Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 530 Yang the Imperial Son-in-Law's Trial

Wang's complaint was very simple. She said that her son went to work for Hu Yuanwai's family, but disappeared inexplicably after half a month. When she went to Hu Yuanwai's family to look for her son, she was beaten and thrown out. After that, she never heard from her son again.

Wang's request was simple: she wanted the government to help her search for her son, or to summon someone from the Hu family so that they could find out his whereabouts.

In short, it boils down to eight words: either live or dead.

Yang Shaofeng looked at Wang's complaint for a long time and asked, "Wang, your son went to work for the Hu family on the first day of the ninth month of the fourth year of Hongwu. He left home on the morning of the seventh day of the tenth month and never came back."

Wang Xiuniang nodded repeatedly and replied, "Yes, my son Chen Da went out to work at Master Hu's house on the morning of the seventh day of the tenth month of the fourth year of Hongwu. A neighbor saw him coming to the city."

"Later, when he did not return home that night, I went out to look for him the next day. I inquired along the way and found out that he was at the Hu family mansion. However, the people at the Hu family mansion said that they had never seen my son and had me beaten with sticks and thrown out."

Yang Shaofeng grunted in agreement. After the lame man and the others brought over the official robes, he instructed the lame man, "Take some men and fetch the household registration book of Chen Da's family in Chenjiazhuang, south of Yexian City."

"Also, bring the money and grain registers of Yexian County, and the household registration book of that Hu family."

At this point, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to Pang Zhen and asked, "What is that Master Hu's surname and given name? Which neighborhood, community, or village in the city is he from?"

To Yang Shaofeng's utter surprise, Pang Zhen shook his head dumbly and replied, "This humble official does not know the name of that Hu Yuanwai, but only that everyone calls him Hu Waiyuan, and that he is related to the prefect of Laizhou."

Eh?

This is about a wealthy man named Hu, who has implicated a prefect of Laizhou.

That's not right either.

In Yang Shaofeng's memory, the prefect of Laizhou was the third prefect to be transferred from Jiangnan after experiencing the Plow Case, the Blank Seal Case, and the Sun Gupu Rebellion Case. However, the Hu Yuanwai mentioned by Wang and Pang Zhen was clearly a local tyrant.

What connection does he have with the prefect of Laizhou?

Could the prefect of Laizhou be Hu Yuanwai's brother-in-law or sister's husband?

Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering this, Pang Zhen's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "I remember now! County Magistrate Hu Qiqi knows Master Hu! He's related to Master Hu and often boasts that he's had a meal at Master Hu's residence!"

Yang Shaofeng sneered, then ordered Limpy Five, "Bring Hu Qiqi along too."

After Limpy Wu left to carry out his orders, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to Madam Wang and asked, "You said your son Chen Da works at Master Hu's house. What kind of work does he do? What exactly does he do? How was the wage agreed upon? Has he received his wages? And what do you know about Master Hu?"

Wang replied honestly, "Replying to your question, my son Chen Da works as a day laborer at Master Hu's house. I don't know exactly what he does, but I do know that the agreed wage is twenty coins per day."

“From the day the woman’s son did not return home, he worked at Master Hu’s house for about a month. Since it was agreed before he went there, he was paid every day and took all the wages home.”

"As for Master Hu, I've only heard people say that he's a big shot in the city with connections and influence, and he's very popular with the officials. As for anything else, I don't know anything else."

As Wang finished speaking, Emperor Zhu, who was sitting in a chair listening, suddenly let out a cold laugh.

The agreed wage was twenty coins per day.

The wage stipulated by the imperial court was sixty coins per day.

Is it that this Master Hu doesn't take the imperial court's regulations seriously?

It was Pang Zhen, the magistrate of Yexian County, who failed to disseminate the imperial decrees at all.

Or perhaps it's a combination of both?

With a lazy county magistrate, a local gentry who doesn't take the imperial decrees seriously, and a prefect who lets his relatives run rampant, this mere Laizhou Prefecture is quite a lively place.

Just as Emperor Zhu was pondering this in secret, Yang Shaofeng had already ordered the commander of the Imperial Son-in-Law's personal guards: "Once Brother Limpy Fifth brings back the information on that Hu Yuanwai, arrange for a few people to bring him over."

"In addition, you should personally go to the Laizhou government office next door and invite the Laizhou prefect over as well."

"Also, please invite the supervising censors from the Censorate of Laizhou Prefecture to come as well."

After the commander of the personal guards bowed and accepted the order, Yang Shaofeng glanced at Pang Zhen again.

What kind of class do you have that you dare to lie down and be a lazy bum like me?

And this is the Hu family mansion? Do they really think that "mansion" is something just anyone can use?

A prince is called a "fu" (府), an official is called a "zhai" (宅), and an ordinary person is called a "jia" (家). How dare a mere local gentryman use the name "Hu Fu" (胡府)? Is he trying to rebel?

And what about that guy who has connections to the heavens? The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is sitting right in the main hall. I wonder if Master Hu's connections to the heavens are real.

Yang Shaofeng curled his lip in disgust and shouted, "Get out of the way, don't get in my way."

……

Hu Qiqi, the county magistrate of Yexian, was brought here by the lame Wu.

A real lifting action.

He casually threw Hu Qiqi to the ground, and then handed over the household registration book and other items he had found to Yang Shaofeng.

"Chen Da, male, unmarried, born on August 7th of the 17th year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty, native of Yexian County, Laizhou, Shandong. His father, Chen Chuyi, died early, and his mother was Wang Xiuniang."

He was a year younger than Zhu Biao, an ordinary farmer's son, who had never been to school and made a living by farming, basically just as Wang Xiuniang had described.

As for the so-called Hu Yuanwai, he could be considered a proper gentryman—his ancestors included scholars who served as officials in Hu Yuan, and after being executed for their crimes, their descendants settled down in Laizhou and were classified as Confucian households.

Of course, the present Ming Dynasty no longer distinguishes between Confucian households, artisan households, farmer households, beggar households, etc., and they are all uniformly classified as civilian households.

Yang Shaofeng put down the documents in his hand, glanced at Hu Qiqi again, slammed the gavel, and shouted, "Hu Qiqi!"

Hu Qiqi shivered involuntarily and replied repeatedly, "This humble official greets Your Highness, the Imperial Son-in-Law."

Yang Shaofeng chuckled and asked, "What is your relationship with that Hu Dechang, the wealthy man? Are you aware that Wang's son, Chen Da, works at Hu Dechang's house?"

Hu Qiqi's eyes darted around unconsciously before he replied, "Your Highness, Hu Dechang and I are brothers from the same clan, but we are cousins, one level apart."

"As for the fact that Wang's son Chen Da worked at Hu Dechang's house, I am unaware of it."

After a slight pause, Hu Qiqi added, "Hu Dechang's family hires some day laborers every year to help with the work. Chen Da might be one of them. However, Hu Dechang and I are not brothers, and I don't know much about his family's affairs."

Do they hire a batch of short-term workers every year?

Yang Shaofeng instinctively felt that something was wrong.