Chapter 218: Recruitment of the Heavenly Punishment Department

Lu Zhanxing stayed in the villa for a few days. Lu Tong brought a few good-looking men into the garden, but after seeing them, Lu Zhanxing lost interest.

There are so few handsome men who can leave a deep impression on people that I have no interest in them at all.

I always feel that I can't bring myself to date a man who is uglier in appearance than Mu Qingli.

Forget it, there are still too few good-looking people after all. A true friend in life is hard to come by. I don’t want to reveal my identity, so this is the only way.

Lu Zhanxing lost interest and returned to Prince Yi's mansion.

She knew that her elder brother was determined not to let her keep a handsome man.

Then she would just do as he wished for the time being!

Thinking that he had nothing to do anyway, Lu Zhanxing decided to set up the Heavenly Punishment Department.

So Lu Tong was summoned back, and a spacious three-story attic was built on a southern street. Large characters "Tian Fa Si" were hung on the ceiling, which looked solemn and dignified.

Then start recruiting people.

Let Lutong post a recruitment notice. Recruitment:

1: Ten literate female clerks, women with good looks and temperament, clear logic, eloquence, and clean status. Monthly salary of five taels of silver, with one day off every seven days.

2. Twenty yamen runners, both male and female, with strong martial arts skills, responsible for catching criminals, five taels of silver per month, additional subsidies for going out, and one day off every seven days.

Three: Six judges with strong ability to judge cases and convince people with reason, regardless of gender, will be responsible for judging letters from various places. Those who can solve the problems will receive a monthly salary of ten taels. Those who solve the most problems will receive bonuses and have one day off every seven days.

Four: The investigation team consists of 10 people, both men and women, who are good at observation and finding evidence. They will receive 6 taels of silver per month, bonuses, and one day off every seven days.

Interested parties are welcome to apply.

As soon as the recruitment notice came out, many women were very excited. Everyone knew how high the status of the Heavenly Punishment Department was, especially the Heavenly Punishment Department headed by Prince Yi.

Those who have this kind of relationship all want their children to give it a try.

Especially those idlers who stay at home doing nothing, if they can get a job in the Heavenly Punishment Department, wouldn’t they be able to establish a relationship with Prince Yi?

As a result, most of the ladies and gentlemen from official families came for the interview.

Nowadays, there are still very few women who can read and write, and most of them are only those from official families or wealthy businessmen who can read and write.

This will test one's character.

After the initial interview, Lu Zhanxing asked someone to find out about these people's personalities.

Two women finally squeezed in front of the notice. A strong woman said to a thin woman in coarse linen clothes, "Laidi, what does it say?"

After reading it, Lai Di explained: "It's a job announcement posted by Prince Yi, recruiting female clerks who can read and write..."

The sturdy woman's eyes lit up: "Laidi, you can go. Didn't your husband teach you how to read? You will have no problem reading. You are also handsome, so you will definitely be able to do it."

"Aunt Li, I can't do it. I'm just a widow, why would you want me?" Sun Lai Di was very frightened and quickly refused.

Aunt Li said enthusiastically, "What's wrong with a widow? Your husband just died young, it wasn't your fault. Besides, will your brother and sister-in-law be happy with you staying at your mother's house now? It's fine for one or two days, but if it goes on for too long, they will have to sell you off again!"

After hearing this, Sun Lai Di became even more panicked. She didn't want to get married again. She had no choice but to marry her lame husband. Fortunately, her husband was a scholar. Because he broke his leg, he had no chance to take the imperial examination, so he could only open a private school to earn some money.

Life finally got better, but her husband fell and died, leaving her a widow at a young age. She came here today just to see how to set up a household as a woman.

Once a woman is settled as a woman, she is the head of her own household and her family members are not allowed to force her to marry, otherwise she will be exiled.

She was very grateful to the new emperor for giving these helpless women a way to survive.

"Then why are you still hesitating? As long as you become a female historian, who would dare to look down on you? Everyone would want to curry favor with you. Come on, I will accompany you to try. If it works, I will be very happy. If it doesn't, I won't spread it around."

Sun Lai Di was dragged to the gate of the Tianfa Division to sign up for an interview. She first filled out a form. Sun Lai Di filled out the form nervously, and then was taken to the third floor for an interview.

Lu Tong asked about her ancestors for 18 generations, confirmed that her identity background was clean and the forms were filled out properly, and then asked a few more questions.

Lu Zhanxing, who was lazily drinking tea next door, knocked on the wall twice, and Lu Tong understood what his master meant: "You are accepted. Come here to report in three days. We provide food and accommodation. There is a special yard for you to live in. The meals are cooked by the maids. Just do your work well every day."

Sun Lai Di came out in a daze, holding the employment documents. Aunt Li, who was waiting at the door, hurried over and asked, "What's going on?"

Sun Lai Di suddenly burst into tears of joy and cried while hugging Aunt Li. Aunt Li thought she had failed the exam and quickly comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay, let's just pretend that we never came here."

"I've been hired. Please report in three days."

Sun Lai Di quickly explained with red eyes.

"What?" Aunt Li was startled at first, then burst into laughter: "Is it true? Hahaha, Lai Di, your good days are coming, five taels a month, as long as you don't make any mistakes, you will have a good life."

Sun Lai Di looked at the enthusiastic Aunt Li with gratitude: "Aunt, you are my benefactor."

"Why are you saying that? Oh, by the way, don't let your sister-in-law see this document, otherwise, you will be in trouble."

"Aunt, the people inside said that my name and fingerprint are on the employment document. Anyone who dares to replace me will be arrested and exiled to the border."

"That's good, that's good. You have finally reaped the rewards of your hard work. You won't have to live a hard life with them anymore." Aunt Li happily took Sun Lai Di back to the village.

Many literate women who were watching outside learned that a rural widow had succeeded and they all plucked up the courage to give it a try.

On this day, there were many ordinary and literate women like Sun Lai Di who changed their fate.

These women who were once looked down upon and had no source of income were able to work in the Heavenly Punishment Department just because they could read and write. This was equivalent to being protected by His Majesty's Prince Yi.

More and more women realize that literacy is their way out.

The Heavenly Punishment Department selected five women of ordinary status but who were literate, and the other five were wealthy businessmen or officials, all of whom had good character.

It was easy to find the twenty yamen runners. Five of them were even women from the underworld, and the other fifteen were runners who knew martial arts.

It was not easy to find a judge, so Lu Zhanxing asked ten questions, and whoever could give the best answer would be admitted.

There were many people interviewed, but only a few gave good answers.

A few days later, she finally saw a fairly satisfactory answer.

The question is, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Answer: The chicken came first. Explanation: The chicken came first and the egg came later, so it is called an egg.

There is another question. If your father accidentally kills someone and you happen to be the judge, what would you do?

Answer: If the emperor breaks the law, he shall be punished as any common person. It is only natural that a person should be punished for his crime. Therefore, even if the parents make a mistake, they should be punished. Consider the cause and effect of the case. If the victim is a bad person and the father resisted and killed the person accidentally, the case should be handled appropriately.

If the victim is a good person and the father accidentally killed someone, then he must bear the consequences. As the saying goes, help the right person, not your relatives.

There are several other questions that are also about judgment. Lu Zhanxing feels that the answer is already good.

"Jiang Ruimin, let's pick him. Let him handle some minor cases first."

Lu Zhanxing determined the first judge, and then had people install mailboxes in every corner of Daqian. The mailboxes were similar to the suggestion boxes in later generations, with "Report Box" written on them. As long as there was a problem, people could just put a letter in it. Those who couldn't write letters could also go to the Heavenly Punishment Department to report directly with their real names.

It’s no wonder that after the emergence of this mailbox, many people who made mistakes began to behave themselves.

For example, if a playboy tried to abduct a commoner girl and was reported, after verification by the Heavenly Punishment Department, the girl would receive justice. The offender would not only be beaten with twenty sticks, but also have to pay half of his property as compensation before they would stop.

Half of the family property was divided into two parts, one part was given to the commoner girl, and the other part was confiscated by the Heavenly Punishment Division. After all, the Heavenly Punishment Division also had to support so many people, they couldn't work for nothing, right?