daughter did not want to serve as Prime Minister of Cui County, so she hanged herself in Cui's house that day.
Your Excellency, the Cao Min family has been destroyed, thanks to the gift of Cui County Cheng. However, there is no way to appeal, so we can only live in injustice for three years. Please make the decision for the Cao Min family..."
As the old couple talked, they broke down in tears.
The people present also kept wiping their tears and deeply sympathized with the family's experience.
After listening to the old couple's story, Meng Huaining was so angry that his veins popped out, and he clenched his fist and hit the pillar at the door hard.
"Cui County Cheng, what a good Cui County Cheng, how will I deal with you today?"
Looking at Meng Huaining's expression, the people were convinced that the new county magistrate was indeed a good official who could make decisions for the people.
As a result, people came forward one after another to tell their stories.
Some of them had their daughters forcibly snatched away by Cui County Cheng to make them concubines, and some had their family property embezzled by Cui County Cheng.
What's more, it's because Cui County Cheng accepted bribes from others, leaving the people with nowhere to redress their grievances...
For a time, the people kneeling in front of the county government office were full of people suing Cui County Cheng.
Meng Huaining never expected that so many people would cry out for injustice just after he appealed.
It is also said that this is just a temporary appeal in front of the county government office. If this news is widely publicized, I don’t know how many people will come here to sue Cui County Cheng.
Meng Huaining waved his hand towards Meng An.
"Meng An, take these people in first and record their grievances and addresses clearly."
There are too many cases that require evidence collection and trial, and they cannot be handled in a short time.
Meng Huaining planned to focus on dealing with the matter of Cui County Cheng in the past few days, and called these people to the scene in turn according to the classification of the matter.
Of course, during his trial, he would also do so in a public manner, making the people of Yuncheng angry.
At this time, the people who went to 'invite' Cui County Cheng had not come back yet, so Meng Huaining planned to see the detailed arguments of the people who sued the latter.
As soon as he turned around, a woman's cry came from outside the crowd.
"Your Excellency, County Magistrate, someone came to my Cui House to steal in broad daylight, and also injured all of our female relatives. Please make the decision for me..."
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran were standing on the inside of the door. When they heard the sound, they looked at each other and smiled.
The person who came was none other than Lady Liu, wife of Cui County Cheng.
Mrs. Liu and her two maidservants passed by the onlookers and knelt down in front of Meng Huaining with a plop.
Before she could speak, Mrs. Liu winked at the maid behind her.
The maidservant quickly knelt forward and put something wrapped in a handkerchief into Meng Huaining's hands. She also said softly: "Sir, this is my wife's kindness. Please accept it."
Meng Huaining smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Who are you that dare to openly bribe my official?"
His voice was not quiet, and the people watching could hear it clearly.
The people all knew that the new county magistrate wanted to punish Cui County Cheng, so they no longer had the same fear of the Liu family as before.
Someone in the crowd shouted and booed.
"Sir, this is Cui County Cheng's wife."
In fact, when Meng Huaining heard Mrs. Liu's cry of injustice, she guessed her identity and was just pretending to be stupid.
"Oh? Are you the wife of Cui County Cheng?"
Mrs. Liu thought that Meng Huaining's smile was a friendly gesture towards the Cui family, and she immediately felt confident.
"Sir, I am the wife of Cui County Cheng."
Meng Huaining sneered and his face changed instantly.
"Come here, tie this man up."
Soon, several officials ran out of the yamen. After hesitating for a moment, they tied Mrs. Liu up.