In the Northern Song Dynasty, the remarriage of a widow could involve the emperor and high-ranking officials, and in 1002, a widow named Chai and her stepson Xue Anshang competed for family property, which not only caused a storm in the city, but also directly affected the emperor Song Zhenzong at that time. Why would an ordinary family dispute attract attention from such a high level?
Imagine living in Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng) during the Great Song Dynasty, which was not only the heart of the empire, but also the front line of court battles. In such a context, the protagonist of our story, Chai, left behind a large fortune after the death of her husband Xue Weiji.
Chai is not the Xue family's biological mother, but a stepmother. Xue Weiji's father, Xue Juzheng, was a well-known prime minister, and his story left a strong mark in the history of the Song Dynasty. He not only participated in the compilation of the "History of the Old Five Dynasties", but also served as an important minister by Song Taizong's side. It's a pity that his son Xue Weiji did not inherit his talent and personality, but became a famous gentleman in the capital.
After Xue Weiji's death, Chai, as his widow, could have chosen to be widowed, but the Song Dynasty was relatively liberal towards widows remarrying. According to the law of the time, widows were encouraged and supported to remarry, which also reflected the relatively special status of women in the Song Dynasty. After some searching, Chai took a fancy to Zhang Qixian, a political governor of the current dynasty, whose status is equivalent to that of the current deputy prime minister.
This marriage should have been a good thing that both parties were willing to do, but the problem was that how to distribute the Xue family's property became a big problem. Xue Anshang, Xue Weiji's son, was dissatisfied with his stepmother Chai bringing a large amount of family property into the newlywed family, so he sued the dispute to Kaifeng Mansion.
The governor of Kaifeng Prefecture was Kou Zhun at the time, an official known for his fairness and strictness. Faced with such a case, Kou Zhun felt very tricky. On the one hand, this is a family matter involving a high-ranking family, and it is easy to cause waves if it is not handled well; On the other hand, Xue Anshang's behavior, like his father, is also notoriously unprofessional.
The situation became complicated, as the case was eventually reported to Song Zhenzong. Song Zhenzong was not only the emperor at that time, but also the governor of Kaifeng Mansion, and he knew the situation of the Xue family very well. Although Xue Juzheng was the founder of the country back then, the performance of his descendants gave Song Zhenzong a headache. Faced with such a situation, Song Zhenzong's handling method was also extremely cautious.
In the court, this matter also caused a lot of fluctuations. Many officials are watching to see how the dispute can affect decision-making at the top. After all, this is not just a simple family feud, but a collision of power, law and traditional ideas.
During the trial, Kou Zhun showed his wisdom and fairness. He first investigated the status of the Xue family's property and learned in detail about the respective demands of the Chai family and Xue Anshang. Through a series of investigations and discussions, Kou Zhun found that although the Chai family did have the intention of using part of the family property as a dowry, it did not exceed the scope permitted by law. Although Xue Anshang was ostensibly interested in the family property, in fact he was more profligate and made little substantial contribution to the management and maintenance of the family property.
In this case, Kou Zhun made a judgment that the Chai family could take away her legal part of the dowry, and the main property and assets of the Xue family were still left to Xue Anshang to manage, but it needed to be supervised to ensure that the long-term interests of the family would not be damaged by profligacy. This judgment not only protected the widow's rights and interests, but also did not allow the Xue family's property to be destroyed because of a temporary struggle.
Although this lawsuit ended in the internal reconciliation of the Xue family, it had a profound impact on the society at that time. It not only demonstrates the more enlightened status of women in the Song dynasty, but also reflects the progressive nature of the law in dealing with family and property issues. More importantly, this judgment also shows that the law of the Song Dynasty is still fair to high-level figures.
As time passed, this incident gradually became a good story among the people. People not only discussed Chai's strength and sanity, but also praised Kou Zhun's fairness and wisdom. And this turmoil also made Song Zhenzong's trust in Kou Zhun firmer, and in later days, he reused Kou Zhun many times to deal with national affairs.
Looking back at the Kaifeng government lawsuit thousands of years ago, we not only see a microcosm of the society of the Song Dynasty, but also reflect the intersection of law, social concepts and humanistic spirit in that era.