Xiong Yue is dead.
In Su Ze's house, there was still tea given by Xiong Yue when they first met at the county school that day.
Su Ze thought about that day in the county school dormitory, when everyone was talking about "returning to the original intention", Xiong Yue bluntly said that his goal in studying was "to seek fame".
As a classmate of the county school, Xiong Yue is a tea farmer in Wuyi Mountain, and he is considered to be the best-off among the four. He brings some small gifts to everyone every time he goes to the city, and he studies very hard.
But such a person died suddenly.
A sad expression flashed across Su Ze's face, and he immediately asked Lin Qingcai to sit down and asked, "How did Xiong Yue die?"
Lin Qingcai's face showed an expression of sadness and anger: "The county government said that he slipped and fell into the water."
When Su Ze heard Lin Qingcai's tone, he knew there was something inside. He asked, "How could Xiong Yue lose his footing and fall into the water?"
Lin Qingcai said slowly: "Brother Chen said that there is a hidden secret behind this case. The Xiong family filed a lawsuit, but it was suppressed."
Su Ze understood immediately. No wonder Lin Qingcai rushed over in a hurry. He stood up and said, "Let's go to Xiong's house!"
It was almost evening when the two of them set off from Changningwei and arrived at the Xiongjia Tea Garden at the foot of Wuyi Mountain.
It is taboo not to pay condolences after noon at a funeral. At this time, a white cloth was tied on the door of Xiong's house. The door was deserted and only bursts of sobbing could be heard.
Su Ze didn't care about these taboos. He straightened his clothes, stepped into the gate of Xiong's house with Lin Qingcai, and saw the mourning hall at a glance.
Why are there two coffins?
Su Ze and Lin Qingcai walked over quickly and saw Xiong Yue's mother, dressed in mourning clothes, sitting on the ground crying and burning paper money.
Chen Chaoyuan was wearing guest clothes and was helping the earthworkers. He saw Su Ze and Lin Qingcai and immediately came up to them.
"Brother Su, you are finally here."
Su Ze and Chen Chaoyuan saluted and quickly asked: "What happened to Brother Xiong?"
Chen Chaoyuan pointed at Xiong Yue's mother who was burning paper money and said, "Brother Su, you'd better pay your respects to the old lady first."
When the Japanese rebellion was not serious last time, Hai Rui said that Xiong Yue's mother was ill and he temporarily dropped out of school to take care of her.
Su Ze and Chen Lin also bought some body-replenishing medicine and visited Xiong Yue, whom they had met before.
Unexpectedly, only one month later, Xiong Yue was already dead.
Xiong Yue's mother's hair was all white and she was so haggard that she was no longer human. Su Ze said quickly: "Old madam, Su Ze has come to pay homage to Brother Xiong."
Xiong Yue's mother turned around and stood up quickly when she saw Su Ze. Su Ze supported her and said, "Old madam, wait until I pay my respects to Brother Xiong first."
Su Ze walked to the coffin, and Chen Chaoyuan, who was in charge of the guests, shouted: "Condolences!"
Su Ze bowed to the coffin according to the etiquette, and was shocked again when he saw the tablet on the other coffin next to it said "The spirit of my late husband, Xiong Gong Maocheng".
After paying his respects to the two coffins, Su Ze walked up to Xiong Yue's mother and asked:
"Old lady, Mr. Xiong?"
The Mr. Xiong that Su Ze asked was naturally Xiong Yue's father. Xiong Yue was not married yet, so the "predecessor" on the coffin just now was naturally named by Mrs. Xiong.
Xiong Yue's mother shed tears and said: "After Yue'er's death, his father was also stimulated. The county government could not bring the lawsuit. After the body was brought back, his father invited Yue'er to have a local priest and made arrangements for Yue'er. I just took medicine and left after the funeral.”
Lin Qingcai said quickly: "My condolences, Madam."
Su Ze looked at the two coffins in the mourning hall. The Xiong family was originally a relatively well-off family, but father and son died one after another. He asked Lin Qingcai to tell him there was something hidden in the case, and Su Ze felt an aura of injustice.
Su Ze raised his hands and said, "Old madam, is the county government going to file a lawsuit?"
Xiong Yue's mother took Su Ze's hand and said, "Ms. Su, Yue'er often mentioned you when he was studying at the county school, saying that you are a capable scholar!"
After saying this, Mother Xiong took out a lawsuit from her body, handed it to Su Ze and said, "This is the lawsuit written by Yueer's father after he died."
Su Ze took it over and saw that the lawsuit was an indictment against the county government. The reason for the lawsuit was written on it. Su Ze quickly saw that the lawsuit was against a gambling shop in the county government.
Flying Tiger Casino?
Su Ze had never heard Xiong Yue talk about this gambling house, nor had he heard that Xiong Yue had a bad habit of gambling?
The contents of the lawsuit are very clear. Xiong Yue went to Feihu Casino to argue with the casino on the afternoon of October 2, but he did not leave Feihu Casino that day. After sunrise the next day, Xiong Yue's body appeared in Fujian. On the edge of a tributary of the river.
Su Ze closed the paper and asked, "Brother Xiong, why do you want to go to Feihu Casino?"
Xiong Yue's mother sobbed and said, "It's all his father's fault. If he hadn't contracted the bad habit of gambling, Yue'er wouldn't have gone to the gambling house to argue and risked his life!"
Xiong Yue's mother was about to collapse mentally. At this time, Chen Chaoyuan came over and said:
"This petition was written by my brother who is a lawyer. Let me tell you the reason."
It turns out that Xiong Yue's father, Xiong Maocheng, got into the bad habit of gambling in the county town. He owed hundreds of taels of silver in a gambling house, and he returned from loan sharking nine times.
When Father Xiong was trying to raise money, he happened to encounter the issue of Wuyishan converting tribute into silver.
At the meeting to discuss the proportion of the silver exchange, Cai Yuanwai, who presided over the meeting, took out a loan shark loan from the gambling house.
It turns out that the Flying Tiger Gambling House is the property of Cai Yuanwai's family. Cai Yuanwai took the IOU and negotiated with Xiong's father to set an annual tribute of fifty taels of silver from his family's tea garden, so that the usury loan could be written off in one go.
Moreover, Cai Yuanwai also said that the amount of tribute silver could be renegotiated after five years, and then it would be shared according to the amount of tea produced by each family.
Father Xiong was also desperate, so he agreed to Yuanwai Cai's suggestion on the spot, signed the deed for sharing the tribute, got the loan shark's IOU, and burned it on the spot.
But two months ago, the lender from Feihu Casino came to the door again and took out the same IOU again, demanding that Father Xiong repay the money.
Father Xiong was pressed for debt, so he had to confess to his wife and son that he owed money from gambling and the reason why he had to bear the tribute of fifty taels of silver a year. Mother Xiong was so angry that she fell ill.
However, it was clear that he had to bear more tribute silver, so this debt should be written off in one go. The gambling shop sent people to collect debts, and Xiong Yue first came to argue with Cai Yuanwai.
However, since Mr. Cai had no visitors, Xiong Yue had no choice but to find Feihu Gambling House, and then what happened on the paper happened.
Su Ze's "Criminal Law" skill also has Level 1, and he also understands the judicial procedures of the Ming Dynasty. The government must accept lawsuits involving human lives. He asked: "Human lives are at stake. Isn't there no trial in Bai Zhi County?"
Mother Xiong said: "The county government accepted the petition and the shopkeeper of the gambling house, but soon let it go. The county government said that Yue'er slipped and fell into the water, and asked us not to make false accusations at will, and returned Yue'er's body so that we could Let’s bury him as soon as possible.”
Su Ze was furious and asked: "Is there a county government official?"
Mother Xiong took out another document with the county government's seal. Ganjie was the county government's notice of closing the case. Su Ze saw the Ganjie document written by Bai Zhixian himself.
The result was that the Xiong family decided that the accusation was false and the case was abandoned. However, Xiong's family lost their son and would not be held accountable.
However, it was also determined that the IOU in the hands of the gambling house was invalid, and Feihu Gambling House was not allowed to continue to collect debts from the Xiong family.
Seeing this method of dealing with fifty big hits each, Su Ze already made a preliminary judgment in his mind.
Baizhi County's judgment is a typical Ming Dynasty style. Both sides fight fifty times and try not to allow vicious criminal cases to occur in their jurisdictions.
Homicide is a major case, and the trial procedures for homicide cases are complicated, and both parties may appeal to the government for retrial.
Judgments in murder cases must be reported to the Imperial Court's Criminal Department Yamen and the Provincial Inspector General's Yamen. If a criminal is to be executed, instructions from the emperor and even the Cabinet Department are required.
Therefore, the officials of the Ming Dynasty hoped to reduce major issues to trivial matters when making judgments on these cases, and never turn them into homicide lawsuits.
When Su Ze saw the signature of Xiong's father, Xiong Maocheng, on Gan Jie's document, he knew that the result was negotiated between the county government and Xiong's father.
A knot is a document that closes a case. It must be signed by both the prosecution and the defendant before it can be completed.
Baizhi County must have persuaded Father Xiong to cancel the loan shark at the gambling house, and the case was ended with a mistake and drowning.
After Father Xiong finished handling the case, he felt ashamed of his family and his wife, and committed suicide after arranging his son's funeral.
Su Ze finished reading Gan Jie, pulled Chen Chaoyuan and said:
"Brother Chen, what's the inside story of this case?"
Chen Chaoyuan's clan brother was a litigant who helped write the petition, so naturally he also helped the Xiong family in the court case.
Chen Chaoyuan took Su Ze outside the mourning hall and said:
"My brother is helping the Xiong family with the lawsuit. This case is actually two cases."
"The first is Father Xiong's IOU. The officials in the execution room determined that the IOU held by Feihu Gambling House was written by Mao Chenggong himself, which means it is genuine."
"What about the IOU that Cai Yuanwai took out at the tribute meeting?"
Chen Chaoyuan whispered: "It should be fake, but Father Xiong burned it on the spot."
Su Ze understood now.
What happened should be like this:
Father Xiong became addicted to gambling and owed usury at Feihu Casino.
At the meeting to discuss the distribution of tribute silver, Cai Yuanwai took a fake IOU and asked Xiong's father to sign the deed. The Xiong Family Tea Garden distributed more tribute silver and the gambling house's debt was written off.
Father Xiong agreed to Cai Yuanwai's suggestion and burned the fake IOU on the spot.
The gambling house brought real IOUs to collect debts. Xiong Yue went to the gambling house to argue with the Cai family. Mr. Cai did not see anyone outside, so Xiong Yue went to the gambling house and died.
The Xiong family sued the gambling house, and Baizhi County made such an accommodating verdict and canceled Xiong's father's debt, but refused to let the Xiong family pursue a life lawsuit again.
Su Ze took the case and stood up: "Human life is at stake! The county government hastily closed the case like this!"
Chen Chaoyuan sighed and said: "Maocheng is responsible for this case. He burned the fake IOU on the spot at the tribute bank meeting that day. The agreement with Cai Yuanwai was also an oral agreement. There was no mention of the Xiong family in the tribute bank deed." The reason for fifty taels of silver a year."
"My clan brother also contacted other tea garden owners who attended the meeting, but no one was willing to testify against the Xiong family."
"In other words, there is only the testimony of Duke Maocheng and no evidence about the extra tribute silver to pay off the debt?"
Chen Chaoyuan nodded and said: "That's it. There is no basis for what you say. Just for this reason, the Cai family does not need to come out to respond."
Chen Chaoyuan added: "Mr. Maocheng is confused. He signed Gan Jie and agreed to close the case in order to have his gambling debts written off, but he felt sorry for Brother Xiong and committed suicide. How can the old lady hold on to the tea garden if she is left behind?"
Su Ze nodded. Executing a family is a common thing in ancient and modern times at home and abroad. Mother Xiong will definitely not be able to keep the family business by herself.
Su Ze clenched his fists, walked to Mother Bear and said:
"Old madam, what are you going to do about this case?"
Mother Xiong lost her son first and then her husband. She was already skinny. She wiped her tears and said, "I'm the only one left, so what can I do? I just want to wait for the funeral of my late husband and son and close my eyes to die." That’s it.”
Su Ze said: "Old madam, I am Brother Xiong's classmate, and we are still here, so this case cannot be dismissed like this!"
Mother Xiong looked at Su Ze, and Chen Chaoyuan said: "Brother Su, Gan Jie has already been signed. Now that Mr. Mao Cheng has passed away, it will be difficult to overturn this case."
Su Ze said: "Gan Jie has been signed, but there is still an unsolved case. Mr. Cai forged an IOU and deceived Mr. Maocheng into paying more tribute silver. This case has not yet been determined."
Chen Chaoyuan immediately understood what Su Ze meant. Since there was no way to file a case based on Xiong Yue's death, he would file a case from another place.
As long as the case is established, the cause of Xiong Yue's death can be investigated according to the facts of the case, which means that the case can be overturned.
Chen Chaoyuan quickly said with a grimace: "But this case must be prosecuted in person. Mr. Mao Cheng has passed away, how can we file a lawsuit?"
Su Ze said: "Mr. Maocheng has passed away. The old lady can go and file a complaint."
Chen Chaoyuan immediately said: "The county government will definitely not accept it."
Chen Chaoyuan has assisted his clan brother as a lawyer for many years, and he also knows the Ming law.
Women in the Tang and Song dynasties could file lawsuits, but the Ming Dynasty Law regressed and stipulated that women could not file lawsuits.
In modern legal terms, women in the Ming Dynasty were not independent legal entities and could not file lawsuits.
Although Su Ze's criminal law is only Level 1, he has all the basic litigation procedures in his mind. He said: "In the Ming Dynasty Law, women are not allowed to file complaints, but I can file a complaint for the old lady, and then I can submit a petition to the county government. ”
Chen Chaoyuan said quickly: "Brother Su, no!"
"In the Ming Dynasty Law, the accuser and the accused are equally guilty! If the case is not counter-sued and turned into a false accusation, then Brother Su will also be implicated. The county examination will be held next year. If he is found guilty, he will not be able to participate in the imperial examination. !”
Baobao is a system of litigation representation. Because women are not independent legal entities, they cannot initiate lawsuits.
However, the Ming Law also stipulates that as long as someone serves as the prosecutor, a lawsuit can be filed.
The accuser bears the same responsibilities as the accuser. For example, if Su Ze makes a report on the bear mother, the county magistrate who interrogates the case will inquire about the case. Even if the bear mother is sentenced to slap a board and be punished, the accuser Su Ze will be responsible. Ze will take charge.
In other words, filing a complaint is equivalent to being tied to the person being sued and sharing legal responsibilities, so that the woman can become an independent legal subject in court.
Su Ze shook his head and said, "I will have people investigate first and be prepared before going to court. Brother Chen, please recommend me to your clan brother."
The complaint system is not only used by women, but also by officials in lawsuits.
Because the law prohibits arbitrary torture of these people, we must file a complaint.
This system is strange and unreasonable. The meaning of this system will be discussed in this chapter of the next chapter.
(End of chapter)
