Chapter 253 The First Female Official of the Great Wei Dynasty, Hot in the Marriage Market
As the snow fell heavily, Su Siyuan waited for a long time in front of the palace gate.
Only after a thin layer of snow had settled on his shoulders did he see Prince Jing, dressed in black, walking out of the Taihe Hall amidst the wind and snow.
Just as he was about to step forward, he heard someone call him from behind Li Jin.
In the heavy snow, Eunuch Chen carried a flat box in his hands and chased after them all the way.
“Your Highness Prince Jing!” He cupped his hands and presented the box to Li Jin. “The day His Majesty bestowed upon you the gold medal for ‘Personal Imperial Visit’ was the day he was waiting for you to be a person first and a subject second.”
"This gold medal can be used to execute first and report later, without having to ask me for permission." Eunuch Chen bowed even deeper. "If a prince breaks the law, he shall be punished the same as a commoner. Prince Jing, make good use of this opportunity and do not fail to appreciate my good intentions."
In the wind and snow, Li Jin looked at the box in Eunuch Chen's hand with surprise.
He took the box with a puzzled look, but just as he was about to open it, Eunuch Chen pressed down on the lid and shook his head: "Once Your Highness opens this, there will be no turning back."
He pursed his lips, bent over, and glanced at Li Jin's face: "This old servant dares to ask, how confident is Your Highness?"
Looking into his concerned eyes, Li Jin roughly guessed that what was in the box was the only remaining case record of "Crown Prince Li Mu's rebellion".
He remained silent for a long time before slowly saying in the wind and snow, "Rest assured, Your Majesty." Li Jin smiled slightly, "It's either a perfect outcome or death. I am prepared for that."
Looking at Li Jin's smiling face, Eunuch Chen was stunned for a moment before slowly lowering his hand from the box.
“Your Highness is upright, but in this court and deep palace, where is there absolute light?” Eunuch Chen sighed. “Even so, this old servant hopes that one day in the future, Your Highness will be able to shine your light into the depths of this imperial city.”
After saying that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "Be careful in everything you do."
As the snow fell heavily, Su Siyuan watched Li Jin stand there motionless, quietly waiting by the carriage.
He glanced at Li Jin's back, watching the cranes gracefully fluttering on his clothes, and let out a long sigh.
Young masters of other families, around twenty-five or twenty-six, are riding horses, shooting arrows, and playing pitch-pot.
The prince himself, at twenty-five or twenty-six, overturns cases, apprehends murderers, and battles killers.
"The differences between people... sigh!" Su Siyuan sighed.
But then Li Jin turned around, looked at him and Zhou Zheng standing side by side, and shook the box in her hand.
Amidst the heavy snow, he smiled faintly: "It's done."
Then, seeing their astonished expressions, he smiled and asked, "Are there any daredevils who want to go to the Yellow Springs together?"
After a long pause, Su Siyuan chuckled dryly and said disdainfully, "You're a jinx."
That day, in the main hall of the Six Doors' main courtyard, Li Jin leaned against a sandalwood desk, looking at a case summary with cinnabar annotations in his hand.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside, there was a deathly silence.
It turns out that the phrase "there is no turning back" does not have the simple meaning it has on the surface.
The emperor of Great Wei, Li Yi, who sat on the dragon throne, and the chief coroner Yan Zhao were also involved in the rebellion, giving it a powerful boost.
No wonder they can't reopen old cases.
No wonder they say it's not justice.
This was a complete miscarriage of justice in the midst of a power struggle.
The current crown prince, however, remained completely uninvolved throughout the entire process, never issuing any orders personally.
On the surface, it appears that the Prime Minister found Yang Defa and forged Li Mu's letter, and Yan Zhao was only deceived by the letter, releasing Lin Zhongyi who was transporting the armor.
Lin Zhongyi followed Xu Weiyou's instructions and transported the armor to Yang Qingyun, who was in charge of receiving it, overnight.
Yang Qingyun, by sheer coincidence, was placed by Pei Yide in that godforsaken county town at that time and place, simply waiting for those two carts of armor.
Without the Crown Prince's order, the Crown Prince merely noticed the unusual movement of the armor and rushed ahead to inform Li Yi, who was at the imperial palace.
The snow fell heavily, covering the ground with a thick layer.
Zhang Xin's tabby cat, unusually, sneaked into Li Jin's main hall, circled the charcoal fire a few times, and then sat down.
Li Jin silently stared at the flickering embers, then raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Six years ago, Li Yi mobilized two thousand elite soldiers to surround the entire palace.
At that time, the loyal young general Xiao Chen, who had only eight hundred Golden Guards but was still prepared to fight to the death to buy time for Li Yi to leave, unexpectedly saved the entire Xiao family.
Li Jin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his mind went blank.
The perpetrator of this miscarriage of justice was not the Crown Prince, but Li Yi.
This was nothing more than a game of chess by Li Yi, and the Crown Prince was merely a pawn on his board.
He was the one who wanted to replace the crown prince, he was the one who wanted to support Li Jing, and he was also the one who wanted Li Mu to be accused of treason.
The only unexpected thing that happened was that the seemingly obedient pawn that he had been controlling back then lost control.
Li Jin was momentarily dazed.
The things he had always believed in crumbled and collapsed like an avalanche.
Suddenly, I couldn't see clearly anymore.
It was impossible to see clearly whether the person sitting on the dragon throne was a human or a ghost.
It's also unclear what his intentions are in his six years of patient planning.
It wasn't until Jin Shu lifted the curtain and walked in that he snapped out of his daze, looked at the reassuring face, and smiled slightly.
"Lord Zhou said that the case summary has been obtained." She stood at the door, looking at Li Jin, who looked a little haggard.
He glanced at Jin Shu's face, and with the hand behind him, he hid the notes on the desk under a sheet of white Xuan paper.
"I didn't get it." Li Jin shook his head with a smile. "If I had gotten it, why would I still be standing here?"
Jin Shu peeked out and looked behind him, only to see Li Jin shift his body slightly, blocking her view.
She was somewhat puzzled: "Lord Zhou never speaks recklessly." As she spoke, she took a few steps forward.
"Su Siyuan's face turned pale after being refuted at the morning court session. His Majesty said that the most urgent issues were the floods and the epidemic, and that it was not the right time to reopen this case."
Seeing that he spoke calmly and didn't seem to be making things up, Jin Shu said "Oh": "If you get it, be sure to include me in the matter of overturning the case."
Li Jin's smile remained unchanged as he looked into her determined gaze.
"I want to avenge my master. Examining corpses and investigating cases is the only thing I can do." After she finished speaking, she glanced at the tabby cat lying on the ground, fast asleep, walked over, and poked it twice. "Even if it's just bare bones, I'm willing to try."
"Jin Shu." After a long silence, Li Jin called out softly.
His unusually serious demeanor surprised Jin Shu, who looked up at his smiling face.
“If Lord Yan were still alive, he would never want you to do this.” He paused. “Me neither.”
Li Jin stepped forward: "He is your master, and he is also my master. I will take revenge for your share as well."
He squatted down and looked at Jin Shu across the charcoal brazier: "And you, could you trust me a little more? Just stand behind me and make me a cup of tea when I get tired?"
Jin Shu paused.
“But you have to promise me.” Li Jin smiled, a smile as bright and radiant as the warm spring sun, “Promise me that if I fall, you will be the first to run away, as far away as you can go, to the ends of the earth, anywhere is fine, just never come back.”
There was a brief silence between them.
He saw through Li Jin's thoughts and guessed his deliberate actions.
Jin Shu let out a breath through her nose, then grinned, raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Hmm, it's perfect for marrying a good man, being a good wife and mother, living a peaceful and stable life, and avoiding any accusations from the prince about flirting with royalty and not taking responsibility. Excellent!"
Li Jin was taken aback, then frowned and glared at her: "With you like this, spending all your time buried in the coroner's office, do you really think you'll ever get married?"
"Of course!" Jin Shu said mysteriously. "The prince is prepared to die alone, why would he care who I marry? It's not like no one has proposed to me."
She tilted her head back, patted her chest, and said with great pride, "I am now the number one female official in the Great Wei Dynasty, holding the rank of fourth grade, and I am extremely popular!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jin's face darkened: "Who proposed marriage?" He glared at the "heartless" woman in front of him, "Tell me, let's see whose taste is so bad!"
Jin Shu raised her eyebrows, held up a finger, and said with great seriousness, "Is it Lord Chen, the Director of Studies of the Imperial Academy?"
Li Jin frowned.
She then held up another finger: "Lord Zhu from the Ministry of Justice, I suppose!"
Li Jin pursed her lips, biting the corner of her mouth, and remained silent.
Then Jin Shu grinned and held up her third finger: "And there's also Young Master Song, the tycoon from the capital."
After saying that, Li Jin was furious. He pursed his lips and stared at Jin Shu's smiling face. After a long while, he squeezed out a few words through his teeth: "You're ruthless."
Jin Shu laughed: "Then Your Highness..."
She thought that by provoking him like this, Li Jin would let her take a look at the dangerous memorandum.
Unexpectedly, the man in front of him stood up, his forehead veins throbbing with laughter: "Let's go find Song Zhen."
Jin Shu was taken aback: "Huh?"
Wouldn't that give us away?
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