Chapter 151 Spare his life? Let him live?
In the study, the scent of ambergris slowly filled the air, and the only sound was the breathing of a few people.
Li Yi was reviewing the memorials in front of him without looking up.
The summer sun blazed down, illuminating the highest point of power in the Great Wei Dynasty and making the entire Taiji Palace brightly lit.
Under the eaves, three forces, each checking and balancing the others, are churning with undercurrents.
Li Jin glanced at the paper in front of her, her hand holding the pen remaining still.
Time passed by in seconds, but his thoughts seemed to be playing out a scene of time flowing backward, like the drifting smoke.
The daughter of the Xiao family, who was bought by Lin Zhongyi, was assassinated on the very night she was found.
The next day, Zhu Dongli from the Ministry of Justice brought other unimportant cases and requested the help of the Six Doors.
Zhu Dongli, who is usually taciturn, mentioned borrowing people many times.
After Li Jin extended a helping hand and did Zhu Dongli a favor, the Ministry of Justice indeed impeached him during the morning court session.
After that, Jin Shu was kidnapped.
He didn't put down his brush; his eyes were fixed on the cold gold Xuan paper in front of him, and all the details in his mind were repeatedly reorganized.
It's neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Crown Prince.
The Ministry of Justice has already submitted a memorial, so kidnapping Jin Shu would be completely unnecessary. If Li Jin catches them in the act, the risk would be too great.
But if it has nothing to do with the two people next to you...
Li Jin paused slightly, raised his eyebrows to look at the composed emperor before him, and narrowed his eyes as he thought of the letter the emperor had just burned.
Leaving him and the crown prince behind and pushing them back in time, the last time was at least ten years ago.
The most likely explanation behind this strange behavior is...
He needed to ensure that, at this moment, outside the palace and within the realm of the Great Wei, time belonged solely to the emperor's control.
Li Jin looked down at the blank paper beneath his pen, pondered for a long time, and then put down his pen. In the final moments of the two hours, he had not written a single word.
On the other side, Jin Shu, who had rushed out of the mortuary, wrote down key and easily forgotten information one by one in the carriage.
Afterwards, He Lin drove slowly out from behind the bushes and headed towards the capital along the secluded path.
"I'll escort Mr. Jin to the post station. Afterwards, the Six Doors' henchmen will come to pick you up." Song Zhen crossed her arms, looking at the composed woman before her with admiration.
Jin Shu folded the paper in her hand, cupped her hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you, Young Master Song."
Seeing her appearance, Song Zhen raised his hand to help her up, saying, "There's no need for that." He added, "Later, I'll trouble you to put in a good word for me with the Prince."
She looked at his smiling face, somewhat puzzled.
"Without your kind words, sir, I fear I would not see the sun rise tomorrow." After saying this, he smiled slightly and said no more.
After traveling for about half an hour, the carriage stopped a hundred meters away from the post station.
Jin Shu said goodbye to Song Zhen and walked ahead, while He Lin followed behind her the whole time.
After walking a dozen meters, Jin Shu turned around and looked at He Lin behind her with a puzzled expression, asking, "Miss, please feel free to speak your mind."
Three meters away, He Lin raised her hand and took off her hood.
Unlike the refined demeanor of the restaurant owner when they first met, He Lin now resembles a woman from the martial arts world.
From her attire and hairstyle to even the two daggers at her waist, she exuded the air of a chivalrous woman, showing no signs of being from the palace.
He Lin bit her lip slightly, hesitating and pausing, as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat, and she didn't know where to begin.
His hesitant manner only deepened Jin Shu's suspicions.
She frowned and pointed to the post station ahead: "Miss He, would you mind giving me a ride?"
He Lin paused for a moment, then shook her head: "No." She cupped her hands in greeting, "Sir, He Lin has a favor to ask of you."
She spoke earnestly, but with great difficulty: "Could you... sir, could you..."
He Lin stepped forward and accidentally broke a branch of a dead tree on the ground. The crisp sound startled thousands of birds, which flew past in a flash.
Like a surging tide, with time as its waves, it swept through the swaying shadows of the trees, engulfing the two people standing in the woods.
As the birds flew by and the wind in the trees stilled, Jin Shu looked at her face in surprise, frowning as she asked, "...What did Miss He just say?"
He Lin paused for a moment, then gave a weak, dry smile and shook her head: "It's nothing, it's nothing..." She took a deep breath and respectfully raised her hand: "Sir, you should go back now."
After saying that, Jin Shu nodded and turned to walk towards the post station.
She was shocked, but didn't know what words or expressions to use when facing He Lin.
Even if birds flap their wings and fly by, even if the wind and waves drown out most of the sound.
She still heard He Lin muster all her courage and say those words.
That line: If one day in the future Song Zhen commits an unforgivable crime, could you spare his life, considering how much he did to help the prince?
It was a household name, clearly identifiable.
She emerged from the depths of the dense forest, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds, at the vast expanse of the universe, and at the expansive capital of the Great Wei Dynasty nestled at the foot of the distant mountains.
She felt the expectant, disappointed, conflicted, and complex gaze directed at her from the woman behind her.
No answer could be given.
She has neither the ability nor the right to answer.
Living in the Great Wei, she spoke for the dead, seeking to clear the names of the wronged and to demonstrate the enduring nature of justice. In her own way, she was adding bricks to the eternal path of justice in this world.
In this process, she did not judge "right" or "wrong," nor did she define the right to "unforgivable."
Having witnessed so much evil, her distinction between "good" and "bad" people has become somewhat blurred.
What kind of person is a good person? What kind of person is a bad person?
Was Old Lady Niu, who was stabbed seventeen times by Xiao Luo, a good person? Was Xiao Luo, who lost his family and earned money penny by penny with his own hands, a bad person?
People are multifaceted, and so is human nature.
Anyone who can survive is a good person. If they can survive, no one wants to be a bad person.
She turned around, looked at the carriage that had disappeared behind her, and saw Shen Wen galloping towards her in the distance. She raised her hand and shielded her eyes from the sunlight.
Riding for over ten miles, Shen Wen chased after a man resembling Jin Shu, galloping out of the capital city at breakneck speed.
Before they could catch up with the person, they spotted Jin Shu standing next to the post station with a smile on her face.
He suddenly yanked the reins, and the people in front stopped chasing. They stood there, mouth agape, staring for a long time before confirming that the "Jin Shu" in front of them was indeed Jin Shu.
"My God!" He jumped off his horse and rushed forward to examine Jin Shu, muttering, "It's saved, it's saved..."
His head is saved!
Looking at his pale face, Jin Shu smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Shen."
Under a clear sky in the capital, the two-hour deadline had arrived.
Li Yi took the paper from Li Jin, looked at its blank page, and seeing that Li Jin had calmed down, folded the paper up, and sneered: "The court and the countryside are not battlefields; there's no need to draw swords."
Being on the verge of conflict will only make you a sitting duck for everyone.
After he dismissed the three men, Li Yicai looked at the Leng Jinxuan document handed over by the Crown Prince, and pondered the four characters on it.
It's not the Ministry of Justice.
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