NABC Chapter 2359 Another Punishment
Chapter 2359 Another Punishment
Zhang Jia Dalang was dragged out by the yamen runners, still shouting at his sister.
Li Shen felt so sad watching this, he felt like a bad guy.
Not to mention him, everyone who saw this scene, including the people watching outside, showed an expression of pity on their faces.
But they didn't dare to speak out, for fear that the anger would be taken out on them.
The little girl was very sensible. After hearing what her brother said, she stopped being distressed and calmed down.
Li Shen waved to the little girl.
The bailiff immediately brought the little girl to Li Shen.
"Go get something delicious." Li Shen said to Pei Ziyu beside him, and then ordered someone to bring a chair.
She said softly to the little girl:
"Just sit here and wait for your brother."
The little girl nodded fearfully. She didn't dare to resist because her brother had told her that all the people here were noble.
Pei Ziyu ordered people to bring dried fruits, snacks, candied fruits, and all kinds of food, a whole tray.
He could see that Prince Ji cared a lot about the brother and sister. Although he didn't know whether it was out of pity or something else, he couldn't offend them.
"what!!"
At this time, a scream was heard from the side hall, which should be the beginning of the caning.
"Brother." The little girl stood up immediately with tears in her eyes when she heard her brother's scream.
"Don't worry, your brother will be fine. Come and eat something. Are you hungry?"
Li Shen personally picked up a piece of dessert and handed it to the little girl. The little girl looked at the dessert and then looked at Li Shen.
Under Li Shen's encouraging gaze, he carefully thanked him and took it.
She was really hungry. It was hard to believe, but the best meal she had ever had was the prison food she had in prison after being arrested.
"Eat it, it's delicious."
Li Shen was in the lobby, coaxing the child in full view of everyone, ignoring everyone else.
This was in stark contrast to his ruthlessness just now, making it difficult for everyone to tell who was the real King Ji.
"Cough cough."
The little girl took a few bites and it was so delicious that she coughed twice in a hurry.
"Hurry up and get some water. How can you be a chief secretary? You have no sense at all."
Li Shen immediately turned around and scolded Pei Ziyu.
"Yes." Pei Ziyu agreed with a bitter face and turned back to fetch water himself.
From time to time, a scream would be heard from the side hall, which made the little girl feel distressed and reluctant to give up the food in her hands.
After comforting the little girl, Li Shen suddenly thought of something.
"Huh? That's not right. Why are there only the two of them, brother and sister, here?" Li Shen asked Wang Xuance.
"Your Highness means..." Wang Xuance did not understand what Prince Ji meant.
"I mean, there are still prisoners? Where is the person who bought the stolen goods from these brothers and sisters?"
Li Shen suddenly remembered the profiteer who bought 100 strings of jewelry for one string of coins. How could this bastard go unpunished?
"Your Highness, according to the law, this man is guilty of accepting stolen goods, but he returned the stolen goods and paid a ransom."
Wang Xuance explained.
"Is that all?" Li Shen frowned.
"Then according to Your Majesty's opinion..."
"Send someone to capture that man. It's more difficult to just redeem a hundred taels of stolen goods."
Li Shen gave the order immediately.
"Yes." After receiving the order, Wang Xuance waved to the yamen runner.
"Okay, whose turn is next?"
Li Shen picked up another file and took a look. It was the file of the remaining three children. The oldest was fourteen years old and the youngest was eleven years old.
"This file says you three have committed a lot of crimes: theft, bullying, and arrogance. Do you plead guilty?"
After reading the files, Li Shen discovered that these three people were all from the Tang Dynasty, their families did business here, and the eldest one was the son of an official of the Anxi Protectorate.
The people they bullied were all locals, just like Ma Siyuan.
Although the father of the eldest child was an official of the Anxi Protectorate, he was not a high-ranking official, so they did not dare to bully the Tang people.
Because he didn't know which Tang person had the background.
"Your Highness, Prince Ji, we plead guilty and are willing to pay the ransom."
The older child saluted in return.
They knew that as long as they were under fifteen and had not committed murder or rebellion, all their sins could be redeemed.
The property they stole did not meet the standards for imprisonment.
"Haha, pay a ransom? No, no, no, with the crimes you have committed, a ransom is not enough. You must be punished."
Li Shen sneered twice.
These three men were actually playboys, similar to those in Chang'an City, but their fathers were powerful, being princes, generals and ministers, so even the emperor only scolded them.
But these three are not acceptable. Li Shen cannot tolerate the existence of anyone more dissolute than himself.
"Your Highness, Prince Ji, according to the law, we are under the age of fifteen and can be redeemed except for murder and treason."
The oldest child argued.
"That was a single crime. You have committed many crimes, and I will punish you for all of them.
Considering your youth, I will be lenient and sentence each of you to forty lashes and a ransom of one hundred strings of cash."
Anyway, they all have money, so it doesn't matter if they are fined a little more.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please be merciful. My child is too young to withstand such severe punishment."
Just after Li Shen made the penalty, someone's plea for mercy was heard outside.
"Who dares to make noise and disturb the court?" Li Shen asked loudly.
"Your humble servant, Liao Deshang, a military officer of the Anxi Protectorate, pays respect to His Highness Prince Ji."
A man walked in from outside. He was not wearing official uniform and introduced himself after entering.
"Liao Deshang? I've never heard of him. How dare a mere soldier like you get involved in the affairs of the Xizhou government office?
Whose influence are you relying on?" Li Shennian mentioned the name, but he had never heard of this person.
The soldier is not on the same level as me.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I have no ceremonial guards and dare not overstep the boundaries.
This is my son Liao Youfu. He is still young and doesn't know the proper etiquette. I hope Your Highness Prince Ji will show mercy and give him another chance to reform."
Liao Deshang pointed at the eldest child and explained.
"Hmph, what's the matter? Do you think the punishment I gave them was too harsh?" Li Shen leaned back in his chair, his dandy demeanor fully revealed.
"I dare not question it. I just think that since His Royal Highness Prince Ji said that we must act according to the law, then these children should be redeemed.
I am willing to pay a hundred strings of cash to atone my son's sin."
Liao Deshang saluted and said.
"Didn't I just say that multiple crimes should be punished together? They committed crimes in Xizhou Prefecture, just like Ma Siyuan, relying on their youth to avoid punishment, so they acted recklessly.
If I don't punish them severely, how can I make them learn their lesson?
And you! If a son is not well-educated, it is the fault of the father. You must have known what your son did long ago, but you did not teach him.
According to the files, it has been several years.
This is your indulgence. You can't even manage your own son, how can you be qualified for the position of a military officer?
This king will now remove your rank as a military officer. Go home and discipline your son. Once he has done that, I will reinstate you."
(I won’t say anything more, I don’t dare to say anything more, please pay more attention.)