Chapter 208: It’s not your fault, why should they accuse you?
“Knock knock…”
At this moment, the sound of knocks came from outside.
Someone was reporting a case.
Usually, Lin Beifan didn’t handle ordinary cases, but he was in a good mood now. “I happen to have some time, so I’ll handle this case!”
Lin Beifan walked into the main hall and saw a woman kneeling down—slightly attractive, but dressed in worn-out clothes and with a troubled expression.
Lin Beifan slammed the table and sternly asked, “Who are you? State your name!”
“I beg your pardon, sir. I am Qizhang, a commoner. I have come from Huzhou to file a complaint, and I ask for your help.” The woman bowed and pitifully pleaded.
The Dedian Prefecture where Lin Beifan resided was the political center of Great Wu. It had great authority and could handle complaints from all over the country, like a small Ministry of Justice. When cases couldn’t be resolved here, they would be sent to the Ministry of Justice and other judicial departments for a joint trial.
“Qizhang, what grievance do you have? Quickly tell me!” Lin Beifan said.
“Yes, sir!” The woman explained her grievances.
She and her husband used to run a small business and lived a humble but happy life in Huzhou. However, because of her somewhat attractive appearance, she caught the attention of a local official.
He tried to coerce and entice her, but she and her husband resisted. One day, however, four masked individuals vandalized their shop and broke her husband’s leg. She immediately reported the incident to the local authorities, but they colluded with the official and refused to accept her complaint. They even threatened her, making their lives even more difficult.
With no other options, she had no choice but to travel a long way to the capital to file a complaint.
“Sir, this is absolutely untrue!” At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in luxury rushed in anxiously.
“Who are you? Without prior notification, you dare to barge into the court. What crime have you committed?” Lin Beifan’s official authority was firmly in control.
“Sir, he is the official who broke the legs of the commoner’s husband. Please, sir, help us bring the true culprit to justice!” the woman who filed the complaint angrily said.
“Sir, she’s speaking nonsense, falsely accusing an innocent person!” The official raised his voice. “She keeps saying that I harmed her, but she can’t provide any substantial evidence. Why should I be accused? She’s simply trying to extort money. Please, sir, help me!”
Lin Beifan nodded. “I understand! Arrest this person and give 30 lashes!”
Immediately, two constables went forward and held down Qizhang, the commoner woman.
Qizhang panicked. “Sir, I am innocent!”
Lin Beifan waved his hand and pointed at the official. “You’ve mistaken the person. I meant to punish him!”
The official was dumbfounded. “Sir, why do you want to punish me? I am innocent!”
“You dare to claim innocence?” Lin Beifan slammed the table and shouted, “If it’s not your fault, so why would she accuses you?”
The official exclaimed, “What the hell!”
What kind of twisted logic is this? If someone accuses me, does that mean they are the bad guys?
Lin Beifan waved his hand again. “There’s no need to say anything more. Give him 10 lashes first!”
The Assistant Magistrate Zhang sitting beside them opened his mouth. “Prefect, there is suspicion of abuse of power in this case…”
Lin Beifan shouted, “I am the judge, don’t interrupt!”
The Assistant Magistrate obediently closed his mouth.
Then, two constables held down the official, and another constable came forward and mercilessly whipped him, causing him to scream in agony, as if he were on the verge of death.
After the 10 lashes, Lin Beifan asked, “Qizhang, you claimed that he harmed your husband. Do you have any evidence or witnesses?”
Qizhang shook her head and bitterly said, “At that time, it was only my husband and me, there was no evidence or witnesses. But I recognized one of the masked individuals as a servant from the official’s residence. His name is Liu San, and he is highly favored by the official. He only follows the official’s orders!”
“Sir, you heard it yourself. She clearly has no proof, yet she is falsely accusing me. I’m truly innocent!” the official lamented.
Lin Beifan shouted, “You dare to speak out again? Obviously, you haven’t learned your lesson. Give him another 10 lashes!”
The official exclaimed, “What the hell!”
And once again, there was a wailing sound as the official writhed in pain.
“Is Liu San in the city now?”
“Reporting to sir, Liu San followed the official to the capital!”
“Good, summon Liu San!”
A sly-looking servant stepped forward.
But when he saw the sorry state of his master, he was shocked. “Master, what happened to you…”
Lin Beifan shouted, “Arrest him and give Liu San 100 lashes!”
Liu San was taken aback. “Sir, why would you punish me?”
Lin Beifan shouted, “Because your master confessed! He said that you coveted Qizhang’s beauty and conspired with others to break her husband’s leg!”
Liu San was flustered. “That’s impossible! How could my master confess?”
Lin Beifan grinned. “Because I made him confess through torture!”
Liu San exclaimed, “What the hell!”
Lin Beifan continued to smile. “Have you seen the sorry state of your master? That’s the consequence of 20 lashes! Imagine if you received 100 lashes, how would you fare?”
Liu San was terrified!
With half his life gone from just 20 lashes, how could he survive 100 lashes?
The man before him was like a ferocious wolf!
Even scarier than the King of Hell!
“Sir, it’s a misunderstanding! The situation is not what it seems…” Liu San suddenly kneeled down, crying bitterly.
“Indeed, we were the ones who did it to Qizhang’s husband, but we wouldn’t have dared without my master’s orders. We were just ordinary commoners!”
“My master was infatuated with Qizhang, but his affections were unrequited. In the end, he had no choice but to resort to violence! We were just accomplices; my master is the true culprit. Please, sir, investigate this!”
“So, your master says it’s your doing, and you say it’s your master’s doing. Who should I believe?” Lin Beifan shook his head in disappointment.
“Sir, I have witnesses. They were involved with me, and they can testify in my favor!”
“Have they all arrived?”
“They have!”
“Since they’re here, bring them in!”
After a while, the other three people came trembling with fear.
Lin Beifan shouted, “Lock each of them in a separate room for interrogation. If any of their testimonies contradict the others, it means that person is lying and guilty. Give them 100 lashes before further proceedings!”
In the end, everyone confessed to protect themselves.
All their testimonies were the same, all pointing towards the official.
He was jealous of Qizhang’s beauty but couldn’t have her, so he acted out of anger and had her husband beaten.
Afterward, when the other party tried to report it, he hindered them even more.
They wrote down all the details clearly in their testimonies.
“Official, do you have anything to say?” Lin Beifan shouted.
“I plead guilty, please have mercy, Your Honor!” The official trembled.
Lin Beifan clapped his hands. “Good, pleading guilty is wise! According to your crimes, based on the Great Wu Law, you shall receive 80 lashes, 5 years in prison, and you must compensate the victim for all losses and medical expenses, totaling 300 taels!”
“Yes, Your Honor!” The official bowed his head.
“And you four, do you plead guilty?” Lin Beifan shouted.
“We plead guilty!” the four servants trembled.
“According to the Great Wu Law, you shall receive 50 lashes, 3 years in prison, as a warning to others!”
Thus, the trial of this case quickly came to an end.
“Thank you, Your Honor, for standing up for me! Thank you, Your Honor! The heavens bless you!” Qizhang cried tears of joy.
She had come to the capital with little hope when she brought her complaint. After all, officials protect each other, and as a commoner, she couldn’t win against them.
But unexpectedly, she encountered a young official who cleanly resolved the case, not only bringing the true culprits to justice but also obtaining compensation for her. Happiness was truly sudden!
“Thank you, sir! Thank you, heaven bless you…” she kept bowing and thanking.
Lin Beifan waved his hand with a smile. “You may go now, but I will have someone keep an eye on them until they deliver the money to you!”
“Thank you, sir. I will take my leave!” Qizhang said.
With the case concluded, Lin Beifan smiled and asked the Magistrate and the Assistant Magistrate present, “Everyone, how would you rate the level of my case handling?”
“Prefect, it’s high! Really high!” Everyone raised their thumbs in approval.
Lin Beifan smiled contentedly.
“However, sir, what if you made a mistake and punished the wrong person?” one of the officials asked with a bitter smile.
“The case hasn’t been fully investigated, and you have already punished them with lashes. At worst, it could be considered abuse of power! Lighter outcomes may result in demotion or removal from office, but in severe cases, it could cost your head!”
“That’s not a problem at all!” Lin Beifan laughed. “When the official entered, I saw it in his eyes, a hint of infatuation, cruelty, and regret! Infatuation, because he coveted Qizhang’s beauty. Cruelty, because his desires were unfulfilled and it sparked the evil within him. Regret, because he didn’t have time to stop it and allowed the other party to report it!”
“Therefore, I concluded that he was most likely the true culprit. I used their own tactics against them, ‘accusing’ them, in order to break their psychological defenses and draw out the subsequent evidence from the witnesses.”
“Sir, it’s impressive, really impressive!” Everyone continued to flatter.
“Now, I have a question for all of you! How do you usually handle cases like this, when commoners sue officials or powerful individuals?”
“Prefect, of course, we follow the procedures of the Great Wu Law for handling the cases! First, we clarify the reasons behind the case, then we summon the parties involved for further questioning. Finally, we search for witnesses and evidence, investigate the true culprits, and reconstruct the truth of the case. The last step is sentencing!” one of the officials explained incessantly.
“There’s one more thing to add. As officials representing the court, we must be impartial and strict, without favoring anyone!” another official added.
“Is that so?” Lin Beifan tilted his head and smiled. “But I have noticed that this prefecture has taken on many cases where commoners sue officials or powerful individuals, and in the end, the commoners always lose! Where does this impartiality and strictness start? Could it be that your money is obtained through corruption?”
The officials present broke out in a cold sweat!
