Prefectural Judge He turned his face and saw that the person coming was actually a guard from Prince Yizhou's side. He wondered in his heart what this was about. This was just a very small case. How could it alarm the prince's guards?
Could the two people under the hall have some connection with Prince Yizhou?
"So it's Guard Bai," Prefectural Judge He said. "May I ask if Prince Yizhou is looking for me?"
"Yes," Bai Song replied.
"Then please come to the back courtyard. It's not convenient to talk here in the main hall."
"No need," Bai Song said. "What Prince Yizhou asked me to say concerns the case you're judging."
Prefectural Judge He's heart thudded. As he had guessed, the two people below did have a relationship with Prince Yizhou.
"Prefectural Judge He, please slow down in dismissing the court," Bai Song said. "Prince Yizhou is on his way here already, along with all the important officials of the Yizhou government."
What? Prince Yizhou is coming personally, with all the officials too?
Prefectural Judge He was extremely nervous, but he also thought that as long as all these officials firmly stick together, what could Prince Yizhou do even if he came? After all, they were still Daling Country’s officials, not Prince Yizhou’s officials. Strictly speaking, they were under the court’s jurisdiction.
Thinking this way, Prefectural Judge He put his heart back in his stomach.
Soon, the various officials led by the three Assistant Prefects arrived one after another, including the county magistrates from all the counties under Yizhou Prefecture.
After everyone was seated, Liu Yun also arrived.
"Prince Yizhou," Seeing everyone present, Prefectural Judge He asked, "May I ask why you have summoned us?"
"No rush, one more person has yet to arrive."
The crowd looked at each other, wondering who he was talking about.
"Prince Yizhou, everyone is here," Assistant Prefect Liu offered. "I wonder who else Prince Yizhou is waiting for?"
"There is still a seventh-rank official in my Yizhou government."
Hearing this, everyone understood.
Li Yao, the female official from Baichuan County, Li the Maiden.
Although her rank was a bit low and she was a female official with no real power, she was still an official conferred by His Majesty the Emperor. It was just that Miss Li seemed to put on too many airs, actually making so many people wait for her alone.
Everyone thought that when Li Yao arrived, they must teach her a good lesson.
Ding ling ling–
With a clear bell ring, Li Yao rode in on a bicycle and stopped outside the gate.
"Madam," Wang Er went up to take her bike and said, "Everyone is waiting for you."
"I said I wasn't coming," Li Yao said. "That Liu Yun insisted I come, how annoying."
Everyone: ...... What is she saying?
Being personally summoned by Prince Yizhou was a great honor. Yet she did not seem satisfied.
Li Yao walked straight into the hall. Assistant Prefect Liu was about to question her for being so late, but Liu Yun suddenly walked out from his seat and went to welcome Li Yao with a smile.
"Auntie, please sit here."
Seeing Liu Yun ushering Li Yao and arranging for her to sit next to him, everyone present was dumbfounded.
Was this how a seventh-rank female official should be treated?
But now Liu Yun had made his attitude clear. Assistant Prefect Liu could not question her further, as that would be directly offending Liu Yun.
Seeing Li Yao, Shopkeeper Zhang and the helpers suddenly became nervous.
They had thought the one buying the mansion was an outsider. They didn't expect it to be Li Yao!
And Prince Yizhou treated her with such respect and courtesy!
If they had known earlier, who would still dare scheme against her!
But now it was too late to say anything. They could only hope Prefectural Judge He could salvage the situation.
"Now that everyone is here," Liu Yun announced, "this morning I heard that the government had received a case that was very difficult to judge right or wrong. So I asked everyone to come and listen to your opinions."
"Dare I ask Prince Yizhou, what case are you referring to?"
"The very one you're judging," Liu Yun replied.
Prefectural Judge He's heart thudded. He quickly said, "Replying to Prince Yizhou, this case has already been adjudicated."
"Are the plaintiff and defendant marked?"
"Well...not yet."
"Then the case is not closed yet," said Liu Yun. "Prefectural Judge He, tell everyone about the specifics of the situation and let them all listen."
Prefectural Judge He broke into a cold sweat on his forehead.
He didn't know why Liu Yun had come to meddle in such a trivial matter. But since he was the Prince of Yizhou, he could only tell the truth.
After he finished, no one spoke up.
Liu Yun said, "The most difficult part of this case is that neither side has valid credentials."
"That's right," said Assistant Prefect Liu. "So Prefectural Judge He's verdict is reasonable."
"What do the rest of you think?" Liu Yun asked. "Assistant Prefect Chen and Luo, Assistant Prefect Liu has spoken. Now it's your turn."
The two Assistant Prefects exchanged a look, and they knew each other’s thoughts.
Assistant Prefect Chen said, "I also think Prefectural Judge He's verdict contains no error."
"I share the same view," said the other.
"Is that so?" Liu Yun smiled. "It seems that as fellow Assistant Prefects, you three can understand each other without words. Your thoughts are the same."
Assistant Prefect Liu's expression changed. "Prince Yizhou, we are only discussing the case itself. We have no private intentions."
"I didn't say you have private intentions," Liu Yun said. "Please continue."
Next, the various officials serving in the government, such as recommendation officials, administrative officials, and administrators, all expressed their own views. The result made Liu Yun very unhappy, because everyone had the same opinion as Assistant Prefect Liu.
After the government officials spoke, it was the county magistrates' turn.
Compared to the government officials, the county magistrates often adjudicated cases, so they had more of their own opinions.
A large proportion felt that the verdict in this case was a bit hasty.
County Magistrate Song and several other county magistrates even cited various methods to investigate the case more clearly.
When everyone had finished speaking, Liu Yun gave an imperceptible sigh.
It seemed that as Auntie Li had said, these officials, in order to protect their own interests, clung tightly together. It looked like even if the government was left without officials, he would still have to thoroughly investigate and remove these people.
Otherwise, how could the future Yizhou government be well governed?
"Maiden Li," Liu Yun said, "please give us the benefit of your insights."
"I don't have any great insights," Li Yao waved her hand and said. "Besides, I'm not suitable to express opinions either."
"Why?"
"Because he is my uncle," Li Yao pointed at Wang Yuanguo, then pointed at Da Zhuang, "And he is my son. As their relative, I should recuse myself."
