Meng Huaining waved his hand grandly: "I'll give you half an hour. No matter what method you use, make Deputy Magistrate Cui come see me immediately."
The officers looked at each other blankly for a moment before taking their orders and leaving.
Meng Huaining didn't idle either. He called over his personal attendant, Meng An.
"Meng An, go to the entrance of the county government building now and spread the word that I will hold court today to personally try Deputy Magistrate Cui. Tell those who have suffered injustice but have nowhere to appeal to all come and watch. I will serve justice for them today."
As an experienced county magistrate, Meng Huaining didn't even need to think to be certain that for Deputy Magistrate Cui to do this to the Mo Family, it showed what kind of person he was. He must not have rarely exploited and oppressed the common people in his day-to-day duties.
He had just arrived in Yun City to take over today before immediately taking aim at the corrupt official Deputy Magistrate Cui.
Meng An responded and ran off to take care of it.
Meng Huaining looked at Mo Jiuye and his wife. "Big brother Mo and sister-in-law, why don't you come with me to the court hall?"
"Alright," Mo Jiuye said as he pulled He Zhiran up with him to follow behind Meng Huaining.
After sitting in the court hall for a long time without seeing any commoners coming to accuse Deputy Magistrate Cui of his misdeeds, Meng An came running back.
"Sir, I've already passed on your intentions to those commoners, but..."
Meng Huaining raised his brows. "But what?"
"I could tell that when those commoners heard Deputy Magistrate Cui's name, they gnashed their teeth in hatred. But they don't seem to believe that you can serve justice for them, sir."
Meng Huaining stood up and walked toward the exterior of the court hall. "I'll talk to those commoners personally."
The court hall directly faced the entrance to the county government building. Meng Huaining strode straight to the entrance.
At this time, there were even more commoners gathered at the entrance than when they had welcomed his appointment.
Moreover, many of the commoners had very complicated expressions.
Meng Huaining didn't want to waste time. He loudly addressed the commoners, "I just arrived in Yun City today and have already heard many rumors about Deputy Magistrate Cui's corruption. Today, I will publicly try Deputy Magistrate Cui in front of you all. If any of you have suffered oppression from Deputy Magistrate Cui, go ahead and tell me. I will surely serve you all justice."
He had just finished speaking when an elderly couple supporting each other came up to him.
The old couple knelt before Meng Huaining.
"Sir, can you really stand up for us common folk?"
Seeing his master questioned, Meng An hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Magistrate Meng is famously upright. Naturally he will stand up for the common people."
Hearing this, the elderly couple kowtowed to Meng Huaining three times again.
Meng Huaining stepped forward to help them up.
"Elders, no need for such etiquette. Just go ahead and tell me your grievance."
Upon hearing his words, the old woman immediately burst into loud sobs.
"Merciful heavens! Please stand up for my pitiful daughter..."
Seeing his wife crying so hard she couldn't speak clearly, the old man worried that the magistrate would grow impatient. He quickly spoke first,
"Sir, three years ago when my sixteen-year-old daughter went to the market to sell eggs, she happened to catch the eye of Deputy Magistrate Cui with her looks. He forcibly took her back to his residence to be a concubine.
Our family is poor, but we didn't want our girl to be a concubine to someone else. When we heard, my two sons and I went to the Cui residence to ask for her back.
The Cui family servants didn't bother to hear us out before viciously beating my two sons. Now, one of them is still paralyzed in bed, while the other walks with a limp.
My pitiful daughter didn't want to stay with Deputy Magistrate Cui. She hanged herself inside the Cui residence that very day.
Sir, with my family torn apart like this, all thanks to Deputy Magistrate Cui, yet we had nowhere to appeal. We could only swallow this injustice for three years. Please stand up for my family, sir..."
As the elderly couple spoke, their words dissolved into uncontrollable sobs.
The surrounding commoners also continuously wiped tears from their eyes, deeply sympathetic toward what had happened to this family.
After hearing the couple's story, blue veins bulged on Meng Huaining's face and he smashed his fist furiously against the pillar by the entrance.
"Deputy Magistrate Cui, what a fine officer you are. Let's see how I deal with you today!"
Seeing Meng Huaining's reaction, the commoners could now be certain that this newly arrived magistrate genuinely intended to serve justice for the people.
Thus, more people stepped forward to tell their own experiences one after another.
There were a few more cases where Deputy Magistrate Cui had forcibly taken their daughters home to be concubines. Some had their family property exploited by his corruption.
Most commonly, Deputy Magistrate Cui had taken bribes from others, leaving the commoners unable to appeal their grievances.
Before long, the entrance to the county government building was filled with kneeling commoners accusing Deputy Magistrate Cui.
Meng Huaining had never imagined that just a casual call would bring out so many crying injustice.
And this was merely making a spur-of-the-moment appeal at the entrance to the county building. If he publicized it more widely, who knows how many more would come to accuse Deputy Magistrate Cui?
Meng Huaining waved to Meng An, "Meng An, take these people inside first and clearly record their grievances and addresses."
With so many cases, collecting evidence and holding trials would definitely take more than just a short time to resolve.
Meng Huaining planned to focus on handling the Deputy Magistrate Cui matter over the next few days. He would summon these commoners to appear in court in batches based on case categories.
Of course, his trials would also be held openly for the Yun City commoners to vent their anger.
At this time, the people he had sent to 'invite' Deputy Magistrate Cui still hadn't returned. Meng Huaining wanted to go see the detailed testimonies of the commoners' accusations first.
He had just turned around when a woman's wail came from outside the crowd,
"Magistrate, someone openly stole from my Cui residence in broad daylight today, even injuring my female family members. Please serve justice for me..."
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran were standing just inside the entrance. Hearing this voice, they smiled at each other.
The newcomer was none other than Deputy Magistrate Cui's wife, Liu.
Liu came through the crowd of onlookers with two servant girls. She flung herself at Meng Huaining's feet, kneeling before him.
Before she could even open her mouth, Liu signaled to the servant girls behind her with her eyes.
The girls immediately crawled up to Meng Huaining on their knees and delivered a handkerchief-wrapped package to him, softly saying, "Sir, this is a token of appreciation from my mistress. Please accept it with a smile."
Meng Huaining smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"Who are you to dare so openly try to bribe me?"
His voice wasn't small. The surrounding commoners could hear very clearly.
The commoners all knew the newly arrived magistrate wanted to punish Deputy Magistrate Cui. Thus, they no longer feared Liu as they used to.
Someone in the crowd shouted loudly,
"Sir! That's Deputy Magistrate Cui's wife!"
In fact, when Meng Huaining heard Liu crying injustice earlier, he had already guessed her identity. He had just pretended ignorance.
"Oh? You are Deputy Magistrate Cui's wife?"
Liu thought Meng Huaining's smile showed the Cui family friendliness. Instantly emboldened, she said,
"Yes sir, I am Deputy Magistrate Cui's wife."
Meng Huaining let out a cold laugh before his expression instantly hardened.
"Guards, tie this woman up!"
Very soon, several officers ran out from inside the building. After a brief hesitation, they tied Liu up.
