Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 5: What crime did Zhang San commit? (4,000 words, please recommend)

The sister-in-law must not fall in love with her brother-in-law, Luo Yuheng muttered, and thought about Luo Tianyi's previous words and deeds, which seemed to indicate that he was quite biased towards Song Yan... This was very unusual.

Could it be that the person Luo Tianyi has his eyes on is really Song Yan?

Brother-in-law and sister-in-law, is this okay?

This is not good!
His gossipy heart was completely ignited. Luo Yuheng hurriedly called back Luo Tianshu who had just left, and asked Luo Tianshu to recount everything that had happened in Duke Song's Mansion in detail. He raised his eyebrows when he heard that Song Yan had a dull expression and his eyes were fixed on Luo Tianyi when he first met her. He also raised his eyebrows when he heard that Luo Tianyi's voice was hoarse and her face was even more suspicious when she faced Song Yan.

Sore throat?
There is something strange, there is definitely something strange here.

……

The Duke's Mansion.

The scorching sun.

Song Yan, wearing a short jacket, squatted at the door and rubbed the clothes in the wooden basin. Generally speaking, this kind of thing would be done by a maid, but Song Yan didn't have a maid. It was okay now, but in winter when the water was freezing, the wind was biting, and there was no charcoal fire to keep warm, it would be really deadly.

The washed clothes were hung on the branches to dry. Song Yan stretched his arms hard to relieve his stiff body.

His treatment hadn't changed much, but at least he wouldn't be stopped by servants when leaving the courtyard. He also had a few pieces of silver sent by Yang's servants, allowing him to make two decent sets of clothes. If his marriage to Luo Tianxuan went through, he would have to leave the Song family, and dressing too poorly would bring shame to the Song family.

Gardens, rockery, attics, courtyards...

Although he was born here, this was the first time Song Yan had the opportunity to take a good look at this house.

Occasionally, servants would pass by and, upon seeing Song Yan's unfamiliar face, would whisper curiously, "Is this a new servant?" After hearing the stories from others, they would probably exclaim, "Oh, this is the Ninth Young Master who's about to get married." Then, looking at Song Yan, they couldn't help but feel a bit of pity. Such a handsome young man, but having to marry into a woman's family as a son-in-law, how pitiful!

I heard that this Ninth Young Master has some problems with his brain. It seems that he was too shocked by his mother's death. His brain is sometimes good and sometimes bad. When he is in good condition, he is no different from a normal person. When he is having problems, he will even hold a big rooster and ask the rooster to sing, dance, rap and play basketball.

Making a rooster sing and dance—isn't that crazy? What is rap? Who is basketball, and why are we hitting it?

It’s also thanks to the fact that the Ninth Young Master is a little silly, otherwise he wouldn’t be alive today, right?

The different looks made Song Yan feel very uncomfortable. It was not that he felt embarrassed, but he felt that these people, whether they were maids or servants, all had bad intentions. He had the illusion that there were always villains who wanted to harm him.

I've been tortured by Yang for too long, and I've gone crazy... Song Yan shook his head and laughed and scolded himself.

Before the Luo family comes out with the result, the Yang family will probably not attack him again. For Song Yan, this is a rare leisure time.

Perhaps it was because both the Luo and Song families were in Ningping, the small county town was more prosperous than imagined. Carriages passed by on the streets from time to time, shops lined the roadside, and there were occasional constables patrolling. Although these constables were a bit arrogant, after all, although constables were not officials, they were clerks, and the salary could be passed down for three generations. It could be considered a decent job these days. As long as you didn't take the initiative to provoke them, they wouldn't cause trouble for you. They were not as arrogant and domineering as shown in the movies. Even if they saw messy street vendors, they didn't drive them away.

Ningguo's social atmosphere was relatively open, and there was no rule that women could only stay in the inner courtyard. Women wearing ruqun passed by on the streets from time to time. Most of them had slender figures, fair skin, and the gentleness of women from water towns.

Although Ningping County is small, it has all the necessary things, including teahouses, wine shops, inns, brothels... and even brothels.

There is a lack of entertainment in this world. Often, a storyteller in a teahouse can attract many drinkers. As for the content of the story, it is mostly stories of chivalry and justice.

After listening for a while, I saw a black-faced brute and a fair-faced scholar with their blood boiling. They shouted about eliminating violence and upholding justice, and wanted to kill the Ningping County Magistrate, that corrupt official. Then... they were taken away by the bailiffs.

Ning Guo was not convicted for his words, but he was shouting in the street that he wanted to murder an imperial official, so he would probably be punished with no less than twenty lashes of the cane.

As for the brothels, they were places for listening to music.

As the saying goes, when you have nothing to do, go to a brothel and listen to music.

Song Yan also went to listen to a segment. Although the girl's voice was nice, the tune was really not something he could appreciate. It was not as exciting as the big-breasted beauties dancing to the sun on TikTok, not to mention those welfare girls.

He couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that he was still a vulgar person at heart, extremely vulgar.

Speaking of which, many people confuse brothels and prostitutes. In fact, although their businesses overlap, there are still many differences.

The main purpose in brothels is to sing and the main purpose in prostitutes is to sell their bodies.

Of course, as long as you can afford the money, occasional business conversion is not impossible.

Goulan mainly catered to ordinary people, charging a low fee, a performance costing only a few copper coins, so even if you didn't pay, it wouldn't matter. As for brothels, if you didn't have a few dozen taels of silver, you'd better not go there and humiliate yourself. Above brothels and brothels was the Jiaofangsi. If brothels were street vendors and brothels were bathhouses, then the Jiaofangsi was a high-end club.

Basically, only princes and nobles are qualified to consume there. The women there are basically the wives and daughters of officials who have committed crimes. They are well-educated, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They can not only accompany their patrons to relieve their loneliness, but also talk about their ideals in life. They are so elegant.

It is said that there was a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Kyoto who had a feud with a high-ranking official of the imperial court. After the latter fell from power and was exiled to Lingnan, his wife and daughter were sent to the Jiaofangsi. Then he went to the Jiaofangsi every day for a month, and instead of appointing others, he appointed the wife and daughter of his enemy... He even sent someone to inform his enemy of the news at full speed, causing the enemy to die of anger on the spot. His narrow-mindedness even alarmed Emperor Ning, who scolded him and fined him three years' salary.

Ningping County is too small after all, and it doesn’t have a Jiaofangsi, which is a pity.

There is a river in the middle of the county town, where an old man was fishing. After watching for a while, and seeing the old man being escaped by fish twice in a row, Song Yan couldn't help but sigh, "Hey, the fish hooks, fishing rods, fishing lines, the equipment is too poor... If he had the equipment he had on Earth, I guarantee that not only would there be no fish in this river, not even a tadpole would survive."

Unfortunately, the regulations became stricter and electric fishing was no longer allowed.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, which earned him two rolls of the eyes from the fisherman.

Not far away, two old men were arguing about something, mostly about the case. When the argument got heated, their faces turned red and they would curse at each other. If it weren't for the consideration of the scholars' dignity, the scene would probably turn into a scene like that of a Western parliament, with teacups and shoes flying everywhere and saliva covering the sky.

It was estimated that both of them had previously worked in prison-related fields. Apparently noticing that Song Yan had been listening in from a distance, an old man waved at him and asked, "Sir, are you interested in law?"

The old man looked a little surprised.

Ningguo entered the officialdom through patronage and took the imperial examination at the same time.

Entering the officialdom through imperial patronage (Mengyin) meant that descendants could be granted official positions through the influence of their ancestors' meritorious service. However, talented individuals were rare, and starting with Emperor Taizong, efforts were made to reduce the proportion of officials admitted through imperial patronage, making the potential for advancement apparent. For ordinary people, the imperial examination was the only path to high officialdom, and it was also a crucial method for the court to select talent. In fact, even descendants of noble families, confident in their abilities, would choose the imperial examination. Success, coupled with family support, offered boundless prospects.

It was just an imperial examination. The first test was on Confucian classics, the second was on poetry and prose, the third was on current affairs and policy essays, and the fourth was on miscellaneous studies.

Mathematics and law were all considered miscellaneous subjects. While they were included in the imperial examinations, they accounted for a very small proportion. This directly led to the majority of Ningguo students ignoring law. Even if they were able to pass the imperial examinations and become county magistrates, county magistrates, or even directly enter the Ministry of Justice as officials, they would have to learn everything from scratch due to their lack of understanding of the law. This led to many cases being subject to incorrect application of the law, inappropriate sentencing, and even widespread miscarriages of justice. Now, finally, a young man was interested in law, which made the two old men quite pleased.

"Uh..." Song Yan was stunned. He just wanted to see when the two old men would start fighting. However, the eager gazes of the two elders made it difficult for him to refuse. "It's okay. I just happened to hear about a case and I don't know how to judge it..."

"Oh, tell us about it!" The two old men became interested.

"Ahem..." Song Yan cleared his throat: "A man named Zhang San..."

"I entered the Qunyu Garden and found a prostitute. I agreed to pay her fifty taels for the service, and later paid her with ghost money. What crime has Zhang San committed?"

The two old men were stunned. They didn't expect the case to be so simple.

An old man kept shaking his head: "Qun Yuyuan is the most luxurious brothel in Ningguo, and it's no less luxurious than the Jiaofangsi. Even the lowest-class prostitutes there can't be won for fifty taels, at least five hundred..."

There really is a brothel called Qun Yuyuan in Ningguo, and it is a real sin to underestimate the consumption level of Qun Yuyuan.

He looked at the old man with a strange look: "Old sir, have you been there?"

The old man's eyes suddenly changed, and his face flushed red: "You brat, don't slander my innocence out of thin air!"

"How could I possibly go to such a filthy place? I heard it from others..."

The other old man would not miss this opportunity and teased: "You are not going now, after all, you have no power."

The old man flew into a rage: "How dare you, old man, insult me ​​like this?"

These two men were estimated to be about 120 years old in total. If one of them died accidentally, he would be in trouble. Song Yan quickly changed the subject: "Then 500 taels. What crime did Zhang San commit?"

An old man said: "Paying with ghost money is a fraud..."

The other old man shook his head. "No, the only officially recognized and protected brothels are the Jiaofangsi. While they haven't banned brothels, they haven't approved their existence either. It's a gray area. This means that agreeing on a prostitution fee isn't legally protected. Even if Zhang San pays with ghost money, it's not considered fraud."

"Is that... a privately minted money pod?"

"Nonsense! Ghost money has been around for thousands of years. Everyone knows it's for the dead and never circulates on the market. How can it be considered privately minted?"

"So, the crime of counterfeiting currency?"

"I've already said that no one would use ghost money as real money."

"What about prostitution?"

"Prostitution is not illegal in Ningguo..."

"So, the crime of forcing a woman?"

"It's consensual, how is it forced?"

"That's his mother, so what crime did Zhang San commit?"

"Damn Zhang San, your mother is also a servant..."

The two old men cursed and swore. They didn't take the case seriously at first, but who would have thought that such a seemingly simple case would stump them, the two law experts. They racked their brains for a while and looked through every clause of the Ningguo law, but they couldn't find a single one that could be pinned on Zhang San.

"Dear mother, this kid Zhang San is a complete lawless lunatic..."

"Ningguo will never allow such people to exist."

"Hey, young man, what do you think Zhang San's crime was... Huh?" An old man turned around and found that Song Yan had disappeared. He immediately flew into a rage: "This brat is despicable, even more despicable than Zhang San..."

"I don't know where this guy comes from. I forgot to ask his name."

God knows how tormented it must be for people like them who have devoted their lives to studying law to know about a bizarre case but not know the answer. I'm afraid they won't be able to sleep tonight.

"Lü Gong, there is a brothel in Ningping County. How about... we go and verify it?"

"Mr. Zhao is absolutely right!"

For Yu Songyan, this was just a small episode in his spare time. While the two old men were discussing how to convict Zhang San, he had already escaped, found a ready-made clothing shop to order two sets of clothes, and returned to the Duke's Mansion.

Although Yang no longer put him under house arrest, he had to be more cautious at times like this and must not fail before he succeeded.

As for whether the two old men would do something incomprehensible because Zhang San couldn't sleep or was possessed by demons, that had nothing to do with him.

However, the atmosphere in the Duke's Mansion was a little off. A carriage was parked in the courtyard, and the servants were all hurrying around. The man who got out of the carriage was in his forties, but he had a fair complexion and no beard, exuding a feminine air.

Although they were dressed like ordinary businessmen, Song Hongtao and Yang came to greet them personally, with a very humble attitude. Song Yan even saw some fear and flattery on their faces.

At this moment, the middle-aged man seemed to have noticed something, and suddenly turned around and looked at Song Yan.

His eyes were like hooks.

After a few breaths, he smiled at Song Yan and then looked away, as if he was not very interested in Song Yan.

When the new book was released, the editor said that I only need to update it with 4,000 words every day. I have to wait for recommendations and can’t update it too quickly, otherwise the new book period will end too early. So now I update it with about 4,000 to 6,000 words every day. That’s it.

Also, please give me a recommendation.



(End of this chapter)