Minister Wang, realizing the situation was not favorable, said, "The kidnapper deserves death, but the law must be respected."
Then he said to Lin Qinnian, "This confession doesn't look like it was written by a nine-year-old. I'm afraid someone instigated him to write it in order to exonerate someone else."
Lin Qinnian's sharp eyes shot out, "Minister Wang, do you mean that this humble official is deceiving the emperor?" Then he sarcastically said, "There's no need to judge others by your own standards."
Minister Wang's eyes blazed with anger. "Why is Minister Lin making such insinuations? Could it be that he's guilty of something?"
"Minister Wang is so meticulous. Is he truly upholding the laws of Dasheng, or is he taking this opportunity to eliminate dissidents?"
Lin Qinnian's expression sternly retorted, "As the Minister of Personnel, yet he's using the opportunity presented by the assessment to wantonly attack court officials and stir up factional disputes. What exactly is Minister Wang's intention?"
The Imperial Censor refuted, "Minister Lin, be careful with your words! You have no evidence to defame a court official. I will report you for slander!"
Lin Qinnian retorted, "Hasn't the Censorate's report contained enough slander? I think you should start by controlling your own people's mouths."
No matter how much embellishment there is, it is all illusion in front of Lin Qinnian. He is best at hitting the vital points and making them bleed.
The two of them blushed and were about to refute.
Lin Qinnian, however, refused to give them another chance. He approached the emperor and made a petition, "Your Majesty, I believe the kidnapper's case is beyond retrial. I request that Your Majesty release the officials imprisoned and exonerate them of their unfounded charges. Let them turn from evil to good, comfort the people who were deceived by the kidnapper, and deter any remaining evildoers who harbor evil intentions!"
Yuan Zuzhi echoed, "What Lin Siye said makes sense! I second the motion."
Lou Jing also said: "I second the proposal."
"I object," Minister Wang said coldly, "the law and discipline must not be violated!"
Minister Luo also said, "Your Majesty, Lu Zhen's feelings are sympathetic, but the laws of the court cannot be abolished. The two are not contradictory."
The sage looked coldly at the court officials who kept talking about abiding by the law, and thought it was ridiculous when he thought about how many shameful things they had done in private.
"No need to argue anymore!" The Minister of Justice couldn't stand it any longer. He rolled up his sleeves and knelt down to say, "Your Majesty, I have a way to achieve the best of both worlds."
"Tell me about it."
"I believe that human trafficking is an unforgivable crime and should be severely punished, regardless of whether the principal or the accomplice is involved. Therefore, I am petitioning Your Majesty to amend this law and abolish the penalty of exile for accomplices. Instead, both the principal and the accomplice will be subject to the death penalty."
The Minister of Justice continued, "Severe punishments must maintain public order. This will deter scoundrels, avoid disputes in the court, and comfort the people."
Unexpectedly, he did this and Minister Wang and Minister Luo were stunned.
The sage laughed heartily and immediately made the decision, "I approve. You will handle this matter personally!"
"I obey your order!" The Minister of Justice accepted the order with pleasure. As soon as he left the court, he ordered someone to redraft the terms!
"His Majesty--"
"Shut up!"
Minister Kou was about to dissuade him, but was interrupted coldly by the sage, "From today on, Minister Kou's power to review and refute will be stripped away and transferred to the Ministry of Personnel."
Minister Kou was startled and was about to argue, but when he looked up and met the cold light in the Saint's eyes, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. After choking for a long time, he knelt and said, "Your Majesty... obeys your order."
Minister Kou's act of privately erasing annotations not only caused the court officials to compete with each other, but also stretched his claws into the sage's bowl, attempting to influence the emperor's power. This really angered the young king, aroused his fear, and made him want to kill.
Seeing that Minister Kou was punished, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Censorate dared not say anything.
The sage then said to the Supreme Court Justice, "From this day forward, the investigation of the officials previously implicated in the kidnapping case will be suspended. Their house arrest will be lifted and they will be reinstated."
The Dali Temple Minister replied, "Yes."
The sage pressed his forehead, then pointed at Minister Luo and ordered, "All officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Censorate, copy this confession thirty times and enshrine it along with the Buddhist scriptures in the Da Ci'en Temple."
Huh? Still copying?
Seeing that the officials from various departments who were appointed by the emperor all had pale faces, the sage's mind became much clearer.
"Withdraw from the court!"
Yonghefang, Huailiu Lane.
The sun was setting in the west. Shopkeeper Wang was closing up shop when he heard a familiar sound of horse hooves. He turned around and called out, "Brother Lou, are you back?"
"Well, brother, are you closing so early?"
Shopkeeper Wang bared his white teeth and said, "Your sister-in-law has prepared dinner and asked you to go back and eat early." He then invited, "Why don't you call your sister and we can eat together?"
"No." Lou Yunchun looked at the smoke rising from the bookstore's tiled roof and smiled, "She's waiting for me too."
"Oh, look how late I am. Come back quickly. I can smell the delicious food." Shopkeeper Wang waved his hand quickly.
Lou Yunchun said goodbye to him and walked towards the bookstore.
As he reached the door, he heard Xu Jiang's voice coming from the backyard, "Yue Nu, stop chasing the goose eggs! If they break, you won't be able to eat them!"
After a while, she was heard yelling angrily, "You stupid ass! Get out of here! That's not for you to eat... Ouch, my goose egg!"
Then, accompanied by the sound of two slaps, Xu Jiang shouted angrily, "I have nothing to eat, so you two will have to starve tonight!"
He rolled over to the ground, led the horse towards the backyard, and when he reached the corner gate, he felt a little timid for a moment.
Suddenly, someone was pulled out from the corner gate. When Xu Jiang saw him, she was stunned at first, and then shouted with joy.
"You're finally back!"
"Well, I'm back."
He walked into the yard filled with afterglow and hugged her.
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