On the cusp of this storm, a pebble may be able to stir up a stormy sea.
Wang Anshi has always believed that these wealthy and ruthless big landowners are the worms of the country. Now that he is involved in this case, and Zhang Fei is making trouble below, how can he let go of this opportunity?
He can also use this to accumulate political capital, because the Li Siyi case happens to involve the core content of his reform. He can use this to promote his own ideas and gain support from more people in the DPRK and China.
Therefore, he vigorously criticized usury in the court, and at the same time demanded forgiveness for Li Si and Zeng's crimes, and severely punished Chen Yuteng.
When he made a fuss, things became complicated.
If there were no Wang Anshi, the officials would still be able to "understand" each other. With Chen Yuteng's family background, it would not be so difficult. The reason is simple. Most people have dirty butts, so of course they hope to settle the matter.
This is a kind of political tacit understanding.
However, when Wang Anshi made trouble at the top, the officials below did not dare to act rashly for fear of getting themselves into trouble. At present, Wang Anshi was a popular and important minister in the court, and was highly regarded by Shenzong.
It is said that a dead Taoist friend will not die a poor Taoist.
But currently, Kaifeng Mansion is still bearing all the pressure.
From the emperor's ministers to the landlords and common people, they all stared at Kaifeng Mansion.
The prefect, Lu Gongzhu, was well aware of the stakes involved and did not dare to neglect them. They first sent people to take Chen Yuteng, Zeng and others into custody, and then asked the second-in-command of Kaifeng Prefecture, Judge Li Kai, to go in person to ask for confessions and investigate the case.<
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Logically speaking, it is impossible for the second-in-command of Kaifeng Mansion to ask for a confession in this kind of contract dispute case.
"Prefect Lu."
"What was found?"
When Mr. Lu saw Li Kai coming, he immediately put down the copywriting in his hand and asked Li Kai.
Li Kaidao: "There is something strange."
Mr. Lu hurriedly asked: "How do you say this?"
Li Kaidao: "The witness who read out the contract stated that he only read out the contract and had no knowledge of the discussions between them. The key lies in Zeng's confession. According to Li Si's initial confession, Zeng should have been involved all along, but
When I asked her whether the original agreement between them was to use her to pay off the principal or all the debts, Zeng said that she had no idea that it was all agreed upon by Li Si and Chen Yuteng."
Lu Gongzhu said happily: "You mean, Zeng and Chen Yuteng have had an affair for a long time?"
Li Kai nodded and said: "It is possible, but it is also possible that Mrs. Zeng moved away from her after she married Chen Yuteng. It is still difficult to judge at the moment, and according to the law of concealment of relatives, even if Mrs. Zeng made a false confession, we
There is nothing we can do about her."
Hiding relatives from each other, to put it simply, means protecting relatives. Generally, it cannot be considered a crime, unless it involves two crimes, the first is the crime of treason. The second is the crime of mutual harm similar to domestic violence.
As Chen Yuteng's wife, Zeng can of course refuse to provide any confessions that are detrimental to Chen Yuteng, but you cannot torture her to extract a confession.
Mr. Lu frowned and immediately turned over the table.
Li Kaidao: "No need to search, Xiangfu County has never asked Zeng at all, because usually, the Yamen will only agree to the contract."
Lu Gongzhu thought for a while, "If Zeng and Chen Yuteng had an affair, why didn't Zeng bite Li Si back? She is an important witness, and she is protected by relatives."
Li Kaidao: "I have also considered this, but as Zhang San argued in court, the compensation contract was in line with the rules, but it was unreasonable. According to Li Si's situation at the time, it was impossible for him to use his wife to compensate for the principal.
Gold.
If Mrs. Zeng bites back, Zhang San will definitely not give up, and will definitely demand to go to court. This cannot withstand scrutiny, and Ms. Zeng may not be able to withstand it. On the contrary, it will be detrimental to Mr. Zeng, because currently everyone is still very
If we sympathize with the Zeng family, we may even follow the clues and find out their adultery. Therefore, it is most sensible for her to refuse our interrogation on the basis of ignorance."
Lu Gong wrote: "But this is a clue after all. If their adultery can be found out, the case will be much easier to handle."
If it could be found out, it would be possible to bring the crime to justice while avoiding harm to the innocent Li Si.
Li Kai sighed: "I have already sent people to inquire. After two years, it has been difficult for us to find evidence that can prove that Zeng had an affair with Chen Yuteng beforehand, instead of falling in love with Chen Yuteng after marrying him."
of.
Most people in their village thought that Zeng and Li Si had a good relationship. When Li Si was ill, Zeng had been serving him and never left him, winning the respect and praise of his neighbors. Even Li Si was
I think Li Si's confession is very beneficial to Zeng."
Mr. Lu couldn't help frowning: "Ouch! This is difficult to handle. If we want to accuse Zeng of adultery with Chen Yuteng, then we must first find a way to regard Zeng as Li Si's wife, and then
Only if Li Si files the complaint first can we 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 complain, the government will not accept the case and cannot forcefully intervene.
This law, on the one hand, protects husband’s rights, and on the other hand, it also protects family privacy.
Li Kai nodded and said: "That's right. Not to mention whether we can find a way to annul 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 will definitely
He won't agree, and now he still feels ashamed of the Zeng family and wants to protect the Zeng family."
Lu Gongzhu sighed: "As for the current situation in the DPRK, I'm afraid we won't be given much time to investigate this baseless matter."
Li Kaidao: "If we delay 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 Gongzhu asked: "In your opinion, how should we judge?"
Li Kaidao: "When I was interrogating Chen Yuteng, he proposed a reconciliation method."
Lu Gong wrote: "Reconciliation?"
Li Kaidao: "Chen Yuteng said that it was indeed all his fault. He was too anxious to marry Zeng and miscalculated the date, which led to such a big problem. He was willing to admit his mistake and offered 500 yuan as a reward.
We hope to obtain compensation from Li Si. 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 either. He cannot say that there is a problem with the contract, he can only say that there is a problem with himself.
Lu Gongzhu said in surprise: "Five hundred strings?"
For civilians, this is absolutely a sky-high compensation.
Never happened before.
Li Kai nodded.
Lu Gongzhu thought for a while and said, "What do you think?"
Li Kaidao: "I think this is the best solution. There have been many lawsuits before, and disputes have arisen due to wrong calculations of numbers or dates. Although some of them are intentional, most of them we follow the private contracts of the people and the officials."
They ignored him and did not pursue criminal responsibility. I believe that Chen Yuteng’s attitude and the compensation he proposed are enough to convince the public. Even if he is sentenced to jail, it will only be two years. However, Li Si still has to sit with him.
Two years in prison is unfair!"
Lu Gongzhu nodded slightly. He also agreed with this plan in his heart. He did not want to convict Li Si, and hoped to seek justice for Li Si. He said: "But first we have to convince Wang Jiefu. He is causing trouble in the court."
Stopping is not an option."
Li Kaidao: "We still have to discuss it with Zhang San."
Lu Gongzhu suddenly asked: "Do you think this is what Zhang San wanted to achieve?"
Li Kai said without hesitation: "It must be."
All fools know that sending Li Si to jail will do Zhang Fei a lot of harm but no good at all.
Mr. Lu closed his eyes and sighed: "He won again."
......
Of course, Lu Gongzhu did not go to Wang Anshi himself, because he was the presiding judge, so why should he ask for Wang Anshi's consent? After all, the emperor did not let Wang Anshi participate in the case this time.
But the case had obviously become politicized, and he had to take political factors into consideration. He chose to talk to Sima Guang first. Sima Guang also supported this solution very much, so Sima Guang went to discuss it with Wang Anshi.
Now Sima Guang saw that Wang Anshi also had a headache. After saying this, seeing Wang Anshi being silent, he said earnestly: "Jiefu, this is the best solution. Not only will Li Si be exempted from guilt, but he will also receive a huge sum of money."
Compensation will ensure a worry-free life for the rest of your life.
Secondly, this is enough to deter those big landowners who are unkind for their wealth, and is even better than letting Chen Yuteng go to jail for two years. After all, some people value money more than their lives.
Isn’t this what you want?”
Wang Anshi looked at Sima Guang, and after a while, he suddenly laughed.
Sima Guang said unhappily: "I'm talking about business with you, why are you laughing?"
Wang Anshi laughed and said: "I didn't say no, but you are begging for mercy like this. Others don't know it, and they think I am bullying you. I, Wang Jiefu, am not that Zhang San. How can I have such ability?"
"Bah!"
Sima Guang directly spat Wang Anshi in the face: "Well, Wang Jiefu, you are so ungrateful and abominable. You keep making troubles in the court, making everyone panic and have no intention to deal with government affairs. You still have the nerve to smile. ."
Wang Anshi touched his face with his long sleeves and said proudly: "If I don't make trouble, can Li Si get this compensation? As for you saying that people in the court are panicked, it's because they have something evil in their hearts."
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he pointed out his hand, "Then who is Chen Yuteng? Don't I know clearly? He could obviously become an official by relying on his kindness, but he chose to go home to do business. Within a few years, he became Xiang The richest businessman in Fu County, can he rely on his own ability? Huh, there are many people like this in the government."
Sima Guang sighed, sat down, and said: "You are right, and I agree, but have you ever thought that this is not a phenomenon unique to our dynasty? If you don't want to understand this, then you can solve it Nothing can be done about it."
Wang Anshi said firmly: "I think very clearly. In my opinion, what is lacking is not means, but determination."
......
Kaifeng Mansion.
"This is the result you want, right?"
Li Kai looked at Zhang Fei with a half-smile.
Zhang Fei first bowed his hand and said, "I hope that I can reduce my salary by one hundred strings in exchange for the Zeng family for Li Si."
These words undoubtedly confirmed Li Kai's suspicion, and he said with a smile: "I'm afraid that Mr. Zeng won't want to go back with Li Si."
Zhang Fei frowned and looked at Li Kai doubtfully.
......
Since the trial is still ongoing, to facilitate the interrogation, Chen Yuteng, Li Si, and Zeng have not yet been jailed, but are being imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion.
After all, everyone is an insider, so we don’t look at the monk’s face or the Buddha’s face.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Zhang Fei, and Li Si entrusted me to help him litigate."
"Are you Zhang Fei?" A flash of anger flashed in Zeng's eyes, but she immediately covered her face and cried: "I have no enmity with you, why do you want to harm me? I am innocent."
Zhang Fei said: "Don't cry yet. I know you are innocent. I am not trying to harm you. I am just helping you return to Li Si."
"What did you say?"
When Mrs. Zeng heard this, she stood up after a moment of rubbing.
Zhang Fei said seriously: "Now as long as you nod, you can return to Li Si."
After hearing this, Ms. Zeng looked even more panicked, squeezing her hands tightly with nowhere to rest.
After waiting for a moment, Zhang Fei asked: "You...are you unwilling?"
Zeng was startled, then choked up and said: "I have already married someone else, so how can 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 shame to go back to him. I...I don't even have the shame to live anymore."
After saying this, she suddenly stood up and hit the wall.
Just as she was about to hit the wall, Zeng suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Zhang Fei in surprise. She saw Zhang Fei looking at her with a smile, suddenly waking up with a look of horror on his face.
Zhang Fei's smile faded and he said: "Don't worry, I'm not here to fish for law enforcement, and I don't have the power. I'm just a little curious. You have already got your wish and married into the Chen family. Why do you still want to treat Li Si?" Kill them all. As far as I know, he is not bad to you. This night and a hundred days of kindness will last forever."
Zeng sat down and murmured to herself: "I am innocent, I am innocent..."
