Liao Shan clasped his hands together, chanted a Buddhist prayer, and looked at Rong Heng: "What does it matter if you have it or not? Benefactor Rong can calculate fame and fortune, but you cannot calculate fate and destiny. This humble monk advises you to give up now, otherwise you will only add to your regrets in the future."
Rong Heng nodded: "If that's the case, then I must have some past connection with her?"
Upon seeing Shan, Rong Heng was greatly surprised. He then smiled and said, "If there were nothing between us, Master, you would naturally speak frankly. But you are being evasive, which suggests that it is just as I think. It is my destiny to have such a fate with her."
He reassured Shan: "I know you monks are used to saying that heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, so I will not force you, Master. I only need to know what I want to know."
Liao Shan remained silent, but finally sighed and said, "All phenomena are illusory. The past mind cannot be grasped, the present mind cannot be grasped, and the future mind cannot be grasped. Please take care of yourself, benefactor."
Rong Heng disagreed, summoned the guards, sent Liao Shan away, and then withdrew everyone else.
After the cleanup was completed, the guard returned and presented the note that Fang had taken from the carrier pigeon's leg: "Young master, a letter has arrived from over there, asking when we will take action."
Rong Heng said softly, "No rush. The water has to be boiling before we can cook the dumplings. Let's wait a while. When the water in Yujing City is boiling hot, that's when we should really take action."
"Also, the connection with the governor of Jiangzhou can be severed. Since I have gone to great lengths for him but still could not find his daughter, it is destined that he is destined to be childless. Without the military strength of Jiangzhou, it will not hinder our grand plan. I have a new method. Go and write back to him, and tell him to be patient."
"Yes." The guard received the order and bowed his head.
...
Several more days passed in the blink of an eye. Rain continued to fall in Yujing City, and water mist spread everywhere. The frosty blue sky often hung low over the eaves, making it hard for people to breathe.
The chill is getting stronger.
Officials attending court every day were already wrapped in thick cotton-padded clothes, and their boots were stuffed with layers of cotton.
After so many days, most of the children and girls sold by King Hu have finally been found. Notices were posted in the government office for nearly half a month, and every day families who had lost their children came to claim them. Some came with anxiety but left with joy; others came with joy but left dejected.
Because of families like theirs, the sons of powerful and wealthy households involved in the Dali Temple incident have not been released to this day, and are very likely to be imprisoned for another five or ten years.
As for the next generation, their execution dates have been set.
However, to this day, Wei Qinglou is still holding back the case from being closed.
"Lord Wei has been holding back the case, is there still some doubt? But I've heard that all those involved have already been convicted and sentenced by Lord Wei..."
Today in the imperial court, after everyone had discussed the important matters of the court and the country, an official holding a tablet said this.
After he finished speaking, someone else quickly stepped forward and said, "Could it be that Lord Wei intends to drag this case out until the end of the year?"
Every year at the end of the year, the Dali Temple conducts performance evaluations.
The evaluation of officials in the Court of Judicial Review is based on the severity, difficulty, number, and duration of cases handled, as well as the time officials spend working on solving cases throughout the year. This evaluation serves as the basis for the promotion of officials in the Court of Judicial Review.
The case Wei Qinglou is handling is the most important case for the Dali Temple this year. If he drags it out until the end of the year, his performance evaluation will be secure. However, if he closes the case, there is still almost a month left until the end of the year, so he will need to handle another case to make his performance evaluation look better.
Wei Qinglou, dressed in a long robe, turned his head to look at the two people speaking, and after a moment, he sneered:
"Since you two are so concerned about me, anyone who didn't know better would think you have some ulterior motives towards me. I advise you two to keep your mouth shut. After all, you are both single, while I already have someone I like. We should avoid any suspicion between us."
That's just being unreasonable!
That's utter nonsense!
The two adults exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away, angrily shaking their sleeves.
They were discussing official business with him, but Wei Qinglou, in the middle of the court, actually started talking about private matters and even accused them of having homosexual relationships. How shameless!
The Wei family is a prestigious family with a century of history, so how could they have raised such a reckless and unruly young man!
Duke Wei glared at him fiercely. This brat! How come he didn't know when he had someone he liked?! Is this outrageous?! He didn't even tell his own father about something so important!
Everyone in the hall was speculating about which young lady had won the favor of this promising young minister.
Only the Grand Tutor, often grieving over autumn, stood upright in the court, unmoved by Wei Qinglou's words.
The emperor, seated on his dragon throne, watched the farce with a smile. Fearing that if he didn't speak soon, the ministers in the hall would be driven mad by Wei Qinglou, he solemnly said:
"Alright, I believe Minister Wei has his own judgment. But Ministers Jiang and Wu, the Court of Judicial Review has year-end assessments, and the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works do the same. I'm looking forward to seeing your achievements this year. Please don't disappoint me."
Upon hearing this, the two men immediately bowed tremblingly and said yes.
As they straightened up, a eunuch, having received a signal from the emperor, quickly announced loudly, "My beloved ministers, all are dismissed from court—"
The two then joined the other officials in bowing respectfully to see the emperor off.
After the emperor, surrounded by eunuchs, left the Golden Palace, the civil and military officials all rose to their feet.
Both Mr. Jiang and Mr. Wu are quite old. After bowing twice, they were already rubbing their lower backs and wishing they could just lie down on the spot.
Wei Qinglou walked over with a smile, taking the two officials' hands apart to support them: "Oh dear, you two must be very tired from going to court every day. Are your backs alright? You straighten up and then bend down again. People who don't know the situation might think that you two come to court specifically to bend over."
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