History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 418 Xue Laizi

Because of the case involving the fish market in Sizhou prison, Wei Yao did not immediately see Xue Laizi. Instead, she rushed to the Tingwei Imperial Prison to release Lu Gongzhi from prison and have him work for her from today onwards.

Cui Zuan, who was reviewing the case files of the Lu family father and son, felt indignant and disheartened upon hearing the news. The Minister of Justice, Cui Zhen, entered with his hands behind his back and asked, "What, do you think that criminal law becomes meaningless once it reaches the level of imperial power and the inner palace?"

Cui Zuan dared not lie and stood up to reply "Yes." With no outsiders present, he spoke frankly about his thoughts: "When Lu Xiu was imprisoned in the imperial prison, those who wanted to clear his name would at least have found various reasons to petition. But now, Wei Yao, who is concurrently serving as the Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Secretariat, doesn't even have a reason. He can release people whenever he wants. What about all the hard work of the officials below in investigating the case?"

Cui Zhenwen's gentle smile vanished, and he said, "When a fisherman casts his net, some fish and shrimp will escape. The same goes for a lawful net. How can you think the net is useless just because a few fish or shrimp have escaped? How can you think all your hard work was for nothing? Criminal law has always been established and revised amidst controversy. Where do you think you got your knowledge from? It was earned through the struggles of your predecessors! Does the struggle have to end in mutual destruction? In any case involving imperial power, how can you not find a way to maneuver? Now it's your turn to maneuver, to strive for success through repeated maneuvers. Yet you want to give up because of one setback. It's one thing to be incapable, but to say discouraging things to me is another."

Cui Zuan broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to interrupt his uncle's lecture, and only bowed his head to show that he knew he was wrong.

Cui Zhen: "The imperial edict appointing Lu Kai and Lu Wei as officials should arrive soon. Go and tell the prison guards to change them to a clean cell and have the physician treat Lu Kai's eyes."

Cui Zuan quickly replied, "Yes."

Wei Yao, along with Lu Gongzhi and Gu Kai, returned to the Sizhou office. Clerk Gou led her to find Xue Laizi. Before they even arrived, they heard Xue Laizi banging on the fence and shouting, "I haven't done anything wrong, why are you arresting me? Let me out, let me out!"

He saw officials and jailers standing outside the cell, looking timid and retreating until their backs were pressed against the earthen wall.

Wei Yao instructed Kou Meng: "Let him get closer."

Clerk Gou immediately signaled the jailer to open the cell door. Kou Meng strode in, grabbed Xue Laizi's arm with one hand and his hair with the other, and shoved the man's head against the bars.

"What are you doing? What are you going to do?" Xue Laizi struggled.

"Wow, that's pretty strong." Kou Meng thought to himself, "Luckily, Wei Shaoqing let me subdue this guy."

Before Wei Yao could give any instructions, Gu Kai brought the lantern closer. The gaps in the fence were too narrow, so Wei Yao shifted her gaze slightly and looked directly at Xue Laizi's face through the two gaps in the fence. The man's leprosy ran from his forehead down to his throat and then to his ears, which was quite terrifying.

Registrar Gou: "His hands were also covered with scars, and the lines on his palms were indistinct."

Kou Meng understood, and shouted "Behave yourself!" He then raised Xue Laizi's hands one after the other to show Wei Yao, just as the registrar had said.

Wei Yao looked at Xue Laizi's face again and asked, "After you developed leprosy, did few people observe your appearance?"

Her purpose wasn't to wait for an answer; she used this question to inquire of the surrounding officials: "If someone has a scab on their face, even if they are a close neighbor, do you, by your custom, never look them directly in the eye when speaking to them...?"

Xue Laizi: "Ah, ah—"

Wei Yao: "After a few years, will you still be sure what he looks like...?"

Xue Laizi: "Ah—I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"

"Are you sure he was the neighbor from back then?"

After Wei Yao asked the last question, Xue Laizi's face became even more terrifying due to his ferocious expression. He roared, "So what if I'm ugly? Is it a crime for me to have leprosy? Do you officials think you can bully ordinary people like this?"

Wei Yao told Kou Meng to let go, looked back at Xue Laizi, and explained in a caring tone: "I'm saying this for your own good. I hope that the Sizhou government will take better care of people like you who have been injured by the epidemic, and stop looking down on you."

Xue Laizi's anger came to an abrupt halt. He said, "So that's how it is. I misunderstood. Sir, I can tell you're a good official. Can you release me? My fishing boat is rented, and this means I'll be out of work for a whole day."

Wei Yao said apologetically, "When the soldiers searched your house, they destroyed a few items. I told them to buy new ones and to demolish and rebuild your courtyard wall before letting you go back."

Xue Laizi raised his voice again: "No need!" He glanced at the registrar, Lu Gongzhi and others, and then pleaded with Wei Yao: "No need, my family is poor, my belongings are worthless, no neighbors want to associate with me, and the courtyard wall is not in a hurry to be repaired. This lady, please let me go home. I am not used to living in this kind of place and just want to go home."

Wei Yao smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She left first, and all the officials followed her. The jailer locked the cell door, leaving Xue Laizi with a face full of suspicion.

The registrar asked, "Does the Junior Minister suspect that he is not Xue Laizi?"

Wei Yao: "I'm not sure. If I'm wrong, I'll find him a menial job in the Sizhou government office."

Registrar: "That's easy."

Intelligent people think alike, and he immediately said, "Then I will send the jailer to Xue Laizi's house, dig three feet into the ground, and search for human bones. Also, find out where Xue's family members are buried, bring the coroner, open the coffin to see how many skeletons are there, and find out whether the cause of death was illness or something else."

Wei Yao: "I'll trouble you, Registrar. I'm going to check on how the fish market case is going."

Lu Gongzhi's eyes shone brightly. He felt that Wei Yao's handling of matters with ease far exceeded the composure that one should have for her age. People's respect arises from admiration, so he quickly followed and took the initiative to ask, "Shaoqing, is there anything you have instructed me to do?"

"Yes. You are well-read. Record in detail the cases I participated in, from evidence collection and analysis to judgment, and then cite Confucian classics to combine Confucian concepts with criminal law, and record them in the case files. From now on, all the case files will be kept by you."

"Yes!"

The fish sauce made in the fish shop caused a death. The first person arrested and interrogated was Manager Jiang of the fish shop. The jailer who interrogated him was a disciple of Gu Kai, whose surname was Guan and given name was Shiduo.

One wall of the torture chamber had a hole the size of a fist. Wei Yao sat in the next room, listening to the steward interrogate the shopkeeper.

"Do you think that just because I can't touch the torture instruments, you can lie and get away with it?"

Manager Jiang: "I wouldn't dare!"

"Then you'd better confess! Did you taste each jar of fish sauce before it was sold?"

“I set out more than a dozen jars every day, but I’m not at the fish market every day, so I… I can’t possibly taste them all.”

"So they don't even know when it's gone bad or rotten!"

The shopkeeper explained, "Everyone in the shop has their own division of labor. I have entrusted the sale of fish sauce to a servant. I told him long ago that I would rather feed pigs than use rotten fish to make sauce."

A few breaths of silence followed.

The manager said, "Look at you! You occupied such a prime location to build a fish farm. How many favors did you have to do, how much money did you have to spend?! But instead of managing it properly, you only think about how to make a profit!"

"It's my fault for not disciplining them properly. I should have identified which servants were careless and reminded them frequently."

"Is this a matter of carelessness or carelessness?" the steward said sternly. "Someone has died! Now it's a matter of serious or minor offenses!"

"What? Someone really died? I thought those hooligans were framing me to get more money."

"What a pipe dream! Let me tell you the truth: if you say this now, you'll be responsible for most of the blame for the death!"

Hearing this from next door, Wei Yao nodded to Gu Kai, indicating that his apprentice was quite skilled, having asked so many questions just to cover up a useful one.

The rest is unnecessary. Release the shopkeeper first thing tomorrow morning, then use this confession to intimidate the fishmongers and get the rest of the useful information.