This case occurred during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. Lan Dingyuan was the magistrate of Chaoyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province.
On this day, he had just arrived and sat down in the lobby of the county government office when two women walked in outside the gate of the county government office. A young woman supported an old woman and staggered to the door of the county government office. Without saying a word, she knelt down and unfolded a piece of paper with her hands and raised it above her head.
Lanzhi County knew that a complaint was coming, so he ordered the yamen on duty to call the two women in and tell them that they could come up to the lobby to complain to the county magistrate, without having to kneel down so far. At the same time, let the scribe take the papers in their hands.
The clerk took the piece of paper that the woman raised above her head, took a look at it, and reported back to the county magistrate: "It's a piece of white paper." Lanzhi County nodded and said, "The two women don't understand the rules of complaint, and they have never used a pleading paper. It doesn't matter if they write on white paper."
The clerk knew that Magistrate Lan had misunderstood what he meant, and hurriedly explained: "Sir, there is no writing on this petition, it is just a piece of white paper."
Magistrate Lan was stunned. This was the first time he had encountered such a strange thing in so many years as an official. He asked the scribe to bring the paper over and open it himself to examine it. Sure enough, this is just a piece of pure white paper with not a single word on it.
He asked the yamen servants to lead the two women into the lobby, and said in a pleasant voice: "If you have any grievances, you should write down exactly what happened. How can you come to complain with an empty piece of paper?"
The women kowtowed and lay on the ground. The old woman replied: "We want to sue Li Amei. But we are illiterate ourselves and have no money to hire someone to write the petition for us. Li Amei is very domineering, and no one dares to help us."
Lanzhi County immediately asked the scribe to write it for them. The clerk was a little embarrassed and said he knew nothing about the situation. Lanzhi County said, "Just write down their confessions." After questioning, he learned that the old woman's surname was Zheng, and she was in her eighty-sixth year. The young woman Liu, the daughter-in-law of her mother-in-law, is now a widow. Granny Zheng said: "My son's name is Li Azi. He committed suicide by taking poison on the fifth day of December last year. He was forced to death by a member of the clan, Li Amei."
Then she added: "When my son died, my wife and I immediately wanted to file a lawsuit. Li Amei called in Xiu from the clan. Only then did Li Chen and Li Shang stop us. The patriarch Li Tongshu and others came forward to mediate and persuaded us not to file a lawsuit. We agreed that Li Amei would bury the deceased and free up two houses for us to live in. He also promised to support our family for a year. "
"But Li Amei is not a good person. After a while, he thought the matter had calmed down, so he turned his back and refused to admit it. He is now forcing us to move, tearing down the roof tiles and rafters, and cutting off the food supply. Our family is now sleeping in the open, and we don't know how long we can survive. We came here to complain because we had no other options, so we asked the lord to make the decision for us."
Lan Zhixian sighed, shook his head and said, "You shouldn't have agreed to keep it private at the beginning. What happened last winter is now in autumn, and it's over. It's been more than nine months, why should I sue others?
The widowed daughter-in-law, Ms. Liu, kept sobbing and said, "Amei Li bullied us, orphans and widowed mothers, because she thought that my husband had been dead for a long time, and even if we sued him for forcing his life, it would be difficult to win the lawsuit, so he dared not keep the agreement." I also understand in my heart that although my husband was coerced into taking poison, he did not complain to the authorities at the time. Now that so much time has passed, how can we still expect him to pay for his life. "
" It's just that he doesn't keep his word and destroys everything. We cannot bear the loss of housing and food supply. We went to the patriarchs and scholars to argue and seek justice, but they shirk each other and just deal with it. My mother-in-law is old and my children are still young. If the master doesn't save us, I'm afraid we will die unjustly and there won't even be a place to bury us after our death. "
Lanzhi County nodded and asked the defendant Li Amei where he lived. Liu said: "He lives in Kun'an Village, just next to the county seat. "Lanzhi County immediately issued a warrant and sent a government official to summon Li Amei to the county government for confrontation.
Not long after, Li Amei was taken to the lobby.Faced with the accusations made by the two women, he insisted on refusing to admit it, saying: "There is no such thing at all! Xiao and Li Aziz are from the same family, and he has not finished the fifth service. How could I force him to death? In fact, Aziz died of a sudden illness last year. I sympathized with his mother for his old age and his young child, so I often kindly helped his family. This year's disaster The price of rice has skyrocketed, and my family is struggling to take care of themselves. How can I care about others?”
The two women said that he was lying, and Li Amei denied it: “A greedy person will never be satisfied. No matter who is doing good, my wife and children must do what they can.” I don’t have enough to eat now, so I am naturally helpless to their family. Please be aware and considerate. "
asked about Li Aziz being forced to take poison, and Li Chen, Li Shang and Li Tongshu cheating for their own benefit. Li Amei pretended to be very surprised, shook her head repeatedly and said: "Oh my God, this is really made out of nothing. In order to ask me for help, these two women made up such a sensational lie. Your Excellency, you can call Li Chen, Li Shang, and Li Tongshu to confront you. This will never happen. "
Hearing this, Lanzhi County couldn't help but be filled with suspicion. He looked at Zheng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. They were in rags and disheveled. They didn't look like treacherous people at all, and they couldn't afford to hire a lawyer to deal with them. He turned sideways to look at Li Amei. Although this person was swearing and eloquent, his eyes kept rolling. Suddenly he had a decision in his heart.
Magistrate Lan naturally has his own methods for dealing with dishonest people. I saw him raising the gavel , slamming it towards the desk, and yelling loudly: "How dare you, Li Amei! How dare you cheat in front of me! I have read countless people and am good at reading faces. As long as I hear a few words from a person, I can see whether it is true or false. How can your good or bad heart be deceived by your sharp teeth? ? Don’t think that I can be manipulated by you just after taking office. I don’t need to tell the tribesmen you mentioned, I can easily tell if you are a kind person by asking the neighbors. Who can you deceive with your actions?”
Magistrate Lan was trying to test, but he didn’t expect to hit Li Amei’s key point. He is also known locally as a mean person and loves petty gains. He knows it very well. If the county magistrate seriously investigates, who will say a good word about him?
Seeing that Li Amei did not dare to argue, Magistrate Lan immediately saw the clues and pressed forward step by step: ""Do you want to taste my punishment? If you confess your guilt, you may be treated with leniency even if the crime is serious. If you keep making sophistry, when I find out the truth, I will first punish you for lying and deceiving the government, and then I will beat you to pieces with forty blows! Then he will be punished according to the truth, his house will be ransacked, his house will be demolished, and he will be imprisoned and sent to the army. At that time, you will regret it too much, so you should do it yourself! "
Magistrate Lan's hard and soft tactics forced Li Amei to break out in sweat and frighten her spine. After hesitating for a long time, he finally did not dare to lie anymore, but told the truth honestly He explained what happened.
It turned out that Li Azi was his cousin’s son. In December last year, Li Azi’s family had no choice but to ask him for land money, but he refused to give it. Li Azi was so angry that he surrendered. Poison yourself. The scholars Li Chen and Li Shang in the family persuaded him to mourn on his behalf. He gave Zheng twelve taels of silver, took out the IOU of fifteen taels of silver and returned it to her, and promised to provide for her in her old age. Zheng and Liu agreed not to report to official positions.
The old lady Zheng on the side intervened and argued: "The IOU you mentioned must be fake. Aziz is dead and illiterate in the first place. So isn't it easy for you to forge the IOU? We didn't receive any money either. We agreed at the beginning that the two houses would be discounted at twelve taels of silver and would be my family's residence forever and would not be taken back. Now you are tearing down the tiles and rafters, where will our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law live? Moreover, we agreed at the time that you would support us for one year, and now you have four months less! Amei Li, do you really want to be so unconscionable? "
Li Amei spread her hands, looking helpless, and said: "The tiles on that house were blown down by the wind, so I will put them away temporarily. Since you said so, I will have people build it now and give it to you to live in. I will give you rice and one stone per month. After the twelfth lunar month, you will stop doing my business. "
Zheng and Liu thought for a while, stopped talking, and nodded in agreement.
Lan Zhixian pondered for a moment and said: "Li Amei, listen to me. You have told too many lies in court. First, I said it was absolutely not the case, and now I said that Li Azi once owed you money and there was an IOU. Have you ever thought about it, he owed you money and he would also come to you to ask for land money. Is it true that the roof tiles can be blown down by the strong wind, and the rafters can also be blown down? This county should have imposed punishment on you to punish you, an unkind and unjust person who talks nonsense. Now that you have pleaded guilty, told the truth, and are willing to make up for your mistakes as agreed in advance, it seems that you are not a stubborn person, because This is a gentle punishment.
With a slap in the face, Lanzhi County continued: "I order you to repair the house within five days and continue to provide rice to Zheng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law." The county will no longer pursue the matter of forcing people to die. The fine of fifteen taels of silver will be used to cover the forty dollars you deceived the county. The money will be given to the orphans and widows for living expenses. This county is giving me a lighter sentence in order to satisfy the relationship between you, the Li clan, and to prevent you from turning against each other over this matter. "
Ms. Zheng and Ms. Liu are extremely satisfied with this verdict. Amei Li has not suffered any physical or physical pain and is very happy in her heart. So the plaintiff and defendant all kowtowed, turned and left.
(from "Luzhou Public Case")
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