Judge of the Song Dynasty-Chapter 26: Last Ditch Effort

“Lady Xu, if there were a mirror at this moment, you would know how insulting your expression is right now,” Zhang Fei remarked, looking at Xu Zhiqian whose lips were slightly parted, with a somewhat frustrated tone.
Xu Zhiqian closed her lips and asked, “You’re not talking about yourself, are you?”
Zhang Fei nodded and said, “This is my impression after seeing that lane of pen-in-caps. Is there any problem?”
Xu Zhiqian couldn’t just tell a lie with her eyes wide open. Even if she could bring herself to say that Zhang Fei was uglier than those people, but she didn’t dare to disregard Zhang Fei’s achievements. After all, this man had dared to confess to the crime of deceiving the emperor. Normal people couldn’t compare. She said lightly, “They don’t have the money to hire you.”
Zhang Fei shrugged and casually said, “It can’t be helped then. I have an inherent sense of justice and always uphold righteousness. If it’s for a just cause, I never take money, and even spend my own money. You can ask your father about that.”
Xu Zhiqian furrowed her brows slightly and asked in confusion, “But if you don’t make money, how can you move out of my house as soon as possible?”
“Wow!”
Zhang Fei was quite surprised. “I just realized that we are kindred spirits. We’re both passionate about earning money while doing good. I thought you would perhaps put aside your bias against me.”
Xu Zhiqian immediately responded, “I have no bias against you. I just don’t like having strangers live in my house.”
“I see.”
Zhang Fei coughed and continued, “Actually, by helping them, I’m also helping myself to make a living.”
Xu Zhiqian asked, “How does that work?”
“Reputation!”
Zhang Fei explained, “I believe that in this line of work, reputation is the most important thing.”
Xu Zhiqian said, ‘You’re already quite famous now.’
Zhang Fei responded with frustration, “Yes, I am quite famous now. But who would hire a pen-in-cap who has offended the Ministry of Punishments, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Court of Penal Review?”
Such a pen-in-cap had never appeared before.
Unless someone was a complete fool, no one do such a thing.
Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but joke, “So, are you planning to change your name?”
“That’s not necessary.” Zhang Fei smiled and shook his head, “As long as I can prove that I can still win cases, people will naturally let go of their concerns about me.
And besides, helping the strong bully the weak isn’t much of a skill. Anyone can do that with a little persuasion. But if I can help the weak resist the exploitation of the strong, that’s when my abilities would shine, and it will be easier to become famous.
With reputation, people will naturally come to me for their legal battles, and I’ll have a means of livelihood.”
“I knew it wasn’t just about simple kindness.” Xu Zhiqian secretly despised Zhang Fei, but on the surface, she asked, “Are you explaining all this to me so patiently because you need my help?”
“You are truly sharp and intelligent.”
Zhang Fei snapped his fingers and chuckled, “Although I want to help them, they don’t know of my existence, and I don’t know about their situation either. You, however, often teach them about the law, so I assume you know quite a few of them. I hope you can inform them that if they have any need for legal services, they can come to me. Everything will be free, and I’ll do my best to help them fight for their interests.”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei skeptically.
To be honest, she had complete distrust for Zhang Fei. No matter how well he spoke, she always felt he had ulterior motives.
Clearly, first impressions were of utmost importance.
Naturally, Zhang Fei was well aware of this. So he continued, “I understand that you don’t trust me. But why not consider this: firstly, those villagers don’t have anything valuable that I would covet; secondly, when those villagers are oppressed by the big landlords, their fate is generally miserable and no pen-in-cap would be willing to help them. Even if you assume that I’m trying to deceive them, they have nothing to lose. The outcome wouldn’t change. However, if I do genuinely help them, it might help them overcome their difficulties.”
After pondering for a moment, Xu Zhiqian asked, “Aren’t you afraid of offending the powerful and influential?”
Zhang Fei scoffed, “Would they be more powerful and influential than Academician Sima?”
Seeing his self-satisfied look, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but think, Academician Sima is a man of integrity. If he were to follow your path and misuse his power, you probably would have met a dire end long ago. What’s there to be proud of?
Observing her changing expressions and her silence, Zhang Fei asked, “Lady Xu, what do you think?”
Xu Zhiqian blinked and suddenly seemed to remember something. She said, “Speaking of lawsuits, I’ve just remembered something.”
Zhang Fei anxiously asked, “What is it?”
Xu Zhiqian replied, “A contractual dispute.”
Zhang Fei’s eyes lit up upon hearing this and he eagerly asked, “A contractual dispute?”
“Yes.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded and then asked, “Why are you so happy?”
“N-No, not at all!”
Zhang Fei chuckled awkwardly and asked, “Could you please tell me what it’s about?”
Inside, he was overjoyed. In the modern world, there were lawyers who specialized in helping poor people with their legal cases. These lawyers weren’t appointed by the government or obligated to do so; their aim was still to gain profits.
Their objective was represent the poor in suing wealthy individuals or even the government itself.
Zhang Fei’s idea of providing free legal assistance to the poor was along the same lines.
Firstly, he was reluctant to be just a supplement to the government, like those notaries who earned meager wages and were at the mercy of the whims of higher officials.
Secondly, this field of work was clearly monopolized by several major bookstores. As a matter of business, how could he attract clients as a lone individual? The merchants would naturally turn to those established bookstores for their reliability. The only clientele left relatively untouched by these major bookstores were the ordinary people.
Although these ordinary people couldn’t afford lawyer fees,  they could use legal proceedings to seek compensation, making it a profitable endeavor for the lawyers.
Finally, Zhang Fei also considered broader political factors. Currently, Wang Anshi’s New Policies were imminent, and within these policies were many regulations that favored the poor while targeting the landlords. The Greensprouts Policy, for example, was aimed at high-interest loans. It would be foolish for him not to use this political wind, especially since he had done so a few times already.
Xu Zhiqian didn’t hesitate and immediately informed Zhang Fei of this dispute.
It turned out that the incident took place within Xiangfu County, under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture. It involved a peasant family that owned three acres of fertile land. The farmer had a wife, and the couple lived relatively well. However, two years ago, the farmer fell seriously ill, and his wife was compelled to borrow ten strings of coins from a local wealthy man to cover the medical expenses.
Due to the farmer’s illness lasting half a year, he couldn’t tend to the land, and his wife could only manage with some sewing work to make ends meet. This led to an inability to repay the debt the following year.
According to the contract, he was obligated to use their three acres of fertile land as collateral to repay the wealthy man. However, that land was their ancestral property, and the farmer was deeply attached to it. So, he earnestly pleaded with the wealthy man to extend the deadline by another six months.
Unexpectedly, the wealthy man became interested in the farmer’s wife and proposed that the farmer use his wife as collateral. The wife was well aware that her husband treasured the ancestral land, which was crucial for their survival. Without it, they would have no way to make a living. Therefore, she willingly offered herself as collateral.
In the end, the farmer used his wife as collateral.
However, they didn’t anticipate that this year, the wealthy man would come knocking at their door again, demanding repayment.
It turned out that the collateral agreement only stated that the wife was collateral for the principal amount and didn’t mention anything about interest. However, interest was the major component of the debt, and with another year passed, the debt had actually increased.
As a result, they did not manage to save their ancestral land.
Upon hearing the story, Zhang Fei couldn’t help but feel angry. He immediately stated, “This is clearly a fraudulent act.”
Xu Zhiqian explained, “But in cases like this, the authorities only consider the contract. Although the farmer is illiterate, witnesses were present to read the contract aloud. However, the farmer was preoccupied with thoughts of his wife at the time and didn’t pay much attention. He was deceived by the wealthy man as a result.”
Zhang Fei frowned and asked, “Setting aside those issues, do you know whether the contract itself had legal problems? For example, were the interest terms legal?”
Xu Zhiqian replied, “Although our dynasty stipulates that interest should not exceed 70% of the principal, many wealthy merchants do not lend in copper coins, and the common people do not repay in copper coins either. If the transaction involves lending in one type of good or currency, and repayment in another, it would be difficult to determine the exact interest rate. This often leads to interest rates effectively reaching double or more. In the case of this farmer’s contract, if you were to calculate it, the interest rate would indeed exceed double the principal. However, the authorities generally do not intervene.”
Zhang Fei glanced at Xu Zhiqian, thinking, she seems to be even more knowledgeable about Song dynasty law than I am and also has more experience. If she can’t find any issues with the contract, then there’s no way I can win this case! Xu Zhiqian’s gaze shifted, and she said, “Do you have a way to help this farmer seek justice? If you can do that, I’m willing to assist you.”
Seems like she’s treating this as a last ditch effort for the farmer! I knew she wouldn’t make things easy for me. After a moment of thought, Zhang Fei responded, “I need to personally meet with this farmer, understand the specific details of the case, and then make a judgment.”