Chapter 378 Return Home
Chang'an.
Public opinion about the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple has been twisted and turned again in the past two years.
Two years ago, no one would object to saying that he was the biggest traitor in Daxia.
His name not only frightened the officials in the court, but even ignorant children would stop crying when they heard it.
In the past two years, his reputation has continued to improve because after looking back, people discovered that although the fact that he killed Confucian officials cannot be washed away, apart from that, he did more things that were beneficial to the people.
The powerful and wealthy oppressed the people, and no one in the court could control it, so he took care of it.
The aristocratic families are arrogant, but they have to restrain themselves in front of him.
If we look into it in detail, the smooth implementation of various reforms in Daxia in the past two years is certainly inseparable from Lord Li, but if there had not been the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple to clear the obstacles for him in advance, these reforms would not have been successful.
If it weren't for Su Daru's death, his reputation would have continued to rise.
It is really unforgivable that a great scholar of the fifth realm was unjustly killed.
However, recently, there have been new arguments among the people.
Although Su Daru’s death is infuriating, we cannot put all the blame on the Dali Temple’s chief minister.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was His Majesty's intention to kill Su Daru.
Anyone in the position of Dali Temple Minister would have no other choice.
Think about it carefully, which one of those Confucian officials he had killed had not offended His Majesty first?
If the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was a man like Su Shi, who was upright and unyielding, he would have died twenty years ago. If he had died, Chang'an would definitely not be what it is today.
As ordinary people, they will definitely suffer more and endure more pain than before.
He is guilty, but he has done more good deeds.
Although he was not a Confucian, he had a greater impact on the people than those Confucianists who kept themselves clean.
Although there are not many such remarks, it is no longer the situation where people were scolded on the one hand as in the past few days.
An official residence in Chang'an.
After leaving the court, an official heard some remarks made by his wife while eating. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where did you hear these remarks?"
The woman said, "Today, when I was walking on the street with Cai'er, I heard what others said. I think what they said makes sense. I have always felt that the Dali Temple Minister cannot be a bad person..."
The official said with a gloomy face, "How can he not be a bad guy? What do you women know? You ran to the street to see him 20 years ago, and you are still speaking for him now..."
The woman rolled her eyes at him and said, "If you pass the six exams and become the top scholar, there will be a lot of people looking at you. You can't be prejudiced against others just because you are not as good as them. If His Majesty asks you to kill someone, will you kill him..."
"this……"
The official was speechless for a moment and could only concentrate on eating.
Although he was unhappy that his wife always spoke for Li Xuanjing, she was right.
When serving as an official in the court, one thing must be made clear.
Who is the source of their power?
The source of power for court officials is His Majesty, and it is impossible for them to disobey His Majesty's words.
The censors and historians who did not listen to Your Majesty have been dismissed from their posts. Worse still, they even lost their lives. The reason why the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple is so powerful is because Your Majesty values him, right?
To be honest, he can't be blamed for Su Daru's death.
He didn't expect that the wife in his family, who usually only knew how to shop, could have such knowledge. It was really beyond his expectations.
After dinner, the woman went back to her room alone.
After closing the door, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they didn't know why, their superiors repeatedly asked them to change the reputation of the Dali Temple Chief Justice, but these were not things they could ask.
The same scene was played out in the homes of many officials in Chang'an.
Yuyin Pavilion.
The door to the second floor was closed. The old woman frowned at Fenghuang and asked, "What's the point of you doing this? Every time they take action, there will be a little more risk of being exposed. What does it have to do with you if the people scold Li Xuanjing?"
Fenghuang said confidently, "How can it have nothing to do with me? Who knows if they are scolding me behind my back? Haven't you noticed that the business of Yuyin Pavilion has been getting worse recently?"
The old woman glanced at her and said calmly: "It is a taboo to act on emotion. I hope you are really doing this for Yuyin Pavilion. If your selfishness ruins the plan, you will not have a good ending..."
Phoenix waved his hands and said, "You've said these words eight hundred times. My ears are callused..."
The Imperial Palace.
In the imperial study, Emperor Xia was looking at a file on the table, tapping the table lightly with his index finger.
An eunuch stood in the hall and said, "Your Majesty, it is certain that someone is manipulating public opinion in Chang'an, but their methods are very sophisticated. We have only caught a few ordinary people who spread the news..."
Emperor Xia said calmly: "What is their purpose?"
The eunuch thought about it. He didn't know why those people spoke for the Dali Temple Minister, so he could only say, "Perhaps, they want to sow discord between Your Majesty and Lord Li?"
Emperor Xia's eyes moved slightly, and he said, "Keep investigating. Those who can't find any clues are definitely not ordinary people. They are hiding in Chang'an, and they must have some purpose."
The eunuch said, "As you wish."
Emperor Xia stood up, walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked into the distance.
There is no need to sow discord between him and Li Xuanjing.
To this day, he still didn't fully trust him.
He also knew that those powerful people and officials from aristocratic families who were killed must have had selfish motives.
But it doesn't matter.
No matter what he was thinking, he couldn't turn it over...
The death of Su Daru was not just a test.
If he really has ulterior motives, this is the reason to punish him...
…
Ningxin Garden.
concierge.
Butler Wu walked in from outside, looked around Ningxin Garden, and asked Old Huang, "Did the ladies not go out today?"
Old Huang took two puffs of his pipe and shook his head, "No."
Butler Wu sighed and said nothing more.
He knew why the ladies were reluctant to go out.
Even when he was driving outside, he would be looked down upon by many people. The young ladies certainly couldn't stand the strange looks from the people.
It was clearly His Majesty who wanted to kill Su Daru, but they only dared to blame the master.
Besides, it wasn't the master who killed him, he escaped from prison and committed suicide, and also injured the master...
He was about to say something, but when he looked up, his expression suddenly froze, and he said in surprise: "Master..."
In the park.
In the pavilion in the middle of the lake, the beauty was arranging flowers with the phoenix, and she looked obviously not in a good mood.
Yiren sat barefoot by the lake, staring at the calm surface of the lake in a trance.
Not far away, An Ning was sitting on a swing, swinging intermittently.
The three little guys were crawling around on the grass. Li Zhi was the sharpest-eyed one. When he saw a figure coming from a distance, he immediately stood up, opened his arms, and staggered towards that direction, saying in a baby voice, "Daddy~~~"
She ran faster than she did two months ago.
But there are people who are faster than her.
Li Nuo caught An Ning who was flying over, and after spinning around with her for a few times, he put her down and picked up Li Zhi who stretched out her little hands waiting for him to hold her.
He had seen a lot of ugliness in the world in the past two months, and he had executed countless evil officials and unruly people. A lot of resentment had accumulated in his heart. At this moment, he held An Ning in one hand and Li Zhi in the other, and looked at the other two little figures staggering towards him. His heart instantly became peaceful and calm.
An Ning, who had been depressed for a long time, finally became happy. She hugged Li Nuo's arm and asked, "Why are you back so soon? Are you still out on patrol?"
Li Nuo gathered her hair and said, "We still have to go out, but before we continue our patrol, I will take you to Zhao State first."
"Zhao?"
Yiren, who ran over without even wearing shoes, suddenly stopped and her face turned red for no apparent reason.
The beauty and the phoenix walked over side by side. The phoenix looked better, but there was a trace of worry between the eyebrows of the beauty and An Ning. Even Yiren was not as lively as before.
As for the reason, Li Nuo naturally knew it.
Before going home, he deliberately concealed his identity and stayed on the street for a while.
Although some people spoke up for Su Daru's father after his death, there were still many curses.
Li Nuo held the beautiful woman's hand and said, "We have a house in Zhao State. You can stay in Zhao State for a while. We can invite some masters to practice with you..."
When Jia Ren and An Ning heard this, their eyes lit up slightly.
Especially for An Ning, it doesn't matter where she goes, she doesn't want to stay in Chang'an for a single day.
After learning about the public opinion in Chang'an, Li Nuo decided to take them to Zhao State to relax.
In fact, he had this plan as early as last year.
Not only is the domestic situation in Daxia unstable, the external environment is also extremely bad. It is still unknown what the situation will be like in the future. Li Nuo wants to give them a more relaxed living environment.
I can take this opportunity to complete my marriage with my beloved and fulfill a wish.
After having dinner with them and playing with the three little ones for a while, Li Nuo left Ningxin Garden and came to the Secretariat.
The left prime minister, who has always been diligent in his work, is not in the government office today.
Li Nuo heard from Zhou Yu that the Left Prime Minister had not come to the yamen since the death of Su Daru.
After leaving the Secretariat and passing by a government office, Li Nuo tilted his head to take a look.
A figure just walked out from inside.
Compared with two months ago, the Right Prime Minister has not changed much, but the subtle details give people a different feeling.
Li Nuo clasped his fists slightly, then turned and left.
Not long.
At the Prime Minister Zuo's Mansion.
Compared to two months ago, he looked much older.
When he saw Li Nuo, the old man, who hadn't smiled for a long time, finally forced out a smile and said, "You're back."
Li Nuo said, "I came back to take a look. I have to leave in two days."
He paused and said, "Su Daru..."
The left prime minister waved his hand and said, "Just do what you think is right, and don't care about others."
Li Nuo thought for a moment and said, "I want to know how Su Daru died."
The left prime minister was silent for a moment, then said, "He died advising His Majesty to appoint a crown prince, and was arrested and taken to the Mingjing Division. After injuring your father, he escaped from the Mingjing Division's prison, but was unable to withstand the siege of the Mingjing Division's strong men, and committed suicide..."
The Left Prime Minister was obviously unwilling to bring up this topic, so Li Nuo did not ask any more questions.
The left prime minister looked at Li Nuo and asked, "How do you feel about your inspections over the past two months?"
Li Nuo shook his head and said, "Chang'an and the capital are fine. The farther away from the capital, the more chaotic it is. There are corrupt officials everywhere, and unruly people are emerging one after another. If you want to change these, it will not be done overnight..."
Through what he had seen and heard during these days, Li Nuo had some insights in his mind, and he chatted with Zuo Xiang for a long time at his residence.
In order to replace the countless corrupt officials at the local level, the imperial examination cannot be stopped for the time being.
It is necessary to supply enough fresh blood to the grassroots level, allowing capable and ambitious young people to enter the officialdom and carry out a thorough replacement of the corrupt officialdom.
In addition, the court must increase investment in basic education.
Reading should not be a privilege for the rich. Only by allowing more people to receive education and make them sensible can we gradually change the social atmosphere at the bottom.
Li Nuo only provided the direction, which involves many details, and this is something that the Secretariat needs to discuss in detail.
After a while, seeing that the time was almost up, Li Nuo said goodbye.
The left prime minister personally escorted him to the door and suddenly said, "Don't blame your father. He had no choice in his position."
He has been thinking about it these days.
Sacrificing one's life for justice is certainly precious, but as long as you are alive, there are endless possibilities.
He has always been trapped by the inherent ideas of Confucianism.
When he carefully looks back at the past twenty years in the court, he will find that the one who made the greatest contribution to the people and the country was not the two prime ministers, not the Confucian scholars with a sense of righteousness, but the person with the most blood on his hands and who bore the most infamy.
Even if he didn't know what was in his mind.
But he believed in his disciples.
After leaving the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, Li Nuo came to the Dali Temple.
A carriage arrived almost at the same time as him.
Prince Chun was holding a soup bowl in his arms. When he saw Li Nuo, he was slightly stunned, then he said happily: "When did you come back? It's just right, try a new soup that I created..."
Dali Temple, inside the temple minister’s office.
Li Nuo took a sip of the soup, and Prince Chun couldn't wait to ask, "How is it?"
Li Nuo drank the small bowl of soup and then said, "This is the best soup I have ever had in my life..."
This was not Li Nuo's compliment against his will, but his true feeling.
Li Nuo had tasted the cooking skills of the royal chefs of Daxia and Zhao, but they were far from comparable to Prince Chun's. In terms of cooking, Prince Chun might have already reached the top of the continent.
Prince Chun smiled and served him another small bowl, saying, "No, you will taste better in the future."
After finishing the bowl of soup, Li Nuo looked at Li Xuanjing and said, "Dad, I plan to take Jia and An Ning to Zhao State to live for a while, and by the way, marry Yiren in Zhao State. The Queen of Zhao State promised Yiren that she would hold a wedding for us in Zhao State."
Li Xuanjing nodded and said, "You guys go. I'm busy with official duties in Chang'an, so I won't go."
Li Nuo didn't say anything. Neither his father nor his father-in-law would leave Chang'an for this reason.
I'm afraid that only my mother-in-law can go to my Yiren's wedding.
He stayed here for a while, asked King Chun for some tips on making soup, and then prepared to go back.
Before leaving, he looked back at his father, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Li Xuanjing raised his hand, patted his shoulder gently, and said, "Be careful on the road."
Feeling a gentle force entering his body from his shoulder, Li Nuo trembled slightly and suddenly looked up!
(End of this chapter)
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