Chapter 95: Thrown into the Pauper's Grave

He cleared his throat and assumed an official tone.

"Du Mingzhu first poisoned her elder sister, then abducted a member of the Zheng Clan; her heart is vicious, her conduct heinous. According to the Da Zhao Lüfa, she is to be sentenced to tattooing punishment and imprisoned for one year..."

Tattooing punishment means carving characters onto the criminal's face and then applying ink.

If a woman receives tattooing punishment, her life is over—not only is her face ruined, she also loses her dignity and the right to choose a spouse; it's as if she were forever nailed to a pillar of shame, never able to redeem herself.

Du Mingzhu suddenly lifted her head, and fear finally appeared in her eyes.

Du Ren Mei also started, "Sir, this punishment seems overly harsh, doesn't it? Yes, Mingzhu is a bit willful, but she is still young and has been pampered since childhood, so it's inevitable she doesn't understand things."

He bowed his body to plead for his daughter, "Please, sir, out of respect for my position, deal with her leniently!"

Madame Jiang also lost her usual composure.

"Sir, even if you don't consider the monk's face, you must consider the Buddha's; Mingzhu has been the beloved of our Northern Peace Marquis household's ancestors since childhood. If she learns of Mingzhu's miserable state, how could she rest easy in the capital?"

The implication is that my daughter relies on the great tree of the Northern Peace Marquis household; you'd better be careful with your judgment!

Li Xianling, having served as an official for so many years, certainly wouldn't fail to understand.

While he indeed cannot afford to offend the Northern Peace Marquis household, upholding justice for the people is the most basic principle of an official; now that the complainant has come forward, he cannot show favoritism and pervert the law, can he?

After a moment's contemplation, Li Xianling had made his decision.

"I haven't finished speaking yet." He clasped his hands behind his back, adopting the airs of a parent-official, "Although Du Mingzhu violated the law, considering she is still young and hasn't committed a grave crime, leniency is warranted. The tattooing punishment may be waived, but the imprisonment cannot be revoked; she is sentenced to one year in jail as a warning."

Still have to be jailed for a year? Madame Jiang's nails dug deep into her flesh.

Not to mention how harsh prison life is, can the pampered Mingzhu endure it?

Just saying, an unmarried lady who enters such a place—what reputation could she possibly have afterward?

She had originally planned everything: when the year-end came, she would take Mingzhu to the capital for a trip, and then have the Marquis household step forward to select a suitable husband of good background and character for Mingzhu beneath the emperor's feet. But if Mingzhu acquires the stigma of imprisonment, what respectable family could still be spoken of?

Not only would no respectable family accept her, but likely the Marquis household wouldn't even let her enter, lest they implicate the other young ladies in the manor.

Madame Jiang's thoughts shifted rapidly; she said, "Sir, I am willing to offer two taels of silver to settle with the complainant, only hoping to give Mingzhu a chance."

Li Xianling glanced over toward Jiang Li and Du Ruo.

The Da Zhao Lüfa also stipulates that, unless the crime is heinous—such as murder or treason—if the victim does not pursue the matter, a major offense can be reduced to a minor one, and a minor one can be dismissed entirely.