IDWBE -Chapter 394 The Laws of Liang

Although Sun Cheng was merely a gatekeeper, he had a good elder brother!

He wished he could shout to the whole world: My brother is Sun Chongde!

Back when his brother had not yet risen to prominence, the world seemed full of malice toward him. Nothing ever went smoothly—he would even choke on his water while drinking. Life had been hard.

He used to sigh all day long, cursing Heaven for its blindness.

But ever since his brother became the Third-Rank Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, good people suddenly appeared all around him.

Whether they were folks from Sanhe or his old neighbors in Ankang City, everyone now treated him with extra care. Every day he felt the warmth of the world and discovered the beauty of life everywhere.

The only exception was Chief Steward Hong. The steward’s attitude toward him had remained unchanged.

The steward had never once shown him a pleasant face—after all, he was truly useless in both civil and martial pursuits.

Still, none of that prevented him from finding himself a celestial beauty for a wife.

With his family background laid out like this, what kind of wife could he not find?

He was that confident!

Jiang Chou stepped out of the gate. Like Sun Cheng, he watched Xie Xiaoqing’s gradually receding figure and chuckled.

“Want to hear a few words from me? I’ll completely extinguish that fantasy of yours.”

Sun Cheng stared without blinking at the disappearing silhouette and replied absentmindedly, “Go on. I’m listening.”

He had already figured it out—this bastard Jiang Chou deliberately targeted him at every turn. There was no need for politeness anymore.

His brother was Sun Chongde!

As Tao Yingyi from the northern frontier would say: What the hell would he be afraid of?

Jiang Chou asked, “Do you know who that woman is?”

“All I know is she’s stolen my soul,” Sun Cheng muttered dreamily.

Jiang Chou glanced at him. “If the monk hears that, you’ll be in trouble.”

“Mm!”

Sun Cheng hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t say anything. Don’t slander me out of thin air.”

Jiang Chou laughed. “What kind of person do you think she is? She’s the chief disciple of Chunshan City, a Ninth-Rank master. Do you think she’s some ordinary girl?”

“She’s Ninth Rank?”

Sun Cheng was stunned. He himself was only Second Rank—how could he possibly gauge her depth?

Jiang Chou said bluntly, “A toad shouldn’t dream of eating swan meat. Jump as high as you like—it won’t help.”

So what if your own brother is Sun Chongde?

Sun Chongde himself was still a lifelong bachelor!

“You—”

Sun Cheng ground his teeth in anger.

He wanted to hit him—but couldn’t win.

Jiang Chou patted his shoulder and grinned. “Want to beat me? Try next lifetime.”

Then he whistled away triumphantly.

Spring blossomed. The snow and ice finally melted completely.

Lin Yi rarely attended morning court—but this time he did.

The purpose was simple: to revise the Laws of Great Liang.

In court, the ministers wailed in protest. To alter ancestral laws—how could they face the forefathers?

“Enough.”

Lin Yi sat casually on the steps of the Golden Throne Hall. In front of him lay a stack of the Great Liang Code. He ordered eunuchs to distribute copies until everyone had one.

“When the revisions are finished, you may go home. If they’re not finished, no one leaves.”

He certainly did not believe in that nonsense about “following ancestral institutions.”

If they were all loyal ministers, his father would not have been unable to issue orders beyond Qilin Palace, and he himself would not be sitting here arguing with them.

Simply put, everyone had vested interests. They just did not want change.

Qi Yong stepped forward. “Your Highness, this minister has something to say.”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes. “Hold it in. Speak after we finish revising. Clear rivers and peaceful seas, bright skies and pure air—that is the people’s hope for a better life. I cannot fail them.”

Ma Jin also spoke loudly, advocating governance by unchanging principles.

Lin Yi responded coldly, “According to ancestral law, any official embezzling over sixty taels shall be executed without mercy. If you insist on following ancestral law, I have no objection.”

The court fell utterly silent.

If that standard were enforced, at best they’d lose hands and feet; at worst, they’d be flayed alive. None of them were innocent.

And this regent prince was famously reckless. Best not oppose him directly.

Qi Yong immediately declared, “Your Highness is wise. I second the motion.”

Lin Yi flipped open the code. “First page—mourning rites. Three years of mourning for parents… What kind of mess is this? The dead deserve respect, yes. But must we suffocate the living? Three years of mourning—what’s the point? Delete it.”

The ministers had no objection—some were even pleased. Three-year mourning disrupted their official careers.

“Your Highness is wise!”

“From now on,” Lin Yi continued, “all capital crimes shall be punished by beheading only. Lingchi, mutilation, strangulation, penal exile—all abolished.”

Again, no serious objections. Death was death.

“Your Highness is wise!”

Lin Yi pondered. “As for those beasts in official robes—no more leniency. If the concubine is between ten and sixteen years old, ten years of hard labor, life imprisonment. Under ten—death penalty.”

This shocked the ministers. Many kept concubines aged fifteen or sixteen.

Before anyone could object, Lin Yi continued, “As for the clause allowing a husband to kill adulterers on the spot—abolish it. Romantic entanglements are human nature. No one has the right to kill at will. If dissatisfied, report to the authorities.”

He had reviewed the Liang Code repeatedly. Though not a legal professional, as someone steeped in modern internet culture, he knew some legal common sense: the law does not demand the impossible.

For instance, infidelity is immoral—but not criminal.

From dawn to dusk he lectured tirelessly, sipping tea and eating pastries while ministers grew faint with hunger. Some collapsed on the floor.

“Also, the ‘Eight Deliberations’—abolish them. If a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner.”

The responses were weak and exhausted.

Finally, Lin Yi smiled. “That’s enough for today. Continue tomorrow. Speak freely—don’t be so dull.”

He couldn’t starve the entire court to death.

The ministers staggered out, nearly weeping.

This regent was inhuman.

By the fifth day, after three drafts, Lin Yi sealed the revised code with the imperial jade seal and proclaimed it nationwide.

The empire erupted in uproar.

Elder scholars wept as though mourning their parents.

Lin Yi ignored them. The sword hilt was in his hand; he could afford to be willful.

Officials across Ankang—Prefecture Office, Court of Judicial Review, Provincial Administration, Surveillance Commission, Military Commission, Six Ministries—were ordered to study Lin Yi’s instructions and ensure strict implementation.

Chen Desheng, newly appointed Right Censor-in-Chief, found himself overwhelmed, now tasked with organizing training sessions on the new code.

Even local constables struggled. Cao Xiaohuan sighed, covering her head with the thick book.

“It’s too thick.”

Sanhe’s laws had been two sheets of paper: as long as you didn’t murder or commit arson, you were fine. Simple. No brain required.

Now they had to memorize this tome.

Zhou Xun laughed. “Master Ma will test case studies soon. Fail, and you can’t patrol the streets.”

Cao muttered, “He probably can’t memorize it either.”

Zhou replied, “He’s examined by Chen Desheng personally. No easier for him. Besides, Ankang’s lawyers are far sharper than that Daoist Sun Xing. They say Tang Jiyu memorized the new code backwards by the third day and embarrassed Master Ma in court.”

“Tang Jiyu? The one awarded ‘Number One Advocate Under Heaven’ by the prince?”

“Who else? His tongue spares no one.”

They resumed memorizing: “What is rule by law? What is rule by virtue?”

“Rule by virtue promotes good; rule by law punishes evil…”

In Qilin Palace, Emperor Delong hurled the newly printed Liang Code to the ground.

“Outrageous! Outrageous! That bastard dares!”

He coughed violently, even spitting blood.

“Summon that rebellious son!”

But when the message reached the Directorate of Ceremonial, Xiao Xizi sneered. “Our prince is not someone His Majesty can summon at will.”

Still, he went to inform Lin Yi.

Upon hearing that his father had smashed books and cups and coughed blood, Lin Yi was surprised.

When he had imprisoned his father in Qilin Palace, the old man hadn’t been this angry.

Was revising ancestral law more serious than usurping power?

Entering the palace, Lin Yi saw the emperor’s dark expression.

“Father, what’s wrong?”

“Rebellious son!”

The emperor hurled an inkstone; Ye Qiu caught it swiftly.

“Father, at least let me understand before condemning me.”

Emperor Delong growled, “The ancestral injunction states: ‘None of my descendants shall alter even a single word of established law.’ Who allowed you to revise it?”

Lin Yi replied calmly, “If we didn’t revise it, the realm would no longer bear the surname Lin.”

The emperor advanced. “Ruler guides subject, father guides son, husband guides wife. You overturn Heaven’s order. Aren’t you afraid of universal condemnation?”

So that was his father’s sore point.

Under the new code, disobeying parents was no longer a crime. Parents no longer had the right to kill their children—filicide was treated as murder.

Life for life.

As the emperor approached face-to-face, Lin Yi did not retreat.

“To blindly obey and lead one’s parent into injustice is unfilial. I follow ancient teachings too. Father, you should rest peacefully in retirement.”

Even with legal authority, the emperor lacked the strength to reclaim power.

Emperor Delong said coldly, “Defy Heaven’s will, and Heaven will punish you.”

Lin Yi replied calmly, “I act for the nation and the people, with a clear conscience.”

Then he turned and left.

There was no reasoning with a feudal old diehard. Better to save his breath.