Wang Wu and two other detectives escorted Wei Bin all the way to the Shendu Yamen under the watchful eyes of the people of Shendu.
Li Mu searched both the front and back offices, but still could not find Zhang Chun.
He asked Deputy Sun, the chief arrester: "Where is Mr. Zhang?"
Deputy Sun arrested the head and said: "It seems that something happened and I went out."
The Shendu Ling was not here, and Li Mu had no power to try the case. He didn't know when Zhang Chun would come back. Li Mu thought for a while and said to Wang Wu and others: "Go to the Criminal Department."
All criminal cases in the thirty-sixth county of China, including Shendu, are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Punishment even has the power to intervene in local trials.
This case was already a bit hot-button, so it was a good idea to hand it over to the Criminal Department.
Regardless of whether they are official servants or not, and whether they are ordinary people of the Zhou Dynasty or not, as long as they live in the territory of the Zhou Dynasty and see someone doing illegal things, they have the power to turn them over to the government, including the Shendu Yamen and the Ministry of Punishment.
If the Ministry of Punishment does not accept it, Li Mu, as the censor, will have something to do the next time he goes to court.
Ministry of Punishment.
Not long after the doctor from the Criminal Department had rested, a police officer knocked on the door and walked in. He said with a grimace: "Sir, Li Mu is here again!"
The head of the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment made a "buzzing" sound at that time.
He grabbed his hair and said worriedly: "Didn't I tell him already? Why is he here again? There is no such thing as bullying..."
The policeman said: "He arrested a student from the academy."
The doctor from the Criminal Department felt that his head was a little bigger, and he was about to escape through the back door, when Li Mu's figure appeared in his sight.
There was a look of sorrow and anger on his face, and he said: "Master Li, didn't we agree that we should arrest the person and take him to your Shendu Yamen?"
Li Mu looked at him, sighed, and said, "Master Yang is confused. Because of our past friendship, I gave you this opportunity. If you don't want it yourself, you can't blame me."
The two of them had a bullshit friendship in the past. Mr. Xingbu cursed secretly, but still asked: "Master Li, how do you say this?"
Li Mudao: "According to the victim of this case, as soon as the case occurred, he came to your Ministry of Punishment to complain, but your Ministry of Punishment not only refused to accept it, but dismissed him with the excuse of insufficient evidence, and later threatened their family, saying
If they complain again, they will die without their bodies intact..."
The doctor from the Punishment Department said quickly: "The threat was definitely not done by the Punishment Department. The Punishment Department never does this kind of thing..."
"Who believes it?" Li Mu looked at him with extremely pitiful eyes and said, "This case has attracted widespread attention from the people. People will only think that your Ministry of Punishment did all this. This matter is causing trouble.
In the end, it gets bigger and bigger, and the consequences become more and more serious. Do you think you can escape, Mr. Yang?"
"When the time comes, do you think the person pushed out by the Ministry of Punishment to take the blame will be Lord Shangshu, Lord Minister, or Lord Yang?"
"For the sake of Master Yang helping me, I will give you a chance to make up for your past mistakes. If Master Yang doesn't want to do it, I will take you back to Shendu Ya."
…
"Wait a minute!"
Under Li Mu's persuasion, the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment already understood and spoke quickly.
Li Mu completely woke him up. Once this case gets bigger, the Ministry of Justice will definitely be held accountable in the end. The position of a doctor in the Ministry of Justice is neither big nor small. It is just right to take the blame. If he doesn't do something to make amends, his ass will be gone.
The position below is probably no longer safe, and may even face jail time.
He hugged Li Mu and said, "Thank you, Master Li, for reminding me. Yang will remember Master Li's kindness..."
"You're welcome." Li Mu nodded and said, "In that case, let's start the class earlier."
The doctor of the Ministry of Justice walked out of the government office and saw Zhou Zhong walking from the opposite side. He asked anxiously: "Master Zhou, a student from the academy committed a crime, why don't you come and try it in person?"
Zhou Zhong waved his hand and said, "You can do the trial. I can just listen to the trial."
His eyes swept across Li Mu and then left calmly.
There was a commotion in the front yard of the Punishment Department. Wailang, a member of the Household Department, Wei Bin's father, and Wei Peng, had just arrived at the Punishment Department from the Shendu Yamen.
When the official from the Ministry of Finance saw the doctor from the Ministry of Justice, he immediately said: "Master Yang, stay!"
The doctor from the Criminal Department turned his head and asked, "Master Wei, why are you here?"
Wailang, a member of the household department, sighed and said, "Wei Bin is my nephew..."
A look of surprise appeared on the face of the doctor from the Criminal Department, and then he shook his head and said: "If Mr. Wei is here to intercede for Wei Bin, then I'm sorry, this case has attracted much attention, and I cannot show favoritism..."
Wailang, a member of the Household Department, shook his head and said, "Of course not. Wei Bin is guilty. I just want to listen."
The doctor from the Criminal Department nodded and said, "Yes, but Mr. Wei has a special status and can only do it outside the court."
Wailang, a member of the household department, clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Mr. Yang."
Then he asked: "Can we have a few words with Wei Bin?"
The doctor from the Criminal Department showed hesitation and said: "This..."
At this moment, Zhou Zhong in the distance said: "No more than half a quarter of an hour."
Wailang, a member of the household department, looked grateful and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou!"
The three of them walked to Wei Bin. Wei Bin looked pale and said in panic: "Uncle, father, save me!"
Wailang, a member of the household department, looked angry and said: "You bastard, I didn't send you to the academy to rape women. Now you know you are scared. Why didn't you know when you did the evil..."
Wei Bin's father hurriedly said: "Now is not the time to talk about this, Bin'er, from now on, you remember every word your elder brother said. In the court later, you will follow what your elder brother said, so that the punishment you receive will be correct."
It will be the lightest..."
Wei Bin nodded repeatedly and said, "I will definitely not talk nonsense..."
Wei Peng looked at him and asked, "Did you really do this?"
Wei Bin nodded and said, "It's me..."
Wei Peng asked again: "Was any violence used during the process?"
Wei Bin shook his head and said: "No, we only started after knocking her out..."
Wei Peng was stunned for a moment and asked: "You guys?"
Wei Bin said: "I was not the only one who did this at that time."
Wei Peng thought for a while and said: "Yes..., no matter what the adults ask, as long as you did it, you will directly admit it. If you confess frankly, you can get a reduced sentence. After that, you can tell all the people who committed the crime with you
If everyone confesses, this can be regarded as meritorious service, and it is very likely that the sentence will be reduced to less than three years..."
…
After a while, the doctor from the Criminal Department stepped forward and asked, "Are you done?"
Wailang, a member of the household department, said: "That's it, I have a favor for you, Mr. Yang."
The doctor of the Ministry of Punishment walked to the court, and after asking for instructions from the Minister of Punishment, he said in a deep voice: "Ascend to the court!"
Wei Bin was brought to the court, with the Minister of Punishment sitting at the top, and Li Mu and the Minister of Punishment sitting on the left and right below him respectively to listen to the hearing.
The doctor of the Ministry of Punishment patted the gavel and said: "Come here, tell the Xu family's daughter to come to the court!"
Li Mu raised his head and said: "Mr. Yang, a daughter of the Xu family was defiled by Wei Bin. She was physically and mentally injured. She is afraid of meeting strangers and is not suitable to go to court. It is enough to interrogate Wei Bin directly."
The doctor from the Criminal Department thought for a while, nodded and said, "Master Li is thoughtful."
He clapped the gavel again, looked at Wei Bin, and asked: "Wei Bin, do you know your guilt?"
"Student guilty!" Wei Bin knelt down directly and said like pouring beans through a bamboo tube: "Three months ago, on the night of the sixth day of February, the student tricked Xu Yao into unconsciousness in the inn and violated her..."
The doctor from the Criminal Department was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Wei Bin to confess so quickly. He didn't ask anything, and Wei Bin confessed everything.
He quickly came back to his senses and said: "Since you plead guilty, then according to Article 36 of the second volume of the "Dazhou Code", raping a woman will be punished by a prison sentence of not less than three years but not more than ten years. The woman will be punished because of you.
Rape, physical and mental trauma, I now sentence you to seven years in prison..."
"Sir, please wait!"
Wei Peng stood outside the court and said loudly: "Although Wei Bin is guilty, he did not use violence or coercion, and he had a positive attitude towards pleading guilty and took the initiative to confess his crimes. According to the law, your Excellency should give you a light sentence as appropriate..."
The doctor from the Ministry of Punishment frowned and said: "I am judging the case, do you still need to teach me? If you dare to disturb my judgment again, you will disturb the court proceedings."
At this time, Zhou Zhong, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, said calmly: "Although Wei Bin is a prisoner, he also has the right to defend himself. Wei Peng, if you have anything else to defend Wei Bin, go to the court and say it."
The foreign minister of the Ministry of Finance looked at the minister of the Ministry of Justice with a grateful look on his face. He pushed Wei Peng and said, "Don't go up yet."
Wei Peng walked to the court, raised his head and said: "Apart from rape, Wei Bin's behavior did not cause any other serious consequences. According to the law, the sentence should be light."
The doctor of the Ministry of Punishment glanced at Zhou Zhong and saw that he didn't express anything, and he was a little unsure. He looked at Li Mu again and saw that he also looked calm, and finally decided to act in accordance with the law.
He neither favored Wei Bin nor deliberately increased his punishment. He acted in accordance with the law. No one can condemn him, right?
The doctor from the Criminal Department cleared his throat, looked at Wei Peng, and said, "What you said makes sense. In view of Wei Bin's voluntary confession, I will give you a lighter sentence at my discretion and sentence you to five years in prison..."
Outside the hall, the household member Wai Lang and Wei Bin's father breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, Wei Peng struck again while the iron was hot: "Sir, wait a minute, there are hidden details in this case. Wei Bin just confessed that no one else raped the Xu family girl that night.
In addition, there are Jiang Zhe, Ji Yun, Song Zhou and Ye Cong from Baichuan Academy. According to the laws of Dazhou, if the principal culprit reports and exposes his accomplices, it is a major meritorious service and the punishment can be reduced or exempted. Although the crime of rape cannot be exempted, it can be reduced.
More than three years……"
When the doctor from the Criminal Department heard this, he was stunned.
Wei Peng seems to be very familiar with the law, but doesn't he know the difference between rape and rape?
Rape of a woman is generally punishable by imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.
**Woman’s behavior is so bad that the principal offender will be sentenced to death, and her sentence will not be commuted.
This law was revised and added by Zhou Shilang five years ago. Could it be that Wei Peng was reading the "Dazhou Code" that had not been revised five years ago?
Li Mu left his chair and walked to the court. Under Wei Peng's somewhat frightened eyes, he patted his shoulder and said, "Listen to my advice. If there is nothing important in the future, it's better not to interact with your second uncle's family again."
