Chapter 78: I Have Ideals and Beliefs

We are now facing several problems.

First, more effective evidence is needed to prove that Su Zhenzhen's hypothesis is true, so that all subsequent speculations and inferences can be valid.

Secondly, why did Magistrate Chen leave after only one year in office in Shan County, and why did he leave just as Jiang Yichun ascended the throne? Why were women exempt from paying tolls during his tenure? What did he do to these women? Or did he use them to bribe his superiors?

Third, was the female corpse dug out of the well actually Miss Huo? Why did she die in the well?

Su Zhenzhen decided to start from the place where she was most likely to get results: the female corpse couldn't speak, and Magistrate Chen had limited information.

So why not go to the capital alone, find General Huo's family tree, and see if there really is such a Miss Huo?

Su Zhenzhen found Hensheng and told him her thoughts.

Hensheng was very worried. "Zhenzhen, the capital is a long way away. I'm not comfortable with you going alone. Why don't I go with you?"

Su Zhenzhen shook her head. "The capital is full of nobles, and who knows how many of them have seen the Empress from back then? Your face is too eye-catching, and besides, Shanxian still needs development."

Hensheng understood the reasoning behind it and couldn't insist any further. He could only help Old Man Bai steam some buns for Su Zhenzhen to take on the road.

The flour for making steamed buns came from the system's store. Su Zhenzhen bought enough rice and flour and stored them in Shanxian County. How to use this food to recruit poor people from the surrounding area was Hensheng's task. Since he didn't understand politics, he was responsible for figuring out these mysteries.

On the day Su Zhenzhen left Shanxian County, only Hensheng came out of the city to see her off; everyone else was busy cleaning and repairing the city's facilities.

"Zhenzhen, be careful on the road," Hensheng repeatedly told him.

Su Zhenzhen waved her hand, "Go back."

“Zhenzhen, when you come back you will see a different Shanxian.” Hensheng called out from behind.

"Yes, I believe you."

With the autumn wind of farewell blowing, Su Zhenzhen embarked on her journey south to Beijing.

Since she wasn't skilled at horseback riding, Su Zhenzhen didn't ride a horse; she figured she could run pretty fast on her own anyway.

Viewers in the 906th century were very dissatisfied with the scene transitions, and the barrage of comments was endless.

[Female lead, why are you going to the capital? Now I won't be able to see the male lead's handsome face for several days.]

[I remember the main quest of the cross-time livestream was to save one hundred wronged souls, and there was no mention of any side quests. Why are you investigating cases, female lead?]

[I agree with the comment above. It's a waste of time. In ancient times, you couldn't even take a bath. If it were me, I'd dig up someone's ancestral grave and still manage to find 100 wronged souls.]

[Heh, you guys just don't understand. Even if the female lead were to return to the 906th century, she'd still just be an ordinary servant. Now she's running errands for the male lead, and who knows, maybe after he becomes emperor, he'll make her a concubine, allowing her to live a life of luxury and ease.]

Originally, Su Zhenzhen didn't want to pay attention to these people, but this comment made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'If you have a guilty conscience, everyone else will seem like a demon to you'? Similarly, if you have impure thoughts, you'll think that others are just trying to curry favor with you."

Su Zhenzhen pointed directly at the sky and cursed, "I, Su Zhenzhen, am a person with ideals and beliefs. I am determined to save all the wronged souls in the world and restore justice to all. This is why I chose to become a partner in the underworld. Even if it is a trivial matter, as long as there is injustice, I will speak out for it. I hate the saying that death ends everything. Death is not the end of everything. I want to speak for the dead, sort out all the causes and effects in the world, and let justice and fairness last forever."

There was a moment of silence in the comments section. Su Zhenzhen lowered her fingers and calmly said, "I'm not busy doing things for anyone. I just want to do my part for the deceased. Today she is a wronged soul, but how do we know that tomorrow you or I won't be?"

There was a saying that was popular in the 90s and 60s: "If I stand by and watch today, and disaster befalls me one day, then no one will cheer me on."

Who can guarantee they will be alive tomorrow? Who can guarantee they will be free from cause and effect on their deathbed?

Those souls that are not saved and are entangled by karma will ultimately be annihilated between heaven and earth.

If the girl who was pulled out of the well has indeed been reincarnated, it roughly means that she committed suicide by jumping into the well herself, so there is no cause and effect involved.

Suicide may seem justifiable, but even Lou Yi managed to survive, so why would she choose to die? Who forced her to die? Or was she dying to protect someone?

All of this needs an answer, and Su Zhenzhen is willing to find that answer.

The female lead is right. That little girl would still be in school in our 906 century. How desperate she must have been, being alone in the well. It's so pitiful, and we don't even know how she died.

[I agree. Anyway, I'm going to the capital eventually; there are all sorts of messy things going on, and the current map interface doesn't provide enough information.]

The comments gradually became more friendly, with almost unanimous support for Su Zhenzhen to go to the capital to find the Huo family genealogy.

Unbeknownst to Su Zhenzhen, a carriage had passed by while she was angrily cursing at the sky, and her impassioned speech had been heard by others without missing a single word.

The road was full of potholes, and the carriage swayed and rocked. Song Anbang sat in the carriage, his body swaying with the rhythm of the carriage.

The main road from the capital to Shanxian was originally intended to be an official road, but Jiang Yichun decided to use that money to help disaster victims in the south.

"Having ideals and beliefs," Song Anbang murmured softly.

Once upon a time, he was also a person with ideals and beliefs. His thoughts drifted back to the past with the swaying carriage. Song Anbang was only twelve years old that year.

"Pah! You're destined to be poor your whole life. You think you can wear a long gown just because you picked up a tattered book and gesticulated on the ground?" His biological mother cursed. "Your family has been toiling in the fields for generations. And you still want to study and pass the imperial examinations? Give up on that idea. You should be weeding the fields instead."

No, twelve-year-old Song Anbang blushed as his mother spoke, and all the words of his defense seemed stuck in his throat.

The old scholar in the village said I was very intelligent and that if I studied with him for a few years, I would definitely be successful. At the very least, I could become a teacher, which would be easier than farming every day.

However, Song's mother did not believe it, convinced that the old scholar was just trying to cheat her out of some tuition fees.

The Song family had many sons, and Song Anbang was the eldest grandson of the eldest branch in their generation. Originally, the family hoped that he would help with the household chores and support his younger siblings as soon as possible. Who knew that he was actually lazy and unproductive? Ever since he passed by a school and heard the sound of reading inside, he became obsessed with studying.

Of course, his family disagreed, so Song Anbang went to the private school to help the old scholar clean the house. His mother was so angry that she chased him all over the village and beat him, yelling that he was a heartless little beast who hadn't finished his own work in the fields and was now rushing to do free work for others.