Today is the day when the yamen receives the petition, which is called "announcement day".
The law of the Qing Dynasty stipulates that upright and literate people must be selected from among the people to select "scries". All complaints must be written by a scrivener and stamped with a wooden stamp issued by the government before they can be submitted. However, people generally hire "lawsuit lawyers" to draft complaints.
, and then ask for a copy of the letter. On the day of the announcement, the Yamen banged its head. After opening the gate, Zaoli put up "Release the Announcement" sign on both sides of the gate. The people who were suing had already been waiting in front of the screen wall.
After putting out the notice board, go to the east side and queue up. After waiting for the second notice to be issued, Zaoli led him to the lobby courtyard to wait. After the officer ascended to the hall, the prosecutors who were kneeling under the platform came up to the platform from the east steps one by one, and brought them to the platform.
The pleadings were handed over to the prison clerk sitting behind the long table. After kowtowing to the master in the middle of the platform, he came down the west steps and still knelt down. The prison clerk registered the pleadings one by one and waited until they were all collected before handing them over to the watchman.
The chief follows and presents it to the chief on duty. The chief reads through the documents one by one and summons the complainant one by one to the platform for questioning. The chief must carefully observe whether his age and appearance are consistent with the circumstances of the prosecutor listed in the complaint. According to the laws of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, except for
Except for women, officials, distinguished gentlemen, and disabled people, all prosecutors must submit their petitions in person. And some "litigation sticks" often file lawsuits for others. This month they pretend to be Zhang San, and next month they will replace Li Si.
Carefully observe whether it is another litigant who is suing on your behalf. After looking at the appearance, ask some questions about the content of the complaint. If you really think it is ridiculous, you can dismiss the lawsuit on the spot, but in most cases, you will withdraw from the court after asking the questions and leave the lawsuit.
A stack of complaints was handed over to Master Xing Ming of the inner office for handling.
Mr. Xing Ming still has to read the complaint. Some complaints are approved directly and the yamen will not accept the matter. Some require a mediator to come forward and there is no need to file a lawsuit. In other cases, the yamen will accept the complaint and allow the case to be accepted.
In the ward, Li Guolou followed Wu Defu and looked at the complaints submitted. Most of the complaints were about trivial matters such as neighbors fighting for space in the yard. The Yamen was not interested in such things and had no money. Wu Defu ignored them.
The complaints are put together and will be handed over to the mediator for processing later.
Some of the complaints were ridiculous, but Wu Defu put them aside and wrote "not accepted."
Li Guolou just took the complaint that Wu Defu had read and flipped through it one by one without saying much. He was still in the learning stage, read more and listen more, and don't get ahead of himself.
Li Guolou saw a complaint that was not accepted and found it difficult to accept. He took the complaint and asked, "Master Wu, such a despicable villain, why don't you punish him severely?"
This complaint was against a scoundrel who owed more than 200 taels of silver to the brothel for eating, drinking, prostitution and gambling. It was well-founded. In the end, the creditor came to the door and the scoundrel chopped off one of his thumbs and refused to admit that he owed the brothel.
One penny is just to throw away the evidence on the signature and the painting, but the brothel can't accept it. They still have witnesses, and a piece of complaint was handed over to the Yamen.
Wu Defu glanced at the complaint, smiled slightly, and said: "Xiao Lizi, this kind of case will lead to bad people the most. It's best not to let the people know that there is such a person in the world. Besides, the brothel must have made enough money from this kid.
Money, otherwise why would he be willing to let him write an IOU for prostitution? So the brothel deserves to be in bad luck, and the Yamen will not be responsible for the affair. Since the evidence has been cut off, it means there is no evidence. As for the witnesses, they are all from the plaintiff's side.
There are countless things to do.”
Li Guolou felt that what Wu Defu said was reasonable, so he nodded and started to read other complaints.
Li Guolou saw another bloody fingerprint, which was pressed bloody on the mark on the complaint. It was not a fingerprint pressed with red mud, but someone's blood. This complaint was buried in a file that was not accepted, so that
Li Guolou could not bear it.
Li Guolou picked up the complaint and looked at it carefully. The plaintiff, Huang Tianshi, a woman from Huangzhuang, sued the village leader Huang Kaohao for abducting her only daughter Huang Yinyin. The local government refused to accept the lawsuit.
He went to the capital to file a complaint. The plaintiff in this lawsuit was a woman, which was rare among the cases in the Qing Empire. Generally, as long as there was a man in the family, the plaintiff could not write a woman's name. Only when there was no man in the family, a woman
Only one can be the plaintiff. This means that Huang Tian’s lawsuit against Huang Kao Kao was not supported by anyone in the family. It is sad that a widowed mother came to sue.
Li Guolou took the complaint and said, "Master Wu, why don't you accept this case? Kidnapping and trafficking of little girls will result in beheading."
Wu Defu sighed: "This kind of case has no beginning and no end. When we take over it, it is also an open case. There is no one left. Where can we find it? The local police have also looked at it. As for whether it is a good job in the yellow test
How to investigate the case? Are you just going to listen to the nonsense of a widow? That Huang Tian family bites people indiscriminately. In fact, he asked us to continue the investigation, but our energy and financial resources are limited, how can we send people to investigate again. If the defendant Huang passes the exam
If they bite back again, we will be annoyed to death by them."
Although Li Guolou nodded in approval, he took the complaint and said with a smile: "Master Wu, I have nothing to do these two days anyway. Let me go out of the city to check. I am very interested in this bloody handprint. It is destined!"
Hearing Li Guolou say a strange thing, Wu Defu couldn't help but smile. Li Guolou had an uplifting temperament that no one in the entire yamen had.
Wu Defu shook his head and said: "If you want to blow the northwest wind, go and blow it. The plaintiff is still waiting outside. Go and talk to her yourself. Sign the order! I will give it to you now, and you will come back with a handful of dirt. Don't blame me.
ah."
Li Guolou took the signing order, stuffed it into his pocket, and said cheerfully: "Thank you, I know Master Wu's strategy, and I will bring you a wild duck when I get back."
Wu Defu replied: "Little plum, don't get caught by the pheasant, ask me to rescue you."
Li Guolou smiled awkwardly, Wu Defu had already found out that there were prostitutes in the place where he lived, and his every move in the capital had been thoroughly investigated by Wu Defu.
Li Guolou couldn't see that people were suffering from poverty, so he cried and couldn't bear it when he saw Huang Tian kneeling in front of him and kowtow. He also had private matters. He wanted to accompany Chen Xiangfang to treat Uncle Li Jinglue to dinner at noon. Although this kind of balancing public and private matters was a bit unethical,
But Li Guolou did it with a clear conscience.
Li Guolou calculated the time and took Huang Tianshi to a room on the west side. There were people who came to the Yamen to do business. He asked Huang Tianshi to wait for him here and go to Huangzhuang together in the afternoon.
Seeing that Huang Tian only had a blue cloth bag with him, Li Guolou asked: "Huang Tian, what did you eat for lunch? Do you still have money on you?"
Huang Tian nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir, I bought the land and I still have money."
Hearing this, Li Guolou was heartbroken. He was poor and ambitious, and the helpless Huang Tian family was on the verge of collapse, but he was still living a superior life.
None of Li Guolou's men were interested in leaving the city for such a frivolous case. Only Jin Erzi volunteered to accompany Li Guolou.
It seems that Jin Erzi can still be used to relieve his boredom. Li Guolou smiled and asked Jin Erzi to go home and prepare his clothes, and then asked Jin Erzi to hire a carriage.
Hearing that Li Guolou was so generous and spent his own money to drive out of the city, the others were very upset and beat their chests and lamented that they had missed a great opportunity to Jin Erzi.
Jin Erzi laughed non-stop, and after taking a breath, he said: "Huangcun is a good place. It is very close to Xiangshan Mountain. Many students go there every autumn. They can also go outing in spring. Unfortunately, the northwest wind can only blow now."
Ai Hai said anxiously: "Jin Erzi, let me go then."
Jin Erzi replied: "Don't worry, I finally made Captain Li have a good impression of me, how can I destroy the sign again?"
Seeing that his subordinates had become closer, Li Guolou felt warm in his heart. Li Guolou asked Jin Erzi to take care of Huang Tian, and then changed into casual clothes and left the Yamen. The sunshine has become cherished, and the loess on the dark streets
Flying makes people walk with their heads down.
Li Guolou was thinking about the bloody handprint for a while, and Chen Xiangfang's laughing nightmare for a while. The two different stimulations made him feel impulsive. Solving crimes is what he likes to do. He loves the people he loves and does it for them.
She gave everything. Li Guolou couldn't help but smile, and a beautiful woman stood gracefully on the Zhongyu River Bridge.
Li Guolou stepped forward and said, "Xiaofang, why did you come here?"
Chen Xiangfang said softly: "I want to see you more."
A pair of peach blossom eyes made Li Guolou shudder. It was so gorgeous that he almost couldn't stand it! As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Chen Xiangfang was so lavish and carefree that only Li Guolou liked it.
The aesthetic point of view at this time still regarded small and delicate women as beautiful. The beauties in the paintings regarded thinness as beautiful, and the Han people's aesthetic point of view also added a pair of small feet. Due to the invasion of Western culture, the Chinese people also began to change, and the status of women gradually improved.
Some people let girls study and go to girls' schools. Women can walk side by side with men on the street, but in the past women had to walk behind men.
While walking and talking, Li Guolou asked: "Xiaofang, how are the decorations going these two days?"
Chen Xiangfang lowered her head and said: "It's okay, but that guy's demands are getting higher and higher, and he has already exceeded his budget. I said a few words to him, and he said that I don't have to worry about it, and he will keep the money first. But if he continues like this,
If I don’t take the mid-to-high-end route, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get my money back.”
Li Guolou knew what Nabazi was thinking. Nabazi's ambitions were also growing. It was the same with everyone. Every step he took would make him a step further. He was no longer the fake foreign devil he used to be, but for women, Li Guolou now had only one thing in his heart:
One person, that is, Chen Xiangfang next to him. Will he be satisfied with the status quo? Li Guolou has never seen a satisfied person from the people around him, but at the moment he is satisfied. He will take Chen Xiangfang to the Pace Western Restaurant in the future to let He and Xiang Fang experience it.
The life of foreigners. The aura exuded by Chen Xiangfang is really British. She belongs to the British aristocratic life circle. Li Guolou was very satisfied with his choice and turned to his lover beside him. He wanted to use
I have loved Chen Xiangfang all my life and will no longer care about worldly prejudices.
Chen Xiangfang said dissatisfied: "Xiaolou, why don't you say anything?"
Li Guolou came over in a daze and said, "Uncle Li already doubted me last time. Are you ready this time? It's very likely that Uncle Li will not give me any face and even give you small shoes."
Chen Xiangfang said angrily: "Xiaolou, if you say you are stupid, you are just stupid. Why should you let Uncle Li see it? Now just say this is your place and I am just a shareholder."
Li Guolou was speechless and stared at the treacherous Chen Xiangfang. This woman would one day sell him for profit. She was a very realistic woman. He was played by Chen Xiangfang and was willing to be a pawn.