Chapter 106: The Audacious Zhang San
“Lady Xu! Madam!”
Li Si rushed back to the Zhang household, stumbling through the door.
“What happened?” Xu Zhiqian immediately hurried out from the hall.
Li Si, panting heavily, said, “Lady Xu, Brother San and Shi Tingxiu have been arrested by the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.”
Gao Wenyin, who had just come out, heard this and felt dizzy, almost collapsing. Fortunately, Xu Zhiqian, quick-eyed and deft, supported her. She calmly smiled at Gao Wenyin and said, “Madam, do not worry. This was within our expectations. Rest assured, Zhang San will be fine. I will go find my father now.”
Xu Zun had anticipated that they might be detained by the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
Such matters could easily turn into serious crimes.
Gao Wenyin, with tears in her eyes, clutched Xu Zhiqian’s sleeve and choked out, “Everything depends on you, Lady Xu…”
“There is no need to thank me, Madam,” Xu Zhiqian quickly interrupted. “I will go find my father now.”
“Oh, alright. Lady Xu, please be careful on the way,” Gao Wenyin said, hurriedly letting go. ……
At that moment, Lu Gongzhu was at the Ministry of Punishments with several senior judicial officials, including Xu Zun, cleaning up the leftover mess from the previous year.
The main debate among them was whether to relax, tighten, or regulate litigation.
Zhang Fei’s appearance last year had drawn significant attention from the court, especially from the Court of Penal Review and the Ministry of Punishments, the highest judicial departments.
They needed to quickly come to a resolution.
Every time Zhang Fei filed a complaint, it caught them off guard.
In terms of rules, Zhang Fei hadn’t actually violated any. He was just extremely noticeable and subtly challenged the established social hierarchy.
Although commoners could theoretically sue officials, success depended on internal court politics. Judicial decisions were secondary; encountering a just official like Bao Zheng might lead to success, but corrupt officials could ruin everything.
However, Zhang Fei had forced them to punish Wang Wenshan.
This made them very apprehensive.
Therefore, most officials believed that stricter control was necessary. There were too many loopholes, and who knew what Zhang Fei might do next.
They had heard that Zhang Fei was about to introduce a new taxation policy, causing great anxiety within the Three Financial Bureaus. Various departments were pressuring the Ministry of Punishments and the Court of Judicial Review.
This policy threatened too many interests.
Currently, there were three main viewpoints.
First, the traditional view supported further restricting litigation, such as having the Ministry of Punishments review all litigation licenses issued to bookstores annually.
The implication was clear: if you don’t listen to us, we won’t give you the license.
This was the majority’s view and the traditional view.
Second, Accounting Chancellor Tang Jie proposed regulation, with the government collaborating with bookstores to hire pen-in-caps to go up against opposing pen-in-caps.
This would test the bureaucracy’s competence and efficiency.
Third, some suggested completely opening up litigation but charging fees. Northern Song officials had strong economic minds. Last year, the Kaifeng Prefectural Office’s runners complained daily, but if they had received substantial bonuses, it would be different. This could even fund the judicial system.
Each viewpoint had its pros and cons.
The debate was heated and unresolved.
Xu Zun, stubborn as ever, opposed further restrictions on litigation. Since he was in charge of the Court of Judicial Review, his opinion was crucial.
Suddenly, the Chief Clerk of Kaifeng Prefectural Office, Huang Gui, hurried into the hall, bowed to those present, and whispered a few words to Lu Gongzhu.
“What?” Lu Gongzhu exclaimed, standing up in shock, startling everyone.
Chief Censor Lu Hui asked, “Prefect Lu, what happened?”
Lu Gongzhu slowly turned to Lu Hui, unsure of what to say.
At that moment, Chief Clerk of the Court of Judicial Review, Xu Yuan, rushed in and whispered to Xu Zun.
Lu Gongzhu glared angrily at Xu Zun.
Xu Zun remained calm and asked, “Prefect Lu, how can the Kaifeng Prefectural Office arbitrarily arrest those who seek justice?”
Lu Gongzhu, embarrassed and angry, retorted, “Why he was arrested is something you should know better than I do.”
Xu Zun replied, “I only know that the Kaifeng Prefectural Office’s actions were not in accordance with regulations.”
“Wait a minute!” Lu Hui interjected, “What are you two arguing about?”
Associate Minister of the Ministry of Punishments Liu Shu asked, “Yes, what exactly happened?”
Lu Gongzhu snorted angrily, “That Zhang San went to Kaifeng Prefectural Office to file a complaint again.”
“What?”
Everyone present, except Xu Zun, was exasperated.
Their first day back at work was to prevent another Zhang San incident. But he had moved even faster, leaving them no time to prepare.
Everyone was filled with frustration.
Liu Shu asked, “Who is he suing?”
“The imperial court,” Lu Gongzhu replied.
“The imperial court?” Liu Shu was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Lu Gongzhu explained, “Zhang Fei is suing the imperial court itself.”
“What?”
Everyone except Xu Zun was stunned.
Xu Zun calmly stated, “There is no law in our court that forbids citizens from suing the court. Why did the Kaifeng Prefectural Office arrest him?”
“Incredible.”
Liu Shu, unable to contain his anger, stood up and rebuked Xu Zun, “At this point, do you still wish to shield that man. The law doesn’t forbid suing His Majesty either, so should citizens be allowed to sue His Majesty?”
Xu Zun countered, “If His Majesty commits an error, why shouldn’t they sue? The Censorate has impeached His Majesty before; what’s so strange about this?”
Lu Hui, who was about to speak, quickly closed his mouth.
The Censorate, led by him, had often confronted Emperor Zhao Xu. In the Ayun case, they had even overturned the emperor’s decree and reprimanded him.
Liu Shu argued, “That is the Censorate’s duty.”
Xu Zun replied, “And how does the Censorate learn of grievances? From the people. Zhang Fei went to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office to file a complaint. Arresting him without a trial is against the law. I will impeach the Kaifeng Prefectural Office for abuse of power and corruption.”
Qi Hui sneered, “Who is truly corrupt here? The mastermind behind this might be you.”
Xu Zun retorted, “So what? Isn’t it our duty to redress grievances?”
Qi Hui scoffed, “It’s yet to be determined if it’s a grievance.”
“So it’s okay to arrest people preemptively?” Xu Zun asked.
Qi Hui responded, “He is suing the imperial court.”
Xu Zun countered, “But there’s no law against it.”
Lu Hui stood up, “Stop arguing. This is the Kaifeng Prefectural Office’s first encounter with such a case. It’s not necessarily an abuse of power. Let’s investigate first.”
Xu Zun glanced at Lu Gongzhu, “If Kaifeng Prefectural Office dares to use torture, I will not let the matter rest.”
The Court of Judicial Review indeed had the authority to oversee the matter.
Lu Gongzhu ignored Xu Zun, bowed, and hurried back to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
……
“Is this all there is?” Lu Gongzhu asked after reading the complaint document.
Li Kai nodded.
Lu Gongzhu was furious, “Is he insane?”
He had expected a major case involving the imperial court and ancestral laws, but this was it?
Li Kai said, “At first, I thought so too, but on reflection, it makes sense.”
Lu Gongzhu, still angry, asked, “How?”
Li Kai explained, “Such cases are common. Court regulations state that if conscripted runners lose or damage official property, they must compensate the imperial court. If he wants to sue, he can only sue the imperial court.”
Lu Gongzhu frowned.
Li Kai continued, “I found out that Zhang San’s recently purchased concubine was the wife of Shi Tingjun from this case.”
“I see.”
Lu Gongzhu nodded, “But this is not a reason to sue the court. Where are they now?”
Li Kai replied, “I have them in jail. Whatever his motive, he deserves some punishment.”
Lu Gongzhu asked, “You didn’t torture him, did you?”
Li Kai said, “To be honest, I wanted to, but given his reason for suing—claiming that the imperial court has violated ancestral law—I didn’t dare without understanding it fully.”
Lu Gongzhu said, “Release him from jail and detain him elsewhere to avoid giving cause for complaint.”
“And Shi Tingxiu?”
“The same.”
Lu Gongzhu sighed, “We need to see how the imperial court responds.”
……
Kaifeng Prefecture jail.
Zhang Fei was tied to a wooden cross, surrounded by fire pits and torture instruments.
“Today, we’re in a good mood. You can choose which one to try,” the jailer said, holding a whip and smiling at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei glanced at him, “I choose iron nails.”
“Iron nails?”
“Don’t you have them?”
Zhang Fei explained, “Just strip me down to my underwear, nail my hands to the cross, tie my arms with hemp rope, and expose me to the sun until I bleed to death.”
The jailer blinked, “Why choose that way to die?”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Because it’s cool.”
Whack!
The jailer lashed the whip next to Zhang Fei, “Are you mocking me?”
A prison guard said, “You’re still arrogant even now.”
Zhang Fei sighed, “That’s just my nature.”
“You…!”
The jailer had never seen such an arrogant prisoner and was about to whip him when two guards stopped him.
“Let go! I must teach this insolent pen-in-cap a lesson.”
“Don’t fall into his trap. Last time, he got beaten and claimed hundreds of strings in compensation.”
“……?”
The scene froze.
At that moment, the cell door opened, and Huang Gui entered, expressionless, “Release him.”