Chapter 318: Please leave the palace and send Gao Lian off
The night was quiet, and the entire capital was shrouded in a veil of darkness, but the imperial palace in the north of the city was brightly lit.
Outside the empress's bedroom, in a room used to meet foreign ministers.
Xu Zhenguan listened to the minister's report with an expressionless face.
Not long ago, Yuan Li, the Minister of Punishment, and the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court entered the palace to ask for an audience with the Empress.
Xu Zhenguan was about to go to bed to rest, but he stood up to meet him.
"Your Majesty, Wang Chusheng's death was caused by the Ministry of Justice's inadequate protection. As the Minister, I should take full responsibility!" The Minister of Justice was the first to express his opinion. He did not shirk responsibility and took the blame firmly.
Hearing this, the remaining two people were not willing to be left behind and quickly confessed their guilt.
In the room, the pillar-shaped lampshade standing on the brightly lit hall emitted a clear light.
Xu Zhenguan looked expressionlessly at the three people before him who were bowing and admitting their guilt. After a long pause, he said without emotion, "Yuan Li, stay."
Then he said to the other two, "Go wait outside."
The Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court breathed a sigh of relief, dared not say a word, and immediately retreated quietly.
When the door closed, only Xu Zhenguan and Yuan Li were left in the room.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty of this dereliction of duty. I never expected those people to be so cruel and dare to do such a thing in the capital." Yuan Li spoke in a deep voice, his face tired.
Xu Zhenguan raised her jade hand and waved it gently, surprisingly calm:
"He's in the Ministry of Justice's prison, not the Censorate's prison. Yuan Gong didn't have to do this. If you're talking about a mistake, it's my own. I thought that by removing Pei Kaizhi and then Minister Zhou, the three judicial departments would no longer hinder each other...
But, those two had been operating for years, and they only fell for a few months. How could the government be truly clean?"
"Your Majesty..." Yuan Li opened his mouth.
Xu Zhenguan had already stood up and was pacing slowly in the hall:
"Yuan Qing, who do you think killed him? Li Yanfu? The Shen family? Or the Kuangfu Society?"
Yuan Li pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This happened so hastily that I cannot make a definitive conclusion."
It's impossible to be sure... Xu Zhenguan glanced at him and said:
"Yuan Qing thinks it's not Li Xiang?"
Yuan Li took a deep breath and said, "In my opinion, Prime Minister Li is not so stupid."
Xu Zhenguan remained calm, seemingly not surprised by the answer:
"Go on."
Yuan Li suddenly said seriously:
"I believe that the investigation into the murderer behind this can be postponed. The most urgent task is to follow up on this case. In other words, it doesn't matter who killed Wang Chusheng. What matters is how the people of the world will view the court once this matter is made public."
Xu Zhenguan was silent for a moment and sighed softly:
"What Yuan Qing said makes sense. What do you think we should do?"
Yuan Li hesitated and said:
"I'm afraid those people will make a big deal out of this death. I believe we should make the necessary decisions and convict as soon as possible. Although the person is dead, the testimony remains. As long as we withstand the pressure and convict him, we can safeguard the dignity of the court."
It's time to make a decision... Xu Zhenguan seemed distracted for a while before he said without comment:
"You've worked hard, Yuan Qing. Go back and rest first. I will consider this matter."
Yuan Li was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect such an answer, and his eyes dimmed.
Your Majesty is ultimately too concerned and restrained, not wanting to give the rebels a handle to criticize him. Does he care about his reputation?
Or maybe he was practicing checks and balances, not wanting to deal too harshly to the "Li Party", which would lead to the "Qingliu Party" he represented becoming more powerful, and fearing that the political situation would be unbalanced?
Shaking his head, Yuan Li retreated.
Only Xu Zhenguan was left in the hall, standing in front of the lampshade on the pillar. It was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry, and his eyelashes seemed to be holding back the light.
A moment later.
The door of the room was pushed open again, and Mo Chou walked in respectfully:
"Your Majesty, the three adults have left the palace."
"Yes." Xu Zhenguan finally came to his senses and said, "You already know what happened."
Mo Chou nodded, her expression serious: "Your Majesty, they are anxious."
"Yes, they are anxious. It seems that I have finally pushed them to the limit. However, the more stable the family property and the more expensive the shoes on the feet, the more timid they are and the more they can endure.
Only barefoot people will bite when they are forced into a corner. But they are not like that. This little bit of pressure is not enough to make these people so bold.
Xu Zhenguan's voice was cold, and after a pause, he said quietly:
"Unless they think they have found a new master."
"Your Majesty, are you talking about the Shen family..." Mo Chou looked up.
Xu Zhenguan turned around. His clothes were thick and densely packed. Although they were white, a closer look revealed that his robe, which was also embroidered with dragon patterns, was loosely dragging a semicircle on the mirror-like ground.
Xu Zhen looked at her coldly with his dark eyes and said:
"Please leave the palace and send Gao Lian on his way."
You want me to take action against the Li family? Am I that stupid in your eyes?
Mo Chou's breathing tightened, and a murderous look appeared between her brows: "I obey your command."
Turn around and walk out of the temple.
…
…
Zhao family.
After seeing Chen Hong off, Zhao Duan stood at the gate for a while before turning around and returning to the yard.
As I walked towards him, I saw the girl Zhao Pan walking towards me hurriedly. The girl was wearing a coat and seemed to have heard some noise and came out to check.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, something happened." Zhao Duan said perfunctorily, and then for some reason, perhaps because he was feeling depressed and wanted to talk to someone, he added:
"The county magistrate I captured was killed."
"Ah!" Zhao Pan was startled, his eyes widening. "Is it related to Gao Lian?"
There has been a lot of discussion about this case in the city these days, and the Zhao family is now considered to have entered the official circle of the capital.
Zhao Pan also established some connections with some wealthy young ladies. When a group of young ladies from official families chatted together, they would also talk about the court affairs.
"Why do you think so?" Zhao Duan asked with a smile.
Zhao Pan puffed out her snowy cheeks:
"Brother, don't think I don't understand. Isn't Wang Chusheng the biggest witness who threatened Gao Lian? Now that he's dead, who else could be the biggest suspect?"
Haha, I really envy your simple thinking... Zhao Duan smiled and said nothing.
He had too little information, but he intuitively realized that the entire case, from the beginning in Taicang Prefecture to the present, was driven by a hand hidden in the dark.
"Ah, does that mean that Gao Lian can't be convicted?" Zhao Pan frowned.
Zhao Duan laughed and said, "Do you want him to be convicted?"
"Of course, I've heard that this man has killed countless people. He's also raped innocent women and framed entire families. He deserves ten deaths. It's a shame he's been a high-ranking official for half his life. If he can still enjoy his old age, wouldn't that be a case of evildoers getting no retribution?"
Zhao Pan's clear sense of good and evil is enviable. She looked at him with sparkling eyes again:
"Brother, you captured him, so you definitely don't want him to get away with it, right?"
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, and said without comment:
"It would be great if everyone in the world thought like you. Now, go back. It's cold at night, be careful of catching a cold."
"Brother, aren't you going back?"
"I'm in the Divine Chapter Realm. I'm not afraid of the cold. Go back quickly."
"oh."
Wait until the people leave.
Zhao Duan sat alone in the yard, looking at the stars in the sky and deducing what would happen next.
Strictly speaking, this matter has little to do with him and there is no need to get involved.
Justice and such...there's no need to care about his villain character.
but……
"If they really overturn your verdict, or even incite public opinion to prove that Wang Chusheng is framing me, doesn't that mean I've been deceived too?"
"Even worse, will people really think I'm retaliating when my bribery fails?"
"Of course, I have so much bad reputation that I don't mind adding a few more, but..."
Zhao Duan habitually reached into his chest "pocket" to take a cigarette, but when he found nothing, he put his hand down in disappointment, muttering softly:
"I've come all this way to bring him back to you. If I can't convict you, then all my efforts would have been in vain... I'm not happy about that."
Zhao Duan had grasped a half-burned yellow incense stick in his hand at some point.
With a twist of his fingers, the incense head suddenly lit up with a scarlet flame, burning a hole in the darkness, and then, wisps of green smoke rose into the clouds.
After a while.
The cold air created ripples.
Amidst the ripples, a corner of a priest's robe embroidered with gold thread slowly emerged.
Like a night elf, the ethereal priest who had not been seen for a long time slowly descended on the Zhao family's courtyard, and looked unexpectedly at a certain Zhao who was holding a yellow incense stick between his fingers in a strange posture.
"You're back?" Jin Jian's small face, as big as a palm, was full of surprise.
No... I've been back for several days, haven't you heard about it... Zhao Duan took a deep breath, extinguished the "incense head", and said coolly:
"Take me somewhere."
"……where?"
"Ministry of Justice Prison!"
(End of this chapter)
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