[Violence against violence! My mother is amazing!]
Xiao Chuchu couldn't contain her excitement.
[This is exactly what we need! These men dare to beat their wives because women have low social status and the legal system is inadequate. They know the authorities won't imprison or punish wife-beaters through legal means!]
[They're just bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. It's deliberate! Well, if that's the case, we women should stand up for ourselves and use an even stronger fist to show these men what's what!]
In her swaddling clothes, Xiao Chuchu's little face was flushed pink as she clenched her tiny fists.
She would always stand on the side of girls!
She didn't care about turning the other cheek or repaying evil with kindness.
The point was to hit back and make those wife-beaters cry!
[Severely punish wife-beaters! Beat them up!]
[If heaven won't deliver justice, my mother will!]
[If the authorities won't handle it, my mother will!]
Xiao Chuchu was frustrated that her arms were too short. [If only I were grown up, I'd ask my father for a long whip too. Whenever I saw injustice, I'd lash out at those bastards!]
[Got a problem? Go cry to my father!]
Xiao Yunzhou's mouth twitched, but he felt a hint of sweetness in his heart.
Look at that, the reincarnated celestial princess already knew to turn to him, her imperial father, when there was trouble.
Well, well, the celestial beats people up, and her imperial father takes the fall.
The celestial was so thoughtful... ahem.
Xiao Yunzhou felt a mix of pain and joy. The little celestial princess truly saw him as family.
Just as he was thinking this, Wei Zheng burst into the imperial study, nearly tumbling over himself.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of Justice has arrived. He says Concubine Liu publicly whipped a man bloody, causing a commotion on an entire street."
"Now, that man has crawled to the government office, demanding to sue Concubine Liu and asking for medical compensation!"
"He wants to hire a lawyer and take his grievance to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Punishments."
In just this short time, the situation had escalated.
Zhang Wei, the Minister of Justice, wasn't allowed into the imperial study by the guards. He stood outside and spoke in a deep voice.
"I request Your Majesty to revoke that golden dragon whip."
"Even if a prince beats a commoner without reason, they are subject to the same punishment as ordinary people. How much more so for Concubine Liu?"
"If there's a grievance, the concubine can accompany that wife to file a complaint against her husband at the government office."
"The concubine cannot take the law into her own hands."
"Your Majesty, you shouldn't have given Concubine Liu such authority. It's against the rules."
Since ancient times, the country has had its laws, and families have had their rules.
"The concubine is neither a city governor nor the magistrate of the capital. She has no right to pass judgment, let alone punish people on her own."
Zhang Wei had never feared the emperor.
The last time, when the Earth and Moon Sect incident wasn't exposed, he dared to confront the emperor.
This time, he was even bolder, voicing his objections loudly outside the imperial study.
Xiao Yunzhou, holding his daughter, froze.
He had known that giving Concubine Liu this whip would cause trouble.
This whip, which could be used to beat any man in the empire, had stirred up a hornet's nest in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Punishments. It had also riled up the men of the country.
Eh.
Xiao Yunzhou's face was awkward. He felt somewhat in the wrong, after all, he had only agreed to give Concubine Liu the whip because he was carried away by flattery.
Indeed, he didn't know how to explain this to his ministers now.
But as Xiao Yunzhou was struggling, he heard the indignant, tender thoughts of the little princess in his arms.
[Why isn't it allowed?]
Xiao Chuchu felt her reasoning was flawless.
[When they beat their own wives, it's all about who has the stronger fist, with no regard for the law! Now that the tables have turned, and their fists aren't as strong as my mother's guards, they start crying foul and begging for the law's protection?]
[Bah! The men of Jing Country, what a bunch of hypocrites!]
[Grandpa Zhang Wei, I'm disappointed in you!]
Xiao Chuchu grumbled in her heart.
[Now you remember to follow the law! Where was the law when women were being beaten by those scumbags before?]
[Men of Jing Country, a bunch of trash!]
Xiao Chuchu bared her gums in a snarl, her tirade making Xiao Yunzhou's scalp tingle and his face flush red.
Trash men...
Had his celestial daughter included him in that insult too?
"Your Majesty—" The Minister of Justice, Zhang Wei, was still shouting outside.
Xiao Yunzhou's temple throbbed as he aimed a phantom kick at Wei Zheng, "Let him in! Why is he shouting out there? Tell him to come in!"
Let this old Zhang come in and be scolded by the little princess!
This old man was having a grand time shouting outside the imperial study.
Leaving him, the Son of Heaven, to bear the brunt of the celestial princess's anger, being called trash by her!
Xiao Yunzhou's head was pounding, his face hot and burning.
Zhang Wei indeed strode in quickly, glaring at the emperor, "I request Your Majesty to revoke the golden dragon whip, and ask the concubine to apologize to that husband, send for a doctor to treat him, and cover the cost of his medicine."
Pft—
Xiao Yunzhou's eyes nearly popped out. Old Zhang Wei sure had guts to speak like that!
He nervously looked down, and sure enough, he was met with a mental "ptooey" from the little princess!
[I spit on that!]
Xiao Yunzhou's face twitched.
[How old-fashioned! I think my mother's whip should give this old Zhang Wei a taste too!]
Xiao Chuchu rolled her eyes at Zhang Wei.
Xiao Yunzhou took a deep breath, unable to imagine that scene. It would surely be a sight to behold.
He wanted to laugh but couldn't. He furrowed his brow instead, because he was truly in a dilemma now. On one side were the men of the empire and the law.
On the other side were his daughter, Concubine Liu, and the women of the empire.
Since ancient times, women had been barred from the imperial examinations. It was taken for granted that a woman's duty was to support her husband and educate her children.
Even though he was the emperor and had heard the celestial's words, agreeing with the little princess and wanting to learn about this 'gender equality' from the celestial realm, Xiao Yunzhou knew that such change couldn't happen overnight. It wasn't something even he, the Son of Heaven, could forcibly implement today.
It had to be a gradual process.
Xiao Yunzhou cast an apologetic glance at the little princess in her swaddling clothes.
Then he glared at the old-fashioned Minister of Justice, Zhang Wei, standing before him.
"Apologizing and sending for a doctor is out of the question, Zhang Wei. This matter need not be discussed further. This time, it was done with my approval."
"As for how Concubine Liu uses the golden dragon whip in the future..." Xiao Yunzhou pondered as he spoke, preparing to find a middle ground, "That can be reconsidered."
"Reconsidered?" The Minister of Justice, Zhang Wei, softened his expression slightly but still pressed his advantage, "This old minister suggests that in the future, cases should be reviewed by the government office. Only after guilt is determined should Concubine Liu be allowed to use the whip."
[Hah, no shame at all.]
Xiao Chuchu's scornful thoughts interrupted him.
[Let me ask you this: in Jing Country, how are husbands who beat their wives and daughters punished?]
[These hypocritical men have the audacity to talk about the law. It's laughable! Hahaha...]
Ahem.
Xiao Yunzhou looked down to see his daughter grinning, indeed with only a few teeth showing.
He couldn't help but glare at old Zhang Wei once again.
With newfound confidence and anger, he said, "Your Ministry of Justice keeps talking about following the law. Well then, let me ask you this: How is a husband beating his wife currently punished?"
Zhang Wei was taken aback.
He didn't answer, but Xiao Chuchu's scornful inner thoughts had already reached Xiao Yunzhou's ears.
[I spent fifty points to look through the capital's court records.]
[Oh, how I laughed at what I saw!]
[—'Wife unruly, beat to discipline.' The court believes that men only raise their hands because their wives and concubines are disobedient. If a husband seriously injures his wife, his punishment is to have his beard cut off.]
[As long as no weapons are used to beat wives or concubines, it's not even considered a crime.]
[Hahahaha! I'm laughing so hard I'm shaking...]
[On the flip side, if a wife or concubine beats her husband, she'll be imprisoned for a year or given a hundred lashes.]
[How ironic~]
[Some Ministry of Justice this is, some Ministry of Punishment, some court of law! Is this what Zhang means by 'letting the court decide the punishment'? Cutting off a man's beard counts as punishment???]
Xiao Yunzhou felt a chill run down his spine, and as he listened to the little princess's mocking inner monologue, he gradually became furious with embarrassment.
Although he was the emperor, one fist couldn't fight four hands, and one man couldn't stand against ten.
The laws of Jing Country, military strategies, agricultural taxes, commercial laws, countless government affairs, thousands of regulations, tens of thousands of officials... he couldn't thoroughly consider each and every one.
Regarding this matter of domestic violence, Xiao Yunzhou had seen almost nothing of it in the imperial palace.
The former emperor had been very gentle with the empress dowager, and he himself had been focused on seeking enlightenment, disliking matters between men and women, but he never thought he had a habit of beating or abusing women.
But he didn't know that outside, there were so many men who took out their anger on women.
It was also the first time he learned that the court's punishment for husbands beating their wives and concubines was so light!
"Zhang Wei, I'm asking you a question!" Xiao Yunzhou slammed the table. "According to the law, how have men who beat their wives and daughters been sentenced in the past? Do you know?!"
Zhang Wei's mouth twitched, and he coughed lightly, "Husbands rarely beat their wives and concubines. They're family, how could that happen?"
"If it does happen, according to the previous dynasty's laws... we investigate the cause, and if the wife or concubine is at fault, the husband is dealt with leniently."
"The court... verbally reprimands the husband..."
"The wife or concubine writes a promise not to make mistakes again, and the husband also promises not to raise his hand again..."
[Ah, so this is the Jing Country I was born into.]
Xiao Chuchu clicked her tongue inwardly.
[So if I'm beaten to death in the future, will anyone even care?]
"Smash!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhou thought of his precious being beaten and scolded, then having to apologize to the abuser at court, and possibly continuing to be beaten at home. He immediately flew into a rage and threw his teacup straight at Zhang Wei's head!
"Zhang Wei, don't you find what you're saying laughable and shameful?!"
"Don't you have a daughter? Weren't you born and raised by your mother?!"
For the first time, Xiao Yunzhou couldn't help but swear in the imperial study!
*
Chen Dazhu was at the entrance of the court, covered in blood, throwing a tantrum, "There's no justice! They're bullying me with their power!"
His clothes were torn to shreds, with visible bloody welts on his back.
But his voice was still strong as he crawled on the ground, wailing!
"My wife has joined forces with the emperor and empress to beat me, her husband!"
"According to the law, I demand medical expenses, compensation, and for this wife to be imprisoned!"
"I want the palace concubines and the emperor to pay me ten thousand taels!"