The magnates of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association were almost dying of laughter—not only was the entire Liu family, including the benevolent philanthropist Liu, tied up and brought to the association by the people of Liu Family Village, but even the Liu family's butler was preparing to confess and report Liu himself, exposing all of the philanthropist Liu's misdeeds.
It truly was a perfect interpretation of the saying: "You can search high and low for something, only to find it effortlessly when you least expect it."
Wu Ju, the leader of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association, immediately sent official documents to the Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei) yamen and the Censorate yamen, requesting them to dispatch personnel to the Liu residence for investigation and evidence collection. Simultaneously, he sent a missive to the Grand Censorate yamen, requesting the dispatch of a Grand Censor to participate in the public trial of the benevolent philanthropist Liu and his family.
Yes, a public trial.
As everyone well knew, Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming was always one to confiscate wealth and would never test the waters himself when he could have a rabbit guide him across.
The powerful weapon of public trials had been in use since the day Zhu Jinsong began his rebellion. It later gradually became a rule: for any case not involving military matters or certain confidential information, the officials of the Great Ming would conduct public trials whenever possible, striving for openness, fairness, and justice.
As for cases involving the interests of the common people, like that of the benevolent philanthropist Liu, public trials were even more essential—not only must they be public, but they must also be conducted openly and grandly by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Censorate yamen, the Grand Censorate, the Songjiang Prefecture yamen, and the Farmers' Association, outside Liu Family Village.
However, no one could have imagined that even with the Liu family butler and a group of so-called "house-born" individuals willing to testify, and even though the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate yamen had discovered countless pieces of evidence within the Liu family compound, the benevolent philanthropist Liu remained unfazed. He even adamantly maintained his innocence.
This was because the benevolent philanthropist Liu understood clearly that if he admitted to the accusations made by the Farmers' Association, the Censorate yamen, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the best-case scenario would be his entire family facing execution together, while the worst-case scenario might involve all three generations of his family being subjected to dismemberment, preventing him from even leaving this world with his family.
For this reason, when questioned by the Grand Censorate yamen and the Prefect of Songjiang, the benevolent philanthropist Liu directly denied that his actions were wrong. "I admit that I did some things, but I cannot admit that I did everything. I admit that some things might have been done incorrectly, but I absolutely do not admit that everything was wrong."
For instance, regarding those sensationalist tabloids, the benevolent philanthropist Liu stated directly that he had done nothing wrong: "I, Liu, never concocted any newspapers. I simply wrote some articles out of boredom and had them printed. Their nature is entirely different from that of a newspaper."
"As for why I wrote articles? Of course, it's because I felt that there were areas where the court's performance was not good enough or sufficiently thorough. That's why I wrote them in article form, intending to submit them to the court."
"Therefore, if these articles circulated, it was my fault, but my intention in writing articles and my consideration for the Great Ming are absolutely not wrong!"
The Grand Censor and the leaders of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association responsible for the public trial of the benevolent philanthropist Liu were shocked—look at this benevolent philanthropist Liu! With just a few simple sentences, he had completely absolved himself of all responsibility!
If one were to follow the benevolent philanthropist Liu's line of thinking, he would not only be innocent but also a good person who cared about the world and worried about the people!
It was just unfortunate that while civil officials like the inspecting censors and the Prefect of Songjiang might be led astray by the benevolent philanthropist Liu, the leaders selected from the common people within the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association were completely unaffected by the benevolent philanthropist Liu's defense.
Chen Shengli, the leader of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association, slammed his gavel loudly and demanded, "Benevolent philanthropist Liu! I ask you, are these account books that the Embroidered Uniform Guard found in your home all genuine?"
The benevolent philanthropist Liu first nodded, then shook his head: "Reporting to Your Honor, I indeed used these account books to manage my household's assets. However, my family prospered since the Kangxi era, and by the time it reached me, it had been four generations. I am truly not clear about the accounts from before."
"As for my management of household assets, it occurred during the Qianlong era. As I am not very proficient in calculations, I handed over these account books to the butler, Uncle Liu Er, for management. Since this scoundrel could betray his master for glory, I do not know if these accounts he testified to are true or false."
Upon hearing this, the Liu family butler, Uncle Liu Er, became furious and pointed at the benevolent philanthropist Liu, shouting, "This is simply slander! I, Liu Er, have served in your Liu family for over thirty years and have been loyal to your family. Now you say such things?"
The benevolent philanthropist Liu rolled his eyes and retorted, "Serving for over thirty years was precisely to facilitate the betrayal of me, Liu? I truly did not expect that you, the seemingly upright Uncle Liu Er, would also be a villain who forgets righteousness for profit!"
Uncle Liu Er was instantly angered to the point of trembling all over.
As Uncle Liu Er said, he had served in the Liu family for over thirty years and had been the butler for nearly twenty years. It was not an exaggeration to say he was loyal. If it weren't for Uncle Liu Er's second son having read more books in the study and recognized the true face of the benevolent philanthropist Liu, Uncle Liu Er might have stubbornly insisted on letting his two sons accompany the benevolent philanthropist Liu's two sons on their sea voyage!
However, Uncle Liu Er could not think of how to refute the benevolent philanthropist Liu's statement, because he had indeed voluntarily come forward to report Master Liu. In the Qing Dynasty, this was called a slave offending his master, a serious crime punishable by death without question.
After a long silence, Uncle Liu Er simply sighed and said, "Since Master does not believe me, why did you let me serve as your butler for so many years? If Master feels that I, Liu Er, have failed the Liu family's trust, then I, Liu Er, will repay my life with my life, so that people under heaven will not say that I, Liu Er, betrayed my master for glory!"
Uncle Liu Er's two sons were instantly greatly alarmed!
Uncle Liu Er's eldest son looked at his father and shouted, "Father! Master Liu is clearly provoking you with his words. Father, you must not fall for it!"
Uncle Liu Er's second son glared at the benevolent philanthropist Liu and said, "Villain Liu! Although my father is your Liu family's butler, these account books were personally compiled and organized by the Liu family's accountant, not something my father could have fabricated. You must cease your slander!"
The benevolent philanthropist Liu snorted coldly and simply ignored the Liu father and son trio.
Watching all of this unfold, Chen Shengli, the leader of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association, let out a cold snort, slammed his gavel again, and roared, "Uncle Liu Er! What crimes you have committed, and what punishment you deserve will ultimately be decided by the laws of the Great Ming. How can you so easily utter such nonsensical words as repaying your life with your life!"
After reprimanding Uncle Liu Er, Chen Shengli then looked at the benevolent philanthropist Liu and said, "Benevolent philanthropist Liu indeed has a silver tongue. I, Chen, admire you, admire you!"
The benevolent philanthropist Liu's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged. He bowed to Chen Shengli and said, "I am merely speaking the truth. I hope the Association Leader will not be offended."
Chen Shengli snorted coldly and asked, "May I ask the benevolent philanthropist Liu, these over seventy deeds of sale that the Embroidered Uniform Guard found in your home, are they all genuine?"
Seeing that the benevolent philanthropist Liu was about to shake his head and deny it, Guan Bu, the Embroidered Uniform Guard battalion commander stationed in Songjiang Prefecture, said to the benevolent philanthropist Liu with a cold smile, "Does the benevolent philanthropist Liu believe that these deeds of sale were planted by us, the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
After asking, Guan Bu did not wait for the benevolent philanthropist Liu's reply. He directly stood up from his chair, cupped his hands towards the surrounding commoners, and then said loudly, "Listen, all my esteemed elders and folks! Although the reputation of us, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is infamous, we would not stoop to scheming against someone like the benevolent philanthropist Liu!"
"Moreover, if we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, were to frame someone, we would at least accuse them of the heinous crime of rebellion. What is the point of accusing someone of dozens of deeds of sale? It's not even disgraceful enough!"
After Guan Bu's words fell, the surrounding commoners all nodded in agreement. Indeed, the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been infamous from the Hongwu era to the Chongzhen era, and after 150 years, it continued to be infamous into the Holy Emperor's era.
However, it must be admitted that although the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was infamous, they never targeted local gentry and esteemed scholars like the benevolent philanthropist Liu. This was because the targets of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had always been the powerful figures in officialdom.
After the benevolent philanthropist Liu nodded, Chen Shengli continued to demand, " "
"However, I, Uncle Liu Er, am not a person who shirks responsibility for my actions."
As the Prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, Governor Jiang Xinlong could be considered eloquent. However, regarding the benevolent philanthropist Liu's defense, Governor Jiang felt a sense of being outmatched.