Chapter 177: Someone Slaps Me
Finally, Chongzhen couldn't stand it anymore and came out to comment on it, which resulted in a situation where everyone was happy.

After a quarter of an hour or two, the aide who led the team came in and whispered in Liu Zongzhou's ear, "Sir, the owner of Tianbao Pawnshop and the two evil slaves have been brought back. Do you think we should go to court now?"

The staff were not aware of Chongzhen's identity, so their attitude was quite cold.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongzhou also felt a little uncomfortable after being so close to the emperor for such a long time, so he quickly stood up and planned to end the matter first.

By the way, he invited Chongzhen and Wang Andao: "Do you two...Would you like to listen in from the hall?"

Chongzhen didn't care about this matter. After all, he was just the owner of the Tianbao Pawnshop, not Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu.

However, Wang An was concerned about his big pearl and insisted on taking Chongzhen with him.

So the group returned to the lobby, where three people were already kneeling. Wang An took a closer look, and the corners of his mouth curled up, which was harder to suppress than AK.

The pawnshop owner who had been so arrogant before was now kneeling in the lobby of Shuntian Mansion with a look of fear on his face.

If it were an ordinary government office, even the owner of the Wucheng Bingmasi Pawnshop would not be so panicked.

Even the local prefectural government office would not be taken seriously by Dangtu the shopkeeper. After all, it was only a fifth-rank government office. In the eyes of Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu, who was behind him, it was just an employee of the emperor.

Although the Shuntian Prefecture Governor was also an employee of the emperor, he was a senior employee, four levels higher than the ordinary prefect, and his status was comparable to that of the vice ministers of the six ministries.

Because of the special nature of Shuntian Prefecture, sometimes the voice in Caotang is higher than that of the six ministers.

When the pawnshop owner saw the genuine official robes on Liu Zongzhou, he became even more panicked and asked immediately, "Master Liu, what's going on? My business is doing well, but the foreman of the government office helped me get them. Is there some misunderstanding?"

Liu Zongzhou sat on the main seat, raised his hand and slammed the gavel, and shouted: "You bold traitor, I haven't asked you a question yet, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Someone, slap him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a yamen runner walked up to the pawnshop owner with a piece of hardwood board, held the owner's head with one hand, and waved the wooden board with the other hand to beat him wildly!
After more than a dozen rounds of beating, the shopkeeper's cheek was already a bloody mess, and blood foam was still oozing out of his mouth.

The shopkeeper was extremely shocked and angry, but he was afraid of Liu Zongzhou's punishment and dared not make a sound. He just kept whimpering in pain.

Liu Zongzhou had already beaten to death two people before, and Wang An had developed some initial resistance to the ancient criminal law. Seeing this, he was no longer afraid but felt extremely relieved.

Regardless of time, place, or country, these unscrupulous businessmen should be dealt with like this!
After the execution was over, Liu Zongzhou slammed the gavel again and shouted, "You daring profiteer, how dare you take the people's property and rob them in broad daylight under the emperor's feet? Who gave you the courage?"

Liu Zongzhou had previously promised in front of Wang An that he would write a letter to impeach Yangwu Hou Xue Lian in front of Chongzhen. If Chongzhen was not present, Liu Zongzhou might just say it, but since Chongzhen had already heard it, he had to submit this impeachment letter.

Since he was destined to fall out with Yang Wuhou Xue Lian, he had to kill him with one blow.

Therefore, Liu Zongzhou showed no mercy when he started the case and insisted on getting the pawnshop owner to reveal who was behind him so that he could use it as evidence in the impeachment memorial.

But the shopkeeper was inarticulate at this time, but he still tried to argue: "I don't understand what you said, my business has always been run with integrity and has never been robbed or robbed. As for the backers behind me..."

The pawnshop owner didn't notice Wang An standing aside, still trying to use Xue Lian's name to back himself up, so he whispered: "To be honest with you, sir, the flood has washed away the Dragon King Temple and we don't recognize each other anymore!"

"Actually, our shop is the property of Lord Xue Lian, Marquis of Yangwu. Your Excellency has recently taken office as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and my Lord has not had time to prepare generous gifts to visit him. Please forgive me if I have offended you..." The pawnshop owner thought that Liu Zongzhou was a new official, and seeing that his Lord had many properties but did not come to visit him and offer benefits, he deliberately made trouble for him.

After all, many of the former Shuntian prefects had to find ways to make money after taking office. Many shops in the capital that had no backing, or whose backing was not strong enough, had to pay tribute, otherwise the Shuntian prefecture would send runners to cause trouble every now and then, and they would have no chance of continuing their business.

It's just that Yangwu Hou Xue Lian is of a high status, and few Shuntian prefects in the past dared to cause trouble for him. But now it seems that Liu Zongzhou is bold enough and has a big appetite.

Although he was surprised, the shopkeeper could not think of any other reason why Liu Zongzhou had caused trouble for him.

The meaning of the shopkeeper's words was not only understood by Liu Zongzhou, but also by Chongzhen and Wang An.

Liu Zongzhou looked at Chongzhen with some guilt, not because he really was corrupt, but because if three people make a tiger, some things, no matter if they happened or not, would be doubted once they were spoken out.

Thinking of this, Liu Zongzhou became furious.

I thought to myself, how dare this bastard sow discord between me and my subjects!

Liu Zongzhou slammed the gavel again and said angrily: "How dare you, you treacherous businessman, slander my innocence out of thin air!"

"Come on, slap the mouth!"

"Ah?" The pawnshop owner was stunned. He had brought up Yangwu Hou Xue Lian, hoping that Liu Zongzhou would stop in time for Xue Lian's sake, but he didn't expect to make the other party angry and embarrassed instead.

Before he could figure out the reason, the bailiff who had beaten him violently before put his big hand on his head again.

A series of "pa pa" sounds echoed throughout the lobby again.

But this time when the bailiff stopped, the pawnshop owner was no longer just a bloody mess. His teeth had flown away and the ground was covered with blood.

This time he was completely speechless, his face covered with tears and blood foam, looking extremely miserable.

Facing Liu Zongzhou's question, the pawnshop owner opened his mouth and a mouthful of urine flowed down the corners of his mouth, making a meaningless humming sound whose meaning could not be understood.

Liu Zongzhou frowned slightly and looked at the shop assistant beside the two men. According to Wang An, these two men had chased and beaten him before.

They even dared to hit the emperor's brother. In Liu Zongzhou's eyes, these two people were no different from dead people.

So I didn't hesitate and directly used a set of killing sticks!

"Come on, drag these two out first and give each of them twenty beatings with the stick!"

Ah Da and Ah Er had already been frightened by the storekeeper's miserable condition. Seeing that Liu Zongzhou was about to torture them, they begged for mercy, "Sir, please ask, please, please ask!"

However, Liu Zongzhou didn't care at all. He just waited until the twenty beatings were over and the yamen runners dragged A Da and A Er, whose buttocks were bruised, back to the lobby.

(End of this chapter)