This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Upon hearing this, Song Xuehou knelt down with a thud, crying out in fear, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

When Li Shimin saw him crying out for justice, he asked, "What is your injustice?"

Song Xuehou said urgently, "It was my wife who spoke disrespectfully to me first, so I hit her. This is called discipline! The ruler is the guide for the subject, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife! If a subject speaks disrespectfully to His Majesty, it is a great disrespect; if a son speaks disrespectfully to his father, it is unfilial; if a wife speaks disrespectfully to her husband, it is immoral! Shouldn't she have been hit?"

"If I killed her, that was an accident! If she had been more respectful to me, I might have hit her a few times at most, but I would never have killed her!"

"The Tang Code states that 'killing without cause is called intentional homicide.' She spoke rudely first, and I acted afterward; this constitutes a conflict! If there was a conflict, how can I be judged as having committed intentional homicide?"

After explaining himself, Song Xuehou kowtowed and pleaded earnestly, "Your Majesty, please see the truth!"

Li Shimin turned to look at Cheng Jun.

Cheng Jun walked up to Song Xuehou and chuckled, "You really are a scholar; your words are quite eloquent."

"However, I must tell you that what you say is completely wrong!"

Cheng Jun said calmly, "The Tang law states that 'killing without cause is called intentional killing.' The 'cause' here only refers to a fight, not to anything that happened between you and your wife."

"Besides, if what you say is true, then who in the world commits murder without a reason? Does having a reason or a story mean it's not intentional homicide?"

Well said... Dali commentator Cui Yue couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration.

Li Shimin also gave Cheng Jun an approving look. This kid always explained things in a simple and profound way, making people suddenly realize the truth.

Cheng Jun continued, "Let me tell you what manslaughter is."

“Manslaughter is the act of accidentally killing someone. To determine whether it is manslaughter, we need to see if the two people had any prior grudges. If it was an accidental fight between two people, and one of them caused the other's death in the course of a fight, and the killer originally had no intention of killing, then it is called manslaughter.”

“But you are clearly not like that.”

Cheng Jun looked down at him and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you often beat your wife, and you definitely don't hold back, right?"

Song Xuehou's lips trembled, and he dared not answer, because he could not deny it.

Cheng Jun wasn't surprised that he didn't dare to answer. After all, finding out this was very simple; he just needed to ask his neighbors.

"This shows that you have harbored resentment for a long time. You have repeatedly beaten your wife and do not care about her life or death. You have already harbored murderous intentions."

Cheng Jun took the case file, opened it, and said, "The case file states that the scene of the crime was in a mess, and that you used too much force, which caused your wife's death. Based on all this, it is clear that you did not accidentally kill her."

"If this wasn't premeditated murder, then what was?"

"You may continue to plead your case before His Majesty, but I must remind you that you are not the only one pleading your case today. His Majesty has ordered the Three Judicial Offices to investigate criminal cases in order to clear up wrongful convictions. I now know very well that your wife died unjustly and with a guilty conscience. Today, I will avenge your wife's death!"

Song Xuehou looked terrified and subconsciously lowered his head, where he saw Cheng Jun's official boots.

He couldn't help but raise his head again, only to be met with a pair of indifferent eyes looking down at him, and a crown of a mythical beast that dared to confront evil, distinguish right from wrong, and stand tall and unyielding.

Song Xuehou felt as if he were looking up at a mountain, unable to see the summit, and his whole body trembled.

"Your Majesty, spare your life, Your Majesty, spare your life!"

He began to plead.

At this moment, Song Xuehou deeply regretted listening to the words of the Assistant Minister of Justice.

If he hadn't listened to Wang Liang and served his sentence obediently, he could have been released from prison after three years, married a more virtuous and obedient wife, forgotten the unpleasant past, and started a new life.

But now, because he listened to Wang Liang, his imprisonment has turned into a death sentence!

Li Shimin sneered, "You beat your wife to death, knowingly broke the law despite knowing the law, how can I forgive you?"

After saying that, he turned to look at Cheng Jun, "Minister Cheng, what should we do?"

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "I believe that we should follow the wishes of his wife, Madam Yuan. Madam Yuan died in Changming Ward. I believe that the name Changming represents her wishes."

"Changming... pay with his life?"

Li Shimin suddenly realized what was going on and nodded, saying, "Then let's execute him in the autumn."

It's only June, and autumn is still a long way off. Does that mean he's going to live a few more months...? Cheng Jun's heart skipped a beat, and he cupped his hands and said:

“Your Majesty, I believe this is not appropriate. According to the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty, Song Xuehou should indeed be executed. However, Song Xuehou holds official rank and should not be treated the same as a commoner. He should be dealt with according to his official status.”

Li Shimin asked, "So you want to leave him with a complete corpse?"

Cheng Jun nodded. "It would be best to beat him to death with sticks."

Li Shimin gave him a deep look and instantly understood his intention. If he were to be executed according to the law, it would have to wait until autumn, but if he were to be beaten to death, it would be immediate. He did not want Song Xuehou to live for more than a few months and wanted Song Xuehou to pay for his wife's life immediately.

Li Shimin thought about it and felt that Cheng Jun's words made sense. Song Xuehou had official rank and should not be treated as a commoner. He immediately said, "Ananda!"

"The slave is here!"

The eunuch in purple robes walked over and bowed.

Li Shimin glanced coldly at Song Xuehou, seeing him trembling like a leaf, and waved his hand, saying, "Drag Song Xuehou away and beat him to death with sticks!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Zhang Anan received the decree, beckoned two palace guards, and dragged the ashen-faced Song Xuehou out of the hall.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

Song Xuehou's eyes were filled with fear as he struggled and cried out, "Your Majesty, it was Wang Liang, it was him! He made me do this!"

Wang Liang, the Assistant Minister of Personnel, stood to the side with a livid face. He had thought that by dragging Cheng Jun to see His Majesty, he could punish him for insubordination, but he did not expect to be outmaneuvered instead!

Upon hearing Song Xuehou mention him, Wang Liang's expression immediately changed, and he cursed:

"You mad dog, why are you biting people like this!"

Song Xuehou roared, "It was you! You told me to hold off the Dali judge and the censor. You said that if I could hold them off for an hour, you would let me serve one less year in prison. You promised it yourself!"

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Wang Liang, and scolded, "Minister Wang, what's going on here?"

Wang Liang felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat pouring down his face. He hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, he's a mad dog, he's clearly biting people indiscriminately!"

"Moreover, Your Majesty, listen to what he's saying. What does he mean by saying that I need to hold off the judge of Dali and the censor for an hour? He's starting to spout nonsense!"

Suddenly, Cui Yue, the judge of Dali Temple, said, "But you were indeed in Dali Temple prison at the time, and you read three pages of the case file in two quarters of an hour!"

"Good finishing blow..." Cheng Jun gave him an appreciative look.

Wang Liang had regained his composure and said firmly, "His Majesty has entrusted us with the handling of criminal cases, how can we be careless? I am simply being diligent in my work, Judge Cui, don't make false accusations!"

Cui Pingshi was still angry and wanted to say something more, but Cheng Jun tugged at his sleeve and told him to stop.

The two of them are not in the same league.

If Judge Cui continues speaking, it's likely that Wang Liang will not only have committed wrongdoings, but also merits.

Cui Yue seemed to understand something. This kind of thing should be left to the professionals. He immediately shut up and stepped aside to watch Cheng Jun take the stage.