Taihu County, the county government hall, under the four-character plaque of "Mirror Hanging", there is a county official with a ruddy face and a slightly bloated body.

Standing in the hall stood a young man with disheveled hair and a sickly face, with his hands shackled and his feet chained, his clothes tattered and stained with blood.

"Who's in the hall? Get down on your knees and talk back! I saw that the county official held up the shocking wood and slapped it heavily, and it was invisible.

The young man did not move his knees, and looked up at the plaque above the county official's head, as if he had not heard of it.

"Get on your knees." Seeing this, the two officials stepped forward quickly, one left and one right, pressed the young man's shoulders from behind, and kicked him hard at the shin. Under the heavy blow, the young man couldn't support it and fell to the ground, and the two officials held it down.

"Say." Another piercing sound sounded, and there was silence in the hall.

"My lord, what do you want me to say?" The young man watched the county magistrate struggle a few times, unable to get rid of the restraints of the two behind him.

"Whoever kneels in the hall and what he commits will be truthfully invited!" The county magistrate is holding a startling wood and ready to take a picture at any time.

"My lord, you don't know what I've done, so why are you arresting me? Since the adults asked, the grass people wanted to know, why did the Qingtian master not try and judge, and hit the grass people's 20 boards first? The young man glanced up again at the plaque above the county magistrate's head.

"Dare to distract the people! actually sarcastically mocked the official, dragged it down and re-hit the 20th board. The county magistrate angrily reprimanded the suspect.

And the two servants put up the arms of the young man, and dragged him out to be punished. The young man turned around and retorted, "The grass people ask according to the truth, how can they be sarcastic? The adults used the punishment before asking about the case, which was unfair, and the grass people refused to accept it. ”

When the county magistrate heard this, he hesitated for a moment, and then said in a loud voice, "Bring it back." ”

When the officials heard this, they brought the young man back and took him to his knees again.

"Okay, this official wants you to be convinced today." The county magistrate pointed to the young man, his face was proud, and then asked, "Who is kneeling in the hall, whose surname is it, where does the family live, and what is the matter here?" Recruit truthfully! With the sound of the shocking case, the county magistrate looked very majestic.

The young man raised his head and replied, "Yang Congyi, a grass man, lives in Huangmei County, Qizhou, and passes through here to go to Lin'an. The grass people have also read the sage books for a few years, and they keep to themselves on weekdays, and they have not done things that hurt the heavens and reason, but they don't know why they are detained here. ”

The county magistrate sneered when he heard this, and said sharply, "You still dare to say that you have read the books of sages." I would like to ask you, did you meet a group of 12 people in Komatsupo three days ago? You saw that the other party was carrying a lot of property, so you started to intercept and kill, and the means were vicious, hurting eleven people's lives, but is there such a thing? ”

When Yang Congyi heard this, he was shocked, and hurriedly defended, "Wronged, my lord." Three days ago, the grass people passed through a dense forest and indeed saw a family of more than 10 people being robbed by bandits. The gang of thieves robbed and killed people, and tried to kill the surviving old people and children. The grass people couldn't bear it, so they fought for their lives and rescued the old man and the child. The matter of killing people and robbing money has nothing to do with the grass people, please be aware of it! ”

"What a sharp mouth. Get the murder weapon. The county magistrate's face was angry.

The official stepped forward and stood a spear in front of Yang Congyi. The county magistrate asked, "Do you know the murder weapon?" ”

Yang Congyi looked at it carefully, nodded and said, "This is the spear of the grass people, but it is not a murder weapon, and it has never been stained with human blood." ”

The county magistrate ignored his argument, spread out a piece of paper on the case, and read, "Xiaosongpo robbery test: On April 12, the 15th year of Shaoxing, the county traders came to report that a bloody murder occurred in Xiaosongpo, Meishan Town. After on-site inspection by the officer, nine bodies were found, seven men and two women. Three people, the fatal wound was in the chest, the wound was one inch wide and five inches deep, and the wound was thin and deep, it was wounded by a spear. The other six were wounded in the chest and abdomen, ranging from 3 inches to 7 inches wide and 1 to 8 inches deep. All nine of them were injured by sharp weapons and died of excessive blood loss. ”

After reading the certificate, the county magistrate asked, "There are two more corpses, where did you abandon them?" ”

Hearing this lawsuit, Yang Congyi broke out in a cold sweat with fright, and hurriedly shouted loudly, "My lord, those people were not injured by the grass people, the grass people were saving people, not killing people, the old and the young left on their own after being saved by the grass people, and the grass people don't know where they went." Grass folks can swear to God! ”

The county magistrate sneered, "Don't worry, the official didn't say that all the family was killed by your own hands, isn't it only three people who were injured by guns and spears." Now tell me where your accomplices are, and you will be spared the pain of your flesh. ”

Yang Congyi hurriedly said, "Wronged, my lord." The grass people did see the gang of bandits, and they also saw their murder and robbery. Please let the grass people talk about it in detail. ”

The county magistrate sighed and continued, "Since there is a grievance, this official can't help but listen." Then let's talk to the officer. Although his tone was gentle, he still had a sneer on his face.

Yang Congyi said, "Lord Xie." After settling down, he slowly told what he had seen and heard that day.

"It was a hot day, and the grass people had been on the road for several hours, without rest, and were a little tired, and at noon they passed through a dense forest, and wanted to rest for a moment in the shade of the trees. The grass people lived by hunting and often rested in the mountains and forests, so they lay down on a big tree by the roadside that day and fell asleep soon after. I slept very deeply that day, I don't know how long I slept, I heard the sound of swords and soldiers intersecting in a daze, and soon I heard the sad cry of a child. After waking up, the child's cry was heard more clearly, and the grass people were so frightened that they lay on the tree and did not dare to move a little, for fear that they would accidentally alarm the little ghost and cause trouble. ”

When the county magistrate heard this, he frowned and said solemnly, "Ridiculous, Lang Lang, how can you say something ghostly and ghostly above this hall." Come on, drag it down, and hit the twenty boards hard to show punishment! The two officials immediately started dragging Yang Congyi up.

Yang Congyi hurriedly said, "My lord, wait, what the grass people said is definitely not a ghost, let the grass people finish speaking, it's not too late to fight." ”

The county official waved his hand slightly, and when the official saw that the county lord had withdrawn the order, he let go of his hand and let Yang Congyi kneel again.

Yang Congyi dispensed with a meal, his heart was a little calm, and then said, "The grass people lay on the trees and didn't dare to move, listened carefully to the movement not far away, and found that there were still people talking in the crying, and I heard someone say that they were just asking for money, but if they didn't cooperate, they would kill people. The child's crying was too loud, and I only heard another person say loudly, "You can't be killed." Only then did the grass people know that they had encountered robbers. The grass people often fight with wild beasts in the mountains, and there are some means, but they are not afraid of some bad people in the mountains, so they quietly go down the trees and touch them. When I got closer and took a look, I saw that there were already many people lying on the road, and blood was flowing all over the ground. The grass people hunted countless beasts, and naturally they were not afraid of blood, but at that time, they were also shocked by the scene in front of them.

Then he saw an old man standing in front of the car, and the cry of a child came from the car behind him, and opposite the old man was a group of bandits with weapons, about twenty people, led by thirty years old, with a spear standing in front of him. Seeing that there were many bandits, the grass people thought to themselves that they would be invincible with two fists and four hands, they would definitely not be able to beat so many bandits, and maybe they would be killed by them, and I didn't know the old man, so why should I take my own life for a stranger. The grass people had the intention of retreating, and their hearts were irritable, and they didn't have the heart to listen to what they had to say, they just wanted to leave the place as soon as possible, so as not to be discovered by the bandits and kill me.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a child crying out at a high level. When the grass man looked up, he saw a little girl being dragged out of the carriage by the bandits, and the old man was lying on the ground, still struggling. Seeing the little girl crying very pitifully, the grass people couldn't bear it. When he heard that the bandit at the head had ordered his men to cut down the grass and kill the old man and the child, the grass people were so angry that they rushed forward and saved the father and daughter who were in distress. At this point he paused and looked at the magistrate.

When the county magistrate saw Yang Congyi shut up, he asked unsatisfactorily, "It's over?" ”

Yang Congyi replied, "Yes, that's it, this is what happened." ”

The county magistrate sat up straight, coughed lightly, and said, "Although your story is wonderful and troublesome, a story is always a story." Okay, you've heard your story, now tell you, where are your accomplices? ”

Yang Congyi said, "My lord, the grass people have no accomplices, so the grass people saved the father and daughter alone." ”

The county official's face turned cold, "This official is asking where your bandit accomplices are?" ”

Yang Congyi hurriedly said, "My lord, don't you believe what the grass people just said? That's how it happened. ”

The county magistrate pointed his finger at Yang Congyi and asked sharply, "Then you tell the official, where are the people you saved now, and how many bandits did you kill?" ”

Yang Congyi replied in a low voice, "The grass people don't know, the father and daughter are going west to Jiangling, and the grass people are going to Lin'an, and they don't go the same way, and after giving them a ride, they separated." As for the bandits, the grass people told the truth and did not kill or injure a single person. ”

The county official said, "So that means that what you said is unfounded?" There is neither documentary nor physical evidence. ”

Yang Congyi replied, "What the grass people say is true, my lord. ”

The county magistrate held up the shocking tree, accompanied by the shock of its arrest, and said angrily, "Bold Diao Min, are you a three-year-old child when you are the official?" Can you save people from the bandits unscathed? Unless you're a bandit! ”

Yang Congyi couldn't hide it, so he had to whisper helplessly, "My lord is wise, what the grass people said just now is indeed hidden, please let the grass people say it again to the adults." ”

The county official's face was not lustful, and a word popped out of his mouth, "speak".

Yang Congyi was full of contradictions in his heart at this time, in the face of this big case involving many lives, his life and death depended on the words of the county official in front of him. If you don't tell the truth of the matter, you won't be able to clear your innocence, and if you really want to tell the whole story in front of this foolish official, you may die even worse. For a moment, I didn't know what to do.