New Specialization

The entrance to the County Office, though a table had been set up and runners were loudly calling out, was still only surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. It was the first time they had seen something like this, and no one stepped forward to plead their case.

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

They were two burly men. One of them grabbed the other by the collar and roared, "You owe me money and you dare hit me? I'm taking you to see the officials right now!"

The man dragged the debtor to the long table at the entrance of the County Office. A scribe wrote out a complaint, and a young master came out from the County Office. After reading the complaint and asking the two men a few questions, he finally said to the debtor, "A debt is a debt, and it's only right to repay it. You owe money and assaulted your creditor. Today, I sentence you to repay the debt immediately and receive fifty canings as a warning. If you still refuse to pay, your crime will be compounded threefold, and the authorities will help you sell your property to settle the debt, and you will not escape the suffering of a beating..."

The caning was merely a pain to the flesh, but the beating could injure bone and sinew. The debtor turned as pale as death. He quickly took a piece of silver from his pocket and returned it to the man. Afterward, two runners tied him to the stone lion at the entrance of the County Office and struck his backside dozens of times with bamboo strips. The man cried out in agony, while the eyes of the surrounding villagers grew brighter.

No way... they're actually serious?

Seeing that the County Office had genuinely helped the plaintiff recover the money owed, some people began to stir after the two men involved in the case left.

Meanwhile, in the back hall of the County Office, a runner rubbed his backside with a grimace, yet he looked at the ingot of silver in his hand with a joyous smile. The others around him looked at his expression with envy.

If I get fifty canings on my backside, I can get ten taels of silver. I'd be willing to be caned every day.

Even the other runner, who hadn't been caned, received two taels of reward money.

Those two kids, they've got such good luck!

It has to be said, following that noble young master is more promising and profitable than following Lord Pei. If only this young master were the county magistrate...

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Although the people at the entrance of the County Office were initially hesitant, they saw that someone had truly obtained justice. The crowd clearly became restless. At one point, a woman emerged from the crowd and hesitantly approached the table.

A perceptive runner immediately brought her a chair and motioned for her to sit.

Li Nuo looked at the timid woman and said gently, "Sister, don't be afraid. No matter what injustice you have suffered, we will uphold justice for you."

Perhaps it was the handsome young master's smile that infected her. The woman's complexion regained some color. She carefully rolled up her sleeve, revealing a bruised area, and said, "My husband... he always hits me. Can you do something about this?"

Li Nuo said, "Yes, yes, of course! Someone, bring a chair and let this sister sit first..."

Although Great Xia had no domestic violence laws, it had assault laws. Between husband and wife, whether it was unilateral beating or mutual combat, it was based on assault, with penalties added or reduced.

Li Nuo first dispatched two runners to the address the woman provided to summon her husband for questioning.

While waiting, he also had someone bring the woman a cup of tea and inquired in detail about the case and examined her injuries.

Most of the injuries on her body were bruises, with some minor cuts. In addition, one of her teeth had been knocked out.

The woman's home was not far from the County Office. In the time it took for half a cup of tea to brew, two runners brought a thin man to the entrance of the County Office.

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

The woman nodded.

On the way, the man had already heard that his wife had reported him to the authorities. Although he was angry, he didn't dare to act out. He just repeatedly said, "My lord, this is a matter between my wife and me. The yamen can't interfere, can they..."

Li Nuo glanced at him and said, "At home, it's your family matter. At the yamen, it's the yamen's business. I'll just ask you, were the injuries on your wife inflicted by you?"

For such minor cases, the Great Xia Codex advocated "no accusation, no investigation" by the government. Facing her husband's frequent beatings, if the woman had chosen to suffer in silence, the government truly couldn't intervene.

But since she had reported it to the authorities, it was no longer their family matter.

The man glared fiercely at the woman, but when he looked at Li Nuo, his expression softened. "My lord, I promise I won't dare to do it again!"

Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "If you knew this earlier, why did you do it in the first place? According to the Great Xia Codex, striking someone with hands or feet is punishable by forty canings; injuring someone with other objects is punishable by sixty beatings; breaking teeth or damaging ears and nose is punishable by one year of imprisonment. You have repeatedly beaten your wife, causing multiple bruises and losing a tooth. According to the law, you are sentenced to sixty beatings and one year of imprisonment. Do you accept this?"

The man stood there dumbfounded. Before he could react, the woman became anxious. "My lord, my lord, my husband can't go to jail..."

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

The woman said nervously, "I just want him to stop hitting me from now on..."

Actually, she just wanted the authorities to admonish her husband. She never expected this lord to pass such a heavy sentence. If her husband were to go to jail for a year, how would she endure it?

Thinking of the consequences, she shivered and immediately said, "My lord, please let my husband go. I won't press charges anymore, I won't press charges..."

Li Nuo could see that even after being beaten like this, the woman was still siding with her husband.

For a moment, he was even envious.

This guy can marry such a wife. Heaven is truly blind.

My own wife, let alone siding with me, would be lucky if she didn't beat me.

This made Li Nuo dislike the guy even more. He waved his hand and said, "You file a complaint when you want and drop it when you want. What do you think the yamen is? These officers come to the yamen on their days off to help the common people seek justice, are they to be trifled with like this?"

The woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. "This commoner doesn't understand the law, my lord, please forgive me..."

Li Nuo had someone help her up and said, "You are the victim. Since you say you won't press charges, the imprisonment sentence is waived. However, while the imprisonment is waived, he still must receive fifty canings and be imprisoned for three days as a warning. If he commits this offense again in the future, the penalty will be increased..."

As a legal professional, even though he felt the woman was too weak-willed, he still had to consider things from her perspective.

Becoming an enforcer of the law was not about enjoying the feeling of power over the people, but about sincerely solving problems for the vulnerable.

The woman heard this and 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 your mercy. I swear I will never hit my wife again..."

Li Nuo waved his hand, letting two runners take him away, and watched the scribe write down the verdict.

He had already figured out the pattern of the Codex. As long as he was deeply involved in a case, whether he wrote the verdict or not didn't affect the Codex's judgment. Li Nuo's handwriting was too ugly to present now.

A moment later, Li Nuo glanced at the Codex and his expression suddenly froze.

The portrait of the domestic abuser from earlier was actually lit up.

This was truly unexpected.

Over the past few days, Li Nuo had adjudicated many cases, and the portraits in the Codex had increased by several pages. However, just like Cui Ze in Steward Zheng's case, their portraits were all dim and would completely disappear after one day, indicating they possessed no merit recognized by the Codex.

This domestic abuser was the only lit-up portrait among those added in recent days.

The Codex was very picky, which meant he possessed an exceptional talent in some area.

At the very least, it was on the level of one in ten thousand, or even one in a hundred thousand.

If he didn't ask for clarification and happened to use it unintentionally, who knew what trouble it might cause him.

Li Nuo quickly reached out to stop the woman who was about to leave and asked, "Big sister, does your husband have any special skills?"

The woman looked confused.

Li Nuo added, "I mean, is there anything about him that's significantly better than others..."

The woman thought for a moment, and as if remembering something, her face suddenly flushed red. She lowered her head and whispered, "His, his special skill is..."

Li Nuo thought he hadn't heard correctly and pressed, "Which one?"

With a blushing face, the woman looked down toward a certain part of Li Nuo's body and said, "That..."

Li Nuo looked down and his expression froze.