I am a commoner, but I will lead the empress to unify the world

The Tingwei smiled and said,

"Well, Lord Shen is truly selfless. I am relieved. I will handle the case impartially and will never bend the law for personal gain!"

Although they are not in the same system, the Grand Commandant is a military system and the Court Judge is a civil service system, but the position of the Court Judge is higher than that of the Grand Commandant.

However, given the status of Shen Changgong and Gongsun Wan'er, any official would automatically be one level lower when meeting them.

"Your Excellency, please first tell me what happened in this case, so that I can have a better understanding of it."

"Of course. The situation is this: two captains of your army, after their shift today, went to a brothel to solicit prostitution. They refused to pay and even assaulted someone. According to Dayan law, officers who solicit prostitution are also subject to punishment. These three crimes are punished together, and I am preparing to make a judgment."

"Oh, so that's it."

Shen Changgong nodded, turned to look at Zhang Yide and Zhou Hu and asked,

"I'm going to ask you two again, did you two give me the money?"

"We did. We definitely did."

Zhang Yide said quickly.

Now we can only hope that the Grand Commandant can redress their injustice.

The old procuress beside him also said hurriedly,

"Sir, they definitely didn't give it to me. I guarantee it with my head!"

Shen Changgong's face was gloomy and he said again with dissatisfaction,

"Tell the truth. I didn't give it to you. Why are you lying? Is the Minister of Justice so easy to deceive?"

Zhang Yide felt extremely aggrieved. Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Hu's eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly said,

"Captain, we didn't pay you. We really didn't."

Zhang Yide looked at him in surprise, and Zhou Hu glared at him fiercely, baring his teeth at him.

Based on his trust in Shen Changgong and Zhou Hu, Zhang Yide also said,

“No…I didn’t give it to you.”

"You really didn't give it to me?"

“I really didn’t give it to you!”

Shen Changgong nodded, turned to look at the court official, and said,

"Your Excellency, now that both parties' statements agree, no money was given. Is this a definitive conclusion?"

"Of course, of course."

The Tingwei's face was smiling like a flower.

Gongsun Wan'er, standing aside, stroked her chin, wondering what Shen Changgong was up to.

This guy is not a good person, nor is he a stupid person.

Shen Changgong changed the subject and said,

"Since no money was paid, it doesn't count as prostitution. Then the point that the officer solicited prostitution doesn't hold true."

"what?"

Everyone around was shocked.

If you don’t pay, it doesn’t count as prostitution?

How can this be done?

Shen Changgong continued,

"According to Dayan law, the so-called selling silver and soliciting prostitution only constitutes a crime after sexual intercourse has taken place and a monetary transaction has been completed.

Since they didn't pay, it was consensual, so it doesn't count as prostitution.

Am I right about this?"

The Tingwei nodded in confusion and said,

"Okay... that seems to be the case. Then... then the story of them going to the brothel is true, right? How do you explain this? They had sex without paying, which is also illegal."

Shen Changgong nodded and said,

“That’s true, but according to Dayan’s laws, the only brothel recognized by the government is the official Jiaofangsi. All other brothels are not recognized.

Since it is not recognized, it is not protected by law.

If they don't pay, the law can't do anything to them, right?"

"it seems to be like this."

The Tingwei nodded, but immediately shook his head and said,

"So, is it true that they both had sex with two women?"

"Of course it's true."

Shen Changgong turned his head and looked at Zhang Yide and the other two, and said,

"Why? Didn't you tell the Minister of Justice what I told you two to do?"

Zhang Yide looked confused. What did you confess?

Zhou Hu was also confused, but he was smarter than Zhang Yide. He quickly tapped Zhang Yide lightly, signaling him not to speak.

Seeing this, Shen Changgong said dissatisfiedly,

"Why don't you say anything? It's not something shameful."

"Sir, can you tell him about this?"

Zhou Hu asked seriously.

Although he didn't know what it was.

"Tsk, look at you, the Lord Tingwei is not an outsider. Whether it is the Tingwei Mansion or the Security Army, aren't we all working for the stability of Daqian?

If you dare not speak, then I will speak."

Shen Changgong turned his head to look at the court official and said,

"The thing is, Lord Tingwei, as far as I know, there are many hidden brothels in our Yandu City. They are usually called flower houses, restaurants, music houses, etc. On the surface, they are dancing and selling wine, but in fact, they are engaged in the flesh trade.

The taxes they paid to the government were all taxes on income from alcohol, meals, dancing, etc., but they never paid a penny on the sex trade.

These are not allowed by law, not recognized, and will not be protected, and should be banned.

But they did it in a rather covert way, and I couldn't tell for a moment what was a real restaurant and what was a dirty brothel.

Therefore, I asked the officers of the security forces to work overtime after their shifts, disguise themselves, and enter these places to consume.

If it were a normal restaurant, it would be natural to pay for drinks.

But if it's a sex trade, then it's definitely illegal and we have to deal with them."

The Tingwei blinked his eyes, stroked his lips, and said,

"If that's the case, why not arrest them when you find them instead of trying to get them for free?"

"Sir, as the saying goes, to catch a thief, take the stolen goods; to catch an adulterer, catch both. This is just empty talk, and there is no evidence to prove that they are engaged in such a trade.

Shouldn't there be evidence for this kind of thing only after it happens?

In order to get them to admit that they sold the silver, I even specifically told them not to pay them afterward, and to let them come to the Supreme Court to complain. That way, they would confess and the case would be closed."

Senseless.

Everyone around was confused by Shen Changgong's sting operation.

In order to obtain evidence of prostitution, he even risked his life to visit a prostitute.

If you don't pay after having sex, then it doesn't count as prostitution.

If we ask you for money, then the sale of silver will be established.

Then you'll take care of us.

Good, good, what a great chain of tricks!

Wonderful! Wonderful!

Even Gongsun Wan'er widened her eyes and looked at Shen Changgong in disbelief.

But she knew clearly that Shen Changgong had absolutely no idea about this before, because he had asked her a lot of legal knowledge about Dayan on the way.

With this ability to respond, he was able to turn a dead end around and even turn the tables?

The court judge was a little confused, and after thinking for a long time, he said,

"Then why didn't they speak after I interrogated them for so long?"

Shen Changgong sighed and said,

"This is also my fault. I didn't explain it clearly. I just told them that this matter is of great importance and they must not tell anyone. Otherwise, if the news gets out, all our efforts will be wasted.

I didn't expect that they would even hide it from you, Lord Tingwei."