Chapter 13 Butterfly [Collection Request]
Chang'an County Government Office, back hall.
A constable strode into the room and said happily, "Sir, Cui Ze confessed everything. He and Zhang Xiaoyun killed Zheng together. The two had been having an affair for a long time. According to him, all of this was instigated by Zhang Xiaoyun. He was just bewitched for a while... After Cui Ze confessed, Zhang Xiaoyun also confessed to it."
All this was not beyond the expectations of the Chang'an County Magistrate.
He glanced at Li Nuo who was flipping through the "Daxia Law" opposite him, and felt deeply moved. It is true that like fathers and daughters, like sons, like daughters. How could Li Xuanjing's son be a fool? On the contrary, he is not only extremely intelligent and observant, but also has a subtle insight into and control over people's hearts.
Li Nuo just tried it casually, and he didn't expect the other party to surrender so quickly.
He was just thinking that if the plan failed, he would just use the memory recovery technique. Once the murderer was identified, it would not be unfair even if they were tortured.
The magistrate of Chang'an County looked at him strangely, but Li Nuo didn't care at all. He was more concerned about how much longer this case could give him. He immediately asked, "Can these two people be sentenced to death?"
Pei Zhe nodded, flipped open the Daxia Code, pointed to a page, and said to Li Nuo: "According to Daxia Code, if an adulterer kills his husband, the wife or concubine who was raped is guilty even if she is unaware of the crime... These two conspired to kill Zheng Yuanwai, and both of them should be beheaded. However, Cui Ze is an accomplice and confessed voluntarily, so he can be given a lighter sentence of 100 strokes of the cane, three years of imprisonment, and exile 3,000 miles away."
Li Nuo looked at the legal provisions on this page. Compared with later generations, Daxia’s laws in this regard were very different.
In Daxia, if an adulterer killed his husband, his wives and concubines would be treated as guilty regardless of whether they knew about it or not. Depending on the specific circumstances, they would be sentenced to beheading or hanging. Cui Ze and Zhang Xiaoyun's murder of Zheng Yuanwai was premeditated and they should be executed according to the law.
However, officials have a certain degree of freedom in sentencing when judging cases. In view of the fact that Cui Ze is an accomplice and has confessed, the punishment can be reduced appropriately, but it is only a temporary exemption from the death penalty. Not to mention the exile of three thousand miles, which is basically a death sentence. The one hundred strokes of the cane alone may cost him his life. Whether he lives or dies depends on his luck.
The Chang'an County Magistrate wrote down the verdict and was waiting for the two men to sign and seal it. Li Nuo was flipping through the "Daxia Law" when he suddenly noticed another law.
"All servants, slaves, and servants who murder their masters shall be beheaded. Those who murder their masters' relatives shall be strangled; those who have injured their masters shall be beheaded."
The ancients believed in leaving the body intact. Although both were death sentences, beheading was more severe than hanging. This law stated that slaves or servants in a family would be sentenced to death if they murdered their master's relatives, regardless of whether they harmed the master's relatives or not.
Anyone who attempts to murder his master shall be beheaded, regardless of whether the master is injured or not.
According to the laws of Daxia, the female assassin, as a servant of the Li family, committed the crime of murdering her master and had already caused harm, so she should be executed according to the law.
The Chang'an County Magistrate only sentenced her to two years in prison for intentional injury.
Li Nuo glanced at the Chang'an County Magistrate. With his understanding of the Daxia Code, it was unlikely that he would make such a mistake. After all, he could accurately point out the legal provisions and turn to the correct page at will. This was equivalent to a senior judge not being able to distinguish between attempted murder and intentional injury. In this case, there was no possibility of confusion at all.
But Li Nuo did not point it out.
After all, he was influenced by modern laws. According to modern criminal law, she might be sentenced to three to five years, but definitely not the death penalty. In the 21st century, everyone is equal, there are no slaves anymore, and of course there are no such crimes as those committed below.
The Code also recognizes this judgment.
If she is sentenced to two years in prison, Li Nuo can still live two more days. If she is sentenced to death, he will not live even a day more.
In this way, the Code is not based on current laws, and it seems to have its own logic and ideas on how to punish.
Noticing that Li Nuo's gaze lingered on a certain part of the "Daxia Law" for a long time, the Chang'an County Magistrate took a quick glance and saw clearly where he was looking at, and cold sweat began to appear on his forehead.
No way, that legal provision was made up of simple common words, and he was very likely to have understood it. Doesn't that mean that he knew that I had intentionally given a light sentence in the previous case?
Pei Zhe was feeling uneasy. When he saw Li Nuo finally turned over a new page and said nothing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to write the judgment.
at the same time.
Deep inside Chang'an Street, inside a high gate somewhere.
The sun is shining brightly in the sky, the shade of the trees covers the ground, the yard is full of cicada chirping, and no one is talking.
In a quiet room deep in the courtyard, the incense in the incense burner rises up, and the air is filled with a soothing and calming scent.
A figure hurriedly passed through the shade of the trees, breaking the silence, stepped into the room, took a deep breath, calmed down, and said, "Sir, the butterfly has been caught..."
In the quiet room, on the futon, a figure sitting cross-legged with eyes closed slowly opened his eyes and said, "Continue."
The man said slowly, "Zheng Tianxing is dead. All the people in the Zheng Mansion were arrested and taken to the Chang'an County Office early this morning. But not long ago, except for Hu Die and Cui Ze, everyone was released. I'm afraid they are in great danger..."
After a pause, he continued, "Cui Ze is dead, but we have carefully cultivated Butterfly for more than ten years, and we can still use her in the future. Sir, do you want to send someone..."
The man called the adult glanced at him and said coldly, "Fool, if you can make things worse, what's the point of going to so much trouble to arrange for her to get close to Zheng Tianxing?"
The man moved his lips, but ultimately said nothing more.
The man was silent for a moment, then asked, "According to Butterfly's mind, it was just to kill a powerless businessman. Even if he was carrying a burden, there would not be any clues or loopholes left. How could he be discovered so quickly?"
At this point, the man said angrily: "Originally, it was impossible to find out. There were so many people in the Zheng Mansion last night that the Chang'an County Magistrate could not suspect Hu Die no matter how much he suspected. This case would most likely be left unsolved like the previous ones. Who would have thought that someone would intervene and help the Chang'an County Magistrate solve the case..."
The man took a sip of tea and said, "It doesn't matter. It's just the loss of one man. As long as it doesn't affect the important things, it's fine."
The man still couldn't swallow this breath, and gritted his teeth and said: "Butterfly is one of the best among them. It takes more than ten years to train one. She could have been of great use in the future. I didn't expect that she would be killed in the Zheng Tianxing case. I really can't swallow this breath. I can't relieve my hatred unless I cut this person into pieces!"
The man didn't want to cause trouble, but seeing that his subordinate was obviously very angry, in order to appease him, after thinking about it, he still promised: "Go, remember to do it secretly and don't let people suspect."
The man was immediately delighted and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, sir!"
The man waved his hand and asked casually, "By the way, who is this person?"
As the man walked, he said, "Li Nuo, the son of Li Xuanjing, the Minister of the Dali Temple..."
"return!"
Hearing a quick roar from behind, the man turned around and asked in confusion, "Sir, what's wrong?"
The man's eyelids twitched a few times, and he angrily shouted, "Asshole, I, the Li official, can't avoid you, but you still want to provoke me, are you tired of living?"
The man was stunned for a moment, and asked unsurely: "Sir, is Li Xuanjing really that scary?"
The man took a deep breath, calmed down, and said, "You are not in the court, so you don't know how powerful this man is. Let's just leave this matter alone. There is no need to mention it again, and you are not allowed to cause trouble for his son!"
The man could only lower his head and whispered: "Yes..."
At this moment, the man got up from the futon and paced around the room, rubbing his brows from time to time, muttering: "Li Xuanjing..., did he find out something? Impossible, this matter is so secretive, it must be just a coincidence..."
After an unknown amount of time, he looked at the person behind him and asked, "Is Butterfly reliable?"
The man nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. Even if she dies, she won't reveal anything about us."
"I don't know if Li Xuanjing's appearance is accidental or not, but we must not let the butterfly fall into his hands. Otherwise, Chang'an will be flooded with blood, and even you and I will not be able to escape death..." The man thought for a moment, gently made a gesture of wiping his neck, and said, "Just in case..., do you understand what I mean?"
"clear."
The man nodded and asked, "What about Cui Ze? Do you want to..."
The man waved his hand and said, "Don't bother with this. He knows nothing. If something happens, it will arouse suspicion. This case involves Li Xuanjing. We must be extremely careful and not reveal any clues...
(End of this chapter)
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