She noticed that the other person's eyes were on her long hair that had fallen on her shoulders inadvertently, and from time to time he would quietly glance at her exposed thighs above the knees, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"Excuse me, I'm really sorry that you came all the way today." Cheng Yongxin raised her eyebrows and smiled, "But I'm really busy here and can't leave."
"I come here often." Ji Xin said, "Why did you invite me here specifically?"
"You are really straight to the point." Cheng Yongxin casually twirled the ends of her hair that were hanging over her shoulders, "I just want to ask: How did you think about the last time I asked you to be Yang Jihong's lawyer?"
"If that's what you're asking, I've decided to accept it - of course, the details will depend on the arrangements of the arbitral tribunal."
"I know that you always respect the leader's decision." Cheng Yongxin said with a slight sarcasm.
Ji Xin was a little uneasy. He knew from the other party's words that the other party must have some kind of intention, but he couldn't figure it out. He decided to avoid talking about her deliberately provocative words.
"The arbitral tribunal's decision follows a procedure. Basically, I will definitely defend Yang Jihong. Are there any other matters?"
Cheng Yongxin took a sip of black tea and seemed to think it was not sweet enough, so she threw another sugar cube in and stirred it.
"Oh, then it's nothing. If you're busy, you can leave."
Facing Ji Xin's surprise, Cheng Yongxin still stirred her tea casually.
She was waiting for him to have an attack, but Ji Xin's face showed no embarrassment, and he stood up immediately. She had rehearsed it many times in her mind. A verbal dispute, and the plan that finally refuted the other party into silence suddenly came to nothing.
.This kind of depressing feeling of having been working hard for a long time only to be empty, is so painful that it makes people vomit blood.
Just do it! Cheng Yongxin had a sentence in her mind. She had to add:
"I mean, if you're completely confident about your not guilty plea, you can leave."
"Not guilty plea?" Ji Xin had already stood up and was about to leave, but was scratched by her words again. Because he had studied the case files and various legal texts for a long time: it was impossible to plead "not guilty" to Yang Jihong.
The defense can only be based on the aspect that the crime "happened for a reason".
"oh?"
"I know that you are a legal professional and you must have your own complete defense ideas for this case. However, please listen to my layman's ideas, okay?"
"I'm all ears." Ji Xin nodded.
"Regarding this case, we have overlooked a very critical situation. That is the identity of the deceased and the suspect. Both of them are life secretaries - or 'maids' as you like to call them. When these girls came to Lingao
They signed an indenture. Not only could they not be freed upon expiration of their service like ordinary indentured slaves, but they also vetoed any possibility of redemption - only their masters have the right to give them freedom. Am I right?
?”
"That's right."
"Then they are actually slaves in the true sense."
"Yes."
"I remember that the laws promulgated by the Senate, whether they have been officially implemented or drafted for discussion, do not have provisions on slavery. So in fact, this system currently follows the provisions of the Ming Law."
"It can be understood this way. In fact, this kind of judicial practice is problematic. It is a disguised 'dual-track system' within a specific period of time. It has many contradictions. It is very awkward in practice."
"What you said is absolutely correct. But I don't want to discuss it now. One thing I have never been clear about is who got the slaves, the Senate or the individual senators?"
"Before a senator purchased it, it belonged to the Senate. After the senator purchased it, all rights were transferred to the individual senator. You also have a life secretary, and you should see the transfer deed in her portfolio."
"I'm not interested in studying how to oppress others." Cheng Yongxin picked up a piece of snack and looked at it elegantly before putting it in his mouth.
"So, here comes the question. In fact, Lin Xiaoya and Yang Jihong are both slaves under the "Da Ming Law" system. The trial is also based on the "Da Ming Law". Can killing a slave be treated as homicide? If so, Sanya's
Several senators were afraid that hanging all the telegraph poles from Sanya to Lingao would not be enough. So, this case was wrongly positioned from the beginning. This was a property infringement case: Mr. Yang’s private property, Yang Jihong’s, infringed upon the public property of the Senate.
Property Lin Xiaoya. The person who needs to bear legal responsibility is Yang Xinwu, the owner of Yang Jihong, who has nothing to do with Yang Jihong himself - she is just an object. In other words, a horse or a dog."
Ji Xin's face showed an expression of disbelief. Cheng Yongxin was secretly proud and continued:
"Yang Yuan's liability for destroying the senate's property includes the deceased's net worth and the training expenses in the past few years. As for the maid, since she has no personal rights - she is not a human being at all - she naturally has no right to bear the responsibility. It should be left to the master.
Strict supervision and punishment: It is up to Mr. Yang whether he spanks Yang Jihong or punishes her to stand in a corner."
"You mean, if Yang Jihong kills Lin Xiaoya, Yang Xinwu will pay the Senate a horse?"
"exactly."
"This is not appropriate."
"Isn't this the system established by the great Senate?" Cheng Yongxin smiled lazily, "Of course, if we do this, it will be difficult for everyone at the arbitral tribunal and the national police to explain, and they will definitely jump up. Our Du
The queen also has to start a massive fight, so I have a second plan. Although it cannot make Yang Jihong innocent, it can at least save her from spending a few years in jail."
"Please tell me about it."
"If Elder Yang proposed to the Senate during the court interrogation: three months ago, he planned to let Yang Jihong deregister and prepare to officially marry his wife. It was just because the education department had a lot of tasks recently, so all the procedures were
It has been postponed. But according to the principle of de facto marriage, Yang Jihong should be regarded as his wife - even if the arbitration tribunal does not recognize it, there is no doubt that Yang Jihong is a free citizen. As for the unfounded claims, you can ask other elders to testify - this is a smooth favor.
I believe there are many veterans who are willing to do it.
Ji Xin's brows furrowed and he took a sip of tea silently.
"So the case changed again: it became a case of a naturalized citizen killing a slave of the Senate. In this way, the previous work of the police and the court was not in vain - the case was still a homicide. But the outcome of the trial was different: according to
According to the Ming Dynasty law, if a person of high status kills a person of low status, his sentence will be reduced. A slave threatens a commoner, and the civilian accidentally kills the slave when he fights back. It is considered murder but the liability is halved. In this case, the maximum sentence is seven years, then
The sentence should be reduced by half to three and a half years, and because the suspect is pregnant, he can be given a suspended sentence of two to three years. If he is lucky, he will be released after half a year in prison."
After saying all this in one breath, Cheng Yongxin remained calm and calm, and elegantly picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
Ji Xin kept listening attentively when she was speaking and did not interrupt. Only then did he speak:
"I have a question."
"Please tell me."
"Have you seen "The Law of the Ming Dynasty"?"
Cheng Yongxin's hand trembled slightly: "I don't think there are many people in the entire Senate who can question my ancient prose skills."
Ji Xin said calmly: "I think you must have never read the "Da Ming Code", nor read books such as "Da Gao" or "Explanation of the Code of the Ming Dynasty", or even master's level books about the Ming Dynasty.
I haven’t read any law papers.”
Cheng Yongxin's face turned pale, and when he picked up the cup, he tilted it suddenly and immediately burned his tongue, almost losing his grip on the cup.
Ji Xin continued: "The idea you proposed is indeed interesting. But it is not feasible from a legal perspective. According to your idea of 'slaves fighting each other' or 'beloved men killing slaves', the Ming Law stipulates this:
"Anyone who kills someone in a fight, regardless of his limbs, has something else, a golden blade, and hangs it. Therefore, he who kills is beheaded.
"Killing in a brawl, whether with hands, feet, swords or other instruments, shall be punished by hanging. Those who commit murder intentionally shall be punished by beheading.
“Any slave who beats his beloved is as good as a mortal.
"The 'mortals' here refer to civilians who have nothing to do with each other.
"If a good man beats and injures another's slave, he will be reduced to the same level as a mortal; if he dies, and if he kills him for some reason, he will be hanged. If a slave beats and injures himself, and kills him, he will be killed according to the ordinary fighting method. Those who invade property, do not use this method.
law.
"When a slave fights with a slave, they are both bitches, so whether they are beaten, injured, killed with a blade, or killed depends on the fighting theory.
"In other words: fights and murders between slaves and slaves have nothing to do with the property owner. It is the slave himself who bears legal responsibility.
"If a good man and a slave trespass on each other's property, such as stealing, robbing, defrauding, denying, deceiving, abducting, intimidating, extorting, etc., resulting in killing or injury, there is no need to apply this law of addition and subtraction. It is said that a slave is infringed upon by a good man.
Those who assault and injure one's own property will not be given a higher grade, but will be hanged even if they are dead; those whose loved ones retaliate for invading slaves and maidservants' property will not be reduced in grade, so those who kill will also be beheaded.
"The punishment for a good citizen to injure a slave is one level lighter than the punishment for a good man to injure a good citizen. It is only one level lighter, not half as you said. One hundred rods reduced by one level is ninety rods, and beheading is reduced by one level.
Hanging, that's all. If a good citizen beats a slave to death or deliberately kills a slave, the punishment will not be reduced, and the punishment will be hanging and beheading respectively.
"The laws of the Ming Dynasty only stipulate that the master and his close relatives do not have to pay with their lives if they kill their slaves, but good people still have to pay with their lives if they kill other people's slaves.
"The Ming Dynasty Law even stipulates that if the cause of the fight is that a good citizen harmed a slave first, the law of addition and subtraction does not apply, which means it is regarded as a fight between good people."
Ji Xin endorsed and explained clearly the legal responsibilities of husband and slave in such cases. Cheng Yongxin still held the cup in his hand and could not say a word. (To be continued...