When the trial was at a critical moment, a clerk who had been dismissed from his post came to the county government office, stopped a bailiff, and asked him to go in and inform Zhu Ping'an that Zhang Xiancheng, Yao Zhubu, and Li Dianshi would soon be arriving in Jingnan County with Eunuch Qian from the palace. Zhu Ping'an was asked to take all the clerks in the county government office and the prominent gentry and elders in the county to welcome Eunuch Qian outside the north gate of the county.
The dismissed clerk was the one sent by County Magistrate Zhang to Jingnan to inform Zhu Ping'an before he left. County Magistrate Zhang and his companions attempted to use the name of Eunuch Qian to intimidate Zhu Ping'an and force him to lead his men to meet him at the city gate. They took the opportunity to take advantage of the power of others and give Zhu Ping'an a warning and revenge. After that, they asked Eunuch Qian to settle Zhu Ping'an's affairs, force him to cancel the impeachment, and share the credit with them.
It’s a good idea, but it’s useless.
After receiving the report from the yamen runner, Zhu Ping'an ignored it completely.
What the hell is Eunuch Qian? Are Magistrate Zhang and the others mentally ill? What are they doing? I have a lot of official business on my hands. The case of monks and nuns has not been tried yet. I need to keep the people safe, provide relief, rebuild, resume production, and harvest in autumn... There are so many important things waiting for me in Jingnan. I am so busy, and you want me to go to the city gate to welcome a shitty eunuch? You are used to being licking dogs, so don't drag me into this.
Damn, idiot!
Zhu Ping'an ignored it and continued the trial.
After Zhu Pingan asked a few more questions about the case, he thoroughly understood the whole story. The monk and the nun were childhood sweethearts and had secretly agreed to be married, but the girl's parents broke up the couple and they became nuns one after another. To avoid the Japanese invasion, the two met again and their love was rekindled. They met secretly in the woods but were caught on the spot.
The two of them had a private meeting, whether it was leaning on or hugging each other, it was all to the extent of adultery, but no sexual intercourse took place. The two of them did not abide by the rules and regulations, and although their behavior was immoral and against public morals, they did not constitute adultery in the constituent elements, and naturally did not constitute adultery. As for the charges of adultery with the husband and adultery with the children, they were naturally not established.
In addition, considering that the two were childhood sweethearts, were separated by their parents, and became monks, they were a pitiful pair of ill-fated lovers, and the circumstances were relatively minor, so Zhu Ping'an decided to give them a lighter sentence.
In court, Zhu Ping'an first summarized the facts of the case, then explained the law in detail to the plaintiff, defendant and everyone outside the court, and finally pronounced the verdict in court.
The monk Liu Suo and the nun Wang Lian were sentenced to return to secular life and get married.
In view of Wang Lian's parents' past record of breaking up a couple, Zhu Ping'an did his best to be a good person and wrote a poem in court as a written judgment. With the endorsement of the county magistrate, Wang Lian's parents would not force Wang Lian to marry Ma Yuanwai as a concubine after they returned to secular life. They might not support it, but at least they would not stop the two from getting married.
"Half of a gourd and half of a ladle, put together to make a peach. From now on, I will be in a state of meditation and the storm will be gone. From now on, the moon will be far away when I knock on the door.
Birds are naturally happy with time and space, and lotus flowers are quiet and charming when they fall. Who is the one who set up the romantic case? Remember Zhu Yuelao in the courtroom.
Zhu Ping'an wrote a poem about a monk or a nun in the courtroom with a single stroke of his brush. He then stamped the seal of the county magistrate on it.
When Liu Suo and Wang Lian received the verdict, they were so surprised that they couldn't believe it. They cried with joy and kowtowed repeatedly to thank Zhu Ping'an, and their heads were red and swollen.
"This case is a special case. Although Liu Suo and Wang Lian met in private, they did not commit adultery, which does not constitute adultery, so they were given a lighter sentence. The Criminal Law of the Ming Dynasty stipulates that if a monk, a nun, or a monk or a nun commits adultery, they will be shackled for two months and beaten with a hundred sticks at the gate of the temple or nunnery to serve as a warning to others. All temples and nunneries should strictly discipline their nuns and monks. If anyone violates the regulations, they will be severely punished! The clerk should keep a record of this."
After the verdict, Zhu Pingan emphasized and warned the court to avoid the negative impact of this case, which would cause other monks and nuns in temples and nunneries to follow suit and destroy the atmosphere. Zhu Pingan also asked the clerk to record his warning in the case record to prevent his political enemies from misinterpreting the case and attacking him in the future.
After hearing Zhu Ping'an's warning, Liu Suo and Wang Lian could not help but feel scared and grateful. If they had not taken more intense actions at that time, if they had not met Zhu Ping'an, they would probably be put in shackles and sealed with shameful charges. They would be put in shackles and displayed to the public for two months at the gates of their Hongmiao Temple and Hongmiao Nunnery. After the public display, they would be beaten with a hundred boards. It is questionable whether a person can survive after a hundred boards. In addition, according to the law, if a woman commits this crime and is beaten with a board, she must take off her clothes and be beaten with a stick, which means that she must be naked in public. Once subjected to this punishment, Wang Lian thought to herself that even if she survived a hundred boards by chance, she would not have the face to live again.
Thank you, Mr. Magistrate. Thank you, Mr. Magistrate, for saving my life.
Liu Suo and Wang Lian were so frightened that they couldn't help but kowtow and express their gratitude to Zhu Ping'an.
After sentencing Liu Suo and Wang Lian, Zhu Ping'an did not leave the court immediately. Instead, he verbally praised the head of Hongmiao village, Zhang Dalong, as well as 18 other villagers including Zhang Tiedan and Zhang Daniu. He praised Zhang Dalong for fulfilling his duties conscientiously, and praised them for abiding by laws, upholding the laws and good customs of the Ming Dynasty, and supporting the work of the county government.
After praising them, Zhu Ping'an took up his brush and wrote a couplet for Hongmiao Village where they lived to commend their behavior.
The first couplet reads "The inheritance of noble virtues has blessed the hometown for thousands of years, and the virtues of literature and martial arts are passed down";
The second line is "Red Temple gathers talented people to serve the Ming Dynasty and promote the development of their hometown"
The horizontal banner reads “Rural Model”.
Village chiefs Zhang Dalong, Zhang Tiedan, Zhang Daniu and others received the couplets from Zhu Ping'an praising them. They were so happy that their mouths were grinning from ear to ear, especially village chief Zhang Dalong. This couplet has the name of their Hongmiao Village, praising their Hongmiao Village. With this couplet from the county magistrate, he, the village chief, can sit firmly in the seat. The county magistrate praised him! Who in Hongmiao Village has his credit and reputation? This is Zhang Dalong's political achievement. This case also has a couplet awarded by the county magistrate, which is enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life. Haha, thinking about the villagers' admiration and the envy and jealousy of other villages, Zhang Dalong was so happy.
Zhu Ping'an was clear about rewards and punishments, and when trying cases, he not only examined the facts of the case clearly, but also explained the law in public and the reasons for the judgment in detail. He truly based his judgment on facts and the law, with clear logic and well-founded arguments. None of the plaintiff and defendant in the court, as well as the onlookers outside the court, were dissatisfied.
Because this case of affair between a monk and a nun was a hot topic, after Zhu Ping'an pronounced the verdict in court, the case and the poem written by Zhu Ping'an quickly spread from the court to the outside, and quickly became popular in Jingnan, becoming a good story. It also spread beyond Jingnan, becoming more and more famous the further it spread.