Chapter 69 Catch them all in one fell swoop

Deng Jian smiled and said, "Bring it here for me to see."

Zhang Hai carefully took out some account books and notes that he had hidden close to his body from his bosom and presented them to Deng Jian.

Deng Jian only glanced at it and laughed: "It seems that everything is correct now."

Zhang Hai was surprised and said: "Your Excellency means..."

Deng Jian smiled and suddenly took out a book from the bookshelf. He opened the book and some confessions fell out of it.

He placed all of them on the desk and said, "There are quite a few reports from people in the county, including your account book and confession, as well as statements from Inspector Wang Zhen, clerk Li Tao and others. Oh, there is also a record of the entry and exit of Ambassador Chen Jing. Let me take a look... As expected, the witnesses and evidence have been collected. Very good!"

Zhang Hai was so shocked that his jaw dropped. He stuck his head out and saw some handwriting of familiar people on the papers that Deng Jian spread out.

He just heard Deng Jian say that Zhang Hai was late and someone had arrived first, but he didn't take it seriously. Now it seems... there really is someone... no, there are many people...

Deng Jian gathered all these things together and said, "It seems that the time is almost right. In this case, Zhang Hai, go find Inspector Wang and ask him to mobilize a dozen military officers to come to the yamen to listen to orders. Then go and inform the clerk Li Tao and ask him to come to the yamen to take shorthand."

Zhang Hai felt confused, but he seemed to understand something. He hurriedly got up and said, "Yes, yes, I will go now."

After saying that, he rushed out of the duty room in embarrassment.

"Dad, what does this mean..." Deng Qianqiu frowned: "There are some things my son doesn't understand."

Deng Jian sighed, "Qianqiu, you are still young. There are some dirty things that your father really doesn't want to tell you. You should slowly understand them yourself. Such things can only be understood by yourself, and others cannot teach you."

Deng Jian then said, "Go get my official boots. I need to dress properly."

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

However, Deng Qianqiu happily went to fetch his boots. Deng Jian was already wearing a winged hat, and he had pulled his beastly official uniform straight. He put on his boots and immediately walked in square steps. He also said, "You are not an official of the county. Even if you want to watch the excitement later, you can only watch outside the government office. You are not allowed to step into the court. There is no father and son in the court."

……

"Snapped……"

Deng Jian, who had already taken his seat, held the gavel and slammed it hard.

Some clerks in the yamen were shocked.

Deng Jian then sat upright. At the same time, Inspector Wang, with a ferocious look on his face, came with a dozen soldiers from the Inspection Office and surrounded the court.

Deng Jian shouted, "Come here... arrest County Magistrate Liu Ji!"

A command.

Someone had actually "invited" Liu Ji from the torture chamber.

People from all walks of life in this county have already surrounded this place, making it impossible to get in or out.

Everyone was whispering, not knowing what was going on.

Liu Ji's face was extremely ugly. As soon as he entered the court, he asked angrily, "What does this mean?"

Deng Jian looked at him with a sidelong glance, disdainful, "Who is coming?"

Liu Ji became even angrier: "Sir, have you forgotten me?"

Deng Jian said with a straight face: "I recognize the county magistrate Liu Ji, but I don't recognize the thief Liu Ji who stole from the company!"

Liu Ji's face changed drastically: "Deng Jian, you are slandering me. You are the county magistrate, and I am the assistant official, the county magistrate of this county. How dare you insult me ​​like this?"

Deng Jian only glanced at Li Sili who was sitting in the corner and ordered, "Record it, word for word."

Deng Jian then said in a deep voice, "In the treasury, there are a total of 4,732 taels of silver, 17,527 dan of grain, and 120 pieces of cloth. Do you want me to continue?"

Liu Ji's face was pale. These days, Deng Jian had always been humble and submissive to him, which made him feel that Deng Jian did not dare to provoke him and obeyed his orders. The matter of checking the treasury had always been carried out by him and his confidants, and the county magistrate had not intervened at all. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he turned a blind eye to it.

But how could Deng Jian know so much?
Just as he was hesitating about how to respond, he heard Deng Jian say, "Inspector Wang."

The soldier stood up and said, "I am humble here."

Deng Jian said, "Quickly arrest Liu Ji's family members to prevent them from fleeing, especially his father Liu Shen, his son Liu He, and his two brothers. In addition, he has a mistress in Liuye Lane, and a lot of his money is hidden there, so take them as well. There are a total of 19 members of Liu's family to be arrested. Keep them under temporary custody and do not use force."

After hearing this, Inspector Wang was shocked and said, "Yes."

After saying that, he pointed to seven or eight people without hesitation and left in a hurry.

At this time, Liu Ji's mind began to feel confused.

What frightened him the most was that Deng Jian knew all the information about his family. This meant...

Liu Ji yelled, "Deng Jian, I'll fuck your mother." Deng Jian was unmoved and said to Li Sili, "Write down this sentence, but don't write down the next one."

Deng Jiancai then said, "I am Liu Ji's ancestor for eighteen generations. You are worse than a beast. You are about to die, yet you still dare to act so presumptuously in front of me!"

Li Sili's hand holding the pen trembled, and the tip of the pen also trembled.

Liu Ji's eyes turned red and he was breathing heavily.

Deng Jian continued, "Now that things have come to this, you really won't cry until you see the coffin! If you don't want others to know about the affairs of this world, then you must not do anything. All your affairs are under my control. I will report to the Dali Temple and someone will make a fair judgment at that time!"

After that, Deng Jian looked at him with a smile and said, "You don't think that Cheng Tai, the chief of the Dali Temple, is an old acquaintance of yours, so he would dare to protect you, right? Such a big commotion has happened in Jiangning today, and it must have reached the ears of the emperor. I have irrefutable evidence. Not to mention a mere chief of the Dali Temple, even if someone from the Secretariat protects you, you can't expect to survive!"

After hearing this, Liu Ji felt dizzy.

He couldn't imagine that Deng Jian had investigated him so thoroughly in such a short period of time. He couldn't imagine that Deng Jian had also figured out his connections in the Dali Temple.

Of course, what he least expected was that Deng Jian would make the matter public in court. It was unheard of for a county magistrate to try a county magistrate. This matter would inevitably cause discussions on the streets. Now that the matter was out in the open, no one dared to bend the law to protect him.

The previous compromise was all a disguise. In fact, they were risking their lives, aiming for his head.

He was such a smart man that he had already figured out the reason. At this moment, he was so scared that he fell to the ground like mud.

But he laughed wildly: "Deng Jian, you are so cruel, it's a pity that you are still a scholar..."

Deng Jian casually brushed off his official uniform and said in a cold tone: "I study hard and never put down my books, hoping that one day I can kill all the corrupt and harmful people like you. Otherwise, what do you think I study for?"

Liu Ji: “…”

Deng Jian sat upright, picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea slowly, and then continued slowly: "In your next life, be a good person."

Deng Qianqiu stood outside the court stupidly, feeling numb.

The court was solemn inside and outside, and the officials looked at Deng Jian in a very different way.

Deng Jian ignored Liu Ji, and only looked at the officials. He said calmly: "There are many people among you who are accomplices to the evil. Don't think I don't know. The warning stone in this county says: 'It is easy to abuse the people, but it is difficult to deceive God.' What you do on a daily basis may deceive the people and the officials like me, but do you really think you can deceive God?"

The officials trembled and there was complete silence.

Deng Jian put his hands behind his back and slowly paced behind the desk. He lowered his voice, but no matter how loud or low his voice was, he knew that everyone here would prick up their ears and hear his words clearly.

"Within three days, come to my public housing and surrender yourself. If you still harbor hope after three days, don't blame me for being rude. Liu Ji is your role model!"

Inside and outside the government office, there was a tragic scene, as if a huge mountain was pressing down on everyone, making it hard for them to breathe.

……

Deng Qianqiu hurried back to Xianliang Temple, but ran into Zhu Gang, who had a bruised face and nose.

Deng Qianqiu didn't care about Zhu Gang's new injuries, and said bluntly: "Your Highness, I have something to say."

Zhu Gang covered his cheeks and said vaguely, "What a coincidence, I also have something I want to tell you."

Deng Qianqiu and Zhu Gang said at the same time: "You speak first."

Finally, it was Zhu Gang who said, "Let Qianqiu speak first. Humility is a virtue of a real man."

Deng Qianqiu ignored his nonsense and shouted, "My Lord, my father has become a spirit."

"Ah..." Zhu Gang was shocked and said, "That's even more coincidental. My father has also become a spirit."

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

This time, Deng Qianqiu was at a loss.

Zhu Gang said: "These days, it's strange, every time my father called me, it was as if he knew I would make a mistake again, and he beat me up for no reason, as if he had the ability to predict the future."

At this point, he looked at Deng Qianqiu with a bitter face and said, "Tell me, if this isn't a spirit, then what is it? Qianqiu, how did your father become a spirit?"

Deng Qianqiu calmed down after hearing this. He looked at Zhu Gang strangely and said, "After hearing what you said, I am not shocked. I think my father has not practiced enough and should not have reached the stage of becoming a spirit yet."

Zhu Gang exhaled and cursed: "There must be a thief around me. I must find him and skin him alive."

Deng Qianqiu advised: "Your Highness, that's enough. It would be terrible if we find it."

Zhu Gang was stunned: "Why is this?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Even if they find it, His Majesty will easily send a few more powerful ones. Who knows, next time, someone might sneak under Your Highness's bed and even hear Your Highness's mumblings in his sleep. That would be scary."

Zhu Gang frowned deeply, held his chin, thought about it seriously, and finally nodded carefully: "Yes, you are indeed worthy of being Qianqiu. Now that you have mentioned this, I think it is better not to investigate."

(End of this chapter)