Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 348: The Filial Son Divides the Stick
"Dad, the Jiang family can live without me, but not without you! If you do something wrong, can't I, as your son, take the blame and accept the punishment for you? How can I afford to take care of the family? Mom is still looking forward to your return!"
"Shut up, you ignorant boy. The law of the country is as great as the sky. If everyone commits a crime, their descendants will take the blame. Where is the majesty of the law? Shut up right now. If you continue to speak, I will no longer have you as my son!"
"father……"
Young Master Jiang called out "Dad" with a trembling voice, and then he started to cry. Because he was kneeling on the ground for a long time, everyone could see that he was already twenty-five or twenty-six years old and his tears were streaming down his face, but he didn't wipe them with his sleeves. Anyone could see that he was sad. Zhu Tingfang, who had heard Zhang Shou talk about Young Master Jiang's silly words and deeds before, couldn't help but frown slightly. Filial sons are always treated preferentially.
The biggest feeling of others was that the relationship between the Jiang family father and son was really good! The eldest son of the Qi family showed an envy that was difficult to conceal. For him, who grew up in an environment with little family affection, this kind of father-son relationship was incredible.
The other acting heads of the families, the older ones kept stealing glances at Young Master Jiang, while the younger ones kept looking at Old Master Jiang. The older ones wondered why they didn't have such a son, even if he was bad in other aspects, his filial piety alone was enough to satisfy them. The younger ones wondered why they didn't have such a father, who not only didn't have concubines and illegitimate children, but also didn't feel guilty when his son took the blame.
Mr. Jiang was upset by the crying of Young Master Jiang. According to his usual temper, he would have scolded him harshly for being useless and too soft. But at this juncture, the second and youngest sons, who were favored because of their young age, did not show up, while the eldest son was running around. How could he push the filial but a little stupid Young Master Jiang into the fire pit?
He kowtowed without hesitation and said, "Every word I said before came from my heart. I admit all the four major sins mentioned by the general. I only hope to give my son Siyuan a chance to make amends with the Jiang family."
Although the common people were not allowed to watch the case on that day, there were many runners and clerks in the county government office. At Zhu Tingfang's instruction, the runners kept quietly passing on various details of the court to the people watching the fun outside.
As a result, the people of Cangzhou who gathered outside the Changlu County Government Office soon found out that although Young Master Jiang was willing to take punishment for his father, Mr. Jiang firmly disagreed and even argued in the court that his eldest son knew nothing about what had happened before.
Although Mr. Jiang admitted to the four crimes Zhu Tingfang mentioned in the court, Zhu Tingfang finally punished him for the second and third crimes that had been fully verified. As for burning down houses and inciting innocent people to change, they had already been reported by the Qi family's servants, and most of them were taken by Mr. Qi, so Mr. Jiang escaped. But even so, the charge of Yue was still enough to make him lose a lot of money.
"All military and civilian disputes must be reported from the bottom up. If one goes to the superior to file a complaint without going through the jurisdiction of the official in charge, he shall be caned 50 times. If one goes to the emperor's carriage or beats the drum to file a complaint, he shall be caned 100 times if it is untrue. If the case is serious, the punishment shall be heavier. If the case is true, he shall be exempted from punishment."
Although Zhang Shou had urgently read the Ming Dynasty Law in the past two days, he could not recite the laws by heart like Zhu Tingfang did in the court. After hearing this, although he had discussed with his future brother-in-law yesterday how to sentence Mr. Jiang, Zhu Tingfang did not make it clear. At this moment, he calculated in his mind and knew that even if Mr. Jiang's accusation against the eldest prince was half true and half false, he would at least be punished with fifty sticks.
However, Zhu Tingfang in the outer hall had not finished his words : "Those who commit suicide or hang themselves at the left and right gates of Chang'an, or who make a scene or shout loudly, will be sent to the court to investigate and punish the instigators and masterminds. Although you did not commit suicide or hang yourself at the left and right gates of Chang'an, you have conclusive evidence that you intended to commit suicide in front of the imperial envoy."
"Yue's accusation is untrue, and he threatened to commit suicide. He should be punished severely, but considering that the eldest prince had done bad things in Cangzhou before, and that you are a filial son who is willing to make amends, I will give you a lighter sentence. Come, drag him away and give him eighty strokes of the cane!"
Eighty strokes of the cane was still considered a lenient sentence!
Young Master Jiang was so shocked that he was almost numb. His first reaction was to throw himself on his father and yell, "I'll take the eighty strokes for my father!" As soon as he said this, he suddenly realized that his parents had used family rules to beat him in the past, and seven or eight strokes were painful enough to kill him. Wouldn't he die if he took eighty strokes? But as soon as he said this, he could only grit his teeth and remain silent, his face pale.
Mr. Jiang didn't expect his son to suddenly rush to save him. He was stunned for a moment and was about to scold him, but unexpectedly, Zhu Tingfang in the hall said calmly: "Since you have a son willing to take the punishment for your father, I will reduce it by half and will stick you forty times first. The remaining forty will be shared by your three sons!"
When Young Master Jiang heard that the burden would be halved, he felt relieved. But when he realized that it was his father who would have to bear half of the burden, and he could still share it with his two younger brothers, he immediately shouted as if he had received a treasure: "General Zhu, General Zhu, this can't be done! Since we three sons are sharing the burden for our father, we should share it equally, twenty per person..."
Before he could finish his words, two people rushed out from the side, and one of them stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth. He struggled desperately and recognized that the man dressed as an officer was Zhang Chen. His eyes widened and he forgot to resist for a moment. It was not until he and his father, Mr. Jiang, were dragged to the outer platform that he suddenly woke up and kept moaning.
Zhang Chen couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he could only squat down and whispered in a bad mood: "What are you fussing about? If the sentence is really severe, your father will be sent to Liaodong as a soldier at the very least. He can get away with a beating, which is already a bargain for him! Letting you three sons share the 40 pound severance for him is already a great favor outside the law. What else do you want? You want to shoulder 80 pound severance by yourself? I can tell you , it won't be easy at all!"
Mr. Jiang also heard these words clearly. Seeing Young Master Jiang looking at him with a look of fear, as if he was afraid that he would not survive, he could only take a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Thank you, General Zhu, for your fairness and strictness. I accept the punishment!"
When Young Master Jiang heard his father say that he accepted the punishment again, he was startled. When he found that his father's eyes were full of sternness, he immediately became dejected. However, he suddenly thought of his two younger brothers who were judged by Zhu Tingfang to be punished together.
Aren't we supposed to share the burden? Where are the people? Where did the two brothers go?
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard two voices that sounded like they were being gagged. He barely moved his head, the only part of his body that could still move, to look to the side, only to see his second and third brothers, who he had avoided for the past few days, being held by the officers and pressed down beside him. The six eyes stared at each other for a while, and he suddenly relaxed and actually blinked at them.
However, when he was hit on the buttocks for the first time, Young Master Jiang suddenly lost his joy. He felt a sharp pain spreading from his buttocks to all parts of his body. He even lost the ability to think because of the pain. He was completely stunned. Because of this, when someone suddenly took out his gag, he didn't notice it until he heard his own screams.
The second and third young masters of Jiang's family, who had been gagged and brought out of the Jiang family, and who had just listened to the entire trial, also had their gags taken out. They were beaten so hard that they wanted to roll on the ground. This was completely different from the family discipline of the parents. There was a period of time between each beating to let you experience the endless pain. And the pain was like a tide, one wave after another.
By the time the thirteen blows were over, the two had already screamed so many times that they didn't even notice that Young Master Jiang had been hit one more time than them. When the three brothers, with cold sweat on their foreheads, were finally freed, they heard a muffled groan from the side. The three of them looked in that direction almost at the same time, and saw that Master Jiang was biting a piece of cloth in his mouth, and his back was already stained with blood.
At this moment, the three brothers finally remembered that they had endured the entire beating, but their father had only endured one-third of it! At that moment, even the second and third young masters of Jiang, who initially felt that they had been wrongly beaten, turned pale.
They young men had just been beaten to the point of being in agony. How could the old man bear it at his age?
When the news that the four Jiangs were caned came out from the county government, the people who had gathered here to listen to the news gasped. However, many spinners and cotton farmers who had been given lenient sentences by Zhu Tingfang secretly clapped their hands in approval.
They didn't have a deep feeling about Mr. Jiang's personal morality. They just remembered that he had ruined their family and killed their loved ones, and they hated him to the core. As for the other guys who were imprisoned in the prison, they had a long history of bad deeds and committed many crimes, so they were naturally more hateful. If Mr. Jiang's punishment was shared by his three sons, they would all be caned forty times. Those guys who committed serious crimes would all be punished with more punishment.
I'm afraid someone else is going to lose his head!
But no matter what, Young Master Jiang still has a reputation for being filial and kind. As for the past... the rich kid was ignorant of the ways of the world, that's all. After all, just yesterday, Young Master Jiang personally led people to deliver rice and flour to his former employees, promising to do his best to provide the food rations needed by each family before resuming work, and promised to resume work as soon as possible. Even those who followed Xian Yunhe in making trouble thought that Young Master Jiang was a decent person.
Therefore, most people felt that Zhu Tingfang was truly selfless in punishing the Jiang family.
After forty strokes of the cane, Mr. Jiang fainted from the pain once and was woken up by cold water. He finally managed to survive. Although it was only a wooden cane as thick as a thumb, it was still not pleasant to be beaten on the buttocks. If he had not been wearing a silk undershirt before the execution, he doubted that even if he could return home alive, the clothes would be rotten into his flesh by the cane and he would be half dead.
Seeing his three sons, who had been given medicine and helped to stand up, supported each other and limped over to see his condition, he felt relieved, but said weakly, "I'm not going to die yet! Dalang, go and thank General Zhu for his kindness..."
Young Master Jiang felt as if his buttocks were being cut by a knife, and he was extremely angry. However, Zhu Tingfang was not Zhang Shou. Zhang Shou was usually very gentle, which made him feel that he was indeed a role model for others and worthy of the title of Imperial College Doctor. But Zhu Tingfang was murderous, no, he killed people like crazy! When he was taken to the county government morgue the day before yesterday and saw the corpses, he was so scared that he vomited!
Thinking of the nightmares he had had for the past two days, he saw his two younger brothers looking at him with resentment, and finally followed the officers who carried their father out of the county government office. He had no choice but to follow an officer back to the lobby with difficulty, swallowing his anger and bowing to thank his father. He thought Zhu Tingfang would show off his authority again, but he never expected that he would be asked to step aside.
But when he saw the following scene, he, who originally wanted to lie down and rest his butt, realized that the beating he and his four sons had just received was nothing at all!
"Qi Chang, you are disrespectful to the elderly, you have taken possession of widows, you have forced the weak and orphans to death, and you are also greedy for money, you have set fire to people's houses, and you have turned innocent people into traitors. Your crimes are unforgivable, and I shall execute you without delay!"
"Qi Shuo, you robbed good men, beat two of them to death, and abandoned their bodies. Your crime is unforgivable. I will execute you without delay!"
"Qi Liu, condoned her husband and son to commit crimes, and also condoned the charity to kidnap and sell children of good families, resulting in the deaths of many of them . Four skeletons have been unearthed. Over the past few years, three maids were beaten to death. These three people did not have physical deeds and household registration, so they cannot be treated as Qi family maids. They are not of low status, so they cannot be treated leniently. They shall be executed, and there will be no time to lose!"
When these three pieces of news spread, countless people were shocked to learn that the second wife of the Qi family was also sentenced to death. No one thought that even the women of the Qi family could not escape this fate, but the crime of this wife of Qi was irrefutable, especially the one about condoning the trafficking of good family children, which really angered the public. For a while, some people shook their heads, while others cheered.
This time, it was Young Master Qi's turn to turn pale. Seeing his stepmother, who was screaming and screaming, being gagged and dragged away, his half-brother, who was always arrogant and domineering, fainted and fell to the ground and was carried away, and his father, who was in a daze and didn't even see him, with his eyes dull as if he was in a trance when he was taken away, he couldn't help but glance at Young Master Jiang who was still rubbing his butt.
Thinking of what the other party had secretly told him before and the actual action just now, he did not hesitate, kicked off his shoes, walked barefoot to the center of the hall and knelt down.
He was originally wearing a white robe today. Although this had some meaning of a curse in advance as his parents and brothers had been sentenced to death, the fact that he suddenly kicked off his shoes and walked to the center seemed a bit unusual to others.
Isn't this plain clothing and bare feet? Why, Young Master Qi wants to plead for his parents and brothers?
Although this young master Qi was neither beautiful nor weak, but dark and fat, and looked simple and honest, he knelt in the middle and wiped his eyes with his sleeves, and immediately his eyes became red and swollen and tears flowed down his face, many officers looked at each other in bewilderment and then felt a little sympathy. After all, how many local people in Cangzhou didn't know about the Qi family's troubles?
"My parents and brothers have all been convicted of capital crimes. As a son and a brother, I dare not and have no reason to plead for them. I only ask the general to show mercy and allow me to share some of my father's guilt."
There are filial sons one after another today?
The acting heads of the other four families almost all turned their heads to look at Young Master Jiang. Seeing that his facial features were twitching with pain, they couldn't help but wonder. However, unlike when Mr. Jiang was caned before, his sons could share the punishment. How could Mr. Qi share the punishment? Young Master Qi could be sentenced to exile if he took a dozen canes for his father? No way!
