I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Just now, Ma Yuanqing was pointing at the long street, saying that the Ninth Prince would never come.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, he was the first to kneel down.

Shen Yilei rushed to the door, lifting the hem of his coat, and was the first to bow.

"Your subject, Shen Yilei, respectfully welcomes His Highness the Ninth Prince and His Highness the Consort!"

The other officials from the Ministry of Justice followed suit and knelt down.

"Welcome, Your Highness the Ninth Prince! Welcome, Consort!"

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Lu Yuan got off the carriage first, then turned around and reached into the carriage.

Shen Hanqiu glanced at her father kneeling in front of the door and placed her hand in Lu Yuan's palm.

Lu Yuan helped her down, then raised his hand to the crowd.

"Get up, everyone."

As soon as Shen Yilei stood up straight, he saw Lu Yuan bring Shen Hanqiu to him.

Lu Yuan cupped his hands in a family greeting, saying, "Father-in-law."

Shen Hanqiu also curtsied.

"The daughter pays respects to her father."

Shen Yilei quickly stepped aside, "Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Today is the autumnal homecoming ceremony, and I am the son-in-law of the Shen family."

Lu Yuan helped him up and glanced into the room through the door.

Four tables of food and drink were set up in the front hall, and more than a dozen officials from the Ministry of Justice were present.

"Father-in-law, is there a family gathering at the Shen residence today?"

"Why are all the officials from the Ministry of Justice here?"

Shen Yilei's face flushed slightly, and he quickly explained, "There's a rather tricky case in the yamen, and we haven't been able to come to a conclusion after our shift ended."

"I would like to invite all my colleagues to my residence for a simple meal, and we can discuss the case there."

Lu Yuan glanced at the officials filling the courtyard, then swept his gaze across the table laden with food and wine, and had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth.

It was nothing more than this father-in-law wanting to use his presence accompanying Shen Hanqiu on his homecoming visit to gain face in front of his colleagues at the Ministry of Justice.

This thought isn't exactly a bad thing.

"Fine, you guys."

Lu Yuan patted Shen Yilei's arm, "The court's affairs are not yet finished, but you are still willing to continue to discuss them after your shift ends, which shows that you all have public affairs and the people on your minds."

"Moreover, we had a simple meal at home, without going to a restaurant for a lavish banquet, and we did not use public funds for food and drink."

"If Father Emperor knew that the officials of the Ministry of Justice were so diligent and frugal, he would surely be pleased."

The officials from the Ministry of Justice quickly bowed.

"Your Highness is too kind."

"Serving the imperial court is simply my duty."

Shen Yilei's face also lit up.

Ma Yuanqing, who had been urging the banquet to begin, now took the initiative to walk up to Shen Hanqiu and bow.

"When the concubine returned to her parents' home, the Ninth Prince personally accompanied her and prepared two cartloads of lavish gifts."

"The Ninth Prince and the Empress have a deep and loving relationship; it's truly enviable."

Shen Yilei glanced at him.

This person just said that a concubine is just a concubine, and you can't expect the Ninth Prince to value the Shen family.

Now that the carriage has arrived, the conversation has become much faster.

Lu Yuan ignored these little thoughts and took Shen Hanqiu's hand.

"Don't stand there anymore."

"Go in."

"I would also like to hear what kind of case could have stumped the officials of the Ministry of Justice like this."

Shen Yilei quickly stepped aside to lead the way.

"Please, Your Highness!"

Everyone took their seats again, and Shen Yilei gave the head seat to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan pressed him back to the head seat, saying, "Today is a family banquet, and your father-in-law is the head of the family."

"I and Hanqiu can sit next to each other."

Shen Yilei could not refuse and had no choice but to sit down.

Shen Hanqiu picked up the wine pot, poured a cup for his father first, and then poured one for Lu Yuan.

Looking at the two men, Ma Yuanqing turned to his colleague and said, "With such a son-in-law, Lord Shen will have to learn a lot from him in the Ministry of Justice in the future."

"Of course! I thought Old Deng was just bragging, but it turns out he really is amazing!"

"Lord Shen has done a good job of educating his daughter, and the concubine is favored by the Ninth Prince. The Shen family is truly blessed."

Shen Yilei picked up his wine glass, and the pent-up frustration he had just felt vanished.

After two rounds of drinks, Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks.

"Tell me about it."

"Why must we gather together to discuss cases after our shifts end? Let me see what it's like to be a prince."

Shen Yilei hesitated, after all, today was the homecoming banquet, and the earlier talk of discussing the case was just an excuse.

He was a little stunned when he suddenly brought up a case!

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind, and he gestured to the butler.

The butler immediately brought over a wooden box containing the files sent by Guinan Road.

"Your Highness, this is a case of murder of a young child."

Lu Yuan took the file, opened it, and took a look.

Shen Yilei continued, "In Qinghe County, Guinan Province, there is a ten-year-old boy named Zhou Mao."

"He saw that six-year-old Chen Xiaoman had a bag of candy, so he went up and snatched it."

"When Chen Xiaoman refused, the two started pushing and shoving each other."

"Zhou Mao was four years older and much taller. After pushing Chen Xiaoman down, he kicked and punched him repeatedly, causing his death that day."

Lu Yuan opened the case file and asked in a deep voice, "What was the local county government's ruling?"

"It can't be judged."

Shen Yilei sighed. "According to the laws of the Great Yong Dynasty, murderers must pay with their lives. But Zhou Mao is only ten years old and has not yet come of age, so he cannot even be subjected to the instruments of torture used by the county government."

"Among the officials in Gyeongnam Province, some advocated for execution, while others advocated for acquittal."

"The two sides argued for half a month, and in the end, they had no choice but to send the case to the Ministry of Justice."

Lu Yuan asked curiously, "What did your Ministry of Justice say?"

Shen Yilei scratched his head awkwardly, then said it helplessly.

"Your Highness, this is the most difficult part of the Ministry of Justice."

"Murderers shall die; this is the law of the land."

"It is also the law of the country that young children should not be severely punished."

"With these two laws clashing, the Ministry of Justice simply cannot come up with a suitable judgment."

"I don't know how to submit this to His Majesty for imperial approval!"

Lu Yuan turned the file back to the first page and looked at everyone present.

"That's interesting. Tell me what you're arguing about!"

Shen Yilei put down his chopsticks and stood up first.

"I advocate the death penalty."

"Although Zhou Mao is young, he has already broken the law. Chen Xiaoman was beaten to death by him, and this is a fact that is supported by both witnesses and physical evidence."

"If he is exempted from punishment simply because he is young, how should local officials sentence him if another child commits murder in the future?"

Shen Yilei pointed to the case file and said indignantly, "If the law cannot punish criminals, how can it protect the innocent?"

"In my opinion, the law should not be broken simply because someone is young!"

Cao Wenzhi immediately clasped his hands in agreement.

"Lord Shen is right."

"Last year, Zhou Mao pushed a neighbor's child into a well, and three months ago he injured a five-year-old child with a stone. This time, he beat six-year-old Chen Xiaoman to death in order to steal a bag of candy."

"This was not an unintentional mistake."

"If you still say he doesn't understand life and death, then who should the deceased Chen Xiaoman reason with?"

Ma Yuanqing put down his wine glass and stood opposite the two men.

"You two are only concerned with venting your anger; have you ever considered the benevolence of the imperial court?"

"Zhou Mao is only ten years old, has not read many books, and knows nothing about the laws of the Great Yong Dynasty."

"As the sage said, ignorance is no excuse."

"A ten-year-old child doesn't even know right from wrong, so how can he be treated the same as an adult criminal?"

Cao Wenzhi took half a step forward.

"A ten-year-old doesn't understand the law, doesn't he know that hitting someone hurts, and that killing someone will result in death?"

"After he killed Chen Xiaoman, he knew to steal the candy, to threaten the onlookers, and even to have his parents cover for him when he got home."

"If such a child is called naive and ignorant, then what would be considered malicious?"

"That's just speculation!"

Ma Yuanqing pointed to the case file, "The Great Yong Code does not contain any provisions for the execution of ten-year-old children. How can the Ministry of Justice arbitrarily add such a punishment?"