Even Lou Jing is so busy that he has no time to rest, let alone the Dali Temple?
Lou Yunchun consoled him, "I asked for leave from the emperor and the superiors, and they both granted it. Besides, those who should have been tried have been tried, and those who should have been sentenced have been sentenced. The superiors and the Ministry of Justice will handle the rest, so there's no time to delay."
"That's good." Xu Jiang looked him over carefully. Seeing his haggard appearance, she knew he had endured a lot of hardships, and her heart was filled with distress. "Did your trip to Beiting go smoothly?"
Lou Yunchun didn't intend to hide it from her. "Although the plan went smoothly, a lot of our brothers were killed. Of the eight patrolmen I went with, only five returned."
Xu Jiang saw the danger behind these few words. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How were those people sentenced?"
Lou Yunchun relayed the saint's judgment to her.
Xu Jiang angrily said, "The sentence is too light. The main criminals should at least be beheaded in public."
The case was tried jointly by the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. How could Lou Yunchun not know that the sentence was too light?
"The aristocratic families are deeply rooted. The executions of these few individuals and the confiscation of their property represent only a portion of their power. The remaining group, while cautious and low-key, remain powerful and cannot be underestimated. These people have intermarried for generations, and their relationships are complex and deeply entangled. If we act too drastically in this matter, we risk backlash. Your Majesty's foundation is not yet solid, and eradicating it completely will not be a matter of a day or a night. We must proceed step by step."
The Ministry of Justice must consider the overall situation and strike the right balance when sentencing. Killing someone is easy, but eradicating the root of the problem is difficult.
Executing several main culprits not only demonstrated the emperor's power but also gave an explanation to the deceased and the people. Not sentencing them to death was to save face for the gentry and to leave some leeway for the saint.
After all, compared with these aristocratic families that have gone through several dynasties, the imperial court is still too young.
Being a saint is not easy either. Xu Jiang sighed, "When will this world ever be truly peaceful?"
Lou Yunchun gazed at the endlessly flowing river. "As long as we are human, we will have selfish desires. With desires, we will be greedy. Greed for money, sex, power, and influence. The struggle will never stop. It's just a matter of who has the upper hand."
Xu Jiang asked him, "Do you have any selfish desires?"
Lou Yunchun retracted his gaze and stared at her deeply, "Yes, but not in the temple."
Xu Jiang's breathing was slightly stagnant. "Where is it?"
Lou Yunchun uttered two words, "In front of me."
These two words, wrapped in unspeakable heat and confusion, lightly fell into Xu Jiang's heart, igniting a raging wildfire.
She moved closer and closer to Lou Yunchun, and Lou Yunchun's gaze moved down inch by inch, finally landing on her pale lips.
The two of them got closer and closer...and then Lou Yunchun sneezed loudly.
Xu Jiang wiped his face and then wrapped him tightly in sackcloth. "I'm going to see if the bridge is ready and ask if we can cross the river."
The fire in the stove was dying. Lou Yunchun was wrapped in wet clothes and had choked on water earlier, so he must be feeling very uncomfortable. It was already late autumn and the weather was cold. If he caught a cold or fever again, he would suffer a lot.
Lou Yunchun hooked her hand and didn't want her to leave.
"Stop messing around." Xu Jiang patted him and was about to get up when she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. She cried out "ouch" and fell on Lou Yunchun.
Lou Yunchun's face changed, and he quickly broke free from the sackcloth and supported her. "What's wrong?"
Xu Jiang covered her foot, "...it hurts."
"How did you get hurt?"
"During the earlier riot, I accidentally got stepped on a few times."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Lou Yunchun hurriedly pulled her hand away, lifted her skirt, and checked her injuries.
"I forgot... Hey, no, no, no!" Xu Jiang hurriedly held down the hem of her skirt without even looking at where she was.
"Let me see how badly you're injured." Lou Yunchun turned around with all his strength, and in two or three moves he pulled her hands away, lifted up her skirt, and took off her socks.
"It's okay, it's okay! Hey, don't... pull my socks." Xu Jiang looked around and lowered his voice, "How disgraceful."
However, after seeing the injury clearly, Lou Yunchun's face darkened.
The man guarding the front heard the noise and his expression changed several times. What were these two people doing?
Then I looked around and fortunately no one was paying attention to this side.
Really... It's a sunny day, in front of the gods... Oh no, behind me, why don't you pay more attention.
He silently counted his sins in his heart several times, then walked to the statue and bowed, silently saying: I am young and ignorant, please don't blame me if I am wrong, please don't blame me if I am wrong.
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