NABC Chapter 2354 Do you know your guilt?
Chapter 2354 Do you know your guilt?
Since ancient times, the imperial court has been tolerant of the elderly. In the Han Dynasty, those who were over 80 years old would not be punished unless they were falsely accused of murder.
This means that people over 80 years old can be exempted from all crimes except those involving false accusation, murder, or injury.
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin hosted a banquet for the elders of Chang'an to calm the people's hearts.
This is enough to show the status of the elderly in society at that time.
This has led to some older people who understand this rule becoming fearless and acting without restraint.
Ma Siyuan is one of them. He has read books and understands the truth.
As a businessman, he has always been in the lower class in the Tang Dynasty and is not favored by the upper class.
After arriving in Xizhou, he found that the people here were all barbarians, so he felt superior.
Because in these places, the Tang people were considered superior by the locals.
Even some local people of status did not dare to provoke the Tang people easily.
This was actually one of the reasons why Ma Siyuan settled in Xizhou.
Li Shen had read the files and found that Ma Siyuan had become arrogant and domineering in recent years, and treated his neighbors with condescension.
He was gentle and polite to fellow Tang merchants, but he had a different attitude towards the remnants of Gaochang.
In addition, most of the local officials were Tang people, who also looked down on the local Xizhou survivors and would favor the Tang people when dealing with disputes.
This caused Ma Siyuan to become even more rampant.
Originally, he thought that this time he injured someone and it wouldn't be a big deal, as he had done it before.
But he didn't expect to meet King Ji this time. At first, he thought that King Ji would also protect him. After all, he was a Tang person and a citizen of the Tang Dynasty.
But the result was beyond his expectation. Not only did King Ji not show favoritism, he also punished him severely.
This made him feel a little scared, but also a little convinced.
Li Shen laughed when he heard what Ma Siyuan said.
"Haha, isn't it a coincidence that my brain isn't very good either, and I get confused easily sometimes. Sometimes even Your Majesty can't help me with this disease.
So if I do something excessive to you, I hope you can forgive me."
Are you playing this trick on me? Don't you know that I'm the best at playing rogue in the Tang Dynasty? Li Shen sneered in his heart.
His brain disease has been diagnosed by experts and has legal basis.
When the disease strikes, there is no medicine that can cure it except family rules.
"This..." Ma Siyuan panicked after hearing this. What did King Ji mean by this?
Is he planning to impose a severe punishment on himself? But isn't he afraid of being accused of abusing his power? A prince who doesn't follow the law of the land isn't afraid of the consequences?
Ma Siyuan looked at Pei Ziyu. He recognized Pei Ziyu as the chief officer of Xizhou Prefecture.
"You see, they are useless. If I were to have a seizure, even Guo Xiaoke would have to retreat.
You don't think they dare to stop me, do you?"
Li Shen smiled contemptuously.
This incident made Li Shen discover a problem, the problem of racial discrimination.
From officials to ordinary people, everyone has this mentality, which is not a good thing.
We are not that beautiful country that allows its people to be arrogant and bully others.
We are an inclusive nation.
Li Shen decided to take care of it.
Li Shen has already thought of a way to deal with this kind of person. He is not afraid of death, but he is afraid of other things.
At this time, Ma Siyuan's son Ma Tinglin came back to get the money, and he brought a whole cart full of copper coins.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I have brought the money." Ma Tinglin said respectfully while standing at the door.
"Come in and talk." Li Shen smiled and waved.
Ma Tinglin hurriedly walked into the lobby.
“I’m here to see Your Highness Prince Ji. My father is old and has done some wrong things. I hope Your Highness Prince Ji will forgive his sins for his old age and frailty.
I am willing to pay money to atone for my sins and compensate those people."
When he arrived at the hall, Ma Tinglin's attitude was very pertinent. He knew what his father had done, and he had made arrangements for it in the past.
He didn't think that what his father did was too serious, as it was not a serious matter like murder or arson.
Today he felt that Prince Ji was making a big deal out of nothing.
"Is that Ma Tinglin?" Li Shen asked with a smile.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, my name is Ma Tinglin." Ma Tinglin nodded.
"Do you admit your guilt?" Li Shen asked with a cold expression.
"Huh?" Ma Tinglin was stunned. What did Prince Ji mean by this? Why was he being blamed?
"This...I don't know." Ma Tinglin saluted.
"Bang!" Li Shen slammed the gavel again, startling Wang Xuance behind him. He thought that Prince Ji still had the same habit of being startled.
"You are such a rude and unruly person, and you still dare to quibble? It seems that you will not admit your guilt unless you are severely punished.
Someone come...”
"Your Highness, Prince Ji, please be merciful. I truly do not know what crime I have committed. I beg Your Highness to clarify."
Seeing that Prince Ji was about to torture him, Ma Tinglin immediately bowed and begged for mercy.
"Well, I will make you understand. Do you know that the left is more noble in etiquette?" Li Shen said coldly.
"This villain knows that it has been like this since the Zhou Dynasty." Ma Tinglin nodded blankly, but he didn't know what this had to do with his crime.
"Since you know that, why are you still so rude and committing insubordination?" Li Shen shouted angrily.
"Disrespectful? Insubordination? Your Highness, Prince Ji, I didn't do that. When did I ever insubordination?"
Ma Tinglin said in injustice that he had just withdrawn the money and had not done anything.
Wang Xuance, Pei Ziyu and others were also confused. Why did Ma Tinglin commit such a crime?
Is Prince Ji confused? What is he saying?
Li Shen's expression remained unchanged as he continued to question with a cold face:
“Just now, the king asked you to come in, why did you step into the lobby with your left foot first?
This king is here, and I am respected here. You actually want to take away my dignity. Isn't this insubordination?"
Silence fell.
Whether it was the people in the lobby or the people watching the excitement outside, they were all stunned.
What had they just heard? Which foot would be penalized if it went in first?
These people had never heard of such a law.
Ma Tinglin was also confused. He stared at Prince Ji blankly, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Although he was a businessman, he had been educated since childhood. Even if he had not read the law, he knew that there was no such article.
It's easy to find a pretext for someone who commits a crime. He now finally understood the meaning of this sentence.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I really didn't do that. I really dared to take away your nobleness. I am wronged."
At this moment, Ma Tinglin, like his father, was also crying out for injustice.
However, Li Shen didn't care about that at all. He waved his hand at the yamen runners on both sides:
"Come here, Ma Tinglin has committed treason and offended this king. He shall be flogged forty times as a warning to others."
"Your Highness Prince Ji, I am wronged. Please spare my life, Your Highness Prince Ji."
Ma Tinglin panicked and kept begging for mercy.
(I had a dream yesterday that I wrote 50 chapters in one day and ended up vomiting blood and dying.)