Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 135 Court Meeting

The sky above the Court of Justice collapsed by half.

Zhou Zhao was puzzled. She looked diagonally behind Li Huaishan and saw a small table with a young man of about seventeen or eighteen sitting there. He held a pen in his right hand and a long sword on his left. He seemed to be an official who usually followed Li Huaishan.

"Since everyone is here, let's begin."

As soon as Li Huaishan finished speaking, the young man behind him brought over a wooden stand and placed it in the center of the table.

The shelf has a rather unique design, with six thin wooden pillars standing on the base, and abacus beads strung on the pillars. The three pillars on the left are labeled with Xu Yun, Tao Shangshan, and Li Youdao respectively; the three pillars on the right are labeled with He Mingluan, Yan Song, and so on. The name Li Mu under the last pillar was recently added.

The abacus beads in the left courtyard are red, while those in the right courtyard are green.

Zhou Zhao recalled what Min Cangzhi had mentioned about the competition between the two courts, and then looked at Li Mu's empty pillar. He instantly understood why Li Mu wanted to steal the case. It was probably because each bead represented solving a case. He just didn't know how long this cycle would take.

This is simply a public execution.

Zhou Zhao, sitting behind Li Youdao, felt the pressure on the court historians.

She thought about it and then looked at Li Youdao. The old man was hunched over and nodded from time to time, looking like he was about to fall asleep at any moment.

No, Old Li doesn't have any pressure.

"Since we are both under the same roof of the Court of Justice, it is clear who has handled how many cases. Chang Zuoping and Guan Youping will each talk about the major and difficult cases of this period."

As soon as Li Huaishan finished speaking, Guan Youping spoke up, "A difficult case has been submitted to the State of Qi. A woman named Xu has been beaten by her husband, Wu Mang, for more than twenty years. A little over a month ago, Xu was beaten again and fought back, killing Wu Mang on the spot. The evidence is conclusive. Murder should be punished with death, and the Qi officials sentenced Xu to death. However, Xu and Wu Mang's one son and three daughters all appealed."

"The four men petitioned the court, demanding that Xu be found innocent, but the officials in Qi refused to make a decision."

As soon as Guan Youping finished speaking, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

Zhou Zhao listened attentively, her heart pounding with excitement. She longed to share her own insights, but she knew it wasn't her turn to sit down at the table yet.

This is no ordinary discussion. If the Court of Justice issues a verdict, this case can serve as a precedent, influencing all similar cases that follow.

"The law of the law is that a murderer must pay with his life, and it cannot be changed. Moreover, in this case, it is difficult to determine whether Xu's actions were accidental killings during resistance or whether she had premeditatedly planned to kill her husband Wu Mang during the beating."
Even if Xu is guilty, once she is found innocent, subsequent cases will be difficult to judge. Everyone has their own version of events, and every similar case will have to go to the Court of Judicial Review. Are we supposed to sit here and discuss it?

The speaker was He Tingshi from the Right Court, who said, "The punishment should be severe."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Youdao, who had been dozing off, burst out laughing.

His laughter was so arrogant that everyone looked over. Even Zhou Zhao, sitting behind him, could feel He Tingshi's piercing gaze directed at her.

Her eyes were bright and sparkling, unlike the other little followers who hung their heads and tried to make themselves invisible.

Zhou Zhao wished he could roll up his sleeves and take the lead himself!
"Li Youdao, how much wine have you drunk today? Even from this distance, I can smell the alcohol on you."

Li Youdao stroked his beard, looking like a tough nut to crack. "Old He! You're really getting old. How can you be so forgetful? I have an ailment that makes me smell like alcohol even without drinking. Is this your first time meeting me? And you're trying to put on such a childish act in front of the Minister of Justice." He said, glancing lazily at him. "Besides, laziness in governance is unacceptable! You're paid by the emperor, so you should share his burdens. How can you let a poor woman who's been beaten by evil spirits for twenty years die just because you need to work harder on future cases?"

Li Youdao shook his head as he spoke, "Let me ask you, Lord He, if you encountered bandits on your journey and faced a life-or-death situation, is it possible that you could fight back and save your old life?"

He Tingshi sneered, "But Wu Mang is not a bandit, and Xu is not an official who can suppress bandits."

Li Youdao sighed, "To the Xu family, Wu Mang is a more vicious demon than bandits. What, Lord He, are you saying that officials can save themselves, while the common people can only sit and wait to die?"

The people in the left and right courtyards started arguing loudly.

The three men in the right courtyard remained unmoved, but their mouths ran faster than a carriage, and they began to quote scriptures and allusions.

Looking at the three people in the left courtyard, Xu Yun's slapping of the table wasn't enough; he started kicking them, making even those who were in the right seem unreasonable.

Tao Shangshan felt like he was already lying in a coffin when he climbed the mountain. He had a peaceful smile on his face, and no matter what the other person said, he only responded with "uh-huh," "ah," and "oh."

Li Youdao alone possessed formidable fighting prowess, engaging in witty and sarcastic debates with the assembled scholars!
Zhou Zhao watched, feeling utterly disillusioned. She sensed that these old men were about to unleash their ultimate weapon: pulling her hair...

Finally, Li Huaishan spoke up, “Why should murder be punished with a life? Because human life is precious. How can the dead be valued more than the living? Xu’s actions were only to save her own life, not to kill him intentionally. The circumstances are understandable, and she can be spared the death penalty.”

Having reached a conclusion, the old men tidied their hair, dusted off the wrinkles in their clothes, and resumed their previous dignified appearance.

Zhou Zhao's lips twitched, and then he heard Chang Zuoping say, "In this ten days, the Left Court has handled over a hundred old cases. The murderers in the Zhaixing Tower collapse case and the Ghost Bride case have been apprehended, and the kidnapped colleagues from the Right Court have been successfully rescued!"

As Zhou Zhao listened, he silently mourned for a moment for Qin Lang, who was sitting opposite him.

Chang Zuoping spoke calmly, without any hint of sarcasm, but the people from the right courtyard opposite him all had faces so gloomy they could drip water.

Li Mu and Qin Lang wished they could bury their heads under the table.

Zhou Zhao looked at Li Youdao, who was shaking his leg with smugness, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. How childish this old man is!

"In the case of Zhaixinglou, we discovered a villa on the shore of Dongshui, which is very likely the remnant of the previous dynasty. The Northern Army is already conducting a secret search."

Upon hearing this, Li Huaishan nodded. Seeing that the Right Courtyard had nothing to say, he pondered for a moment and said, "This matter is of utmost importance. I have also been there to investigate. It is likely that the Gu-raising is a scheme to cultivate spies and assassins. I have already reported this to His Majesty."

When the former dynasty fell, there were indeed orphans who were left to roam the country; one of them was called Prince Yu. Judging by his age, Prince Yu is still just a child and not a threat. But the real danger lies in someone using his name as a pretext to plot a rebellion.

I recently received word that the young master has four capable spies by his side, who may already be infiltrating Chang'an. Although investigating rebels and protecting Chang'an is the duty of the Northern Army, our Court of Justice also has an inescapable responsibility. If any of you discover any clues in recent cases, please inform me immediately.”

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered, and his expression gradually became serious.

She reached out and touched the Pegasus Steed that she had been keeping in her sleeve pocket.

Could this be Gongzi Yu's?