CH 17: That Must be Right

The accused was eager to confess, but Sima Guang was not the least pleased about it.

Not only was he not pleased, but he was also irritated.

He realized he was not dealing with a naive youngster, but rather a cunning little fox.

And this cunning fox was facing him with a calm expression, answering his questions with composure, “I wonder if Your Honor agrees that filial piety was the primary motive that drove Ayun to commit the crime.”

After a moment’s thought, Sima Guang said, “This matter still needs to be investigated. But even if she committed the act out of filial piety, it would not be a sufficient reason for her to be absolved from guilt.”

His words were becoming increasingly cautious, showing that the situation was turning quite unfavorable for him.

Zhang Fei shook his head, saying, “On this point, I respectfully disagree. Since ancient times, how many heroes have sacrificed themselves for benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, and loyalty?

According to our cultural values, loyalty and filial piety are more important than life itself. Therefore, defending filial piety naturally takes precedence over defending life. And according to the laws of our dynasty, if your life is threatened, fighting back is considered self-defense. Thus defending filial piety can also be regarded as self-defense.

Are we not allowed to fight back when someone tries to force us to abandon our loyalty to the emperor, or our filial piety to our parents? If that’s the case, there’s no need for the court to advocate benevolence, filial piety, loyalty, and righteousness.”

Where did this kid come from? Is he really just a commoner? How is he not afraid of speaking about the imperial government and the Emperor so casually?

Sima Guang was filled with countless questions, and said, “But defending filial piety does not mean hurting innocent people. And do you think it is filial to your parents to hurt others during a period of mourning?”

Zhang Fei smiled, saying, “That’s why I argue that Ayun is guilty of excessive self-defense, not that she is totally innocent.”

Sima Guang frowned. At this point, he had to admit that the use of the word “excessive” was indeed quite ingenious!

Zhang Fei continued to explain, “Ayun is undoubtedly guilty, the evidence is irrefutable. But her intention was to protect herself, to defend what was most important in her heart. It was just that she chose a wrong method, but this is understandable. We should not ignore her original intention for doing so.

All the evidence has already proven that she is not a person with a malicious heart. However, her age and life experience were not enough to make her come up with a better solution. And we should not forget, her parents were both deceased, and her elders at home only wanted to use her for their own benefit—there was no one to offer her any help.

Your Honor, you cannot expect her to handle her problems as rationally, intelligently, and calmly as you would. In fact, there are many women like Ayun, very few of them would be able to reach the best solution. It’s not that they don’t understand what filial piety is, just that they are desperate and helpless.

From a legal point of view, Ayun, in the process of protecting herself, hurt an innocent person. That is, of course, considered excessive self-defense.”

Having said that, Zhang Fei suddenly took on a humble tone, “Of course, I am just a commoner who has the opportunity to make arguments here by the grace and benevolence of His Majesty. I do not have the power to make judgments; I can only provide some evidence and submissions for your consideration.”

There’s no denying that Ayun has indeed made a major mistake. If the court insists on convicting Ayun of intentional murder, I humbly request that the court also commend Ayun’s filial piety, so that she can face her mother in the afterlife with dignity. I believe this is what Ayun most desires at present. After all, in her heart, her mother is more important than her own life.”

Upon hearing these words, conservatives like Wang Shiyuan, Qi Hui, Liu Shu showed expressions of utter dismay.

In contrast, reformists like Wang Anshi all had triumphant smiles on their faces.

Sima Guang stared at Zhang Fei, his eyes filled with rage.

He was angry!

He was extremely angry!

Despite the lack of compelling evidence from him, he was unable to refute his arguments.

Knowing full well that the other party was using sophistry, he was powerless to turn the tide.

The key reason was that filial piety is incredibly important in the present times.

Even the Emperor could not commit any acts of unfilial behavior.

Zhang Fei skillfully used filial piety as the motive for Ayun’s crime. Of course, Zhang Fei did provide some evidence to prove that Ayun was a filial daughter. However, Ayun’s acts were truly motivated by filial piety was known only to Ayun herself. Outsiders could only provide some corroborating evidence to prove it indirectly.

This was something Sima Guang had not anticipated at all.

Before this, everyone had assumed that Wei Ada’s ugliness was the motive behind the crime.

Although Zhang Fei could not provide direct evidence to prove that Ayun did not commit the crime due to the victim’s appearance, neither could Sima Guang also produce direct evidence to that effect. The initial “ironclad” evidence for this was Ayun’s own confession, but it had just been destroyed by Zhang Fei.

There was no conclusive objective evidence available.

However, Zhang Fei presented a piece of indirect evidence. If Ayun only wanted to marry someone who was not ugly, why did she reject the previous marriage proposals? Moreover, Ayun had raised the mourning period to refuse marriage several times.

If no more direct evidence could be presented, then such indirect evidence would negate physical attractiveness as the motive for the crime.

By now, Sima Guang had also come to realize this.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Loyalty and filial piety were the political correctness of ancient times.

To challenge political correctness just to convict this young woman was not something a mature politician would do.

So if he wanted to maintain the original verdict, he had to find evidence to prove that Ayun’s motive was not filial piety.

This was a point he would have to prove definitively. Otherwise, it would be politically damaging and place him at a political disadvantage.

Sima Guang knew well that the other party was just using sophistry, so he did not give in fully. He said, “The explanation you have provided is only one side of the story. I still need to investigate the truth. Once everything is clear, I will make a decision accordingly. For today, we will stop here. Court is dismissed.”

With that, he stood up and left.

After he left, the courtroom was still silent.

Many officials looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.

They were thinking the same thing as Sima Guang—where did this young man come from?

Did our great Song empire have such a character?

After a while, Wang Shiyuan, Qi Hui, Liu Shu and others suddenly stood up and hurried away.

The other members of the audience then woke up as if from a dream, stood up, chatted, and walked out of the courtroom.

“How did the trial end up like this?”

“I’ve been trying cases for many years, and I’ve seen plenty of pen-in-caps, but I’ve never seen a trial like this.”

“If it were up to me, I would have severely punished this pen-in-cap long ago. If one did not know better, one might even think he was the presiding judge.”

“Do you think Academician Sima is on their side?”

“Of course not.”

The various officials felt something was amiss with the trial. It did not seem like a trial at all, more like a debate at the Hanlin Academy.

Has our great Song dynasty become so tolerant?

Dare commoners yell at an Academician of the Hanlin Academy?

Outrageous!

Truly outrageous!

After everyone left, Zhang Fei, who had been standing in the courtroom, suddenly bent down, propped his hands on his knees, and began to pant heavily, large beads of sweat falling straight down from his forehead.

Tap!

Suddenly, he felt a pat on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Xu Zun looking at him with a smile.

“So you do know the feeling of fear!”

“I was nearly scared out of wits!”

Zhang Fei stood up straight, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a bitter smile, “I’ve always known that when I stepped into this courtroom, it would be like standing on the edge of a cliff. One false step could result in death.”

Xu Zun asked, “If you know that, why do you still do it?”

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Fei replied, “Do you agree believe that ‘what goes around comes around’?”

Xu Zun shook his head and said, “If it was truly so, that good begets good and evil begets evil, there would be no need officials like us.”

“Well, that’s true,” Zhang replied.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then said, “But in this case, good really begot good!”

Xu Zun asked, “What do you mean?”

Zhang Fei said, “If Ayun was a wicked person, Wei Ada would have either died or been seriously injured. This shows that, regardless of whether Ayun intended to commit murder, she internally resisted the idea of killing someone.

In addition to that, Ayun saved my life. These are all driven by good intentions. If not for this bit of goodness, this lawsuit wouldn’t even exist, and there would be no talk of winning or losing.”

Xu Zun asked, “If Ayun was a wicked person but also your lifesaver, would you still help her?”

Zhang Fei replied, “If I was a pen-in-cap, I would absolutely do so.”

Xu Zun asked, “Why?”

Zhang Fei replied, “Assuming that the trial is conducted fairly, saving an evil person’s life is as good as killing countless of evil lives.”

Xu Zun’s eyes lit up, his gaze full of praise, and asked, “What if you were an official?”

Zhang Fei replied, “If I were an official, I would try my best to reduce the charges for the offender within the bounds of the law, just like you did.”

Xu Zun chuckled and said, “You sure know how to comfort people.”

Zhang Fei said, “I wonder if these comforting words are sufficient to pay off my debt?”

“Of course not. Haha!” Xu Zun replied.