Zhu Tian: Starting from the World of Zongwu

Song Xuan dismounted and looked the man up and down, but saw that he was not at all panicked, and even had a bit of the dignity of a scholar.

The Xuanyiwei had a bad reputation in official circles. The civil service group both hated and feared the Xuanyiwei, and most of them kept their distance from them.

It can be seen that the Huai'an County historian was somewhat resistant and even rejected the arrival of Song Xuan and other Xuanyi guards.

"Xuanyiwei Patrol Inspector General, Song Xuan!"

Song Xuan spoke slowly, "I wonder what is the name of this Dianshi Sir?"

"My surname is Ye!"

"Ye Dianshi, right?"

Song Xuan said in a deep voice: "You should know why we are here. No need for pleasantries. Let's get to work first!"

Hearing Song Xuan's straightforward words, Ye Dianshi was stunned at first, but his expression softened a little and his voice unconsciously became softer.

"Since that's the case, please wait in the yamen for a moment. I'll send for the files."

Song Xuan nodded and led Song Qian and others into the lobby of the Dianshi office. Without any unnecessary nonsense, they all took their seats.

Soon a yamen runner brought tea, but Song Xuan just nodded calmly, with no intention of picking up the cup to drink the tea.

Safety is the most important thing when you are out. He never drinks tea from strangers in such an unfamiliar environment.

Song Xuan and the others did not want to drink tea, and Ye Dianshi had no intention of persuading them. He just sat there calmly, as if he was in a trance, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Before long, several yamen runners walked quickly into the hall holding a file.

"Send it to a few adults to take a look!" Ye Dianshi gave the order.

Taking the file from the yamen runner, Song Xuan began to read it directly.

He read through the files very quickly. Before Ye Dianshi had even finished a cup of tea, Song Xuan had already finished reading all the files.

The case is not complicated. Simply put, it is a civil adultery case.

The martial spirit was prevalent in the Great Zhou Dynasty and the people were relatively open-minded. Not only men could practice martial arts, but women could too. Therefore, the status of women was higher than in any previous feudal dynasties that Song Xuan knew of.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, women could not only learn martial arts and study, but they could even take the imperial examinations or the martial arts examinations and enter officialdom.

However, no matter how open the people's customs were or how enlightened the court was, it was ultimately just a feudal dynasty with men as the ruling class.

In order to maintain the purity of male bloodline, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty imposed extremely harsh punishments on women for adultery.

If a man is found guilty of adultery, he shall be flogged thirty times, fined fifty taels of silver, and exiled three thousand miles.

If a woman is found guilty of adultery, she will be paraded through the streets and executed immediately after verification by the Ministry of Justice!

This is how people were treated differently, but in the imperial feudal society, no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

Song Xuan put the file down and looked at Ye Dianshi. "I wonder if Ye Dianshi could describe the case in detail?"

Ye Dianshi frowned slightly, "Isn't it all clearly recorded in the file?"

Song Xuan looked at him quietly. "The file is the file, but it is not necessarily the truth. I want to hear what Ye Dianshi has to say in person!"

Ye Dianshi was silent for a moment, waved his hand to signal the yamen runners on both sides to retreat, and then spoke hesitantly.

"This case isn't complicated, but it involves a struggle among the upper classes. There are some things I can't say, and even if I do, they might not be true. How about you personally go to the prison and interrogate the woman who committed the crime?"

Song Xuan was a little surprised. He looked at the man deeply, then nodded and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Ye Dianshi to take us to the prison cell."

......

The Huaian Prefecture Tianlao holds all kinds of death row prisoners. Some of them are criminals who have been sentenced to death by local officials and are waiting for the subsequent review by the Ministry of Justice.

For some, the Ministry of Justice has already reviewed them and they are just waiting to be executed in the autumn.

In the dark and damp prison, desperate roars and cries could be heard from time to time. Some prisoners, after seeing Song Xuan and others, kept banging on the prison doors and shouting loudly to protest their injustice.

But Song Xuan had no intention of interfering in other people's business at all. Led by Ye Dianshi, he went straight to one of the death row cells.

"Sir, this is it!"

In front of the dark and cramped prison cell, Song Xuan looked inside through the gap and saw a woman whose face could not be seen clearly, lying on the ground with blood on her clothes. Her eyes were dull and she looked up at the ceiling of the cell with a look of despair.

"Open the prison door!" Song Xuan gave the order.

Ye Dianshi hesitated for a moment, but still nodded slightly to the jailer, indicating that the door should be opened.

"Squeak~~"

As the iron gate was opened, Song Xuan, Song Qian and Lu Xiaoliu entered one after another, making the already narrow cell seem even more crowded.

As for Da Niu and Monkey, they stood outside the prison door very consciously, blocking the others outside just right. Even Ye Dianshi who wanted to follow in was stopped.

Ye Dianshi's expression changed again and again, but in the end he didn't dare to force his way in.

He really didn't like the Xuanyiwei, but he didn't want to offend these vicious monsters because of a case.

In the cell, Song Xuan looked down at the woman lying on the ground with a numb face and coughed lightly.

But the woman didn't react at all. She didn't care who came to the cell at all. She kept looking at the ceiling and seemed to have given up completely.

Seeing this, Victoria Song frowned, walked up to her, lifted her arm and lifted her up, then twisted her chin to face her.

This forceful approach finally brought a glimmer of light into the woman's eyes, and her gaze focused on Victoria Song.

"It seems he's not dead yet!"

Song Qian smiled with satisfaction, causing the woman to half-kneel on the ground. She then smiled at Song Xuan and said, "Brother, we can start now!"

Song Xuan nodded, took out the Xuanyiwei token and waved it in front of the woman.

"Let me introduce myself first. We are the Xuanyi Guards from the Imperial Capital. I don't need to explain what the Xuanyi Guards do, right?"

When she heard the three words "Xuanyiwei", although the woman had already despaired and waited for death, her body still trembled subconsciously.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Xuanyiwei is the office opened by the King of Hell on earth, and those Xuanyiwei cavalry are the little devils under the King of Hell's command.

It is said that if you fall into the hands of these people, you can neither live nor die, and even wanting to die is a luxury!

"I am Song Xuan, the Black Guard. From today on, I will be taking over your case!"

As he spoke, he slowly squatted down and looked at the woman face to face.

"Ms. Sun Liu, the Huai'an County government has sentenced you to adultery. Now I want to hear the truth. Are you guilty of adultery?"

Chapter 11 Case Facts

In the backyard of the Huai'an County Magistrate's Mansion, several officials were talking in low voices.

A middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears asked, "Where are the Xuanyi Guards from the Imperial Capital now?"

A man dressed as a legal advisor hurriedly said, "Reporting to the prefect, Dianshi Ye has already received them. I heard that he has gone to the Heavenly Prison to personally interrogate Sun Liu."

"Didn't he ask me to meet him?"

The master shook his head and said, "Sir, you are a legitimate fifth-rank civil servant. Although the Xuanyi Guard is powerful, they cannot cover the sky with one hand. You can't just go out and receive anyone who comes, right?

It would be enough for Ye Dianshi to come forward!"

The county magistrate hummed and said, "You have a point. I will announce to the public that I have caught a cold and am resting in bed, so I am not able to see guests.

By the way, don't offend those little devils of the Xuanyi Guards. Prepare all the generous gifts. If they have any requests, whether it's money or women, as long as it's not too excessive, arrange everything."

Shizhi smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. I have already made arrangements with Cuiyun Tower. A banquet will be held tonight and Li Tongpan will be there to personally receive them.

They are all young people, at the age of being hot-tempered. If you put a courtesan in each of their rooms at night, I guarantee they won't cause trouble for you, my Lord!"

"That's good, that's good!" The county magistrate was very satisfied and patted him on the shoulder. "I trust you to do the job. I'll do as you say!"

......

In the sky prison, Song Xuan and the convict Sun Liu were staring at each other.

It's worth mentioning that although this woman is married, she is actually only in her early twenties. Even though she suffered a lot of torture in the prison and looked haggard, if you look closely, you can vaguely see that she is very beautiful.

"Think it over carefully. This is your last chance. If you don't want to be paraded through the streets on a wooden horse, then tell me whether you have committed adultery or not."

Sun Liu looked at Song Xuan with fear. There were some things she was too embarrassed to say, so she subconsciously turned to look at Song Qian.

But the next moment, she set her eyes on Song Xuan again.

Forget it. That girl from the Black Guard looks like a tough cookie. This young man is more kind.

"Sir, I am innocent!"

Sun Liu knelt on the ground, tears finally flowing from her eyes, "My lord, I am innocent! I am truly innocent! I was forced to do this, I really didn't commit adultery!"

"My Lord, I can die, but I cannot die with the stigma of adultery on my shoulders!

I was wronged, I was forced, I didn’t commit adultery! Not adultery! "

The woman was a little agitated and kept saying that it was not adultery, but when Song Xuan asked her what had happened, she stammered and became incoherent and couldn't say a word.

"never mind!"

Song Xuan sighed and ordered the monkey outside the cell, "Go outside the city and bring the prisoner's husband here!"

As he said this, he turned to look at Ye Dianshi, "Please ask Ye Dianshi to send a few yamen runners to accompany him."

Ye Dianshi didn't waste any time and immediately assigned a few yamen runners to follow the monkey out of the prison.

More than an hour later, several people dragged a farmer into the cell.

When the man saw the woman kneeling on the ground, he immediately cursed, "Bitch, what nonsense are you talking about again?"

Song Xuan was annoyed by the noise and signaled Lu Xiaoliu with his eyes to ask the man to be quiet.

Lu Xiaoliu immediately stepped forward, drew the long sword from his waist with a clang, and scolded: "How dare you make such a loud noise in front of my Xuanyi Guards? Do you think your life is too long?"

As the sound of the weapon was twitching, the man immediately became obedient, especially after seeing Lu Xiaoliu's cold eyes. His legs immediately went weak and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

"Sir, I have been an honest man all my life and have never done anything bad. You must not wrongly accuse a good person!"

Song Xuan was too lazy to waste time talking to him and said in a deep voice, "Answer whatever I ask you. If you dare to tell even a single lie, I'll send you to the Xuanyiwei Imperial Prison for dinner!"

As soon as the word "Xuanyiwei Imperial Prison" came out, not only the farmer, but even Ye Dianshi and other yamen runners outside the door could not help but shudder.

That place is simply the Palace of Hell built on earth. Once you enter it, there is no way you can walk out safely.

"I'm asking you, did you report your wife's adultery to the government?"

The man hesitated and subconsciously looked outside the cell, as if asking if he could speak.

But before he could get a response, Lu Xiaoliu's sword was already on his neck.

Then, the man immediately gave in.

"Sir, these days, how dare we ordinary people report this to the authorities?"

"Oh?"

Song Xuan immediately became interested, "Tell me in detail what you know!"

"Okay, I'll tell you everything!"

The man took a deep breath and began to tell the story from the beginning.

"I was originally a tenant farmer outside the county town. I made a living by working for others. Although I wasn't rich, I could still get by. Over the years, my family had saved up some money.

Perhaps it was the good fortune I had accumulated in my previous life that, through a matchmaker’s introduction, I married a beautiful wife. Who in the village wouldn’t envy me?

Speaking of getting married, this man looked at his wife who was kneeling on the ground and sobbing softly with her head down, his eyes full of complexity.

"Don't be afraid of your laughing at us, sir. We are just farmhands, and we haven't seen much of the world. My wife's appearance is incomparable to those young ladies from wealthy families, but she is famous for her beauty in the surrounding area."

He looked at Song Xuan awkwardly, then at Song Qian, feeling a little embarrassed. Although his wife was beautiful, there was still a gap in appearance between her and these two men.

"Stop talking nonsense and just say it!" Song Xuan urged.

"Oh, and then..." The man swallowed his saliva, looking annoyed, "and then, disaster struck."

"One evening, I came back from work in the city and found a woman sitting outside the fence of my yard. She looked pitiful and seemed to be resting.

I went up to ask, and the other party said her name was Xiaoli and she lived in Huaiyang County next door.

Xiaoli said she had been married for five years, but after her husband passed away last year, her in-laws abused her in every way, and even her father-in-law had improper thoughts about her.

She couldn't stand it anymore so she ran away secretly. Now she is stranded here and has run out of money. She wants to stay at my house for one night."

The man paused for a moment and said awkwardly, "I felt sorry for her, so I agreed."

Victoria Song sneered, "You think she's pretty, right? Let me ask you, if an old woman came and asked to stay at your house for a night, would you agree?"