Li Jian originally wanted to go home with Shen Qinghe to visit Shen's parents, but Lord Shen refused.
"Your mother will come to the palace to see you two tomorrow, so Scholar Huo, please don't go home for the time being. It's not easy being pregnant, so don't let her worry."
Looking at his father's expression, Shen Qinghe realized that he was clearly just afraid that Li Jian would lose his temper, yet he was being considerate.
Five years have passed since we parted ways at the Ministry of Personnel. Upon seeing the place where he used to work, Lord Shen took a deep breath and went inside.
“Yuanyuan, give me Honghe’s case file from ten years ago. Let me see which law was used to judge this case back then.”
"Minzhi, wait a minute, I haven't found Honghe's three-year-old account yet."
Huo Minzhi and Li Yuanyuan both achieved second and third place in the last imperial examination, and both were admitted to the Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of Personnel is currently leaderless, and the chaos is giving people a headache.
"Cough cough!"
Lord Shen cleared his throat at the door.
Amidst their busy work, everyone turned around to look at the person who had just arrived.
"grown ups!"
"My lord, you're finally back."
“You’ve been gone for five years. Do you know how we’ve spent those five years?”
"My lord! Many laws no longer apply after the new emperor's ascension to the throne. You can't leave this time; there are a lot of things waiting for your decision."
Huo Minzhi and Li Yuanyuan had only seen Lord Shen once before, when Li Jian got married, and had never seen him again. The two of them stood and looked at Lord Shen for a long time.
The same applies to Lord Shen; the Ministry of Personnel has never had a woman.
This was the first time for either of them.
"The newly appointed third and second-place scholars?" Lord Shen asked directly.
"Greetings, Your Excellency."
"Greetings, Your Excellency."
The two girls were of different heights, with Minzhi almost as tall as Lijian. She shielded Yuanyuan behind her, and then the two girls greeted Lord Shen.
"Your humble servant is Huo Minzhi."
"Your humble servant is Li Yuanyuan."
Lord Shen nodded.
He didn't have any rule against women entering his Ministry of Personnel; he was just curious why these two beautiful women were willing to come to this dull place.
"Bring the case file here."
Lord Shen sat back in his seat, lifted his robes and rolled up his sleeves, and had his subordinates hand over the case file.
"The Ministry of Justice has been slow to issue a verdict in this case. Please take a look, Your Excellency."
"The evidence against Li for murdering her husband is conclusive, but... she killed him accidentally because Li Er hit her and she resisted..."
Lord Shen stroked his beard and asked in return:
"You're asking me this? The Ministry of Justice hasn't even handed down a verdict yet, what are you doing here? Years ago, the Great Yan Dynasty already declared death in self-defense not a crime. Next!"
"No, sir, no! This... the groom's family keeps insisting that the Li family pay for their crimes with blood..."
"Is the Ministry of Justice owned by his family? Won't they just have someone throw him out?"
"My lord, you are unaware of the truth."
Huo Minzhi stepped forward and said.
“In recent years, there have been more than ten such cases in Beijing alone. They are all from small mountain villages, but some are from wealthy families. Whenever the man’s family hears that the woman has been released, they go to the entrance of the criminal department to cause trouble.”
"That's why it's been delayed until now. Fortunately, the Ministry of Justice has now set aside a separate courtyard for these women to live in."
Lord Shen previously thought that men who beat their wives were a minority, and that such men were scum, and that it was wrong to generalize.
Until Huo Xiaolong appointed him as governor.
Traveling south, I realized that so many people were living in hardship in places we couldn't see.
It was common for him to beat his wife when he got home, sometimes even to the point of killing her silently.
The same applies to the capital city; among them are two prominent and wealthy families.
"What are they saying? Everything needs a reason. Their son injured someone and was accidentally killed. The victim was innocent. What are they complaining about?"
"Those people are just saying that women are vicious and cruel, that they would even harm their own husbands," Li Yuanyuan said from the side.
Previously, this young lady also didn't understand why husbands and wives would resort to physical violence.
until……
She experienced it herself once.
I still remember Li Yuanyuan's previous fiancé. After several years of arguing with her family, Li Yuanyuan's family in Jiangnan agreed to annul the engagement, and the young girl was very happy at the time.
I went out of my way to meet Huo Minzhi and a few friends for a few drinks.
Huo Panlijian was also there that day.
Because they were all young girls, Li Jian was worried about their safety if they went out to play, so he let them drink in the palace late at night.
"Next month, I'll cut all ties with him! Then, Minzhi and I will go to the Ministry of Personnel together!"
The girl's eyes crinkled with joy. Huo Panli watched from the side, feeling that this was true youthful spirit, which was quite admirable.
She and Long'er also made a promise back then and worked step by step towards their dream. This kind of youthful friendship is the most precious.
Now, Minzhi has such a friend, and she is happy for her sister.
However, the following evening, Minzhi was stopped by Li Yuanyuan's maid at the palace gate.
"Miss Minzhi."
The maid looked panicked, her handkerchief stained with blood.
"What's wrong?"
"My young lady has had an accident. You... I'd be so sorry to trouble you to go and see her."
Huo Minzhi followed the maid and left. Da Ni'er had just returned from the pancake shop and was about to go find Huo Xiaolong to play when she saw Minzhi and the little maid with blood on her hands leaving from the doorway.
Will this work?
Da Ni'er, who was also Huo Minzhi's older sister, followed directly after them.
In the courtyard where Li Yuanyuan was staying, the main house was her boudoir.
When Minzhi pushed open the door, she was huddled in the corner of the bed, trembling all over, holding scissors in her hand.
Beside her lay her fiancé, his abdomen covered in blood.
"What happened?"
Li Yuanyuan's mouth was covered in blood, and one of her eyes was so swollen and bruised that she couldn't open it.
"This beast knew about the broken engagement between my family and my young lady, so he brought his men over, pinned me down, and went inside to humiliate my young lady. My young lady resisted... so..."
"Who did he bring with him?" Huo Minzhi asked.
"They've all run away..."
Da Ni'er came in with a sesame seed cake in her hand. The door was not closed. She looked at Huo Minzhi after hearing what was said.
The girl, enraged, beat the man, whose abdomen was bleeding profusely, and Da Ni'er couldn't bear to watch.
That's it?
The little chicks have so much energy but can't seem to breathe properly.
"Minzhi, get out of my way, I'll get revenge for you."
Da Nier hadn't killed anyone for several years. She drew her curved knife from her waist, grabbed the man by the neck, and slashed him.
The sesame seed cake was still in his mouth.
The little maid was terrified. She covered her mouth tightly, trying not to shout, because if she did, someone would find out.
Huo Minzhi held Li Yuanyuan in his arms and checked her clothes. They were alright; he hadn't let that beast succeed.
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