northernbook Chapter 232 Confrontation
Chapter 232 Confrontation
Bai Zhaozhao took advantage of the chaos and hid in a tree.
Waiters were seen being carried out or brought in continuously, and soon the front yard was full of people, who could be divided into three categories: wealthy businessmen and gentry, male and female waiters, and men in blue clothes and servants.
The government soldiers surrounded them and held weapons in case of emergency. The person leading them was none other than the governor He.
He shouted righteously, "Take all the people here back!"
Then he came to the waiters, with tears in his eyes: "I am late! I have made you suffer!"
The messengers all looked up at him and asked excitedly, "Master He, are you here to save us?"
"Of course! I didn't know that the Goddess Temple was doing such a thing! Don't worry, I will definitely seek justice for you!"
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
Several wealthy businessmen nearby took the opportunity to shout, "Sir, we are innocent! We came here because of Yang Shen's instigation!"
Yang Shen is the name of the man in green.
Prefect He said sternly, "That's enough! I will investigate the matter myself!"
Soon, Magistrate He brought everyone back to the government office in the prefectural city with great fanfare. Countless people stopped to watch along the way, and many people followed them to the government office to watch the fun.
For a moment, everyone was talking about it.
In court, Yang Shen confessed that it was all directed by Yang Tongzhi, and he even had the account book as evidence! Then, Prefect He summoned Lin Guanshi from the Goddess Temple, who also testified against the Yang family.
The people were in an uproar.
"The Yang family? It's actually the Yang family!"
"How abominable! They took advantage of the goddess!"
"That's right, the goddess has a spirit, let Magistrate He catch them!"
"Yes, catch them!"
"I used to think they had good intentions in building the Goddess Temple. How disgusting! Ugh!"
Then, Prefect He, with his guards, surrounded the Yang family mansion amid everyone's indignation. Countless people gathered on the street to watch.
Word spread quickly, and soon everyone knew what was going on behind the Goddess Temple. After a brief moment of shock, everyone denounced the Yang family, with some excited people even taking vegetable leaves and throwing them at the Yang family's courtyard wall.
After learning about it, Yang Tongzhi quickly rushed to the scene. He did not expect that Magistrate He would start an attack so soon. Thinking of Wang Jinnian's instructions before he left, he had to delay for at least another day, otherwise the Yang family would be doomed!
The old lady of the Yang family and everyone else were seen confronting Magistrate He at the gate.
"He Zhifu! Even if there is a big problem, my Yang family can't just do it!"
Prefect He said sternly, "Old lady, your Yang family has committed a terrible crime! You used the Goddess Temple to deceive the people, colluded with merchants, and made a lot of money! I am not afraid even if I kill you first and report later!"
"it is good!"
"well said!"
"Great! The prefect is mighty!"
"The Yang family deserves death!"
"Get 'em!"
The people were shouting and clamoring. They had all followed here from the government office and were very excited.
Yang Tongzhi stood in front of the Yang family and said sternly, "Prefect He is so arrogant that he wants to frame our Yang family with just one side's words!"
"Putting the blame on others?" Magistrate He snorted coldly, "Co-magistrate Yang, I have all the evidence here. If you, the Yang family, resist, don't blame me for being rude!"
Yang Tongzhi was equally unwilling to be outdone. He waved his hand and a large number of guards rushed over, quickly forming a standoff with the palace soldiers.
"Prefect He is so cunning that he wrote and performed a play by himself and still wants to gain both fame and fortune. Today, my Yang family will also eliminate this evil for the people!"
When Yang Tongzhi said this, some of the people around him were confused. What did this mean?
Prefect He's face was gloomy: "Master Yang, if you have anything to say, you should go to the capital and tell His Majesty! As far as I know, the Jinyiwei has already reported this matter two days ago!"
Yang Tongzhi was about to speak, but was interrupted by another voice: "Oh? Didn't Magistrate He just discover the manor today? How come even our Jinyiwei reported it to him?"
The person who spoke was a Jinyiwei wearing a Feiyu uniform.
When Magistrate He saw him, he was very surprised. That was not right. According to his plan, the Jinyiwei should stand on his side!
Oh no, there must be something wrong!
At this time, Zhang Zhiyi also appeared: "Sir He, blaspheming the goddess, aren't you afraid of being punished by heaven?"
He Zhifu looked sinister: "Who are you?"
Zhang Zhiyi said calmly, "I am the new county magistrate of Jing County! I am also a guest of your manor. Last night, I gave you 120,000 taels of silver!"
One hundred and twenty thousand taels!
This number caused a stir among the people. Ordinary people could not earn this much money in their entire lives! Is what Zhang Zhiyi said true?
Yang Tongzhi understood that it would be of no benefit for him to continue the confrontation because the people were not on his side at the moment.
So he thought for a moment and said, "Governor He, your soldiers are just as good as my guards. If we really start a war, it will surely harm the people. I don't want that to happen.
How about this, let's burn incense and bathe today, and go to the goddess temple tomorrow to let the goddess see who is innocent between you and me? Who is the mastermind behind it, how about that? "
"Yes, worship the goddess!"
"That's right, let's go to the Goddess Temple!"
Logically speaking, the people did not believe Yang Tongzhi, but since he mentioned the Temple of the Goddess, most of the people could accept it.
Magistrate He didn't understand why the originally planned things would go wrong, but he knew that this goddess seemed to have something special and he couldn't really go to worship her.
So he shouted loudly: "Bring Manager Lin and Yang Shen here!"
"Yes!"
Soon, Yang Shen and Manager Lin once again pointed out the Yang family in public. Even a guard of the Yang family showed up and produced some evidence about the selection of waiters.
Finally, the guard said, "In order to get rid of suspicion, the Yang family also sent a concubine's daughter from the side branch Yang Laoliu to jail! I couldn't stand it anymore, so I stood up and exposed it!"
Prefect He once again turned into a messenger of justice: "Yang Tongzhi, there is no need for this prefecture to follow you to the Goddess Temple. Now that there are witnesses and evidence, I advise you, the Yang family, to surrender, so as to avoid the sword and the murder of innocent people!"
Yang Tongzhi wanted to delay time: "Why? Magistrate He has something to hide and doesn't dare to go to the Goddess Temple?"
The Jinyiwei also said, "He Zhifu, we Jinyiwei also think it's better to go to the Goddess Temple to verify it. If the Goddess doesn't give any instructions tomorrow, then we Jinyiwei will recognize your evidence. How about that?"
He Zhifu had a subtle look on his face. Why did he feel that Yang Tongzhi and Jinyiwei were stalling for time? Especially Jinyiwei, they always cared about evidence. When did they care about worshipping gods?
He had been planning this matter for a whole year, and the evidence from all sides was almost perfect. Even if the goddess statue looked a little strange, it was impossible for the truth to be revealed.
However, he could not take any risks, let alone create any unnecessary trouble. Now that almost all the people were on his side, he had to strike first!
Then, Magistrate He waved his hand, and a guard behind him set off a firework.
Yang Tongzhi's pupils suddenly contracted. That was a signal from the garrison troops stationed nearby!