On the third day of February in the 36th year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, it was the official work of Lord Shen.

Although the bedroom is luxurious, there is no one by the pillow, which makes the room even more open and unbearable, and Shen Mo just walked around the main room, and rested in the signing room that night.

It was not yet dawn on the morning of the third year of junior high school, and Lord Shen, who was sleeping in a daze, suddenly heard the sound of the cloud board, and at first he didn't want to pay attention to it, turned over and continued to sleep, who knew that after seven cloud boards in a row, a bangzi sounded outside in turn, and he stood up at once, pushed open the door and wanted to ask: 'What is the noise in the early morning, do you want to sell tofu?' ’

saw Gui Youguang leading a few maids carrying a kettle, and they were already standing at the door. Seeing Shen Mo open the door, Gui Youguang smiled and said, "My lord, are you up?" With a wave of his hand, a few maids went into the house, poured water from a basin, and prepared to wash the house.

Only then did Shen Mo know that the sound of the cloud board and bangzi was to wake him up, and he smiled reluctantly: "Zhenchuan is early." ”

"My subordinates are afraid that adults will not be used to it on the first day, so they got up early and came over," Gui Youguang said with a smile: "But it's obviously too much." ”

Shen Mo smiled embarrassedly: "Will I go to the lobby or the second hall later?" "He has already regarded Mr. Gui as an advisor.

"Lobby," Gui Youguang replied, "Your Excellency is the first to ascend to the hall today, of course, you have to 'row the office'." ”

"Okay." Nodding silently and smiling, he separated from him, and when Gui Youguang walked to the door of the inner house, he ordered someone to knock on the cloud board five times, and the officials outside hurriedly knocked on the bang in turn, which is called 'passing the two bangs'. It means that the chief has gotten up and freshened up and is ready to ascend to the church.

Under the service of the maid, silently freshen up and change clothes, eat breakfast, then pass through the door of the inner house, come to the second hall, and then pass through the Yin Gong Gate, and arrive at the lobby.

When he was in Beijing, Shen Mo heard that the 'Pai Ya' was the place where the Beijing officials envied the local officials the most. There is a joke circulating in the officialdom that the Beijing official and the foreign official met, and the foreign official said: 'I love the Beijing official and have a tooth card'. The Beijing official said enviously: "I love foreign appointments and have a row of officials." ’

The so-called 'Pai Ya' is that the official of the seal will gather the shrimp soldiers and crabs under his hands, imitating the extreme majesty of the emperor's last dynasty, and it has no sense of speed, which is something that can only be carried by two people in a sedan chair.

Just as there are many kinds of etiquette in the imperial court, there are also many subdivisions of the 'Pai Ya', and what is held in the hall today is the Ya Shen, that is, the ceremony of the subordinate officials in the palace to see the prefect, which is to imitate the scene of the hundred officials in the palace going to the court, and the local court meeting of the 'small country monarchs and ministers', but it is also a little solemn.

When Shen Mo turned out from behind the screen, the subordinates knelt down and said, "Meet your lordship!" ”

Shen Mo strode up to the square platform a foot above the ground, where his desk and chair were placed. The large and heavy public case is completely covered by a dark blue tweed tablecloth, on which are placed the four treasures of the study and the lottery holder, and the red and green head sticks are inserted in the stick. In addition to being used to give orders and represent authority, this tube has other uses - the capacity of a stick is exactly the volume of a bucket of rice issued by the Ministry of Households, and the length of a stick is one foot.

Glancing at the back of the big case, there are four big characters hanging high, "Zhengsu Fengqing", and below is a rich and luxurious screen painted with pictures of rivers and cliffs, seawater, clouds and geese...... I saw that on the left side of the lobby, there were guards of honor such as avoidance signs, green flags, apricot umbrellas, green fans, copper sticks, and leather lances, and on the right side were all his title cards: Suzhou Mansion Official, Feng Zhi Bei Wa, Inspector River Affairs, and Jiangnan City Bo Tiju. This is his current official title, but it's not over yet, and then look down - Bingchen Branch Yijia No. 1, Liuyuan and No. 1, former Zhejiang Inspector, former Zhejiang Patrol according to the Supervisor of the Military Road, former Hanlin Academy Revision, former Wuyi Palace Si Zhilang, former Zhan Shifu Right Zhongyun. There are more than ten title cards, which makes him feel that he seems to be really powerful.

These honor guards and signs are a symbol of his identity and status, when he entered the city yesterday, he was in front of the sedan chair, showing face and pomp, and when he did not travel, he placed it in the lobby and continued...... Hold on to the face and show pomp.

After the officials got up, they said silently: "This official is ordered to guard the pastoral side, and when the propaganda is moralized, the prison lawsuits are settled, and they are all enslaved to educate the people." However, in the land of a government, there are millions of people, and the power of one person is difficult to do in the end, so you have to manage the grain and fishing, criminal punishment, taxation, light milling, account registration, military craftsmen, post houses, horse husbandry, warehouses, canals, ditches, and roads. After a pause, his eyes swept over the crowd: "There are so many of them, it's really dazzling." Now, please go back, write down the things you are responsible for, and send them to the second hall in the afternoon, and the official will be waiting for you. ”

All the officials felt fresh, but they also felt that there was nothing wrong, so they were ordered to retire, leaving only Gui Youguang, who was in charge of the punishment. Shen Mo asked him what was the matter, and Gui Youguang said: "Today is the third year of the junior high school, and the announcement is said, since the previous Fuzun went, it has been more than a month, and I am afraid that there will be a lot of backlogs." ”

Shen Mo then remembered that according to the Daming regulations, every Wednesday and 8 of every month is a notice, and on this day, the official master has to accept the people's complaints and complaints, and he couldn't help but be a little nervous: "I'm not familiar with how to judge the case." "It's not just unfamiliar, it's just ignorant.

Gui Youguang hurriedly said: "Most cases are generally entrusted to the scribes and money and food of all parties, and the criminal names are handled by various officials, and finally handed over to adults. As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said, "Besides, it's just a case today, and it won't be heard, you just need to pay attention to whether you should take it or not." ”

"So what should I take? What not to take? Shen Mo asked.

"The experience of the previous Fuzun is," Gui Youguang whispered: "If you can hand it over to the two counties, push it down; If it is related to the province, go up; If it touches the nobleman's house, press it down. ”

Shen Mo frowned slightly and said, "Is this also what Zhenchuan Gong meant?" ”

Gui Youguang shook his head and said: "No, according to the lower officials, the people are extremely afraid of seeing officials, and if they are not forced to a certain share, how can they come to sue?" Since adults have the responsibility of educating the people, they should not divide what should be taken and what should not ......be accepted," he said with a wry smile: "But if you want the official to be comfortable and stable, you have to do what you said at the beginning." ”

Shen Mo smiled faintly and said, "Stable? I'm not old enough to seek stability," he said, tapping the table lightly, "Don't care about anything, just follow suit." ”

Gui Youguang waited for his words, and he was ordered to go out, and together with the scribe of the torture room, he began to receive the letters handed by the people.

Shen Mo also got up and retreated, returned to the signing room, and ordered someone to move the population, land, money and grain files of Suzhou Mansion in the past ten years, and began to look through them carefully.

In the blink of an eye, at the beginning of noon, Gui Youguang came back with a thick stack of paper, and reported to him: "A total of 180 complaints of various colors have been accepted; Among them, 28 were criminal cases, and the rest were civil disputes. As he spoke, he handed the top two pieces of paper to Shen Mo and said: "These two are murders, and there is a way that human life is a matter of heaven, and adults cannot ignore it." ”

Shen Mo put down the file in his hand and took the two complaints, one of which was a private prosecution, that is, he sued himself, saying that he had a dispute with his father, and accidentally killed his elderly father in a rage, so he turned himself in.

"This is a big case about human ethics." Seeing that the adults finished reading it, Gui Youguang said: "The court must be held as soon as possible, and the verdict must be severe and fast." ”

Shen Mo frowned slightly: "Where are the people?" ”

"I've been imprisoned." Gui Youguang said: "The incident happened yesterday, and in the afternoon, I will take Wang Zhixian to investigate the scene." ”

Shen Mo nodded and said, "That's very good." In fact, he also wanted to come up with the scene, but as soon as he thought of the autopsy, he felt sick to his stomach, and obviously he hadn't done a good job of psychological construction.

Look at the next complaint, it is Li Zheng in Shengpingfang, Wu County, telling that a person from another county killed a man and a woman on the street, and the villagers twisted them to the Ya with a major murder case, which was also a few days ago.

Looking at the rest of the files silently, it turned out to be the case of Wu County in Qingyishui, and there was not a single case in Changzhou County, and he couldn't help asking: "Why is it so one-sided?" ”

Gui Youguang replied: "According to the case, the Changzhou county order is responsible for the case in Changzhou, and because Wu County is also where the government is located, it can be sued in both the county government and the government office," said with a smile: "The common people feel that the bigger the official, the fairer the judgment, and the more effective the judgment, so they generally come to the government to report." ”

"Then isn't Wang Runlian idle?" asked with a silent smile.

"That's not it," Gui Youguang said with a smile: "You can hand over the case to him for trial, or you can order him to assist in the investigation and handling of the case, you can't be lazy at all." ”

Shen Mo nodded and smiled: "That's good...... Wang Runlian is a capable official, but she can't cheapen him. ”

Seeing that the adult finished speaking, Gui Youguang picked up the form again and said, "I almost forgot, the boss of Wanfu Ji has already come and is waiting in the second hall." ”

"Biography." Silently, he closed the dossier.

Shen Hongchang looks good, his face is fair, his eyes are bright, and his three broken beards are very neatly trimmed, although he is nearly forty years old, his figure is not fat at all, which makes people feel good at first glance.

He was a shrewd businessman, as evidenced by the fact that he wore a cloth robe to meet the Lord. Because in this day and age, the decree that merchants were not allowed to wear silk and satin has been thrown out of the clouds, and only the most old-fashioned antiques will be worshipped.

Shen Hongchang, who has been in a purple business recently, naturally has the money to wear silk clothes, but he met him in cloth clothes, obviously to avoid giving people a handle and causing unnecessary trouble to himself.

After respectfully kowtowing to Lord Fuzun, Shen Hongchang presented a beautiful snack box and said: "I have heard of the good name of the adult, and the villain admires him very much. ”

Shen Mo smiled: "I have heard the name of Wanfu Ji for a long time, and I want to buy a box and come back to feast on it." ”

As soon as he heard that Lord Fuzun knew his shop, Shen Hongchang's bones were half crispy, opened the food box, and offered it with both hands.

"Then the official is welcome." Shen Mo happened to be a little hungry, and when he saw the golden and layered shortbread, he immediately had an appetite, wiped his hands with a white silk, and twisted one to taste, and it was really crispy but not broken, oily but not greasy, crispy and delicious. couldn't help but admire: "It's really delicious, no wonder it's so famous." Said very kindly: "You sit down first, and when the official finishes eating this cake, we will talk about it." ”

Seeing that the adults really liked it, Shen Hongchang was overjoyed, carefully rested half of his butt on the chair, and said respectfully: "Since the adults like it, from tomorrow onwards, the first shortbread of every day will be sent to the adults." ”

After eating a shortbread silently, he patted the crumbs of his hands, picked up the teacup and took a sip and said: "The food can't be enjoyed, if you eat it all day long, even if the dragon liver and phoenix pith have a greasy day," he said and said with a smile: "In that case, wouldn't it be a waste of this enjoyment." ”

"Adults are reasonable," Shen Hongchang said with a happy face: "The truth that is too much, the villain has only recently understood." ”

"It's too late...... silently put down the teacup and said slowly: "Well said." As he spoke, he looked at Shen Hongchang and said, "How did you realize this truth?" ”

"What is this...... Shen Hongchangqiang said with a smile: "I got it by chance, and I can't say it's famous." ”

"Hehe," Shen Mo smiled faintly, "Not necessarily, right?" ”

Shen Hongchang's face tightened, his heart pounded, and he pretended to be calm: "The little talent is shallow, just like cooking dumplings in a teapot, obviously there are them in the stomach, but they can't pour them out." ”

"Talented?" Shen Mo's laughter turned cold, and he stared at Shen Hongchang and said: "I don't believe this, how can a genius who can create 'shortbread coupons' and earn future money be a shallow learner?" ”

"This ......" Shen Hongchang saw sweat on his forehead.

Shen Mo took advantage of the situation and persecuted: "It's not that you can't speak, you don't dare to speak!" Because you're scared yourself, am I right? His eyes were like sharp swords, staring at Shen Hongchang and not daring to move.

Silent plausible questioning gave the party a lot of pressure, and in Shen Hongchang's ears, it was clear that the other party had figured out all the details of himself, and said with a sweat on his back: "Adult Mingjian, the villain is just a businessman who keeps to himself, never lacks catties and shortages, and does not cheat, so he can't bear your blame." ”

"When it comes to the end, do you still want to deny it?" Shen Mo sneered and said: "Actually, this official already knows that the cake coupons you sell are far beyond the production capacity, and now you can use fraud to seize your shop, and Miki can ask anything!" ”

Shen Hongchang was struck by lightning, and his knees couldn't help but weaken and he fell to the ground.

looked at him silently and pityingly, and said in a slow tone: "The reason why I didn't do this was because of your good deeds of building bridges and paving roads in the past, and I didn't want to force you to a dead end." ”

When he was flipping through the dossier in the morning, he accidentally found that among the funders of the new bridges and roads in the past ten years, there was Shen Hongchang's name.

When Shen Hongchang heard this, the adults even knew about it, so they must have touched the bottom of themselves, so what else is there to hide? He couldn't help but kowtow with tears in his eyes and said: "Please spare your life, please save your life, please spare your life, please ask your adult to save your life......"

Shen Mo saw that the bluff worked, and he stopped playing tricks, and said softly: "Get up and speak." ”

Shen Hongchang wiped his nose and tears with his sleeve, stood up, and looked at Lord Fuzun with a pleading face.

"You brought your motives and process of making cake coupons from the truth," Shen Mo made him sit down and said, "Let this official see if there is a glimmer of life." ”

Although Shen Hongchang was extremely shrewd, he still didn't have the ability to resist in the face of Lord Fuzun, who could throw himself into the eighteenth layer of hell with his backhand...... This has nothing to do with wisdom, it is purely due to disparity in status.

Taking a deep breath and sorting out the chaotic thoughts, he told the adults about his experience of selling cake coupons:

Wan Fu Ji shortbread shop, can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty was not established in the era, has a history of more than 180 years, because of the exquisite materials, unique production methods, from the beginning of the opening, it has been welcomed by Suzhou people, and now has become an inseparable part of the people's lives.

When it was passed on to Shen Hongchang's generation, the reputation of Wanfu Ji was no longer limited to Suzhou City, and even Yangzhou, Yingtian, and Songjiang had people who came to visit. It is said that it is a good thing to be famous far and wide, but every day there is a long queue in front of the store, and the store is still in short supply when it is in full production.

Not only that, but there are often government and large households who cut the queue to place large orders, and one order is enough for Wanfuji to be busy for a few days, and the store business will naturally not be taken care of. Of course, the rich and powerful bigwigs can't afford to offend, but individual customers can't be snubbed at will. In order not to let individual passengers run empty...... Of course, in order to make more money, Shen Hongchang was in a hurry, and after collecting the deposit from individual customers, he made a blank slip and promised to deliver the goods in a certain future.

"I waited for a month, lest I smash the signboard and reputation of this century-old store." Shen Hongchang recounted: "I was surprised to find that the situation was not as bad as I imagined, there were only a few customers who came to carry shortbread with white strips every day, and the shortbread sold in the store was not much more than before, but there were a lot more copper coins returned every day." ”

(To be continued)