"The respect I have for the young master is truly like the endless flowing river..."
"It's nothing, nothing..."
"If the young master were to hold office, he would certainly be a capable minister of the court."
"You flatter me, flattered, Lord Pei was also very astute just now."
"Ah, but I am far inferior to the young master."
...
Above the tribunal, Housekeeper Wu watched the young master and the Chang'an County Magistrate exchange pleasantries, his face a mix of blankness and astonishment.
If it weren't for the fact that he had watched the young master grow up and was very familiar with every part of him, he would have thought that the young master had been replaced.
The young master now is nothing like the young master of the past, except for his appearance.
After the goat-bearded skinny thief confessed, the deposition was soon written. Li Nuo turned to the Chang'an County Magistrate and asked, "For this man's crime, how does Lord Pei plan to judge?"
In modern times, theft would be punished with detention or control for minor amounts, and fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment for larger amounts.
For thefts over three thousand yuan, it is considered a significant amount, and one could be sentenced to a maximum of three years of fixed-term imprisonment.
For amounts between three hundred thousand and five hundred thousand, one would face ten years or even life imprisonment. Of course, life imprisonment in later ages would mean serving a maximum of about twenty years in prison, barring any accidents.
The Chang'an County Magistrate contemplated for a moment and said, "According to Daxia Law, for thefts, if no property is obtained, the punishment is fifty lashes; if property is obtained, the value of the property in terms of silk is calculated, sixty lashes per chi of silk, and an additional class of punishment for each bolt; one year of imprisonment for five bolts, three years of imprisonment for more than fifty bolts, exiled three thousand li... Now, one bolt of silk is two hundred coins, and the amount this thief has stolen far exceeds fifty bolts of silk, he shall be sentenced to three years of imprisonment and exiled three thousand li..."
As Li Nuo had expected, Daxia's Law Code takes large-scale theft quite seriously.
Theft might seem to have a low degree of harm, but in reality, it greatly endangers social order. In this era, if a family's livelihood were stolen, it could lead to death, and very likely it could drive good citizens to despair.
When Li Nuo saw the Chang'an County Magistrate had finished writing the judgment, there was an undeniable joy in his brow.
The Law Code gained another page; after the female assassin, the goat-bearded thief's portrait appeared on the second page of the Law Code.
And the number on the cover of the Law Code changed once again.
"Name: Li Nuo."
"Lifespan: Eleven days."
Catching a female assassin had added two days to his life; catching a small thief had surprisingly added six days. Three years of imprisonment added three days; three thousand li of exile added another three days. Through Li Nuo's experiments, each thousand li of exile added a day, and under Daxia Law, the maximum exile was three thousand li; anything more severe would be the death penalty.
He wondered how many days the death penalty would add...
It was becoming clear: Li Nuo didn't need to be personally involved or related to the case; as long as he participated in the cases, he would receive the Law Code's lifespan reward.
But to what extent he needed to participate to count was still unknown.
Li Nuo was eager to continue verifying this; after all, eleven days could pass in the blink of an eye, and he had to handle more cases to maintain this hard-won second chance at life.
He turned to the Chang'an County Magistrate and asked, "Does Lord Pei have any other cases here?"
The Chang'an County Magistrate wore a helpless expression. This young lord was addicted to adjudicating cases, and he hadn't even had his lunch yet, but he dared not say anything. Since there were several unresolved cases in the government office, he might as well let him indulge...
A quarter of an hour later, Li Nuo was disappointed.
There were indeed several cases in the Chang'an County Government, but they were all conclusive cases with only the pronouncement of judgment remaining. Even if he personally wrote the judgments for these cases, the numbers on the Law Code remained unchanged.
He had been too optimistic. It seemed that to increase his lifespan, even if he didn't need to be directly involved, he still required a sufficient degree of participation.
The Chang'an County Magistrate, holding the judgment copied by Li Nuo, exclaimed, "The young master's Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script is truly well written, I'm afraid few in Chang'an could match it..."
He realized he had underestimated Li Nuo.
To describe his Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script as merely "beautiful" was far from sufficient. When it came to this script, perhaps not a single person in the entirety of Chang'an could write it better. This required not only long-term practice but also talent.
He had always thought the son of the Minister of Justice was a fool, but today he had discovered that not only was he astute, but he could also write a fine hand.
However, such delicate and graceful Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script was usually more commonly learned by women; for men, it appeared somewhat effeminate. If a man excelled at Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script, he would likely be ridiculed.
This Li Nuo, it's as if he had the soul of a woman skilled in calligraphy residing within him.
Not just the Chang'an County Magistrate, even Li Nuo himself could hardly believe it.
He had never learned brush calligraphy before, he didn't even know what Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script was, but the characters he wrote following the judgment by the Chang'an County Magistrate turned out to be so elegant and beautiful that he even deliberately wrote them a bit uglier...
Li Nuo said with a smile, "Just something I practiced aimlessly..."
It was indeed unusual for a fool to be able to write such beautiful characters, but since he was a soul transmigrated, he had nothing to hide; not even that old man could monitor him at all times.
What's more, even if Li Nuo claimed he wasn't their young master, nobody would believe him...
This Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script wasn't important. What was crucial was that he couldn't just take shortcuts; within these eleven days, he had to deeply involve himself in many more cases if he wanted to survive in this world.
A moment later, at the entrance of Chang'an County Government, Li Nuo waved to the Chang'an County Magistrate and said, "Lord Pei, if there are any cases in the next few days, you must have someone notify me..."
The Chang'an County Magistrate chuckled, "Certainly, certainly..."
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...
After sending off that imposing figure, the Chang'an County Magistrate sat back down in his chair and rubbed his face. The lengthy appeasement had made his face stiff.
He didn't know what got into the young master; it's as if he had developed an addiction to adjudicating cases.
A beautiful woman emerged from behind the screen and stood behind him, gently kneading his shoulders, curiously asking, "My lord, who was that just now? You were so cautious around him..."
The Chang'an County Magistrate waved his hand dismissively and said, "Ah, let's not talk about it. It was better when I was serving as a magistrate in other regions—everyone had to be mindful of my authority. Now that I've been promoted and transferred to Chang'an, I've climbed several ranks, but it seems I must play the grandchild to everyone. When will there be an end to these days..."
The woman didn't say much, and the County Magistrate's tone shifted as he continued, "However, that Li Nuo truly opened my eyes. His interrogation technique was something even I hadn't thought of, truly worthy of being that man's son. His Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script calligraphy also faintly carries the style of the masters..."
The woman inquired, "What sort of interrogation technique?"
A moment later, the woman expressed surprise, "So if it's a fabricated lie, it would be very difficult to recount it backwards, is there really such a thing?"
"It's normal for you women to find these things baffling. Let your husband explain," the Chang'an County Magistrate said proudly. "If it's an event one has actually experienced, even recalling it in reverse, one wouldn't make significant errors, but if it's a lie made up on the spot, it would be hard to narrate it completely in reverse..."
After a ponder, the beautiful woman asked, "A few days ago, you said you went out to investigate a case and returned very late. What did you do that day? Recount it to me backwards..."
The expression on the face of the Chang'an County Magistrate froze, and his forehead began to beading with cold sweat.
He then laughed and said, "Oh, those events took place a few days ago. Your husband has long forgotten..."
The woman's tone grew more dangerous. "My lord's memory can't be that poor. Let me remind you; when you came back, you read in the study for a while and drank two cups of tea before you went to sleep. No matter what I did, there was no reaction from you..."
"That day, I was just too tired..."
"Nonsense, you can't even remember one thing. Have you been to the brothel again, lying to me saying you were going to investigate a case!"
"I haven't!"
"Then tell me, recount it!"
"I..."
"You're a fine one, Pei Zhe, surely you've gone to the brothel again. Is it that your home doesn't satisfy you, that you must sneak out to gratify yourself every day!"
...
Exiting the Chang'an County Government office and standing in the streets, Li Nuo let out a heavy sigh.
Unless something unexpected happened, he should be safe for the next eleven days.
But after eleven days, that might not be the case.
He had already informed the Chang'an County Magistrate, hoping that over the next few days, more cases would come his way.
It would be better to have a few more assassins; a little injury didn't matter—preserving his life was what's important.
As this thought had just crossed his mind, he suddenly heard Housekeeper Wu's loud warning.
"Young master, be careful!"
Li Nuo looked up and saw a flash of light from a distance, which came in an instant.
Housekeeper Wu, who was standing a bit too far, let out a burst of True Qi from within his body; abandoning all defense, all the True Qi surged towards Li Nuo. But it only slowed down the arrow by a slight margin.
A black feathered arrow shot straight towards Li Nuo's forehead.
Li Nuo could see the dark arrowhead glinting with a metallic sheen, and he could distinctly smell the scent of impending death.
He wouldn't need to wait for the eleven days to be up.
In the next moment, the arrow could penetrate his head.
He closed his eyes, not knowing if when he reopened them, he would be back in that tiny office.
A moment later.
There was no pain as he had anticipated, and his thoughts still functioned normally.
Li Nuo opened his eyes.
The sharp arrowhead was less than an inch from his forehead.
Yet, this inch was an insurmountable chasm.
A pair of delicate, fair arms appeared before Li Nuo's eyes.
Because it was so close, Li Nuo could even see the faint down on her arms.
That silent figure, who had always stood behind Li Nuo without saying a word, had appeared beside him at some unknown time.
She was firmly holding the feathered arrow in her hand.
Li Nuo was relieved and had only one thought in his heart.
I love you, my wife...
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