Durin's Diary

Chapter 979 Noble Steed

Early the next morning in the Golden Hall, Prime Minister Lin quietly crept up to the General. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before speaking softly: "I heard that last night, your nephew was attacked by Du Lin?"

The general was resting with his eyes closed when he heard this. He opened one eye, looked at the prime minister who was deliberately bringing up the most awkward topic, and said, "It's as if your family hasn't suffered any misfortune."

"My family didn't suffer this time, did we?" Lin Xiangguo said, smiling as if he were a simple and honest farmer working hard in the fields outside the capital.

The general's face twitched, but in the end he didn't bother arguing with this stubborn man.

Anyway, he's his nephew. Although when he went to see him last night, he and his five cronies were still performing some kind of dance on the street, wearing only their underwear.

To be honest, he danced with quite a rhythm, but unfortunately he ran into Dulin and was eventually arrested by that white-haired turtle spirit for being indecent.

His younger sister was crying quite sadly, but what comforted the general was that his brother-in-law was reasonable—being attacked by Dulin was one thing, but how he was attacked must be another matter. So after asking passersby, he finally confirmed with a shop owner on the roadside that the six young men had harassed a group of girls led by three Candle Dragons, and after exchanging a few words, the girls ran away, and the men had been dancing like shamans there ever since.

Well, I found it myself.

"I heard that His Majesty is very angry this time, and he will probably find a reason to reprimand the young people," said Prime Minister Lin.

"If you can't control your mouth, you should at least control your lower body. Otherwise, if you get into trouble next time, you won't be so quick to act but so easy to act." The general didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In recent years, there have been too many troublemakers among young people, which makes them, the old folks, feel that people's hearts have changed. Well, it's good to use this incident to teach them a lesson. After all, this matter could be a big deal or a small deal.

Dulin?
That's already being kind. If we go by the turtle spirit's logic, harassing a respectable woman would warrant ten lashes from the victim.

Give Dulin ten lashes?

One lash and these scoundrels would be vaporized.

"His Majesty has arrived!" The imperial guard announced, prompting Prime Minister Lin to quickly return to his seat.

The general straightened up and watched as the emperor sat on the dragon throne.

The general suddenly felt a little sorry for his relative—he had sat on the dragon throne when he was a child, taken by his uncle. It was extremely hard, and it was difficult for his cousin to sit on it for decades. He had heard that his lumbar disc herniation was caused by sitting on this thing.

"Early this morning, the young white-haired policeman called me to complain that he hadn't slept all night because of all the people calling to plead for him. When I asked him what happened, he hesitated and wouldn't say. Come here, Prime Minister Tang, you are in charge of the capital and Hebei, you tell me what exactly happened that forced the descendants of loyal ministers of the Tang Dynasty to come to me crying."

The general turned to the side and looked at the half-man who came out from among the ministers. The half-man had a bitter face: "Your Majesty, it is because a few young people were blind and did not recognize the great man that they disturbed Lord Dulin and his family."

Look, look, this is the art of language. The same thing can bring different perspectives when said in different ways.

"Then the families of those young people called the old man's house because of this, keeping him up all night." At this point, the emperor grabbed a cushion from a chair and threw it at him: "Why didn't they call my house! Is this still my capital? Is this still the capital of all the people?! Their own children have done wrong, and they're thinking of how to let them off lightly! What audacity! Tell me! Which families did they come from?!"

The cushion hit Prime Minister Tang on the head, and the latter didn't dare to move. He immediately gave all the names. After speaking, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to spare their lives. They are all young men who have been on the battlefield. Last night was just a gathering of comrades-in-arms, and they drank too much."

That's right. What are you afraid of, Prime Minister Tang? Don't even mention the General's nephew, even if it's the General's son or grandson, the General won't even flinch when it's time for them to die.

"Does being drunk give you the right to harass respectable women?! Is there no law in this capital?! Prime Minister Tang, look at me!"

At this moment, Prime Minister Tang finally couldn't hold back and knelt down.

Upon hearing this, even the emperor on the dragon throne fell silent.

The General could understand the Emperor's predicament—look, the border troubles across the three passes and four seas have not yet been eradicated, and there are already officials in the capital who are so lawless. This is only in the capital; what if it were to extend beyond the capital region and Hebei? What if it weren't for Mr. Du Lin?

How can the people complain? How can the people seek justice?

Without a way to voice your grievances and cut off your path to redress, the people of the world will unite to kill your entire family!
These fools, they think they've had too much alcohol, but they don't realize their stupidity... deserves only death.

Thinking of this, the general lowered his head in the face of his elder brother's questioning: "Your Majesty, my sister is too foolish to marry, but her husband is sensible and knows what is right. Please punish my nephew as you see fit."

"Really?" His Majesty asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, harassing a respectable family is punishable by ten lashes from the victim. With Mr. Du Lin's strength, one lash would kill my nephew five times over. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to punish him according to the law and give an explanation to the people. This will also serve as a warning to young people before they commit crimes in the future." The general finished speaking in one breath and then bowed his head deeply.

This is the only way to save lives. For women, pleading for mercy only leads to their own demise. Sometimes, their love and hate are no different.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't even flinch if it meant sacrificing his nephew. After all, this matter might seem trivial, but if it escalated, it could cause a huge uproar.

Just as His Majesty said, what if the next victim isn't Mr. Dulin?

"Since the General has spoken, Prime Minister Tang, this matter is now entirely entrusted to you. However, considering this is the first offense, the Chang Tang law prohibits execution without prior warning. You should draft a punishment that will both make the people understand the enormity of this crime and make those young people understand that they must not do such a thing again." After speaking, His Majesty sighed, "Mr. Du Lin is kind and for him, this is a small matter. But what if it wasn't Mr. Du Lin who encountered them yesterday? I hope all my ministers understand this principle and will not disappoint the people. Chang Tang has the guidance of its ancestors, and it is all recorded in the history books. We must not repeat the same mistakes."

"Your subject will remember," the general was the first to speak.

Then came the prime ministers.

"If such an evil deed happens again, the perpetrator shall be handed over to the local elder Zhulong for ten lashes as a warning to others," His Majesty said.

(End of this chapter)