Chapter 73 For you, I'd even risk my life...
Tang Xinu stepped out of Zhou Chuanxing's embrace, looking at him with teary eyes, "Actually, you know who killed my parents, don't you?"
Zhou Chuanxing looked up at the building.
Chu Yannuo was also watching him from upstairs.
If there was anything else he didn't understand, Zhou Chuanxing nodded. "I know, I've always known."
Tang Xinuan has learned to put herself in other people's shoes. "Are you worried that I won't be able to handle it and will get hurt?"
Zhou Chuanxing's biggest worry was that the young girl would find out he was hiding something and thus become distant from him.
He rushed over, afraid that the young girl wouldn't give him a chance to explain and would choose to leave with Chu Yannuo.
Seeing how reasonable she was, he realized he had underestimated his girl.
“Yes,” he confessed, “the events of that year were complicated. I… don’t worry, I won’t let any of those bad guys get away with it. I promise to give you an explanation.”
Tang Xinuan still believed him. "I believe you, but I will also investigate myself. If possible, I want to take revenge myself."
Zhou Chuanxing wouldn't tie her hands or feet. "Do what you can. Remember, no matter what, Erlang will always be on your side."
...
Standing upstairs, Chu Yannuo watched as Zhou Chuanxing calmed the man down and took him back to the car.
His heart was breaking. He clenched his fists tightly. His cousin was his, and no one could take her away from him.
Inside the carriage, Zhou Chuanxing asked the little girl about her plans for the future.
"All the case files from the Great Zhou Dynasty are sealed in the Procuratorate and Court. I will send someone to retrieve them for you."
Tang Xinuan refused, "I'll go myself. Just tell me where the prosecutor's office is."
The judicial office was under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple.
Zhou Chuanxing replied truthfully, "At the Dali Temple, just take my waist token and tell the Dali Temple Minister what files you want to access."
Worried that Chu Yannuo might sow discord between him and the young girl, he explained, "The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is the most just person. He is known as Li Qingtian. Since entering the court, he has not taken sides with anyone and is determined to be the Bao Qingtian of the Great Zhou Dynasty."
Let the truth of all cases come to light, let all the wronged receive justice, and let the evildoers be punished.
With him around, your Tang family will definitely be exonerated.
This was the first time Tang Xinuan had heard of this person. "What if the murderer is the Emperor?"
Zhou Chuanxing was startled. Could Chu Yannuo have turned his blade on him?
Explaining it now might only arouse the girl's suspicion.
We still need to take a long-term view.
"As long as there is evidence, he dares to make a judgment even if it is the emperor."
Tang Xinuan didn't know whether Zhou Chuanxing was so calm because the emperor was indeed innocent, or because of the passage of time and he was certain that she couldn't find any evidence.
No matter what, she will find out the truth.
The next morning, Tang Xinuan went to Dali Temple with Xiaoqian after breakfast.
Of course, perilla and forsythia are inseparable.
Now, Tang Xinuan has no one she can trust.
Except for Sun Qingzhao.
He's intelligent and has nothing to do with this matter, so he'll definitely be able to be fair and just.
Unfortunately, he had errands to run and was currently in the examination hall; he wouldn't be able to leave until the exam was over.
Tang Xinuan couldn't wait until then to investigate the truth.
When she arrived at the Dali Temple, the Dali Temple Minister Li Ce was busy with other matters, and she waited in the main hall for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before she finally saw him.
She showed Zhou Chuanxing's waist tag, which Li Ce recognized at a glance, and dared not be negligent in the slightest.
"Young Master Han, please feel free to give your orders."
Han Xi first won the "Smart Person Competition" at Caiyue Tower, then had a falling out with Prince Rui and swindled him out of 500,000 taels of silver. Later, she launched a challenge competition at Caiyue Tower with a reward of 1,000 taels of silver, attracting students from all over the city to participate.
After the challenge, an academy was established, providing free classes, reading space, and lunch to all students.
Each and every one of these events was a sensation throughout the city.
Li Ce loved to observe the people's conditions, so how could he miss these things?
Moreover, Han Xi has more than just these positive news stories; he is also the male favorite of the current regent.
Imagine a flawless person, but someone discovers a tiny imperfection in them.
This is enough for everyone in the capital to talk about during their leisure time.
Even Li Ce's family members had their share of arguments.
Li Ce's youngest son is over ten years old.
When Madam Li heard of Han Xi's reputation, she was particularly keen to invite him home to be her son's tutor.
Madam Ke was worried that Hanxi might have a problem with her sexual orientation and lead her precious grandson astray.
The argument between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law caused Li Ce a headache for several days.
Upon meeting Han Xi in person today, even the usually upright, serious, and dignified Minister of the Court of Judicial Review couldn't help but scrutinize him several times.
The young gentleman was dressed in fine moon-white brocade, with a turban on his head and cloud-patterned shoes on his feet—a very simple outfit.
However, its precious aura is so strong that it cannot be ignored.
Li Ce looked around and looked around, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
This is no young master; she is clearly a beautiful young lady.
It's laughable that people are so blind that they didn't recognize the woman's true identity beneath the men's clothing.
While Li Ce was sizing up Tang Xinuan, she was also sizing him up.
The person Erlang recommended to her was naturally reliable.
Investigating cases from over a decade ago is too horrifying; if the information leaks, who knows what the consequences would be?
She didn't expect the other party to help her voluntarily; she just wanted fairness and justice to restore justice to the Tang family.
"Lord Li, His Highness has ordered that all case files related to the execution of entire families be reviewed in the two years before and after the first year of the Daye era."
Li Ce didn't believe that the Regent would bother with a case from over a decade ago when he had nothing better to do.
It can only be this girl in front of me who needs it.
"Young master, please come with me."
Li Ce personally led Tang Xinuan to the prosecutor's office.
The building, several meters high, houses all the case files from the Great Zhou Dynasty over the past two hundred years, including indictments, lists of evidence, trial records, judgments, and so on.
There are also records or backups related to officials' crimes.
Li Ce led the way up two floors and opened an archive room. "The cases from before and after the first year of the Daye era are all here. The cases of execution of the entire family are here; there are three such cases."
"If Young Master Han wishes to take this, please sign this document and indicate the date of return so that I may file it."
The punishments in the Great Zhou Dynasty were not harsh. Only heinous crimes such as treason would result in the execution of the entire family. Otherwise, even the most serious crimes would only punish the individual involved.
During his eight years as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Li Ce only sentenced one family to be executed.
In the first year of the Daye era, he had just entered the Dali Temple, and that year he sentenced three families to be executed. He remembered each case very clearly.
Together they aided the enemy, plotted rebellion, and seized power in the mountains, committing murder and robbery—their crimes were truly unforgivable.
Li Ce had carefully studied the three cases.
There is nothing suspicious about the two cases of aiding the enemy and occupying the mountain as king.
The treason case is rather strange.
An imperial censor, without any reason, conspired with the enemy to rebel. His motives were utterly ridiculous. In his early years, he had met the prince of the enemy country, and the two had become sworn brothers.
They frequently corresponded.
The Imperial Censor not only provided information to the enemy prince, but also sent him border defense maps.
Putting aside the fact that a mere imperial censor obtained state secrets and such an important border map, it's utterly absurd that he would rebel over such a trivial matter, resulting in the deaths of his entire family.
Li Ce had only been at the Dali Temple for a short time at that time, and his files were sealed, so he had no right to view them.
Only after becoming the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review could he access the case files from that year.
Over the years, he has found a great deal of evidence to prove that the treason case was a frame-up.
There are two reasons why he took the initiative to investigate: first, he knew Imperial Censor Tang.
The Imperial Censor Tang was an upright man who was not afraid of powerful figures, and he greatly admired the Imperial Censor Tang's character.
Such a person should not bear the charge of treason and rebellion.
Secondly, as an official of the Court of Judicial Review, he was determined to find out the truth about all the doubts in the cases.
However, the mastermind behind framing Imperial Censor Tang was the Grand Tutor.
In recent years, the Grand Tutor's faction has been arrogant and domineering, acting as it pleases.
The Emperor fell seriously ill and was bedridden again.
If an old case from over a decade ago is brought up again, I'm afraid no one will take charge.
Furthermore, with the entire Tang family executed and no victim coming forward to seek justice, it was inconvenient for him, as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to proactively reopen old cases from the previous dynasty.
When Tang Xinuan came to visit today, he suddenly remembered something.
The Tang family did have survivors.
He remembered that Imperial Censor Tang also had a young daughter who was exceptionally intelligent and had a similar temperament to Old Master Tang.
He met her a few times when he went to the Tang family.
The little girl, with her short legs and carrying grapes in her hand, bumped into him, looked up at him, smiled, and called him Uncle Li.
Mrs. Tang was worried that she might offend the guests, so she came after her.
As if he had done something wrong, the little one stuffed the grapes into his hand and ran away on his short legs.
At that time, Li Ce was filled with envy and wished he could have such a smart and lovely daughter.
Unfortunately, he was unlucky; his wife gave birth to three sons in a row, but no daughters.
Seeing Tang Xinuan today brought back memories of that scene from over a decade ago.
If he could adopt a goddaughter, he would be content for the rest of his life.
Looking at the face in front of him that resembled Madam Tang, Li Ce was certain that she was the little girl who had bumped into his leg all those years ago.
“Young Master Han, please feel free to ask any questions. I arrived at the Dali Temple in the first year of the Daye era. Although I did not personally adjudicate these cases, I still have some understanding of them.”
"The first year of the Daye era?" Tang Xinuan pretended to flip through the files of the other two cases before finally finding the Tang family's case.
Li Ce affirmed, "It was the first year of the Daye era. All three cases occurred before the Emperor ascended the throne."
Tang Xinuan frowned: "Before the Emperor ascended the throne? Wasn't it decided by the current Emperor?"
Li Ce nodded, "It all happened in the third year of Emperor Mingzhe's reign. However, Emperor Mingzhe was already ill at that time, so it was probably not his decision."
Shortly after the Tang family rebellion, the rebel army stormed the capital, Emperor Mingzhe died, and the previous emperor ascended the throne, but only for one day before passing it on to the current emperor.
Tang Xinuan is well-read and knows some of the history of this dynasty.
I just don't know the details.
Her cousin was indeed lying to her. He attributed something that happened during the reign of Emperor Mingzhe to the current emperor, trying to make her misunderstand Erlang.
These weren't the main points; Tang Xinuan still wanted to learn more about her parents.
"Lord Li, I've taken the case file with me. The Prince will send it over as soon as he's finished reading it."
Li Ce watched the girl leave, wanting to give her the evidence, but worried that acting rashly might cause unnecessary trouble.
Let's observe for a while before making a decision.
After leaving Dali Temple, Tang Xinuan ran into her persistent cousin again.
She was angry that her cousin had lied to her and didn't want to talk to him at all.
Her gaze swept over him and quickly returned. "Lian Qiao, stop him for me, don't let him see me."
The presence of forsythia between Chu Yannuo and Chu Yannuo did not hinder his conversation at all.
"Cousin, whatever you want to do, I'll help you."
I went to Jiangnan on business a while ago, do you know why I got injured?
Tang Xinuan was climbing onto the carriage, and without turning her head, she said, "Wasn't it to save the Left Prime Minister?"
Chu Yannuo was heartbroken because his cousin couldn't understand him. "Do you know why I risked my life to save the Left Prime Minister? Because he and the Grand Tutor are in the same faction. With him as a witness, there's no worry about not being able to bring down the Grand Tutor."
Cousin, I did all of this for you!
I'd give up my life for you.
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