In Zheng it was the custom for people to hang criticisms of the laws from the walls. When Prince Chan ordered that no more be hung, Deng Xi added his own construction of the meaning of the laws. When Prince Chan ordered that no such constructions be added, Deng Xi found yet other devious ways of twisting the meaning of the laws. To whatever orders the Prince issued, Deng Xi had a ready response. His actions obliterated the distinction between what was permissible and what was not.
When these cannot be properly distinguished and one makes use of rewards and punishments, the more extreme the punishments become, the graver the anarchy that results. This is precisely what those governing a state should forbid.
Annals of Lü Buwei, 18/4.2

Deng Xi knows how to interpret the law in such a way as to render it null and void. Does this mean the legislator who drafted the law was careless?
That would probably be an anachronistic conclusion. A more stimulating one would be to realize that Deng Xi « discovered interpretation », an epochal moment not only in the construction of law but also in linguistics and philosophy.

While it is probably unrealistic to expect laws to be unambiguous, we must at least anticipate and manage future probable interpretations. In other words, we should make the work of contemporary Deng Xis more complex. See « The Letter and Spirit of the Law. »
What the Hegemon dictates may be self-evident to the Hegemon but not to everyone else. Deng Xi was executed for his insolence.