I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Sun Shan's verdict came with many conditions attached.

Firstly, Leng is not allowed to remarry. If she insists on remarrying, she may not take any property with her except for her own dowry.

Leng is not allowed to use the Wen family's property for her own family or ruin her husband's family's business. If she is found out, she will be punished with caning.

Secondly: Wen Xiaomei's dowry belongs to her, and any profits generated after the judgment takes effect belong to her. Furthermore, the dowry cannot be sold before the marriage.

Thirdly, apart from Wen Xiaomei's dowry, the Wen family's assets were divided into two shares, one of which was managed by Leng Shi.

Another branch of the Wen clan will manage the property, which will be handed over to the adopted son after Wen Dalang has a son. The profits from this property will belong to the Wen clan and will be used for schools and to support impoverished Wen clan members. (If Wen Dalang is unable to adopt a son due to various circumstances, the Wen family property will belong to the Wen clan members.)

Fourthly: Regardless of whether he is the adopted son of Young Master Wen and Madam Leng, or the adopted son of Master Wen and Madam Wen, he must be addressed as Young Master Wen and Master Wen as his father, and cannot be changed back to his original lineage. If he wishes to return to the original lineage, the Wen family's property must be returned to its original owner.

Master Zhang glanced at the fourth clause attached to Sun Shan's judgment, which was prominently displayed on the document.

He frowned and asked, "Sir, is this clause...?"

Isn't the question too restrictive, written so bluntly? Is it because they're afraid the heirs will return to their original paternal clan?

As a marginal figure like Master Zhang, who wanders around in a large family, he has only ever seen children born to sons-in-law return to the clan, but he has never seen an adopted son from the clan return to the clan.

Doing this will get you spat on, and you'll never be able to hold your head up high again.

Sun Shan firmly stated, "It's easy to draw the skin of a tiger, but hard to draw its bones; it's easy to know a person's face, but hard to know their heart. The sea is unfathomable, and the human heart is unpredictable. Who knows what will happen in the future? It's better to write it down frankly, so that we have evidence to rely on in the future."

When Sun Shan thought of the "heir selection case," the first thing that came to mind was the "Great Rites Controversy" that occurred at the end of the Zhengde reign.

Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng, only raised one son, Emperor Wuzong, Zhu Houzhao, just like the situation of Mr. Wen and his son today, who left no brothers or sons.

From the Empress Dowager down to the ministers, no one raised the issue of establishing an heir for Zhu Houzhao; instead, they skipped it and established an heir for Emperor Xiaozong of Ming.

The end result was that they let the wolf into the house, leading to the usurpation of the throne by Emperor Xiaozong and Emperor Wuzong, leaving the father and son without successors.

Jiajing not only seized the throne, but also exploited those who had no descendants.

He did not acknowledge that he was Emperor Xiaozong's adopted son, and posthumously honored his father as emperor.

Even more outrageous was that, in order to reinforce Zhu Youyuan's status as the "emperor"—his biological father—the Jiajing Emperor compiled the "Veritable Records of the Great Ming Gongmu Xian Emperor".

Even Zhu Yuanzhang did not write such an "imperial letter" to his own father.

Regardless of Jiajing's political achievements, Sun Shan held this matter in utter contempt.

During the trial, I couldn't help but lean towards the Leng family.

Young Master Wen was much luckier than Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, because his wife, Lady Leng, dared to stand up for him and fight for his interests.

In contrast, Empress Xia, wife of Emperor Wuzong (Zhu Houzhao), was like a living dead during the "Great Rites Controversy," remaining silent and lonely.

Even disregarding the issue of Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao's sacrificial rites, one must still fight for one's own interests. The dignified mother of the nation is not as good as the common woman Leng Shi in front of her.

Empress Xia's fate was also tragic; she received none of the treatment due to an empress and died a miserable death in the palace.

Sun Shan has always admired people who are independent, self-reliant, and courageous in speaking out for themselves.

Whether it's a woman or a man, anyone who dares to speak out should be encouraged.

After Sun Shan's verdict, he instructed the Wen family, Wen Xiaomei, and the Wen clan chief to compile the Wen family's assets and bring them to the yamen for notarization and division of the property, so as to avoid future disputes among the three parties.

Let's go all the way and solve their problem once and for all.

Sun Shan is not afraid of any controversy or complaints behind his back.

He was the most powerful official in Yuanlu County, so it was normal for him to be resented, controversial, and envied.

Sun Shan slammed his gavel and then stepped down from the court.

Although a judgment has already been made after reviewing the case file, sitting in court and listening to the plaintiff and defendant's statements is still very tiring, especially with all the crying and arguing, which makes one's mood very irritable.

Fortunately, Sun Shan had a good temper, otherwise he would have been punished with a cane on the spot.

Sun Shan flicked his sleeves, turned and went into the inner hall to rest.

The onlookers below lingered, pointing and whispering about Scholar Ma, Madam Leng, and the Wen family ancestors.

After all, the county magistrate of Yuanlu County rarely holds court to hear cases throughout the year, so he was very excited when there was finally some juicy gossip to be had.

A bystander glanced furtively at Leng Shi.

With a smirk, she whispered, "Look, that's Young Master Wen's widow. Oh dear, so thin and pale, she looks like she'll bring misfortune to her husband. No wonder Young Master Wen was cursed to death, no, even Old Master Wen was cursed to death by her."

Unable to resist, bystander B took out a sunflower seed from his pocket and started cracking it open.

Nodding in agreement, she said, "Yes, just by looking at her, you can tell she's unlucky. Sooner or later, she'll bring bad luck to the people around her."

She paused, as if thinking of something, and said in a low voice, "I heard that they still have to adopt a child. Oh dear, the adopted son might also die from being cursed. Poor child, having such a cursed mother."

Bystander C stared wide-eyed and said, "Who would dare to be her heir?"

Ding, a bystander, rolled his eyes and said, "Money talks. The Wen family has so much money, haha, maybe some greedy people will be willing to adopt the child."

He secretly thought that poverty was the most terrible thing in the world, so what if he was oppressed?

At least they could have a full meal. Even if they died, they had been wealthy at some point.

The onlookers stared intently at Leng, pointing and whispering, openly mocking her for being a jinx to her husbands.

And what about Leng Shi? She held Wen Xiaomei's hand tightly, walking step by step towards home.

He ignored the gossip around him, letting it go in one ear and out the other, or perhaps it was because they were jealous of his young age and the fact that he had acquired a business.

Wen Xiaomei followed Leng Shi step by step, trembling. In her heart, she was thinking about the 50 mu of farmland and 50 mu of mountain land that Lord Sun had awarded her.

This dowry accounted for at least a quarter of the family fortune. Even if the father and eldest brother were still alive, they wouldn't have been able to receive that much dowry.

Anyone with eyes can tell that Lord Sun's judgment is biased towards her.

Before she arrived, Leng told her that she would be given a share of the family business, but not that much. She only said that she would prepare a dowry for her.

After filing this complaint, Wen Xiaomei never expected to receive such a large amount of land; it was something she never dared to imagine.

That's farmland; her father and elder brother never mentioned giving her farmland as part of her dowry.

Wen Xiaomei tried hard to recall what Lord Sun looked like: short, thin, and slightly dark-skinned. Although he was only in his early twenties, he looked like someone in his thirties or forties, much like the farmer next door.

My elder brother once said that Lord Sun follows the rules in his actions, and at this moment, Wen Xiaomei wholeheartedly agrees.

He whispered to Madam Leng, "Sister-in-law, it would be wonderful if Lord Sun could continue serving as an official in Yuanlu County."

Leng walked forward slowly and patted Wen Xiaomei's little hand: "Yes, Lord Sun is a good official. I really hope he can continue to serve as an official in Yuanlu County. Then we'll have someone to take care of us."