After hearing Lu Ping's report, Prince Ning was first surprised, then lost in thought.
He shared Lu Ping's train of thought. His first thought was whether Xiao Jingnan's identity had been exposed, leading to this trouble orchestrated by his political enemies in the officialdom.
He made a prompt decision and quickly dispatched his secret guards to investigate.
When the secret guards reported back that Xiao Jingnan's identity had not been exposed and that this was just Wei Chengbiao's momentary greed to teach the Li Family Winery a lesson, Prince Ning let out a slight sigh of relief.
However, when the secret guards revealed the name of the person behind Wei Chengbiao, Prince Ning's expression turned solemn.
Sure enough...
It was that crazy woman again!
But even if that woman was extremely powerful, she couldn't overstep him, a Prince of Equal Rank!
A cold smile crept across Prince Ning's face.
Those sneaky people behind the scenes thought that since he had retired from the army and had been in seclusion for many years, paying no attention to court affairs, he really didn't care about anything anymore?
Humph, they were dreaming!
Did they think they could cause trouble on the head of the Prince Ning's Mansion? Even if they combined all their ancestors for eight generations, they were still no match for him!
This time, he would let these high - ranking officials and nobles see what it meant to be the First Peerless Prince of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
...
"Daughter - in - law, I have a plan. I just want to see if you dare to do it," Prince Ning said, his eyes fixed intently on Li Wanming.
"Do you dare to beat the Drum of Grievance outside the Capital Magistrate's Office?"
The Drum of Grievance was hung at the gate, allowing people to voice their grievances.
In the Great Sheng Dynasty, there were only two places where the Drum of Grievance was set up, one at the Capital Magistrate's Office and the other at the Court of Judicial Review.
No matter which place it was, once the Drum of Grievance sounded, the relevant yamen had to accept the case, listen to the people's grievances, and submit the memorial to the emperor directly!
However, the Drum of Grievance couldn't be beaten for free.
After beating it, one had to receive twenty strokes of the rod before they could go to the court to state their grievances!
That was why although the Drum of Grievance had been established since the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, there were very few people who had actually beaten it to voice their grievances.
"Daughter - in - law, I must remind you. You are a commoner. If you go to the Capital Magistrate's Office to beat the Drum of Grievance, it's a commoner suing an official. The number of strokes you have to receive will be doubled, which means... forty strokes. Do you dare?"
Liu Yiyi exclaimed, "Forty strokes? Wouldn't Wanming be beaten to death? No, absolutely not!"
Prince Ning seemed not to hear and still stared intently at Li Wanming, only asking, "Do you dare?"
Xiao Jingnan's arrest this time was ostensibly because he had fought with some hooligans on the street - but those hooligans were still at large, while only he was arrested. Anyone could tell that there was injustice in this.
However, to seek redress, the first thing that mattered was courage.
If one didn't even have the courage to fight back, what was the use of having the greatest injustice?
One couldn't always rely on snow falling in June or a just official coming out of nowhere to save them.
Only those who could save themselves could be saved.
Prince Ning understood this very well.
And Li Wanming was Xiao Jingnan's wife, the future mistress of the Prince Ning's Mansion!
Such a woman must not be a delicate flower in a greenhouse, unable to withstand even the slightest wind and rain.
He wanted to take this opportunity to see if she had the ability to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Prince Ning's Mansion...
Moreover, this matter involved the Capital Magistrate's Office. If it wasn't made a big deal and didn't attract the attention of the palace and the whole world, it would be really difficult for him to make arrangements...
So, for both public and private reasons, he needed Li Wanming to beat the drum this time.
"Forty strokes..."
Li Wanming lowered her head and thought for a while, then asked, "Can I pad some books on my buttocks?"
Prince Ning was stunned for a moment and said, "Yes."
"Okay!"
Li Wanming looked up and smiled. "Then I'll go and beat the Drum of Grievance!"
When she and her second sister were beaten with the board by their mother before, they always padded books on their buttocks.
Later, her eldest sister, Li Wanxin, thought it was really improper and specially sewed two hip pads for them to use when being beaten.
The rod... it sounded scary, but the basic principle was similar to that of the board.
As long as the padding on the buttocks was thick enough, the damage would be limited.
Seeing Li Wanming looking so relaxed and even a bit eager, Prince Ning hesitated instead.
He reminded her, "Daughter - in - law, think it over. Forty strokes in the court are no small matter. At best, you'll be disabled; at worst, you'll lose your life. It can't be blocked by just a few books or a pad."
Li Wanming said, "What are you afraid of? It's just the Capital Magistrate's Office. Would they dare to beat me to death?"
By this time, she had already figured it out.
The court rod was similar to the board in the army. How much damage it could cause depended on how the executor wanted to beat.
Anyway, she was the daughter of a fourth - rank General of Military Might. Would the Capital Magistrate really dare to beat her to death?
Moreover, she vaguely felt that her father - in - law seemed different today...
He was calm and well - organized, completely different from the old man who used to carry a hoe and gasp for breath.
And his eyes were bright and sharp - it was clearly a state of preparing to do something big!
Since that was the case, she would set up a stage for him!
"Father - in - law, don't try to persuade me anymore," Li Wanming said. "My husband was arrested and thrown into jail while buying raw materials for me. Would I be too scared to beat the Drum of Grievance?"
"The Capital Magistrate's Office arrested people without reason. It's obvious that they're colluding with merchants and bullying the weak. Then let's just make a big deal out of it and show them that even if we're just ants, we're not easy to bully!"
————————
Cui Yanzhi, the Capital Magistrate, was sitting in the back hall, sipping his tea leisurely.
What a mess yesterday!
A trivial matter of fighting and competing for business. Was it really necessary for him, the Capital Magistrate, to send troops?
But there was nothing he could do. Who asked that Wei Chengbiao to have a backer...
Speaking of which, he really couldn't understand.
What kind of status did Princess Danyang have? Even Princess Chengping would avoid her edge when they met. How did she get involved with Wei Chengbiao, a wine merchant?
Forget it. He, a small Capital Magistrate, couldn't manage so many things about the big shots.
As for that winery clerk who was arrested...
If his wife was sensible and went to beg Wei Chengbiao, maybe he would just be beaten with the board and then released. If she was not sensible, there was nothing he could do. He would just be sentenced to exile casually!
Who asked him to be so unlucky and offend someone he shouldn't have?
He heard that his wife was the daughter of a fourth - rank General of Military Might... Humph, in front of Princess Danyang, a fourth - rank official was nothing!
Even he, a third - rank Capital Magistrate, had to bow and scrape and do whatever he was told!
Cui Yanzhi blew on the steam of the tea and sighed.
This case... was not really a case at all.
There was no need for a trial or a hearing. They just had to wait for Wei Chengbiao to calm down, and then the case could be closed.
He, a Capital Magistrate, had ended up being at the mercy of a wine merchant. Just thinking about it made him feel憋屈.
He held the tea bowl and skimmed the floating tea leaves with the lid. Just as he was feeling annoyed, he suddenly heard someone report from outside:
"My lord, something bad has happened! That Mrs. Cheng is beating the Drum of Grievance!"
"What!"
Cui Yanzhi was shocked and stood up suddenly, almost spilling the sloshing tea all over himself.
The Drum of Grievance?
Since he had taken office as the Capital Magistrate, this drum had never sounded!
That Mrs. Cheng really had a lot of nerve. She actually came to beat the Drum of Grievance for such a trivial matter, trying to catch the emperor's attention?
Well, now that the Drum of Grievance had sounded, he couldn't turn a deaf ear anymore. He had to hold a court session...
"That ignorant woman, she has no idea of the immensity of heaven and earth!"
Cui Yanzhi sneered coldly. "Does she think that by beating the Drum of Grievance, she can get her grievances redressed? I'll go and see what grievances she has. I'll also teach her some rules in the officialdom!"