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

When Qin Yunhe arrived, Qi Tong and Gu Zhi were talking.

Although there was indeed a chessboard between the two people, it was obvious that neither of them was playing.

Qi Tong saw Qin Yunhe being brought in by the servants and said, "Yunhe is here, come and sit down."

Qin Yunhe walked closer and bowed, saying, "I greet Lord Qi and my senior brother."

"Don't be so polite. Sit down first."

The servant moved a chair aside and Qin Yunhe sat down.

"My Lord, do you have any instructions for me?"

Qi Tong and Gu Zhi exchanged a glance and asked, "Did you take on a case recently where an adopted son was sued for being disobedient and unfilial?"

"Yes. Yang from Xunlin County sued her adopted son, saying that the scholar Gao Zhong was disobedient and unfilial because he did not follow his mother's wishes."

"How did you decide?"

"I asked the magistrate and the historian of Xunlin County, as well as Gao Zhong's neighbors, and learned that Gao Zhong actually did not have any unfilial behavior. He would do his best to handle anything that Yang asked him to do. But Yang had previously attempted to seize Gao Zhong's property. This time, she accused him of disobedience and unfilial behavior, saying that she could not bear to see Gao Zhong punished, but in fact, she wanted Gao Zhong to divorce his wife and marry her own daughter..."

"Then how did you decide?"

"I persuaded Yang at first, and she agreed not to sue Gao Chong, nor to let him divorce her. She agreed to go home and live a good life. But later she came to sue again, this time she didn't want Gao Chong to divorce her, but suggested that since Gao Chong was supporting two families, he should marry another wife to be filial to her.

Gao Chong said that the will had stipulated that his eldest son would inherit his adoptive father's family business, and his second son would inherit his biological father's family business, but it did not mention anything about getting married.

Besides, his two children are grown up, and it would not be dignified for him to marry another wife...”

Qi Tong interrupted him and asked, "How should we judge those who disobey our mother's orders?"

Qin Yunhe was stunned for a moment, and said, "He should be punished with a cane."

"As a son, how can I divide the family property and sever the family ties?"

"As if he was strangled... But sir, Gao Zhong was really wronged. He didn't even think about..."

Qi Tong leaned back and said, "Then Yang was right to sue you for intentional bias."

"what?"

Qin Yunhe was mentally prepared for the possibility that Yang would file a complaint at the government office. However, in his opinion, even if Yang filed a complaint at the government office, it would be ignored, and the prefect would definitely not believe Yang.

Who knew that the prefect actually felt that he was biased?

Seeing Qin Yunhe was stunned, Gu Zhi smiled and said, "Sir, don't tease Yunhe anymore. He will take it seriously."

Qi Tong said unhappily, "Who said I was teasing him? Listen to what he said. Wouldn't anyone be biased towards Gao Zhong if they heard it?"

"Sir, I..." Qin Yunhe was confused and could only go to see his senior brother.

Gu knows: "She came to accuse Gao Zhong of disobedience and unfilial piety, so you should treat her as disobedient and unfilial, and punish her with a cane or strangle her if necessary. If she makes other requests, you should order Gao Zhong to comply if they are reasonable, and reject them if they are unreasonable. You are a prosecutor, not a peacemaker, so why are you trying to persuade her? Especially since you are always leaning towards Gao Zhong's side, aren't you asking for trouble?"

"But Gao Zhong is really innocent. Yang didn't raise him for many years, and she wanted to seize the family property that was promised to Gao Zhong. This time, it's even more ridiculous that she wants Gao Zhong to divorce his wife and marry someone else. I can't just ignore it."

"Gao Chong has repeatedly refused to obey his foster mother's wishes, right? Your duty is to explain the law and resolve matters.

Disobedience and unfilial piety are different from other crimes. If Yang is reluctant to let him go, you can spare Gao Zhong. If Yang is willing to let him go, you can sentence him as you wish. Even if you are sentenced, you still have to submit it to the Ministry of Justice for review and His Majesty's personal approval. You only need to write down the cause of the case."

Qin Yunhe always felt something was wrong.

"But if Gao Zhong really loses his reputation or even his life because of this, wouldn't that be a pity?"

Gu Zhi sighed, "The court governs the world with filial piety, and disobedience is like this. This is how it can deter children and make parents dare not report it lightly."

In the end, Qin Yunhe still played a game of chess with Qi Tong, and then was sent away by Qi Tong.

Mother Qin only knew that Qin Yunhe was called to play chess with the prefect. When she heard that her son had returned, she asked, "Did you finish the game? Did you win or lose?"

"Lost."

When Qin's mother heard that she lost, she said with relief: "It's good to lose, but you can't win against your boss."

Qin Yunhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If he wanted to win, he had to win.

The next day, Qin Yunhe sent someone to the prefectural government office to inquire and learned that Yang's case would be tried in two days.

Two days later, Qin Yunhe dealt with his official business in advance and decided to go to the government office to attend the trial.

Qi Tong went straight to the lobby to open the court. The bailiff shouted "majesty", and Qi Tong asked Yang to make a statement.

Yang still used the same rhetoric, that is, she wanted to accuse her adopted son Gao Chong of being disobedient and unfilial and refusing to marry another wife. She also added that Gao Chong said he didn't want half of the family property, which was obviously to sever the mother-son relationship with her. She also mentioned how the prosecutor's office was unfair in judging things, anyway, she was dissatisfied with Qin Yunhe.

After listening to this, Qi Tong asked Gao Chong if he had ever mentioned severing the mother-son relationship.

Gao Zhong naturally denied it.

"And did you mention that you did not want the half of the estate mentioned in the will?"

Gao Zhong was silent for a moment, then said, "Sir, I did say that in a fit of rage. But I definitely don't want to sever the mother-son relationship. Even if you don't give me half of the family fortune, I am willing to support my adoptive mother."

Qi Tong slammed the gavel and said, "How dare you get angry at your mother and still say you didn't disobey me?"

Gao Zhong was so shocked by these words that he broke out in a sweat and immediately became incoherent: "Sir... No, I didn't..."

Although it is indeed wrong, but if Gao Chong is really convicted of this, it is really too unfair, right?

Qi Tong continued, "Gao Chong, you disobeyed your mother's orders, divided the family property and severed your kinship. You are disobedient and unfilial. You deserve to be strangled. Do you have anything to say?"

Gao Zhong knelt on the ground in horror: "Sir... spare my life..."

Yang said quickly, "Sir, I don't want Gao Zhong to die. I just want him to marry another wife."

"Gao Chong already has a wife and two sons. Gao Ran made a will that Gao Chong's second son would inherit the family. Since the family has been inherited, there is no need for him to marry again. This government rejects this."

Qi Tong ignored Yang and turned to look at Qin Yunhe: "How many days has it been since the letter of dismissal of Gao Zhong's honorary title was issued?"

It wasn’t sent at all.

Qin Yunhe calculated that it had been ten days since he last went to court, so he said, "Your Excellency, it has been ten days since it was issued."

Qi Tong nodded and said, "Although there has been no reply yet, I think the academician has already received the letter and stripped Gao Zhong of his academic title. Come here, immediately detain Gao Zhong and wait for the autumn trial."

Yang said quickly, "Sir, I don't want Gao Zhong to die. I just want him to marry my daughter."

Qi Tongdao said, "This is ridiculous! Gao Chong already has a wife, and Gao Ran also has someone to inherit the family, so how can he marry your daughter? You accused Gao Chong of disobedience, and I have sentenced Gao Chong to death according to the law. Don't make trouble anymore. Come, take Gao Chong to jail."

"Sir, don't take him to jail! I have something to say." A female voice came from outside the hall.

----

In ancient times, if you reported a child for being disobedient and unfilial, you would basically be punished. After all, most parents would not be willing to report their children for being unfilial - this crime was quite serious in ancient times.

Most of the time, if a child is disobedient and can make parents angry, it is because the child has done something to displease the parents. Usually, they will be punished when they are sent away, unless the parents are reluctant to let the child go and the child comes to beg for mercy.

Not only disobeying parents, but also disobeying elder brothers will result in "glancing at the brother and being beaten with a stick eighty times", let alone parents.

It was also because of this that, at the beginning, before meeting Gao Chong, Qin Yunhe asked Yang, "If you are disobedient and unfilial, you should either be beaten with a stick or strangled to death. What do you think?"