I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 123 Wanting to impose a crime

Chapter 123 A Crime Deliberately Accused

Wang Chengen sat and enjoyed the food, while Sun Bing served him on either side.

"Master, Wang Wenzhou is holding a hearing today for his assassination case," Sun Bing said.

"Huh? The murderer has been caught?" Wang Chengen was stunned. In recent days, Sun Bing had used dozens of experts from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to secretly investigate the assassination of Wang Wenzhou. After investigating for a long time, they had not found any clues about the murderer. Wang Wenzhou had actually caught the real culprit. Wang Chengen was very puzzled.

Sun Bing said with a wry smile, "I guess he's an unlucky guy who was forced to confess under torture."

"It seems the person who wants Wang Wenzhou dead is someone of considerable influence. Could it be some high-ranking officials in the court who oppose the city entry tax? Logically speaking, no minister would do something so thoughtless. Well, I'll go see how Wang Wenzhou handles the case," Wang Chengen muttered to himself.

……

In the Hanshan County government office, Wang Wenzhou sat upright behind his desk.

Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel down with a "smack!" and announced, "Court is now in session!"

"mighty……"

"Bring the criminals to the court!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.

Two constables escorted the inhuman-looking Dao Meishan into the main hall.

Wang Wenzhou asked, "Does Dao Mei Shan know his crime?"

"Bang bang..." Dao Meishan kowtowed as he answered, "This lowly one knows his crime!"

"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel and roared, "Speak! Who sent you to assassinate me?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Wang Wenhua, Ma Deyun, Yang Shan..." Dao Meishan honestly recited the names of the instigators.

"Wow..." The onlookers exclaimed in shock! Wang Wenhua, isn't that Lord Wang's cousin?! This is outrageous! To actually send someone to assassinate one's own brother, turning against one's own flesh and blood, he deserves to die!

"Ma Deyun? What, there are also four great talents?" someone asked in surprise.

"It must be because Wang Qingtian implemented the grain monopoly that Ma Deyun and the others lost a lot of money, which is why they hired someone to kill them!"

"Yes! That must be it! Those damned, unscrupulous merchants deserve to die!"

The four talented scholars have been utterly ripped off by Wang Wenzhou these past few days. They had just bought out over 200,000 shi of grain from the grain store, and the very next day, the store delivered more. The four scholars were devastated; where would they get the money to buy more grain? With so much grain stuck in their hands, they weren't allowed to sell it. The grain could only be stored for two or three years at most; after that, it would mold. The four scholars were nearly driven mad with worry these past few days!

When the common people heard of this, they all burst into laughter. The unscrupulous merchant deserved it! He finally got his comeuppance. And because of this, the people weren't surprised to hear that the Four Great Talents were the mastermind. The unscrupulous merchant was so wicked that he even tried to assassinate Wang Qingtian; he truly deserved to die.

"Ma Bantou and Li Hechen, listen to my orders!" Wang Wenzhou pulled out arrest warrants and threw them to the two men, saying, "I order you two to separately arrest Ma Deyun and the others and bring them to justice!"

"Your subordinates obey!" The two men hurriedly left with their respective constables.

Wang Wenzhou ordered, "Xiaoqiang, take some men to guard Wang Wenhua, who is being held in the back office, and bring him to the court."

"Yes!" Wang Qiang clasped his hands in a fist salute.

A short while later, Wang Wenhua and Wang Qiang walked into the lobby, chatting and laughing.

"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel and asked angrily, "Wang Wenhua, do you know your crime?"

Wang Wenhua frowned, sneered, and said, "Boxin, stop making trouble! How can this be a game in court? I know you've been in a bad mood these past few days. You vented your anger on me and even put me under house arrest, and I don't blame you for that! But you've accused me of ordering others to assassinate you. That's absurd, a fabricated charge, utterly laughable!"

"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, pointing at Dao Meishan and saying, "Dao Meishan, look up. Isn't this Wang Wenhua one of the masterminds behind your assassination attempt on me?"

Dao Meichan had been kneeling on the ground with his head down, not daring to look up. But when Wang Wenzhou spoke, he quickly looked up and glanced around. Wait a minute! I'm the only prisoner here!

Dao Meishan assumed all "prisoners" were like him, beaten black and blue, forced to kneel obediently on the ground. He never imagined that Wang Wenhua was standing right there in the hall.

Damn it! In this era, there are no photos, and Dao Meishan has never seen Wang Wenzhou. This is a huge loophole, but thankfully it can be fixed. Wang Wenzhou pointed at Wang Wenhua and said, "Dao Meishan, where are you looking! Look at the person I'm pointing at."

Dao Mei's eyes were swollen from the beating, making his vision blurry and impossible to see clearly. Besides, he didn't know Wang Wenhua, but since Lord Wang said so, then it must be him! He didn't want to get beaten up again.

"Reporting to Your Excellency! It is him!" Dao Meishan pointed at Wang Qiang and said in a serious tone.

"Look carefully before you speak!" Wang Qiang glared fiercely at Dao Meidan.

"I made a mistake earlier! It's him!" Dao Meishan finally pointed to the right person this time.

Wang Wenhua's expression changed, and he sternly rebuked, "You audacious madman! I, Wang Wenhua, am a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing. How dare you slander me like this, you villain!"

"Ah..." Dao Meishan was stunned. He didn't know who Wang Wenhua was at first, but now that he heard that Wang Wenhua's official rank was even higher than that of the county magistrate, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel, pointed at Wang Wenhua, and shouted, "Wang Wenhua, this is a trial, you are the defendant, who gave you permission to speak! Shut up!"

“The Demon Blade!” Wang Wenzhou pointed at the Demon Blade and asked, “I ask you, what did Wang Wenhua and the others say to you that day?”

Dao Meishan remained silent for a while. If he didn't follow the magistrate's instructions, he probably wouldn't survive. Moreover, Lord Wang had assured him that he would be spared if he revealed Wang Wenhua and the others. As for other matters, Dao Meishan didn't want to think about them anymore; he would just stick to the pre-arranged agreement.

Thinking of this, Dao Meishan recounted the events of that day at an extremely fast pace.

If anyone had Dao Meishan's confession, they would find that what Dao Meishan said was exactly the same as his statement. Dao Meishan dared not make a mistake; while he was reciting, two jailers stood beside him, and for every word he mispronounced, he would receive ten slaps across the face.

"Heh!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Wang Wenhua, you still won't confess?"

"Hmph!" Wang Wenhua said nonchalantly, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext. Besides, I am a fifth-rank official appointed by the imperial court. Even if I break the law, it is not up to you, a seventh-rank county magistrate, to judge my case!"

"Is that so?" Wang Wenzhou sneered. "Li Shuli, give Wang Wenhua a lesson on the laws and regulations of our Great Ming Dynasty."

Judicial jurisdiction in the Ming Dynasty was similar to that in modern times; if you committed a crime in a particular area, the local officials had jurisdiction. The exception was members of the imperial family, who were then handled by the Imperial Clan Court.

After Li Shuli finished his legal education presentation, Wang Wenhua was dumbfounded. He really hadn't expected that the current "Silly Little Five" was not stupid at all and not easily fooled.

Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Wang Wenhua, do you plead guilty or not?"

"Hmph!" Wang Wenhua said disdainfully, "I am innocent! Why should I admit it?"

"Guards! Use torture!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.