Chapter 158: Unjust Case
Xiong Yue is dead.
In Su Ze's house, there was still tea given by Xiong Yue when they first met at the county school that day.
Su Ze thought about that day in the county school dormitory, when everyone was talking about "returning to the original intention", Xiong Yue bluntly said that his goal in studying was "to seek fame".
As a classmate of the county school, Xiong Yue is a tea farmer in Wuyi Mountain, and he is considered to be the best-off among the four. He brings some small gifts to everyone every time he goes to the city, and he studies very hard.
But such a person died suddenly.
A sad expression flashed across Su Ze's face, and he immediately asked Lin Qingcai to sit down and asked, "How did Xiong Yue die?" Lin Qingcai
had a sad and angry expression on his face: "The county government said he slipped and fell into the water."
Su Ze heard this. Lin Qingcai's tone indicated that he knew there was something inside. He asked: "How did Xiong Yue slip and fall into the water?"
Lin Qingcai said slowly: "Brother Chen said that there is something hidden behind this case. The Xiong family filed a lawsuit, but it was Press it down."
Su Ze understood immediately. It was no wonder that Lin Qingcai rushed over. He stood up and said, "Let's go to Xiong's house!"
The two set out from Changningwei and arrived at Xiong's tea garden at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. It was almost evening. .
It is taboo not to pay condolences after noon at a funeral. At this time, a white cloth was tied on the door of Xiong's house. The door was deserted and only bursts of sobbing could be heard.
Su Ze didn't care about these taboos. He straightened his clothes, stepped into the gate of Xiong's house with Lin Qingcai, and saw the mourning hall at a glance.
Why are there two coffins?
Su Ze and Lin Qingcai walked over quickly and saw Xiong Yue's mother, dressed in mourning clothes, sitting on the ground crying and burning paper money.
Chen Chaoyuan was wearing guest clothes and was helping the earthworkers. He saw Su Ze and Lin Qingcai and immediately came up to them.
"Brother Su, you are finally here."
Su Ze and Chen Chaoyuan saluted and asked quickly: "What happened to Brother Xiong?"
Chen Chaoyuan pointed to Xiong Yue's mother who was burning paper money and said: "Brother Su, you'd better pay your respects to me first. People."
The last time the Japanese rebellion was not serious, Hai Rui said that Xiong Yue's mother was sick, and he temporarily dropped out of school to take care of her.
Su Ze and Chen Lin also bought some body-replenishing medicine and visited Xiong Yue, whom they had met before.
Unexpectedly, only one month later, Xiong Yue was already dead.
Xiong Yue's mother's hair was all white and she was so haggard that she was no longer human. Su Ze said quickly: "Old madam, Su Ze has come to pay homage to Brother Xiong." Xiong Yue's
mother then turned around and saw Su Ze After that, she stood up quickly. Su Ze supported her and said, "Old madam, wait until I pay my respects to Brother Xiong first." Su Ze
walked to the coffin, and Chen Chaoyuan, who was in charge of the guests, shouted: "Condolences!"
Su Ze followed the etiquette. After bowing to the coffin, I was shocked again when I saw the tablet on the other coffin next to it said "The spirit of my late husband, Xiong Gong Maocheng".
After the condolences were finished in front of the two coffins, Su Ze walked up to Xiong Yue's mother and asked:
"Old madam, who is Mr. Xiong?"
The Mr. Xiong that Su Ze asked was naturally Xiong Yue's father. Xiong Yue was not married yet. The "Previous Husband" on the coffin was naturally placed by Mrs. Xiong.
Xiong Yue's mother shed tears and said: "After Yue'er's death, his father was also stimulated. The county government could not bring the lawsuit. After the body was brought back, his father invited Yue'er to have a local priest and made arrangements for Yue'er. I just took medicine and left after the funeral."
Lin Qingcai said quickly: "My condolences, madam."
Su Ze looked at the two coffins in the mourning hall. The Xiong family was originally a relatively well-off family, but father and son died one after another. Lin Qingcai asked Lin Qingcai to tell him that there was something hidden in the case. Su Ze felt an aura of injustice from it.
Su Ze raised his hands and said, "Old madam, is there a lawsuit in the county government?"
Xiong Yue's mother took Su Ze's hand and said, "Ms. Su, Yue'er often mentioned you when he was studying in the county school, saying that you are capable. Scholar!"
After saying this, Mother Xiong took out a lawsuit from her body, handed it to Su Ze and said, "This is the lawsuit written by Yue'er's father after his death." Su Ze took it and handed it to Su Ze
. The letter was an indictment filed against the yamen. The reason for the lawsuit was written on it. Su Ze quickly saw that the lawsuit was against a gambling shop in the county yamen.
Flying Tiger Casino?
Su Ze had never heard Xiong Yue talk about this gambling house, nor had he heard that Xiong Yue had a bad habit of gambling?
The contents of the lawsuit are very clear. Xiong Yue went to Feihu Casino to argue with the casino on the afternoon of October 2, but he did not leave Feihu Casino that day. After sunrise the next day, Xiong Yue's body appeared in Fujian. On the edge of a tributary of the river.
Su Ze closed the paper and asked, "Why did Brother Xiong go to Feihu Casino?"
Xiong Yue's mother sobbed and said, "This is all his father's fault. If he hadn't contracted the bad habit of gambling, Yue'er wouldn't have gone. The gambling house theory cost you your life!"
Xiong Yue's mother was about to collapse. At this time, Chen Chaoyuan came over and said,
"This paper was written by my brother who is a lawyer. Let me tell you the reason."
It turns out that Xiong Yue's father, Xiong Maocheng, got into the bad habit of gambling in the county town. He owed hundreds of taels of silver in a gambling house, and he returned from loan sharking nine times.
When Father Xiong was trying to raise money, he happened to encounter the issue of Wuyishan converting tribute into silver.
At the meeting to discuss the proportion of the silver exchange, Cai Yuanwai, who presided over the meeting, took out a loan shark loan from the gambling house.
It turns out that the Flying Tiger Gambling House is the property of Cai Yuanwai's family. Cai Yuanwai took the IOU and negotiated with Xiong's father to set an annual tribute of fifty taels of silver from his family's tea garden, so that the usury loan could be written off in one go.
Moreover, Cai Yuanwai also said that the amount of tribute silver could be renegotiated after five years, and then it would be shared according to the amount of tea produced by each family.
Father Xiong was also desperate, so he agreed to Yuanwai Cai's suggestion on the spot, signed the deed for sharing the tribute, got the loan shark's IOU, and burned it on the spot.
But two months ago, the lender from Feihu Casino came to the door again and took out the same IOU again, demanding that Father Xiong repay the money.
Father Xiong was pressed for debt, so he had to confess to his wife and son that he owed money from gambling and the reason why he had to bear the tribute of fifty taels of silver a year. Mother Xiong was so angry that she fell ill.
However, it was clear that he had to bear more tribute silver, so this debt should be written off in one go. The gambling shop sent people to collect debts, and Xiong Yue first came to argue with Cai Yuanwai.
However, since Mr. Cai had no visitors, Xiong Yue had no choice but to find Feihu Gambling House, and then what happened on the paper happened.
Su Ze's "Criminal Law" skill also has Level 1, and he also understands the judicial procedures of the Ming Dynasty. The government must accept lawsuits involving human lives. He asked: "Human lives are at stake. Isn't there no trial in Bai Zhi County?" Mother Xiong said:
" The county government accepted the petition and also took away the gambling shop owner, but soon released it. The county government said that Yue'er had slipped and fell into the water, and asked us not to make false accusations at will, and returned Yue'er's body so that we could bury it as soon as possible."
Su Ze asked angrily: "Is there a county government official's letter?"
Mother Xiong took out another document with the county government's seal. Ganjie was the county government's notice of closing the case. Su Ze saw the letter written by Baizhi County himself. Sweet document.
The result was that the Xiong family decided that the accusation was a false accusation and gave up the case. However, since the Xiong family lost their son, they did not pursue the case.
However, they also determined that the IOU in the hands of the gambling house was invalid and did not allow the Feihu Gambling House to continue to collect debts from the Xiong family.
Seeing this method of dealing with fifty big hits each, Su Ze already made a preliminary judgment in his mind. Baizhi County's judgment is a typical Ming Dynasty style. Both sides fight fifty times and try not to allow vicious criminal cases to occur in their jurisdictions.
Homicide is a major case, and the trial procedures for homicide cases are complicated, and both parties may appeal to the government for retrial.
Judgments in murder cases must be reported to the Imperial Court's Criminal Department Yamen and the Provincial Inspector General's Yamen. If a criminal is to be executed, instructions from the emperor and even the Cabinet Department are required.
Therefore, the officials of the Ming Dynasty hoped to reduce major issues to trivial matters when making judgments on these cases, and never turn them into homicide lawsuits.
When Su Ze saw the signature of Xiong's father, Xiong Maocheng, on Gan Jie's document, he knew that the result was negotiated between the county government and Xiong's father.
A knot is a document that closes a case. It must be signed by both the prosecution and the defendant before it can be completed.
Baizhi County must have persuaded Father Xiong to cancel the loan shark at the gambling house, and the case was ended with a mistake and drowning.
After Father Xiong finished handling the case, he felt ashamed of his family and his wife, and committed suicide after arranging his son's funeral.
After Su Ze finished reading Gan Jie, he pulled Chen Chaoyuan and said,
"Brother Chen, what's the inside story of this case?"
Chen Chaoyuan's elder brother was a litigant who helped write the petition, so naturally he also helped the Xiong family litigate the case.
Chen Chaoyuan took Su Ze outside the mourning hall and said,
"My brother is helping the Xiong family with the lawsuit. This case is actually two cases."
"The first is the IOU from Father Xiong. The officials of the torture chamber determined that Feihu Gambling House The IOU in his hand was written by Mao Chenggong himself, so it is authentic." "What about
the IOU that Cai Yuanwai took out at the tribute meeting?"
Chen Chaoyuan whispered: "It should be a fake, but Father Xiong Burned on the spot."
Su Ze understood now.
What happened should be like this:
Father Xiong became addicted to gambling and owed usury at Feihu Casino.
At the meeting to discuss the distribution of tribute silver, Cai Yuanwai took a fake IOU and asked Xiong's father to sign the deed. The Xiong Family Tea Garden distributed more tribute silver and the gambling house's debt was written off.
Father Xiong agreed to Cai Yuanwai's suggestion and burned the fake IOU on the spot.
The gambling house brought real IOUs to collect debts. Xiong Yue went to the gambling house to argue with the Cai family. Mr. Cai did not see anyone outside, so Xiong Yue went to the gambling house and died.
The Xiong family sued the gambling house, and Baizhi County made such an accommodating verdict and canceled Xiong's father's debt, but refused to let the Xiong family pursue a life lawsuit again.
Su Ze got up after snapping the case and said: "Human life is at stake! The county government ended the case so hastily!"
Chen Chaoyuan sighed: "Mao Cheng is publicly responsible for this case. He burned the fake IOU on the spot at the tribute silver meeting that day, and Cai The agreement outside the Yuan Dynasty was also a verbal agreement, and the deed of tribute silver did not specify the reason why the Xiong family should be divided into fifty taels of silver a year." "
My brother from the clan also found other tea plantation owners who attended the meeting, but there was no one. Are you willing to testify for the Xiong family?"
"In other words, the matter of sharing more tribute silver to pay off debts has only the testimony of Duke Mao Cheng and no evidence?"
Chen Chaoyuan nodded and said: "That's it. There is no basis for what you say. There is no need for the Cai family to come out to respond to this matter."
Chen Chaoyuan added: "Mr. Maocheng is confused. He signed Gan Jie and agreed to settle the case in order to have the gambling debt written off, but he felt sorry for Brother Xiong and committed suicide. This left me How can people keep a tea garden?"
Su Ze nodded. It is a common thing in ancient and modern times at home and abroad. Mother Xiong will definitely not be able to keep the family business by herself.
Su Ze clenched her fists, walked up to Mother Xiong and said,
"Old Madam, what are you going to do about this case?" Mother
Xiong had lost her son first and then her husband. She was already skinny and skinny. She wiped her tears and said: "The old lady is the only one left, so what can I do? I just need to wait for the funeral of my late husband and son, close my eyes and wait for death."
Su Ze said: "Old madam, I am Brother Xiong's classmate, and we are here , this case can't just be let go!"
Mother Xiong looked at Su Ze, and Chen Chaoyuan said: "Brother Su, Gan Jie has already signed it, and now that Mao Chenggong has passed away, it will be difficult to overturn this case."
Su Ze said: "Gan Jie has signed it, but there is still an unfinished case. Mr. Cai forged a IOU to deceive Mr. Maocheng into paying more tribute money. This case has not yet been determined." Chen Chaoyuan immediately understood what
Su Ze meant. Since there was no way to get the money from Xiong Yue If a death case is filed, the case should be filed elsewhere.
As long as the case is established, the cause of Xiong Yue's death can be investigated according to the facts of the case, which means that the case can be overturned.
Chen Chaoyuan quickly said with a grimace: "But this case must be filed in person. Mr. Mao Cheng has passed away. How can I file a lawsuit?"
Su Ze said: "Mr. Mao Cheng has passed away. The old lady can go and file a lawsuit."
Chen Chaoyuan He immediately said: "The county government will definitely not accept the case."
Chen Chaoyuan has assisted his clan brother as a lawyer for many years, and he also understands the Ming law.
Women in the Tang and Song dynasties could file lawsuits, but the Ming Dynasty Law regressed and stipulated that women could not file lawsuits.
In modern legal terms, women in the Ming Dynasty were not independent legal entities and could not file lawsuits.
Although Su Ze's criminal law is only Level 1, he has all the basic litigation procedures in his mind. He said: "In the Ming Dynasty Law, women are not allowed to file complaints, but I can file a complaint for the old lady, and then I can submit a petition to the county government. "Yes."
Chen Chaoyuan said quickly: "Brother Su, no!"
"In the Ming Dynasty Law, the accuser and the accused are equally guilty! If the case is not successful and the other party counter-sues it as a false accusation, then Brother Su will also be implicated, and the county examination will be held next year. , if you are found guilty, you will not be able to take part in the imperial examination!"
Litigation is equivalent to a system of litigation agency. Because women are not independent legal entities, they cannot initiate lawsuits.
However, the Ming Law also stipulates that as long as someone serves as the prosecutor, a lawsuit can be filed.
The accuser bears the same responsibilities as the accuser. For example, if Su Ze makes a report on the bear mother, the county magistrate who interrogates the case will inquire about the case. Even if the bear mother is sentenced to slap a board and be punished, the accuser Su Ze will be responsible. Ze will take charge.
In other words, filing a complaint is equivalent to being tied to the person being sued and sharing legal responsibilities, so that the woman can become an independent legal subject in court.
Su Ze shook his head and said: "I will let people investigate first, and be prepared before going to court. Brother Chen, please introduce your clan brother." The
complaint system is not only used for women, students, and officials in lawsuits. Want to use.
Because the law prohibits arbitrary torture of these people, we must file a complaint.
This system is strange and unreasonable. The meaning of this system will be discussed in this chapter of the next chapter.
(End of chapter)