Chapter 848 A Dream of Youth 380
Qin Fengnian nodded to her and then stepped aside. He had discussed the case with Xie Ning in private before the court meeting. He was a graduate of the Mingfa Academy and had served as a judge in the Dali Temple before going to Yizhou. Although the transfer was rushed, he quickly became familiar with his work because he still had his old connections.
He trusted Xie Ning because he knew Xie Ning was well-versed in legal principles after the debate, which is why he was willing to confront Xie Ning directly in court and then entrust the rest of the affairs to Xie Ning.
The court discussion was temporarily adjourned. Implementing the two systems was not so simple. After receiving their orders, Xie Ning and another Hanlin scholar reviewed all the case files related to the Hongxiu case.
If the law is followed, Hongxiu will surely die; if the pardon is granted, Hongxiu can live.
Xie Ning naturally obeyed the pardon, as she was bound by the law. However, given the current situation, she needed to consolidate power, and therefore prioritized the emperor's pardon.
She is already revising the new law. Currently, the old faction is in power in the court, and for whatever reason, they will obstruct the implementation of the new law. Therefore, she needs to use this case to elevate the emperor's power so as to pave the way for the revised new law later.
The voice of the Hanlin Academician came to my ears: "He who commits heinous crimes shall be accused of assaulting or murdering his grandparents or parents, or killing his uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, maternal grandparents, husband, or his husband's grandparents or parents."
This is a general rule.
"Anyone who murders another shall be sentenced to three years of penal servitude; if the victim has been injured, he shall be hanged; if the victim has been killed, he shall be beheaded." This is the murder provision in the law of theft.
“Hongxiu murdered her husband, committing a heinous crime that is unforgivable.”
Xie Ning glanced at a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat beside him, who immediately understood. "I have something to say: according to the Household and Marriage Law, those who marry while their parents or husbands are still alive shall be sentenced to three years of penal servitude, and concubines shall be sentenced to three degrees less. They shall also be separated from their spouses."
On the day of Hongxiu's engagement, she was still in mourning for her mother, making their marriage legally invalid. Therefore, Hongxiu's assassination of Li Dalang should not be considered a "heinous crime," but rather a murder under the theft law.
Marriage is forbidden during the mourning period. In other words, Hongxiu's crime should be judged as theft. Murdering someone and injuring someone should be punished by hanging.
The saying "Punishment does not apply to high-ranking officials, and etiquette does not apply to commoners" is somewhat far-fetched, but it was also a test by Xie Ning.
Xie Ning withdrew his gaze, then stepped forward and asked the official from the Ministry of Justice, "I have reviewed the case file. It was the county constable who arrested and interrogated Hongxiu. At that time, Hongxiu had already revealed the truth, right?"
The Ministry of Justice official nodded, and then Xie Ning continued, "According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, county magistrates are not allowed to participate in investigations, so this case did not enter the judicial process at the time, and therefore Hongxiu's surrender is valid."
In other words, Hongxiu's criminal acts, whether she was a criminal suspect and surrendered herself to the judicial authorities before being discovered by the judicial authorities, or even if she was discovered but before being interrogated or subjected to coercive measures, constitute self-surrender.
The Ministry of Justice did not recognize Hongxiu's surrender because she had already been arrested and questioned by the county magistrate. However, the county magistrate of Dazhou was not allowed to participate in the investigation, that is, the interrogation. Therefore, the county magistrate's interrogation was invalid, and Hongxiu was still considered to have surrendered herself and could have her sentence reduced.
Qin Fengnian had refuted this several times, but the Ministry of Justice ignored him.
It will still be treated as murder.
Now that this has been brought up in the imperial court, the officials of the Ministry of Justice cannot refute it, and Xie Ning did not give them a chance to refute it either. "According to the crime of murder, Hongxiu has injured someone and should be hanged. However, she confessed herself, so the crime of murder should be reduced by two degrees and she should be sentenced to 'exile for three thousand miles'."
The "Law on Reducing the Stroke of the Cane" stipulated that, except for the death penalty, the other four punishments—flogging, caning, imprisonment, and exile—were all commuted to caning on the buttocks or back. Therefore, "exile for three thousand li" should be commuted to "twenty strokes of the back cane and one year of forced labor."
The "Broken Cane Law" was mainly introduced to alleviate social conflicts. After all, the period before the Great Zhou Dynasty was a time of chaos, and in times of chaos, severe punishments were used to remedy the ills of the time. However, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, severe punishments were no longer suitable.
Another reason is that the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty was too small in the past. It did not extend north beyond the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun, south beyond the Yangtze River, or west beyond Shanxi. Within such a small territory, the river flowed for three thousand miles.
Xie Ning looked at the Hanlin scholar, who also acknowledged that Hong Xiu was not "wicked and rebellious" and that she had surrendered herself to the authorities. However, he did not believe that Hong Xiu should be punished, because the law clearly states that murder that results in injury is not considered a surrender.
Therefore, even if Hongxiu surrendered herself to the police, her punishment should not be reduced.
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