After letting Mrs. Ruan go home, Li You thought, there were probably two possibilities behind this. One was that her son had really done something treacherous, and the other was that Mrs. Ruan was having an affair with someone else and wanted to get rid of the troublemaker.
son.
Immediately, Li Tuiguan pointed to a handyman in the hall and said, "Follow the plaintiff quickly and see who she talks to on the way out of the Yamen."
Then Li You dismissed the office, got up and went to Zhao's house to visit Zhao Liangyi to express his gratitude. He was now qualified to visit Zhao Liangyi on his own initiative. He also asked Mr. Zhao Er to inscribe a couplet and prepare to hang it in the promotion hall.
On the second day, the petty officials in the government office knew that Li You was hearing the case today, so they swarmed in. This was not because everyone was bored with official duties in the first month. The main reason was that Li Tuiguan had just taken office, and they were very interested in this master.
The style of the trial is not very clear, so we all came to watch the trial today.
In the jargon, it is called "Guan Feng", which is a compulsory course for a junior official. Only by understanding the nature of the official, the subordinate can prescribe the right medicine to fish in troubled waters, do what he likes and avoid his taboos, and can he deceive the superiors and bully the subordinates. What's more,
For a criminal officer like Li You, it is even more important to find out his character clearly. He can make people commit crimes with a single thought, and it is easy to find opportunities to make money by turning things around.
I hope the new promotion officer is a novice. This is the common wish of all the subordinates in the office.
Li You entered the court and sat down. When he saw many people watching, he smiled slightly and did not disperse the crowd. As an official who was a government official, Li Tuiguan understood this very well, and he also needed to appear in front of others.
The plaintiff, Mrs. Ruan, went to court, and her son Yang Jian, a scholar, was also brought from the county school, and several classmates followed him. This scholar was indeed a wasp. In addition, Yang Jian's uncles and cousins also came to testify.
When the case was tried, Li You first took Ruan aside and took a closer look at Yang Xiucai, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old. He slapped the case and shouted: "As a scholar, how can you not understand and be unfilial?"
Yang Xiucai's status meant that he didn't need to kowtow and kneel down. He only raised his hands and said, "Students read the books of sages, but they don't know the truth. Now that I have been accused of disobedience, I have offended my mother. If a mother wants her son to die, she dare not disobey him. Even if he dies, he will have no regrets."
Li You was surprised. This Yang scholar didn't defend himself. He was probably retreating in order to advance. If he really wanted to beat him to death, the classmates next to him would definitely not ignore it.
This trick may be useful to others, but sir, I always speculate on others with the greatest malice, Li You thought. Then he asked: "Do you know who instigated your mother?"
Yang Xiucai shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Several classmates nearby came forward to testify: "Classmate Yang is of good character and has no bad habits. It is impossible to offend his mother."
Yang Jian's uncle also said: "I have never heard of my nephew being unfilial."
Everyone was talking about it, and they all said that Yang Xiucai didn't look like a rebellious person. He didn't say a word against his mother until his death, and he was not unfilial in any way. It's a pity that for some reason, his mother found him guilty.
It's hard to escape.
Of course, Li You could tell that there was something going on, and said to Ruan: "Your son has committed a serious crime of rebellion, and I can kill him with my own hands. However, you have to pay for the coffin yourself. You go out and buy the coffin now."
Mrs. Ruan thanked her and left the office. Li You called the two officials on duty and said, "Follow her out. Anyone who talks to her will be taken back."
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, two government officials escorted back a middle-aged Taoist priest and a defeated Ruan family.
Which of the subordinate officials in the government office is not smart? Seeing this, one can conclude that the Taoist priest and the Ruan family must be having an affair. It just depends on how the master examines it. At the same time, they all know that this new official is not confused, and he can have such a thing.
Waiting for ideas.
Li You asked: "Who is the Taoist priest in this hall?"
The Taoist priest replied: "To tell you what I'm saying, I am a poor Taoist named Li Yi Chang, who is a member of the Xuan Zhen Guan Zhi Guan. I am an acquaintance of the Ruan family. I learned of the lawsuit today and came here to help."
Li You scolded: "It's full of nonsense! When a woman goes to court, she has her husband's family and her natal family to help. How can you, a Taoist priest, dare to be so rude and help you? It was you yesterday, and you are still the same today. You really have a purpose."
Are you blind? Hit me left and right!"
But Li Yi Chang and Li Zhiguan laughed miserably and shouted: "I can't hide it from the master. I've been tricked by poor people. Mrs. Ruan and I have known each other since childhood. Up to now, she has not had a husband and I have not had a wife. We are in love."
Xiangyue, but Yang Jian is getting older and has repeatedly obstructed me, making it impossible for the two of us to become a long-term couple. The poor man instigated Mrs. Ruan to report disobedience. She is a woman who is not very knowledgeable, and it was all the poor man who tried his best to instigate her. It is her fault.
I'm the only one left, and I just beg you to spare Mrs. Ruan."
At this time, Mrs. Ruan also kowtowed repeatedly on the ground and said: "I am all obsessed with ghosts and have nothing to do with Taoist Li! Back then, my parents were greedy for money and promised me to the Yang family, so Taoist Li became a monk sadly. Now that her ex-husband has passed away,
It took me ten years to raise my son, and I wanted to remarry. Unexpectedly, the treacherous son did not care about his kindness and forced me to keep his integrity. I had no choice but to sue the treacherous son, hoping to escape. It had nothing to do with Mr. Li.
!”
Looking in the eyes of everyone, I just feel that this orphaned man and widowed woman are really affectionate and righteous, but fate has made it impossible for them to get married, and seeing them vying to take the blame on themselves, their feelings are pitiable and worthy of sighing. These days,
Although widows can get honors after observing the festival and achieving good results, they can be regarded as shining on the family lintel, and there are other rewards. But for ten or twenty years, no one knows whether it is cold or hot, and the feeling of being alone, sleepless, and cautious and suppressed everywhere is not so good, so the world situation
It doesn't matter if you don't want to keep it, you can remarry after the mourning period.
And it's no wonder that Yang Xiucai kept silent. He probably didn't want to expose his mother's adultery scandal, nor did he want to tell the story of how he forced his mother. After all, it was not a glorious thing.
Now that the case has come to light, I don’t know how Officer Li sentenced the couple. It was probably eighty-year fine for adultery. The mother thought that the son had no choice but to do so due to desperation, but regardless, this was a more reasonable sentence.
However, Li Tuiguan sneered a few times and suddenly slapped the case, "Pull the thief Taoist left and right, and I will beat him hard!"
Li Zhiguan shouted: "The poor Taoists have been recruited, what do you mean by this?"
"When I decide a matter, I first judge the person's heart and then observe their actions. The heart comes before the action. You are a traitor, and you dare to cover it up!" Li You said: "Although our dynasty advocates observing chastity, we do not prohibit women from remarrying. If so,
If your husband's family obstructs it, you can sue the official and approve it. This happens all the time. Why did Mr. Ruan kill his own son just to be a long-term couple? Do you dare to tell me the reason behind it?"
Li Zhiguan groaned and could not speak.
Li You turned to Ruan again and said: "You have stayed behind closed doors for ten years, but you are still able to provide for your son to study and live leisurely. It seems that your late husband left you a lot of wealth. If there is a son alive, he will naturally inherit the family wealth.
"If you don't have children, I'm afraid all the family wealth will belong to you and the adulterer, yes or no!"
Li Zhiguan and Ruan never dreamed that the official would be able to reveal their inner thoughts out of thin air, and they were dumbfounded.
Looking at the expressions of the man and woman, everyone knew that Mr. Li's speculation was very close. If there was such a plot, it would not be worthy of a light sentence. Everyone sighed in their hearts, Mr. Li was young but his eyes were like this.
Electricity can easily see through the inside story, but some are more serious and troublesome, and can go too far in severity.
The clerk next to him wrote the confession, and Li You said to Li Zhiguan: "The thief intends to defraud other people's money, and he dares to fool the government. Do you plead guilty? Or will you take the blame until you die?"
Li Yichang had no choice but to draw a bond. Li You immediately made a judgment: "It is the first crime for a monk to have an affair with a good family; it is the second crime to instigate others to violate family relations and frame mother and son against each other; it is the second crime to covet other people's money with the intention of murder and embezzlement.
3. Several crimes shall be punished together, and the offender shall be forced to return to the secular world with an eighty-year-old staff, a yoke for ten days, and a three-thousand-mile exile.”
In the hall, a Yamen servant took Li Zhiguan aside to be executed. It was not known whether he would survive the eighty strokes.
Before Ruan was sentenced, Yang Xiucai stood up and implored: "There is a rule in the law that no prosecution will be held without prosecution. Although the mother has falsely accused the student, the student does not want to counter-sue. Please ask the magistrate to let the mother go so that the student can be vindicated."
Be filial."
Good scholar, do you want to be a filial son? Li You seemed to be smiling but not smiling. He muttered for a while and scolded: "Yang Xiansheng! Although there is a saying that after the husband dies, the son will be followed, but when a widow remarries, she obeys the parents-in-law according to the law. According to the custom, the first marriage obeys the parents, and the second marriage obeys the parents.
The words of the body. As a son of a human being, you just have to obey your orders. How dare you try every means to prevent your mother from remarrying, and how dare you say you are filial to your mother despite repeatedly violating her orders! Do you know your guilt?"
Yang Xiucai argued: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. The imperial court shows integrity, and students advise their mothers to observe integrity. What's wrong with that?"
Li You chuckled and said: "You already know about the affair between your mother and Li Zhiguan, and you have already ruined your reputation. So how can you talk about keeping the integrity? Why do you force your mother to keep it? You want to hide it from others and deceive the government to deceive you.
Facade? I hate people like you who deceive the world and steal reputation the most!"
Yang Xiucai was speechless for a moment.
Li You Dayi Lingran made a judgment: "The world is declining, and the mood is worrying. The son regards the mother as a commodity, and the mother regards the son as an enemy. She is in trouble in the court and corrupts people's hearts. How can we just feel sad and not teach? We should use laws and regulations to guide them."
, How can you promote good without punishing evil? The scholar Yang Jian regards his mother as a rare thing to live in, has a wolf-like heart, and talks falsely about filial piety. In order to preserve the laws of nature, he should repay the academic officials and take away his fame!"
In the name of filial piety, Yang Xiucai's classmates did not dare to come forward and say anything.
Yang Xiucai's uncle stepped forward and defended him: "My nephew has no evil deeds."
Li You said coldly: "I will judge the case first based on the heart and then the actions. If the mind is not correct, the sentence will be harsh. Besides, how can a mere fifteen or sixteen boy force his mother on his own? I'm afraid you and other husband's family members are working together behind the scenes."
Come on. It's just that a weak woman complaining about her husband's family's inconvenience doesn't show off your wait."
"That's wrong..." Uncle Yang Xiucai said quickly.
Here's the sentence again... Li You shouted: "Shut up! How dare you deceive me to bully my young official? If a widow gets a royal title, her family will be exempted from military service. If she doesn't want to observe the law, it must be forced by your husband's family for her own selfish purposes."
, how dare you shamelessly come forward to protect each other, the real yamen is like your backyard? I will fine you twenty silver and put it in the treasury!"
Immediately some of the onlookers felt that Officer Li was very sharp-tongued, and he always had some sense in punishing whomever he caught. Moreover, he had tasted it, and many of his words were spoken to the spectators.
Li You continued his judgment: "The widow Ruan had an affair with others, and for her own personal affair, she falsely accused her son of taking her life. After she divorced her ex-husband, she invaded her husband's family property. Her heart is worthy of death. Considering that the woman is weak and will not be punished,
Send it to the officials without a stick!"
Yang Xiucai couldn't bear it anymore. He could bear the sentence and asked the academic officer to take away his honors. He turned around and communicated with the academic officer and escaped. But if his mother was really going to be sold into a slave, where would he put his face? He quickly
He came forward to plead for mercy again.
Li You praised: "You are really a filial son! I should be considerate of you." Then he changed it to "eighty sticks".
Then he looked at Yang Xiucai and asked, "What do you think, the filial son?"
Yang Xiucai did not dare to be a dutiful son and said: "My mother is weak and I am willing to sacrifice my life for my son."
"Okay!" Li You said: "As a scholar, Xiucai Xianggong will not be punished. But now that I am willing to be punished for my surrogate mother, I have to express my gratitude, so...the execution will be carried out!"
Are you really fighting? Yang Xiucai was stunned.
Li Yichang and Yang Xiucai were in good health. They were beaten eighty times and still survived. They were carried out of the yamen, and one of them continued to be shackled and the other was thrown to his family.
After watching, the official of the government sighed and said: "This official is smart and cruel, with insight into human nature. He can beat the plaintiff and the defendant half to death when he concludes the case. He fined the witness twenty taels of silver. I don't know whether a scholar can keep his reputation."
It will be difficult for us in the future."
It was recorded by people at that time that Li Tuiguan judged cases like a mirror and a candle, and all the shadows were visible. There was no escape. He often said the four words "presumption of guilt", I don't know what he meant. He also hated evil as much as his enemies, his eyes could not bear to see sand, and he liked to use torture to re-examine laws and regulations.
He was serious, feared by the evildoers in the government, and did not dare to enter the court lightly. Some people also said that Li Tuiguan could not help but be stubborn and self-proclaimed.
In fact, Li You is an excellent actor. As a criminal judge, it is not easy to excel if you are not strict and resolute. Looking at all the outstanding officials, who is not a generalist?