The ancients called the officials who were judged to be long and familiar with the legal code as "sword and pen officials".

The "sword and pen officer" is also the official of the judicial department.

Most people in the world think that the officials of the judicial department are mean and unkind, and their reputation is extremely bad, and at the same time, if they serve in the judicial department, if they are not careful, they will cause death or injury due to mistakes, especially in the busy Kaifeng government, which is extremely easy to make mistakes due to chaos.

Although Song Law has a lighter punishment for officials who are not deliberately misjudged for official business, they will also be implicated, and if they are not careful, they will be fined, reprimanded, or even dismissed from office.

Therefore, many Jinshi and the first people are reluctant to go to the Dharma Department to serve in the legal department, and they are trying to avoid this matter by all means or in various ways.

Where did Li Sanjian know about these things (qíng)? Even if you know, does Li Sanjian still have a choice?

The authority of the Kaifeng Prefecture Prison is only for those below the prison level can be self-judged, and those above the prison must be petitioned, please Dali Temple, Yushitai, and the Criminal Department to adjudicate, or directly ask for the Holy Judgment.

But even so, Li Sanjian did not dare to be careless, the reason is that although the authority of the Kaifeng Mansion Prison is only for those below the prison level, it can also be judged to be a death sentence or exile, but it needs to be submitted to the Criminal Department and Dali Temple, and the Criminal Department and Dali Temple will make a decision.

Even if Li Sanjian is not the final judge, even if Lu Changheng, the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, and several other judges and magistrates jointly make the final decision, Li Sanjian does not dare to be careless, and the reason is not much different from the Dali Temple, the Yushitai, and the Criminal Department's decision to Kaifeng Mansion, that is, there are no major changes or doubts, and Li Sanjian's judgment will not be overturned.

And Lu Changheng is already in his old age, and he often doesn't come to the government, and when he comes to the government, he also signs two words, and he finishes with two seals. . . . Li Sanjian has only seen him once.

Interested in seeing the color? Strong (jiān) own sister-in-law? Although Li Sanjian at this time was extremely disgusted with Bi Yuanwai and such a bad person, Li Sanjian still watched it carefully several times.

There are many things in this world (qíng) that do not stand up to scrutiny, and scrutiny can more or less reveal some problems.

At this time, Li Sanjian found some of these puzzling or unusual things, one of which is that he has been in business for more than ten years, and he is already more than 30 people, and he is not young anymore, and at this time he already has a wife and a concubine, so he will still be "interested" by his sister-in-law who is already old?

Even if Bi Yuanwai's sister-in-law is in the youth of Qing (chūn) and has not yet reached the age of Zhuhuang, but Wu Yuanwai is so anxious, right? Rich and powerful, not to mention wives and concubines, he can find some beautiful little ladies for two dollars himself, why bother to eat "grass by the nest"?

Of course, there is an exception, that is, there are some special "habits" outside the staff. But such people are very rare.

The most important thing is that almost all the women in this world attach great importance to their reputations, and they would rather lose their lives than lose their reputations, so most of the women who encounter this incident either commit suicide in anger, or try their best to prevaricate and cover up.

It's too unreasonable, Li Sanjian judged in his heart that this matter (qíng) is by no means so simple.

"Have you checked it?" Li Sanjian then asked Zhou Fanggeng.

"Checked." Zhou Fanggeng, who already felt a little cold on his back, hurriedly handed over a copy of the document and said, "The section level and others have already checked it, and this is the inspection document." ”

The Kaifeng Prefecture has some female (xìng) section level, which specialize in women's affairs (qíng) and guard female prisoners.

"There are traces of sexual intercourse, and Wu Er's underwear was found in Wu Zhang's room? There's still filth on the bottom? ”

Li Sanjian frowned at the evidence and fell into deep thought again.

In this world, the means of examination are very limited, and these evidences can indeed convict people of crimes.

But who knows if it's tong (jiān) or strong (jiān)? Or that alone is not enough to tell if it's true or not.

"We are in charge of the law, we should be conscientious, and we should carefully examine it." Li Sanjian then asked Zhou Fanggeng: "How do you determine whether it is harmony (jiān) or strength?" ”

"Pushing the official and the public, this is the confession of Bi's and Bi Tong's." Zhou Fanggeng took out a few pieces of paper placed under the case file, put them in front of Li Sanjian and said: "The sinner Bi has confessed and is willing to pay copper to atone for his crimes, and the Tong family has been detained. ”

"Where are they now?" Li Sanjian took the confession and asked again.

"The sinner Bi has been imprisoned, and Bi Tong has let him go home." Zhou Fanggeng replied.

Li Sanjian nodded, took the confession and looked at it carefully.

The means of examination are limited, so the confession is extremely crucial, but Li Sanjian can't see any clues or unusual things from the confessions of the two.

Wu Yuanwai pleaded guilty and was willing to take out most of the family property to atone for his sins, and the Tong family confirmed the matter, there was nothing special.

"Push the official?" After Zhou Fanggeng saw Li Sanjian asking this question and that, he began to look at the case file carefully, but he didn't sign and seal, so he said a little anxiously: "These things (qíng) need to be handled quickly, what do you mean by pushing the official minister?" ”

"Are you in a hurry to eat?" Li Sanjian put down the case file and said with a smile: "It's time to eat, the official has no food in his stomach, and he can't solve the case." ”

After Li Sanjian finished speaking, he glanced at Zeng Gongming.

In the entire Kaifeng Mansion Yamen, only Zeng Gongming is worthy of his trust, Li Sanjian said secretly in his heart.

。。。。。。。。

"Donglin, do you also think there is something abnormal in this case?" When Li Sanjian and Zeng Gongming were alone, Li Sanjian asked.

"Li Tuiguan." Zeng Gongming shook his head when he heard this: "The villain has only arrived at the government office recently, and he is not familiar with many things (qíng), and he doesn't dare to have any opinions on this case, but... ”

"When you and my brother are alone, we don't have to be so formal." Li Sanjian glanced at Zeng Gongming and said, "But what? What else can't you say in front of your brother? Straight to the point. ”

On occasions with a large number of people, there is a difference between the upper and lower levels and the inferiority, which is right and in line with the etiquette law, but when there are only two of them, Zeng Gongming takes a small and small mouthful, which makes Li Sanjian extremely unaccustomed and uncomfortable.

"Oh, Li Tui... Han Ren ... Brother, brother, when I was on an errand in Lingnan, I also tried and investigated many cases, in which my brother found that most of the cases occurred for two reasons, one is wealth, and the other is color, no matter how confusing many cases are, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than these two words. Zeng Gongming replied after changing his title three times in a row, which made Li Sanjian a little funny.

Probably because Zeng Gongming has been in Lingnan officialdom for a long time, and he has become accustomed to being inferior and inferior, and at this time, his brother suddenly became his own official, so he felt a little awkward, Li Sanjian secretly guessed in his heart.

"Man dies for wealth, and birds die for food; There is a knife on the head of the color word, and a mass grave under the pomegranate skirt. Li Sanjian said happily when he heard this: "Brother Xian's words are to the point, and Brother Xian means that this case is also related to these two words?" Oh, the foolish brother is wrong, this case is indeed related to sex, because of lust, to defile the sister-in-law. ”

"Brother" Zeng Gongming shook his head when he heard this: "Don't forget that there is also a word for wealth." ”

"Money?" Li Sanjian groaned.

"Well, Cai, this surnamed Bi is a member of the family, and he is a small rich man." Zeng Gongming nodded.

"The little rich man? Can you make it clearer? What do you do? Li Sanjian feigned anger.

This case is just a family case, why is it involved in money? Li Sanjian was full of doubts in his heart.

"Hey, brother, don't (xìng) be in a hurry." Zeng Gongming said with a smile: "If you want to find out this case, brother, can't you just ask someone for trial?" But... ”

Hearing this, Li Sanjian grabbed Zeng Gongming's collar and shouted: "If you can't say the word again, you and my brother (qíng) will end up everywhere." ”

"Ouch, little brother knows, brother, you let go first." Zeng Gongming hurriedly said to him.

Li Sanjian glared at Zeng Gongming, and loosened Zeng Gongming's collar stupidly.

Zeng Gongming is not bad at all, what is the trick in the middle of this case, from the prison to bring Bi or the widow Tong over, through the court, maybe you can ask some things (qíng), if there are any grievances, when the court passes, will those who have grievances not shout grievances?

It's better than guessing here, Li Sanjian secretly said in his heart, he has just taken office and has no experience, so he should have thought of this place a long time ago.

Zeng Gongming tidied up his clothes and said, "But... Ah, but, bah, brother wants to ask brother, why are you holding on to this so much? This case did not happen during your tenure, but during your predecessor's tenure, even if there are any grievances in it, what does it have to do with you? ”

Zeng Gongming still slurred when he spoke, and he still didn't finish his words.

Li Sanjian has just taken office, Zeng Gongming has been in Lingnan officialdom for several years, although there are some differences between the capital and Lingnan officialdom, but they are generally the same.

Therefore, Zeng Gongming still knew some things about officialdom.

There are some things (qíng) that you should close your eyes and close your eyes when you should close your mouth, and you should be deaf and blind, so that you can be in the officialdom for a long time.

Who knows who is involved in this case? Which gods are involved?

In the realm of Jingshi, the princes, ministers, high-ranking officials and lords are grasping a handful, how can you be touched by a small pusher?

At this time, although Li Sanjian is the champion of Song Xinke and the first, and the new Kaifeng Mansion Prison Magistrate, but after all, you Li Sanjian is from a micro (jiàn) family (shēn), no door, no faction, no family to rely on, just like a dog day over the Flame Mountain, there is nowhere to cool down, and there is no big tree for you to cool off.

Li Sanjian and Zeng Gongming have been brothers for many years, as soon as Zeng Gongming's words came out, how could Li Sanjian not understand what Zeng Gongming meant? After being silent for a long time, he sighed: "Thank you for your kindness, but life is like a game of chess, if you make a mistake, you will make a mistake, and if you are wrong, you will not be able to turn back in the end. ”

Life is like a game of chess, one wrong step, one wrong step, and in the end, there is no turning back, Zeng Gongming silently thought about Li Sanjian's words.