PWDLAW Chapter 60: The Chu Code

 Chapter 60: The Chu Code

Ye Muyu nodded in agreement, "Alright then you go ahead and memorize it. Mom will accompany you." Ye Muyu's current task was to teach Chu Jin to recognize characters and memorize them. The content didn't necessarily have to be from the Four Books and Five Classics. After giving Chu Jin something to do, Ye Muyu turned her attention to Chu Ziluo. Seeing the envy in Chu Ziluo's eyes, Ye Muyu thought for a moment and asked "Ziluo, Mom doesn't know many characters. Shall we start with the Hundred Family Surnames?" "Mom, that's great. I'm willing to learn." Chu Ziluo quickly agreed afraid that Ye Muyu might change her mind. Ye Muyu sat down and began teaching Chu Ziluo the first four surnames from the Hundred Family Surnames. "Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li." "These four surnames, think about it. In our village, who has these surnames?" With this question, Ye Muyu guided Chu Ziluo to talk about people she was familiar with. It made learning characters simpler. Once both children were engrossed in their studies, Ye Muyu finally remembered that she didn't know if there were reference books similar to a modern dictionary in this world. If they existed, buying one would make it much easier for the children to learn characters in the future. After some thought, she remembered that the first ancient dictionary was called 'Shuowen Jiezi.' Since it had been passed down from the Eastern Han dynasty, she believed that there should be something similar during this era called the Great Chu Lexicon. Feeling relieved, Ye Muyu reached out and grabbed the book she had been eyeing for a while "The Great Chu Code." It was thick, as thick as three bricks stacked together. Opening it revealed pages filled with stern warnings about the necessity of obeying the law and the consequences of disregarding it. Then came details about who compiled the laws and their respective positions. Ye Muyu's first impression of the book was that it exuded an air of solemnity, seriousness, and even a sense of ruthlessness. After going through the introductory content, the main part was presented, consisting mainly of case studies. For instance, the crime of theft. "Stealing goods is called theft," "harming the body is called robbery." Those who plotted theft without executing it would be beaten with bamboo or a rattan rod forty-seven times. Those who attempted theft but failed would be beaten fifty-seven times. If the stolen money was less than one tael, the punishment was sixty-seven beatings. For stolen amounts reaching ten taels, the offender would be sentenced to one year of imprisonment and for every additional ten taels, an extra year of imprisonment, up to a maximum of three years. To deter thieves, the "Chu Code" also employed a form of corporal punishment abolished since the time of Emperor Wen of Han. For the first theft, the offender's left arm would be branded, for the second offense, the right arm, and for the third, the neck. This showed that the "Chu Code" had been slowly perfected, indicating that this dynasty was developing quite well. Ye Muyu spent more than an hour reading through it. When Chu Ziluo called her, she finally lifted her head from the book. "Ziluo, what's the matter?" "Mom, my brother and I are hungry. I was wondering if I could start preparing dinner?" Chu Ziluo asked cautiously. Ye Muyu then looked outside at the sky. It was already completely dark. When Chu Heng left it was already Shen hour. "I'll go prepare dinner. You two continue studying." Ye Muyu said, standing up and heading into the kitchen. In the kitchen, there weren't many vegetables just some Chinese cabbage, eggs bought in the afternoon, and a small amount of meat. Ye Muyu went out to the nearby field and pulled some Chinese lettuce. The lettuce wasn't large and many were salvaged from a pile of grass.

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