At the entrance to the County Magistrate's Office, although a table had been set up and the Government Officials energetically called out, this being the first time such a spectacle had occurred, the crowd merely watched from a distance and no one stepped forward to plead their case.
At that moment, two figures pushed their way through the crowd.
They were two sturdy men, one of them clutching the other's collar, saying angrily, "You owe money and refuse to pay, and you even have the nerve to hit me? I'm taking you to see the official right this moment!"
The man dragged the debtor to the long table outside the government office, where a clerk drafted a complaint. A young nobleman emerged from the County Magistrate's Office, read through the complaint, and asked the two men a few questions. Finally, he addressed the debtor, saying, "To owe money and repay it is a matter of natural justice. You owe money and do not repay it, and you have even assaulted your creditor. Today, I order you to repay your debt immediately and receive fifty strokes of the cane as a warning to others. If you still refuse to repay, your crime will be increased by three degrees, and the government office will help you sell your property to pay off the debt. You will not avoid suffering the pain of caning…"
Corporal punishment was merely a flesh wound, but caning could injure bones and muscles. The debtor, terrified and pale, quickly pulled out a piece of broken silver and paid the man. Then, two Government Officials tied him to the stone lion at the entrance of the government office, and with bamboo strips, they struck his buttocks dozens of times, making him cry out for his father and mother. The eyes of the onlooking common people, however, grew brighter.
Not really… they were serious?
Seeing the County Magistrate's Office truly helped the victim recover the owed silver, some people in the crowd began to grow restless.
Meanwhile, in the back hall of the government office, a Government Official showing his teeth in pain rubbed his buttocks but still looked at the one ingot of silver in his hand with a beaming smile. The others around him looked on with envy.
If they could obtain ten taels of silver for being beaten fifty times on the buttocks, they were willing to be beaten every day.
Even the other, who wasn't beaten, received two taels of reward silver.
These two lads sure had good fortune!
It had to be said that following the noble young master was more promising and more lucrative than serving under Lord Pei. If only this young master were Lord County Magistrate…
All beginnings are hard, and although the people at the entrance to the County Magistrate's Office had been hesitant at first, seeing that someone indeed obtained justice, the crowd became visibly more agitated. At one moment, a woman emerged from the crowd and approached the table hesitantly.
A perceptive Government Official immediately brought over a chair for her to sit.
Li Nuo looked at the somewhat timid woman and gently spoke, "Big sister, don't be afraid. No matter what grievances you have, we will uphold justice for you."
It seemed that the handsome young master's smile had an effect on her, as the color returned slightly to her cheeks. She carefully rolled up her sleeve, revealing a bruise, and said, "My husband always beats me. Can you do anything about that?"
Li Nuo replied, "Yes, yes, of course, someone bring over a chair, let this big sister sit down…"
Although Daxia did not have laws against domestic violence, there were laws against assault. In the case of spouses, whether it was unilateral violence or mutual abuse, the Law Code dealt with it by either increasing or decreasing the punishment.
Li Nuo first sent two Government Officials to the address the woman had provided, to summon her husband for questioning.
While waiting, he had someone offer the woman a cup of tea, and he inquired in detail about the specifics of her case and examined her injuries.
Her injuries were mostly bruises and some small cuts. Moreover, she had lost a tooth due to the beatings.
The woman's home was not far from the County Magistrate's Office, and within the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, two Government Officials brought a gaunt man to the entrance.
Li Nuo pointed at the man and asked the woman, "Is he your husband?"
The woman nodded her head.
On the way to the office, the man had heard that his wife had reported him to the government. Although he was annoyed, he dared not lash out and merely kept saying, "Lord, this is a matter between husband and wife. The government can't interfere with this, right…"
Li Nuo glanced at him and said, "In your home, this is your domestic affair; here, in the government office, it's our concern. I only ask you, are the injuries on your wife's body caused by you?"
For such minor cases, the Daxia Law practiced a policy where if the people do not raise an issue, the officials do not investigate. If the woman had chosen to endure in silence after being frequently beaten by her husband, the government really could not intervene.
But she had already reported it to the government, and it was no longer just their domestic matter.
The man glared fiercely at his wife, but his expression softened when he turned to Li Nuo, saying, "Lord, I will never dare do it again!"
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "If you knew this, why did you do it in the first place? According to the 'Daxia Law', one who strikes another with hands or feet shall receive forty strokes of the cane; utilizing other objects to assault someone warrants sixty strokes; breaking teeth or maiming eyes and nose results in one year of imprisonment. You have repeatedly beaten your wife, causing multiple bruises on her body and the loss of a tooth. By law, I sentence you to sixty strokes and one year of imprisonment. Are you satisfied?"
The man stood there in a daze, unable to react, but the woman was already anxious, quickly saying, "Lord, my husband cannot go to prison…"
Li Nuo looked at her wordlessly and asked, "Then what do you want?"
The woman said anxiously, "I just want him to stop beating me in the future..."
She had merely hoped the government would admonish her husband; she never expected Lord Pei to hand down such a severe sentence. If her man were to be imprisoned for a year, how could she endure that year?
Thinking of this consequence, she shivered and immediately said, "Lord, please release my husband. I won't press charges, I won't press charges..."
Li Nuo realized that despite the beatings, the woman still sided with her husband.
For a moment, he even felt envious.
A fellow like that could marry such a woman; it truly seemed like the heavens were blind.
Let alone stand by his side, his own wife would do well not to beat him.
This made Li Nuo view the man with even greater distaste. He waved his hand and said, "You say you're pressing charges, then you're not pressing charges - what do you think the County Magistrate's Office is? The government officers have to come to the office on their rest days to seek justice for the common folk, yet you treat it like a plaything?"
The woman knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, "This lowly woman doesn't understand the law, I beg Lord's forgiveness..."
Li Nuo had someone help her up and said, "You are the sufferer. Since you say you won't press charges, his imprisonment will be waived. However, he must still receive fifty lashings and be imprisoned for three days as a warning. If he re-offends, the punishment will increase by one level..."
As a legal worker, even though he felt the woman was too weak, he still had to consider the situation from her perspective.
To became an enforcer of the law wasn't to enjoy the feeling of power over the common people, but to sincerely solve problems for those in a vulnerable position.
The woman, hearing this, gratefully said, "Thank you, Lord, thank you..."
The man also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said, "Thank you for your leniency, Lord. I swear, I will never beat my wife again..."
Li Nuo waved his hand, having two Government Officials take him away, while he watched the clerks writing the judgment.
He had already figured out the pattern of the Law Code; as long as he was deeply involved in a case, whether he wrote the judgment himself or not didn't affect the Law Code's verdict. Li Nuo's handwriting was too ugly to present.
Moments later, he glanced at the Law Code, his expression suddenly turning to surprise.
The portrait of the man he had just tried for domestic abuse was illuminated.
This was truly unexpected.
During these few days, Li Nuo had judged many cases, and though new portraits had been added to the Law Code, similar to Cui Ze in Assistant Minister Zheng's case, their portraits were all gray and would disappear completely after a day, indicating they had no praiseworthy qualities recognized by the Law Code.
This abuser was the only one with an illuminated portrait over these days.
The Law Code was very particular, indicating that this man excelled in certain respect.
At the very least, he had skills that were one in a thousand, perhaps even one in ten thousand.
Not to inquire further could lead to trouble if he unintentionally made use of it.
Li Nuo quickly gestured to stop the woman, who was about to leave, asking, "Sister, does your husband have any special skills?"
The woman looked puzzled.
Li Nuo added, "I mean, something about him that's obviously better than other people..."
After a moment of thought, the woman seemed to recall something, her cheeks suddenly blushed, and she lowered her head, whispering, "His special skill is..."
Li Nuo thought he had misheard and pressed, "Which one?"
The woman, her face still flushed, looked toward a certain part of Li Nuo's body and said, "That..."
Li Nuo looked down at himself, his expression bewildered.