The eldest princess of Andalus is still undergoing the first trial of her life.
Just now, she suddenly made a playful joke, which suddenly made the serious atmosphere in the hall no longer seem like that.
However, Maester Gunther was helpless. Rhaenys was such a character. He could not control this lively girl, and the person who could scold her had not come back for three months.
The man standing below seemed to have not rounded the corner yet, and scratched his hair in confusion.
Isn’t His Majesty the King the uncle of the eldest princess?
Why would Her Majesty the Princess call him ‘brother’?
He didn't figure out whether he really heard it wrong or for some other reason, but at the moment he didn't forget that he still had business to do.
Then the man brewed up his emotions for a moment, and his emotions surged up in an instant. He sat down on the ground with a plop, and then began to cry incessantly.
It turns out that this man's wife betrayed him, committed adultery with his neighbor, and even took away his savings.
The man was crying hysterically, his nose and tears were smeared on the ground of the castle. Some of the surrounding guards couldn't bear to look directly at him, and Renesse, who was sitting on the throne at the highest point of the hall, also got excited after hearing it.
Layers of goosebumps.
"This...Master Gunther."
"How should the crime of adultery be dealt with?"
Then the girl quickly turned her head and looked at Maester Gunther for help.
Before this, the maester had actually been handling the government affairs in the city-state on behalf of Viserys. Today was Rhaenys's first day on the job, but she never imagined that it could be such a trivial matter.
The maester also felt a little numb. He just wanted to find a small dispute for Rhaenys to practice with, but he didn't expect it to be something like this.
Then the maester coughed lightly and whispered to Rhaenys to start with small things first and not to aim too high.
Then he started to explain to Rhaenys what the crime of adultery was.
"Adultery is not tolerated by the Seven Gods. The wife and sister of Aegon the Conqueror, the young queen Rhaenys..."
At this point, Bachelor Gunther paused slightly, and then explained in detail.
"Your Highness, this respected queen has the same name as you."
Rhaenys nodded to express her understanding. In fact, she had long known that she had the same name as the little queen.
"The little queen Rhaenys once sat on the Iron Throne to rule the country in place of her husband, and established the 'Law of Six Strikes', which stipulated that an adulterous woman was only allowed to be whipped six times at most, and the stick used could not be thicker than a thumb.
.”
"Rhaenys later persuaded her husband Aegon to legislate against the rape of women and crack down on the salt concubine system in the Iron Islands."
Maester Gunther is very knowledgeable and explains everything very comprehensively.
A woman who commits adultery will be whipped six times, and the man who has been cuckolded also retains the right to challenge the other party to a duel, even if he kills the other party, he will not be punished.
This is the default default.
In the religious field, the Faith of the Seven Gods absolutely cannot tolerate the crime of adultery, and may be punished by being paraded through the streets in public.
However, this depends on how the local nobles can flexibly control the judicial power of cases within the territory.
"However, Your Highness... remember not to just listen to what one family says."
After Maester Gunther explained clearly, he told Rhaenys that she should not just listen to this man's side of the story.
Then Maester Gunther asked the man's wife and his adulterous partner to come to the hall together.
And in the following multiple narratives, the whole thing indeed took a series of subtle turns.
It turned out that this man had a habit of drinking and often violently beat and scolded his wife, so the wife was resentful of the man.
In the end, he secretly had an affair with his neighbor, and the neighbor even took away a lot of the man's money, but his wife didn't know about it.
And Rhaenys, who was sitting on the throne, heard that this man had the habit of beating and scolding his wife, and even saw the numerous scars his wife showed in court, and she frowned immediately.
"Master Gunther, I remember that intentional injury should be punished with mutilation."
Rhaenys demanded that a finger be chopped off the man's hand that beat his wife as punishment.
However, Rhaenys's sentencing was blocked by Maester Gunther.
"Stop, Your Highness, please wait a moment."
A wry smile appeared on the bachelor's face, and he quickly admonished the somewhat angry girl.
"Actually, there is a better way to decide this matter."
Later, Maester Gunther sat in his side seat and presided over the trial independently.
Because the city-state was first established, there was no law to rely on, so Andalos just copied some simple laws that were common among noble territories in Westeros.
Finally, the maester spoke up and concluded the case. In the name of the Seven Gods, he suggested to Rhaenys that the plaintiff and his wife be divorced. The man was not charged with intentional injury, and the wife was not charged with adultery. The two were let go.
Already.
The neighbor who stole the man's savings and committed adultery with his wife was sentenced to have one of his hands taken away as punishment.
Although Rhaenys didn't understand why her teacher made such a decision, she still followed his opinion and announced the penalty.
Then Bachelor Gunther waved his hand and asked the guards on both sides to drive away several people present, especially the neighbor who was ordered to chop off one of his hands during the trial. He was a little upset because of the loud crying.
.
When everything in the hall became quiet, Bachelor Gunther turned his head and looked at the brown-haired girl wearing a crown.
"Your Highness, do you understand?"
"See...what?"
And Rhaenys sat on the throne the whole time and watched Master Gunther preside over the entire trial. Except for the final verdict, which she made in the name of Viserys and the Seven Gods, the whole process had nothing to do with her.
The girl blinked her eyes and was a little confused. She didn't know what the bachelor had made her understand. She was actually still a little angry just now, but now she calmed down and thought about it. Both sides seemed to have made mistakes. How should there be a fair trial?
?
"Is Your Highness thinking about justice?"
The gray-robed bachelor looked into the girl's eyes, and then said suddenly.
"Uh-huh?"
Rhaenys was reminded by the maester's voice and came back to consciousness slightly, then looked at Maester Gunther and nodded.
"Master Gunther, shouldn't we enforce the law impartially?"
"There is nothing wrong with enforcing the law impartially."
The maester nodded, agreeing with Rhaenys's point of view.
"But Your Highness, as a noble, you have the judicial power over cases within the territory. You can freely adjust within the framework and strive to achieve a good outcome."
"Because the purpose of the law is not to punish but to persuade..."