Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

It was a rare opportunity for Qin Yunhe to come here, so he didn't let Chen Er and Fan Zheng go back immediately. He had to go to the morning court on time every day, so he asked Zhuzi to take them around while he rested.

Qin's mother was devoted to taking good care of her daughter-in-law and grandson. Every day she would prepare various kinds of food for her daughter-in-law to nourish her body and increase her milk supply.

On this day, Qin Yunhe was handling official business in the study when Liu Dianshi came in with a document, looking worried.

Qin Yunhe rarely saw him with this expression, and couldn't help but be curious: "Liu Dianshi, what's wrong?"

"Sir, the government office has sent a complaint, a woman is complaining that her adopted son is disobedient and unfilial."

The imperial court ruled the world with filial piety, and being unfilial was a serious crime, let alone disobedience.

Qin Yunhe suppressed his shock and asked, "Which county are you from?"

"Yes..." Liu Dianshi was a little embarrassed: "It's from Xunlin County."

Unfilial piety is one of the ten evils and a serious crime.

If there is disobedience and unfilial behavior among the people under the jurisdiction of the county magistrate, the county magistrate may also be implicated.

Liu Dianshi knew that Qin Yunhe had a close relationship with the magistrate of Xunlin County.

Qin Yunhe was silent for a moment, then continued, "Has the prefect conducted the trial?"

"The prefect didn't review it and sent it directly to me."

Qin Yunhe felt relieved when he heard this.

If it was really a serious crime like disobedience and unfilial piety, there was no way the prefect would send the case directly to the government office without asking any questions.

"Let me take a look at the complaint first."

"…..Ms. Yang, a native of Xunlin County, sued her adopted son, the juren Gao Chong, for being disobedient and unfilial."

Juren...

Qin Yunhe frowned.

It is not said that those who have achieved fame and honor are necessarily of high moral character, but those who seek fame and honor often have the ambition to pursue a career in government. Since they have the ambition to pursue a career in government, they naturally pay attention to their reputation. They are not said to be very filial, but at least they cannot let people find any major faults.

“…When Gao Chong was five years old, the woman married his father, Gao Ran. She raised him with great care, providing him with food and clothing, and this has been going on for more than twenty years.

Now I am nearly sixty years old, old and disabled, and I need to repay my parents. But Gao Zhong, a successful candidate, has no intention of supporting me, and treats my wife badly. I want him to divorce her and marry someone else, but he refuses and speaks disrespectfully...

Xunlin County Magistrate Lin Shu, with his status as a juren, was biased and protected the old woman, ignoring her misery. The old woman is now unable to eat or drink, and is as depressed as death. She only asks the master to make a decision for the people.

The petition was written in a miserable and horrifying way.

If Qin Yunhe didn't know Lin Zhaotang's character, he would almost believe what the old woman said.

"Send the old woman into the second hall for questioning."

This matter concerns a juren, and is not suitable for a public trial. Qin Yunhe plans to ask Yang what she has to say first.

Soon Yang was taken to the second hall.

As soon as Yang came in, she knelt down and kowtowed: "My lord, please make the decision for me. I can't live any longer. Wuwuwu..."

Qin Yunhe looked at Yang, who was about sixty years old, with gray and slightly messy hair. Apart from that, her clothes were neat and tidy, and there was no sign of abuse on her.

"Ms. Yang, please describe again how your adopted son was disobedient and unfilial."

Yang calmed down and began to tell the story.

"Sir, I am Yang, a humble woman. I have been raising him since Gao Zhong was so tall," Yang pointed with her hand and continued, "I have been raising him from head to toe. I take care of him from head to toe. I don't ask for much filial piety from him, I just want him to support me for the rest of my life.

Who would have thought that he is now thirty-two years old and has achieved great success, but because I am not his biological mother and his father has long passed away, he treats me with indifference. I wanted to call his wife to serve me, but she seemed to ignore me and even made sarcastic remarks from time to time..."

At this point, Yang angrily slammed the ground and said, "I have raised him for decades, so how can I ask him to be filial? You can't indulge me to bully me, right? I am not unreasonable, but just for being disobedient to my parents, shouldn't I be divorced? Who knew that not only did he not listen, but he also ignored me, letting me get sick, starve, and freeze, and he didn't care about me, and even spoke badly to me..."

Yang slapped the ground vigorously and cried out: "I have raised it for decades. Even a dog would wag its tail. Who would have thought that I, an old woman, would end up like this when I am so old... I can't live any longer..."

Qin Yunhe was listening patiently to Yang's story when he suddenly heard a soft sob from the side.

Qin Yun was surprised and turned his head slightly. He saw Qin's mother leaning against the doorpost and looking over here at the door leading to the inner hall. She seemed to be touched by Yang's words and her eyes were a little red.

On the other side, Chen Er was looking at this side with shock and curiosity.

Ugh--

Qin Yunhe sighed inwardly, only thinking about not letting the people watch, and not caring about being watched by his mother and Chen Er.

Yang continued, "Please help me, sir... His father was afraid that he would not take care of me in my old age, so he left a will asking him to take care of me until the end of my life. But he is a scholar, not only does he not appreciate my kindness in raising him, he even disregarded his own father's will, leaving me cold and hungry."

After Yang finished her story, Qin Yunhe thought for a while and asked, "Has your relationship with your adopted son always been bad, or has it only become bad recently?"

Yang seemed to be stunned for a moment before she said, "When my late husband was alive, Gao Zhong treated me well. But once my late husband passed away, Gao Zhong immediately changed his attitude."

"What do you want now? If you are disobedient and unfilial, you will be punished with a cane or strangled. You can decide."

"Sir, I have raised him for more than 20 years and treated him like my own son. How can I bear to let him be tortured?"

Qin Yunhe frowned and looked at the petition, which did not contain any requests, so he asked, "Then why are you filing this complaint?"

"My Lord, I only ask him to divorce his wife and marry another one, and serve him diligently in the future. I have no other request."

In order to make her son divorce his wife, she sent her son to be disobedient. How can I put it, Yang is really cruel.

"Ms. Yang, since you can't bear to see Gao Zhong punished, I think you really have mercy on him. How about this, I invite Gao Zhong here and let him have his say?"

"As you command, thank you, sir."

Yang left, and Qin Yunhe also stood up and went back to the study.

After the court session ended that evening, while eating, Qin's mother curiously asked about the case: "...How was the final verdict?"

"It has not been judged yet. We need to find Yang's adopted son to ask what is going on. She sued her son for disobedience but only wanted him to divorce her. This is too abnormal."

Mother Qin said anxiously, "Why is it abnormal? As a parent, you naturally can't bear to see your child suffer. And you can't do anything to your son, so you can only hope that he divorces the shrew and finds a virtuous wife."

"Mom, it's definitely not that simple. She only said what was in her favor. We still have to ask the defendant about the specifics. This is not a small matter, so we can't just listen to one side of the story."

As a mother herself, Qin's mother couldn't help but feel sad after listening to Yang's miserable story today. Seeing that her son still refused to accept the sentence, she felt a little unhappy.

Chen Er saw through it and comforted her, "Auntie Qin, just wait for Ah Wen to judge you. Ah Wen will definitely give you a fair verdict."