A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 757 Four Capital Crimes
Lady Xu Xiuzhi, wife of Prince Zhao and Lady Fu Chongyi, returned to her parents' home.
They brought the six-year-old sixth prince, Li Yuanjing, with them. As soon as the sixth prince entered, he wanted to play with Li Shu and Li Cong.

"Go ahead, but don't fight," Xiuzhi said with a smile.

"Why did you have time to come back today, sister?"

"The Emperor Emeritus has asked me to come home and stay for a few days. It just so happens that Prince Zhao has been complaining that he is bored in the palace. I hope you won't mind, my lord."

“Sister, what are you saying? This is your family home. You can come back anytime and stay as long as you want.”

“I’ll send someone to Wuji Academy to fetch Zhuzi and Shuanzi.”

"No need, let them focus on their studies."

Xu Xiuzhi waved her hand, somewhat hesitantly, "Has something serious happened again? Yesterday, His Majesty got drunk and lost control in the palace, executing several palace servants and eunuchs, all for trivial matters..."

Li Yi, of course, knew why Li Yuan had lost his composure while drunk.

"Has your older sister ever thought about coming back?"

Xu Xiuzhi entered the palace in the first year of the Wude era to serve as the tutor of the sixth prince, Li Yuanjing, from when he was a few months old until he was six years old.

"The King of Zhao's mother, Consort Mo, died of childbirth illness not long after giving birth to him. This child grew up without a mother. I have been raising him for more than five years and have watched him grow up little by little."

In recent years, Xu Xiuzhi has been raising her two biological sons with Li Yi, and she can only visit them occasionally each year.

How could you not have feelings for a child you raised yourself?

"Shuanzi and Zhuzi have grown up now and are studying at the academy. With you taking care of them, I don't have to worry about them anymore."

Xiuzhi felt that being Zhao Wang's tutor in the palace was quite good, especially since the Emperor Emeritus had treated her very well, previously bestowing upon her the title of Lady of the County and rewarding her with money and land. In the past few years in the palace, she had not only received a salary but also continuous rewards.

She used these rewards to buy land and build up a family fortune for her two sons.

She had a tough past. When she fled famine, her husband died of illness. She and her two children were recently put up for sale, and luckily, Li Yi bought them.

"Madam Pei wants to form a marriage alliance with my family?"

Upon hearing Xu Xiuzhi's message, Li Yi refused without hesitation.

“Sister, Pei Ji is in dire straits right now, barely able to save himself. I will not agree to his marriage alliance with me at this time.”

"Has something happened to Pei Sikong?"

"Ah."

Li Yi could only stop there.

Pei Ji is beyond saving this time, but it also depends on his attitude. If he's sensible, he won't be dealt with too harshly.

But how could Li Yi possibly arrange a marriage alliance with Pei Ji?

Pei Ji is quite capable; even at this point, he managed to find Xu Xiuzhi through layers of connections.

Xu Xiuzhi is the nanny of Prince Zhao Yuanjing, and they have a close relationship. Prince Zhao Yuanjing is Pei Ji's future son-in-law.
“It was my sister who didn’t think things through. She thought it was a good thing and tried to play matchmaker. I’ll go and refuse her now.”

Xu Xiuzhi went to the residence of Sikong Peiji that same day, accompanied by Prince Zhao, so that the prospective son-in-law could pay his respects to his future father-in-law.

Not long after sitting there, Xu Xiuzhi returned to the Prince Dai's Mansion in Shengye Ward. Madam Pei Ji, along with the women of the Sikong Mansion, came to visit the Prince Dai's Mansion.

They brought ten truckloads of gifts, saying they were local products.

Luo Sanniang found Li Yi and said, "My lord, the Pei family's local specialties contain many valuable gifts, including gold and silver ingots, Western Region gemstones, Khotan jade, spices, sugar, and brocade. They are probably worth a fortune."

Li Yi took the list handed to him by Luo San Niang.

Pei Ji seemed to panic.
They sent him gifts directly, and so many of them—gold, silver, jade, and other valuable items. These are precious goods, always in high demand.

"If you don't accept it, then pretend you didn't know there were gold, silver and gems hidden inside."

A short while later, Ji Lingyi also arrived.

"Does my lord know that Madam Pei brought her daughter with her today? She is the legitimate daughter of the Sikong family, and Madam Pei intends to marry her to you as a concubine."

"Miss Pei is only fourteen this year, yet she is well-educated and polite, and quite beautiful..."

Li Yi quickly told her to stop.

"Pei Ji has really gone all out!"

Previously, through Xu Xiuzhi, he intended to establish a marriage alliance, with the children of Li Yi marrying his daughter or vice versa. After Li Yi refused, he surprisingly offered to give his fourteen-year-old legitimate daughter to Li Yi as a concubine.

From in-laws to father-in-law.

It's a shame he figured it out.

Pei Ji was truly panicked.

"Go tell Shi Niang to see the guests out."

After being seen off by Du Shiniang, Madam Pei left the Prince of Dai's residence and boarded a carriage.

The smile on her face vanished completely.
Lady Wei could no longer control herself and was so angry that she pounded her feet and beat her chest.

The wife of Pei Ji, the Duke of Wei and Minister of Works, had never suffered such humiliation.

Sitting next to her, Lady Pei appeared calm, but felt a sense of relief. As the daughter of the Minister of Works, and only fourteen years old, she naturally had no desire to become a concubine.

A concubine is nothing more than a high-ranking concubine.

However, she could not disobey her parents' wishes and had no choice but to come along. Fortunately, the Li family refused.

"Go home."

Return home via the same route.

All ten truckloads of gifts were taken back.

Pei Ji held a cup of tea and listened to his wife angrily recount the situation. He simply sighed and said, "I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Madam. You should go and rest now."

He sat there for a long time.

Pei Ji was surrounded by fear.

"My lord, the Crown Prince has issued an edict summoning you to attend a court meeting."

The steward, Wei An, reported from outside the door.

Pei Ji lowered his head, took a sip of the tea that had long since gone cold, and stood up.

What was bound to happen has finally happened. "Has the matter been handled properly?"

Wei An lowered his head. "It has been properly handled."

Pei Ji let out a long breath, straightened his clothes, and headed to the East Palace.

The Crown Prince held a court meeting in the Chongxian Hall.

Eight prime ministers, the heads of the three judicial departments, and more than a dozen remonstrance officials, including the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and the Grand Master of Remonstrance, also came.

Pei Ji entered the palace.

Du Ruhui, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Minister of War, rose and inquired about Pei Ji.

"Lord Pei, the sorcerer Faya has been arrested and imprisoned for committing numerous serious crimes. Under interrogation, he confessed that he had privately discussed politics with Lord Pei, attacked the Emperor, and uttered many wicked and misleading words."

Can Pei Sikong plead guilty?

Pei Ji calmly replied, "Your Majesty, this old minister is innocent. Faya was once deeply favored by the Retired Emperor, and this old minister did indeed have some dealings with him, but since retiring, I have had no further contact with Faya, nor have I ever heard him utter any heretical words."

I only heard him mention once that an epidemic was about to break out.

“But Faya confessed clearly that you listened to his wicked words, and as the Minister of Works of the court, you did not report him, but instead joined him in making irresponsible remarks about the government and attacking the emperor. This is a serious crime.”

Pei Ji refused to admit it, saying, "Your Majesty, this is all the sorcerer Faya's baseless accusations and attempts to frame this old minister."

"Then how do you explain sending your servant Gongming to Huadu Temple to secretly meet with Faya?"

“Minister Du, your servant Gongming was in charge of collecting rent, but he secretly embezzled a million coins and absconded with the money. I am currently hunting down this runaway slave. How could I possibly allow him to secretly meet with Faya?”

"is it?
"That's not what I meant. Why don't you confront each other in court?"

When Gongming was led to Chongxian Hall by a hundred riders, Pei Ji was terrified, as if he had seen a ghost.

He ordered his steward, Wei An, to kill Gong Ming, and Wei An reported back that the matter had been properly handled.

But how did Gongming end up here?

Gong Ming's gaze towards Pei Ji was filled with hatred. Wei An had spared his life out of consideration for their past relationship, allowing him to hide in the Zhongnan Mountains. However, Wei An had a servant who had grown up with him and had a very close relationship with him. He secretly told him the truth and urged him to escape immediately.

Otherwise, if Pei Sikong knew he was still alive, Chief Steward Wei wouldn't be able to protect him.

Gong Ming originally wanted to escape.
After some hesitation, he realized that in this vast world, he, a slave in Pei Ji's household, had nowhere to escape. He also resented Pei Ji's heartlessness in wanting to kill him to silence him.
Finally, he simply turned himself in to the authorities.

In the hall, Gongming truthfully recounted how he had secretly met with Faya on Pei Ji's orders and what messages he had conveyed.

He also revealed another astonishing piece of news: a madman named Xinxing once visited Pei Ji and said to him, "Master Pei has talent."

However, Pei Ji did not report this treasonous statement to the emperor.

In the hall,

All the ministers, dressed in purple and crimson robes, looked toward the first elder of the Wude Dynasty.
Nowadays,

Pei Ji was not spared.

Both Falla and Göring testified against him, and he was unable to prove his innocence.

Du Ruhui determined that he was guilty.

Although the Emperor Emeritus was not implicated in the court proceedings, everyone knew that Pei Ji's downfall was mainly related to the Emperor Emeritus, especially since he shouldn't have sent someone to secretly contact Faya and have him enter the palace to deliver a message.

Emperor Li Shimin looked coldly at Pei Ji.

Make a final ruling,
"Remove him from office, reduce his fief by half, and send him back to his original fief!"

Upon hearing this punishment, Pei Ji's face paled slightly, but he still cried out that he was wronged and requested to stay in Chang'an on the grounds that he was old.

Li Yi felt that Pei Ji was very out of touch with reality.

The emperor's decision was actually the result of discussions with several close confidants before the court deliberations.

Removal from office refers to the removal of both official and honorary titles, but the noble title can be retained. The punishment is relatively lenient, as the official position is terminated without stripping the person of their status.

He was only removed from office, not dismissed from his post.

In the Tang Dynasty, the removal from office was much more severe, involving the complete stripping of all official titles and ranks.

Those who are dismissed will be rehired after six years.

If one is dismissed from office, one may be reinstated at any time; however, if one is removed from the official register, it will take at least six years before one can be reinstated.

The emperor was showing him some leniency by sending him back to his hometown of Puzhou.

Of the original 1,500 households, 750 were retained, and the title of Duke of Wei was also preserved.

But Pei Ji actually wanted to stay in Chang'an, which was very tactless.

Li Shimin was also very annoyed.

Changsun Wuji advised him to take the opportunity to kill Pei Ji or exile him to Lingnan, but he listened to Li Yi's advice and kept his distance, not wanting to make things too big.

He stood up,
He let out a long breath and looked at Pei Ji.

"Logically speaking, your achievements and talents are actually quite mediocre, so why were you promoted to such a high position?"
You only hold the top position among the officials because of the Emperor Emeritus's favor.

During the Wude era, bribery was rampant, and the court was in chaos; the problems all stemmed from you, the prime minister. I, out of consideration for our past relationship, could not bear to punish you according to the law, and have granted you permission to return to your hometown—this is already an act of leniency beyond the law. What more could you possibly want?

The emperor's voice grew louder and louder.

These words were already quite harsh.

Pei Ji's forehead was covered in sweat.

"If we're really going to follow the law and handle this officially, you, Pei Ji, have committed four capital offenses."
Holding the position of one of the Three Dukes and yet being intimate with the sorcerer Fa Ya is the first crime;
After the incident, he was filled with resentment and anger, claiming that the country's rule was his doing, which was his second crime.
The madman believed he had talent, but he concealed it and did not report it; this was his third crime.
To secretly commit murder and order the execution of witnesses is the fourth crime.

Li Shimin became increasingly dissatisfied as he spoke, “The Emperor Emeritus once granted you an iron certificate that could pardon two deaths. I will pardon your death sentence and take back the iron certificate.”

Since you don't want to go back to your hometown of Puzhou, then let's go somewhere else.

"A decree is drafted to dismiss Pei Ji from office, remove him from his post, and exile him to Jingzhou!"

Pei Ji didn't expect to say he wanted to stay in Chang'an.
From being dismissed from office and sent back to his hometown, to being dismissed from office, removed from his post, and exiled to Jingzhou, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground.

(End of this chapter)