Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 38: He won again

On the cusp of this storm, a small stone may also be able to stir up a stormy sea.

Wang Anshi has always believed that these rich and unkind landlords are the moths of the country. Now that he is involved in this case, and Zhang Fei is making trouble below, how can he let this opportunity pass.

He can also use this to accumulate political capital, because the Li Si case happened to involve the core content of his reform, and he can use this to publicize his ideas, so as to gain more support from the DPRK and China.

Therefore, he criticized usuriously in the court, and at the same time asked for the forgiveness of Li Si and Zeng's crimes, and severely punished Chen Yuteng.

When he made a fuss, things became complicated.

If there is no Wang Anshi, the officials can still "understand" each other. With Chen Yuteng's family background, it will not be so troublesome. The reason is very simple. Most people's buttocks are not clean.

This is a political tacit understanding.

But when Wang Anshi made trouble at the top, the officials below did not dare to act rashly for fear of getting burned. At present, Wang Anshi is a popular and important minister in the court, and he is highly regarded by Shenzong.

It is said that a dead fellow Taoist will never die a poor Taoist.

But Kaifeng Mansion is still under all the pressure.

From the emperor's important ministers to the landlords and common people, all stared at Kaifeng Mansion.

The magistrate Lu Gong knew very well the stakes involved, so he didn't dare to be negligent. They first sent people to arrest Chen Yuteng, Zeng Shi and others, and then asked Li Kai, the second-in-command of Kaifeng Prefecture, to ask for a statement in person and investigate the matter. case.

It stands to reason that in this kind of contract dispute case, it is impossible for the second in command of the Kaifeng Mansion to ask for a statement.

"Prefect Lu."

"What did you find?"

When Lu Gong saw Li Kai coming, he immediately put down the copy in his hand and asked Li Kai.

Li Kaidao: "One thing is very strange."

Lu Gong hurriedly asked: "How do you say this?"

Li Kaidao: "The witness who read the contract said that he only read the contract and was unaware of the discussions between them. The key lies in Zeng's statement. According to Li Si's initial statement, Zeng should have been involved Among them, when I asked her whether the original agreement between them was to use her to pay off the principal or pay off all the debts, Zeng said that she had no knowledge of it, and it was all agreed between Li Si and Chen Yuteng.”

Lu Gong said happily: "You mean, Mrs. Zeng and Chen Yuteng have had an affair for a long time?"

Li Kai nodded and said: "It's possible, but it's also possible that Mrs. Zeng empathized with Chen Yuteng after she married Chen Yuteng. Confession, we have nothing to do with her."

Secretism between relatives, in simple terms, is to cover up relatives, and generally cannot be considered a crime, unless it involves two crimes, first, the crime of treason. Second, the crime of mutual injury similar to domestic violence.

Then Zeng is Chen Yuteng's wife, of course she can refuse to provide any confession against Chen Yuteng, and you can't torture her to extract a confession.

Mr. Lu frowned, and immediately turned over on the table.

Li Kaidao: "You don't need to look for it, Xiangfu County has never asked Zeng's at all, because usually, the Yamen will only agree to the contract."

Lu Gong thought for a while, "If Mrs. Zeng had an affair with Chen Yuteng, why didn't Mrs. Zeng bite Li Si back? She is an important witness and she is protected by relatives."

Li Kaidao: "I have also considered this point, but just like Zhang San's argument in the classroom, although the compensation contract is in line with the rules, it is unreasonable. According to Li Si's situation at the time, it is impossible for him to just use The wife pays off the principal.

If Mrs. Zeng bites back, Zhang San will definitely not give up. He will definitely demand to go to court with him. But she still sympathizes with Mrs. Zeng very much, and we may even find out their adultery, so it is wisest for her to refuse our cross-examination because she doesn't know. "

Lu Gong wrote: "But this is a clue after all. If their adultery can be found out, then the case will be much easier to handle."

If it can be found out, it is possible to bring the crime to justice while avoiding harming the innocent Li Si.

Li Kai sighed: "I have already sent someone to inquire. After two years, it is difficult for us to find evidence that can prove that Mrs. Zeng had an affair with Chen Yuteng beforehand, instead of moving after marrying Chen Yuteng." Not in love.

And most people in their village think that Mrs. Zeng and Li Si have a good relationship. When Mrs. Li was sick, Mrs. Zeng always served by her side and never left her. She won the respect and praise of her neighbors. Li Si thinks so, and Li Si's confession is very beneficial to Zeng. "

Lu Gong couldn't help frowning: "Oh! This is difficult. If we want to sue Zeng and Chen Yuteng for adultery, then we must first find a way to regard Zeng as Li Si's wife. , and then Li Sixian will file a complaint before we can accept it."

According to Song Xingtong, if a wife commits adultery with another person, her husband must file a complaint. If the husband does not sue, the government will not accept it, nor can it forcibly intervene.

This regulation, on the one hand, is to protect the rights of the husband, and on the other hand, it is also to protect the privacy of the family.

Li Kai nodded and said: "Exactly. Not to mention whether we can find a way to abolish the relationship between Zeng and Chen Yuteng, if we can't find conclusive evidence that Zeng and Chen Yuteng had an affair in advance, Li Si Ye would definitely not agree, and now he still feels ashamed of Zeng Shi and wants to protect Zeng Shi."

Lu Gong sighed: "The current situation in the court may not give us too much time to investigate this unfounded matter."

Li Kaidao: "If we procrastinate and refuse to close the case, some people will definitely think that we are covering up Chen Yuteng, after all Chen Yuteng is Wang Sinong's nephew."

Lu Gong wrote and asked: "In your opinion, how should the sentence be judged?"

Li Kaidao: "When I was interrogating Chen Yuteng, he proposed a reconciliation method."

Lu Gong wrote: "Reconciliation?"

Li Kaidao: "Chen Yuteng said that all of this is indeed his fault. He was too anxious to marry Zeng and miscalculated the date, so that such a big problem occurred. He is willing to admit his mistake and take out five As compensation, Baiguan hopes to get Li Si's understanding. According to the confession in this case, if Li Si does not sue, all three of them will be innocent."

Chen Yuteng is not stupid, he cannot say that there is a problem with the contract, he can only say that there is a problem with himself.

Lu Gong wrote in surprise: "Five hundred guan?"

For civilians, this is absolutely sky-high compensation.

Never happened before.

Li Kai nodded.

Lu Gong pondered for a while and said, "What do you think?"

Li Kaidao: "I think this is the best solution. There have been many lawsuits before because of miscalculation of numbers or dates, which caused disputes. Although some of them were intentional, most of them we followed the people's private interests. The deed, the official will ignore it, and will not pursue his criminal responsibility. I believe Chen Yuteng's attitude and the compensation he proposed are enough to convince the public. Even if he is sentenced to prison, it will only be two years. However, Li Si still has to accompany It's not fair to put him in jail for two years!"

Lu Gongzhu nodded slightly, he also agreed with this plan in his heart, he didn't want to convict Li Si in his heart, and hoped to get justice for Li Si, said: "But first we have to convince Wang Jiefu, he is in the middle of the court. It's not a solution to keep making trouble."

Li Kaidao: "I still have to discuss it with Zhang San."

Lu Gong suddenly asked: "Do you think this is the result that Zhang San wanted?"

Li Kai said without hesitation: "It must be."

All fools know that if Li Si is really sent to jail, it will be harmful to Zhang Fei but not beneficial.

Lu Gong closed his eyes and sighed: "He won again."

Of course Duke Lu did not go to Wang Anshi himself, because he was the presiding judge, so why should he ask Wang Anshi's consent? After all, the emperor did not let Wang Anshi participate in the case this time.

But the case was obviously politicized, and he had to consider political factors. He chose to talk to Sima Guang first, and Sima Guang was also very supportive of this solution, so Sima Guang went to discuss with Wang Anshi again.

Now Sima Guang saw that Wang Anshi also had a headache. After he finished speaking, seeing Wang Anshi was silent, he said earnestly: "Jiefu, this is the best solution. First, Li Si will not only be exonerated, but at the same time He also received a huge amount of compensation, and he will live a worry-free life for the rest of his life.

Secondly, this is enough to deter those rich and unkind landlords, even better than sending Chen Yuteng to two years in jail, after all, some people value money more than life.

Isn't this what you want? "

Wang Anshi looked at Sima Guang, and after a while, he suddenly burst out laughing.

Sima Guang said angrily, "I'm talking about business with you, why are you laughing?"

Wang Anshi laughed and said: "I didn't say no. You are begging for mercy like this. Others don't know, and they think I am bullying you. I, Wang Jiefu, am not that Zhang San. How can I have this ability."

"Bah!"

Sima Guang spit out Wang Anshi's face directly: "Well, you Wang Jiefu, you are really ungrateful and extremely hateful. You keep making troubles in the court, which makes everyone panic, and they don't have the heart to deal with government affairs. Thanks to you Have a smile."

Wang Anshi touched his face with his sleeves, and said triumphantly: "If I don't make trouble, can Li Si get this compensation? As for you saying that people in the court are panic, it is because they have ghosts in their hearts."

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and he pointed his hand outward, "Who is Chen Yuteng, don't I know? He can be an official by virtue of his kindness, but he chose to go home and do business. In less than a few years, To become the richest businessman in Xiangfu County, does he rely on his own ability? Hmph, such people are everywhere in the court."

Sima Guang sighed, sat down, and said: "You are right, and I agree, but have you ever thought that this phenomenon is not unique to our dynasty? If you don't want to understand this, then You can't solve this."

Wang Anshi said resolutely: "I think very clearly. In my opinion, what is lacking is not means, but determination."

Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Is this the result you want?"

Li Kai looked at Zhang Fei with a half-smile.

Zhang Fei bowed his hands first, and then said: "Xiaomin hopes to reduce one hundred guan, and exchange Li Si back to the Zeng family."

This statement undoubtedly confirmed Li Kai's conjecture, and he said with a smile: "I'm afraid Mrs. Zeng won't want to go back with Li Si again."

Zhang Fei frowned and looked at Li Kai suspiciously.

Chen Yuteng, Li Si, and Zeng have not been imprisoned for the convenience of interrogation because they are still under trial.

In the end, everyone is an insider, so we don't look at the face of the monk or the face of the Buddha.

"Are you?"

"My name is Zhang Fei, and I was entrusted by Li Si to help him with the lawsuit."

"You are Zhang Fei?" A flash of anger flashed in Zeng's eyes, but immediately she covered her face and cried, "I have no grievances with you, why did you kill me? I am innocent."

Zhang Fei said: "Don't cry, I know you are innocent, and I am not trying to harm you, I am just helping you get back to Li Si."

"What did you say?"

After hearing the words, Mrs. Zeng stood up after a moment of rubbing.

Zhang Fei said seriously: "Now as long as you nod your head, you can return to Li Si's side."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zeng became even more flustered, her hands clenched tightly with no place to rest.

After waiting for a while, Zhang Fei asked, "Don't you want to?"

Zeng was startled, then choked up and said: "I have already married someone else, so what face will I have when I return to him."

Zhang Fei said: "But Li Si doesn't mind."

"But I mind." Zeng shook her head with tears in her eyes and said, "I really don't have the face to go back to him, I don't even have the face to live anymore."

After saying that, she suddenly stood up and slammed into the wall.

Seeing that she was about to hit the wall, Mrs. Zeng stopped suddenly, and turned her head to look at Zhang Fei in amazement.

Zhang Fei smiled, and said: "Don't worry, I'm not here to fish and enforce the law, and I don't have the power. I'm just a little curious. You have already fulfilled your wish and married into the Chen family. Why do you still want to marry the Chen family?" Kill Li Si, as far as I know, he is not bad to you, this night, the husband and wife have been kind for a hundred days."

Zeng sat down and muttered to himself: "I am innocent, I am innocent."

"Excuse me."

Zhang Fei nodded slightly, and then went out.