Chapter 155 A Hundred Beauties Enjoying Each Other's Company (1) Adding the Crime of 'Domestic Violence'...
Xiao Changgeng picked Feng Tan up in his arms and opened the prison door. Wei Shengxian blocked his way and said, "Lord Xiao, taking away a prisoner without permission is a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire clan."
Despite being intimidated, Xiao Changgeng remained unmoved, his knuckles still resting on Feng Tan's knee, and he looked at Wei Shengxian without saying a word.
Having not been offended by anyone's gaze in a long time, Wei Shengxian scoffed and said, "I know you are her man, but Lord Xiao is new to officialdom. Why bother trying to curry favor with someone who is already in decline? Wouldn't your career be much smoother if you joined Prince Jing's faction?"
The temptation dangling before him was not what Xiao Changgeng had been thinking. When the person in his arms was asleep, his steely aura had completely disappeared, and his brows and eyes were at peace. His heart softened suddenly, and a hint of mockery appeared on his lips as he replied, "Lord Weisheng, a servant cannot serve two masters. My heart belongs to Lord Feng."
He refused decisively, and Wei Shengxian's smile turned sinister. Just as he was about to confront the two, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that the person was Sheng Honghai, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Sheng Honghai was old and had arrived in a hurry. He first caught his breath and looked at Feng Tan in Xiao Changgeng's arms, saying, "His Majesty's decree is that Lady Feng has a persistent high fever. The imperial prison is not a place for her to recuperate. She is requested to return to her residence to rest."
Wei Shengxian was ordered to release the people, but his eyes remained fixed on Xiao Changgeng.
He didn't seem surprised at all.
When was the chief eunuch appointed?
Sheng Honghai was summoned and left immediately. By the time he returned to the palace, it was already dusk. His godson, Jiang Lili, came up to him and whispered in his ear, "Godfather, His Majesty has been staying at the Imperial Ancestral Temple these past few days, not seeing any court officials, just standing there facing the memorial tablets. Just now, as soon as you left... His Majesty issued an edict to see Prince Jing."
Sheng Honghai stood there quietly for a while, then walked to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
The setting sun cast dappled shadows on the bluestone slabs through the carved lattice windows of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The imperial ancestral tablets were arranged on the altar amidst the swirling sandalwood incense. In the spacious hall, Emperor Chongming stood with his hands behind his back, while Prince Jing, dressed in a python robe, both had their gazes fixed on the bronze incense burner before the offering table. The atmosphere was heavy and solemn.
This was the first time Emperor Chongming had summoned him since Prince Jing assassinated Feng Tan. The emperor's anger towards him seemed to have subsided somewhat, but his tone was still full of authority. He looked sharply at Prince Jing and said, "I know that you have been secretly spreading nursery rhymes among the people such as 'If there is a legitimate heir, the eldest son shall succeed; if there is no legitimate heir, the eldest son shall succeed; if the father dies, the son shall succeed; if the elder brother dies, the younger brother shall succeed... If the elder brother dies, the younger brother shall succeed. Feng Cheng, do you think I am living too long?"
King Jing was terrified and knelt down behind Emperor Chongming with a thud, trembling as he said, "Your subject dares not! Even if you gave me a thousand times the courage, I would not dare to have such a rebellious thought!"
His forehead slammed heavily against the ground, and blood began to bloom. "Your Majesty spread these words because the inheritance of bloodlines by men is the strongest and most secure chain to maintain orthodoxy!"
Emperor Chongming looked at the figure of Prince Jing prostrate on the ground. The twilight cast a shadow of darkness behind him. In that darkness, Emperor Chongming suddenly remembered the day when Feng had instructed him to swallow the infertility drug without his knowledge.
That day, Feng Youming was pressed down on the white jade bricks of the Taiji Hall by the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was furious and pointed at her nose, cursing loudly, but she still smiled disdainfully even though she was being held down.
Feng Youming said, "The relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, and clan ultimately depends on the umbilical cord in a woman's womb for reproduction. The one who can truly give birth to the dragon lineage is not your unborn crown prince, but Yongle! The dragon lineage inherited through the maternal line is the legitimate bloodline. After you, there can only be the Yongle Emperor."
The echoes of the dead resonated powerfully in Emperor Chongming's ears, stirring up a jumble of emotions within him after so many years. He couldn't help but murmur, "Emperor Yongle..."
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing was startled and exclaimed, "Brother!"
Emperor Chongming rarely had such a moment of distraction. He was pulled back to reality by Prince Jing's loud voice and said, "The existence of ancestral rules is precisely to prevent the succession of imperial power from falling into unpredictable chaos. And the legitimacy of power often needs to be consolidated by reinterpreting the rules of the ancestors. She is doing just that. Fengcheng, if you want to defeat her, then go ahead and fight. There is only one condition: do not harm her again, otherwise, I will take your life."
The transfer of power is never just a change of titles, but a complex game of strength, public sentiment, and the times.
More than 20 years ago, Feng Youming spread women's education, breaking down the high walls of secular ethics that confined women in the Huang Dynasty. They were able to find another way of life from the heavy shackles, but this way of life was completely destroyed by the female disaster case.
Several years later, Feng Youming's students, guided by fate, overthrew the court and returned with hundreds of thousands of troops and new weapons. Their forceful methods forced the entire Dahuang to bow down and submit to the law.
Religious rituals, though seemingly monolithic, are actually being constantly reshaped by the tides of history.
Prince Jing knew he was a pawn in Emperor Chongming's hands, but he was content to be one. He shared Emperor Chongming's wishes that the fate of the Dahuang Kingdom should rest on the bloodline of the royal men.
The continuation of imperial power should always be based on the current balance of power and the inheritance of past rules.
After Emperor Chongming left, Prince Jing took a few steps forward, his fingers lightly brushing against the shrine frame where the ancestral tablets were enshrined. A few specks of dust settled on his fingertips before finally landing on Emperor Jianming's memorial tablet. "Since I was able to defeat Feng Tingxiao, I can certainly defeat Feng Shi's daughter. Father, if you had passed the throne to me back then, none of this trouble would have arisen."
King Jing's knuckles gradually turned white until they were completely bloodless.
***
Several days have passed since the Liu E domestic violence case, and the three judicial departments finally held a public trial today.
The area in front of the Three Judicial Offices outside Xuanwu Gate was even more bustling than the Lantern Festival market. Just after dawn, the streets were already packed with people who had come after hearing the news. From Luomashi in the south to Zhengyangmen in the north, even the windows of restaurants were crowded with onlookers, making it a scene of utter desolation.
At the third quarter of Chen Shi (7:45 AM), the officials of the three judicial departments filed out. Nie Yanghong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, sat in the center, with Zhen Yongming, the Minister of Justice, and Qin Zhang, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, sitting on either side. On the jury were the officials involved in the case, Feng Tan, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, Gong Yibin, the Minister of Rites, and relevant officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate.
"Bring the guilty woman Liu E to court!" the bailiff shouted, and the clanking sound of chains dragging on the floor echoed through the courtroom.
Liu E bowed her head and knelt on the ground. She had not been punished in the Ministry of Justice's Futu Prison, so she was still relatively clean and without any bloodstains.
Zhen Yongming slammed his gavel and said, "Liu E's domestic violence case is not qualified to be tried jointly by the three judicial departments, but it involves the debate over the retention or abolition of the 'husband is the head of the wife' clause in the Marriage Law."
Many erudite scholars from the Ministry of Rites have come today to debate the classics. They are defenders of the principle that "a wife who beats her husband is sentenced to one year of penal servitude, while a husband who beats his wife is not guilty." It is no secret that Zhen Yongming is on good terms with Feng Tan. After hearing Zhen Yongming's words, they almost couldn't hold back their own arguments.
Next came the evidence presentation. The bailiffs carried Li Ting into the hall, and when the white cloth was lifted, Li Ting's body was revealed to everyone.
The bailiff said, "The deceased had a total of twenty-three stab wounds to his chest. His skin was torn apart and his internal organs were damaged. The examination showed that he died from excessive blood loss."
"You wicked woman!" Liu E's father-in-law clutched his chest, tears streaming down his face, and pointed at Liu E, cursing, "You damned little whore, you killed the only son of my Li family! And you still have the nerve to beg the powerful to save your life? You should just die already!"
As he spoke, he tried to kick Liu E, but the bailiffs subdued him and said, "Silence! How dare you be so insolent in the courtroom!"
He was being held down, but he glared angrily at Liu'e's mother-in-law. He broke free from the bailiffs' restraints, kicked her to the ground, and shouted, "You deserve to die too! You're a hen that doesn't lay eggs, you only gave birth to this one child. Who will take care of me in my old age?"
Liu E stepped forward to protect her mother-in-law, and the perpetrator was tied up by the yamen runners and taken away from the courtroom.
Gong Yibin, Minister of Rites, said: "The Book of Rites says, 'Husband and wife are one,' and 'The husband is the head of the wife.' Even if the husband is irritable and easily angered, it is the proper way for the husband to discipline his wife. We believe that Liu E should not have killed her husband, no matter how many reasons there may be. She should be punished according to the law."
The Confucian scholars all agreed. Zhen Yongming took in everything, glanced at the composed Feng Tan, and then turned his gaze to Gong Yibin. His voice was clear and resonant, "Since Lord Gong has mentioned the Book of Rites, then I must ask a question. The Book of Rites also says, 'Rites are the order of heaven and earth; righteousness is the principle of heaven and earth.' May I ask Lord Gong, what is principle?"
Zhen Yongming's voice suddenly turned stern as he said, "Using strength to bully the weak and violence to subdue others—is this the ethical code that Lord Gong speaks of?"
Gong Yibin said, "Lord Zhen, stop trying to argue! Matters between husband and wife are governed by family rules, and it is not up to the court's laws to overstep their bounds! If we follow your logic, a husband should be punished for disciplining his wife, wouldn't that be a disorder of the proper order of things!"
"Hierarchy?" Feng Tan spoke, her eyes flashing with sharpness. She stood up from her seat, the hem of her official robe sweeping across the chair leg, and walked into the hall. "If hierarchy is maintained by fists and kicks, and ethics are supported by violence, then this set of social norms is better off not existing."
Feng Tan walked to Liu E's side, lifted her sleeve to reveal her bruised and battered arm, covered with several caterpillar-like scars. "Liu E has been married into the Li family for three years, managing the household chores and serving her in-laws every day without ever making a single mistake. But Li Ting, after drinking, often beats and scolds her, never holding back. She has many such terrible wounds on her body. Would you gentlemen like to see them? You all consider her resistance to be utterly rebellious and unforgivable... You all consider Li Ting beating her a family matter, so why isn't her killing Li Ting a family matter?"
Gong Yibin was so angry that his beard trembled. "You!"
Since Feng Tan took office at the Ministry of Rites, this high-ranking official has often had his decisions challenged and rejected. He harbored resentment towards Feng Tan for a long time, and now, unable to refute him, his face turned a deep shade of liver. "Lord Feng, you have such a silver tongue, your words are so clever!"
Feng Tan said, "In the past, when Sister Feng was kicked by Gao Zhizhen and lost her child, she died from excessive bleeding due to miscarriage. During the trial, one side insisted on the principle of prioritizing ethics and argued that domestic violence should fall under the category of 'non-public prosecution'; while the other side advocated protecting family members as independent individuals. At that time, the two sides could not reach an agreement because the Dahuang Law was unfair and not broad enough. Therefore, a new law was issued for the sake of the royal princess. If a man beats a noblewoman to death, then it will be a different matter."
The case of the princess's death can serve as a precedent for today's judgments, but the consequences it brought are not enough to deter abusers. After all, the law only protects the powerful and noble. Beyond that, there are many ordinary women who suffer beatings from their husbands.
"This shows that even the ancestral system has its flaws, and the social atmosphere must be reformed." Feng Tan's tone suddenly rose, his gaze sweeping over the three judicial officials and then over everyone present. "Since the founding of the nation, no fewer than a hundred women have died from domestic violence every year. Yet, there is not a single law that clearly defines the crime of domestic violence. Just because she got married and became someone else's wife, she was given a light sentence for manslaughter! How many perpetrators are still at large, and how many women have died unjustly! I have here a testimony from Liu E's neighbors and even Li Ting's own mother when she suffered domestic violence. You may all read it."
"Master Feng is right!" A cheer suddenly erupted from the crowd, followed by a wave of applause that swept in like a tide.
Amidst the commotion, Liu E said to Feng Tan, "Lord Feng, I am kneeling in the courtroom, but I feel that I should be standing. I have done nothing wrong."
Feng Tan's voice was steady yet carried immense power. She reached out to her again, pulling her up from the ground to stand alongside her, and affirmed, "Liu E, you are not wrong."
How do you write the character '妇'?
Next to the character '女' is a mountain that has been pushed over.
This mountain has weighed them down for thousands of years, and it is slowly being pushed down in this new era.
Feng Tan presented the newly drafted legal provisions to the three judicial officials at the head of the table, saying, "Please amend Article 37 of the Marriage Law, abolish the clause 'husband beating wife is not a crime,' and add the crime of 'domestic violence,' clarifying the scope of domestic violence so that victims can seek judicial protection in a timely manner."
Author's Note: One more chapter to go! Thank you to all the readers still reading! There will be red envelopes (gifts) in the last two chapters, thank you so much! [rainbow emoji][heart emoji]
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