What made the director of the Ministry of Justice gloomy was that Li Mu had said so much, and every word he said was reasonable.
According to the laws of the Great Zhou, as long as no serious injuries or deaths were caused, the maximum punishment for fighting would be twenty strokes of the cane and seven days of imprisonment. Wei Peng only had a black eye, which was a light injury among light injuries. If he was sentenced to the most serious crime of fighting, he might not be able to convince the public.
He was not afraid of not being able to convince the public, but he was afraid of not being able to convince the Internal Guard.
This was a clear abuse of power, and a heavy punishment was a light crime. The Internal Guard was a sharp sword hanging over the heads of the officials of the Divine Capital. If this sword fell, even if he could keep his head, he would definitely not be able to keep his position.
However, if he downplayed this matter, he would not be able to swallow the anger in his heart.
He was a constable, and catching people was his job. Why would he study the laws of the Great Zhou?
The director of the Ministry of Justice took a deep breath. After calming himself down, he said, "I won't imprison you. Ten strokes of the cane isn't an abuse of punishment, right?"
Li Mu nodded. "Of course not."
After all, the law was only a reference. It could not be so precise as to how a black eye should be punished. As for how the punishment should be, it was up to the judge to decide the punishment according to the actual situation. This was the authority of the judge.
The director of the Ministry of Justice waved his hand and said, "Men, drag him out and execute him!"
He could choose not to imprison him, but he had to beat him.
If he did not make Li Mu lose half his life today, he would not be able to appease the hatred in his heart from being humiliated twice.
Although this person was a constable, he was still inexperienced. He probably did not know that the bailiffs of the Ministry of Justice had long been trained to be skilled.
They could beat someone a hundred times with the cane and only hurt the flesh. They could also beat someone to death within ten strokes.
Whether it was ten strokes, twenty strokes, a hundred strokes, or two hundred strokes, they could all achieve the same result.
The director of the Ministry of Justice gave the two bailiffs a look. After the two understood, a trace of fierceness appeared in their eyes.
"Wait."
Li Mu stretched out his hand again.
The director of the Ministry of Justice said angrily, "What else do you want?"
Li Mu slowly said, "According to the law of the Great Zhou, Book Two, Article Thirteen, the crime of fighting can be substituted with silver. And according to the law of the Great Zhou, Book Fifty, Article One, it explains the substitution of silver. One cane can be substituted with one tael of silver. Ten canes, that is one tael of silver."
Li Mu took out a piece of silver from his bosom and walked to the table where the director of the Ministry of Justice was sitting. He placed the silver on the table and said, "There's more than one tael of silver here. Keep the change …"
The Director of the Ministry of Justice opened his mouth, but did not know how to refute.
The Silver of Guilt was a rule set by the previous Emperor, and it was still in use today. In today's morning court, he even stood out to oppose the proposal to abolish the Silver of Guilt.
In other words, Li Mu's actions were in accordance with the law.
However, this law had always been used by the Ministry of Justice to protect their accomplices. When had it ever been used on themselves?
Li Mu looked at the director of the Ministry of Justice and asked, "Is there a problem?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice did not speak.
He could not deny Li Mu, because denying Li Mu was the same as denying himself.
A few hours ago, he was still in court, arguing that the Silver of Guilt was beneficial to the country, and not a tool used by some party for personal gain. If he did not allow Li Mu to use the Silver of Guilt, he was afraid that the internal guards would immediately accuse him of abusing his power for personal gain. That would be the end of him.
The director of the Ministry of Justice shook his head and said, "No problem."
Li Mu said, "If there's no problem, I'll go back first. See you next time …"
Wei Peng had been standing to the side and watching. At this moment, he could no longer hold back. He pointed at Li Mu and asked the director of the Ministry of Justice, "Are we letting him go just like that?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice said with a dark expression, "According to the law, he paid the silver and it was enough to pay for his crime."
Wei Peng cursed angrily, "Which idiot made this bullshit law? Where is the justice?!"
Li Mu, who already had one foot out of the hall of the Ministry of Justice, pulled back the foot he had taken.
He turned around and walked back. He looked at the director of the Ministry of Justice and asked, "Did you hear that?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice held his forehead and shook his head. "I didn't hear anything."
"I heard it." Li Mu pointed at Wei Peng and said, "He just said which idiot made this bullshit law. The Silver of Guilt Law was made by the previous Emperor. Insulting the previous Emperor is a great disrespect. According to the law, one should be punished with a hundred beatings …"
Great disrespect referred to disrespect to the sovereign. Disrespect to the previous sovereigns of the Great Zhou was a great disrespect.
There was no punishment for this crime. It was very small when it was small, but it was very big when it was big.
If the sovereign was wise, he might just laugh it off. If it was a narrow-minded Emperor, this crime alone would be enough to sentence him to death.
According to the law of the Great Zhou, great disrespect was punishable with a hundred beatings.
After a hundred beatings, some people would be able to get out of bed the next day. Some people would die on the spot. The specific situation depended on the decision of the judge. Whether they lived or died, it was all within the law.
Hearing this, Wei Peng's expression changed greatly. He said, "I didn't know this was made by the previous Emperor. I am willing to use silver as a substitute …"
The director of the Ministry of Justice looked at him like he was an idiot. He said, "Murder, arson, disobedience, and great disrespect are not included in the list of crimes."
When the silver was first made available, the national treasury became much more abundant in a short period of time. However, chaos arose in the country and the people were seething with resentment. Later on, the previous Emperor had the Ministry of Justice make changes to this law. Many serious crimes were excluded from the list of crimes. However, great disrespect was never included in the list of crimes.
Li Mu glanced at Wei Peng and asked the director of the Ministry of Justice, "This person insulted the previous Emperor and committed the crime of great disrespect. He should be punished with a hundred beatings. Do you want him to be beaten here, or should I bring him back to the yamen?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice gritted his teeth and said, "There is no need to trouble the yamen with the matters of the Ministry of Justice."
A hundred strokes would be enough to beat Wei Peng to death. At that time, how would he answer to Minister Counsellor Wei? Minister Counsellor Wei only had one son in his middle years, and Wei Peng was his only son. If he died in the yamen, he would probably go crazy.
Li Mu nodded and said, "Then let's begin. I will leave after watching."
The director of the Ministry of Justice gave the two bailiffs a look and said, "Wei Peng disrespected the previous Emperor. According to the law, he should be punished with a hundred beatings. Carry out immediately."
Wei Peng's screams quickly came from outside the hall of the Ministry of Justice.
He lay sprawled on a flat stool. Every beatings on his buttocks caused a wave of pain. Although it was not intense, it was unbearable when stacked together.
However, at this moment, compared to the physical pain, he felt more wronged.
From the beginning to the end, he was a complete victim. Just because he looked at that person a little longer, he was punched. When he arrived at the Ministry of Justice, not only did he not receive justice, he was punished with a hundred beatings.
Where was the justice? Where was the justice? Was there any law in Luoyang?
Wei Peng felt that he was as wronged as Dou E.
In the hall of the Ministry of Justice, the director of the Ministry of Justice looked at Li Mu and asked, "Do you really want to be enemies with the Ministry of Justice?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "I am only acting according to the law. When have I ever been enemies with the Ministry of Justice? You sent people to bring me here from the yamen. You punished me with beatings and imprisoned me. Now you are saying that I am enemies with the Ministry of Justice. Isn't that just making false accusations?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice opened his mouth. After thinking carefully, it seemed like what he said was true.
However, it was the Ministry of Justice that had brought him here. Why did he feel like he was being bullied?
Li Mu waved his hand at the director of the Ministry of Justice and said, "I'm leaving. See you next time."
After being taken advantage of twice, the director of the Ministry of Justice watched Li Mu walk out of the door of the Ministry of Justice once again. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth as he said to his men, "Don't meddle in his affairs in the future!"
The two incidents had shown how difficult it was to deal with a bailiff who understood the law.
The director of the Ministry of Justice had already understood the principle that it was easier to invite the devil in than to send it away. Out of sight, out of mind. He would not meddle in other people's affairs. If the vice-director of the Ministry of Revenue was angry for his son, he could go to the yamen and cause a ruckus.
Outside the Ministry of Justice, Wang Wu and several bailiffs were waiting anxiously. Only Xiao Bai had a smile on her face as she glanced at the Ministry of Justice from time to time.
Some of the guests of the Wafting Fragrance Restaurant ran out of the restaurant without even finishing their food. They wanted to see the show.
Wei Peng was a frequent guest of the Wafting Fragrance Restaurant. His personality was extremely arrogant and despotic. He had clashed with people several times in the Wafting Fragrance Restaurant. In the end, the side that was clearly in the right had to grovel and apologize to him. Everyone had disliked him for a long time.
The scene at the Wafting Fragrance Restaurant today was simply too satisfying.
Unfortunately, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice were in cahoots. That bailiff would probably be carried out after entering the Ministry of Justice.
Everyone was thinking this in their hearts. Sure enough, they saw someone being carried out of the Ministry of Justice.
They took a closer look. If it wasn't Wei Peng, who else could it be?
They then saw the bailiff striding out of the Ministry of Justice. From head to toe, he didn't look like he had been punished at all. The crowd couldn't help but be stunned.
Although today's matter made them feel happy in their hearts, it was obvious that Wei Peng had done a lot of evil in the past. Today, he had completely suffered an undeserved calamity.
Why was it that when he arrived at the Ministry of Justice, the person who hit the bailiff wasn't injured at all? Instead, the bailiff who was beaten seemed to have been severely punished?
Although this kind of thing wasn't rare in the Ministry of Justice, in the past, the people who hit the bailiff were all people like Wei Peng …
Could it be that the bailiff's background was even deeper than Wei Peng's?
Wang Wu and the others were already dumbfounded. They ran forward and asked, "Boss, are you alright?"
Li Mu glanced at him and asked, "What can happen to me?"
Wang Wu and the others sized up Li Mu from head to toe. Then, they began to look at him with reverence. After hitting the people of the Ministry of Justice, he could make the Ministry of Justice hit his own people again. In the end, he walked out of the Ministry of Justice safely. Other than him, who else could it be?
Everything that happened in the Ministry of Justice couldn't escape Xiao Bai's ears. She raised her head and looked at Li Mu with little stars in her eyes. She said, "If benefactor is a fox, he must be the smartest fox …"
In the Ministry of Justice, the director of the Ministry of Justice paced around the hall and muttered, "Something's wrong. Something must be wrong!"
A figure stood at the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice raised his head and immediately said respectfully, "Lord Assistant Minister."
The Assistant Minister of Justice asked, "What's wrong?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice scratched his head and said, "The one who hit the bailiff was fine. Instead, the one who was beaten was punished with a cane. What was wrong became right, and what was right became wrong …"
The Assistant Minister of Justice glanced at him and said indifferently, "According to the law, no one is wrong, but right and wrong are reversed and black and white are mixed up. Then, the one who is wrong is the law …"
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