Lady, escort the emperor! 40
Chapter 40: Just Shut the Hell Up!
They say that experience is the best teacher.
Li Nuo, however, seems to have learned this lesson twice over. He never expected that ancient children could be so cunning. A college graduate with a higher education, he’d been twice outwitted by a six-year-old girl.
Song Mu Er, though initially upset, quickly recovered her cheerful demeanor. Waving a small hand, she said, “Forget it. It’s all Song Ning Er’s fault for being so sly. Let’s change our secret code. Don’t let her trick you again next time…”
Explaining the problem to Song Ning Er wasn’t a big deal for Li Nuo. He wasn’t a three-year-old; he wouldn’t hold a grudge because Song Ning Er hadn’t let her play with the rattan ball last time. He wasn’t that petty, and besides, he didn’t even remember the incident.
It was Song Mu Er who took it to heart, exhibiting the typical childish behavior of not wanting her friend to be close to someone she didn’t like, even if that someone happened to be her own sister.
After careful consideration, Li Nuo noticed a pattern. Song Mu Er usually appeared with Song Jia Ren, and his wife clearly favored Mu Er as well – a case of “wife and husband singing in unison” (a harmonious couple). Song Ning Er, on the other hand, always came with the Song Family’s maidservants. It was only because she had hidden her personal maid and blurted out the secret code first that Li Nuo hadn’t suspected anything.
Both sisters had the same math tutor and received identical homework assignments. Song Mu Er had come to ask him about the same problem. Song Ning Er had beaten her to it, understood the problem, made a face at Song Mu Er, and ran off. Li Nuo had to console Mu Er, saying, “It’s better to explain it to Song Ning Er first; I won’t make mistakes when I explain it to you…”
This finally cheered Song Mu Er up. Tilting her little face, she asked, “Between me and Song Ning Er, Li Nuo gege (older brother), who do you like better?”
Li Nuo didn’t even need to think. He said, “Of course, you! Song Ning Er isn’t as well-behaved as you, nor is she as polite. After I explained the problem to her, she didn’t even say thank you…”
Song Mu Er was no longer upset. Even though Song Ning Er had come first, Li Nuo gege still liked her better. He might be a little slow, but he understood her…
Li Nuo’s words weren’t entirely a consolation. By explaining the problem to Song Ning Er, he could accurately gauge their mathematical abilities. When explaining it to Mu Er, he didn’t need her to ask why; he could start from the basics. Song Mu Er frequently exclaimed in surprise:
“So that’s how it is!”
“The tutor didn’t teach it that way…”
“If the tutor had explained it like this, I would have understood it long ago…”
“If Li Nuo gege taught math, he’d be the best math tutor!”
…
Song Jia Ren, standing to the side, quietly glanced at Li Nuo and agreed with Mu Er’s assessment. She had been tutored by several math tutors in the past, but she never understood math, leading her to believe for over a decade that it was the most difficult subject in the world.
But now, math seemed… manageable.
Li Nuo smiled at Mu Er’s flattery but said nothing. Her words weren’t an exaggeration. After all, he had undergone systematic modern math education. The problems in the Da Xia *The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* were child’s play to him, like free points on an exam.
Song Mu Er’s math tutor might have thoroughly mastered *The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*, but he couldn’t teach like Li Nuo. At most, he only had decades of teaching experience. Li Nuo’s teaching methods represented the collective wisdom of countless top-tier math teachers from the future, more systematic and scientific, with clear and easy-to-understand reasoning, better suited for young children. It wasn’t Li Nuo who was superior to Song Mu Er’s tutor, but Newton, Gauss, Euler… countless mathematical masters from another world.
Having understood the problem, Song Mu Er’s bright eyes twinkled, and she said to Li Nuo, “You made me angry earlier. Your punishment is to dress me up beautifully…”
Li Nuo currently lacked the skill – a skill that required a life’s work. He found an excuse, saying, “No way! I made a vow a few days ago that I’ll only do my wife’s hair and makeup from now on…”
“Oh, I see…then okay…”
Song Mu Er was quite understanding and didn’t press the matter. She went to the courtyard to play by herself.
Li Nuo continued studying the *Da Xia Law*. Although he had judged many cases these past few days, they were all common civil cases involving only a few sections of the *Da Xia Law*, such as those pertaining to household and marriage, theft, litigation, and judgment.
Besides these, the *Da Xia Law* also included laws on protecting the emperor’s safety and maintaining national sovereignty and border security (*Guardian Laws*); on the establishment, selection, duties, and punishment of corrupt officials (*Official System Laws*); and on soldier recruitment, troop mobilization, the duties of generals, military supplies, and the control of forced labor (*Military Laws*).
While these laws were part of the *Da Xia Law*, they fell outside the jurisdiction of the Chang’an County Government Office, hence Li Nuo hadn’t encountered them yet.
Upon reading a supplementary clause in the *Official System Laws*, Li Nuo’s expression froze, then turned puzzled. This clause concerned “redemption of punishment,” where one could pay money to atone for a crime, using silver in place of punishment.
Each ounce of silver could reduce ten lashes of flogging; one hundred lashes could be waived by paying ten ounces of silver. Bastinado was more expensive; one ounce of silver could only reduce one strike, and one hundred strikes required one hundred ounces of silver. Imprisonment was even more costly; one year of imprisonment required one hundred ounces of silver. Exile and capital punishment, however, could not be redeemed with money.
Of course, not everyone could use silver to atone for their crimes. This law only applied to officials, the powerful, and their relatives – a means to uphold the privileges of the bureaucratic aristocracy.
What puzzled Li Nuo was that a Chief Secretary of the Board of War, a fifth-rank official, was a high-ranking position. His son was also covered under the redemption of punishment law; facing three years of imprisonment, he could be completely exonerated by paying only three hundred ounces of silver. Three hundred ounces of silver was nothing to a fifth-rank official.
Although Li Nuo found this unfair, the *Da Xia Law* explicitly stated it. It was unreasonable, but legal.
But why didn’t the Wang family use it? Did they not know?
Li Nuo suspected he hadn’t fully researched the *Da Xia Law*; perhaps there were some restrictions on the redemption of punishment that prevented Wang Yue from using it. As a meticulous legal professional, he had to figure this out. So Li Nuo summoned Steward Wu.
Steward Wu hurried in, asking, “Young Master, what are your instructions?”
“Instructions? Not really. I saw this section on the redemption of punishment in the *Da Xia Law*. I discovered that Wang Yue’s crime could have been atoned for with silver, but the Wang family didn’t. Are there any restrictions on redemption that I’m unaware of?”
“Uh… this…”
Steward Wu looked up at the sky, trying to avoid showing his troubled expression to his master.
Of course, there were no restrictions on the redemption of punishment. The problem was, the Wang family dared not!
Years ago, the son of an official committed a similar crime to Wang Yue, and the official used redemption, easily exonerating his son with money—not a single day in jail. The result? A month later, the official was dismissed from office, his property confiscated and returned to the state treasury, and his direct male descendants were all executed without exception, with collateral relatives exiled and women turned into government servants…
Since then, nobody dared use the redemption of punishment in any case involving the Ministry of Justice. It was better to serve a few years in prison than to risk the entire family being exterminated; the officials of Chang’an were good at calculating costs.
After a moment, Steward Wu lowered his head and said, “The redemption of punishment is certainly usable, but perhaps the Wang family couldn’t bear to part with the three hundred ounces of silver, or maybe the Chief Secretary of the Board of War had a change of heart and didn’t want to use silver to redeem his son. If Young Master really wants to know, I can go ask the Wang family?”
Li Nuo waved his hand. “Forget it…”
He only needed to know that there were no restrictions on the redemption of punishment. After his only son had been beaten a hundred times and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, it would be inappropriate to go and ask questions at their house.
Of course, Li Nuo didn’t know at this moment that the Wang family had left Chang’an early that morning, leaving the house empty except for Wang Yue, who was wailing in the Chang’an County Government Office’s jail.
The next morning, after breakfast, Li Nuo went to work at the Chang’an County Government Office as usual.
The Government Office was as bustling as ever. But compared to yesterday’s chaos, today’s activity was orderly.
Li Nuo got off his carriage and saw Pei Zhe waiting for him at the entrance. Unlike the previous two days, today a corpulent man in official attire stood beside him.
Upon seeing Li Nuo, the man rushed forward, his body wobbling, bowing deeply with a fawning expression, “This subordinate, Chang’an County Magistrate Zhang Yue, greets the young master…”
Li Nuo also bowed slightly in return, smiling, “It’s Magistrate Zhang. I’ve heard much of you.”
This “I’ve heard much of you” made Zhang Yue feel uneasy, thinking that County Magistrate Pei must have said many bad things about him to this young master while he was away, otherwise how would he know him?
Just as he felt apprehensive, a palanquin stopped at the entrance of the Government Office. A man lifted the curtain, stepping out.
Seeing the commotion at the entrance, the man paused, then frowned, looking at Pei Zhe and saying, “Magistrate Pei, I and Magistrate Zhang were away for only a few days, and you’ve already turned the Government Office into a mess. A solemn government office has been turned into a marketplace…”
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Yue quickly stepped forward, stopping him. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He said, “Magistrate Wang is inconsiderate. I apologize to the young master and Magistrate Pei on his behalf…”
County Magistrate Wang was stunned, his lips moving, wanting to say something, but his mouth was covered. Zhang Yue glared fiercely at him, muttering in his ear, “Just shut the hell up…”
(End of Chapter)
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