New Specialty

Although tables had already been set up outside the county office and the yamen runners were loudly hawking their services, this was the first time anyone had seen such a thing. The crowd merely watched from a distance, and no one stepped forward to plead their case.

Just then, two figures shoved their way out of the crowd.

They were two burly men. One of them grabbed the other by the collar and shouted angrily, "You owe me money and refuse to pay it, and you even dared to hit me! I'm taking you to see the authorities right now!"

The man dragged the debtor to the long table outside the yamen, where the clerk wrote up a petition. A young gentleman then walked out of the county office. After reading the petition and questioning the two men, he looked at the debtor and said, "Repaying a debt is only right and proper. You refused to repay what you owed and even assaulted your creditor. Today, I sentence you to repay the debt at once and receive fifty strokes of the cane as a warning to others. If you still refuse to pay, your punishment will be increased by three degrees. The yamen will help sell your property to repay the debt, and you will not escape the pain of flogging..."

Caning caused only pain to the flesh, but flogging could injure the muscles and bones. The debtor was frightened until his face turned ashen. He quickly took a piece of broken silver from his robes and returned it to the other man. Then, two yamen runners tied him to the stone lion outside the yamen and struck his buttocks dozens of times with bamboo strips, beating him until he wailed for his father and mother. The eyes of the watching commoners, however, grew brighter and brighter.

No way... they're really doing it?

Seeing that the county office had truly helped the aggrieved party recover the money he was owed, some people began to stir restlessly after the two men involved in the case left.

Meanwhile, in the rear hall of the yamen, a runner gritted his teeth and rubbed his backside, yet he still beamed as he looked at the ingot of silver in his hand. The people around him were also looking at him with envy.

If taking fifty blows on the buttocks could earn them ten taels of silver, they were willing to be beaten every day.

Even the other man who had not been beaten had received two taels as a reward.

Those two wretches sure had the lives of lucky dogs!

It had to be said that following that noble young gentleman offered far more prospects—and far more money—than following Lord Pei. If only this gentleman were the county magistrate...

Everything was difficult at the beginning. The commoners outside the county office had initially been watching from the sidelines, but after seeing someone truly receive justice, the crowd clearly grew restless. At one point, a woman stepped out of the crowd and hesitantly approached the table.

A perceptive yamen runner immediately brought over a chair and let her sit down.

Li Nuo looked at the still-timid woman and said gently, "Big Sister, don't be afraid. Whatever injustice you've suffered, we'll see that justice is done for you."

Perhaps the handsome young gentleman's smile encouraged her. Some color returned to the woman's face. She carefully rolled up her sleeve, revealing a patch of purple bruises, and said, "I... my husband is always beating me. Can you do anything about it?"

Li Nuo said, "Of course, of course we can. Someone, bring a chair and let Big Sister sit first..."

Although Great Xia had no domestic violence law, it did have the crime of causing injury. Between husband and wife, whether one side assaulted the other or both sides fought each other, the punishment was increased or reduced on the basis of the crime of causing injury.

Li Nuo first sent two yamen runners to summon the woman's husband for questioning at the address she had provided.

While they waited, he also had someone bring the woman a cup of tea. He carefully questioned her about the details of the case and examined the injuries on her body.

Most of the injuries on her body were bruises, though there were also small wounds. In addition, one of her teeth had been knocked out.

The woman's home was not far from the county office. Before half a cup of tea had passed, the two yamen runners brought a thin man to the entrance of the county office.

Li Nuo pointed at the man and asked the woman, "Is he your husband?"

The woman nodded.

On the way there, the man had already heard that his wife had reported him to the authorities. Though furious inside, he did not dare lose his temper. He merely kept saying, "My lord, this is a matter between husband and wife. The yamen can't interfere, can it..."

Li Nuo cast him a glance and said, "In your home, this is a family matter between the two of you. In the yamen, it is the yamen's business. I'll ask you only this: Were you the one who caused the injuries on your wife's body?"

For minor cases like this, the Great Xia Codex followed the principle that the authorities did not pursue cases unless the people brought them forward. If the woman chose to endure her husband's repeated beatings in silence, the authorities truly could not interfere.

But she had already reported him to the authorities. This was no longer merely a family matter.

The man glared fiercely at the woman, but when he looked toward Li Nuo, his expression softened again. He said, "My lord, I'll never dare do it again!"

Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? Under the Great Xia Codex, striking someone with one's hands or feet is punished by forty strokes of the cane; injuring someone by striking them with another object is punished by sixty strokes of flogging; knocking out teeth or damaging the ears or nose is punished by one year of imprisonment. You repeatedly beat your wife, causing multiple bruises and knocking out one tooth. Under the law, you are sentenced to sixty strokes of flogging and one year of imprisonment. Do you accept the punishment?"

The man stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly. Before he could react, the woman had already grown anxious and hurriedly said, "My lord, my husband can't go to prison..."

Li Nuo looked at her speechlessly and asked, "Then what do you want?"

The woman said nervously, "I only want him not to beat me anymore..."

She had merely wanted the authorities to reprimand her husband. She had never expected this lord to hand down such a severe sentence. If her husband spent a year in prison, how would she get through that year?

Thinking of the consequences, she shuddered and immediately said, "My lord, please release my husband. I withdraw my accusation. I withdraw it..."

Li Nuo could see it now. Even after being beaten so badly, this woman's heart still favored her husband.

For one brief moment, he actually felt envious.

A man like this could even marry such a wife. Heaven truly had no eyes.

His own wife—forget favoring him. If she refrained from beating him, he considered himself lucky.

This made Li Nuo find the man even more unpleasant. He waved his hand and said, "You report him when you feel like it, then withdraw the accusation when you feel like it. What do you take the yamen for? These officers even come to the yamen on their days off to redress the grievances of the common people. Is this how you intend to toy with them?"

The woman fell to her knees and repeatedly knocked her head against the ground. "This common woman does not understand the law. My lord, please forgive me..."

Li Nuo had someone help her up and said, "You are the aggrieved party. Since you say you do not wish to press charges, his imprisonment sentence will be waived. However, though the imprisonment sentence may be waived, he must still receive fifty strokes of the cane and be imprisoned for three days as a warning. If he commits the offense again, his punishment will be increased by one degree..."

As a legal professional, even though he felt that the woman was too spineless, he still had to consider the matter from her perspective.

Becoming an enforcer of the law was not about enjoying the feeling of wielding power above the common people. It was about sincerely solving problems for vulnerable groups.

The woman said gratefully, "Thank you, my lord. Thank you, my lord..."

The man also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said, "Thank you, my lord, for showing mercy. I swear I'll never beat my wife again..."

Li Nuo waved his hand, having two yamen runners take the man away, then watched as the clerk wrote out the judgment.

He had already worked out the rules of the Code of Law. As long as he was deeply involved in a case, whether he wrote the judgment himself had no effect on the Code of Law's ruling. Li Nuo's handwriting was simply too ugly to show anyone now.

A moment later, Li Nuo glanced at the Code of Law, and his expression suddenly froze.

The portrait of the man who had committed domestic violence was actually glowing.

That was truly unexpected.

Over the past few days, Li Nuo had judged quite a few cases, and several pages had been added to the portraits in the Code of Law. However, like Cui Ze from the earlier case involving Steward Zheng, all their portraits had been gray and dim. Moreover, they had vanished completely after a day, which meant they possessed no strengths recognized by the Code of Law.

This domestic abuser's was the only portrait that had remained lit over the past few days.

The Code of Law was extremely selective. This meant that the man possessed an exceptional ability in some area.

At the very least, he was one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand.

If Li Nuo did not ask about it properly, he might accidentally put that ability to use and bring himself even more trouble.

Li Nuo hurriedly raised his hand to stop the woman, who was about to leave, and asked, "Big Sister, does your husband have any special talents?"

The woman looked puzzled.

Li Nuo elaborated, "I mean, is there something he's noticeably better at than other people..."

The woman thought for a moment. Perhaps she had thought of something, because her face suddenly reddened. Lowering her head, she said softly, "His... his special talent..."

Li Nuo thought he had misheard and pressed her, "Which one?"

The woman's face flushed. Her gaze shifted toward a certain part of Li Nuo's body as she said, "That one..."

Li Nuo lowered his head and looked. His expression froze.