Chapter 209: Legal Aid
At noon.
Liang Dong arrived at his rest chamber looking somewhat tired, and found someone sitting inside.
It was Censor Li Zhan.
“Registrar Liang, how did your discussion go?”
Liang Dong sat down, shook his head and sighed: “I did my best, but they all think the house should be awarded to Madam Liu.”
Although he held the power to make the decision, there was still a group of professionals watching from below. He had to consult with the other judges about how to make the ruling.
After the judgment, it still had to be sent to the superior legal department for referencing laws and regulations, and examining the sentence.
The ancestral law of the Song Dynasty, “comprehensive order as precaution against malfeasance”, might not have been suitable for territorial expansion, but they were absolutely suitable for judicial matters.
The judiciary needed to be thoroughly designed, carefully considered, with checks and balances. Cases could never be decided by one person alone.
The Bureau of Records wasn’t ruled by one person, but had a team of judges to consult with. “Why?” Li Zhan asked with confusion: “I was also listening to the trial just now. Xu Zhiqian ultimately didn’t produce any solid evidence. Her questioning was all rebutted by the other side. This kind of case is very difficult to judge.”
Liang Dong sighed: “But we have to consider this case’s impact on society. The fact is that Huang Yongli never sought medical treatment for his mother, failed to fulfill his filial duties, and he himself admitted to coveting the house, even arguing with his mother about it. Moreover, immediately after his mother’s death, he found a pen-in-cap to file a lawsuit.
This is enough to prove that his previous dispute with his mother wasn’t about filial piety or wanting his mother to live with him, but about the house. If Xu Zhiqian had been able to produce solid evidence, according to the law, Huang Yongli might have even been sentenced to death.”
Li Zhan said: “But have you considered the clan law? The ancestral house cannot be passed to outsiders. This ruling will affect clan inheritance.”
Liang Dong nodded: “Of course we considered that, but the legal officials all believe that the mother’s actions can be viewed as her punishment for Huang Yongli. Given the circumstances of this case, this was the only way she could punish him. If elders cannot punish unworthy descendants, it would actually harm clan cohesion more.”
Li Zhan had no response.
As a censor, he had to acknowledge that the judicial officials were highly professional. They didn’t just look at inheritance rights but had to consider the actual situation – this was what they called bending the law to follow reason.
Liang Dong continued: “If Zhang San hadn’t suddenly appeared at that time, the result might have been completely different.”
The implication was that he had tried to help, but there was nothing he could do.
That afternoon, the Bureau of Records issued its ruling: the house was awarded directly to Madam Liu, and Huang Yongli was ordered to take his mother back to his home and be responsible for her funeral arrangements, with government officials to supervise.
They also warned Huang Yongli that if it weren’t for considering his two young sons, he would have faced criminal charges.
This verdict brought great satisfaction to the public.
Actually, most people were like Xu Zhiqian, hoping good people would be rewarded and bad people severely punished.
Sweet revenge.
But they didn’t know that the result of sweet revenge would inevitably be the strong preying on the weak, with grievances multiplying rather than diminishing.
Everything had two sides, and extremes were never good.
It was best to follow the Confucian doctrine of the golden mean, the desirable middle between extremes.
In fact, the Confucian golden mean also rejected the idea of Confucianism as the sole doctrine.
It showed that the exclusive promotion of Confucianism was merely a political need, having nothing to do with Confucian thought.
In the evening.
“Zhang San!”
Xu Zun hurriedly came to the Zhang residence, found Zhang Fei, and asked: “Didn’t we win the case?”
Zhang Fei nodded: “Yes, we won! Perfectly.”
Xu Zun said: “Then why is Qian’er so gloomy and locked herself in her room?”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Perhaps she was frightened.”
“Frightened?”
Xu Zun looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
He knew his daughter’s personality very well – she wouldn’t possibly be frightened.
Zhang Fei explained the court case process to Xu Zun, then said: “Before, when Zhiqian helped those poor people, whether by giving money or teaching law, her help was very pure and wouldn’t bring negative consequences.
That’s why Zhiqian thought helping good people with lawsuits would be the same – doing her best with a clear conscience. But lawsuits aren’t that simple. Madam Liu almost got the tables turned on her, which was different from what she had expected.”
“I see.”
Xu Zun let out a slight sigh of relief, secretly grateful he hadn’t gone to watch – he would have been worried sick. Suddenly, he glanced at Zhang Fei. “Come to think of it, this is all your fault.”
“My fault?”
Zhang Fei was dumbfounded.
Xu Zun snorted: “If you hadn’t won every case, would she have thought this way?”
Zhang Fei was stunned and couldn’t think of how to refute it. He smiled bitterly and nodded: “My fault! My fault!”
Xu Zun chuckled and added: “Actually, this is good. Let her know it’s not an easy thing.”
Zhang Fei nodded: “That’s what I think too.”
For Xu Zhiqian, this case would likely continue to affect her. It showed she wasn’t professional enough yet – she emphasized good and evil too much rather than the law.
But for Zhang Fei, it was just another case, over and done with. He still had many things to attend to.
Early the next morning, Zhang Fei left to go to the law firm. Just as he got into the carriage, he saw a beautiful young lady sitting inside – none other than Xu Zhiqian.
Zhang Fei’s eyes widened. “You’re here?”
“Surprised to see me?” Xu Zhiqian sniffed.
“A little!”
Zhang Fei sat beside Xu Zhiqian. “Wow, you got over it so quickly?”
Xu Zhiqian pouted: “Was it that hard to get over?”
“Hehe, that’s my girl.”
Zhang Fei gently pulled Xu Zhiqian closer.
Xu Zhiqian gave him a coy glance, then said sincerely: “But I really must thank you this time. If it weren’t for you, I… I might have harmed Madam Liu.”
“Is that all?” Zhang Fei pursed his lips. “How insincere.”
Xu Zhiqian lifted her head and glared, “What else do you want?”
Zhang Fei grinned: “What do you think?”
Seeing his mischievous smile, Xu Zhiqian hurriedly said: “I just remembered I have an appointment with Madam Liu. You go on ahead.”
She made to escape.
Think you can escape? Zhang Fei wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her back.
Xu Zhiqian let out a soft gasp as she fell into Zhang Fei’s embrace. She immediately pressed her hands against his chest, her face flushed red, and bargained: “Just… just one kiss allowed.”
Her final words were barely a whisper.
One kiss? As if.
“Brother San, Miss Xu, we’ve arrived,” Li Si called from outside.
From inside, Zhang Fei said: “Zhiqian has an appointment with Madam Liu, let’s go there first.”
Before he finished speaking, Xu Zhiqian interrupted: “Don’t listen to him.”
Then she hurriedly emerged from the carriage.
Qingmei asked: “Sister Qian’er, why is your face so red? Are you sick?”
“Shut up!”
Xu Zhiqian snapped and quickly got off the carriage.
Qingmei looked hurt at being scolded.
After a while, seeing Zhang Fei still hadn’t come out, Li Si called again: “Brother San.”
“Wait!”
“Oh.”
A moment later, Zhang Fei finally emerged, muttering: “If I’d known, I would have worn my better underwear today. I’ll have to ask Wenyin to make me some underwear that can hide my strength when I get home.”
Just as he got off the carriage, he heard someone shout: “Lawyer Xu is here!”
“Lawyer Xu!”
Zhang Fei looked up to see over ten people running toward Xu Zhiqian in front of him. He quickly pulled her back behind him protectively. “What are you doing?”
Just as he spoke, a figure flashed before him.
It was Long Wu.
Zhang Fei glanced at Long Wu. Though his speed was impressive, remembering how this fellow had struggled against that ruffian last time, he didn’t quite trust him.
Li Si and Qingmei quickly came over as well, positioning themselves protectively in front.
An elderly man said, “We’ve come to ask Lawyer Xu to help us with our lawsuit.”
Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian exchanged glances.
They immediately understood what was happening, having encountered similar situations at the Xu residence before.
Nothing attracted people more than free services.
Zhang Fei suddenly called out toward the shop, “Zhengwen! Zhengwen!”
“Coming!”
Qiu Zhengwen emerged from inside.
Zhang Fei said, “Take them to register first.”
Qiu Zhengwen hesitated, looking at Zhang Fei with difficulty.
Zhang Fei said, “Just inquire about their situations first.”
“Yes.” Qiu Zhengwen immediately addressed the crowd, “Everyone, please come inside. Please come inside.”
They finally managed to usher all the people into the shop.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian entered the back hall through the side door.
“Since early this morning, there have been many people waiting outside. We couldn’t drive them away. If we take all these cases, we won’t be able to do anything else,” Fan Li complained.
Xu Zhiqian asked, “Do they truly have grievances?”
Fan Li exclaimed, “Miss Xu, there are so many people in the capital, countless disputes occur every day. Even if they have legitimate grievances, we can’t help them all. The key is, we don’t know if they really can’t afford to pay or just don’t want to pay. We’re running a business, not a charity!”
Previously, Xu Zhiqian wouldn’t have worried so much about these things. She would have helped as many as she could, doing her best – that was her usual approach. But after yesterday’s lesson, she felt somewhat uneasy.
Lawsuits had side effects; they couldn’t just try their best, they had to work within their means.
She definitely couldn’t handle it alone.
Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but look toward Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei looked at Xu Zhiqian and said, “Zhiqian, I think the Mogul makes sense. Helping people without a system isn’t sustainable and makes it easy for people to take advantage. Besides, our abilities are limited. We should focus on helping those who truly need it.”
Xu Zhiqian asked, “Then what do you suggest we do?”
Zhang Fei pondered for a moment and said, “We might need to cooperate with the government.”
Xu Zhiqian asked in surprise, “Cooperate with the government?”
Fan Li chuckled, “Brother San, now you’re being too idealistic. If the government were willing to help these people, we wouldn’t be needed.”
Zhang Fei said, “That’s not necessarily true.”
Suddenly, they heard someone laughing in the courtyard, “Business is good, eh!”
Zhang Fei looked up and exclaimed delightedly, “Academician Sima!”
It was indeed Sima Guang.
Everyone immediately rose to welcome him.
“Academician Sima’s presence honors us. Please forgive our failure to welcome you properly,” Fan Li said fawningly.
“I’m just passing by to take a look,” Sima Guang waved his hand – he despised such formalities. He then turned to Xu Zhiqian, “Qian’er, congratulations on winning your case yesterday.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded slightly, saying awkwardly, “I just got lucky yesterday, and it was all thanks to Zhang San’s help.”
Sima Guang glanced at Zhang Fei and chuckled, “That’s not entirely true. What really helped Madam Liu win the house was your final speech.”
Xu Zhiqian said bashfully, “Uncle Sima, you’re too kind. I still have much to improve.”
Sima Guang chuckled, “You should learn more from your husband!”
Zhang Fei said, “Academician Sima, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Oh?”
Sima Guang said, “I also have something to discuss with you.”
“Let’s talk inside, please.”
After entering the hall, Fan Li tactfully took his leave.
After Sima Guang sat down, he asked, “What did you want to discuss with me?”
Zhang Fei said, “I hope our small shop can provide legal aid for the government.”