Magistrate Li was stunned, and he quickly slammed his fist on the table again. This time, without needing Gu's prompting, the bailiffs immediately shouted in unison, banging their wooden clubs on the ground to restore order.

  Guo Sheng looked up at the roof, took a deep breath, and bowed to County Magistrate Li, "Your Honor, permit me to ask a few questions first."

  Magistrate Li was stunned for a moment, but before he could respond, Guo Sheng pointed at the middle-aged man in brocade clothes who was kneeling at the front and said, "You speak first. The rest of you are not allowed to make a sound, or you will be beaten with five boards. Speak!"

  "Yes," said the middle-aged man in brocade clothes, taking two steps forward on his knees. "I am Zhang Wang, a humble commoner, and I beg of you, great sir, to do justice for me. Great sir, I have been wronged..."

  Xiaomin Zhang Wang cried and complained for more than a moment, in short, it was just one sentence: Zhang Wang and his younger brother Zhang Cai, who shared the same father and mother, had an unequal division of property after separation, and now they were taking each other to court.

  Li Xia crouched behind the frame, her hands supporting her cheeks, looking at the crowd of wronged people in the hall with a sense of suffocation, and at her father on the high platform who was listening while asking a few more questions about the details.

  Look at her father's innocent face, this family affair, he will definitely not be able to make a clear decision...

  After Brother Zhang Wang finished speaking, County Magistrate Li asked Brother Zhang Cai to speak. After the two of them finished speaking, County Magistrate Li asked several clan elders a few more questions and then carefully examined the division of property document, frowning as he scrutinized it...

  Li Xia was speechless, but she didn't want to be speechless anymore. She looked at her father with a mixture of anxiety and worry, thinking that he wanted to take charge himself and divide the family property. This pair of brothers, this family, no matter how they divided it, would never be able to divide it evenly...

  "County Master, this matter is of great importance. The Zhang family brothers and others have been kneeling for over an hour, and several elderly clan members are advanced in age. May I ask that they be allowed to temporarily withdraw from the hall and take a short rest?"

  Guo Sheng cupped his hands and rushed to the stage, suggesting to County Magistrate Li. His eyes swept over the signboard, two little girls, one frowned and pouted, looking very depressed and helpless, the other stared wide-eyed, with a look of novelty and excitement...

  Magistrate Li hastily nodded his head. He was thinking of finding an excuse to take a look at the division document with the two masters, and see where it was unfair and how to divide it fairly...

  Magistrate Li carried the division document back to the signing room, and Li Xia hurriedly ran over, grabbing her father's collar and following him into the house.

  Guo Sheng followed County Magistrate Li into the signing room, his eyes swept over Li Xia, but he only dared to take a glance and then pretended not to have noticed her.

  Chen Dingde was beckoned by County Magistrate Li to come in, but he didn't plan on going in. He was in charge of finance and provisions, this matter of penal law, just take a look at the commotion and that's all, it wasn't his turn to be in charge.

  However, Magistrate Li's trust in him far exceeded his trust in Guo Sheng.

  This trust, 70-80% is because he's old enough, already over 40 and almost 50, compared to Guo Sheng who is a year or two younger than County Magistrate Li, County Magistrate Li thinks he must be more capable than Guo Sheng.

  Magistrate Li sat down at the long table and pushed the deed to Chen Dingde's face, "Sir, take a look. This division deed has several houses and shops that are said to be unfair. It's probably because of this that the house and shop are good or bad, and it's really worth discussing. I'm afraid only after on-site inspection can we know."

  Chen Dingde slightly bowed his head, listened attentively, nodded in approval at one sentence, but stretched out his hand and pushed the bill to Guo Sheng's face. He was not familiar with criminal law, and judging cases was not an easy matter.

  "East Weng." Guo Sheng glanced at Li Xia, who was leaning on County Magistrate Li's leg. "In this case, both Zhang Wang and Zhang Cai claim to be the plaintiff. Several clan elders have been complaining nonstop, saying that no matter how the family is divided, both brothers will say it's unfair. It can be seen that the division of the family is not about being unfair, but about being dissatisfied. No matter how it's divided, both brothers will feel they've lost out."

  Kuo Sheng says a sentence, Chen Dingde nods, twirling his mustache, with an expression that can't help but applaud.

  Li Xia secretly let out a sigh of relief. This Guo Sheng was very understanding and also dared to speak his mind, which was the most difficult thing to find.

  Magistrate Li was stunned, "Then...this..."

  "Mr. Dong would then ascend the hall, and separately ask these two brothers if they felt that their own share was a loss, while the other's share was a great advantage. They would certainly both say yes, and Mr. Dong would then exchange this division of property document, and hand it over to them." Guo Sheng said this in great detail, this County Magistrate Li really couldn't be considered an intelligent person.

  "This is also too ridiculous!" County Magistrate Li blurted out.

  "Master Dong, it's hard for a clean official to meddle in family affairs. This division of the family property may not be unfair, but it's not pleasant either. Let these two brothers have nothing more to say, and this case will be settled cleanly. Of course, as their fatherly official, Master Dong should give them some good advice." Guo Sheng glanced at Chen Dingde.

  Chen Dingde understood it extremely quickly and immediately laughed: "This is called clever judgment, Brother Guo is indeed a master of the family, a skilled craftsman, extremely brilliant, really extremely brilliant! It's admirable!"

  The two masters had the same opinion, and although County Magistrate Li still thought it was too childish, he felt anxious in his heart. Fortunately, he was a humble person who could listen to others' words, so despite being very reluctant, he nodded his head in agreement.

  Magistrate Li re-ascended the hall, exchanged the division of property documents, and the two brothers stared at each other, blinking their eyes non-stop. It was several clan elders who reacted quickly, kowtowing and shouting "Li Qingtian".

  Li Xia watched the whole case, took Little Jiu with her, sighed and comforted each other as they walked back to their mansion.

  It's a pity that her father is really not suitable for being an official, but fortunately, there is this Guo Sheng, who is very rare.

  No wonder Mr. Qin wanted to use Wu Ge's future prospects to invite him, such a person is beyond Father's means.

  ………………

  Li Wenshan felt at ease and no longer kept running back home. He stayed there until the Double Ninth Festival, when the academy had a two-day holiday, before hurrying back.

  The Li family, who were guests in Hengshan County, did not need to go out of the city to offer sacrifices and sweep tombs. They just lit incense sticks at home and had a more sumptuous dinner than usual that evening.

  Of course, even if it's not the Lunar New Year, Li Wenshan returning home is enough to make the dinner table exceptionally sumptuous.

  In the late afternoon, Li Wenshan and Li Xia sat side by side on a stone bench beside the vegetable field, looking at County Magistrate Li who stood in front of the house where Zhong Yiyi used to live, with a dazed expression.

  "Ah, Dad..." Li Wenshan nodded towards his father, "Mr. Qin said that you're too sentimental and a bit indecisive. By the way, Mr. Qin also said that the phoenix tree can't stay for long, but it can't be rushed either, what do you think?"

  "Hmm." Li Xia squinted at her father, "You have some free time to chat with Tongtong, let him talk to his dad about those things with Zhong Baozhu, it's not like we can just leave them unspoken. Sigh!"

  Li Wenshan was about to burst out laughing, patting Li Xia's head, "You can't just leave it unused, Ah Xia, you're trying to squeeze oil from a stone... Hmm, what are you sighing for? What's there to sigh about now? Look at our family, isn't it great now? The difficulties must be over, unless the locust tree..."

  "It's not." Li Xia sighed again, "It's not the case of the paulownia tree, that case is not a big deal, I'm sighing for Father, Fifth Brother, you don't know how stupid Father is!"

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