Chapter 132 You are sentenced to be a fool.
Mrs. Lin said goodbye to Ji Shubai and did not go directly to find Song Jin, but went to find Lin Zhihe. She wanted to find out how her husband planned to deal with the girl.
Lin Zhihe was very angry. When people are angry, they don't like anything. Sometimes he complained that the tea was too cold, sometimes he complained that the ink was too dry, and sometimes he complained that the handwriting on the document was too small to read. In short, everything that he was used to seeing in the past, he didn't like today.
Mrs. Lin walked in and helped him tidy up the documents and files on the desk. She asked him softly, "What happened? Who offended you?"
"Who else could it be? I am now a prefect in vain. The defendant in the court started fighting right in front of me, and the group of people in the back got together and started fighting. The people in the prefectural school are even arguing with me, as if I had caused them. Finally, there is a more elegant person, but he is still having an affair with a woman. I wonder if the feng shui of our government office is bad?"
As Lin Zhihe was talking, he began to doubt Feng Shui. Mrs. Lin sneered and picked up Mo Hongfu's complaint to read it.
"Did this woman commit fraud?"
"I'm just talking, I don't steal, rob or extort money from people."
"Isn't that a false accusation?"
"Huh?" Lin Zhihe was so angry that he didn't react for a moment.
"I just heard everything. They were obviously accusing someone of fraud, but they were talking about personal morality in court. Isn't this clearly using the excuse of accusing someone of fraud to expose the fact that someone was dressed as a man? I heard that there was a reason for what happened on the street that day?"
"What's the use of having reasons? Who wants to hear your reasons? People only care whether you hug them or not. Once they meet you, they will never be able to explain themselves in this life." Lin Zhihe told the truth.
"That boy is not a decent person. He ripped off other people's reputation and used our government office as a thug."
"Then what does your Excellency intend to do?" Mrs. Lin followed up on his question.
Lin Zhihe lowered his head and thought for a while: "It's difficult. At first, maybe I could just scold him and let it go. But now he is being beaten for real. If I don't punish him, wouldn't it mean that I am biased?"
He shook his head: "It's difficult."
It was obviously Mo Hongfu who bullied her, but the girl committed a real crime in public. If she were to punish him, she would be too partial now that she had calmed down. If she were not to punish him, she would be too partial. I am afraid that someone would spread rumors tomorrow that the girl had an affair with the magistrate of the government office, and she would be able to avoid punishment, and it would be even harder to clear her name.
Seeing that he was kind-hearted, Mrs. Lin knew that this matter would be easy to handle.
"Punish him. If he made a mistake, he should be punished. This is fair and just."
"Why do you say that?" His wife had always been soft-hearted, and he was surprised that she was so determined to punish a falsely accused girl today.
"One thing should be treated as one thing, those who assault or injure others should be punished, and those who falsely accuse others should also be punished. This is the only way to be fair and just."
"Forty lashes for a fight is not a light punishment."
Mrs. Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. If the girl is really punished, it's time to replace your capable subordinate."
Mrs. Lin had an idea in her mind, so she went to the side hall to look for Song Jin.
The side hall is not a place to lock people up. Ji Shubai put the person here out of selfishness as a special care. Everyone saw it clearly, but no one said anything to him.
There was a guard guarding the door. When he saw the prefect's wife coming, he quickly bowed and greeted her. Rulan explained the situation, and the guard opened the door and let Mrs. Lin in.
Song Jin sat inside for a long time. The door was always closed. There was no transparent glass in the Ming Dynasty, so the house was dark even in broad daylight.
She said nothing, didn't cry or make a fuss, and just sat there until Mrs. Lin came in.
Song Jin had met Mrs. Lin at the Chai family. She was over fifty years old but still looked young. She had an oval face with the look of a bodhisattva. She was a very gentle and compassionate person.
She smiled at Song Jin: "I heard that there was a lot of excitement ahead today. I was wondering who it was, but it turned out to be you."
Song Jin didn't know how to respond, so he just stood there with his head down.
Mrs. Lin sat aside and motioned to her, "You should sit down too, and we can talk together."
"I heard that you and Mr. Ji here..."
"I have no personal relationship with him."
As they were all women, Mrs. Lin could naturally hear the resentment in Song Jin's heart. She smiled and said, "This matter should be blamed on him. He handled things too foolishly. If it were me, I'm afraid I would never see this person again from now on."
Song Jin said nothing.
"I heard that Master Zhang in the government school also admires you. I think you are quite knowledgeable."
"It's just a small trick, not worth mentioning."
Mrs. Lin was not surprised to see her depressed, but just reminded her: "You are not confused when you should be confused, and you are confused when you shouldn't be confused. You are destined to be confused."
After being scolded, Song Jin finally realized that Mrs. Lin was there to help her.
"So what if I'm not confused? I just did the same thing as a man, wearing men's clothes and talking at the table. I didn't steal anyone's man or defraud anyone's money. I just hugged in the street, which is something only two people can do. Why should I be the only one kneeling in the hall?"
As Song Jin spoke, she began to feel aggrieved. This situation was too familiar to her, and it had not gotten any better even in the 21st century.
No matter how advanced the world's technology is, it cannot resist the feudalism in our hearts.
Madam Lin sighed and said, "Since you know that Wenjun sells wine, how can you not know this ulterior motive? Some truths are better kept in mind. Speaking them out is like a double-edged sword, which hurts others as well as yourself."
"Others are hurt, how could they not come back to retaliate against you? It is better to watch the fire from the other side of the river than to fly into it. In today's world, you should protect yourself, not change your fate. If you insist on taking this path, then today is just the beginning. There will be countless more cruel and dangerous things in the future. Can you handle them all? In today's matter, if the prefect nods, you will have no way out. Since you know that your fate is in the hands of others, why bother to anger them? If you don't want to live, just jump into Taihu Lake and be at ease. Why bother to argue with others in this court. If you want others to let you go, you must let yourself go first."
"You are too young. You think that the difference between men and women is just the clothes. That's why you think that if you dress up as a man, you can act like a man. But can the difficulties we women have really be solved by wearing men's clothes? What kind of difficulties are they? You are so smart, how can you not understand this? This dress can bring you temporary freedom, but it will trap your future. Can you be a man for the rest of your life? When you put on this dress, did you not expect that it would bring you greater disasters? You are just being too smart."
Song Jin was speechless.
"I've heard about you. Although you're a little weird, everyone has their own weirdness. What happened today is just the beginning. If you give in and change your habits, you can start over. If you keep arguing with Mr. Mo, who is shameless, what about you? Do you want to become like him?"
"It's better to break off an arm and get out of it than to be unable to extricate oneself."
Mrs. Lin persuaded Song Jin, and Song Jin listened. She didn't want to be a hero, just like she would never persuade Miss Pei to act like her. If you can't bear the consequences, don't do such a thing. Now the consequences are obvious. If Song Jin insists on continuing, others may not be hurt, but she will have to pay a higher price. This is not worth it.
"Ma'am, may I ask you for a favor?"
"you say."
Song Jin borrowed a set of clothes from Mrs. Lin, a set of women's clothes, because she wanted to wear women's clothes to go to court.
No more hiding things, no more dressing up as a man, just go to court as a woman and take responsibility for the crime of assaulting others. As for the stigma, just let it go if it can't be washed off. The most important thing is to get out of this lawsuit as soon as possible.
Mrs. Lin left Ruyi to help Song Jin change her clothes and comb her hair. Ruyi was talkative and talked to her while helping her change her clothes.
"Hey, I heard that you scratched Mr. Mo? Was it serious?"
"It seems to be disfigured."
"It's good that he's disfigured. I hate men like T the most. They rely on their eloquence and ability to write a few complaints to encourage people to sue each other. One time I saw him accusing someone of adultery, and he almost killed the girl in court. I wanted to tear his mouth apart. You are really good. Just scratch him a few more times."
Song Jin's originally depressed mood was relieved by Ruyi's liveliness, until the bailiff came to carry her to the hall. She saw Ji Shubai standing opposite her looking at her across the patio.
Song Jin was stunned for a moment, and only after being reminded by the yamen runner did he move forward.
Mo Hongfu covered his face with his hands, his eyes looking as if he wanted to eat Song Jin.
Song Jin ignored him and stood beside him until the prefect came to the hall, then she knelt down again.
Even though I was trying not to care about Ji Shubai, I couldn't help but look at the seat next to me. It was empty.
"Sir, I want to sue this person for assaulting others." Mo Hongfu's tone was no longer as smug and confident as before. As expected, the people who were hurt were the least likely to remain calm and self-controlled.
The prefect above also softened his tone and only asked Song Jin whether he could plead guilty.
"I was the first to injure someone, so I will let you punish me."
Lin Zhihe breathed a sigh of relief and finally stopped being stubborn. This matter would be easier to handle.
The gavel slammed: "The criminal, Lu Jin, intentionally assaulted another person and caused injury, shall be punished with 40 strokes of the cane. Considering that this is your first offense and your attitude is good, your crime will be reduced by two levels, and you will be punished with 20 strokes of the cane. You will be executed immediately."
Song Jin was in a daze, wondering if he could still walk after being beaten twenty times, when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Sir, sir, we redeem our sentence."
Song Jin looked numbly at A Rong coming in with a box in his arms. Lin Zhihe then ordered someone to find the storekeeper to take him aside for disposal, and Song Jin was also taken away.
Before the man had gone far, the gavel rang again, and the prefect said, "Scholar Mo Hongfu, falsely accuses others of fraud..."
Halfway through his words, Song Jin suddenly regained some energy and stood there refusing to leave, insisting on listening to the entire judgment.
Scholar Mo Hongfu, who accused others of fraud without any evidence, is actually a false accusation. He is sentenced to the second degree of the false accusation, 60 strokes of the cane, and exempted from tattooing. Considering his status as a scholar, he will not be executed today. He will be brought back to the government office for execution after the report is made to the school official and his title of scholar is revoked.
After listening to this brief verdict, Song Jin felt dizzy.
Mo Hongfu committed a crime, but because he was a scholar he could not be executed immediately, but she could execute him immediately.
During the Ghost Festival, she told Ji Shubai that she wanted to learn from him, but she could never do so in this lifetime. Not only could she not learn from Ji Shubai, she couldn't even learn from Mo Hongfu.
If Arong hadn't brought the money with him, she would have been stripped naked outside and beaten until she was screaming in pain.
Song Jin survived the disaster, but she was not happy at all. Du Juan saw that she was staggering and came to help her.
"We were really scared today. When Auntie heard that you were in trouble, she thought it was because she beat Grandma on the Lantern Festival, and that's why you were implicated. She cried so hard at home that she couldn't move. I had no choice but to let Chunyun stay to take care of her."
"We're going back today and doing business as usual. At worst, you can stop telling stories and leave it to the three men. We can still survive."
Several people took turns to persuade her, but Song Jin only listened half of what they said. She felt as if all her strength was drained away, and her steps were unsteady. When she arrived outside the yamen, A Rong quickly called a sedan chair for her and carried her back.
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