Supporters of lynching felt that the other party was deliberately exaggerating. "After all, such injustices are rare. You see, we have only heard of this one in so many years."
"How do you know that those in the past were not unjustly accused? If the prefect of Shizhou hadn't noticed everything this time, who would have known that Mrs. Xiao was actually framed by her husband's family!"
As a result, the two sides, each holding different views, began a new round of expressing their opinions.
Others who were standing on the sidelines to watch the excitement fell into deep thought after hearing the words "How do you know those people were not wronged before?"
Because they suddenly remembered that every time someone dealt with an adulterer, everyone was filled with righteous indignation. No one thought about whether something was wronged or not. No matter how much the person involved defended himself, no one was willing to listen. Those who immersed themselves in the pig cage as usual, and those who were killed were still beaten to death. They all felt that this was a matter of course and relief.
Could it be that anyone among them was really wronged?
"I'm afraid you don't know, but the Shizhou Prefect has posted a notice saying that anyone who does this in the future will be treated as a murderer."
What! murderer?
Those who were dissatisfied wanted to yell and curse a few words, but when they thought that they were officials, they, the common people, could not afford to offend them, so they had to swallow the words that came to their mouths.
However, if you can't afford to be an official, you don't need to be afraid of those who disagree with you. As a result, some people got into a quarrel, and some started to fight directly. In addition, people on the side looked at it as a joke, and it was really lively.
These arguments were naturally expected by Lin Yuanqiu. It is said that he asked Zhang Gui and his servants to publicize this matter everywhere in order to maximize the influence of this matter, and also hope that there will be voices among the people who have the same views as him.
And according to the news brought back by the servants, it can be seen that the effect is quite satisfactory.
It is said that one has to strike while the iron is hot. Lin Yuanqiu quickly reported this case to Emperor Jing Kang. The memorial expounded extensively on the disadvantages of lynching. The meaning is self-evident, that is, he hopes that the Holy Emperor will take it seriously. After all, this is all Matters involving human life.
It was just that three months had passed. At that time, the new rice planted by the people of Shizhou Prefecture was more than one foot high, and there was no movement from Emperor Jingkang's side.
Alas, Lin Yuanqiu knew that it was so easy to change something so deeply rooted.
According to what was said before, when rice seedlings began to be cultivated, the imperial court arranged for many people to come over to learn new planting methods.
In fact, these people were selected from the various state capitals, and they had to stay from planting rice seedlings until the millet was harvested before leaving.
In order to make it easier for them to follow and learn, Lin Yuanqiu relocated them all to Housi Village. Of course, the place to live was a requisitioned common people's home, and they were given ten taels of silver for half a year. This was an unexpected gain for the villagers of Housi Village.
So everyone discussed, two families squeezed into one house, and a dozen houses were freed up for the government. The ten taels of silver earned by each house were naturally divided equally between the two families living together.
As for the question of whether two families can live together in one place, there is no need to think about it. Thanks to the prefect, the villagers in Housi Village all have houses in the city. As long as all the female family members live in the city, only the old men who farm the land will be left in the village.
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Since Shizhou Prefecture has adopted new planting methods this year, it is common for Lin Yuanqiu to be away from home for several days in a row.
Therefore, Lin Yuanqiu felt unspeakable guilt every time he saw Yurou's pregnant belly.
I thought that this time I would be able to make up for the regret of missing Shang Huaibao's childhood companionship. Unexpectedly, I was busier than last time.
Zhong Yurou naturally knew what her husband was thinking, but she didn't feel there was anything pitiable about herself.
My husband is busy with official duties every day, so it is normal for him to have no time to spend with himself. What's more, his grandmother and mother-in-law are always by his side, and the servants in the family are particularly dedicated in terms of food and care.
That’s why I’m not so pretentious.
Besides, Zhong Yurou was busy with her mother-in-law every day, so she had no time to think more about her husband's company.
It turned out that just last month, Mrs. Wu proposed to open an embroidery workshop in Fucheng, and she, her third daughter-in-law, and her grandson-in-law would manage it together.
As for whether she could earn money or not, that was secondary. Wu felt that since the Holy Emperor had given her a royal decree, she would always do something to help the women in the city who had lost their source of livelihood.
Feng and Zhong Yurou were naturally very supportive of their mother-in-law (grandmother)'s idea. It was said that they were also born in the fourth rank, and of course they also had the responsibility to help poor women. Feng and Zhong Yurou knew that because of the existence of two embroidery workshops in Yongning Prefecture and Dinghu County, many women who had no choice but to work hard and not complain finally gained the right to have a say in the family.
With this in mind, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law naturally did not waste any time. So although the workshops in the city have not yet been organized, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are already busy proofing the embroidery.
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Chapter 228 Disease
One month after the Spring Festival ended, Lin Yuanqiu received a letter announcing the good news from Wang Wenchang. Ranked 62nd in the general examination and 59th in the second place in the palace examination, which is considered a good result.
In addition to Wang Wenchang, Liu Qingan and Zhang Yuan also won Jinshi this time. However, the three of them failed to pass the imperial examination, so none of them entered the Hanlin Academy. Before sending the letter, Wang Wenchang and Zhang Yuan were waiting for their release or stay in Beijing.
Lin Yuanqiu quickly informed his grandparents and parents about the good news that his brother-in-law had passed the Jinshi examination. Thinking that now there were three Jinshi masters in the family, Lin Sanzhu was overjoyed. But after hearing that their son-in-law might be released, Lin Sanzhu and Feng immediately became worried again.
In the past few years in Saibei, the couple naturally knew that although there was more freedom in the place, it was not easy to manage the place well. Thinking that their youngest daughter and two grandsons would definitely be released together, Lin Sanzhu and Feng became even more worried.
The couple suddenly felt that even if their children had grown up, got married and had children, there was never a time when they, as parents, did not worry about their children.
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On the day Erbao was born, Lin Yuanqiu happened to be at home. Mrs. Feng said bluntly that her second grandson was good at choosing the right time. Otherwise, if he had chosen to be born when the rice ears were in full bloom, his father would have been busy outside.
Lin Yuanqiu had already planned for things that Feng didn't know about, so no matter how busy he was during this period, he would only arrange for others to go.
It wasn't that Lin Yuanqiu was being overly cautious, but that it was really dangerous to have a baby. How could he feel relieved if he wasn't by his side.
Fortunately, mother and child were safe. Although she did not give birth to the daughter she had longed for, Lin Yuanqiu was already happy to see her.
For him at this moment, there is nothing more reassuring than that his wife gave birth smoothly and the child is healthy.
And Lin Yuanqiu believed that his second treasure must have brought good luck. No, as soon as the midwife took the son out to show his father, Ping An quickly came over to report that there was an official document coming from Beijing.
This kind of thing must not be delayed. After Lin Yuanqiu put his red-faced son in his mother's arms, he quickly went to the front office.
I originally thought it was about rice planting, but when Lin Yuanqiu opened the official document and took a look, he immediately smiled.
Haha, my wish has finally come true. Your Majesty is indeed a wise king!
It turned out that Emperor Jing Kang's reply to the murder case of the Yang family and his son reported by Lin Yuanqiu was that there was no need to wait for Qiu Hou to kill such a bad lawbreaker, and he should be executed directly.
In addition to this, Emperor Jingkang also wrote in an official document that in the future, anyone who takes the life of a woman without authorization on the grounds of women's morality, regardless of whether the situation is true or not, will be punished with homicide.
This is broader than the reason for adultery mentioned in Lin Yuanqiu's previous notice. Because womanhood includes chastity, filial piety, humility and diligence. What Emperor Jing Kang meant was that no matter what mistakes someone made, even if it was a capital crime, the government still had it, and no one had the right to lynch people to take their lives.
Lin Yuanqiu naturally wanted to obey the Holy Emperor's order. He immediately asked his clerks to make multiple copies of the regulations in the official document, and then ordered the government officials to quickly post them to the counties under his jurisdiction.
Then came the execution of the Yang family father and son. Lin Yuanqiu turned to Judge He Tong and ordered, "Inform the prison to execute Yang Yancheng and Yang Zhi, the nephew's wife-murderer, tomorrow!"
He Tongpan responded and quickly made arrangements.
In addition to informing the prison of preparations before execution and posting notices for execution, the other arrangement was to go to the prisoner's home to inform him of today's farewell and tomorrow's body collection.
Logically speaking, after learning that my grandfather and father were going to be beheaded, as the current head of the Yang family, the eldest lady of the Yang family should come to see them off. But until Landlord Yang and his son had finished eating, no one came to the house except an old servant who came to bring clothes and food.
The father and son were so angry that they cursed and said that the money-losing losers born to Mr. Xiao were too unfilial.
The old servant stood aside, patiently waiting for the two of them to finish scolding each other, and then said what the eldest lady asked him to say again, "Old lady, sir, the eldest lady said that she will donate all of her cousin's property. Don't leave a penny. Also, the eldest lady bought you two a separate piece of Feng Shui land three months ago. After the old slave leads people to collect the bodies tomorrow, they will bury the old man and the old man there directly. The eldest lady said, the ancestral graves I won’t let you two in, lest the ancestors of the Yang family blame her."
Upon hearing these heart-wrenching words, Landlord Yang and his son almost lost their temper on the spot. They kept scolding their family for their misfortune. Why did the Yang family have such an unfilial daughter?
The old servant said nothing, thinking who could blame him? The old man and the old man could only live a good life, but they had to do such a thing that was seeking money and killing people.
The master was even more cruel, and he was even cruel to his wife, whom he had married for more than ten years. It was no wonder that the eldest lady was so angry that she didn't even bother to come over to see him for the last time.
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Early on the next morning, Xishikou was extremely lively, and Tongsi Street connected to Xishi was already crowded with people.
Previously, Landlord Yang and his son were sentenced to be beheaded by the Queen of Autumn. The common people knew about it, but they didn't expect that they would be beheaded in a few months.
"Didn't you read the notice posted at the city gate? The superiors said that the early execution of the Yang family and his son is an order from the Holy One."
In the teahouse, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar told the tea guests what he saw on the notice. When he mentioned the word "Holy Lord", the middle-aged scholar also bowed in the direction of the capital. Actions.
After hearing this, other tea guests spoke one after another:
"No wonder, why did I say it was so far in advance?"
"Since the Holy One personally ordered the beheading, the Yang family's father and son deserved their death."
"I don't even think about whether it's a loss or not. Now there are only three little girls left in their family who are still underage. I'm afraid..."
The tea guest's unfinished words were understood by everyone present. Who didn't know that after Yang You's death, his family property returned to Landlord Yang, but there was no one to help guard it. How could the three sisters keep the property? ah.
At noon, the Yang family's father and son were taken to the West Market. At a quarter of noon, Lin Yuanqiu came over in an official sedan.
At three quarters of noon, it was the time for the prisoners to submit to the law. Before that, Lin Yuanqiu reiterated the law with the people at the scene that no one should be lynched.
Then without any further delay, he grabbed the execution token and threw it out. When the executioner saw this, he quickly raised his knife and dropped it. Hearing only two "clicks", the Yang family and his son finally paid for their lives for what they had done.
What the people didn't expect was that as soon as the execution ended, three girls wearing mourning clothes knelt down in front of the prefect.
Everyone was discussing that these three should be the granddaughters of Landlord Yang.
But he saw the girl in the lead, who was about eleven or twelve years old, holding a wooden box in her hand.
When they heard that the eldest lady of the Yang family was going to donate all her cousin's property, everyone present suddenly became uneasy.
Darling, there are a lot of fields, houses and shops here.
Just donate it like this and don’t want it all?
Ouch, this is really a waste of money.
Lin Yuanqiu was a little impressed by the little girl in front of him. At such a young age, she knew how to give away the hot potato in front of the people in the city. Without these eye-catching things, she stared back at her house. There will definitely be fewer people, and as the prefect, since he has accepted the donation from the little girl, he will definitely pay more attention to her family in the future, and others will not dare to bully her easily.
Looking at the expectant little girl in front of him, Lin Yuanqiu sighed inwardly. Alas, it is not easy to shoulder the burden of the family at such a young age.
However, their yamen will definitely not accept donations from ordinary people. After all, they have stayed in Shizhou Mansion for many years. Officials who come in the future still don't know how they will deal with these properties, so the yamen must not accept these.
But Lin Yuanqiu also knew that if he didn't remove these risk factors from the girls, it was hard to say what would happen in the future.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuanqiu quickly thought of a solution.
I saw him reaching out to take the wooden box. After seeing the house deed and land deed inside, he smiled and said to the little girl of the Yang family, "The yamen does not accept donations from the common people. How about this, I use your family's property Let's build a private school for girls. This house will be used as a school building. As for the harvest of the fields and the rent of the shop, they will all be used for various expenses of the private school, including the cost of hiring a wife. By then, the city will Girls, no matter whose family they belong to, can come to private schools for free, what do you think?"
There is no reason why the Yang family girl should not accept such a good proposal.
So, the matter of opening a private school for girls was decided.
Many people present were a little excited when they heard that their children could go to school for free. Although boys are not the ones who can go to school, it is also a good thing for girls to be literate, so that they can study well in the future. Got married.
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The rice ears grow rapidly in June, and begin filling in July. By August, the rice is ready for harvest, and the fields look brightly yellow.
During these days, farmers throughout Shizhou Prefecture are immersed in a joyful atmosphere. Compared with previous years, the rice ears in the fields are visibly heavier than last year, so this year's rice production is definitely higher than before.
What’s more, after decades of farming, this is the first time they can return rice to the granary in August.
The current situation is exactly as the prefect said. If we hurry up, we can still harvest a crop of radishes before the heavy snow comes. Then we can bake them into slices and stir-fry them, or cut them into strips and use them directly with salt. Pickled, they are all very good.
Thinking like this, the farmers in each village acted quickly and harvested their own grains quickly.
