Jiang Qinshou sneered: "What do I have to explain? The one who should explain is this child. He broke into a private residence and stole property. Lord Bai should interrogate him properly!"

Upon hearing this, Tianci broke free from Qin Wenjun's embrace, walked to Bai Yanzhang's side, tugged at his sleeve, and gestured for him to bend down.

Bai Yanzhang squatted down.

Tianci whispered, "Uncle Bai, there's another child inside who's about my age. He's been knocked unconscious, and I can't wake him up no matter how hard I try."

"Where?"

"In the innermost courtyard, in the burlap sack by the window."

Bai Yanzhang immediately ordered the constables to go in and rescue the people.

Jiang Qinshou knew his own situation and of course he wouldn't let them in.

He immediately ordered his servants, "Stop them!"

The constables were much more skilled than the servants, and since there were roughly equal numbers of them, the servants were quickly beaten to the ground.

Jiang Qinshou was also restrained with his hands tied behind his back.

Not long after, Bai Yanzhang led his men to search the east courtyard and found the body of a child who had been dead for some time—the same child Tianci had seen, along with several murder weapons.

With both witnesses and physical evidence readily available, Jiang Qinshou was brought back to the Dali Temple for trial and sentenced to immediate execution.

When the Marquis of Guangyang returned from his trip and received the news, Jiang Qinshou's head had already been severed.

He was furious and immediately sent a letter to the palace.

He requested an audience with Consort Li.

After repeatedly expressing her gratitude to Bai Yanzhang, Qin Wenjun took her child back to her residence.

Listening to the child recount his escape on the way, I felt a wave of fear wash over me.

Fortunately, she didn't let her child eat the pastries from the embroidery shop owner.

Otherwise, if the child is drugged, there will be no chance of escape.

Fortunately, the child is clever.

Instead of panicking when faced with danger, they calmly dealt with it.

"Tianci is amazing. He can handle difficulties and protect himself on his own. I'm so happy for you."

She praised the child highly.

Tianci looked proud.

"Mother, when I grow up, I want to be like Uncle Bai and become a good official who punishes evil and upholds justice."

"Then you must study hard and learn to read."

"Yes! Mother, didn't you bring me out to buy comic books? Let's go to the bookstore now."

Qin Wenjun chuckled to herself.

After experiencing such a terrible thing, this child still remembers to buy books; he's really thick-skinned.

I really don't know who he looks like.

Seeing that the child didn't seem to care, she gradually relaxed.

The mother and daughter took a detour to a bookstore, bought some books, and then returned home.

While they were selecting books, Bai Yanzhang was receiving instruction from his superiors at the Dali Temple.

"...You acted first and reported later, which was satisfying, but did you think about the consequences? Consort Li is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, and she is very likely pregnant with the next Crown Prince. You are not giving her any face at all. Aren't you ruining your own future?"

Bai Yanzhang said in a deep voice: "There are so many children who died at Jiang Qinshou's hands that he himself can't remember them all. Such a beast is unforgivable."

"Hey, you..."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sighed.

"Too much rigidity leads to breakage; you should reflect on your actions."

Bai Yanzhang left in silence.

He knew perfectly well that being an official required tact and diplomacy, and that one should not act recklessly.

But when he chose to join the Ministry of Justice, he wanted to uphold justice for the people, help the weak and punish the strong, and let justice and the law prevail in the world.

Even if it means my own destruction, I would not hesitate.

However, even though he had prepared himself mentally, he did not expect the retaliation to come so quickly.

Two weeks later, a review case came into his hands.

The initial review was conducted by the South Factory.

The Southern Depot received a report from a commoner named She Daqi, who said that his neighbor Ying Wufu coveted his wife, An Shi, and broke into his home while he was away, attempting to rape her. When An Shi resisted, he stabbed her to death.

The constables arrested Ying Wufu and brought him back to the South Factory for interrogation.

After the interrogation, Ying Wufu confessed without hesitation and signed the document.

However, Ying Wufu's mother disagreed and filed an appeal.

She said that her son was invited to her home by She Daqi to repair the roof beams, but he did not expect to see An Shi lying in a pool of blood as soon as he entered the door.

He checked for breath and found that Mrs. An was no longer breathing. Terrified, he ran home without even taking his tools.

Just as he calmed down and was about to report the incident, the police broke into his home and took him away.

The old lady ran to the Dali Temple and knelt there for a whole day.

She sought justice for her son.

After investigating, Bai Yanzhang discovered many loopholes in the case.

An had three stab wounds and struggled violently before she died.

If it was Ying Wufu who did it, he should have been splattered with blood, but when he was arrested, there was not a trace of blood on his body, and no murder weapon was found in his home.

The murder weapon was found in the She family's outhouse.

According to neighbors, She Daqi was a gambler and often sold off An's dowry to gamble, which caused frequent arguments between the two.

On the night of the murder, more than one person heard An and She Daqi arguing fiercely.

An let out a scream.

Some people also witnessed She Daqi sneaking away in the middle of the night.

Bai Yanzhang suspected that An Shi was killed by She Daqi, and interrogated She Daqi. Faced with a lot of evidence, She Daqi could not withstand the pressure and confessed the whole story.

He was the one who murdered the An family.

He wanted to pawn the bracelet left to An's deceased mother, but An refused. In the process of trying to take it, he accidentally killed An.

To escape punishment, he framed Ying Wufu.

Bai Yanzhang then overturned the Southern Depot's initial trial result, sentenced She Daqi to death, and released Ying Wufu.

Before he delivered his verdict, a temple official reminded him that She Daqi was an informant for the Southern Depot.

He ignored it.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had the verdict been handed down than an imperial edict arrived from the palace, stating that he had accepted bribes and disregarded human life, and that the case would be jointly tried by the three judicial departments.

The joint trial upheld the initial verdict against the Southern Factory, sentencing Ying Wufu to death.

The joint trial by the three judicial authorities is the final trial; even if he wanted to overturn the verdict, he couldn't.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!