Judge of the Song Dynasty

Regardless of whether they had been opponents, enemies, or bitter foes before, their current downfall made all past grievances seem less important.

As the saying goes: We are born from the same root, so why torment each other so urgently?

Zhang Fei and Fan Chunren arrived beneath the large tree in front of the Bureau of Records.

“What? Remonstrator Fan, you’ve even lost your official position.”

Zhang Fei looked at Fan Chunren with surprise.

Fan Chunren nodded: “If I hadn’t resigned from my position as remonstrator, standing in the courtroom would have been inherently unfair.”

Remonstrators were the ones who impeached people – which presiding judge would dare offend a remonstrator ?

Therefore, to serve as legal aid, he definitely had to resign.

Zhang Fei asked curiously: “Why didn’t you have such thoughts when facing me?”

Fan Chunren was stunned for a moment, then laughed: “When litigating against you, I still had to hope you’d show mercy – where would I find time to think about such things? Besides, the presiding judge wasn’t some judicial aide but chancellors, so there was no need to fear me.” “That’s true.”

Zhang Fei nodded and sighed: “Who would have thought that we two would fall to such circumstances in the blink of an eye? Fate truly plays tricks on people!”

Fan Chunren shook his head: “I don’t see it that way. In fact, Academician Sima was quite right – I’m not yet qualified to serve as a prosecutor.”

Zhang Fei asked: “What do you mean by that?”

Fan Chunren sighed: “You don’t know – I’ve been here for three days already, but I still haven’t won a single case.”

“What?”

Zhang Fei exclaimed in surprise: “How is that possible?”

Fan Chunren sighed heavily again: “Litigating in the Bureau of Records is different from litigating against you. When litigating against you, there were many political issues involved, which I handled with relative ease, and I could prepare thoroughly.

But litigating in this Bureau of Records involves trivial matters – like brothers dividing family property, or shop encroachment. I know nothing about these things, and there’s no time for much preparation, but my opponents know these matters like the back of their hand. In court, I’m completely defenseless.”

No matter what, he was still Fan Zhongyan’s son. Though upright, he normally wouldn’t concern himself with such petty matters, but the Bureau of Records dealt precisely with these neighborhood disputes.

Take brothers dividing family property – in his view, this simply shouldn’t happen, so he didn’t know where to begin.

He wasn’t the type of lawyer who had worked his way up step by step, but had directly changed careers midway. He could perform well in legislative cases, but when encountering these civil disputes, he was somewhat at a loss.

Before coming here, he had harbored some resentment, instantly transforming from remonstrator to commoner, but after arriving, he suddenly understood Sima Guang’s “good intentions.”

Though he didn’t consider that Sima Guang also didn’t understand litigation and couldn’t possibly think in such detail.

Zhang Fei pondered briefly, then said: “Well, today I’ll give you an opening victory.”

Fan Chunren looked at Zhang Fei curiously.

Zhang Fei pointed to the restless servant standing in the sun and explained the entire situation to Fan Chunren.

After listening, Fan Chunren said: “You want me to defend that servant?”

Zhang Fei nodded.

Fan Chunren thought for a moment: “This case will be difficult to win. Regarding traffic laws, our dynasty follows Tang regulations: the lowly yield to the noble, the young to the old; the light to the heavy, those going to those coming.

That servant is merely a food delivery person, while I know Gu Shaoqing – he’s the grandson of Gu Ji, who serves in the Imperial Treasury, and may even hold an official position himself. The distinction between noble and lowly is clear – the servant should have yielded first.”

Zhang Fei said: “But that servant was carrying heavy items at the time, which also complies with the regulation that light yields to heavy.”

Fan Chunren replied: “The first clause of this regulation states that the lowly yield to the noble. Which do you think comes first? Even if you personally litigated this case, you’d probably find it difficult to overturn this regulation.”

To overturn the distinction between noble and lowly was virtually impossible. If this point were broken, then when the emperor traveled, many ceremonies would be considered illegal.

Although Song dynasty emperors didn’t have much ceremony when traveling – commoners could even jump up and chat with the emperor – carriages and pedestrians on the road still had to yield.

Zhang Fei smiled: “What do you think is most crucial about this regulation?”

Fan Chunren pondered briefly: “Most crucial is naturally safety.”

The purpose of establishing this regulation was for safety, except that ancient people had class distinctions, and any regulation would reflect this class perspective.

But this regulation was not established for the sake of class.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: “That’s right, therefore you can approach this from the safety aspect.”

“Safety?”

“Correct.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said: “As you just mentioned, this regulation exists for safety, and within it there are distinctions between noble and lowly. Therefore, the primary element in safety is naturally the safety of nobles.”

Fan Chunren nodded.

Zhang Fei continued: “Take this lawsuit for example – the servant was carrying goods on his shoulder and didn’t see Gu Shaoqing, which led to this accident.

And why didn’t Gu Shaoqing yield? The reason lies in the distinction between noble and lowly – he believed the servant would certainly yield to him. This creates a very dangerous moment for nobles.

To uphold the distinction between noble and lowly, priority must be given based on weight. This way, nobles will be conscious of protecting themselves, thus ensuring their safety.”

Fan Chunren’s eyes lit up: “Brilliant! This argument is truly brilliant! For the sake maintaining the distinction between the noble and the lowly, we must follow the principle of weight. Well said, well said!”

“You flatter me! You flatter me!”

Zhang Fei cupped his hands, then continued: “But you must not be careless. The opposing side can use ceremonial protocols to refute this – for instance, when high ministers travel, or even when His Majesty travels, following the principle of weight would obviously be inappropriate.

Therefore, at the very beginning, you must emphasize noble and lowly distinctions. This way you can effectively counter this point – regardless of what it is, it’s all for the safety of nobles.”

Fan Chunren repeatedly cupped his hands: “Thank you for your instruction, Chunren has benefited greatly.”

Although he was more than ten years older than Zhang Fei, perhaps because he faced Zhang Fei in court daily, he had come to regard Zhang Fei as an equal.

“I dare not! I dare not! It’s I who have troubled you.”

Zhang Fei clasped his fists in salute, then said: “Well then, I’ll leave this matter to you. I must go attend to my duties now.”

Fan Chunren asked in surprise: “You’re not going to watch?”

Zhang Fei pointed at the manure cart: “Where would I find the time for that now?”

Only then did Fan Chunren notice the manure cart, asking in astonishment: “They have you doing this kind of work?”

Zhang Fei chuckled: “It’s actually not bad – at least it’s just some hardship, with no threat to life.”

Fan Chunren nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei suddenly said: “Don’t you think we’ve offended someone? How could it be such a coincidence – in this short time, you, a distinguished Remonstrator, come here to provide legal aid, while I, the capital’s foremost pen-in-cap, am shoveling manure in the streets.”

Fan Chunren was startled, but then shook his head: “This is merely a coincidence.”

Zhang Fei asked: “How do you mean?”

Fan Chunren replied: “It was Academician Sima who recommended I come here. He wouldn’t do such a thing, and coming here has indeed benefited me greatly. Don’t overthink it.”

Being a gentleman, he naturally wouldn’t judge a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s mind.

“Perhaps so.”

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, standing up and clasping his fists: “Then I shall take my leave.”

Fan Chunren said: “Take care.”

Turning his back, Zhang Fei pondered – could this really be just a coincidence? But on second thought, whether it was or wasn’t didn’t really matter. Letting a monkey into the Peach Garden – hmph, the consequences were predictable.

“Zhang San!”

Suddenly hearing someone call him, Zhang Fei turned his head and saw Li Guozhong approaching. “Chief Li.”

Li Guozhong walked over, smiling: “Were you just now sharing experience with that Remonstrator Fan?”

Zhang Fei smiled: “He’s just inexperienced in worldly affairs for now. Soon you’ll find him difficult to handle.”

Li Guozhong smiled dismissively: “But understanding worldly affairs is no easy matter – I’m afraid it can’t be done without two or three years.”

Initially, when he learned that Fan Chunren was being sent down here, he had been somewhat afraid. But after two or three cases, he was completely at ease – nothing special about him!

Not even understanding disputes between husband and wife, yet daring to come to this Bureau of Records.

Zhang Fei remained noncommittal, then asked: “Why are you here, Chief Li? Landed a big case?”

Li Guozhong pointed to the left front: “My family’s new branch store.”

Zhang Fei was stunned: “Wow, you’ve opened a new store – striking it rich?”

Li Guozhong quickly said: “This is all thanks to good fortune from you.”

Zhang Fei asked: “What do you mean by that?”

“Zhang San, this legal aid is truly brilliant!”

Li Guozhong chuckled: “In the past, quite a few people filed lawsuits, but ever since this legal aid started, the number of litigants has increased several times over compared to before. Because more and more poor people are filing complaints, the wealthy naturally have to hire our pen-in-caps to handle their lawsuits too.”

Zhang Fei found this quite distasteful to hear. “Yes! The pen-in-caps from my shop provide free aid here, while you all profit from it.”

Li Guozhong quickly said: “Zhang San, you’re mistaken. I send more people here to provide legal aid than your shop does.”

“Really?”

“Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, go ask Manager Fan.”

Li Guozhong smiled: “With more people filing complaints, there are also more people wanting to become pen-in-caps. Though we can’t match you, we can still learn by copying. We place those young pen-in-caps here for training, select some with good talent to help in the shop – it kills several birds with one stone!”

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile. “Perhaps that’s why I haven’t put your shop out of business.”

Li Guozhong wasn’t offended and laughed: “If you had the intention, my little shop would have closed months ago. During that deed tax lawsuit back then, it was all thanks to your secret help. I’ve always wanted to thank you, but never found the opportunity.”

The Li family had been on their last legs before, because they didn’t know how to litigate – they could only write complaint documents. They were in a transitional period when that deed tax lawsuit occurred, and seeing Li Lei fight desperately for them won over many large landowners.

Many wealthy landowners sought out the Li family instead of Zhang Fei’s law firm, because in their view, Zhang Fei was the nemesis of landowners.

The entire negotiation drama back then had been directed and performed by Zhang Fei himself, and Li Guozhong was truly grateful to Zhang Fei.

“Alright, let’s not bring that up anymore.”

Zhang Fei said: “If people found out, our entire profession would be finished. I’m going to shovel manure now. Farewell.”

With that, he shouldered his manure shovel and walked toward Tao Yonghan, who was already sleeping against the manure cart.

Li Guozhong watched Zhang Fei’s retreating figure, puzzled. This man was truly strange – he dared to sue the court, yet couldn’t escape the corvee law. Could it be that he was leading by example, following the law?

“Old Tao! Old Tao!”

“Huh?”

Tao Yonghan suddenly woke up. “What’s the matter?”

Zhang Fei said: “Time to go.”

Tao Yonghan asked: “Is the dispute settled?”

Zhang Fei replied: “How could it be that fast? Our job is just to bring them here.”

“That’s true, that’s true.”

Tao Yonghan stood up, pushed the manure cart, and left the Bureau of Records together with Zhang Fei.

“Old Tao! Do we have hit-and-run incidents in our Bianjing?” Zhang Fei suddenly asked.

Tao Yonghan yawned and said: “Of course we do, plenty of them.”

Zhang Fei continued: “How are they usually handled?”

Tao Yonghan said quietly: “Generally, hit-and-run perpetrators are mostly people on horseback or in carriages – otherwise they couldn’t escape. But these people usually have distinguished status, so unless they actually kill someone or cause serious injury, for ordinary bumps and scrapes, people can only consider themselves unlucky.”

Then he asked: “Why are you asking about this?”

Zhang Fei seemed to be thinking about something, made an “ah” sound, then said: “Oh, I was just chatting with that pen-in-cap earlier and this topic came up.”

Tao Yonghan said: “Zhang San, this is your first time serving, so you don’t understand how things work. In our line of work, you need to know how to keep your head down. Don’t get involved in everything. People like us, no matter how much we do, we won’t get promoted. If you provoke the wrong people, you’ll suffer for it – it’s completely thankless work.”

Although the Song Dynasty had many clerks who got promoted, those at the lowest level like patrol constables basically had no chance of advancement. No matter how well they performed, they would just stay in place. Work without prospects wasn’t worth the effort.

This was workplace wisdom.

But Zhang Fei laughed: “How boring and meaningless that would be, just wasting time. We should enjoy what we do – that’s how life becomes interesting.”

Tao Yonghan snorted: “How can you enjoy this work? If we had a choice, who would do this job?”

Zhang Fei chuckled: “Precisely because we have no choice, we should enjoy it even more. Getting angry and working every day while being unable to change anything truly hurts both mind and body.”

He really did practice what he preached, working with full enthusiasm and shoveling dutifully and responsibly, appearing to genuinely enjoy it.

Tao Yonghan was infected by his attitude and sat by the cart chatting with them about amusing incidents at the patrol posts.

In the blink of an eye, the sun was setting in the west.

After returning to headquarters to check in, Zhang Fei prepared to go home.

“Zhang San!”

Just as he stepped out the door, he heard a clear shout.

Zhang Fei looked up and saw Xu Zhiqian sitting in a carriage, waving at him.

Walking over, Zhang Fei asked: “Zhiqian, how did you come here?”

Xu Zhiqian said: “I came to pick you up. Hurry and get in the carriage.”

Zhang Fei quickly said: “Forget it, I’m covered in stench – I don’t want to make you sick.”

But Xu Zhiqian extended her fair, delicate hand: “I’m not that delicate. Come up quickly.”

“I’m the one who minds.”

Zhang Fei jumped right up, sitting on the carriage board, then called to Li Si: “Li Si, you’ve been sitting all day – go ahead and walk.”

Li Si responded with an “Aye.”

Xu Zhiqian shifted her position, sitting by the carriage door. After hesitating for a long while, she finally said: “Zhang San, I heard they made you shovel manure?”

Zhang Fei nodded.

Xu Zhiqian snorted: “They’ve gone too far. And you too – normally no one can bully you, but this time you’re being so compliant. As long as we’re in the right, we don’t need to fear them.”

By the end, her phoenix eyes were slightly reddened.

Zhang Fei glanced back at Xu Zhiqian and said with a smile: “You feel sorry for me?”

Xu Zhiqian said irritably: “You still have the nerve to laugh.”

Zhang Fei’s expression changed, and he said seriously: “I won’t hide it from you – I’m really enjoying this work now.”

Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei with alarm: “Did you suffer some kind of shock?”

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes: “Is your husband really such a fragile person?”

Xu Zhiqian said: “Normal people wouldn’t enjoy shoveling manure.”

“Shoveling manure is just the surface – I mean being a patrol constable.”

“Patrol constable?”

“That’s right!”

Zhang Fei nodded: “I’ve already decided – I’m going to make this patrol constable position spectacular. I want to become the most powerful corvee runner. I want those people who are targeting me to beg me to leave, otherwise I’m just not going anywhere.”