bookcurios Chapter 238 Master Zhuang lowered his head
Chapter 238 Master Zhuang lowered his head
Zhuang Taifu's Residence
Master Zhuang looked at the huge crowd of people in the room and his headache started to hurt again.
In recent days, there has been a constant stream of people visiting Master Zhuang's residence.
They were all members of the Zhuang family, and they all moved in with their families to live in the residence of Master Zhuang.
"Master, it was at your behest that the master signed and sealed the forged dowry list. Now that he has been arrested by the Qi'an tribe for this matter, you can't just ignore it."
The lady who was speaking was the oldest of the clan elders and held a high status in the clan.
After the elder lady of the clan finished speaking, others echoed her.
"Master, you have plenty of money anyway. If you can redeem the person with some money, then spend it. It's better than us having to come to your house every day to beg for a living."
Master Zhuang rubbed his temples, knowing that he had no choice but to step forward in this matter.
It was not until this time that Master Zhuang understood Ye Wuwei's intention:
Ye Wuwei's ultimate target is him!
Ye Wuwei knew that he could not convict Minister Yan based on his confession, so he did not interrogate Minister Yan. Instead, he induced Madam Yan to make plans for the dowry.
As a result, the Zhuang family members were arrested for perjury. Although he could not be punished, he could not live his life if he allowed the Zhuang family members to make trouble every day.
Moreover, as the head of the Zhuang family, it is impossible for him to really ignore the affairs of the family.
Ye Wuwei's tactics of "preemptively setting up the enemy", "luring the enemy deep into our territory", and "diverting the trouble to others" were very skillful. He had completely understood people's hearts, and even he was fooled because of his fluke.
However, this time it may not be solved without spending a huge amount of money.
But no matter how reluctant they were, they had to pay the money, otherwise how could the Zhuang family have the dignity to stay in the aristocratic family.
"I will go to Qi'an Department to find Ye Wuwei tomorrow."
Only after getting the approval of Master Zhuang did the clansmen disperse.
……
On the second day, Master Zhuang took Zhuang Jiaxu to the Qi'an tribe.
This time, Master Zhuang looked at Ye Wuwei with a different look than before, one filled with deep fear.
The person in front of me looks only about twenty years old and harmless, so why is he acting so experienced?
I couldn't find any fault with him even if I wanted to.
No wonder he was trusted by Qi Wushuang and allowed him to do things without any interference.
"Ye Wuwei, tell me your purpose."
Ye Wuwei showed Yan Zhengfan's "confession" to Master Zhuang:
“Master Yan said that half of the bribes his father received were given to you.
Although this is only Master Yan's one-sided statement, isn't Yu Taifu's reputation bad? "
"Don't even think about trying to trick me. What do you want?"
"Didn't the Grand Tutor come to see me today? Why is he asking about me instead?"
Master Zhuang swallowed his anger and asked, "What do you want in exchange for letting him go?"
"I wonder who the Master is talking about?"
"It's someone from the Zhuang clan."
"Oh, you mean the people who gave false testimony on behalf of Madam Yan? They all confessed, saying that you instructed them to give false testimony on her behalf.
Even Madam Yan's brother said the same thing."
"Don't talk nonsense. I just want to know how to release them."
Ye Wuyi was not affected by Master Zhuang's bad attitude at all.
“According to the law, perjury is punished by reducing the penalty by two levels.
Minister Yan's crimes include confiscation of property, exile, and the implicate of his entire family. As the Grand Tutor, you are well versed in the law. What do you think the sentence should be?"
Seeing that Ye Wuyi kept beating around the bush with him and refused to take the initiative to ask Master Zhuang to pay money to redeem the person, Master Zhuang suppressed his anger again.
"But the law also provides for redemption:
Officials, nobles and their families can be redeemed under certain circumstances."
"What the Master said reminded me.
Any official, relative of an official of the seventh rank or above, etc., who commits a crime punishable by exile or below, can redeem his sins with money.
Madam Yan, Madam Yan's brother and the Grand Tutor were cousins, so the crimes they committed could barely be sentenced to a sentence lower than exile, and redemption was also applicable.
However, the relationship between the three clan elders and the Grand Tutor is somewhat distant. How can they be considered as the Grand Tutor's family members?
And they are not yet seventy years old, which is another requirement for atonement."
The law also provides for the redemption of punishment:
Elderly people over seventy years old and children under fifteen years old can be redeemed.
"But they are nobles, and nobles are also subject to redemption."
Ye Wuwei straightened his expression:
"Taifu, this is wrong.
When Emperor Taizu established the Qi Dynasty, he clearly stated:
The nobles to whom the penalty of redemption was applicable specifically referred to those with titles and members of the clan, and did not include relatives by marriage.
Although the three elders of the Zhuang family can be considered as maternal relatives, they have never been granted a title and are not members of the imperial clan, so they are not in the category of nobles eligible for redemption of punishment."
Master Zhuang was blocked by Ye Wuwei's words.
He even forgot this rule before he came!
In the mind of Master Zhuang, the Zhuang family is one of the four great families, and the people of the Zhuang family are naturally superior to others and are well-deserved aristocrats.
But he forgot: the nobility also has different levels!
Only the most distinguished nobles could enjoy legal privileges.
Yao Guangzhi, who was standing behind Ye Wuwei, admired Ye Wuwei very much!
I didn’t expect adults to know so many useful things!