Chapter 288 I Can't Help Him
After the Lantern Festival, the world was at peace.
The East Market remained bustling, and the West Market was still exceptionally busy. The capital city quickly returned to its former prosperity and tranquility.
The case of the Crown Prince implicated many officials, resulting in a shortage of official positions throughout the court and the country. Each of the three departments and six ministries had three to five such positions.
But Song Zhen is Song Zhen. He held the Grand Tutor's weakness in his hands, forcing him to stay up all night selecting a new successor. In less than a month, the government was able to resume normal operations.
Everything seems to be gradually returning to its original trajectory.
Only Li Jin felt his scalp tingle every day as he looked at the thick stack of memorials in front of him in the Imperial Study.
"What needs to be learned must be learned. The sooner you learn it, the sooner you can relax." Li Yi's words were loaded with meaning. He stuffed all the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Personnel, which were originally under the jurisdiction of Crown Prince Li Jing, along with the Court of Judicial Review, the Six Doors, and the Secretariat, into Li Jin's hands.
He himself would serve a cup of tea and spend his days in Consort Xiao's courtyard, finding peace and quiet.
Looking at the flowers gradually blooming in the courtyard, and then at Li Rong who came to pay his respects from time to time, Li Yi smiled at Consort Xiao, whose complexion was gradually improving.
It feels like the past six years were just a fleeting dream last night; once the dream ends, it's over.
As for Jin Shu, in the sect leader's courtyard, looking at Yun Fei, who was now the new sect leader of the Six Doors, she kept complaining, "Only the world where my wallet is damaged is completed!"
She glanced at the gift list Yunfei gave her, scanning it several times before realizing that Li Jin had withheld so many rewards.
"Look at these, any one of them is a priceless treasure." Jin Shu clicked her tongue, looking heartbroken. "It's a pity that the Prince hasn't been able to return to the manor for more than half a month, and I have nowhere to ask for them!"
Dressed in a black robe, Yunfei sat down next to Jin Shu with a faint smile and pushed the freshly brewed flower tea in front of her: "Does the chief coroner have any plans after this?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Shu paused for a moment, then looked up in surprise at Yun Fei's gentle smile and refined demeanor.
He nodded and smiled faintly: "I mean, Mr. Jin, do you really have no other plans for your future?" After saying that, he took out the resignation letter that Jin Shu had written earlier from his pocket and placed it on the corner of the table.
“Mr. Jin has been with the Six Doors for a year. His Highness was able to overturn the case for the First Prince, and Mr. Jin deserves much credit.” Yun Fei pursed his lips. “It is a real pity that someone with such talent would retire so soon after achieving his goal.”
Not only was the case of the eldest prince Li Mu overturned, but even in the month or so that followed, Jin Shu had become a pillar of the Six Doors.
Feng Chao, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, would borrow people every few days, and Zhu Dongli, who was already the Minister of Justice, would also borrow people from time to time.
One was brought in to investigate cases and examine corpses, while the other followed the example of the Six Doors and opened a school in the Ministry of Justice, inviting her to teach.
In the main hall of the sect master's courtyard, the sandalwood incense that Li Jin liked was no longer burning; instead, a light floral fragrance that Li Qian preferred was being used.
The wisps of smoke from the stove cast a hazy glow on the midday sun.
Jin Shu remained silent for a moment, then sighed, but said nothing.
"Is it because of Your Highness that you have to leave?" Yunfei looked at her face and seemed to see his own past self in her profile.
That was me, a mere minor official, yet I had won Li Qian's heart.
The huge gap in their social status had troubled him for many years, making him feel that Li Qian deserved someone better, someone of higher quality, someone more glamorous and powerful.
"Mr. Jin, do you think that the Prince cherishes you, but you have nothing and it's impossible for you to stand by his side?" Yun Fei asked with a slight smile.
These words precisely hit Jin Shu's biggest worry.
She looked at Yunfei and pondered for a moment: "He is a prince, and in the future he will be the master of the Eastern Palace, and then the master of this world."
Jin Shu took a deep breath: "If he wants to be a wise ruler, his harem will inevitably have to be left to the various forces in the court and the countryside. He has to take care of the power struggles between the court officials and make use of everything he can to implement his excellent policies."
She pursed her lips, paused for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating laugh: "But, behind me, there's nothing."
“He has neither a matching background nor the power to help him.” She paused, looking at her hands, “He only has a knife to dissect the truth, and the bad luck of being born under the sign of Yama, bringing trouble wherever he goes.”
As Jin Shu spoke these words, her heart was filled with sorrow and helplessness.
She had Li Jin in her heart; she missed him and worried about him.
But she was too clear-headed.
Living in the Great Wei Dynasty, immersed in its ancient and feudal system, she and he were forever separated by an insurmountable gap in their social status.
Therefore, her love could be to stand silently behind him, just as before, following him and becoming an aid to his crime-solving and reasoning.
Alternatively, one could remain in the Six Doors, continuing to serve as a coroner who seeks justice for the deceased and contributes to peace and stability in the world.
Like him, they will become the cornerstone of this peaceful and prosperous era, even if it costs them their long lives.
But precisely because Li Jin occupies the most important place in her heart, she cannot allow herself to become a stumbling block on his future path.
She simply couldn't accept the olive branch he extended.
That's why, on the night of the Lantern Festival, when I watched him put on a "drunken" act in front of me, I resisted the urge to hug him and, like a fool, insisted on playing a card game that cost one or two taels of silver per round.
For a year, I watched his every smile and frown, seeing him struggle through the mud and against the current of fate for so long before finally reaching where he is today.
She couldn't let him stop.
In particular, we must not let him stop because of us.
Li Jin has the world in his heart and holds the belief that all living beings are equal. He is shrewd and has sufficient strategies and tactics.
He had the best strategists, the most powerful generals, and so many loyal and devoted comrades by his side.
He should continue onward, ascend to the pinnacle of power, and propel the Great Wei to the zenith of a prosperous and powerful dynasty where all people live in peace and prosperity, a dynasty whose glory rivals that of the sun and moon.
Jin Shu remained expressionless, silently gazing at the petals soaking in the teacup. After a long while, she chuckled softly, "I can't help him."
Her eyes were a little moist, and her mouth opened and closed, but she didn't say anything more.
Yun Fei, standing beside him, nodded knowingly, but unexpectedly said in a calm and indifferent tone, "Mr. Jin forgot."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Mr. Jin, you've forgotten?" Yun Fei laughed, and under Jin Shu's surprised gaze, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then got up to leave.
He said half of what he meant, and Jin Shu thought about it for a long time but still couldn't understand the second half of his sentence.
Only after Jin Shu left the sect leader's courtyard did Yun Fei look at her back and then at Shen Wen on the eaves, and he praised her with deep respect: "Some people can boast about doing just one insignificant little thing for decades."
“But some people,” he said, gazing in the direction Jin Shu had left, “do great things that will be remembered for eternity, recorded in history books, and serve as role models for future generations, yet they forget them as soon as they turn their backs.”
If only someone could inspire people from all corners of the land to spontaneously come to the capital, kneel on both sides of the long official road, and kowtow to beg for mercy.
If it were someone who, with her own strength and two hands, could seek justice for countless unjustly killed people and even set a precedent for women entering officialdom, then she would be the one to do so.
If such an extraordinary woman is not enough to stand beside Li Jin, then she is not worthy of being by his side.
Yunfei chuckled softly.
That only means that their prince is a cursed loner, destined to live a lonely life.
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