Striking second was self-defense

Two yamen runners carried Gu Pei's remains out of the County Yamen, following Gu Zhengchen and Gu Cheng.

The case was closed. It was time to lay the bones to rest.

Just outside the County Yamen, Gu Zhengchen heard hurried footsteps. He looked up and saw Wang Youcheng running toward him.

"Gu Zhengchen!"

Wang Youcheng shouted through gritted teeth, quickening his pace.

Gu Cheng was about to step forward, but Gu Zhengchen raised a hand to stop him. He flexed his wrist, his cold, sharp gaze fixed on Wang Youcheng.

Wang Youcheng rushed up, swung his fist, and punched Gu Zhengchen squarely in the cheek.

Pain burned across his face.

Gu Zhengchen staggered back a step, then lunged forward and tackled Wang Youcheng to the ground. Straddling him, he lashed his right hand across Wang Youcheng's face!

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The sharp cracks startled everyone. The townspeople, who had been about to disperse, gathered around again at the sight.

Wang Youcheng struggled to fight back, but he was nothing more than a pampered young master who spent his days debauching himself. His constitution was even worse than that of Gu Zhengchen, a scholar. With the beating making him see stars, all he could do was claw wildly.

Gu Zhengchen raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and drove it straight into the bridge of Wang Youcheng's nose.

Crack!

His nasal bone broke, and Wang Youcheng screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

"Stop!"

County Deputy Jin Dache ran out. Seeing what was happening, he hurriedly shouted.

Smack!

Gu Zhengchen slapped Wang Youcheng across the face, then stood and turned to Jin Dache.

Jin Dache looked at Wang Youcheng, his face bruised, swollen, and covered in blood as he wailed without stopping. Then he looked at Gu Zhengchen. Well now, he was wiping the blood from his hands with a handkerchief.

"Candidate Gu, this..."

The county deputy was somewhat at a loss.

Gu Zhengchen tossed the bloody handkerchief onto Wang Youcheng and said coldly, "He struck first. The yamen runners and the townspeople can all testify for me."

"I'll kill you! I'll kill your whole family!"

Wang Youcheng glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

Gu Zhengchen's gaze hardened. He stepped forward and kicked Wang Youcheng hard under the chin. His lower jaw slammed into his upper jaw, the sharp crack reverberating inside his skull.

Jin Dache hurriedly pulled Gu Zhengchen away. Looking at Wang Youcheng, who could only grunt and could no longer form words, he felt a chill crawl over him. Gu Zhengchen, you're a scholar! How can you be so vicious? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were some street thug...

"What happened here?"

County Magistrate Li Yi came out, followed by several yamen runners.

Gu Zhengchen said nothing, merely staring at Wang Youcheng. If you dared strike first, I dared beat you.

That's right. If I hit back after being hit, it counted as mutual fighting.

The Great Ming Code stipulated that when people injured one another in a fight, each person's sentence was determined by the severity of the injuries they inflicted. Whoever struck second and had right on his side received a reduction of two degrees.

Listen to that: whoever struck second and had right on his side received a reduction of two degrees.

Whoever threw the first punch was in the wrong.

The law shouldn't be used against good, kind people. It should punish the wicked!

Old Zhu understood this principle and said it outright: if you struck second, you had justice on your side. Regardless of how severely you beat the other person, your punishment would be reduced by two degrees.

Under the laws governing mutual fighting, as long as no one died, the punishment was generally whipping or beating with the heavy bamboo.

A sentence of beating with the heavy bamboo, reduced by one degree, became whipping. Reduce whipping by another degree, and you were released without punishment...

Although Old Zhu did not know what self-defense was and certainly would not encourage mutual fighting, his will-no, the values of the ancients-was clear. Whoever struck first bore the greatest guilt. Whoever struck second, provided he had right on his side, received a reduced sentence from the authorities.

Such laws were intended to punish the first aggressor heavily and prevent these incidents from happening. Unlike certain laws that ignored the cause and gave both the first attacker and the person who struck back fifty strokes apiece.

County Magistrate Li Yi established what had happened. Everyone could testify that Wang Youcheng had indeed struck Gu Zhengchen first; if there were any doubts, the injury on his face was proof. Wang Youcheng, however, had been beaten truly miserably. A careful examination confirmed that he would not die and that his injuries did not count as serious. His face would simply stay swollen for a while, and he had lost a tooth.

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he only lost one tooth. Damn it, if he'd lost two, the sentence would have been much more severe...

Since it was a fight and the facts were clear, Li Yi announced his ruling on the spot. "Wang Youcheng and Gu Zhengchen engaged in mutual fighting. According to the law, Gu Zhengchen inflicted minor injuries and broke one of the other party's teeth, warranting one hundred strokes of the heavy bamboo. In consideration of his having struck second and suffered an unprovoked injury, his punishment is reduced by two degrees. You may leave."

"I was injured. My medical expenses..."

Gu Zhengchen held out his hand.

"Get lost!"

Li Yi was so exasperated he could have vomited blood. He still did not understand this fellow well enough. Judging by the way he acted, he was practically burrowing through loopholes in the criminal code-no, he was turning somersaults inside them!

And you, Wang Youcheng!

Your father killed his father, and you, the son, still dared hit his son? No wonder Gu Zhengchen slapped you so viciously. If it were me, I'd have beaten you even worse. Even if I still had to take a whipping after the two-degree reduction, I'd make sure you couldn't get out of bed for half a year.

The enmity of a father's murder left no room beneath the same sky for both men.

Your father was as good as dead. You should stay quietly at home and forget about buying your way out of punishment. In a case this heinous, involving such brutal methods, redemption of a sentence was generally not permitted.

Besides, the emperor of Great Ming needed to establish his authority, set rules, and reassure the people at this time. A murder this vicious would certainly be prosecuted to the death. Along with the death sentence, he might even throw in a little package of flaying and stuffing the skin with daylily straw, or death by a thousand cuts.

"Wang Youcheng engaged in mutual fighting and inflicted minor injuries. According to the law, he is to receive forty lashes. Administer them here."

Having given his order, Li Yi turned and left.

Jin Dache signaled the yamen runners with a glance. They fetched a rattan cane and a bench, hauled Wang Youcheng onto it, and began beating him. Wang Youcheng desperately wanted to ask to buy his way out of the punishment, but Gu Zhengchen's final kick had been so vicious that his scalp was still tingling from the shock. His mouth would not work, and he could not get a word out.

Who knew why-perhaps because the Wang Family had a bad reputation and so often bullied others-but the yamen runners put every ounce of their strength into each lash. Although the rattan cane could not damage sinew or bone, it hurt terribly when it struck flesh...

Gu Cheng watched Gu Zhengchen walking ahead of him, a trace of awe in his eyes. The master he served employed methods unlike those of ordinary men.

Gu Zhengchen remained silent the entire way. By the time they reached home, dusk was approaching.

Chen Shi was cooking, while his mother, Gu Shi, chatted and laughed with Gu Qingqing in the courtyard. Seeing Gu Zhengchen return, Gu Shi rose and was about to speak when she noticed the two yamen runners behind him carrying a door-board stretcher. Her heart trembled.

"Mother, we found Father's remains."

Tears glimmered in Gu Zhengchen's eyes as he handed her the Memorial Tablet he had gripped the entire way.

Gu Shi took the Memorial Tablet, looked at it, and pressed it to her chest.

The yamen runners set down the door-board stretcher. Gu Cheng gave the two men a few copper coins in thanks and saw them out.

Gu Shi slowly sank to her knees.

As his mother slowly pulled back the white cloth, Gu Zhengchen drew Gu Qingqing behind him.

"Husband..."

Gu Shi gazed at the skull and burst into bitter tears.

Three days later, the remains were placed in a coffin. With the help of the villagers of Dayan Village, they opened the Clothes-and-Crown Tomb and buried him anew...

Gu Shi tied Gu Pei's Memorial Tablet to her own and kept them close to her body. During the day, she threshed, winnowed, and dried wheat as though nothing had happened. At night, she returned to her room after dinner and extinguished her candle early.

Hidden in the darkness, she spoke to the darkness.

Her voice was very soft.

Only a soul could hear it.