[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

With Herod present, all the facts concerning the succession dispute between the two ladies Aligal and Ishtar were clearly laid out before Hammurabi.

The clay tablet that Herod found last night became evidence, pointing directly to the existence of a marriage between Gugalana and Eligal.

Many royal officials also "recall" the fact that Gugalana was married to the "noble Averu" of the Uruk family, and carefully disregarded their relationship with this inheritance case.

What angered Hammurabi was the "loss" of the clay tablets. If all the officials in the palace can change and destroy the official archives at will for personal gain, then what is the point of keeping these official archives? ? ——Can’t we do it now?

But when the royal court officer in charge of this succession case was brought before Hammurabi, he argued in every possible way, repeatedly denied it, and kept saying that there was only "clay tablet" as evidence.After all, as an official in charge, he couldn't see the marriage letter and clay tablet, so he could only pretend that this marriage didn't exist.

He refused to admit that he had entered the clay warehouse and damaged the files, and only said that among the royal officials, Herod was the only one who often went to the warehouse.

Unexpectedly, during the conversation, the captain of Hammurabi's guard had already searched the residence of the royal court official with people, and found out the marriage letter between Gugalana and Aligal——

Presumably, the abacus of this royal ceremony official was brilliant:

He wanted to help Gugalana and Aligal settle the inheritance case first, and then use these evidences as a means to blackmail them.In this way, he can continue to get the benefits he wants from the property seized by Eligal throughout his life.

Because of these selfish intentions, the royal ceremony officials did not destroy all the files—now they were found after a search, as conclusive evidence.

What else can I say now?

Hammurabi immediately announced that the royal ceremonial officer would be deprived of his Mushchenu status and demoted to Vardu.And because of his crime this time, he will be punished by flogging in public.

The couple Gugalana and Aligarna were accused of "false accusation" because they concealed the marriage certificate, and Aligarna's request to inherit the inheritance should be rejected.Hammurabi announced that all the property that had been assigned to Aligal's name earlier would be returned to Miss Ishtar's name.

As for the punishment that Gugalana and Eligar deserved...

While Hammurabi was pondering, a hoarse female voice suddenly sounded outside the royal court.

"You wise king of Babylon, in this case, Miss Ishtar feels that it's unfair, but Ishtar's sister, Aligal, has actually been silently enduring the injustice!"

Hammurabi frowned, looked at the captain of the palace guard, and thought that once the "seven gates" were broken, even the palace guard would become a display. Anyone could come to the royal court?

The captain of the palace guard knelt down endlessly today, and at this moment he quickly knelt down again to plead guilty, and at the same time felt wronged: the person who came was the wife of the royal official, and she was always familiar with the way.Coupled with the fact that there was a big commotion outside today, if this lady really touched Wang Ting, no one would stop her.

"Arigal from Uruk, who saw the wise ruler of Babylon."

Earlier, Aligar knew something was wrong when he heard that the "Seven Doors of Justice" had been destroyed.As soon as she heard the news, she sneaked near the royal court and waited until her husband, who was half scared to death, came to her.

"Ma'am, I won't think about my sister's property from now on, let's just live as a family, okay?"

Gu Jialanna witnessed his colleagues being deprived of their status, demoted to Valdu, and being flogged. He was frightened, grabbed his wife's sleeve, and begged repeatedly.

But Aligal flicked his sleeves and said coldly: "After all this, do you think I can still be the wife of Mushchinnu?"

Aligal has always envied the prosperity of Babylon, he likes the excitement, beautiful jewelry, dozens of amtu hugging him, and living the most exquisite life.After marrying a Mushchenu, she was able to attend various royal banquets every day-this opened her horizons and also bred the greed in her heart.

Ever since he saw his sister's glass shop, knew how valuable glass was, how popular it was, and how much shekels of silver the shop earned every day, Aligar knew he would never go back.

She can no longer live the life she used to live with Gu Jialana.

Therefore, the current Eligal mustered up his courage and came before King Hammurabi.

If the younger sister Ishtar can have the courage to do it, so can her Eligal.

Therefore, now Aligal broke into the royal court directly and came before the Babylonian king Hammurabi just like Inan had done in the past.

"Are you Aligal? It's you, together with Gujarana, who wanted to seize the property left to your sister by your parents, so you bribed the royal court officer to deliberately tamper with the evidence, causing Miss Ishtar to suffer innocently?"

Hammurabi was also very annoyed: If there was no inheritance case, at least the "Seven Doors of Justice" at the gate of his palace would still be intact.

Aligal was very calm, she lowered her head and said softly: "Excuse me, my sister Ishtar and I are the children of the same father and mother. Why are our results so different? Why did I marry a Mushchenu?" , I can’t inherit any of the property left by my parents? And my sister is still a distinguished Avell, and at the same time can inherit all the property of my parents?”

Hammurabi pondered: "The custom of the Kingdom of Babylon is that under the premise that no son inherits the family property, the unmarried daughter inherits all the inheritance of the parents. The property is divided equally among the unmarried daughters. Since you are married, your parents A large dowry has been provided for you, so you no longer have the right to inherit."

Aligal raised his head calmly, looked directly at the king on the throne, and asked, "Is the custom that must be followed?"

Hammurabi was at a loss for words: Why are there two sisters in this family who speak so beautifully?

"It is not the customs that must be followed, but the king's ruling must be followed." Hammurabi finally replied.

Aligar bowed and saluted, expressing that she was convinced.

"For the sake of fairness, the king believes that the inheritance left by your parents should be inherited by their two unmarried daughters when they passed away, that is, your sister." Hammurabi answered Eligal's question after careful consideration. .

"Then, what if I have already divorced Gugalana by then?"

Gugalana outside didn't know what to think, but in short, Eligar took out a clay tablet from her robe and handed it to Herod.

Herod glanced quickly, and immediately said, "This clay tablet has not been officially registered."

He handed over the tablet to Hammurabi: it was a "deed of divorce".

In Babylonian society, "divorce" could exist, but it usually needed to be initiated by the originally higher status party.If the status of the two parties is equal, there will be a more cumbersome identification procedure.

"Divorce is not something worth publicizing, so Gu Jialanna and I did not go to the official registration of the matter." Aligal spoke very calmly, and indeed he looked ashamed.

"The date of divorce was before my parents passed away, so I think I still have the right to inherit the property left by my parents."

"But you still control the dowry left to you at home?" Herod asked.

"According to the marriage certificate, all will be left to the children." Aligal said lightly.

This is good—Arigal is going all out, and he doesn't want all the previous dowry, and he also said that he has divorced Gujarana.She was desperate to snatch the property left by her parents from her younger sister.

"Miss Ishtar, what do you think about this?"

Hammurabi thought for a long time, then turned to Inan who had been standing quietly by the side.

"Ask me?" Yinan said with a smile, "Actually, I think, if it's fair, why married women can't inherit the inheritance, and it must only be inherited by unmarried women?"

"Dear king of Babylon, you are also a person with children, do you also hope that your children can be harmonious and friendly? Do you look at the noble princesses under your knees, married or unmarried, are you also beloved? daughter?"

When she said this, Wang Tingli sighed.

And Aligal's face flushed red: She never expected that the answer given by her sister would be such an answer.

If he had known that this was the case, Aligar put aside his dignity and cared about his younger sister's body after his parents passed away, and asked about the business of the farm and workshop. The younger sister might not have been willing to share the management rights and income of part of the property with him. she.

Hammurabi was very interested in Inan's point of view.He smiled and answered Yi Nan: "Yes, Miss Ishtar, I regard all the princesses of Babylon as my precious daughters, and I really don't want to insist on distinguishing them just because they have a home or not."

"But, are you willing to give half of the property left by your parents to your sister?"

Yi Nan nodded: "Of course, of course I am willing."

Yi Nan's starting point is straightforward: she is the impostor.The property of Miss Ishta's family is now in her hands, and her conscience can't bear it.Even split - no problem at all!

But Aligar, who lowered his head, trembled all over.

Others looked at Ali Gal's current state, and then thought of the price Ali Gal had paid, and immediately felt sympathy for her.

——Why didn't you ask me in person?

Hammurabi reached out and stroked the beard on his chin, looked at the two women standing in front of him, nodded suddenly, and said, "Okay, the king will leave your parents behind as Miss Ishtar wishes. property, to be divided 'justly' between the two of you."

In just a short moment, Aligal's heart fell from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley, and then flew from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain, stirring back and forth several times.When she finally heard Hammurabi's "final verdict", she was so excited that she knelt down on the carpet in the middle of the royal court and thanked the king—

Half is half. Judging from the current situation, getting half of the property is already the best result that Aligar can get from his sister.

Yi Nan stood beside her sister, smiling narrowly at Hammurabi: she could tell what the other party was planning from hearing Hammurabi's tone.

When Hammurabi saw her little expression, he was angry and laughed at the same time, thinking that nothing can be hidden from you.

He immediately turned to look at Herod:

"Herod, let the king take a look at your ability to judge and distribute fairly. Remember, you must be 'just'."

Herod stepped forward quickly, bowed to the king, and promised, "Yes, Herod will do everything he can."

He turned around and looked at the pair of sisters standing in the Wang court.

Inan smiled sweetly at him; while Aligal stared at him viciously, as if to say: King Hammurabi has ordered you to act impartially, if you dare to show partiality, I will never end with you.

Herod lowered his head, thought for a while, then raised his head, faced the two of them, and said, "According to Miss Ishta's request, the justice she wants is to share equally between married and unmarried girls." Respect the family property left by the parents when they passed away."

He deliberately emphasized the words "respecting parents when they passed away".

Aligar's face sank again.But she had heard that when her parents passed away, the farm's production was scarce, and the jewelry workshop had little business.If the property at that time is divided equally, she will lose a lot.

But a year or two after the parents' death, who can remember what the farm and workshop were worth at that time?

"When Lord Yelta of Uruk and Mrs. Xerxes of Eridu passed away, they left a farm of 210 hectares, together with a house and a jewelry workshop. There were 79 adults in Valdu and 54 adults in Amtu [-] people."

"This farm, calculated according to the taxes paid by Lord Yerta of Uruk and Lady Xerxes of Eridu the year before their death, the farm produces about 76 silas of barley and wheat. According to the market price, it is about four thousand five hundred and ninety three shekels of silver..."

In this world, apart from Herod, there will be no second person who is willing to memorize these boring numbers;

There will never be another person with such powerful mental arithmetic ability who can convert all property into silver in such a short moment.

"Everyone, the jewelry workshop applied for tax exemption in the year when the master and wife passed away, because it lost money, and the loss exceeded five hundred shekels of silver..."

Eligar looked at Herod who was standing in the middle of the royal court and talking.

She didn't believe it... she didn't want to believe it.

So when the parents died, it was true that only the poor fields and poorly run workshops were left to the younger sister.Her natal family can have today's property, all because of her younger sister, her younger sister...

This is impossible!

It must be Herod, the self-proclaimed "honest man", the humble Mushchenu, who is obsessed with her sister's beauty, and falls under her pomegranate skirt...

She looked up to her husband's colleagues as she called for help.

The courtiers of the royal family turned their eyes away one after another, who would dare to help her at this time?

It was Herod who saw Aligar's eyes and asked gently: "Miss Aligal, don't you believe me?"

"I'm going to ask people to check the relevant records from the clay board warehouse - don't worry, these records can be mutually supported. For example, the accounting records of the next year can be compared with the records of the previous year... …I'm not one to alter a file record against conscience."

Herod really took out a spare clay tablet from his bosom, wrote down a few lines of cuneiform index, and asked people to go to the clay tablet warehouse to check the clay tablet records, and sent it to the royal court.

Aligar looked at these records and still refused to believe it.She shook her head vigorously and shouted, "No, it's impossible..."

"Ishtar is just a little girl, how could she run the farm and workshop like this alone?"

At this time, the two craftsmen who had been standing behind Yi Nan and kept silent finally spoke.

"Miss Aligal, what is impossible?"

"Miss Ishtar had been ill for a long time before, and when she recovered, she began to instruct the Valdus to farm, and also instructed us to make jewelry and make glass... The business of the family is indeed the work of Ms Ishtar alone. .”

"Miss Aligar wanted to take over all the properties under the name of Miss Ishtar, and most of them were created by Miss Ishtar. This is what Miss Aligar wanted to occupy Ishtar for no reason. Miss's achievement!"

Aligal immediately exploded when he heard the words: "Stop talking—you, a lowly craftsman, what right do you have to speak to your master in such a tone?"

The craftsman seemed to know Aligal's temper, so he didn't care much, and explained calmly: "Miss Aligal, you may not know that all the craftsmen hired in the workshop in the house are free people Avi. Let's go."

"My lord, please distribute as much as you like, but there is one thing, no matter how you divide, even if you only leave a small workshop for Miss Ishtar - as freeman craftsmen, we will all transfer to work for Miss Ishtar. "

Eric Gardner closed her eyes for a moment, biting her lower lip tightly, she almost fainted out of anger.

If she gets half of her sister's glass workshop, but there are no craftsmen in the workshop... what's the point of her getting it?

Herod nodded.

The craftsman plucked up his courage again, and continued to Herod: "As far as we know, the Valdu and Amtus around Miss Ishtar all have the same thoughts. They don't have the freedom to choose, they can only hope that you When distributing..."

Herod had a cold face: "I will uphold justice." He choked back the words of the craftsman.

He bowed to Hammurabi, and then began to announce the results of the division of property between the two parties.

"When Lord Yelta of Uruk and Lady Xerxes of Eridu passed away, they left a property equal to eight thousand two hundred and fifty three shekels of silver."

"Under the equal distribution, Miss Aligal and Miss Ishtar should each receive a property of 120 six and one-half shekels of silver."

"Considering that the workshop and farm are far away in Uruk, the distance is far away and it is not easy to take care of. Miss Ishta happened to buy property outside Babylon the day before yesterday, and the value of the property is [-] shekels of silver."

"For the sake of Miss Aligal's consideration, it is hereby decided to transfer the property that Miss Ishtar purchased the day before yesterday to Miss Aligal as her inheritance from her parents."

"Uruk's farms, workshops, Valdu and Amtu, and Babylon's shops and residences shall all be returned to Miss Ishtar."

"By the way, Miss Aligal, I still need to find 73 and a half shekels of silver from Miss Ishtar."

Herod turned around and bowed to the king: "My lord, this is the verdict that I think is just."

Sitting on the throne, Hammurabi smiled and said, "The ruling is very good! All aspects have been considered, and it is very precise."

"It is also because Miss Aligal lives in Babylon, and it is inconvenient to travel to and from Uruk to run farms and workshops. In this way, Miss Aligal can stay in Babylon to manage the estate."

"The wishes of the free people Avelu have also been fulfilled." Hammurabi stroked his beard with a smile: The king of Babylon never considered the wishes of Valdu and Amtu, but as a craftsman of Averu They, he is willing to respect.

The two craftsmen behind Yinan hurriedly got down to salute, and said in unison, "Thank you king, thank you sir."

"You two ladies, do you think the verdict made by the king's ceremonial officer is fair? Is it satisfactory to you?"

Yi Nan smiled immediately: "Master Herod's ruling is indeed just...but it's too rigid."

She couldn't help complaining: "The 73 and one-half shekels of silver, don't you need to look for it?"

Yi Nan's tone was humorous, and the atmosphere in the entire royal court was relaxed, and many people laughed.The palace guards all breathed a sigh of relief.

But Aligal felt her body began to chill, and hope was gradually leaving her——

She sacrificed so much, she sacrificed her marriage, alienated her husband and children...but only got a piece of wasteland on the outskirts of Babylon?

The most terrible thing is that Herod didn't even assign a Valdu to her.Without serfs, how could she cultivate that wasteland by herself?Where does she have this ability?

"No, it's not fair, I want, I want a glass shop, I want serfs... I want a lot of money!"

"I want those sparkling glass door curtains, and I want them to hang everywhere in the house!"

Ergar walked towards a corner of the royal court, which was decorated with stained glass bead curtains produced by glass workshops—once the wind blows, the bead curtains would make a tinkling sound.

"I want these jewellery," Aligar lay down on the carpet again, where there were jewels and jewellery, which Inan had discarded on the ground like a pair of shoes, "I want them to dress up my whole body, and I wear them every day when I go out... ..."

Everyone looked at Aligal, knowing in their hearts that she must be so stimulated that she was going crazy.

But no one pities her.

Herod looked at her for a while, and finally said: "If you are not greedy, if you don't intend to meddle with your sister's property...if you are tolerant and kind like Miss Ishtar...these, originally You can have it all!"

When Erigal heard Herod's words, he was stunned for a while, as if he couldn't get up, his face was flushed.

Yi Nan walked over, put his hand on her vest, and suddenly patted her lightly.

Aligal burst into tears suddenly, and his whole body was limp on the ground.She knew she was wrong, and she didn't insist anymore.

Gu Jialana rushed in from the outside, kowtowed to the king repeatedly to plead guilty, and then helped the "ex-wife" out.

Hammurabi looked up at Inan: "Miss Ishtar, since you are satisfied with Herod's verdict, today's matter should be considered as a thing of the past, right?"

The king of Babylon sat on the throne, changed his posture, and moved his arms—even a king would feel quite tired after a day.

Unexpectedly, Yi Nan shook his head resolutely with a smile on his face.

--what?

All the officials in the royal court were dumbfounded.

Even Hammurabi, king of Babylon, was stunned.

The king of Babylon did not hold her accountable for destroying the "Seven Doors", but instead resolved her property inheritance dispute with Aligal—this lady, even bluntly stated that she was dissatisfied in front of the king?

"Wise and wise king of Babylon! Do you know what I am asking for today through the 'seven gates'?"

"What I want is not just justice for me alone."