Li Ji shuddered. When I was young, I seemed to have heard similar stories about what the family could not afford to raise. After the boy was left behind, the girl would be killed directly. I haven't heard of it in recent years.

The high incidence of this kind of thing is when the harvest in the field is not good, or even when there is a famine, some people's wives and daughters even become rations.

Two hundred years ago, a county was given the "Silver Woman Monument". The story has been circulated to this day. It is a woman who saw her husband and in-laws starving to death, so she killed herself and left her last words to let them eat and live by themselves.

Later, the famine passed and the family survived. The incident was spread. The government was greatly moved and gave the monument to the martyr and the silver reward, so that the descendants of the woman would be overshadowed by it. The ancestors gave birth to violent women, and the girls in the whole clan were all rushed for.

I don't know how many people educate their daughters in this way. Of course, more are women who teach their daughter-in-laws and learn from others.

In fact, in the famine era, I don't know how many children and women fell into rations. Are there any voluntary ones? Not necessarily, people are already dead, of course what the living people say.

For those girls who are still in their infancy, they even have no right to choose to survive.

But now the weather is smooth, and I haven't heard of similar things for many years, because people who don't want to see girls anymore can sell them to big families as little maids when they are four or five years old, and sign a death. After the deed, life and death are irrelevant, but it is more cost-effective than dying at birth.

"Then what?" Li Ji asked hurriedly.

The county magistrate looked deep, recalling the past that he didn't want to remember:

"After a few days of recovery, the parturient woman ran to the county office to beat the drums and complain about grievances. I heard the woman's complaint, and the family clearly violated the law and killed the baby girl according to the law. I hadn't waited. When the sentence was pronounced, a total of one hundred relatives of that family blocked the yamen to intercede, saying that it was a plea, it was a threat. At the door, if it was his own child or a newborn child, it would not be considered a murder. Improperly guilty, and there has never been a precedent for convictions."

"There must be!" Li Ji's gaze was sharp, "It's just that we haven't heard of it."

"Perhaps." The county magistrate sighed, "At that time, I was young and vigorous, and under pressure, I was sentenced to ten years in prison for that mother-in-law. My husband was not saved, so I hit fifty boards."

"It's lighter." Li Ji said.

Of course, Li Ji knows that this kind of general incident is not uncommon, because no one has ever paid for it. Even if it happens in the village, Li Jixin can only be addicted to the mouth and cannot solve the problem at all.

"I also feel lighter, but if I want to talk about the death penalty, I will not be approved if I report it." The general criminal law county magistrate can decide for himself, and the death penalty must be reported to the Ministry of Criminal Affairs to get approval. The folks still don't agree with this kind of thing, how can the above agree?

"What happened later?" Li Ji asked.

"Later? Later? The servants in the government felt that my sentence was heavy, and the county princes and others under his hand were persuading me to change the sentence, otherwise it would easily arouse public outrage over time. I never felt that I was wrong until Two months later, I felt that I was so wrong." The county magistrate's voice was heavy.

"What happened?" Li Ji could feel the emotions of the county magistrate just by looking at the county magistrate's expression.

"I shut the mother-in-law and beat the husband. The mother-in-law who had just given birth for a few days and suffered the bereavement of her daughter returned to her mother-in-law's home and was beaten out directly. She went to her mother-in-law, and her mother-in-law felt that she dared to sue her mother-in-law. Their family's good reputation, no one of his daughters dared to marry in the future, and they also drove her away.

She was forced to beg along the street before her confinement. When she was seen, she was pointed out as a woman who dared to sue her mother-in-law. "The county magistrate closed his eyes, and the more he talked to the end, the more he gritted his teeth.

"Why don't you care about her?" The man was a later incident after he went to the government to file a complaint. Although it has nothing to do with the government, the group of beasts and beasts are not people, but the government, as a parent official, saves a woman who has not been confined. It's still easy.

"I don't care about it, but I don't know it. She lives in a remote place. I didn't know until a month after her death. Because of my sentence, her mother who lost her daughter became a sinner. She was clearly doing it. My daughter sought justice, but because she violated the so-called filial piety, she became a rat crossing the street."

Li Ji's heart trembled when she heard it. What a poor woman, watching her newborn daughter burned alive, in order to get justice, she didn't even do the confinement for several days to sue the murderer, but she was unfaithful and unfilial. The end of the game.

Everyone only remembers this poor daughter-in-law, who dared to sue her mother-in-law, but no one remembered her poor child who had just come to the world and had a breath of popularity in the future.

Li Ji thought, maybe this incident happened in the village, and it was the same result. The Er Chanzi matter, the reason why the Er Chanzi mother and son were scolded and sympathized with the daughter-in-law, was entirely because the daughter-in-law was a stubborn and weak person from the beginning to the end. At that time, if the daughter-in-law was a little tough, or even scolded Er Chanzi Niang, then the overall situation would be reversed.

Treating the daughter-in-law harshly will turn the daughter-in-law into a confrontation with the mother-in-law, and being beaten on the third day of the new year will become a child who has made a mistake and harmed others but has no repentance, and blames her family.

The reality is like this. It does not necessarily mean that it must be a daughter-in-law, that is, children who are born to sue their parents. That is a great sin. Li Ji doesn't understand the law, but he has heard too many rumors of such things.

Xu is the fate of Li Ji's parents, and he has a very good impression of the role of Dad in his memory. His father was kind to him, and the father he was serving had died. He was a filial son in the village. But to be honest, the father is kind and filial, in Li Ji's eyes, the former is the prerequisite.

"You did it right." Who was wrong? Is it the law? Is it the court? Or everyone?

"It's my fault. When I first thought about this woman and the unborn child, it wouldn't end up like this. If I had been fined silver and supervised the husband's life to compensate the woman. People, it may be the opposite result. With me in charge, instead of disposing of the family, the family will not feel that the family is ruined and will be so unsympathetic to the woman."

The county magistrate said so much, and finally made the following conclusion: "If you are not an official, you may never know this. They all say that the county magistrate is the parent official of the people. Since they are parents, educating the people is not just the rules, but the ultimate goal. To let the people of the county live and work in peace, this is the original intention of being an official. It is not to ignore the law, but the reality is changing. Those provisions may not apply to everything."

Li Ji felt frustrated when he heard these words. The grandfather of the county, who was obviously the head of a county, was helpless because of the various incidents.

Knowing that you are guilty cannot be sentenced according to the law, you are clearly right, but you are really at fault.

"What happened the year before, there was a maiden in your village who brought her daughter over to fight a lawsuit. In fact, if it is according to my mind, I will definitely not let the husband who treats others harshly, but I can't. If I really take the hands-on mother-in-law. After the sentence is passed, the sympathy voice of the wife will gradually decrease over time, and it will even become a complaint that she has harmed her husband's family. She has followed the same footsteps as the woman ten years ago. Therefore, reunion is the best way."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Li Ji said, "In fact, reunion is indeed the best way. The Erchanzi family has not been forced to a desperate situation. For a time, Xiao thought about marrying another big girl, but he did not know that it had already been regarded by the village. As a shame, nowadays, their lives may not be more comfortable than in prison."

Since the last time Er Chanzi lady slandered Li Ji, the villagers' unwillingness to see their family has become even worse. In the past, when people greeted them, they would respond twice for the sake of face. Now they simply treat them as air. After a long time, they two seem to have adapted to this isolation. Recently, they have become more honest. But no one cares, no one cares, and even the days when someone talks about them behind the scenes, how is it so easy to live?

The county magistrate nodded: "What I want is such a result. No matter how heavy my sentence is, it is impossible to give the woman the best justice. Even if he is separated and sentenced to the mother and child, it will still affect the woman. Fame. So I simply did nothing and put the woman completely in the perspective of the weak being hurt. The more people who sympathized with her, the heavier the punishment for the mother and son."

As a parent official, it is impossible to maintain absolute fairness, so we must maintain this wonderful "fairness" from a special perspective. It is the way of being an official facing the people, not only worthy of the people of the county, but also has a clear conscience.

From a certain perspective, Li Ji and the county magistrate are the same kind of people.

Li Ji thought about it before and after, and even laughed. I took a bite of beef and drank a sip of wine, with a clever cunning face on his face: "So it seems that I am the same. In your eyes, I am not malicious, and Li Qiao'er is indeed pitiful, and Li Shuisheng is also self-sufficient. Rather than To make things so thorough, I went to jail to return Li Shuisheng's innocence, and then harmed the girl. It would be better to make mistakes, conceal my existence, and solve the case directly and get the money back."

"Go on." The county magistrate became more interested when he was said to have broken his mind.

"All this has been developing according to my original idea. Li Shuisheng is still a wicked person who eats bad results, not a poor person who is calculated by his own wicked person. Then he used to force Li Qiaoer to learn that messy things were spread out for his own sake. Come, he is still a sinner. Of course, this sin is not in the true sense. At most, others say a few words. After all, he has the right to decide where his daughter goes. But after this lesson, he will not go to climb high branches with all his heart, but will be honest Li Qiaoer thinks about it."

The county magistrate nodded: "There is another important meaning, you didn't think of it."

"What?" Li Ji didn't know why.

"That's because I really admire you." The county magistrate smiled, "For so many years, you are one of the few people who can chat with me."

Li Ji dodged his eyes, for fear that the county magistrate would ask him to leave something similar again: "My lord, you'll pass that. With so many people in this world, I just happen to be able to say a few words that you love to hear. In fact, there is no such thing in the world. I'm not the only one who can say such things, but fate hasn't arrived, you haven't met it."

"In that case, it's fate that the official is with you." The county magistrate paused after speaking and laughed loudly, "Look at what scared you, can I force you to stay? You are smart, if you stay by my side , It will indeed be a great help, but if you don't have such ambitions, I will naturally not force it."

Li Ji breathed a sigh of relief, filled his glass with wine, and toasted: "In the past, people have often heard people praise you for being a young man. I still don't believe it very much. Now that I see you, I know what a parent official should look like. Just at this point, Cao Min offered a drink to the lord."

The two glasses touched each other and drank in one fell swoop.

"I have a very happy conversation with you. Since you don't want to be restrained to come to me as an official, then come over and talk to me when there is nothing to do." It often happens when you can't, and the county magistrate retreats and asks for the next best thing.

Li Ji thought about it seriously, and said, "Are you short of leather? If I have decent leather at my house in the future, I can send it to you."

In the past two years, the county magistrate has indeed purchased leather with a lot of money.

The county magistrate knew what Li Ji meant, and nodded: "Lack, the more the better, the better the quality, the more I need the leather. The price is easy to say, I bought it with a lot of money."

The county magistrate is afraid of the cold and needs to use it on the one hand, and on the other hand, the county magistrate's Topi store has made a finished product and he wants to give gifts to it.

There is no way to do this. If the relationship above is not cleared, it will not be easy for the silver grains distributed by the court to the people in the future.

To be an official, there is too much helplessness.

With that said, Li Ji dispelled the last worry. The two talked more harmoniously. Having said so much, Li Ji was less cautious about the county magistrate, but the two found some of the conversations between the two in the tavern that day.

The two spoke for a while, and just after drinking half a pot of wine, they heard the commotion outside.

The county magistrate stood up and frowned and looked outside, and soon a servant came in: "Master Qi, there is a man outside who is clamoring to come in, saying that it is… to find Li Gongzi."

If it is in normal times, it is definitely going to be slapped out, but Li Ji and the county magistrate have a good relationship, so people who come to Li Ji will not be easily touched.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji immediately reflected who it was.

"Er Gouzi! It's Er Gouzi!" Li Ji hurriedly stood up and bowed to the county magistrate, "My lord, this is probably Cao Min's ignorant nephew. You know the origin of Cao Min's nephew. He does things with It's different from ordinary people, I'm afraid I don't know that doing this is to run into adults!"

The county magistrate nodded and expressed his understanding: "People who grew up in the mountains have different temperaments. That's fine, this time he won't be held accountable for trespassing in the yamen. If you go back and teach it well, it is a felony to trespass in the yamen. Repeat."

"Yes!" Li Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

The county magistrate then ordered: "Bring someone here, since it's the nephew of the little brother, it's fine to have a couple of drinks with him."

Li Ji looked outside and vaguely saw a figure walking here. For fear that Er Gouzi was too anxious, Li Ji couldn't wait to open the door and walk out. The two street lamps in the courtyard were faintly lit by candles, and Er Gouzi was relatively tall, making it particularly conspicuous when he walked over.

Li Ji greeted him with a few steps: "Er Gouzi."

"Little… Fourth Uncle." Er Gouzi walked over and hugged Li Ji in his arms.

Li Ji's face directly hit the jade pendant on Er Gouzi's chest. It was cold at night, this jade pendant was blown by the wind for a while, and it felt a little comfortable on the face.

This is the only relic left by Er Gouzi Niangqin Li Yan to Er Gouzi during his lifetime. It is a jade pendant with a little rough workmanship. Now Li Ji can buy him a jade pendant for ten yuan or twenty yuan better than this, but Li Ji knows that, The value of this jade pendant is definitely not measurable by silver.

"It's okay, didn't I tell you that I'm okay? You've found it all the way." Li Ji patted Er Gouzi on the shoulder and let him let go.

The county magistrate stood at the door, looking at the two nephews and uncles hugging each other, always feeling a little strange. But after thinking about it, Er Gouzi is different from normal people, and this way of expressing feelings should also be different, so it can be understood.

"You came here all the way from the village? It's cold at night, come in and have a warm drink." The county magistrate could only see Er Gouzi's appearance through the faint flames, but didn't look carefully. But for some reason, the inexplicable goodwill, so the words spoken softened a lot.

Li Ji just remembered the county magistrate, why did he leave the county magistrate on the sidelines?

"Don't thank you, it's an honor for you to drink with adults." Li Ji said.

Er Gouzi first said thank you, and looked at each other with the county magistrate, and said directly: "I don't like him."

Li Ji's face suddenly turned white, and he finally relaxed, and Er Gouzi's words offended the county magistrate again! As long as the grandfather of the county was narrower, he was enough to lock up Er Gouzi for a fight!

"What are you talking about! It's your honor for adults to look down on you, how dare you say such a foolish thing!" Li Ji yelled.

After being drunk by Li Ji, Er Gouzi's momentum suddenly disappeared. He said aggrieved: "He didn't let you sleep, and he brought you here for a drink so late. You didn't drink with me. I don't like it. he."

Li Ji really can't laugh or cry, just because of such a simple reason, he hates the grandfather of Tangtang County?

The reason is simple, and the idea is simple, making the county magistrate who was half-black-faced smile happily.

"Your nephew is indeed different." The county grandpa said sincerely.

Li Jigan smiled and turned back to the county magistrate and bowed: "The adults laughed, Er Gouzi rarely sees outsiders, and his personality is like a child. He is not happy to lick me more by the dog at home, in fact, there is no malice at all. ."

"Look it out. It's really late today. Why don't you go to bed first, and I will send you back tomorrow morning." The county magistrate said.

Li Ji looked at Er Gouzi, who shook his head gently. Li Ji had no choice but to have a scalp and said, "This little fact is not suitable for bothering adults. Caomin just happened to buy some rice with Er Gouzi to go back. I will find an inn to wash up tonight, and buy it tomorrow morning. The owner of the grain and oil store just needs to deliver the things, and we will go straight back."

The county magistrate did not feel the slightest dissatisfaction in his heart at this time, but felt that it was not convenient for the two at night, but after thinking about it, the two young men would not encounter any difficulties.

"Then I won't stay much. Li Ji, listen to every word I say, but don't spread a word to the outside. Every word I say will work anytime, so be careful next time." County The grandfather's words were a warning, but it was also for Li Jihao.

Li Ji certainly knows. Bowing to the county magistrate, he left.

Er Gouzi and the county magistrate looked at each other. There was no expression on Er Gouzi's face, and he followed Li Ji's steps and turned and left.

The county magistrate didn't know what it was like, but when he watched Er Gouzi turn around, the county magistrate was completely empty because he couldn't say anything, but he felt uncomfortable.

"Master." The government officer looked at the county magistrate's not right, and came over to ask.

"If my child is still there, he should be this old."

"Master, you are the Qingtian master of our county, and your child will be blessed by the gods to be safe and sound."

"I hope so." The county magistrate sighed.

Li Ji and Er Gouzi left the county office, and Li Ji's head was still a little confused. Standing at the gate of the county government office, I saw the drumming drum set up next to him, and I couldn't think of what Li Shuisheng would be like when they beat the drum to complain.

With the county magistrate personally helping, the truth of this matter will always be covered in dust. Li Ji took out five taels of silver and gave it to the county magistrate, who then passed it to Li Shuisheng that the liar had caught it, and Li Shuisheng would return the silver to Li Ji.

As for the five taels of silver at the front, Li Ji hadn't planned to come back from the beginning.

Of course, in a broad sense, it is not intended. In the future, Li Shuisheng's family will be poor for a period of time. Short of money, Li Ji just lacks people to work, so I just hire Li Shuisheng's family to work in the past. Originally, Li Ji was thinking of giving long-term workers a monthly salary of 3 silver. Such a high salary was originally intended to attract the villagers. If Li Shuisheng was hired, it would be two silvers.

Regardless of the one penny missing, the remaining two pennies are worthy of Li Shuisheng's efforts.

Therefore, these five taels of silver are not completely lost, there is always a chance to get them back.

Li Ji is also a master of calculations, how can he really suffer.

But speaking of this good calculation, this time Li Ji fell on top of this good calculation. Li Ji is too confident. He thinks that he can hide from Li Shuisheng and cross the sea, but he does not know that there are people outside the world. The county magistrate can infer that it is Li Ji's good deeds just by listening to Li Shuisheng's causes and consequences. This is Li Ji. The biggest failure.

After experiencing this, Li Jichang learned a lesson.

First, he will never touch the bottom line of the law in the future, even if it is kind. Second, he will no longer be so self-confident and unscrupulous in the future, and only if he is afraid can he be truly foolproof.

Tonight he was so scared by the county magistrate that he also made friends with the county magistrate. I won't talk about walking sideways in the county from now on, so I don't have to be afraid of being bullied. The man is no bigger than the county magistrate, and Li Ji can talk to the county magistrate, and that is a person who can't afford to offend.

At the beginning, Li Ji only sold a piece of leather to the county magistrate, which forced the leather goods store owner who was full of abacus to make a profit. Speaking to the county magistrate, letting the tavern give him a pot of such precious tea is enough to see such a relationship, what a terrifying convenience.

That's why so many people squeeze their heads to become officials. The higher the position, the more convenience it brings. 

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