noffsinger Chapter 1143 Unraveling the Mystery
Chapter 1143 Unraveling the Mystery
Huai Gongwang's cries were drowned out by the people's condemnation.
Xu Yunyan, holding a copper ring in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other, walked up to the people.
The public's attention was instantly drawn to the magnifying glass.
"Liuli! What Lord Xu is holding is liuli! Is it a liuli mirror?"
"No, no! I saw a glass mirror at the Tong'an Cloth Shop, and it reflected people very clearly! The glass in Lord Xu's hand is transparent, not a glass mirror!"
"That...is a pair of glasses?" The people's eyes were glued to Xu Yunyan's hand.
“This is a magnifying glass.” Xu Yunyan placed the magnifying glass in front of the copper rings, then stepped aside to let the light out, and said, “The dates and amounts of bribes that Huai Gongwang accepted are engraved on these copper rings, and the reason why each parrot came about is also clearly recorded on them.”
The common people were either supporting their necks or standing on tiptoe.
The tiny pattern on the copper ring was magnified considerably when viewed through a magnifying glass!
"This is amazing!" someone exclaimed. "If we could use this magnifying glass to thread a needle, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?"
Using a glass magnifying glass to thread a needle?
The rest of the people wouldn't even dare to think about it.
For them, this was no less extravagant than feeding meat and vegetables to dogs.
"Please take a look, everyone." Xu Yunyan began to display the evidence of Huai Gongwang's crimes: "The bird claws, feathers, and other symbols on the bronze rings were not drawn randomly. Let's look at the bird claws first—"
The people were completely bewildered, but they still stared intently at the magnifying glass.
Xu Yunyan summoned a yamen runner to bring the catalog on the table and explained one by one: "If the bird's claws are facing left, it means that the parrot wearing this copper ring is a bribe from an official, while if the bird's claws are facing right, it means that the parrot wearing the ring is a bribe from a gentry or a wealthy merchant."
The people were greatly alarmed.
How could such a simple bird claw symbol contain so much information?!
A sharp-eyed person then noticed the bird feather on the ring: "Lord Xu, what is the meaning of that bird feather?"
Xu Yunyan moved his wrist slightly, first showing the people the bird feathers on the copper ring, and then said to the picture book: "The number of feathers on the bird feather talisman represents the market price of the ringed parrot."
"Market price?" The common people seemed to understand: "It means how much the bird was worth in silver when Huai Gongwang accepted bribes?"
Xu Yunyan nodded in agreement.
The common people started counting the feathers under the magnifying glass.
You won’t know if you don’t count them, but you will be shocked if you count them.
"Lord Xu, this bird feather design has eleven feathers in total. Does that mean... the ringed parrot is worth one hundred and ten taels?"
For ordinary people, "one hundred and ten taels" was already an overestimation.
Xu Yunyan shook his head: "It's not one hundred and ten taels."
"How much is that?!" Many people were outraged, speculating in disbelief: "Could it be 1,100 taels of silver?!"
That day, Wu Shun said, "A parrot of good quality that can mimic human speech can be worth a hundred gold pieces," and they thought Wu Shun was exaggerating.
It's just a parrot. No matter how beautiful or talkative it is, it's not worth a hundred gold coins, right?
But today, this copper ring...
They glanced at the brass ring, then at the parrots in the hall, and simply couldn't tell which parrot was worth 1,100 taels...
A small bird feather symbol had a huge impact on ordinary people.
Xu Yunyan continued dutifully, "The bird-eye symbol represents the status and rank of the bribe-giver, or rather... the number of times the bribe-giver has bribed. Wide-open bird eyes indicate that the bribe-giver is bribing for the first time, while half-open bird eyes prove that the bribe-giver has bribed before, but has been doing so for a long time with Huai Gongwang."
The people's eyes fell on the bronze ring again.
The bird's eyes above were half-open and half-closed.
The people were furious: "Multiple bribes are bad enough, but to accept 1,100 taels at a time?! 1,100 or 1,200 taels! That's enough for us common folk to live on for generations!!"
Even worse, some people bypassed Xu Yunyan and spat directly at Huai Gongwang.
Huai Gongwang didn't have eyes in the back of his head; his head and back were stabbed several times with saliva. The stringy saliva, tinged with phlegm, contrasted sharply with the delicate and smooth fabric.
Huai Zhizhen was furious upon seeing this: "Slander! This is slander! A few patterns are nothing, what kind of evidence are they?!"
His words were tantamount to an admission that these patterns did indeed exist.
Xu Yunyan put away the magnifying glass, his voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear: "Do you understand the principle that 'evidence can be corroborated by evidence'?"
Huai Zhizhen avoided eye contact, "I don't know what Lord Xu is talking about."
Three days ago, he noticed the man standing behind Shen Zheng, who remained silent.
At that moment, a phrase came to his mind: "A barking dog doesn't bite."
When I saw it today, it was indeed the case.
"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it, I will explain it to everyone on your behalf." Xu Yunyan picked up the account book presented by Lao Quan, his fingers quickly flipping through it, finally stopping at a page.
He held an account book in one hand and a brass ring in the other: "Gentlemen, please take a look."
The people scratched their heads in disbelief.
They were already quite illiterate, and on top of that, Lao Quan's handwriting was so crooked and messy that when Lord Xu showed it to them, they really couldn't understand it...
Jiang Zhiming propped his neck up and looked around.
It's time to shine!
He pushed his way to the front, saying, "Gentlemen! If you trust me, I will take a look for you. What do you say?"
The common people readily agreed, and even flattered Jiang Zhiming, saying, "Lord Jiang tested smallpox on himself, so we naturally trust you!"
Jiang Zhiming's smile became even more genuine, and even Cui Jinyin, who was standing next to him, could see his pride.
He walked over to Xu Yunyan in two steps, without any airs, and asked, "Lord Xu, how do you intend to compare the account books?"
Xu Yunyan held up the copper ring and said, "There are two vertical lines and three dots engraved on this copper ring. The vertical lines represent the number of years that Huai Gongwang served in Liuyang Prefecture, and the dots represent the seasons."
Jiang Zhiming feigned sudden realization and explained, "The two vertical lines and three dots represent the parrot, which was a bribe that Huai Gongwang received in the autumn of the second year after taking office!"
Xu Yunyan had just nodded when Jiang Zhiming raised his hands and clapped them vigorously a few times.
"Gentlemen, come! Follow me as I examine the account books!"
Such a "people-friendly" official is truly rare, and the enthusiasm of the people was immediately aroused.
Jiang Zhiming looked at the account book and read aloud, "Autumn of the twenty-third year of Mingyou! Received! Hmm..."
As he read on, Jiang Zhiming hesitated and turned to Xu Yunyan, asking, "Can you read out the information about the person who offered the bribe?"
Xu Yunyan nodded: "Of course."
Jiang Zhiming immediately lost all his worries and spoke again, his voice even louder: "Take it! One blue-backed horse by Jin Zuoren, the manager of Jinbangxuan, worth 1,100 taels of silver!"
"Jinbangxuan?"
"Blueback?"
"One thousand and one?!"
"It matches up! It all matches up! Huai Gongwang came to Liuyang Prefecture in the twenty-second year of Mingyou, and the twenty-third year of Mingyou was the second year after he took office, wasn't it?"
"And another one! 1100 also matches! And there are eleven bird feathers on the copper ring!"