All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

Chapter 144: Female Dominant Prodigal Son 27

Even Lin Ruan didn't expect that the first case she took over would be a case in which a man sued a woman.

According to the laws of Fengwu State, there are two situations when a man accuses a woman: one is to accuse his own wife, who will be punished with 70 strokes of the cane; the other is to accuse another woman, who will be punished with 50 strokes of the cane.

Lin Ruan thought the case was quite interesting, but she was an official after all, and couldn't let her personal feelings affect the handling of the case. So she nodded to the chief officer, indicating that the caning could begin. At the same time, she also gave the chief officer a wink, asking him to show mercy and not beat the man to death, but at least let her hear what the man had to say.

With a command, the board fell fiercely on the man. After fifty strokes of the cane, the man was lying on the ground, covered in blood, dying. But he still tried hard to open his eyes, raised his head with difficulty, looked at Lin Ruan on the platform, and smiled with satisfaction.

He had come to Yangzhou Prefecture from Qinxing County, and his bet had paid off. In Qinxing County, there had never been a case where a man had won a lawsuit against a woman, because no man could survive the beatings of an officer. He naturally wouldn't assume it was because of his own luck, but rather that Lin Ruan had instructed him to hold back.

Even though his back was already covered in blood and flesh, the man still struggled to kneel down, banged his head heavily on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "I pay my respects to you, sir."

Lin Ruan said in a deep voice: "Who is this person in the hall, and what is your grievance?"

The man spoke loudly.

He was originally from an ordinary farmer's family in Qinxing County, and his parents had only two children, a brother and a sister. His younger brother was handsome, and was taken in by a wealthy businessman in the county and made his concubine. However, he did not expect that within a few months, he would receive news of his younger brother's death.

The man's voice was filled with tears and blood as he spoke in a mournful voice, "Guo Fang beat my brother to death and actually let the old woman dump him in a mass grave. When I went to see, there wasn't a single piece of good flesh left on my brother's body; all his limbs were severed! My lord, my brother died with his eyes open!"

Lin Ruan asked, "How old are you? Are you married?"

The man said, "I am sixteen years old and still unmarried."

Lin Ruan asked, "Do you know that if you file a lawsuit, no woman will marry you in the future? Are you still willing to file a lawsuit despite this outcome?"

The man gritted his teeth and said, "I am willing! Sir, I know that women are noble in this world, and us men's lives are worthless, but, but, even if I have to gamble my life, I will seek justice for my brother. He is only fourteen years old, fourteen years old, sir!"

Lin Ruan looked at Guo Fang, who was kneeling beside him, and said in a deep voice, "Do you admit what he said?"

Guo Fang had been explained in detail before she came. Anyway, the crime was not serious, so she might as well admit it, so as to avoid the new prefect's three major setbacks and the first one affecting their Qinxing County.

She kowtowed and said, "I plead guilty."

Lin Ruan struck the gavel and said in a deep voice, "I sentence you to bury Wang Erlang properly, and according to the law, to pay a fine of five thousand taels and to compensate the Wang family five thousand taels. Do you have any objections?"

Guo Fang took out two silver notes and presented them, saying, "I have no objection. These are fines and compensation. Please review them, Your Excellency."

After Lin Ruan looked at it, he ordered the warehouse clerk to record one copy and put it into the warehouse, and sent the other copy to Wang Dalang.

A murder lawsuit was settled. Wang Erlang's life and Wang Dalang's second half of life were worth only 5,000 taels of silver.

After finishing his shift, Lin Ruan came to Jikangyuan in the prefectural capital, where the imperial court adopted baby girls. There weren't many baby girls in Jikangyuan, after all, there were many women who had only given birth to baby boys or who didn't want to have children.

Seeing Lin Ruan's rich attire, the housekeeper hurried over and said with a smile, "Madam, do you want to adopt a child? What age do you want? Are there any requirements?"

Lin Ruan replied: "I want to adopt a daughter, someone younger, someone who doesn't remember much, to save trouble, and someone who is more well-groomed."

The old woman said in embarrassment, "We don't have any baby girls like the one you requested at the orchard yet. However," she said with a smile, "a batch of baby girls will be delivered to us next month. I don't know where you live, but I can send someone to let you know when the time comes."

The maidservant beside Lin Ruan said, "This is the prefect, Lord Lin."

After hearing this, the old woman kowtowed and said, "I really didn't recognize Mount Tai. Please forgive me, sir."

Lin Ruan said softly, "It's okay. Just send someone to the mansion to inform me when the time comes."

After talking to the mother-in-law, Lin Ruan returned home and told Chi Wenning about this matter. Chi Wenning whispered: "My wife, don't you want to have a child yourself?"

Women in Fengwu Country have the right to choose their own children, and Chi Wen Ning couldn't really force Lin Ruan to have a child. It was just a pity that he and Lin Ruan didn't share a common bloodline.

Lin Ruan answered simply: "I don't want to."

Seeing Lin Ruan's determination, Chi Wenning stopped dwelling on the matter and hugged Lin Ruan, saying softly, "It's all up to my wife."

Soon it was the next month, and the maid from Jikangyuan personally picked out a beautiful and healthy baby girl and sent her to the mansion, along with the child's birth certificate.

Lin Ruan took a look at the child, who was white, chubby and very cute, so she nodded with satisfaction and asked the housekeeper to give the old woman a reward.

From then on, the Lin family had a young lady, Lin Wangshu.

Time flies. Three years later, Chi Wen Ning brought little Wangshu back to the capital, and Lu Wen Ze came to Suzhou to take care of Lin Ruan's daily life.

The term of office of the prefect of Fengwu State is nine years. Lin Ruan had thought it through from the beginning. Each of the three servants would serve for three years. This would not be considered unfair to anyone, and it would also give him a change of pace.

After all, she is the prefect now, and it is not good for her to linger in brothels.

After Lu Wenze arrived, Lin Ruan gave him a baby girl as usual. Lu Wenze held the child and smiled, saying: "My wife is really interesting. When we were in the capital, she gave each of us a shop. Now that we are in Suzhou, she has given each of us a child."

"You," Lin Ruan tapped his forehead with her finger and said with a smile, "You're already thirty years old, and you're still so harsh in your words."

Lu Wenze took advantage of the situation and let her put her arm around his shoulders. He held himself and the child in Lin Ruan's arms and chuckled, "It's all because of my father and my wife's tolerance. If you really want me to change, how can I not change?"

The days passed peacefully and warmly. During the day, she would handle affairs at the government office. When she returned home, Lu Wenze would take care of everything. She could only indulge herself in playing with her daughter, feeling extremely comfortable. In the blink of an eye, it was time to part again. When Baili Su arrived, Lu Wenze entrusted the household affairs to him and prepared to return to the capital with his daughter.

The night before leaving, Lu Wenze, holding his daughter, strolled in the courtyard with Lin Ruan. He sighed softly and said, "My dear wife, it's been so long since we've been together. I'm afraid it will be six years before we meet again, right?"

Lin Ruan held his hand and comforted him, "Don't worry, wait for me for three years. After three years, I will be transferred back to the capital."

"Okay, Feifei and I will wait for you in the capital," he said.