Chapter 48 A gentle face
Pei Xing lived in the office of the Ministry of Justice.
Right now, with only two weeks left until the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Emperor attaches great importance to it, and the court officials are also busy, especially the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice. Of course, outsiders who are not aware of the situation might ask, "The Empress Dowager's birthday is being organized by the Ministry of Rites, so it is natural for the Ministry of Rites to be busy. What does the Ministry of Justice have to do with it?"
Logically, the Ministry of Justice shouldn't be involved, but the Empress Dowager is a vegetarian and Buddhist, and she can't tolerate any killing. Therefore, to avoid interrupting the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Ministry of Justice's case must be heard as soon as possible. Those who should be detained will be detained, and those who should be punished will be punished. It can't be delayed until the birthday.
The Ministry of Justice oversees all cases, and there are always a few cases of heinous crimes that deserve the death penalty. According to convention, beheadings should be carried out when they are due, but now, some of them happened to coincide with the Empress Dowager's birthday.
The Ministry of Justice and the Censorate argued for a long time and finally asked about Pei Xingju.
"Master Pei, do you think we should postpone it until after your birthday?"
"If we delay it until after the birthday, that means a month's reprieve. A month later is the late emperor's memorial service. Will we have to delay it again then?"
"If this continues, the Ministry of Justice's prison will be filled with death row prisoners. What bad luck!"
"Our job is to deal with death row inmates. Stop complaining. What matters now is whether or not to postpone the execution of the condemned criminal."
"The laws of Dazhao clearly state that those sentenced to death will be executed immediately. There's no mention of you delaying."
"But now it's the Queen Mother's birthday."
"It's the Queen Mother's birthday... Queen Mother... What do you say we should do?"
"It's useless for you and me to argue separately. Why not ask Master Pei for his opinion?"
So, everyone looked up at the person at the top, but they were all stunned.
The reason was simple: Pei Xingju was eating pastries... and he was enjoying it very much, with a gentle smile on his lips.
Yes, a gentle smile.
They were discussing when the death row prisoner would be executed, but Pei Xingju, who was always cold and stern, smiled gently.
The officials looked at each other in confusion.
Little did they know, Pei Xingju was using the very same pastry Zhuang Wan had sent over two quarters of an hour earlier. This pastry was different from the previous ones, with a generous amount of honey added and candied fruit sprinkled on top. The shape of the pastry was also unusual... like a peach.
At least Pei Xing Ju looks like a peach, with a soft, chewy texture and a crispy, fragrant texture. It's layered with flavors, each one a different way.
There are chestnut, green tea, and peanut flavors. However, these flavors are not chaotic, but give people a rich taste experience.
Most importantly, there was a secret hidden inside the pastry. Pei Xingju took a bite and found a long, thin piece of paper stuck inside.
He calmly put the pastry under the table, took out the note and unfolded it.
There was a line of words written on it - "Humph! Considering your good attitude in admitting your mistakes, I forgive you!"
The handwriting wasn't beautiful, like spring worms or autumn snakes, but it was so vivid that he couldn't help but smile.
Therefore, the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, who had just finished arguing, saw Pei Xingju eating and laughing.
Well, very scary!
.
The Ministry of Justice was dismissed at 5 p.m. today. Everyone in the Ministry of Justice discovered that their immediate superior, Pei Xingju, was in a good mood.
Someone quietly asked, "What good thing happened?"
The other man touched his head and said suspiciously, "I don't know. I heard from Lord Li that Lord Pei kept laughing during the meeting."
"What's so strange about laughing?"
"It's not strange to laugh, but to say that the death row prisoner will be beheaded immediately while laughing, this is..." a bit scary.
Pei Xingju's original words were: "The Ministry of Justice attaches great importance to strict law in its work. If we set a precedent today and others follow suit, we will become the sinners of the cholera law."
So, he said gently, "Behead them all. Leave no one alive before your birthday."
.
After midnight, Pei Xingju returned to his mansion. As he was walking, he suddenly stopped and stared at the west wall.
This made Guard Lu very nervous, thinking there was an assassin. Just as he was about to draw his sword and fly over to investigate, he heard Pei Xingju say slowly, "Actually, the courtyard is indeed a little deserted. Planting roses would be a good idea."
"?"
"What do you think?" Pei Xingju turned and asked Guard Lu.
"...I remember that roses were also planted in the Osmanthus Courtyard. They are indeed very beautiful."
"Hmm..." Pei Xingju nodded and continued walking.
Guard Lu was puzzled, but he told this to Aunt Xu. Aunt Xu understood and immediately invited a gardener to plant roses in the courtyard.
After entering the study, Pei Xingju subconsciously glanced at the table and saw a plate of pastries on it.
He actually had a feeling that he hadn't seen anything for a long time - there had been no sweets on his table for several days.
"Go down," he said, waving away the servant who was grinding ink and spreading paper. "I can do it myself."
"Yes." The servant went out and closed the door.
The setting sun came in through the window and shone on the screen of pine and bamboo. The shadows of the pine and bamboo were looming and very pleasant.
Pei Xingju leaned lazily on the chair, tilting his head to look silently at the plate of pastries.
After a moment, he reached out and took a piece, but was not in a hurry to eat it. He looked at it for a while before breaking it open.
However, there was nothing else in the pastry except preserved fruits.
He frowned slightly, as if his expectations had been dashed. After a moment's thought, he moved on to the next one.
In this way, when I broke the fourth one, I finally found the note inside.
Suddenly, his brows relaxed again.
He unfolded the note and saw the same line of Spring Earthworm Autumn Snake calligraphy on it: "Wise and mighty Lord Pei, thank you for your hard work! Treat yourself to something sweet! Kiss!"
Pei Xingju pursed his lips, a smile appearing at the corner of his eyes.
At this time, the guards outside reported: "Sir, Commander Xue is here."
"Come in." Pei Xingju folded the note inconspicuously and put it into his sleeve.
Xue Gang came into the house and complained, "This damn weather is so hot!"
"Guess what I found out? Liang Jinxian secretly sent someone to Changguo."
He took a big gulp of tea and saw the cake on the plate was broken into pieces. Xue Gang was puzzled, but he still picked up a whole piece and ate it familiarly.
However, after chewing it twice, he quickly spat it into his hand.
He was disgusted: "Why is it so sweet? It's so sweet that it makes me sick."
Seeing that Pei Xingju seemed unhappy, he smiled and said, "I'm not wasting your food, but I really don't think it tastes good."
"If it doesn't taste good, put it down."
Just let it go. Xue Gang, a pure and honest man, doesn’t like to eat such sweet and greasy things.
Immediately throw the pastry back onto the plate.
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