Chapter 172 Which "him" are you talking about?
The autumn sun shone brightly, and the room was filled with the aroma of tea.
Li Jin picked up his teacup and gently blew away the foam on top: "Do you know how much I regretted back then that I was just a prince guarding the border, unable to return to the capital without being summoned?"
He spoke these words with a calm expression.
Jin Shu hesitated slightly, but still pursed her lips and retorted, "Your Highness, please do not underestimate yourself."
She said, "If it weren't for your military achievements back then, Princess Li Qian would have been a pawn in a political marriage before she was even fourteen, and the people on the frontier would never have the peace and stability they enjoy today."
Li Jin listened intently, took a sip of tea, and after a moment of silence, spoke again: "But I handed over the Tiger Tally. Without the Tiger Tally, I am no longer the one guarding the frontier, no longer able to protect the border, let alone ensure the peace and stability of the people and the world."
Jin Shu frowned: "Your Highness has simply changed the method."
Inside the room, Li Jin changed back into his pale yellow outer robe, adorned with golden ginkgo leaves and interspersed with gold threads, making it exceptionally dazzling.
The man sat upright opposite Jin Shu with a faint smile on his face.
"What method?" Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. "If you can't fight on the battlefield or defend against bandits, what kind of method is this?"
“The stability of the people is not just about the stability of the borders.” Jin Shu looked at him strangely. “If there are crimes happening every day in front of our own homes, then the people will be living in misery.”
"Your Highness has been in charge of the Six Doors for so many years, you must understand this principle," she complained. "Moreover, Your Highness is a brilliant judge of cases, which has deterred many criminals and brought peace to the dead. Isn't this another way to protect the people?"
She said, "Your Highness who guards the frontier, guarding the frontier is your duty. If you guard it well, the world will be at peace. Your Highness who is in charge of the Six Doors, solving cases and preventing problems before they occur is your duty. If you do it well, the world will also be at peace."
"Although the two are different in content, they are both for the peace of the world and to protect the people. They are only different in their duties. Your Highness, you must not..."
“The duties are different,” Li Jin interrupted her, “and so are those of coroners.”
Jin Shu was taken aback.
Before him, Li Jin smiled and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
A few birdsongs occasionally drifted through the courtyard, and the sky stretched as far as the eye could see, without a single wisp of cloud in sight.
I see.
She chuckled awkwardly, "Your Highness's way of comforting people is truly unique; it has the feel of an interrogation."
Li Jin raised her eyebrows and glanced at her: "Then is there anything you haven't figured out? Anything you haven't explained clearly? Tell me, let me hear it."
After his guidance, Jin Shu felt a little better. She pursed her lips and shook her head, saying, "No, I was just... just a little hesitant."
“Jin Shu, you are a coroner.” Li Jin’s lips curled slightly. “You are not a god.”
Jin Shu understood everything Li Jin said.
She also knew that for Tang Si, being alive and not being dead were two different things.
Rather than living a lonely life in this world, he chose another way: to reunite with his wife and daughters.
“There are many things that we can’t change the final outcome no matter how hard we try,” he said. “But if we don’t try, nothing can be changed.”
Li Jin looked out the door and said calmly, "You did your best, you can be true to yourself, and you have a clear conscience."
That's good.
The case is closed, but no one is feeling good.
Tang Si was pardoned, but Yun Jianlin was fined a year's salary. Li Jin didn't see him until he left.
"Perhaps he's too heartbroken." Bai Yu stood beside Jin Shu and shook his head. "The annual salary of the Shengzhou government is at least eighty taels of silver. With this fine, Yunfei will have to use up all his money to support his family."
Jin Shu was taken aback: "This is Yun Fei's house?"
Bai Yu was even more surprised than her: "Sir, you didn't know?"
Before he finished speaking, Li Jin strode out of the government office and lifted the curtain of the carriage.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, please wait!"
Li Jin froze, turned around, and looked at Yun Jianlin, who was running towards her from another direction on the street, covered in mud.
He was holding a small box in his arms, and hurriedly, out of breath, said, "Oh dear! I just remembered! When Yang Qingyun first took office, I held a welcome party for him. We both got drunk, and he insisted on dragging me to bury a treasure in his yard."
Yun Jianlin wiped his brow and handed the box to Bai Yu: "This is it! I suddenly remembered it. It's been a while. I dug dozens of holes in his yard but couldn't find it. Then I remembered that we planted a tree that night, fueled by alcohol!"
Looking at Yun Jianlin, who was covered in soot and had clearly just dug up tree roots, Li Jin was full of admiration and bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Lord Yun."
No wonder several groups of people went to look for it but couldn't find a trace of it; it turned out that it was being held by the roots of the tree.
Li Jin frowned: "How does Lord Yun plan to wrap this up?"
"Hey!" Yun Jianlin waved his hand. "Do they really think they can confront me face to face? That would be tantamount to trying to cover it up!"
At this point, Yun Jianlin laughed: "Those people have something to hide, they dare not face the light of day."
The carriage traveled westward across the open fields, following the official road towards the capital.
Li Jin looked at the box in his hand, examined it for a long time, but couldn't find a way to open it.
This is a puzzle box. If you can't figure out how to open it or find the key, the contents inside may be destroyed.
He dared not try it rashly.
Jin Shu, who was sitting in the carriage with Li Jin, looked at Li Jin who was focused on the box, and had a question in her mind, but she hesitated to speak.
Another half incense stick's time passed. Li Jin felt uneasy under her probing gaze, put down the box, and said with disdain, "Speak!"
Jin Shu paused.
"What? Is there a problem? Or is there something strange growing on my face?" Li Jin frowned and said unhappily.
These words made Jin Shu chuckle awkwardly twice: "No... it's just that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching..."
At this point, she raised her hand and coughed twice, feeling embarrassed: "I just wanted to ask, is there a custom in the capital of giving gifts to respected people during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Jin Shu's earlier stunned reaction was now doubled when it came to Li Jin.
He looked her up and down several times, his eyebrows raised high, and said decisively, "Yes."
Even if he didn't have it before, Prince Jing has it this year.
Upon hearing this, Jin Shu suddenly perked up: "Has Your Highness ever received anything particularly special that you like?"
Li Jin narrowed his eyes and glanced at her face: "No one gives you their favorite things, but you have a whole bunch of things you don't need."
This surprised Jin Shu greatly. She leaned forward and asked, "What does the prince particularly like? Writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones? Jewelry and delicacies?"
Li Jin raised her hand to shield her face, glanced away from Jin Shu, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "We don't lack those things, but we do lack a handkerchief or a purse..."
Jin Shu paused for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and shook it violently: "No, no, he definitely won't like these."
At that moment, the atmosphere inside the carriage became strange. Li Jin's smile was more radiant than the sun outside, radiating an aura of divine light that made Jin Shu unable to open her eyes.
"Jin Shu, this 'him' you're talking about, come and have a good talk with me." His eyes narrowed to slits. "People are different. I need to know a little about him before I can give you advice, right?"
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