Chapter 759 – Fu Fu Gets Drafted into the Investigation

Wan Lihui was by now accustomed to finding a houseful of people whenever he visited the Fu Bu'er household. As village head, Fu Bu'er's home doubled as a de-facto village office. Villagers came on business, to chat, even to air grievances—the foot traffic was almost constant. Although the village had a reasonably imposing official Village Affairs office, the common folk still preferred to traipse straight to the village head's house.

What surprised him today was a Fubo Army soldier standing among the crowd in the parlor, rising to salute. Is the military on leave?

"This is Fu Fu. He's serving in the Fubo Army," Fu Bu'er hastened to explain. Fu Fu's sudden reappearance had given him quite a fright. Had the lad deserted? That could implicate him terribly! He recalled having recently done some work to deter desertion, and here was an elder present—his heart fluttered with alarm.

But looking again at Fu Fu—neat uniform, radiant face, carrying bundles big and small—this was hardly the look of a stray dog on the run. Fu Bu'er relaxed somewhat.

"Fu Fu," Wan Lihui said casually. "Is he your son?"

"Ah—" Fu Bu'er was momentarily at a loss. Fu Fu was no longer his household's bond-servant, much less his son. "He's… a brother to Fu Xi and the others."

Wan Lihui nodded, then suddenly recalled that Fu Fu was the very bond-servant on whose behalf Fu Bu'er had once begged him to collect military pay. He had been rebuffed for his trouble and dressed down by Wei Aiwen. At the memory, his expression soured.

Sensing an elder's displeasure, the onlookers tactfully dispersed.

Fu Fu quickly snapped to attention, assuming a pose of "awaiting orders."

"Since he's family, no need to be so stiff," Wan Lihui said, waving him off with feigned indifference. "Have you reported to the resident police yet?"

"Reporting, sir—not yet—"

"Go! Now!" Wan Lihui pulled rank. His gaze flicked to Fu Yijin, whose cheeks were flushed as she gazed somewhat dreamily at Fu Fu. His annoyance deepened. Since drawing an A-class maidservant in the lottery, his interest in Fu Yijin had cooled, but he had always regarded the Fu family's eldest daughter as a blossom he could pluck whenever he pleased. To suddenly find her smitten with some native soldier was disagreeable.

"Yes, sir!" Fu Fu hurried out. Basking in the crowd's adulation, he had forgotten to report to the resident police. Regulations required soldiers on home leave to report immediately upon arrival and receive a stamp; otherwise, their leave could not be properly closed when they returned.

The resident police officer's dwelling stood at the boundary between East Village and West Village—placed there so both communities could reach it easily. Funded by the Civil Affairs Committee, it was a two-story building: residence and dormitory upstairs; office and temporary lockup downstairs. Under Ran Yao's policing plan, every village with more than a thousand inhabitants was assigned two resident officers. One would put down permanent roots; the other rotated through as a newly trained officer.

Besides maintaining local order, the resident police directly adjudicated minor cases. Because enforcement required at least two officers, Ran Yao had ultimately mandated a minimum of two per standard village of a thousand or more. They were also responsible for gathering local intelligence, managing household registration, and overseeing the transient population.

A soldier on home leave naturally fell under "transient population" management. Fu Fu hurried to what locals called the "Police Tower"—so named for its two stories.

Pushing through the door, he was surprised to find another elder inside—quite different from Manager Wan with his mud-spattered work clothes. This one was impeccably dressed and exuded an air of authority. He was conversing with the resident officer.

Fu Fu saluted carefully, then presented his leave papers to the officer. Because he planned to stay more than three days, he had to register for a temporary residence permit.

"What's the rush? Can't you see I'm speaking with the Councilor—" The black-uniformed officer, cap shoved back on his head, wiped sweat from his brow as he rebuked him.

"Process him first; our business will take a while longer," the elder said good-naturedly. Fu Fu couldn't help glancing at him—an elder in his early thirties, not as tall as some but equally robust, with one of those unremarkable faces that left little impression.

Then Fu Fu noticed: the man wore a naval uniform with all branch and rank insignia removed, and he carried no saber. What was a Navy transmigrator officer doing all the way out in Meiyang Village?

The paperwork was stamped quickly. As Fu Fu was about to leave, he overheard the resident officer grumbling: "…You have no idea, sir, how much trouble there is in this village. Big friction between settlers and natives—petty squabbles every other day. All these survey forms to fill out… You'll have to bear with me a bit. Once I finish these, I'll get right on it. Appreciate your patience…"

"Private First Class!" Just as Fu Fu was stepping out, the elder called. He halted, turned, and saluted.

"Are you from this village?"

"Reporting, sir—yes, sir!"

"Settler or native?"

"Reporting, sir—native!"

The resident officer chimed in: "He's from the Fu Bu'er household…"

"Private First Class—will you help me with some work?"

"Reporting, sir! Serving an elder is my honor!" Fu Fu recited the standard line loudly.

"At ease. No need to be so formal."

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm Xu Ke, from the Tribunal." Xu Ke's status on the Tribunal was technically "on loan"; he held no formal title. At Ma Jia's request, he had been temporarily seconded to try the destruction-of-military-marriage case as presiding judge.

Because this case marked the new legal system's first real entry into native life, it demanded careful handling—ideally striking a balance between legal authority and outcomes the natives could foresee. In the future, they could consider replacing the Great Ming Code with Lingao's own native-affairs law. Ma Jia had convened a full plenary of the Law Society. They debated legal theory, trial format, the applicable legal tradition, and sentencing criteria clause by clause, determined to give this case "historical significance."

The new law had to embody the will of the ruling class—that is, the House of Elders. And the House's ultimate goal was to transform society. In other words, the purpose of the trial was not simple punishment but "reforming customs."

First, the consensus was that on the question of jurisdiction, it was best to proceed through ordinary court channels rather than rashly convening a military tribunal. That would avoid both social backlash and political pitfalls; moreover, without a code of procedure, a military-court approach would lack credibility and legal foundation.

The conference crystallized three principles:

One, the House of Elders had promulgated no relevant statute. The trial should therefore follow the principles of "lenity to the older law" and nullum crimen sine lege—no crime without a law. Thus the judgment should be based on local customary law or the Great Ming Code.

Two, immediately after the court ruling, a public legal interpretation should be issued to deepen native understanding of the transmigrators' legal philosophy.

Three, a statute should be drafted and promulgated at once. To punish without first teaching is cruelty.

All agreed: since the House of Elders had never published a marriage law or civil code, sentencing under the Great Ming Code was appropriate in the absence of statute. Sentencing discretion would rest with the judge. Given that the Lingao court system ought to "attend to politics," and given this case's importance, it made sense to introduce a "trial committee" system whereby the internal consensus of the House of Elders could be translated, through committee deliberation, into a verdict acceptable to all parties. The military's demand for severe punishment had a certain rationality.

This approach would, externally, establish the legal system's authority among the natives while, internally, confirming the House of Elders' political and ideological leadership over the judiciary—acceptable under current political circumstances.

In sum, the trial should seek a balance between legal authority and native predictability; afterward they could consider replacing the Great Ming Code with the new code.

With guiding principles established, the next step was implementation. Ma Jia had seconded Xu Ke from Foreign Intelligence to serve as judge. Ji Xin would act as pro-bono defense counsel; An Xi would prosecute.

After receiving the case, Xu Ke decided to conduct a personal on-site investigation at the sailor's home village. Strictly speaking, that wasn't his job, but An Xi's competence was not to be relied upon. According to the personnel file Xu Ke had pulled from the Navy, both the cuckolded sailor and the adulterer resided in Meiyang Village.

Xu Ke resolved to go to Meiyang Village himself to ensure the case was "factually clear" and "evidentially sound."

"Do you know this person?" He gave the name of the cuckolded sailor.

"Reporting, sir—yes! He's from this village."

Xu Ke nodded. "Speak normally—no need for 'reporting.'"

"Yes, sir." Fu Fu said, "He's a Fulao—I mean, a Fujianese. Settled here seven or eight years ago. At first he got by on day labor and cleared a few mu of wasteland…"

"When did he marry his wife?"

"He brought her with him from Fujian."

"No children?"

"They had some. All died." Fu Fu said.

"You see—a soldier who's been away for years knows more than you do!" Xu Ke turned a reproachful look on the resident officer. "How long have you been here? What exactly have you been doing?"

"Yes, yes, sir, I—I'm not from this village…" The officer was sweating profusely now. "I've only been here three months…"

"Fine. Reflect on your efficiency!" Xu Ke had been about to point out a few more shortcomings in the man's shambolic work, but he reminded himself he was not a Police Administration elder and should not interfere too directly. He softened his tone. "Since you haven't been here long, put in more effort going forward!"

(End of Chapter)