The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1201 - 1180 Elderly Woman

Chapter 1201: Chapter 1180 Elderly Woman

Bapo said up to this point and "oh" expressed, "I did hear two people talking in the study not far away, saying that there isn’t enough grain again."

At this, both Wei Zhi and Ji Xiang sat straight up, and Lord Tang calmly asked, "Besides this, what else did you hear?"

Bapo detailed his account, his own heart filled with doubts. To him, these seemed to be just ordinary words; he did not take them to heart.

The study was separated by two walls from the room he had slipped into; otherwise, he wouldn’t have just taken the jewels and jewelry from the dressing case after searching through the cabinets and by the bed and found no gold or silver before leaving.

Although jewelry, gold hairpins, and silver hairpins can be exchanged for money, they are not as convenient as having gold or silver.

He was also very careful in selling the goods; the silver hairpin he took out had no markings at all, and the style was very common. He specifically avoided the properties of the Chu Family and the Wang Family, who knew that pawnshop was actually one of the Chu Family’s, despite no signs of it before.

And as soon as the pawnshop saw the silver hairpin, they did not ask for the reason but directly wanted to detain him for questioning. Seeing that their disposition was amiss, he fled.

Once he fled, he exposed himself, and at that time was stabbed with a knife. If he hadn’t been a soldier, a scout, he probably wouldn’t have escaped at that moment.

Lord Tang carefully inquired about the whole process and, after looking through his case file, said, "You committed the crime in Maozhou, how come it’s Mianzhou that tried and sent you to the capital?"

Bapo responded, "I fled from Maozhou to Mianzhou, and was caught in Mianzhou. Since my ancestral home is Mianzhou, I was tried there."

Wei Zhi also curiously glanced at the case file and asked, "Weren’t you sent to the capital with the criminals from Maozhou? Why were you tried and escorted from Mianzhou?"

Bapo looked perplexed, but it was Lord Tang who explained, "There aren’t many murder cases that require the Ministry of Justice to review repeatedly, and the cost of escorting criminals to the capital is substantial. Generally, to reduce loss, the nearby states will start their journey together. Along the way, if there are also criminals, releasing a bailiff and giving some money can enlist the help of passing state court bailiffs to escort together, thereby reducing the loss for each state, so such matters are common."

Qiu Niang was because of wife killing husband; the case file at that time wasn’t clear, and Minister Feng, after reviewing, worried that it was a case of miscarriage of justice, hence had people escort her to the capital for re-investigation.

Bapo, however, was because he killed too many causing extremely bad influence, therefore was sent as a typical example to the capital to receive punishment.

For such cases, it’s rare for a state to produce one in three years, so the expenses of escorting criminals to the capital are high. After all, at least three people are needed to escort one criminal, right?

Who pays for food and lodging for the bailiffs and criminals?

Of course, it’s not possible that the Ministry of Justice pays. Generally, it’s the county government offices of each state that bear the cost. Some poor small counties simply can’t afford this money.

For instance, before County Magistrate Yang took office in Luojiang County, County Magistrate Fu would never allow a case file with a miscarriage of justice to be submitted during his term, nor would he allow a grave crime with such a bad nature to occur.

Otherwise, for one case, the county governmental office would have to shell out dozens of taels of silver to send to the capital, which would pain County Magistrate Fu to death.

Lord Tang, very familiar with the Ministry of Justice, continued, "As for the trial in Mianzhou, since the person was caught there, if the trial was conducted in Mianzhou, then half of the merits go to Mianzhou. Otherwise, if sent back to Maozhou, Mianzhou would receive no credit."

Otherwise, Bapo stole things in Maozhou, killed people in Maozhou, the government office of Maozhou had already drawn his portrait, and to catch him they even lost a person. If after catching him Mianzhou sent the person back, then the only connection this case would have with Mianzhou is that Bapo originated from there.

At that time, whether there would be any credit is uncertain, but most likely the blame would follow. After all, if people from your jurisdiction desert then commit theft and murder, the superiors could question the lack of strict upbringing.

So, Bapo was essentially snatched up by Mianzhou in a bid to claim credit.

The three of them glanced down at him together; if the Chu Family is indeed involved with the Prince of Yizhou’s treason, then Bapo truly got his life back. Otherwise, if he were in Maozhou, he would have been long gone.

These matters naturally all require investigation, and how to investigate, that is now Lord Tang’s concern.

Since County Magistrate Tang is in Yizhou, his people can get there the fastest. Besides, a word must also be sent to His Majesty. Wei Zhi is still able to participate, but Ji Xiang seems to have been somewhat sidelined.

The situation in Yizhou is quite serious. As the head of all officials and with his home in Yizhou, this could be considered his dereliction of duty. Now His Majesty still needs him to suppress the officials and act as a nominal leader, but in reality, many aspects of this case have already bypassed him.

After exiting the palace, Ji Xiang and others like Wei Zhi bowed to each other and took their leave to return home.

After watching Ji Xiang’s carriage leave, Wei Zhi stood with Lord Tang and asked, "Where did you detain those two people?"

Lord Tang replied, "In the capital prefecture prison. Yin Li is currently absent, these matters are all managed by his deputy envoy, also a person of His Majesty. It’s even more secure than the heavenly prison."

Wei Zhi watched Ji Xiang’s carriage grow distant and sighed, saying, "Ji Xiang has grown old."

Lord Tang did not speak, his son was still in Yizhou City. To him, the private soldiers of the Prince of Yizhou, whose whereabouts are unknown, are like a hidden pack of starving wolves. One careless move, and the whole of Yizhou could be doomed.

For the common people of Yizhou, including his son, not a single one could escape. So, it was really hard for Lord Tang to feel sympathy for Ji Xiang, as he only has this one son.

Wei Zhi clearly knew of his worries and patted his hand, saying, "Don’t worry, Yin Li is nearby Yizhou."

Lord Tang snorted coldly in response.

Only Yin Li himself knew of his current whereabouts. His son had sent a secret letter, saying that during the encirclement of Dongxi Village, Yin Li only loaned him a thousand troops. In the garrisons of Yizhou and Suizhou were eyes of the Prince of Yizhou; if his preparations had not been made long in advance, and the sudden redeployment of the garrison, along with the support of Yang Heshu’s Mianzhou garrison, he would not have been able to command these stationed troops at all.

Upon realizing that the encirclement was for Dongxi Village, internal strife nearly broke out within the garrisons of Yizhou and Suizhou. His son and Yang Heshu almost lost their lives, yet Yin Li remained stable and did not intervene.

Lord Tang did not know whether to praise him or scold him.

At heart, Wei Zhi approved of Yin Li’s decision, but in front of Lord Tang, he did not dare to voice it and instead changed the topic, saying, "How is the Empress Dowager’s illness?"

Lord Tang then sighed and after a long pause said, "No progress. It’s said that she did not touch a grain of rice yesterday; only this morning did she eat half a bowl of porridge after His Majesty summoned the Prince of Yizhou to care for her illness."

Wei Zhi frowned. "If this happens a few more times, wouldn’t the Prince of Yizhou be released?"

Lord Tang remained silent.

Wei Zhi, always blunt and straightforward, could not help but curse, "That old woman is harming the nation!"

Lord Tang then stepped back a little, indicating he had heard nothing just now.

Wei Zhi was so enraged he almost blew his beard off.

Meanwhile, in a residence quite far from the Imperial City, in the outer city, County Magistrate Fu, who had just arrived home, was so angry that he smashed a cup and exclaimed, "That old woman is malevolent!"

Mrs. Fu, holding Fu Wenyun and crying, turned her head and said, "My lord, you must stand up for your daughter. If we manage to scrape through this time, who knows how she’ll be bullied in her marital home in the future!"