NABC Chapter 14 Wang You's Advice
Chapter 14 Wang You's Advice
After gossiping, Madam Feng chatted with Old Madam Wang for a while before leaving Jingxintang.
Only then did Madam Feng remember her daughter. Upon learning that her daughter was in Wang You's courtyard, she came directly and took her away.
Having not seen her daughter for a long time, Mrs. Feng missed her dearly.
In addition, seeing Hualan's knowledgeable and courteous demeanor, and her graceful and poised manner, made me realize that...
Madam Feng also had the idea of raising her daughter to be like Hua Lan.
Just as Madam Feng left with Mu'er, Xiaoman arrived.
"Young master, I have already found out everything," Xiaoman said, bowing.
"Let's talk in the study."
Wang You led Xiaoman to the study, sat down, and said, "Speak."
"Master Li fell ill after the New Year and did not recover for a long time. A few days ago, news suddenly spread that Master Li had fallen into a coma, so the eldest son of Master Li took leave to stay at home to serve Master Li."
They unexpectedly learned that the reason why Master Li was unconscious was because Madam Li was having an affair with a servant in the house, which Master Li caught them in the act.
Master Li was so angry that he vomited blood and fell into a coma. Fearing that the matter would be exposed, Madam Li poisoned Master Li's medicine, killing him.
"Upon learning the truth, Young Master Li killed Madam Li in a fit of rage, and then turned himself in to the authorities," Xiaoman said.
After listening, Wang You pondered for a moment and asked, "What are people outside saying about this?"
"Most people say that the eldest son of the Li family murdered his stepmother, which is an unforgivable crime and he should be beheaded and his head displayed to the public."
Many people who had received favors from the Li family went to the government office to plead for the eldest son of the Li family.
"This matter is currently under debate, and the government has yet to respond or reach a conclusion," Xiaoman said.
"I see."
Wang You nodded and sent Xiaoman away.
This case is somewhat similar to the case of Fang Nian killing his mother in the Western Han Dynasty, which he read in the "Tongdian" compiled by Du You of the Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty, there was a man named Fang Nian whose stepmother had a conflict with her father and killed her husband in a fit of anger.
When Fang Nian arrived, he killed his stepmother to avenge his father.
The authorities treated him as guilty of "high treason" and sentenced him to death.
In ancient times, even death sentences had to be reported to the central court and reviewed by the highest department responsible for criminal law.
Because it was a case of a son killing his mother, the matter became a huge scandal.
Emperor Jing of Han also heard about this matter and felt that such a handling was somewhat inappropriate, but he hesitated.
When the then-Crown Prince Liu Che learned of this, he believed that since his stepmother was not his biological mother, the relationship between mother and son had been severed when his stepmother killed his father.
The act of killing one's mother should not be treated as a heinous crime, but rather as a normal act of homicide.
In the end, Emperor Jing of Han adopted Liu Che's suggestion and only punished him for murder. Considering that it was to avenge his father, which was understandable, he sentenced him to exile.
Although the Song Dynasty did not have relevant laws in this regard, since similar cases existed in previous dynasties, they could be adopted accordingly.
Given how much of a commotion this matter has caused, a conclusion should have been reached long ago to quell the controversy.
Even if there is no legal basis, local officials can make similar judgments, make them public to quell public opinion, and then report them to the Ministry of Justice for approval.
The fact that the government has yet to issue a response indicates that no decision has been made on how to handle the matter.
This is actually quite understandable, as Wang You recalled similar events during the Ming Dynasty in his previous life.
The initial sentence was immediate execution, but when the case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review, the official in charge believed that such a decision was inappropriate.
After multiple discussions among officials of the Ministry of Justice, a verdict similar to that in the Fang Nian murder case was finally reached.
The reason why similar cases existed in previous dynasties but were not directly referenced is that all dynasties attached great importance to filial piety.
If the sentence is too lenient, the public outcry will be too great, but even in a common murder case, there is no problem in sentencing someone to death.
Therefore, sentencing someone to death is the best option. If we were to grant leniency, who knows what the officials above would think?
After all, no dynasty throughout history has had clear laws in this regard.
Emperor Jing of Han lightly sentenced the defendant to a year of imprisonment, and never added a similar law to the Han legal code.
Wang You guessed that if it weren't for Master Li's good deeds, many people would have gone to the yamen to plead for Master Li's eldest son.
The officials in Shouzhou will likely be sentenced to death and the case will be reported to the Ministry of Justice.
…………
After dark that night, when Madam Feng saw that Wang Min had not returned for a long time, she complained, "Why are you so late? You didn't even send someone to tell me."
If he was delayed due to official business or social engagements, Wang Min would usually send his attendants home to inform them.
"Forget it, let's not wait any longer, let's eat first."
When Madam Feng saw that her daughter had eaten a few pastries and was now complaining of hunger, she ordered the maid to bring her food.
Just as the maidservant had set out the food, Wang Min returned, dragging his weary body.
"My lord, why are you so late today?" Madam Feng asked, taking the official hat from Wang Min's hand.
"It's all because of that incident with the Li family."
Wang Min sat down and sighed, "The Provincial Judicial Commissioner had already sentenced Li Jia Dalang to immediate execution, but because many people pleaded for him, they passed this hot potato to me."
The presiding judge handles state affairs, including criminal law.
However, the main responsibility for criminal law still lies with the Provincial Criminal Division.
The prefectural judge had the right to inquire, but did not need to handle it personally.
The officials of the Criminal Investigation Department saw that many people were pleading for Li Jia Dalang, and they were afraid that the public opinion would be too great and affect their reputation.
They simply rescinded the original verdict and asked Wang Min for instructions on how to handle the matter.
"Since the Provincial Judicial Commissioner is making excuses, you may also pass the buck to Prefect Chen."
Madam Feng also learned the whole story. In her opinion, since the Provincial Judicial Commissioner was shirking responsibility, Wang Min could also push this matter to the Prefect of Shouzhou for a headache.
"It's not that simple."
Wang Min smiled wryly and said, "The reason I came back late is because I went to see Prefect Chen."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Chen stated that he was only responsible for supervising the military and political affairs of Yangzhou and had no direct authority to intervene.
The prefectural governor, also known as the supervisor of a prefecture, was officially appointed as the acting prefect of a certain military prefecture.
As the name suggests, it means to supervise a state and have the right to know about the state's military and political affairs.
If anything is found to be unreasonable, it can be reported to the imperial court.
In terms of authority, they indeed did not have the power to directly interfere in the military and political affairs of prefectures and counties.
However, the authority of officials in the Song Dynasty was actually quite chaotic.
Take the Privy Council for example; it is responsible for troop movements and the promotion and appointment of military officers.
However, the position of the Privy Councilor once surpassed that of the prime ministers in the court, making him the head of all officials.
Officials from the Three Departments, Six Ministries, Privy Council, and Three Offices had the right to participate in major military and political affairs of the court; it was not only those whose official duties were related to the matter that could participate.
Although the prefectural governor was in charge of supervising a prefecture, because he was in direct contact with the imperial court and government, his rank was higher than that of the vice-prefect, who was in charge of the prefecture's administration.
Therefore, the prefect was the actual controller of the prefecture.
But the prefect of Shouzhou clearly didn't want to get involved in this trouble and even brought up his authority. What could Wang Min do?
"So, how does Father intend to handle this matter?" Wang You asked from the side.
Wang Min sighed, "The only option for seeking stability is to sentence him to immediate execution, and then submit the case to the Ministry of Justice for review."
"Just as I thought," Wang You thought to himself.
This approach is a panacea; even if the Ministry of Justice deems it inappropriate, they won't bear any responsibility.
After all, even normal revenge killings are carried out with immediate execution, so there's nothing wrong with that.
"I think this is not a proper way to handle it."
Wang You shook his head and said, "Master Li has a good reputation in Shouzhou, and many people have benefited from his kindness."
"If my father reports it this way, regardless of the Ministry of Justice's response, he will face public backlash and it will greatly damage his reputation."
"How could a father not know?"
Wang Min shook his head and said, "But if the sentence is too lenient and the Ministry of Justice doesn't approve, then I'll have to take responsibility."
"Has Father forgotten the Emperor?"
Wang You reminded him, "The late Empress Dowager concealed the fact that Your Majesty's birth mother was someone else. How could Your Majesty not feel resentment? If Your Majesty were to learn of this, he would surely feel sympathy."