Chapter 184: The Temptation of Power
On a summer afternoon, drowsiness always set in.
“Ah!”
Fan Li sat behind the counter, head propped up, eyes squinting, yawning.
There was a time when he too had been a struggling middle-aged man.
But since Zhang Fei arrived, he had completely lost his fighting spirit. He only wished for peace and safety, no longer pursuing a leading position or great wealth.
In just one short spring, he had understood a profound truth.
Survival!
Staying alive was the most important thing.
These days he lived very relaxed and comfortable.
He didn’t want to wake up. However.
Bang bang bang! A crisp knocking on the table startled him awake.
Fan Li looked up and was shocked.
“Brother San!”
Zhang Fei touched his face, “Has it been so few days since we last met that I’ve become this frightening?”
“No, no.”
Fan Li shook his head awkwardly, then asked: “Why are you here?”
Zhang Fei glanced back and said shyly: “Someone’s looking for me to file a lawsuit.”
“What? Someone’s actually looking for you to file a lawsuit?” Fan Li asked in surprise.
Lu Jiawen, who was following behind Zhang Fei, couldn’t help but laugh.
Fan Li looked at the young man behind Zhang Fei. Since Lu Jiawen had only recently taken office, he didn’t recognize him. Realizing he had misspoken, his face filled with embarrassment.
Zhang Fei said irritably: “Are we still open for business or not?”
“Of course we are.”
Fan Li asked quietly: “What kind of lawsuit?”
“Just a small case,” Zhang Fei said innocently.
Fan Li was somewhat skeptical, but seeing that Lu Jiawen was very young, he thought this youth looked quite refined and it probably wasn’t a life-or-death case. He quietly advised: “Don’t let it get out of hand.”
“I won’t!”
Zhang Fei patted his chest and promised: “Don’t worry, this time we’ll keep it small.”
“Well… I’ll trust you one more time,” Fan Li nodded.
One hour later.
“We can’t take it! Brother San, just listen to me this once! We really can’t take this case, we’ll be finished if we do!”
Fan Li was sprawled across the table, shaking his head at Zhang Fei with tears in his eyes.
Zhang Fei looked at Lu Jiawen and said, “Judicial Administrator Lu, you’ve seen it yourself – my partner won’t let me take the case, I…”
Lu Jiawen no longer looked as friendly as before. He frowned at Fan Li, “Mogul Fan, why won’t you take my case?”
“I…”
Fan Li was momentarily speechless. He suddenly remembered that Lu Jiawen was the Judicial Administrator of Kaifeng County, not an ordinary citizen. “Judicial Administrator Lu, aren’t you… aren’t you a judge yourself?”
A judge looking for a pen-in-cap to file a lawsuit?
This was too absurd.
Lu Jiawen straightened his back, emanating official authority, and asked sternly: “What does my position have to do with this lawsuit?”
Fan Li slowly turned his head to look at Zhang Fei pitifully.
Zhang Fei shrugged, “It’s your decision.”
Bang!
“Zhang San!”
Fan Li slammed the table and jumped up, “Do you think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know you’re trying to get revenge on Magistrate Wang? And here I thought you were at home reflecting, but actually you… you’re making things worse.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Will you sign or not?”
Fan Li snorted, “You sign it! Go ahead if you dare! If you want to die, I can’t stop you.”
“Fine, I’ll sign it!”
“Brother San!”
Fan Li crouched down again, eyes brimming with tears: “Won’t you reconsider? This really isn’t a joke – how can the Judicial Court sue the County Office?”
Zhang Fei said: “That’s not our concern. We’re just responsible for filing the case. Whether they accept it or not is the government’s business.”
Fan Li froze, thinking, that’s right! Kaifeng Prefecture wouldn’t accept such an absurd case. But if they weren’t going to accept it, there was no point in filing. He said: “If the government won’t accept it, why file at all?”
“I’m being forced to,” Zhang Fei glanced at the fierce-looking Lu Jiawen.
Fan Li snorted and said quietly: “Stop trying to fool me. I know what’s going on. How convenient that right after that incident, you suddenly want to sue Kaifeng County.”
Zhang Fei dropped the act and asked: “Do you want to get beaten with the rod again?”
Fan Li shook his head vigorously.
Zhang Fei said: “Then we have to counter-sue. Otherwise, what’s stopping them from beating you? Even if you close your doors, you can’t escape.”
Fan Li was silent for a while, then sighed: “How was I so stupid to think you would actually stay home and reflect?”
With that, he too stood up.
Zhang Fei signed the contract with Lu Jiawen, after which Lu Jiawen stamped it with the Court’s official seal, while Zhang Fei stamped it with the law firm’s seal.
Kaifeng Prefecture had two courts, left and right, each with a judge. Generally, major criminal cases were tried there.
In fact, for many cases, even if they were appealed to the prefectural office, Lu Gongzhu would mostly refer them back to the left and right courts, with Zhang Fei being the only exception.
This time Zhang Fei took the conventional route, not using any special privileges, and went directly to the Left Court to appeal.
After submitting the complaint document, it took about half an hour before a doorkeeper led them in.
Inside the hall, two men sat wearing identical official robes, both around forty years old.
Lu Jiawen bowed to the man on the left, “This humble subordinate Lu Jiawen greets Judge Cen. Greets Judge Yu.”
Zhang Fei also followed with a bow.
The man on the left was the Left Court Judge, Cen Yuanli, while the man on the right was the Right Court Judge, Yu Zaishen.
These two court judges often met to discuss cases, because if Lu Gongzhu found issues with criminal cases, he would transfer them to the other court for review. This mutual review mechanism allowed them to supervise each other, but since they had a good relationship, they often discussed matters privately to avoid awkwardness.
For sentencing, they would prepare two options – if one didn’t work, they’d use the other.
Cen Yuanli looked Lu Jiawen over and asked: “Judicial Administrator Lu, are you idle with nothing to do? Or do you think we are?”
Lu Jiawan bowed and said: “This humble official wouldn’t dare.”
Cen Yuanli picked up the complaint document from the table and waved it at Lu Jiawan, “Then what’s the meaning of this complaint?”
With Judge Yu Zaishen also present, both judges had studied it for a long time but couldn’t understand the purpose of this complaint.
The County Office’s Judicial Court was actually suing the County Office.
Zhang Fei bowed and said: “Please don’t be angry, Judge Cen. Let this humble commoner explain!”
Cen Yuanli glared at Zhang Fei, “I haven’t even gotten to you yet. Why did you come to my court today? Aren’t you fond of-“
He had wanted to say “going to the prefectural office to complain, that’s more your style.”
Suddenly realizing he shouldn’t say such things as Li Kai would beat them up, he waved his hand before Zhang Fei could answer: “Don’t speak yet. Wait until I question you.”
After warning Zhang Fei, he turned to Lu Jiawen and asked: “What exactly is going on here?”
He knew Zhang Fei too well – though young in appearance, he was definitely crafty. Let him speak and they’d soon find themselves trapped in his words.
Lu Jiawen asked: “Does Judge Cen find Magistrate Wang’s verdict appropriate?”
Cen Yuanli said: “If you think his verdict is inappropriate, you can appeal to Kaifeng Prefecture or petition the imperial court. Who taught you to sue the County Office in the name of the Judicial Court?”
Lu Jiawen’s granduncle was their superior – how could he not understand such basic protocol?
Zhang Fei said sheepishly: “Well…”
“Do you want to get beaten?”
“…”
Zhang Fei looked dejected, thinking to himself: I knew it – if we don’t fight this out properly now, I’ll get beaten wherever I go in the future. This is bullying!
Fortunately, Lu Jiawen wasn’t a fool. He said to Cen Yuanli: “In response to Judge Cen, this humble official acted this way because I believe the error lies not in Magistrate Wang’s verdict, but in Kaifeng County Office’s judgment.”
Cen Yuanli asked puzzled: “Isn’t that the same thing? What you wrote here refers to Magistrate Wang’s verdict.”
Lu Jiawen said: “Magistrate Wang is the county’s chief official. He primarily manages administration, with judicial matters being secondary. Therefore, when trying this case, he primarily considered administrative aspects rather than judicial ones.
Wei Yushan had considerable prestige in Kaifeng County and had funded irrigation and road works for the local community. This was related to Magistrate Wang’s performance evaluation. Since the case happened three years ago, investigating it would be quite complicated and likely consume significant manpower and resources. I believe Magistrate Wang chose to settle the matter peacefully due to considerations of his own performance evaluation.
Such phenomena were common across various prefectures and counties. I understand Magistrate Wang’s difficulties.
However, as a Judicial Administrator, my duty is to judge cases. I absolutely cannot tolerate such a wrongful case. That’s why I filed an appeal against the county office in the name of the Judicial Court. I only wanted to seek justice for Geng Ming, with no intention to offend Magistrate Wang.”
Though his tone was sincere and earnest, Cen Yuanli saw it as complete nonsense and false pretenses – by suing the county office, how could Magistrate Wang possibly stay uninvolved? Did they think we were fools?
Just as he was about to scold Lu Jiawen, Yu Zaishen beside him suddenly asked Zhang Fei: “You instigated this, didn’t you?”
Zhang Fei quickly replied: “Judge Yu, Lu came to me on his own initiative.”
“Is that so?” Yu Zaishen smiled faintly.
Cen Yuanli also realized – of course! This fellow had a grudge against Wang Hong, and just over half a month ago too. This was clearly revenge!
“This humble one dares not deceive you both,” Zhang Fei bowed and continued, “However, I greatly admire Judicial Administrator Lu’s integrity and courage. If he had petitioned the imperial court, this might have become a political issue, even triggering mutual impeachment among officials and disrupting court harmony. But this case is fundamentally a judicial matter, not an administrative one, so it should be resolved through judicial means. That’s why I chose to file the complaint here.”
Yu Zaishen asked again: “But the court has no regulation allowing government offices to sue each other.”
Zhang Fei replied: “Which means it’s tacitly permitted.”
“You little-“
“Brother Cen, stay calm.”
Yu Zaishen first held Cen Yuanli back, then said to Lu Jiawen and Zhang Fei: “You two go back first. We need to discuss this case.”
“This subordinate takes his leave.”
“This humble one takes his leave.”
After they left, Cen Yuanli said: “What’s there to discuss? This is simply ridiculous. If we really accept this case, we might even be punished by the imperial court.”
Yu Zaishen turned and said, “Brother Cen, do you remember that Academician Sima has already suggested judicial reform to His Majesty and received his approval?”
Cen Yuanli replied: “How could I not know that? But what does that have to do with this?”
Yu Zaishen smiled bitterly: “Weren’t Lu Jiawen and Zhang San both hinting at it? This is a judicial issue, not an administrative one – that’s their reason for suing Kaifeng County Office.”
Cen Yuanli frowned: “You mean the Judicial Court wants to use this lawsuit to gain control of judicial power?”
Yu Zaishen nodded.
Cen Yuanli said softly: “Isn’t this a bit hasty?”
Yu Zaishen replied: “It’s not about being hasty. The question is: can administration and law be separated by just a decree from the imperial court? Think about it – what rank is Wang Hong, and what rank is Lu Jiawen? If Wang Hong really wanted to interfere with judicial proceedings, could Lu Jiawen refuse? But if they won this case, that’s another story.”
Cen Yuanli seemed hesitant.
Above them were only Lu Gongzhu and Li Kai – but having this extra level of superiors made all the difference.
If Lu Jiawen could succeed, then we…
The temptation of power.
Cen Yuanli’s eyes flickered, but he anxiously said: “I’m afraid we’ll bring trouble upon ourselves!”
Yu Zaishen said: “Lu Jiawen started this. Let’s release the news first and see the reaction. I think Academician Sima will definitely support us. We can also use this to unite judicial officials – it makes sense both up and down the ranks. This might actually work, but even if it doesn’t, it won’t affect us.”
After thinking it over, Cen Yuanli asked: “But have you considered Zhang San? He’s clearly using us to get revenge on Wang Hong.”
Yu Zaishen replied: “That’s why he knows he must give us benefits. Wang Hong’s verdict in this case was already unfair, and with Zhang San’s capabilities, if it goes to court, our chances of winning are quite good!”
Cen Yuanli was very tempted. “Alright! Let’s release the news first and see the reaction before deciding.”