Jiang Jin was astonished, followed immediately by fury: "Who? Who dares to do such a thing in our Gefeng? They must be severely punished. We can make an example of them and have them beheaded."
Luo Qingci wore a peculiar expression: "The plaintiff didn't ask for the defendant to be punished. He demanded to marry the defendant who forced herself on him. Oh, by the way, the plaintiff is a man."
"Cough, cough." Jiang Jin nearly choked on her own saliva: "What did you say?"
Luo Qingci nodded solemnly: "The plaintiff's name is Wu Gao."
Wu Gao was indeed tall, but he was thin and frail, unable to do heavy labor.
He was a refugee who had fled to Gefeng. His family was all gone, leaving him as the sole survivor.
He was somewhat lazy, usually just doing odd jobs to earn a little money to maintain his minimum living needs.
Recently, he had fallen ill again and borrowed a lot of money from his roommates. After recovering, he was even more reluctant to go to work.
But life had to go on, and the borrowed money had to be repaid. So, in a moment of impulse, he decided to engage in a business that required no capital.
Wu Fangniang was a widow. Her husband, children, and family had been killed by barbarians two years ago.
She had lived in a daze by herself until she followed her fellow villagers and fled to Gefeng.
The vibrant life in Gefeng gave her hope, and she began to live actively.
She was short but very capable of enduring hardships, working on building the city wall outside the city.
On this day, after finishing work, she first went to a tavern for dinner. Being single and too lazy to cook for herself, she basically solved her dinner at the tavern. Anyway, her wages were entirely enough for her food and expenses.
It wasn't until the sky was completely dark that she headed home. Walking through the alleys, she didn't feel any fear.
Gefeng was very safe.
Just as she was thinking this, a hand pulled her into a more secluded alley nearby. A kitchen knife was pressed against her neck, and a low voice came: "Take out all the money you have on you."
Wu Fangniang was startled. She never expected that someone would dare to rob in Gefeng.
"You, steady your hand and don't hurt me. I, I'll get the money for you right away," she said with a trembling voice.
Remembering something, she added: "How, how much do you want?"
The one robbing her was none other than Wu Gao. It was his first time robbing, and having no experience, he thought for a moment before saying: "200 copper coins."
Wu Fangniang shook her head: "That's too much. I'm just a laborer, how could I have that much money? How about 2 copper coins?"
Wu Gao's heart skipped a beat. Although he gave the other party room to bargain, this margin was too large. Two copper coins was too insulting.
He pressed the knife forward a bit: "Take out whatever you have on you, otherwise, hmph..."
Wu Fangniang appeared very panicked, her voice stuttering: "Okay, okay, don't get excited. I, I only brought 20 copper coins out. Is 20 okay?"
Copper coins had some weight to them. As a working woman, it was unlikely for her to carry 200 copper coins on her.
Wu Gao naturally knew this, so he nodded: "Fine, 20 it is. Hurry up and give it to me."
Wu Fangniang reached into her trouser pocket with trembling hands. Perhaps because she was too nervous, her hand actually reached directly to a certain part of Wu Gao behind her...
"Hiss..." Wu Fangniang gasped.
This guy's asset was actually so impressive? And it was still changing.
"Hiss..." Wu Gao also gasped, and his body immediately reacted.
Wu Fangniang was not an ignorant woman. She grabbed it twice more.
Clang, the kitchen knife fell to the ground.
Wu Fangniang turned her head to look. By the hazy moonlight, she saw Wu Gao's appearance.
Although a bit thin, he had delicate features and looked a few years younger than her, exactly to her taste.
She then also felt the urge. Speaking of which, she hadn't enjoyed herself for a long time, and she immediately pressed herself upon him.
Heavenly thunder hooked the earthly fire, and things got out of hand. It was said that the plum blossomed seven times...
Luo Qingci spoke of such matters with a natural expression. Ever since she started following Jiang Jin, she had never treated Jiang Jin as an ordinary woman.
"Afterward, Wu Gao wanted to marry Wu Fangniang, but Wu Fangniang wasn't very interested in him, stating that she didn't want to support an extra person."
Wu Gao felt that he had lost his innocence, but the other party refused to acknowledge it, so he filed a lawsuit against Wu Fangniang.
Jiang Jin's face was full of dark lines: "So how did you judge it?"
Luo Qingci shrugged: "Naturally, they must be severely punished. This kind of thing, regardless of gender, cannot go against the other party's will."
Jiang Jin: "...Then Wu Gao didn't seem entirely unwilling, right?"
Without the use of drugs, if a man is forced into that, if he subjectively has no such intention, it is very difficult for the woman to succeed, because he wouldn't be able to get aroused, and naturally wouldn't be able to enter.
Luo Qingci blinked at Jiang Jin: "So I plan to severely punish both of them. After all, neither of them is innocent. One was planning to rob, and the other directly forced herself on the robber."
"And the result, guess what?" she asked with a smile.
Jiang Jin didn't even need to guess: "The two buried the hatchet and are preparing to get married."
Luo Qingci burst out laughing: "Exactly. Considering the robbery was Wu Gao's first offense, and Wu Fangniang, the party involved, also stated she wouldn't pursue it, I gave him five major strokes of the board as a punishment."
"However, a record of his case was left at the county office. If he dares to commit a crime again next time, the punishment will be doubled."
She took a sip of water and continued: "As for their mutual affair, they are an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. Since they don't pursue each other and have decided to marry, I didn't impose any punishment."
Gefeng currently encouraged the common people to remarry. After all, development required population.
This era wasn't that conservative either; widows remarrying wasn't anything new.
She looked at Jiang Jin and asked: "My Lord, do you think it is acceptable for me to handle it this way?"
Jiang Jin nodded: "You handled it well, but it's best to act according to the law. Our laws need to be perfected."
Luo Qingci wasn't surprised by Jiang Jin's words. She thought for a moment and asked: "Does My Lord want to copy the laws of the Yan Kingdom?"
Jiang Jin shook her head: "No, we have to base it on our situation. We can keep the good and reasonable laws, but we must discard the unreasonable ones and formulate new ones."
The Ministry of Justice was about to be established, but she couldn't think of a suitable candidate no matter how much she pondered.
It was said that Zhang Zhu of the Zhang family, whom Chen Xi had brought back, had deeply studied the law, but he was currently working hard to learn simplified characters.
She sighed. They were still short on manpower.
As the two were talking, a soldier walked in quickly to report: "My Lord, there are two people at the South Gate claiming to be from Ze'a Commandery who have come to seek an audience."
Jiang Jin frowned slightly: "Ze'a Commandery?"
She thought for a moment and said: "Have Yun Ci and Zhou Sui come over. Oh, and bring the people from Ze'a Commandery to the main hall."
Gefeng South Gate.
Two disheveled men on horseback stood not far from the moat, looking at the tightly closed city gates of Gefeng, their hearts in their throats.
They were the two men who had previously ridden straight for Gefeng.
"Will Gefeng let us in?" the scarred man's voice carried exhaustion.
The tall man shook his head: "I don't know. Even if we get in, I'm afraid things won't be easy to handle."
