Chapter 5

As a professional in the history of judicial systems during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qin Dewei naturally knew that the county yamen was the most basic judicial unit of this era. Out of professional interest, he was still very keen on visiting the county yamen.

It was still the regulation of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang that all county yamen across the country were built according to the same layout, with a fairly uniform form.

For example, the outermost part was the main gate, with sloping walls on both sides used for posting announcements and edicts. The main gate was open to free entry and exit during the day, with no gate restrictions.

Uncle Qin Xiang was one of the strongmen at the main gate, whose main job was merely to maintain order, not to prevent others from entering and exiting, so there was almost no profit.

The inner gate, also known as the Yimen, was the core of the county yamen, with gate restrictions, and could not be entered at will. However, with Qin Xiang leading the way, the gate guards would not stop Qin Dewei.

Just as they passed through the Yimen, suddenly five or six men, led by a middle-aged man with a square face and a beard, came forward, binding someone, and walked towards them with a loud noise.

Qin Xiang, the constable, was very quick-witted and immediately moved aside to make way, bowing slightly to show good basic training.

Qin Dewei, however, did not react in time. Moreover, as a modern person, he did not have the habit of making way and bowing.

Suddenly, two men rushed forward and pushed Qin Dewei to the ground, cursing him: "Where did this blind brat come from to block the way? Didn't you see us walking?"

Qin Xiang also regretted that he had only avoided himself and forgotten to pull his still confused nephew aside.

He hurriedly stepped forward, smiling at the bearded man and said, "Sir Dong, don't be angry! It's my nephew's first time at the county yamen, and he doesn't know any better. Sir Dong, don't take it out on the young ones!"

The man called Sir Dong glanced at Qin Xiang and said lightly, "So it's one of Old Qin's people. Teach him some manners. If it happens again, I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

"Yes, yes!" Qin Xiang nodded in agreement, watching the group leave. Turning back to his nephew, he saw that apart from a few dirt marks on his clothes, he was unharmed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Dewei, who had been pushed to the ground for no reason, got up from the ground. As a modern person, he had never experienced such humiliation, and his face trembled with anger.

He couldn't help but ask his uncle, "Who is that? He doesn't look like an official, yet he's so domineering!"

Qin Xiang pointed out, "That's the head constable of the fast class in this county, Dong Buzheng, a person you must never provoke!"

Seeing no one around, Qin Xiang warned his nephew, "There are four tyrants in this county yamen, and Dong Buzheng is one of them. I'll tell you more about them later. Anyway, if you come to the county yamen, remember not to offend these four people."

Qin Dewei adjusted his thinking. The constables were divided into three classes, with the fast class similar to the police, and the head constable similar to a chief or at least a captain.

"Truly domineering!" Qin Dewei said angrily. Just because he didn't move out of the way in time, he was pushed to the ground and made a fool of himself, which was really unpleasant.

Qin Xiang lectured, "It's no use being angry. Even if you're angry, you have to keep it inside! In a place like the county yamen, you can't be young and impetuous unless you're sitting on the bench as the magistrate!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the grand hall of the Jiangning County Yamen in front of them.

From the Yimen, there was a straight path leading directly to the grand hall, where the magistrate would publicly sit and hear cases, a common scene in period dramas.

Looking at the grand hall, which symbolized the core of the county yamen's power, Qin Dewei couldn't help but sigh.

He deeply felt that the era he was in was a real feudal society, where one could be punished for not giving way to a "big shot" in time.

From a small matter, he realized that even with a golden finger, if he didn't strive to climb up, he would be oppressed, exploited, and cut down like a stalk of grass.

In the center of the path, there was a small pavilion with a small stone stele, the famous "Jieshi."

On the south side, it was inscribed with the three large characters "Gong Sheng Ming" (Public leads to clarity), and on the north side, the famous sixteen characters: "Your salary and your benefits come from the people. It is easy to oppress the people, but hard to deceive heaven."

These inscriptions were as common in the yamen of this era as "Serve the People" in later times, and it was said that the magistrate could see the sixteen characters by just looking up from the grand hall.

The layout of the front part of the county yamen was roughly like this. As for the back part and the inner yamen, they were deep and mysterious, and not accessible to outsiders. Even Qin Xiang, the constable, could not take his nephew there.

Putting aside the unpleasant encounter, Qin Dewei adjusted his mindset and asked professionally, "Why isn't the grand hall open today? Isn't it a day for accepting complaints and hearing cases?"

According to the system, the grand hall was not open every day, so there were specific days for accepting complaints and hearing cases, the frequency of which depended on the diligence of the magistrate.

Qin Xiang shook his head and explained, "The respected magistrate of this county is of high moral character and cannot tolerate mundane affairs, so he has delegated criminal matters to the deputy magistrate. Therefore, cases are usually heard in the deputy magistrate's hall in the east wing."

Qin Dewei sneered. What high moral character, what inability to tolerate mundane affairs, it was all euphemisms for laziness!

Seeing the domineering behavior of that Dong Buzheng just now, if it weren't for the inaction of the higher-ups, how could a mere head constable be so domineering!

Qin Xiang, the constable, could see that his nephew seemed very interested in criminal matters, which was a good sign. Interest is the best teacher, and as long as his nephew was interested in the affairs of the county yamen, wouldn't he eventually take over his position?

He immediately led Qin Dewei through the moon gate towards the east wing. In the center of the east wing was a slightly smaller hall, the deputy magistrate's hall.

It happened to be a day for accepting complaints, and the deputy magistrate was sitting in the hall, with a few people standing outside, waiting for the results.

Qin Dewei looked from a distance and noticed that the deputy magistrate was very young, only in his twenties. At this age, to be a seventh-rank deputy magistrate in a capital county (Nanjing was also considered a capital), he must have been a jinshi (imperial scholar).

Thinking of this, Qin Dewei couldn't help but feel envious, even a bit jealous.

In the Ming dynasty, being a jinshi in one's twenties was probably as impressive as achieving financial freedom through entrepreneurship in one's twenties in the 21st century.

Damn, how could he run into such people everywhere!

The day for accepting complaints was for preliminary review of complaints, to determine whether they were accepted or not. Accepted complaints were kept in the yamen and would be heard on the official hearing day; rejected complaints were dismissed and not heard.

At this moment, a constable suddenly called out to Qin Xiang, "Wang Bingshu is looking for you! Go see him quickly!"

Wang Bingshu meant the scribe of the military office, one of the six offices in the three classes of the yamen, generally in charge of the strongmen.

It sounded like official business, so Qin Xiang couldn't take Qin Dewei to the back yamen's military office. He instructed his nephew, "I'll be right back. You can walk around, but don't cause trouble or wander around."

Qin Dewei agreed and stood in the east wing, watching the young deputy magistrate review complaints. After a while, he found it uninteresting.

Reviewing complaints was different from formal hearings; it was more like clerical work. For outsiders, what was there to see in someone signing official documents?

Just as he was considering visiting another place, a familiar slender figure appeared in his field of vision. Although her face was covered by a veil, her white mourning clothes clearly identified her.

This must be the young widow, Gu Niangzi, Qin Dewei guessed with about 90% certainty, as he had seen her not long ago and still had some memory of her.

Was she here to file a complaint? Not only Qin Dewei, but others also noticed this wealthy young widow.

Immediately, a constable ran out of the yamen gate to the nearby private office of Dong Buzheng and reported, "An interesting person just appeared! Maybe we can squeeze out some profit!"

Dong Buzheng sneered, "Which blind rich person dared to come to this yamen?"

The surrounding lackeys flattered and joked, "It must be because they know Sir Dong is short of money, so they're bringing silver!"