After a while, the director of the Ministry of Justice sent Li Mu off with a smile. He waved his hand and said, "Take care, Lord Li."
After sending off Li Mu, the director of the Ministry of Justice returned to his office. He slumped into his chair and sighed, "Why is my life so hard …"
As an official of the Ministry of Justice, he was bullied by a constable of the Divine Capital. He was probably the most wronged director in the history of the Ministry of Justice.
Li Mu left the Ministry of Justice and returned to the Divine Capital. He said to the constables who had just returned from their patrol and were sunbathing in the courtyard, "Come with me. We have work to do."
Divine Capital, Rosy Lane.
There were more than a hundred markets in the Divine Capital. There were business markets, entertainment markets, and residential markets. Rosy Lane was a residential area in the western part of the Divine Capital.
Although it was not comparable to the markets where the Southern Courtyard and Northern Courtyard lived, it was still considered prosperous among the hundreds of markets in the Divine Capital.
Most of the people who lived in Rosy Lane were wealthy. Most of the houses in the market had two or three courtyards.
Li Mu came to a house. Wang Wu looked up at the two words' Xu Mansion 'on the plaque. Without waiting for Li Mu's order, he went up and knocked on the door.
After a long time, slow footsteps came from inside. An old man with a wrinkled face opened the door and asked, "Sirs, what's the matter?"
Li Mu went up and said, "We're from the Divine Capital. We're investigating a case and need your cooperation."
The old servant opened the door and said, "Sirs, please come in. I'll get the master."
Li Mu and the others walked into the courtyard, and the old man walked into a room. Soon, a middle-aged man walked out of the room with quick steps.
The middle-aged man looked at them in surprise and asked, "What, what case are you investigating?"
Li Mu looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "You're Shopkeeper Xu, right?"
The middle-aged man nodded and said, "That's me."
Li Mu continued asking, "Three months ago, was Shopkeeper Xu's daughter violated?"
When the middle-aged man heard this, his face was filled with grief and indignation. His voice was hoarse as he said, "We have already decided not to sue you. Why are you still unwilling to let us go?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "Shopkeeper Xu, you've misunderstood. We're really here to investigate this case. If you've really been wronged, the imperial court will give you justice."
The middle-aged man's face was filled with fear. He shook his head and said, "There is no injustice. My daughter is fine. You can go …"
The middle-aged man clearly did not trust them. Li Mu sighed and said: "Shopkeeper Xu, my name is Li Mu. I'm from the Divine Capital. You can trust us."
The middle-aged man raised his head abruptly and asked, "Luoyang yamen, you, you're Arrester Li?"
Li Mu took out his waist tag. His name and position were clearly engraved on it.
The middle-aged man stared blankly at the token in Li Mu's hand. Even if he stayed in his house and never left, he had still heard of Li Mu's name.
When the master's servants went out to buy things, they would often bring back news about Li Mu.
For example, he had violently beaten up the sons of officials who bullied the people in Luoyang and forced the imperial court to change the punishment law.
Another example was when he struck the people in the street with lightning to seek justice for the victims.
He scolded all the officials in the imperial court and even the four academies were not spared.
He was not afraid of the nobles or the academies. In Luoyang, he was the light in the hearts of the people.
The middle-aged man's body trembled as he knelt heavily on the ground. He nodded and said mournfully, "Sir Li, please seek justice for me!"
Li Mu helped him up and said, "Don't be agitated. Tell me in detail what happened. I'll seek justice for you."
Two lines of tears rolled down from the middle-aged man's eyes. He said in a trembling voice, "Wei Bin, a student of the Baichuan Academy, humiliated my daughter and almost caused her to commit suicide. I went to the Ministry of Justice to complain, but they dismissed me with insufficient evidence. After that, someone even warned me that if I didn't know what was good for me and dared to complain again, they would destroy my family and make me die without a complete corpse …"
"Damn it, there's such a thing!"
"Damn the Ministry of Justice. It's a disaster in Luoyang!"
"Why are these academies filled with beasts?"
…
The constables behind Li Mu were indignant.
Li Mu looked at Shopkeeper Xu and said, "Can I see Miss Xu?"
Shopkeeper Xu nodded and said, "I'll bring Constable Li over. However, after my daughter was humiliated by that beast, she tried to commit suicide several times. Now her mind is not clear and she's afraid of outsiders, especially men …"
Li Mu looked at the people behind him and said, "Wait for me here."
Under Shopkeeper Xu's lead, Li Mu passed through a moon gate and arrived at the inner courtyard.
The scene in the courtyard was a little strange. There was an old tree in the courtyard and its trunk was wrapped in a cotton quilt. The well in the corner was also covered by a stone slab. The stone slab was also wrapped in a thick cotton quilt. Even the stone tables and benches in the courtyard were wrapped in cotton and other things.
There was a woman sitting by the stone table.
The woman was about 18 or 19 years old. She was wearing a plain dress. Her clothes were neat but a little messy. Her hair was loose and her face was a little dull. Her eyes were empty. When she heard someone approaching, her face was immediately filled with fear. She covered her head with both hands and screamed, "Don't come here. Don't come here!"
Shopkeeper Xu clenched his fists. His face was full of sorrow and his body could not stop trembling.
Li Mu did not approach the woman. He retreated to the outer courtyard and took out a few Fu-lu. He handed it to Shopkeeper Xu and said, "This talisman can calm the mind. Before going to bed at night, turn it into talisman water and let her drink it. Her condition should be better."
Shopkeeper Xu drank the talisman water and said repeatedly, "Thank you, Constable Li. Thank you!"
The only thing Li Mu could do was to calm her mind. Being violated and humiliated had obviously caused great damage to her soul and even affected her mind. She could only rely on her own strength to get over it.
The best way for her to get over the knot in her heart was to let her see with her own eyes that those who violated and humiliated her received the retribution they deserved.
"Hundred Rivers Academy, Wei Bin …" Li Mu's face darkened as he walked out of the Xu Mansion. He said, "Let's go to Hundred Rivers Academy!"
Wang Wu and the others followed him without hesitation. They used to be afraid of the academy, but after Jiang Zhe's incident, the academy's weight in their hearts had lessened a lot.
Hundred Rivers Academy.
When Li Mu walked to the gate of the academy, the old gatekeeper appeared again. He looked at him angrily and asked, "What are you doing here again?"
Li Mu said calmly, "Ask Wei Bin to come out. He's involved in a case and needs to go back with us to the yamen for investigation."
If it was in the past, the old man would not care about a constable of the Divine Capital yamen.
However, after Jiang Zhe's incident, he deeply realized the consequences of ignoring him.
He was only a gatekeeper of the academy. This kind of thing should be left to the person in charge of the academy.
He glanced at Li Mu and said, "Wait here. I'll go in and report."
With that, his figure disappeared into the academy gate.
Li Mu and the others stood at the entrance of the academy in their official uniforms. They were particularly eye-catching.
Soon, some commoners came up and asked, "Constable Li, what's going on? Did a student of the academy commit a crime again?"
Li Mu said, "A student of Hundred Rivers Academy defiled a woman. We're going to arrest him."
"What? A student of the academy again?"
"How can a student of the academy do such a dirty thing?"
"They're reading books of sages, but they're worse than beasts!"
"What did the instructors of the academy teach them?"
…
The commoners gathered around Li Mu and the others and discussed animatedly. Inside the academy, Vice Principal Chen frowned tightly.
He asked in a deep voice, "Whose student is Wei Bin?"
A middle-aged man stood out from the group of instructors in front of him and said nervously, "He's my student."
Vice Principal Chen asked, "What crime did he commit that the Divine Capital Yamen would come to the academy to arrest him?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "I don't know either."
Vice Principal Chen snorted and said, "No matter what crime he committed, the Divine Capital Yamen wants him. Let them take him away and punish him accordingly. In the future, the academy is not allowed to interfere with the matters of the students!"
The middle-aged man thought for a while and asked, "But won't this damage the academy's reputation?"
"What reputation does the academy have?" Vice Principal Chen waved his hand and said, "His Majesty is still worried about finding a reason to attack the academy. Don't give them any chance. If he wants Wei Bin, give him Wei Bin!"
Li Mu and the others didn't have to wait for long outside before a young man with a pale face and trembling body was brought out of the academy.
A middle-aged man said, "No matter what crime he committed, please punish him impartially. The academy will not protect him."
His righteous words improved the impression of the commoners in front of the Academy.
A student's mistake could not be blamed on the academy. If the academy could uphold justice and not protect him, it could be considered righteous.
Li Mu glanced at the young man and said coldly, "Take him away!"
Wang Wu and the others immediately took him to the Divine Capital Yamen.
At the Wei Mansion.
"Big brother, bad news! Bad news!"
The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue finished his meal and was about to go to the yamen when a figure suddenly rushed into his study with a face full of panic.
Looking at his brother, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue asked, "What happened?"
The man panted and said, "Wei Bin, Wei Bin was arrested and brought to the Divine Capital Yamen!"
"What?" The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue had high hopes for his nephew who was studying at the Baichuan Academy. He hurriedly asked, "What crime did he commit? Why was he arrested and brought to the Divine Capital Yamen?"
The man lowered his head and said, "He, he once raped a girl. Now it's exposed and the Divine Capital Yamen knows about it."
"Fool!" The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue said angrily, "Why did you only tell me about this now?"
The man said worriedly, "Big brother, what do we do now? He already knows his mistake. The Divine Capital Yamen won't sentence him to death, right?"
"I'm not very clear about the law. I'll go ask Peng 'er." The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue walked out of the study and into another courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, Wei Peng was bent over a stone table, reading. Hearing the noise, he turned his head and asked, "Father, Second Uncle, is there something you need from me?"
The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue said, "Peng 'er, you're familiar with the law. What's the sentence for raping a girl?"
Wei Peng was stunned and asked, "Why are you suddenly asking this? Did Second Uncle rape a girl?"
The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue said, "Don't ask too much. What's the sentence for raping a girl?"
Wei Peng looked at his Second Uncle with a strange gaze and said, "Raping a girl is a serious crime. According to the law of the Great Zhou, Book Two, Article 36, those who commit the crime of rape are usually sentenced to three to ten years in prison. In serious cases, the highest sentence is execution."
The man hurriedly asked, "What's considered serious?"
Wei Peng shook his head and said, "If the method of rape is too cruel, such as raping the same girl over a long period of time, raping a pregnant girl, a seriously ill girl, or in public, or causing serious injury to a girl, these are all serious cases …"
The man let out a sigh of relief but still asked worriedly, "What do we do? If that's the case, won't Bin 'er be in prison for more than three years?"
Wei Peng was shocked and said, "Wei Bin was the one who raped the girl?"
The man looked at Wei Peng and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. He said, "Peng 'er, you know the law. You have to help your brother. Even if you can't get him off the hook, you have to make sure he doesn't spend too many years in prison …"
Wei Peng thought about it and nodded helplessly. "I'll try my best …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
