Chapter 218 I don’t believe that someone can cover the sky! (Seeking monthly votes)

The Jingzhao Prefecture Yamen was designed by Li Xiang himself. Above the main hall hangs a plaque with the words "A Bright Mirror Hanging High" written by Li Shimin himself.

Below the plaque is a painting of a colorful phoenix with a line of white cranes following behind it towards the sun.

Needless to say, the meaning of the phoenix is ​​that it represents Li Shimin himself.

And that line of white cranes were naturally the civil and military officials.

On both sides of the painting are two floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

Seeing Li Xiang coming back, Cheng Chubi, who was waiting in the side room, came out.

"What's wrong?" Li Xiang asked. Normally, Cheng Chubi should be in the restaurant at this time.

"Well, Aunt Gaoyang wants to see you, brother." Cheng Chubi said.

"Okay, I understand." Li Xiang nodded and said, "Let's finish the work first."

Then he walked to the main seat and sat down with his horse and sword. Li Jingren walked to his side very sensibly and stood there, shouting loudly: "Open the court!"

The yamen runners on the left and right immediately took their killing sticks and hit the ground quickly, making a neat "dong dong" sound.

The runners on the left shouted “No evil”, while those on the right shouted “No evil”.

Li Xiang held a gavel in his hand. Although this thing did not exist now, it would not prevent him from inventing it in advance.

The official name of the gavel is "qipai", and it is also called jiefang and fuchi, commonly known as "jingtangmu".

The shape is a rectangular piece of hardwood with corners and edges, which means "rules". It has the function of solemnizing the court, strengthening the authority of officials, and intimidating the defendants.

Sometimes it is also used as a warning to quiet down the idlers in the hall, creating a solemn and majestic effect.

At the same time, a crowd of people gathered in front of the Jingzhao government office.

This is a common human trait, everyone likes to watch the fun.

What's more, such excitement is rare. The last time we saw such excitement was in the 16th year of Zhenguan, when we watched the Crown Prince beating the King of Han in the street.

Now the Crown Prince is interrogating the Duke's family members, which is a rare sight.

"Bring the prisoner!" Li Jingren shouted again.

Two groups of yamen runners brought Li and Zhang Shenji up like dead dogs and made them kneel on the ground.

Li was still as arrogant as she was when she was in the mansion of Duke Yun. It was because she relied on the great reputation of her natal family, the Li family of Zhaojun, and the military exploits of her husband Zhang Liang.

She didn't think that offending the Crown Prince would be a big deal. Li Xiang originally thought that she was just a coward, but looking at her expression now, it was clear that she was not pretending.

Li Xiang slammed the gavel, making a crisp sound.

This sudden sound made the outside, which was originally as noisy as a vegetable market, suddenly quiet.

"Who is kneeling in the hall?" Li Xiang asked loudly.

Zhang Shenji let out a few gurgling sounds. He was different from his godmother and mistress. He knew who he was facing and how much he was worth.

"I am Zhang Shenji, a commoner." Zhang Shenji answered honestly.

Li still held her neck in place. Her neck was originally a bit unnaturally long, and now with her neck held in place, she looked like a proud female praying mantis.

"Bring the plaintiff to court!" Li Xiang shouted.

Soon, several employees of the sanitation center who were brutally beaten by Zhang Shenji and his men were brought up.

However, it must be said that although Zhang Shenji was arrogant and domineering, at least he did not take these people's lives. It is not known whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally. Although these people's injuries looked miserable, they were not actually seriously injured.

After seeing Li Xiang, the two men immediately knelt on the ground and began to accuse Zhang Shenji of atrocities.

"Your Highness, my brother and I were cleaning the streets when we passed by the residence of the Duke of Yun. This guy repeatedly insulted us and even scattered garbage all over the street. We were so angry that we argued with him, but he and his family members beat us up and even threatened, 'I am the law in Chang'an.'"

"Every word I said is true. I hope Your Highness will understand!"

"Zhang Shenji." Li Xiang glanced at Zhang Shenji and asked, "Is what they said true?"

Before Zhang Shenji could say anything, Li held him down and said loudly, "These two people only told one side of the story. I ask you, who saw it? Who can testify? My son has always been kind, how could he do such a thing? In my opinion, these two people are just making false accusations!"

Ouch?

Li Xiang scratched his chin. This Li is quite interesting.

"Zhang Shenji, I'll give you one chance. Tell me, were the injuries on these two people caused by you?" Li Xiang looked at Zhang Shenji and asked.

Zhang Shenji shivered, but Li grabbed his arm.

After getting the hint, Zhang Shenji was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he didn't want to go against Li's wishes, and on the other hand, he didn't dare to lie and offend Li Xiang. Now he was like a rat in a bellows, being bullied from both sides.

Finally, Zhang Shenji couldn't win over Li, and he shook his head and said, "Everyone in my family knows my temper. How could I do such a thing? The workers in the sanitation yard are the ones who contribute to the cleanliness of Chang'an City. How could I beat them up without knowing the truth?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people around them buzzed and immediately fell into noisy conversation.

Everyone knows very well who Zhang Shenji is.

Now you say you are honest?

Who the hell believes it?
However, no one around really stood up to testify. After all, no one saw what happened. According to Tang law, perjury is a crime.

Just as everyone was looking at each other, a voice was heard outside.

"Your Highness, I can testify to this!"

The crowd automatically parted, revealing a young man.

Seeing this young man, Zhang Shenji and Li's faces changed.

"Zhang Xi, you thief!" Li stared at Zhang Xi with bloodshot eyes.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xi didn't even look at the two of them, walked to the hall, and crossed his arms towards Li Xiang.

In the Tang Dynasty, unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties, innocent people did not need to kneel when they saw officials.

Of course, the same applies when meeting the crown prince.

Besides, as the son of a duke, there was no need for Zhang Xi to do so.

"When I went out this morning, I happened to see my brother yelling at the two workers and even gathering a group of people to beat them up severely." Zhang Xi said truthfully, and then said, "I have asked the Yunguogong's housekeepers to tie up the four criminals who participated in the violence and send them outside. The right and wrong will be known by just asking His Royal Highness the Grandson."

Li Xiang nodded and said, "Pass it on."

Soon, the four people were also brought in.

The noisy buzzing sound rang out again, and Li Xiang picked up the gavel and slammed it down again.

"Silence!" The yamen runners on both sides slammed the water and fire sticks in their hands downwards, and shouted in unison: "Hoo!"

The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and the four retainers were startled and fell to their knees on the ground.

"Look, the two of you, are you the ones who beat you up?" Li Xiang asked the two workers.

After carefully examining him for a moment, the two workers pointed him out and said, "Your Highness, this is the man!"

Li Xiang nodded. If it was just the two of them, then it would be easy.

After being pointed out, the four family generals kowtowed hurriedly, begging for mercy: "Your Highness, Your Highness, we were wrong, we were wrong, it was all the Young Master's fault, it was all the Young Master's fault, it had nothing to do with us..."

After hearing the accusations of these four family generals, Zhang Shenji collapsed to the ground.

It's over, it's all over.

"As the retainers of the Duke's Mansion, you actually don't know right from wrong, you are helping the evildoer and abetting the evildoer. You have lost all conscience!" Li Xiang shouted angrily, "Come here!"

Immediately, a yamen runner stepped forward and said with his arms crossed, "Here!"

"Drag these four away and give them forty lashes of the cane!" Li Xiang pulled out a green warrant and threw it to the ground.

A Lingqian, also known as a Lingjian, is a kind of letter used by officials in ancient Chinese yamen to convey orders. Its main function is to issue orders and exercise power.

The so-called "command arrow" in "using chicken feathers as a command arrow" refers to this thing.

They were usually used by officials such as county magistrates or prefects, and were placed in a fortune stick tube.

Generally speaking, there are two colors of order slips, red and green, which are also used in different occasions.

Red warrant sticks are usually used when sentencing, symbolizing good luck and warding off evil, while green warrant sticks are used for lighter punishments, such as beatings with a stick.

The use of a warrant requires formal oral or written authorization, representing the majesty and power of the county magistrate.

The bailiff stepped forward, picked up the warrant, put it in his arms, and escorted the four men out of the hall, tying them to a stool.

The yamen runners on both sides raised their killing sticks high, aimed them at the men's buttocks, and brought them down heavily.

The beating with a stick in the county court is of course different from the beating in the imperial court. The strength is controlled and will never result in death.

Generally speaking, they are just skin injuries.

Li Xiang sat high up in the main hall, watching the bailiffs below carrying out the execution with cold eyes.

He was in no hurry to pass judgment on Zhang Shenji, and the more he was in a hurry, the more flustered Zhang Shenji became. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, as if countless jailers were elbowing him.

The impending verdict was like a sword hanging over his head. He never knew when it would fall and pierce him through.

Soon, the forty lashes of the yamen runners came to an end.

The onlookers kept cheering on the sidelines, and some were even eager to try and take part in the execution.

Beating others seems like a wonderful activity.

"Your Highness, the execution is over!" the bailiff came back to report.

Li Xiang nodded and said, "Take the four away. They are disturbing public order and openly defying the government's law enforcement. Considering that they are accomplices, each of them will be fined five strings of cash and detained for fifteen days!"

"Yes!" The bailiffs dragged the four family guards who were beaten to the prison of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Li Xiang looked at Zhang Shenji again, reached out to grab the gavel, and slammed it hard on the table again.

The loud noise almost scared Zhang Shenji to death.

"I am guilty, I am guilty, please forgive me, Your Highness!" Zhang Shenji kept kowtowing, making a dong dong sound.

"Your crimes are more than just these." Li Xiang snorted coldly: "In addition to openly defying law enforcement officers, you even armed yourself to resist arrest. Think about it carefully, what other crimes are you guilty of?"

"This..." Zhang Shenji opened his mouth, turned his head to look at Li who had her eyes closed, not knowing whether he should say it.

"Zhang Xi, do you have anything to say?" Li Xiang glanced down at Zhang Xi and said as if hinting or encouraging him.

Logically speaking, when Zhang Xi came to the yamen, he certainly didn't want to just testify for the two sanitation workers.

As the saying goes, if you don't kill the snake, you will suffer from it. Zhang Qi probably wanted to take this opportunity to expose something bigger.

Li Xiang thought that even if Zhang Xi didn't have such an idea, he would force Zhang Xi to have such an idea.

Once you come to court, some things are no longer up to you.

Of course Zhang Yi heard the hidden meaning in Li Xiang's words. He immediately knelt on the ground, paid homage, and cried bitterly, "Your Highness, please understand this. This Zhang Shenji... this Zhang Shenji..."

"How is Zhang Shenji? Tell me slowly." Li Xiang snorted coldly, "I don't believe that in this Tang Dynasty, there is anyone who can cover up the sky! No matter who his backers are, no matter how strong his backers are, I will take care of it for you!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhang Xi sighed and said, "It's just that... since ancient times, there has never been a precedent of a son suing his mother!"

"Oh?" Li Xiang raised his eyebrows. Zhang Yi's worries were indeed justified.

In the ancient legal system, it was not allowed for children to report their parents or for women to report their husbands or parents-in-law.

This provision reflects the importance that ancient laws attached to family ethics and Confucian ethics, namely, harmony should be maintained among family members, children should respect and protect their parents, and wives should obey and protect their husbands and parents-in-law.

According to the Wude Code, if children report their parents or grandparents, even if the facts are true, the accusers will be severely punished by law. This is also what Zhang Yi was worried about.

It’s not that he was worried about what the court would do to him. After all, Li Xiang needed this excuse now.

What he was worried about was his own reputation, and whether some uninformed people would be led to attack him.

"What are you afraid of? I heard that your father Zhang Liang abandoned his wife and married this Zhaojun Li girl. This Li is not your biological mother. How can this be considered hiding the truth from your relatives?" Li Xiang began to define the matter: "If your stepmother is not virtuous, there is no need to hide the truth from her!"

When they heard that this girl came from the Zhaojun Li family, one of the "Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats", the onlookers all exclaimed in surprise.

Aren't women from the five surnames popular? Why did this Zhaojun Li family girl go to court with her stepson?

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhang Yi said happily.

Then he became a little dejected.

There is no other reason. These days people believe that family disgrace should not be made public. Although many people in Chang'an City knew about this matter, they were only limited to the circle of nobles.

Now that he has taken the initiative to expose the family's shame, his father must be upset...

Who knows how many people are poking his spine.

But Zhang Xi changed his mind and thought, Damn, you were so decisive when you abandoned my mother, today I must show you some strength!

Thinking of this, Zhang Xi said with great sorrow: "Your Highness, you don't know that since this Li family came into our family, they have relied on their origins in the Zhaojun Li family to be arrogant and domineering. They even made me sleep in the stable and did not allow me to see my mother..."

When the onlookers heard Zhang Yi's words, they were suddenly in an uproar!
(End of this chapter)