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

As Ma Qingyuan finished speaking, an older official stood up and looked at Lu Yuan.

"Your Highness, what Lord Ma said is not without reason."

"During the reign of the late emperor, a case of a child being murdered also occurred in Anzhou."

"The perpetrator was thirteen years old. He killed a boy from the same village with a machete, but was ultimately spared the death penalty and placed under the care of his clan."

"There is a precedent for this case, so we can rule according to that precedent."

Cao Wenzhi turned to look at him, "What happened to that criminal afterward, Lord Zhou? Why don't you say?"

The older official, surnamed Zhou, had a slight change in expression.

"this……"

Cao Wenzhi pulled out another old scroll from the bottom of the wooden box.

"After being guarded by the clan for two years, that man escaped, killed another person on the way, and eventually became an outlaw, slaughtering half the village."

"He should have been killed the first time!"

Ma Yuanqing's face darkened. "Lord Cao, this individual case cannot represent all children."

"You've set a precedent by executing a young child today. What if local officials, to save trouble, also sentence accidental injury or manslaughter to death?"

"Then investigate thoroughly before making a judgment!"

"If the local county government could investigate this thoroughly, would the case file even need to be sent to the Ministry of Justice?"

Officials from both sides stood up.

"Zhou Mao must be sentenced to death!"

"Ancestral rules should not be lightly altered!"

"The Chen family only has one son; how can his acquittal be convincing?"

"The imperial court cannot kill a ten-year-old child simply because of public resentment!"

The two sides argued endlessly about it, as if a large-scale fight was about to break out at any moment.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yilei immediately stepped between the two groups and stopped Cao Wenzhi from arguing.

"Everyone, this is the Shen residence. His Highness the Ninth Prince is seated upstairs. Please all control your tempers!"

After straightening his clothes, Ma Yuanqing bowed to Lu Yuan.

"Your Highness, I did not mean to disrespect you."

"But this case is of great importance; once the death penalty is handed down, there will be no turning back."

Cao Wenzhi also bowed and said, "Please give the Ministry of Justice a suggestion, Your Highness."

The other officials also turned to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan placed Chen Xiaoman's mother's confession at the top.

"In my opinion..."

"He deserves to die."

Lu Yuan's words silenced everyone in the hall for a moment.

Ma Yuanqing frowned and said, "Does Your Highness really intend to set a precedent for executing young children?"

"It's not that I want to break precedent, but Zhou Mao has already killed someone!"

Lu Yuan pointed out some of the testimonies in the case file.

"Though young in age, his heart is wicked."

"He first stole other people's things, then deliberately beat them. People around him had already stopped him, and Chen Xiaoman had already fallen to the ground."

"He continued kicking and punching until the other person lost consciousness!"

"Moreover, after he killed the person, he not only didn't feel afraid, but also didn't try to save them. Instead, he took the stolen candy home."

"You call this not knowing right from wrong?"

When Ma Yuanqing was about to speak, Lu Yuan raised his hand to stop him.

"The reason why the Dāyāng Law allows for the exemption of young children from punishment is that young children's intelligence is not yet mature and they are prone to making mistakes due to ignorance."

"This law is meant to protect children."

"This isn't a talisman for bad seeds!"

Cao Wenzhi's eyes lit up, and he nodded emphatically.

"Your Highness is absolutely right."

"If someone commits murder at seven or eight, or at thirteen, does that mean they've completely reformed by fourteen?"

"He would only feel that no matter what he does, the court cannot punish him."

Shen Yilei walked to the desk, picked up his pen, and wrote the judgment.

"The law is lenient towards the young; it is the court's way of showing kindness."

"But Zhou Mao has repeatedly injured people, and his parents have always settled the matter with money, which has made him take the court's leniency as indulgence."

"If they are released without charge, the Chen family will be disheartened, and the people of Qinghe County will also be disheartened."

"Other mischievous children will follow suit."

The official surnamed Zhou, who had previously mentioned the precedent, hesitated for a moment.

"But if the death penalty is imposed, how can we explain the precedent set by the late emperor?"

"If a precedent is wrong, it cannot be made a second time."

Lu Yuan said to Ma Yuanqing, "Lord Ma, I have another question for you. If someone knows that children can commit murder without being held accountable, they will bribe children with money to do things like arson, poisoning, and assassinating ministers."

"After the matter was settled, the people behind the scenes shifted all the blame onto the child. How did you resolve that?"

Ma Yuanqing's lips moved slightly, and he said, "We can trace the mastermind behind this."

"Can't find it?"

"this……"

"The child says he just likes to play, but the mastermind has already destroyed the evidence. Do you still want to use the rules left by our ancestors to exonerate him?"

Ma Yuanqing lowered his head to look at the case file and did not answer.

Lu Yuan then asked, "Bad people use immunity laws to gain profit and harm others, but what about good people who abide by the law?"

"Their wives and children were all killed; are they only to blame themselves for being too old to be exempt from punishment?"

Cao Wenzhi turned to Ma Yuanqing and said, "Lord Ma, didn't you want to uphold the court's benevolent rule? Treating criminals with mercy while cruelly dealing with the families of the dead—what kind of bullshit benevolence is this?"

After a moment of silence, Ma Yuanqing bowed.

"I have nothing to say in my defense."

Lu Yuan pushed the verdict in front of Shen Yilei.

"That's settled then."

"The Ministry of Justice revised the memorial, detailing Zhou Mao's previous crimes of assault and the reasons and process of this murder."

"We must not give local officials the opportunity to indiscriminately kill innocent people, even if it means writing just one sentence to express the principle of 'a life for a life.'"

"It must be proven that this person knowingly committed the crime with the intent to harm or kill."

Shen Yilei took notes.

"Your subject understands."

"Before the morning court session tomorrow, I will deliver the memorial to my superior for Your Majesty's approval."

Lu Yuan nodded, "I will also go to the palace to explain to my father personally."

"In the future, when we encounter similar cases, we cannot only look at age, but also at motive, means, consequences and whether the crime has been committed repeatedly."

"Manslaughter and intentional homicide must be distinguished."

All the officials saluted together.

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness!"

Ma Yuanqing also bowed, "If Your Highness had not pointed this out today, I would have been too concerned with upholding the old rules and almost let the culprit escape punishment."

"Alright, stop flattering me."

Lu Yuan waved his hand, his gaze falling on the wooden box containing the files.

Those wicked individuals who bullied classmates and harmed the innocent in their previous lives were no different from Zhou Mao.

Being young should not be a shield for evil people.

Lu Yuan closed the wooden box, then remembered that Han Gou was still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail.

He turned to Shen Yilei and asked, "Father-in-law, how many prisoners are currently in the Ministry of Justice's jail?"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yilei explained the situation.

"Including the thirty-two people sent yesterday, there are a total of one thousand two hundred and thirty-four people."

How many death row inmates are there?

"Eighty-seven people are awaiting execution in the autumn, while the rest are exiled, sent to the army, imprisoned, or are prisoners whose cases have not yet been concluded."

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Starting tomorrow, separate death row inmates."

"All the others must be registered, including their names, ages, places of origin, crimes committed, and lengths of sentences; not a single one can be omitted."

Shen Yilei was taken aback and asked curiously, "What does Your Highness need these lists of prisoners for?"

Several officials from the Ministry of Justice also showed signs of doubt.

Lu Yuan picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and slowly smiled.

"We can't let them eat for free."

"Is the rice in the Ministry of Justice prison free?"