Chapter 38 There were a lot of people outside just now
Li Nuo slept soundly.
Not only do I sleep soundly, but when I wake up, I smell the sweet fragrance all over my body.
A maid came in with toiletries. Li Nuo looked out the window and found that it was already bright. He asked casually, "What time is it now?"
A chubby little maid replied, "Master, it's just past the hour of Si."
Si time is between nine and eleven in the morning. Li Nuo didn't remember what time he went to bed last night, but it was definitely before nine in the evening. He slept for more than twelve hours.
Thinking carefully, he seemed to have fallen asleep while eating last night, and I didn't even know how he got back to his room and got into bed.
No matter how hard Linuo tried to recall, he couldn't find any relevant memory.
If he couldn't remember, he wouldn't think about it. He hadn't eaten for more than twelve hours and was hungry again. He got up late, so of course he had breakfast alone. He didn't know where his wife had gone. Li Nuo had become accustomed to her elusive nature.
After quickly finishing breakfast, Li Nuo took Butler Wu with him and headed straight to the Chang'an County Government Office.
In the carriage, Butler Wu drove while sighing.
Li Nuo lifted the car curtain and asked, "What's wrong?"
Steward Wu sighed and asked, "Master, is it okay if we don't practice law and don't try the case?"
Li Nuo glanced at him. If he doesn't practice Legalism, he will die.
It is better to rely on yourself than on others. His father has so many enemies. If he doesn't work hard to become stronger, he might be implicated one day.
What's more, if he didn't go to the trial, he would have died suddenly before his father's enemies could take action.
He said as a matter of course: "My father is the Dali Temple Minister, it is not normal for me to be a legalist. Don't you think that helping the people and punishing evil and promoting good is a very meaningful thing..."
"well……"
Butler Wu didn't say anything else, just let out a long sigh.
A moment later, Li Nuo arrived at the Chang'an County Government Office. As soon as he got off the carriage, he was stunned.
A long line stretched from the entrance of the court to the street, and the entire county government office was as noisy as a vegetable market.
Li Nuo soon realized that he was still taking things for granted.
As with anything, excess is as bad as deficiency.
There were no cases to judge yesterday, and today there are no cases to judge.
Originally, he judged some small cases and minor disputes every day. Although there were many cases today, they were more trivial. Even ordinary quarrels between neighbors had to be judged in the county government.
This is a bit of a waste of public resources.
The county magistrate has many duties, judging cases is just one of them. If even these small matters have to be handled by the county magistrate personally, even if Pei Zhe knows the art of clones, he would still be too busy to handle it.
Therefore, it is necessary to screen the cases in advance.
After seeing this scene, Pei Zhe summoned all the constables and runners of the county government, and led the people queuing outside the court to the outside of the county government. He marked out an area on the wide street and made different arrangements according to the cases filed by the people.
For those more important cases, they would be taken outside the court and wait in order to go to court.
Most minor disputes did not need to be brought to court, so the clerks of the yamen could mediate on the spot outside the court.
In just a quarter of an hour, the county government office, which had been in chaos just now, immediately became orderly.
Li Nuo couldn't help but sigh. No wonder he was just a small judge and had to have an assistant in front of him, but others could become the magistrate of Jing County. He still had a lot to learn from Lord Pei.
In the court, Pei Zhe said to Li Nuo, "Sir, I have to go out of the city today to provide relief to the orphans and widows in various villages. I'll trouble you with the county government."
Li Nuo asked Pei Zhe, "Does the Chang'an County Government not have a county magistrate and county lieutenant? Why haven't I seen them these past few days?"
Chang'an County Government is the most important county government in Daxia. Logically, there must be a county magistrate and a county lieutenant to assist the county magistrate. For matters like caring for the orphans and widows, the county magistrate can just have the county magistrate act on his behalf. The county magistrate generally does not need to personally show up for everything.
Pei Zhe sighed.
Of course, the Chang'an County Government has a county magistrate and a county lieutenant, but the two had formed an alliance before he came, and have never taken him, the county magistrate, seriously. Recently, they both took leave and refused to help him share the government affairs, just to give him a warning.
Although these two men were of lower rank than him, they had considerable backgrounds. When they joined forces, he, the county magistrate, was helpless.
Pei Zhe walked out of the court, and a figure just happened to walk into the county government office from outside.
When County Magistrate Zhang saw Pei Zhe, a smile appeared on his fat face. He walked over slowly and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days. Sir Pei looks a little haggard. Even if you are busy with official duties, you should take care of your health..."
This sentence seems to be caring, but it is actually ironic.
He and County Magistrate Wang were his assistants, but they did not help him share the government affairs. All the affairs of the county government had to be handled by him alone. How could he not be exhausted?
He had already investigated the new county magistrate. This person had no background. The reason he became the magistrate of Chang'an County was because the previous magistrate was killed by Li Xuanjing. The position of Chang'an County Magistrate was relatively important. Various forces in the court were vying for it and arguing over it. No one would give in, and in the end, the position went to the man named Pei.
County Magistrate Zhang himself had originally had a hope of becoming the county magistrate, but Pei Zhe's sudden appearance shattered his dream of becoming the county magistrate.
Naturally, he was full of resentment towards the guy who replaced him.
Pei Zhe naturally heard his sarcasm, glanced at County Magistrate Zhang calmly, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhang."
Just as County Magistrate Zhang was about to say something, he suddenly heard the sound of a gavel coming from the court. After a moment of hesitation, he looked suspicious and frowned, and asked, "Who is trying the case in the court?"
In the Chang'an County Court, there were only three people who were qualified to judge cases.
The county magistrate, the county assistant, and the county lieutenant. Among them, if he and County Lieutenant Wang want to solve a case, they have to get the approval of the county magistrate Pei Zhe.
He had just met County Magistrate Wang before coming to the county government office, and Pei Zhe was standing here, so who was trying the case in the court?
County Magistrate Zhang walked outside the court, peeked in, and found that the person sitting in the main seat was a young man, but his eyesight was not very good and he could not see his appearance clearly. He had seen Pei Zhe's son, and from his figure, the person who was judging the case in the court should be Pei Zhe's son who was studying in the academy.
Well, he was just worried that he couldn't find any evidence against Pei, and now he comes to him.
His son is just a Confucian scholar with no official position. How could he be qualified to sit in the court to try a case?
County Magistrate Zhang snorted coldly and scolded in front of the people and servants in the courtyard: "Sir Pei, I have only been away from the county office for a few days, and you have made it a mess. You have turned this solemn and dignified office into a vegetable market. What a disgrace! Not only that, you even violated the court's laws and allowed people without official positions to judge cases. Do you think this is your old poor and remote place? You don't even care about the law and the court. I must report you..."
Pei Zhe just glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the back court.
County Magistrate Zhang straightened his chest, and the curve of his mouth could not be suppressed.
Pei Zhe, Pei Zhe, you are really stupid. This is Chang'an, the capital. Do you think this is your small county government? Just as a county magistrate, you can cover the sky with one hand and do whatever you want?
He was just about to return to his yamen to write a memorial impeaching Pei Zhe when he heard the whispers of several yamen runners.
"Have you heard that the examiner has resigned?"
"Lord Pei is really amazing. He has only been here for a month and he has already overthrown the Minister of Examination. I still remember that the former county magistrate bowed and scraped in front of the Minister of Examination like a dog..."
"Haha, what's the big deal about the Imperial Examination Doctor? Behind Lord Pei is the Minister of the Dali Temple!"
"Ah, who told you this?"
"Don't you know that the young man who has been judging cases in the county government these days is the son of Lord Li Xuanjing, the Minister of the Dali Temple? Everyone knows the friendship between Young Master Li and Lord Pei. Young Master Li always has lunch at Lord Pei's house..."
"I heard that the two of them visited brothels together. Tsk tsk, what kind of relationship is this..."
…
County Magistrate Zhang trembled and had to hold on to the wall to keep his balance.
The sun was scorching above his head, but at this moment, it was as if a basin of ice water was poured over his head, cooling him from head to toe.
Li Xuanjing, Dali Temple Minister Li Xuanjing!
The man named Pei actually relied on this big tree!
County Magistrate Zhang will never forget how the previous Chang'an County Magistrate died. The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple crushed a fifth-rank official to death as easily as crushing an ant.
Pei Zhe is Li Xuanjing's man.
Li Xuanjing was not only the Minister of Dali Temple, but also controlled Mingjingsi, the largest secret agency in Daxia.
He was afraid that he would die in the Dali Temple's prison the next day after he submitted the memorial impeaching Pei Zhe.
Thinking of this, he broke out in a sweat and ran towards the back hall of the county government office.
In a room at the back hall of the county government office.
Pei Zhe was changing his clothes and preparing to go out to provide relief to the orphans and widows in the county when a figure stumbled in from outside.
When Pei Zhe heard the door close, he thought it was his wife, but when he turned around, he found it was County Magistrate Zhang.
Pei Zhe frowned and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what do you want?"
Plop!
County Magistrate Zhang's knees softened and he knelt on the ground, hugging his legs, and said with tears in his eyes, "Master Pei, there were so many people outside just now, and it was my fault. I kneel down to you. From now on, I will do whatever you tell me to do. Please forgive me this time!"
(End of this chapter)
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