Chapter 23 Speaking of which, your names are quite...
Er Gou's sad memories came to an end. Heng Bo was unaware of her experiences and naturally didn't know how to comfort her. So, he simply put himself in her shoes and pushed a steamer of crab roe soup dumplings in front of him, which looked delicious, in front of her.
Er Gou didn't stand on ceremony, channeling his grief and anger into his appetite, and stuffed three soup dumplings into his mouth. After calming down a bit, he finally belatedly asked, "By the way, Sister Hengbo, no, Sister Cuihua, why are you dressed like this today?"
Hengbo was eating a small bowl of wontons, and considering that this little girl had paid for his breakfast, he didn't hesitate to tell her the reason.
"So you're worried about running into that captain who got you stuck at the city gate?"
“Sister Cuihua, you are so clever. I often hear people around me say that the best disguise is to stand in front of people you know, and they won’t recognize you. To be honest, if you hadn’t carried a sword this morning, I definitely wouldn’t have known it was you.”
"Now that you're dressed like a proper young lady, that captain must be racking his brains but he'd never guess that you're the wild girl who was stopped yesterday."
Hengbo:……
Hengbo was very unhappy that Ergou called her a wild girl. She just dressed plainly, but she felt that she was very tactful in her dealings with people.
She told herself not to argue with a girl who was several years younger than her, and then she put the last two soup dumplings in the steamer into her mouth.
Er Gou: ? ? ?
Haven't you heard the saying "throwing a meat bun to a dog means it's gone forever"? My name is Er Gou (Second Dog), that's true, but Cuihua, you really are a dog too!
The matter of Bai San Niang reporting to the authorities should not be delayed, and they planned to take action today.
According to Bai San Niang's account, it is not difficult to see that the people chasing her are likely in cahoots with the government officials. Therefore, the caravan did not intend to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to walk into a trap, but instead chose to go directly to the Dali Temple.
Hengbo had disguised herself specially today because she wanted to scout out the Dali Temple. After all, the Eastern Palace Incident involved palace secrets, and the case files were very likely sealed in the Dali Temple. If she wanted to clear the Crown Prince's name, she had to investigate the Dali Temple.
...
Since Bai San Niang was not seriously injured, and her uncle and aunt were merely missing, there was no murder case at present; it was at most a theft case. The Dali Temple generally did not handle such civil disputes, so, on Aunt Shen's advice, Bai San Niang directly filed a lawsuit against Zhao Lian, the head of the Ministry of Works, for hiring someone to kill her.
Given that the defendant was a sixth-rank official appointed by the imperial court, the case was almost immediately submitted to the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.
At this moment, Zhang Sizheng was looking at the petition with worry. Zhang Sizheng was over fifty years old and had proposed to his superior to retire before the new year. However, due to the shortage of manpower in the Dali Temple, his superior had delayed it until now, waiting for the new batch of Jinshi to arrive this year so that he could make room for them.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and this case had to come right before he left office. It wasn't because the case was particularly complicated; on the contrary, compared to the cases handled by the Dali Temple, this case was quite simple and clear.
However… he frowned, sipped his tea, shook his head, and sighed. The identity of the defendant, Zhao Lian, was indeed somewhat complicated.
Leaving aside the fact that Zhao Lian himself was a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, his father-in-law Yan Zong was a third-rank official in the Ministry of War and the biological father of Consort Shu, the mother of the Third Prince.
If one were to accidentally offend the Yan family, losing one's official position would be a minor matter; losing one's head was not out of the question.
Seeing that Zhang Sizheng was about to drink his second pot of tea, the judge who was organizing the case files put down his file out of curiosity and came over: "Lord Zhang, what case has made you so worried?"
Although this judge is young and has a baby face, he is very clever. Although he was only transferred from Lingnan after the New Year this year, he has already received praise from the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review several times, and his future is very promising.
Zhang Sicheng thought he probably wouldn't be able to come up with a solution even if he stared at the complaint until he was practically crawling out of his skin. He figured it was better to ask him for help. Forgetting all formalities, he handed the complaint to Zhang Sicheng's face: "As expected, you'll be taking my place after I leave office. It wouldn't hurt to start learning now. Take a look and see what you think is the best way to resolve this case?"
The junior judge skimmed through the text, his expression shifting from grave to bewildered: "This... the first step in solving a case is, of course, to interrogate the defendant. As for what happens next, we still have to rely on the defendant's testimony." He truly couldn't understand how such a simple process could cause Zhang Sizheng such a dilemma.
Zhang Sizheng rolled his eyes. "You make it sound so easy, but don't you think about how a seventh-rank Sizheng like me could possibly interrogate a sixth-rank Ministry of Works official? Besides," he lowered his voice and pointed his index finger to the sky, "he has connections."
“Ah, this,” the junior judge, though he hadn’t had a chance to spend many years in the officialdom, understood the difficulty of this case. He scratched his hair in distress, turning himself into a mess, and sighed, “It’s good to have someone protecting you. If I had connections, I could interrogate whoever I wanted.”
Zhang Sizheng paused, his hand still holding the teacup, his eyes narrowing: "What did you say?"
The junior commentator was startled by his sudden questioning, thinking he had said something wrong, and stammered, "I said, it's good to have someone protecting you."
"No, the next sentence."
"You can interrogate whomever you want?"
Zhang Sizheng angrily tapped his messy forehead: "Say the whole sentence again! Not a single word missing!"
The young commentator was so hurt by the sharp rap on the head that tears welled up in his eyes. He pouted and pitifully repeated what he had just said.
“If we were related…” Zhang Sizheng pondered the words, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and clapped his hands in laughter: “Although we two are not related, our Shaoqing has quite a background!”
“That’s right!” The junior judge, forgetting to rub his head, had his eyes shining. “Our Shaoqing is a proper young master from a marquis’s family. He’s more than capable of interrogating a sixth-rank official!”
"I saw Lord Shaoqing playing with birds in the courtyard this morning. If you want to find him, you'd better hurry!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Sizheng could no longer remain seated. He grabbed the indictment and rushed into the courtyard without even saying goodbye to the junior judge. Their junior official was a man who loved to seek out fun everywhere, and if he arrived late, who knew where he had gone off to?
The young judge didn't mind at all. Seeing that the old man was walking so fast, he even reminded him from behind, "Please slow down, sir!"
After Zhang Sizheng had completely disappeared, Xiao Pingshi returned to the case files he was organizing. However, his baby face, which had been expressionless, was now cold and indifferent, and his endearing demeanor had been replaced by a deep and aloof expression.
Now that the opportunity has been presented, let's see if that marquis who likes to play dumb has truly become a pig over the past ten years.
Lu Wuwang, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was the grandson of a founding hero who had helped his ancestors rise to power. He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Dingbei, a hereditary title. His father is the current Marquis. Although the position of heir apparent has passed to his elder brother, as the youngest legitimate son of the Marquis's family, Lu Wuwang was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has been showered with favor since childhood.
However, due to his grandmother's excessive pampering and his elder brother's outstanding abilities, he developed a lazy and idle nature, as he had no responsibilities.
The position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is something most people could only dream of in their entire lives, and for him it was merely a pastime when he was bored.
At that moment, Lu Shaoqing was playing with his newly acquired pair of parrots in the courtyard. Zhang Sizheng had just approached when he heard the parrots happily chirping at each other:
"Old man!"
"How annoying!"
"Old man!"
"How annoying!"
Zhang Sizheng paused slightly as he was about to move forward, his lips twitched, and then, as if he hadn't heard anything, he walked up to Lu Wuwang with a smile and bowed to him: "Young Master Lu, how have you been?"
Lu Wuwang paused in feeding the parrot, glancing at him: "What brings Lord Zhang here? Could it be... that you'd like to go cockfighting with Wuwang later?"
Zhang Sizheng chuckled and said, "That's something you young people like. At my age, I'm just waiting to go home and enjoy my grandchildren."
Before Lu Wuwang could utter anything more offensive, Zhang Sizheng quickly informed him about the lawsuit...
"So Lord Zhang wants Wuwang to be the villain?" Lu Wuwang held the complaint in his hand, neither confirming nor denying.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Sizheng immediately became serious and said with righteous indignation, "Your mission is to investigate injustice and protect the common people. How can you be called a villain? If anyone dares to say that you are a villain, I will be the first to argue with him. I have no fear even if it comes to the Emperor."
For no apparent reason, the veins on Lu Wuwang's forehead throbbed as he was presented with a tall hat, and he almost couldn't hold back the curse words that were about to come out of his mouth.
"To investigate injustice and protect the common people" is the founding principle of the Dali Temple. Zhang Sizheng's words really put him on the spot. If he refused, wouldn't he be putting himself in a position of power without doing his job?
He stared at Zhang Sizheng's respectful and impeccable demeanor and thought to himself: No wonder this old fox has been in this position for decades. With his smoothness, he could probably become a favorite of His Majesty even if he went to the palace as a eunuch.
He sighed softly: "Those in a position should fulfill their duties. I am already aware of this matter. If you have nothing else, you may leave now."
He was terrified that if he looked at that old face again, he would be unable to resist spitting out the curses he had just managed to swallow. His reputation was already bad enough; if another rumor of him insulting the old official were to spread, his old man would hang him on a tree and whip him.
Zhang Sizheng wasn't worried that Lu Wuwang was just giving him the runaround. Anyway, he had already thrown away this hot potato, so he could just go back and continue enjoying his tea.
Turning his gaze away from Zhao Lian's swaying back as he walked, Lu Wuwang's deep eyes fell on the words "Zhao Lian, the head of the Ministry of Works".
I wonder if this is truly a coincidence, or if someone is trying to drag their household into this mess. It seems I have no choice but to go back and see the old man today.
Thinking about the lecture he'd face when he got home, Lu Wuwang rubbed his forehead. He put away the pair of parrots, supposedly brought as tribute from Lingnan; one was already listless, while the other remained defiant, strutting about: "So annoying! So annoying!"
Lu Wuwang grew increasingly annoyed by its cries and flicked his finger. The parrot inexplicably got a thud on its head, and after a moment of confusion, it quickly flapped its wings to cover its head, no longer daring to utter a sound.
After submitting the complaint, Bai San Niang and her party, who had been waiting in the front yard, finally saw a minor official with a sword in his official robes before noon. He walked with a brisk pace.
Where is the plaintiff, Bai San Niang?
"That's me, young lady."
The man scrutinized Bai Sanniang from head to toe with sharp eyes: "Your case has been accepted by the magistrate. Considering your safety and the collection of evidence, the magistrate has granted you temporary accommodation at the Dali Temple for the time being. Do you have any objections?"
Bai San Niang curtsied and said, "This humble woman has no objection. Thank you for your understanding, sir."
Seeing that Bai San Niang was very cooperative, the clerk's expression softened and his tone became much gentler: "You can rest assured and stay here. Everything will be taken care of by the old woman. However, the magistrate may need to summon you when investigating the case."
After saying that, he turned to Aunt Shen and the others, "Those who are not involved can leave on their own, but," he emphasized, "because this case involves government officials, everything related to the case must not be disseminated, otherwise it will be considered a case of framing and slander."
Having received Aunt Shen's assurance, he led Bai San Niang away.
The rest of the caravan members went about their business, but Hengbo, having nothing to do, stood blankly outside the Dali Temple.
Er Gou had been sticking to Heng Bo's side since morning, and seeing that she had nothing to do, he suggested, "My mother's cousin has bought a house in the capital, and Granny Lü went there. I haven't seen it yet, why don't you come with me to take a look?"
While everyone was waiting, Hengbo had already secretly explored the entire Dali Temple under the pretense of going to the toilet. Now that it was broad daylight, she couldn't act alone, so she suppressed her thoughts and nodded in agreement.
Er Gou was very happy to see Heng Bo agree, and began to introduce him in a long-winded manner: "This cousin of my mother's is also my cousin. Don't be fooled by his handsome appearance, he has a sharp tongue. If he says something that you don't like, don't argue with him to his face."
Hengbo was slightly puzzled when Er Gou emphasized the word "face to face".
Er Gou chuckled and explained, "You can't possibly out-argue him with words. But he's terrible at martial arts. Just find a dark and stormy night, put a sack over his head, and beat him up."
Hengbo:……
Hengbo strongly suspected that Er Gou was using her as a tool, and for a moment she even regretted her decision to agree to it.
Er Gou didn't give her a chance to back out, holding her sleeve tightly as they walked through street after street and alley after alley, muttering, "I don't know what kind of godforsaken place he chose. I heard that the neighboring courtyard in the back has been haunted ever since it was flooded more than ten years ago, and almost everyone in the neighborhood has moved away. But he likes that place, saying it's quiet enough..."
"Isn't he a strange person? But I can tolerate him a little because of his face."
"Oh, by the way, he's the guy I told you about before who's as good-looking as you. Speaking of which, your names are quite a good match. Hehe, would you like to know what my cousin's name is?"
...
Because it was difficult to express, Hengbo paid extra attention to remembering the route as she went from bottom to top. At this moment, while listening to Er Gou's rambling, she carefully drew the scenery in front of her into her mind.
However, this path, this corner of the wall missing a brick, the shape of this tree... all seem to repeat something from some hidden treasure.
Although Er Gou's chattering reached her ears, in that instant, Heng Bo suddenly felt that an unbreakable barrier had formed between her and the world Er Gou lived in.
That is the huge gap between the present and the past.
She had traveled this road countless times, but in the past, she had been heading towards the future.
This time, however, she returned to the past...
As her memories progressed, her steps grew slower and slower, and the temperature emanating from her skin became increasingly icy. It was as if she was being gradually frozen by the cold from the inside out, with the chill flowing through her blood from her heart to her limbs and even freezing her thoughts.
It's so cold...
But why, even though the fire is so big, do I still feel so cold?
She suddenly broke free from the restraints and hugged herself tightly, just like thirteen years ago.
A note from the author:
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Hey everyone, here comes Little Chubby Zhang on New Year's Day! Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
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