Peasant Woman’s Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 60: Great Chu Law

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Muyu nodded in agreement. “If that’s the case, you can memorize it. I’ll accompany you here.”

...

Ye Muyu’s current task was to teach him how to read and memorize. As for the content, it did not have to be the Four Books and Five Classics.

After finding Chu Jin something to do, Ye Muyu looked at Chu Ziluo.

Chu Ziluo’s eyes were filled with envy. Ye Muyu thought for a moment and asked, “Ziluo, Mother doesn’t know many words, but how about I teach you according to the family names?”

“Mother, alright, I’m willing.” Chu Ziluo quickly agreed, afraid that Ye Muyu would regret it.

Ye Muyu sat down and taught Chu Ziluo the first four words of the Hundred Family Names.

“Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li.”

“Think about these four surnames. Who in our village has this surname?”

Xingshui Village was a big village. Other than the Chu family, there were other families that were also very prosperous.

As soon as Ye Muyu asked this question, Chu Ziluo counted on her fingers and said, “Sister Wu’s mother’s surname is Zhao. So that’s how the Zhao in Aunt Zhao is written…

Ye Muyu told her to think of the people she knew and then read.

When she saw that the two children studying, she then remembered that she did not know if there were any reference books similar to the Xinhua Dictionary in this world. If there were, it would be much easier for the two children to read in the future.

She thought for a moment. It seemed that the first dictionary in ancient times was called ‘Explaining Text and Words’. Since it was passed down from the Eastern Han, it must have existed in the Great Chu Dynasty.

Ye Muyu was relieved. He reached out from the bookshelf and took out the ‘Great Chu Law’ that she had been thinking about for a long time.

It was as thick as three bricks.

Flipping through the pages, she saw some lengthy warnings to the effect that one must obey the law. Those who ignored the law would be beheaded.

Then, it was brought out who wrote this law and what position it belonged to. Ye Muyu’s first reaction when she read the book was that it was very dignified, solemn, and even murderous.

After reading the content that was similar to a brief introduction, it was the main topic, followed by the case studies.

For example, theft.

“Stealing goods is a the, harming oneself is a thief.”

Stealing property is called a ‘thief’, and those who violate personal safety are called ‘thieves’.

Those who only planned but did not commit the theft would be beaten forty-seven times by bamboo boards or thorns.

Those who failed to steal were beaten 57 times.

If the stolen money was less than a string of money, he would be beaten 67 times.

When the number reached 10, the sentence would be one year in prison. For every additional 10, the sentence would be increased by one year, but not more than three years.

At the same time, in order to punish thieves, the Great Chu Law also adopted corporal punishment, which had been abolished since Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Those who stole for the first time would be tattooed on their left arm, and those who stole again would be tattooed on their right arm. If they stole for the third time, they would be tattooed on their neck.

It was enough to show that Great Chu Law had been slowly perfected. In that case, at least this dynasty was developing quite well.

Ye Muyu read for more than two hours. When Chu Ziluo called her, she finally looked up from the book.

“Ziluo, what’s wrong?”

“Mother, my brother and I are hungry. I want to ask, can I go make dinner?” Chu Ziluo asked carefully.

Ye Muyu looked up at the sky outside the window and saw that the sky was already dark.

When Chu Heng left, it was already midnight.

“I’ll go cook. You guys continue reading.” Ye Muyu got up and went into the kitchen.

There were not many ingredients in the kitchen. There were only some cabbages and eggs that he had bought in the afternoon. There was also some meat left.

Ye Muyu went out to the nearby field and plucked some lettuce. The lettuce was not big, and many of them were found in piles of grass..