Chapter 8: Deed of Assignment

  Soon, tea and hot water were served, along with clean face towels.

  Xiao Jiading washed his face while pondering, from Du Erniang's poetry club, it can be seen that Tang Dynasty people really loved writing poems and were willing to spend money on it. He had a belly full of Tang poems, but there were less than a hundred famous phrases that had been passed down for thousands of years, why not focus on this?

  After washing up, Xiao Jiading gave Li San two silver coins as a reward, which made Li San so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, and he thanked him hastily.

  Xiao Jiading smiled and said: "In the county town, where is the place that scholars and writers go to most?"

  Li San was taken aback, never expecting this rough-looking peasant to be going to such a place. He hastily forced a smile and said: "Those scholars, of course, like to go to... the biggest one is on the street by the Jinjiang River, called 'Cuiyu Building'. The most scholars go there. However, sir, if you want to find a girl, don't need to go to that kind of place, too expensive, I can call one over for you, guaranteed to satisfy you. Sleep with you for one night, only 20 cents."

  "No need!" Xiao Jiading shook his head and said, "I'll go take a look at that Cuiyu Building. — Which way is the road?"

  "Ah?" Li San was even more surprised, "Grandfather, you really... You go out the door and turn left, walk all the way forward until you reach the Jinjiang River, then you'll see a street full of red lanterns."

  "Hmm!" Xiao Jia Ding stepped out of the door.

  Li San stared blankly as Xiao Jia Ding Yang walked away, muttering to himself, and indeed saw something strange - even a rustic farmer like him wanted to go to that Golden Nest?

  Xiao Jiading followed the shopkeeper's words, went out and turned left. He remembered that there was a clothing store in front of the government office near the inn, so he went there to change his clothes first, and also made preparations for getting the second bucket of gold.

  As he passed by the gate of the yamen, he saw an old man and a young woman kneeling on the steps in front of it, crying. The yamen was tightly closed because it had already been dismissed.

  This crying and wailing at the government office entrance may be something people of this dynasty have seen too much, so they're not surprised, therefore nobody is gathering to watch.

  Xiao Jiading arrived at the front of the yamen, went into a ready-made clothing store, bought a long gown with round collar and narrow sleeves, changed out of his own coarse linen short shirt, and also replaced the blue cloth wrapped around his head with a soft-brimmed small hat, looking like a refined scholar. This outfit cost him only 100 wen. In addition, he exchanged his own coarse linen short shirt for a three-foot-long piece of white cloth, which he took out with him.

  As he walked out the door, he saw the old man and woman kneeling on the stone steps at the gate of the government office, crying. Xiao Jiading hesitated for a moment, thinking that he himself wanted to get a job in this government office, and whenever there was an opportunity, he couldn't let it slip away. Why not ask what's going on and help others while possibly helping himself?

  He stepped forward, looked at the two of them and said: "You two are crying here, what's going on?"

  The old man looked at him and saw that he was dressed as a scholar, so he shed tears and said: "We came to file a complaint, but the government rejected it. We are really wronged! We begged bitterly, but they didn't care. Feeling distressed, we waited here, hoping to see the county magistrate come out, so we could block the road and cry injustice."

  "What grievances do you have? Don't hesitate to tell me and I'll listen. How can I help you?"

  Anyone who has grievances hopes that more people will know about their grievances, even if it's just sympathy. The old man quickly clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir...it's like this..." He pointed to the young woman beside him, "Her name is San Niang, she's an maidservant in my household, and I'm surnamed Xiao."

  Xiao Jiading thought this was really a coincidence, sharing the same surname as himself.

  Xiao Lao Han continued: "My family's servant girl, San Niang, went out to buy things one day and was kidnapped by a group of robbers. They sold her to the Hao family's eldest son. San Niang told them that she had been kidnapped and asked them to let her go, but Hao Da Lang knew that she had been abducted, yet he still forced himself on her and ordered his family members to keep a close eye on her so that she wouldn't have any chance to escape. This continued until San Niang gave birth to a son. One day, San Niang finally found an opportunity to run away and returned to my home. I asked her about the situation and immediately reported it to the authorities, who arrested Hao Da Lang. Seeing how much San Niang missed her son, I also wanted to get the child back because he was born to our family's servant girl and should be returned to us. I went to the Hao family, but they were unreasonable and refused to return the child. I had no choice but to take the case to court. However, although the court arrested Hao Da Lang, they refused to return the child to me, saying that this kind of thing had never happened before and there was no relevant law or regulation. Although Hao Da Lang had raped San Niang, he was still the child's biological father, so taking the child away from him by force would not be appropriate either. Therefore, they rejected my request."

  Xiao Jiading majored in legal history as a graduate student and wrote his thesis on the Tang Code. He was very familiar with the Tang Code, so when he heard what Old Han said, he smiled. The situation described by Old Han was indeed stipulated in the Tang Code, but it was only promulgated two years later in the "Tang Code Commentary". At that time, Gong Sunmu and others had not yet formulated the corresponding regulations, which were already stipulated in principle in the previously promulgated "Eternal Glory Law". Female slaves were treated like livestock, and the young of livestock belonged to their owners. Therefore, the children born to female slaves should also belong to their owners. According to this regulation, it can be concluded that the child should be returned to Old Xiao.

  Although I am quite familiar with "Yong Hui Law", I have not yet reached the point where I can recite it from memory, so it's still better to find a book to refer to.

  After listening to Old Man Xiao talk about this case, Xiao Jia Ding's eyes lit up and an idea sprang into his mind.

  He looked around and saw a bookstore opposite the government office, his eyes lit up, maybe they had what he was looking for. If he couldn't buy it, that was okay, he could write from memory, shouldn't be too much of a problem.

  Xiao Jia Ding smiled and said, "Old man, I am currently studying law hard to participate in the Ming Fa examination next year. I am very familiar with the Tang Law. If you are willing, I can help you rewrite a statement. The government will definitely support your request after reading my statement and return the child to you."

  The old man was overjoyed when he heard this, and hastily kowtowed, saying: "Thank you, young master! Thank you! --- Third Daughter, why don't you hurry up and thank the young master?"

  The maid's eyes welled up with tears, and she hastily made a curtsy to thank her.

  Xiao Jiading said: "Follow me, I live in the front inn. Let's go there to borrow paper and pen, and I will write a statement for you immediately."

  The old man and the maid servant again thanked him a thousand times over, and followed Xiao Jia Ding to the study across from the yamen.

  As expected, there were indeed printed copies of "Yonghui Code" for sale here. He bought one with his money and brought the two to an inn.

  The innkeeper saw that Xiao Jia Ding had changed into a long gown of a scholar, thinking to himself that he was originally a bookworm, fortunately he didn't look down on him, and quickly nodded and bowed to welcome him.

  Xiao Jiading borrowed paper and pen from the shopkeeper, took them upstairs to his own room, closed the door, and sat down with the three of them. He asked the old man to recount what had happened again, and also questioned the maid San Niang, confirming the facts of the case. Then he said to the old man: "According to the rules of the yamen, it is not allowed for someone to plead on behalf of another person, and even if they do, they will be beaten with a board. Therefore, I can only draft a petition on your behalf as a member of your family. What kind of relative should I pretend to be? Best would be one that the yamen wouldn't find convenient to investigate."

  The old man nodded, he also knew the rules of the government office. After thinking for a moment, he said: "I have a nephew in Yizhou Jiuliguan County who was washed away by floods many years ago and his life or death is unknown. How about you pretend to be my nephew?"

  "Excellent! What's your nephew's name?"

  Xiao Qilang.

  Xiao Jia Ding pretended to be deep in thought for a moment, then said: "Filing a lawsuit is not just about writing a complaint, it also requires investigation. Helping someone to the end, coincidentally, I also have the surname Xiao and am an orphan. In order to facilitate the lawsuit and avoid causing trouble for me, I'll call you uncle and consider myself that Xiao Qilang, how's that?"

  The old man was both surprised and delighted, saying: "I've been searching for it in vain, but to think that it's only this, it's really too humiliating for the young master."

  "No big deal. We're both surnamed Xiao, after all we were one family 500 years ago!" Xiao Jiading thought to himself, luckily you also have the surname Xiao, otherwise I would have had to change my surname too. He stood up and bowed: "My full name is Xiao Jiading, 'Jia' as in family, 'Ding' as in precious Ding. Remember this, later if someone asks about my identity, you can tell them that your nephew who was washed away by the flood has returned, and he's right here in the county town."

  "Alright, alright." Xiao Lao Han hastily stood up and returned the courtesy, while San Niang also followed suit with a big bow.

  Xiao Jiading went to great lengths because he studied the history of legal systems and knew that during the Tang Dynasty, especially in the early Tang period, household registration and population management were very strict. Going out required carrying a road permit, which was equivalent to an ID card. If you wanted to enter the government office to seek employment, if your background was unclear, it would be impossible to be accepted. Now that there is this foreshadowing of Xiao Lao Han, forging a road permit would be seamless.

  Xiao Jiading wrote a petition and signed it himself, noting at the end that he was the nephew of the person making the accusation.

  The document was written and handed over to the old man, saying: "You take it away and sue again. If there is any problem, you can come here to find me."

  "Thank you, young master!" Old Xiao and the maid hastily thanked him, "This sum of money...?"

  "It's all right!" Xiao Jiading smiled and said: "We're all one family now, what's the need for politeness?"

  Xiao Lao Han repeatedly expressed his gratitude and then took his leave with his maid.

  Xiao Jiading took out the three-foot white cloth, spread it out, picked up his brush and wrote a few large characters on it. He looked at it himself and thought it was not bad. Fortunately, his parents, who were language teachers, had forced him to recite Tang poetry and practice calligraphy with a brush since he was young, so his calligraphy still looked good.

  After the ink dried, he rolled up the white cloth and held it in his hand, went downstairs and out of the door to the left, walked along the main road until he reached the riverbank. As expected, he saw a string of red lanterns all along the street, with many people coming and going on the street, including some wearing long gowns like him. Some were even shaking folding fans to show off their elegance in this still chilly early spring.