Chapter 368: Balance

Mu heard this and felt it was very appropriate. He asked his brother-in-law for his opinion, and he indicated that it was acceptable, though he was not certain he had the ability to support such a large family. Mu told him not to worry, as food subsidies were provided every year, and there was also land; there was absolutely no fear of going hungry. The brother-in-law thought it over and agreed.

Throughout the process, no one felt there was anything wrong with this. Even if Baifeng were asked to speak on it, Baifeng could not say what was wrong. Their laws had regulations against marriage between close relatives, but the two of them did not have a drop of blood relation.

As for ethics, it had been difficult enough to instill the concepts of parents and children into most people; this kind of situation had never been considered at all. This was also a current norm; it was the most normal thing in the world for a woman to change men after her man died, even if the one she changed to was her man's own brother.

Mu felt he had handled this incident perfectly, so it would be easy to report back to Baifeng. In this way, the handling of Xiong and Shaoyin would basically just be a formality, just doing enough to make a gesture.

Just as Mu felt everything was going smoothly and prepared to leave, Sangtang, who had not spoken the whole time, opened his mouth: "How will the murderer who caused my father's death be dealt with?"

Mu was stunned for a moment before he realized what Sangtang had asked. He found it somewhat difficult to speak, but he still said: "Right now, both of them are sitting in the prison. Because there is no law in this regard yet, there is no basis to pass a sentence. However, in two days, a grand assembly will be convened to perfect the laws. Once the laws in this area are perfected, they will be put on trial."

Sangtang raised his head and stared at Mu with calm eyes: "How can there be no law? Isn't it said that a life must be paid for with a life? You can't let them go just because they are Xiong's sons. Besides, there were four of them, so why are only two locked up?"

Mu had not expected that the most difficult one to deal with would be this child. But after all, he was currently representing the Ministry of Agriculture, and his position had to be on the side of the herdsmen, so he had to patiently explain: "Because this time it was accidental homicide, and since they are not yet adults and are still children whose thoughts and minds are not mature, they cannot be judged like adults. As for why it is two, it is because the primary culprit is Shaoyin; his younger brother is only a child of a few years old and was implicated by Shaoyin, so only Shaoyin is being dealt with. His father, Xiong, has also had his official position removed for failing to supervise them properly, and he is now also locked in prison awaiting trial."

Hearing that even Xiong had been locked up, Sangtang's eyes showed some movement, and he lowered his head, turning back into the appearance of a weak child.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Mu said a few more words of comfort to everyone and then left.

However, no sooner had Mu stepped out the door than Erhu, along with his mother, arrived at the herdsman's door with several large carts of grain and a great deal of meat. Even Mu was shocked by the richness of the compensation. If his own death could be exchanged for this much compensation, he felt it would be worth it. He did not think a human life was worth this much grain; if this grain were taken to the market, it could buy one hundred Slaves.

Erhu greeted Mu, Mu returned the greeting, and then both sides left without saying a word.

Although Erhu was following behind his mother, his mother's eyes were vacant and she was completely dazed; the actual protagonist was Erhu, and his mother had merely been brought along to serve as a facade, as he himself was still a child.

After Erhu went in, he first offered a sincere apology to the family, and then had a great, great deal of grain carried in as compensation. The woman was crazed with joy; other than seeing this much grain when collecting the harvest, she had truly never seen anyone with so much private grain, but now, it all belonged to her family.

The brother-in-law's eyes were cold and he did not say anything, but it was clear that in his heart, he was unwilling to forgive Erhu and the others. Sangtang walked up to Erhu and asked: "You are the brothers who caused my father's death, right?"

Erhu heard the tone of this child who was a few years younger than himself and felt inexplicably afraid. He wanted to put on the air of a second-generation youth and say loudly: "It was us, so what?"

But he did not have the courage, and only weakly said: "I am very sorry, your father died trying to save us."

Sangtang only said: "Good," and then there was no more talk.

The compensation had been delivered, but the two sides had nothing left to say. In the heavy atmosphere, only the woman's laughter as she threw herself onto the pile of grain seemed eerie.

After Erhu apologized once more, he left, and Sangtang just silently stared at Erhu's back.

Xiong sat in the prison, but the conditions were not bad. Although the light was dim, his cell was covered with a thick layer of Wild Rice straw, and food and water were supplied in full. After being locked in, the rope that bound his arms was also untied.

Everything in the prison was fine, except it was too boring and too desolate. The prison, which could hold twenty people, only had three people inside including him. The other two were not guilty of major crimes; they just couldn't control their hands and had stolen things. Moreover, to ensure a sufficient labor force, the two of them would not be locked up for long, just a few days, though they had to receive a whipping every day during these few days.

Xiong was not worried about his situation because every aspect was tilting in his favor. Except for some panic when he first received the news, he was very calm now. This was also a good opportunity to teach his son a lesson, and at the same time, it could intimidate all the children of Huaxia.

Shaoyin was having a more miserable time. He was locked in a dark room just big enough for him to curl up and squat, or to stand straight; in any case, he could not lie down. There was not a sliver of light, and he could not hear anyone speak. Food and water were passed in through a small partition at the bottom, and he was allowed a fixed number of times to use the toilet per day; after the door opened, they gave him a bucket, he solved it at the door, and then it was pushed back in.

Shaoyin was already somewhat going mad in this environment.

After returning home in the evening, Yulong began to press Baifeng on why he had handled it this way. He felt that the law must be just; since it caused a death, it must be dealt with according to the law. Why should they specifically revise the law for Shaoyin?

Baifeng glanced at Changle to see if he had any intention of coming over to listen, but Changle was still at his own table, writing and drawing on a pile of Grass, completely unconcerned with what the two of them were doing. So Baifeng said directly to Yulong alone: "This first point, as I said in the Chaotang, is that it is necessary to perfect the law, because the way children and adults think is different after all. And those dull-witted people must also be included; in the future, we must even provide them with a certain degree of protection, as they are a vulnerable group."

"Another point is something that cannot be said in the Chaotang, and that is balance. You must find a balance between the officials and the people. In the end, the King is neither an official nor a commoner. If you favor the officials, you will lose the hearts of the people; if you favor the people, you will make the officials lose their work enthusiasm. Therefore, you must weigh things to ensure you can balance the officials and the people. For any matter, ensure the interests of whichever side will give you the most gain, and that is how you do it."

"That dead herdsman is certainly pitiful and wronged, but his importance is completely incomparable to Xiong's family. What's more, he is already dead; the dead have the least value. Of course, you must favor Xiong. Do you understand?"