Chapter 71: Moving the Capital

In the middle of autumn, the summer days are long. In the south, the forests are thick and the grass is lush. As the sky gets dark, the wind blows through the trees, and the whole mountain is shrouded in a rustling sound.

The bamboo curtain was rolled up high, and the tassels swayed gently in the wind. Ming Huashang sat under the coffin window, her hair tied into a simple bun, revealing her slender neck and fair face.

She was not wearing any makeup, and was dressed in a simple white casual outfit. Apart from the light green headband behind her head, there was no other decoration on her body.

The summer in Chang'an is very hot and humid, and it is only comfortable before sunrise and after sunset. I can't practice martial arts in the morning, so the only time of the day when I can read peacefully is in the evening.

Ming Huachang lowered her eyelashes, concentrating on holding a thick file. At this moment, the courtyard door was pushed open. She glanced at it casually with the corner of her eye and was about to stand up, but the person stopped her: "Don't move, just read your book."

Ming Huazhang was also dressed neatly in white, with his waist tied high, outlining his broad shoulders, narrow waist and long legs. When he walked out from under the shade of the trees, he truly demonstrated what it meant to be a luxuriant spring pine tree, tall and graceful.

He held a few scrolls in his arms and stopped in front of the window. He easily saw the contents in Ming Huashang's hand: "Are you still reading the scrolls of Jiangnan Dao?"

"Yes." Ming Huashang said, "It's rare that this governor remembered the file in such detail. Not only is there an autopsy report on the deceased, but it also records the murderer's family background. This is precious first-hand material, so of course I have to read it slowly and carefully."

Ming Huazhang said nothing, but leaned over the window and placed the scroll next to her: "This is the record that Han Jiexin found. It contains the details of the case and the murderer's confession. It may be useful for your portrait."

Ming Huashang was delighted after hearing this, and hurried to unroll the new scroll: "Really? This is so timely. The people handling the case only care about the deceased. Once the murderer is caught, they just need him to confess. They don't care what kind of person the murderer is. They say that the autopsy is to let the deceased speak, but no one has ever thought of letting the living person - the murderer - speak. If you don't know how deep the hole is, you can't catch the tiger. Only by knowing what the murderer thinks can you know how to find the murderer when a murder occurs, and how to prevent it when a murder does not occur."

Ming Huashang had complained about this many times. After they found the Daming Palace Map in Chang'an in April, Han Jie did not give them a single day off and immediately sent them back for training.

It is now August. In the past four months, Ming Huachang has been riding horses, shooting arrows and hitting sandbags in the deep mountains and forests all day long. Sometimes she is even used as a sandbag to be hit by others. Her physical strength and endurance have greatly improved. She is no longer the useless person who fell down after one punch and panted after two steps.

At least two punches.

In addition to martial arts, Han Jie also did not let them relax in the literary examination. In four months, they learned secret codes, killing, saving people, local customs and even Taoism and feng shui and other strange knowledge. These were the big pot of rice that everyone had to learn. In addition, Ming Huashang was given a small stove. Every day after class, when others were resting, she had to hold the files of the past years and dynasties to read.

Ming Huachang has very few cases to personally experience. After all, she is not so unlucky that she encounters dead people wherever she goes. Ming Huazhang is very opposed to her relying on intuition to solve cases, insisting that experience is more important than intuition, and listening to both sides is more important than believing in one side. He found a lot of files, allowing Ming Huachang to see all kinds of criminals from past cases and help her train her portrait drawing skills.

Ming Huachang has had a very hard time in the past few months. Apart from sleeping, she has little spare time every day, but to be honest, she has gained a lot.

In the early stage, she stumbled and studied the case files, but later it was her turn to find faults in the case files. The ability of local government officials to handle cases varied greatly, and there were very few who could describe the murderer impartially. Ming Huashang often had to read a long paragraph of nonsense before she could find one or two useful testimonies. She was very resentful about this and could not help complaining every time she saw Ming Huazhang.

Ming Huazhang was used to this. He leaned one arm on the window sill and sighed, "This is the file of the four capitals. It's already been calculated. People value officials in the capital more than those sent out. Every year, the new Jinshi will try their best to stay in Chang'an and Luoyang, and the rest will go to the land of fish and rice such as Jiangnan. Although Chang'an, Luoyang, and Yangzhou are prosperous and wealthy, they are only three of the more than 350 states in the Tang Dynasty, not even one of the hundred. In the vast territory outside the capital, there are few officials who are well-educated, let alone the clerks below."

Ming Huashang raised her head and looked at the boy in front of her. Although the two were separated by a window, their faces were very close. The early autumn heat had not yet dissipated, and mottled green shadows fell on him, and the wind in the distance brought a rustling sound.

He seemed to have grown taller, his shoulders gradually broadened, revealing the hard edges of a man, but still retaining the thinness and slenderness of a boy. At first glance, he looked like a bamboo after the rain, soft and straight, with a clear and upright posture. When he mentioned the weak administration of the foreign states, his eyes were dark and serious, and he was really worried.

Ming Huashang was certainly right, he was talking about "Tang Dynasty". However, the current name of the country should be Zhou.

Ming Huashang did not correct him, and said, "Second brother, when I read these files, my biggest feeling is not the lack of people, but the waste."

After hearing this, Ming Huazhang became serious and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Take Chang'an for example. The officials of Jingzhao Prefecture are not incompetent, but when they handle cases, they only know how to let their subordinates waste time and effort, interrogate everyone around the scene, and if they can't catch anyone suspicious, they will expand the scope and interrogate again. Petty officials are also human beings. They will get tired and bored after a long time. They work hard all day but can only get a meager salary. They will inevitably confess under torture to fool their superiors. This is not the fault of the yamen runners and petty officials, but the fault of the superiors."

Ming Huazhang listened very carefully and nodded, "Go on."

"And when I look at their case files, it's clear that a lot of their efforts are unnecessary and purely in vain. I can understand the chief officers' thoughts. They are the parents of a region. If they can't catch the murderer, it will affect their political performance and will most likely affect the evaluation of the Ministry of Personnel. They dare not take risks, so they order their subordinates to set up a dragnet, and would rather kill by mistake than let the murderer go, regardless of whether the detectives and petty officials will be tired. However, many murderers clearly have something in common. For example, many people who rape and murder women have arson experience before; those who use cruel means to torture and kill the dead may have started by torturing and killing animals; many murders that seem cruel and are judged by the government as revenge killings are actually for..."

Ming Huachang was stuck for a moment. She originally wanted to say that the murderer was not strong enough and could not get an erection so he vented his anger on the corpse. Some of the marks seemed to be violent but were actually the result of sexual desire.

But how can I tell Ming Huazhang these words?

Ming Huazhang leaned his arm on the window sill, half leaning forward, and looked at her seriously. Today he was wearing a narrow-sleeved white round-necked robe with folded cuffs painted with intricate precious flower patterns, and his delicate wrist bones and slender and powerful forearm lines could be vaguely seen underneath.

He practiced martial arts all year round and had a disciplined diet. When he was dressed, he looked slender and thin, but in fact his arms were not thin.

Ming Huazhang's eyes were clear and moist. When he saw her pause, he took the initiative to ask, "What is it?"

Ming Huashang didn't know what she was thinking about, and her face turned red. She turned her face away, coughed to cover it up, and stammered, "I haven't thought about it yet."

Ming Huazhang stared at her quietly, obviously not convinced by this reason, but he did not force her, saying: "Okay, think about it slowly. What you said makes sense. Although the imperial examination system has given opportunities to many poor people, those who are selected are all scholars, and they are still a long way from being officials. The common points you summarized are very useful. Have you ever thought about summarizing them and writing a book?"

"Me?" Ming Huashang instinctively said, "Second brother, you know that my calligraphy and painting are terrible, and my poetry writing is even worse. This kind of thing should be left to a noble scholar, or at least a talented woman."

Ming Huazhang suddenly stretched out his hand and pinched the ingot on her head, smiling slightly and said: "Don't belittle yourself. Those so-called talented men and women write poems to praise their merits, but you speak for the dead and for the rights of the living. You do not serve the king or the nobles, and you are much more noble than them. They should be ashamed to see you. What are you afraid of?"

Ming Huashang was stunned and still a little hesitant: "But I..."

"Take your time." Ming Huazhang said, "If you can write a book and promote it, it can teach superiors how to allocate limited manpower and teach yamen runners how to catch murderers. How much fewer wrongful convictions will there be in the world? Shangshang, you can draw a portrait of the murderer after looking at the crime scene. Your talent is no worse than Xie Jichuan. Nowadays, talented people are focused on official careers and serving the emperor. No one is willing to serve the people. I hope you will live up to your talent and do something truly meaningful."

Ming Huachang raised her eyes and met Ming Huazhang's. His gaze was calm and steady, like still waters running deep, and there was a power in the silence.

It turned out that Ming Huashang didn't understand why he studied and practiced martial arts tirelessly. He was definitely the most self-disciplined person she had ever met. He already had everything, so what was he still insisting on?

Now Ming Huachang finally understood that he was not only pursuing the gentleman in words, but he believed in the words of Confucius and Mencius from the bottom of his heart and practiced the gentleman's way.

Ming Huashang was unconsciously infected by the awe-inspiring righteousness and nodded slowly: "Okay, I'll try."

The mountain breeze blew through the hall, and the bamboo curtain above swayed gently. The two looked at each other, their cheeks less than half a foot apart. Ming Huazhang realized that they seemed to be too close. He was thinking about how to resolve the situation quietly, when suddenly the door behind him was pushed open and a carefree voice came in: "It's so hot, Ming Huachang, have you written the memorial yesterday..."

Ming Huazhang stood up straight immediately, and Ming Huashang also sat up straight, pretending to be reading a book. Jiang Ling rushed in and was stunned when he saw this scene: "What are you doing?"

In fact, Jiang Ling had no other intentions at first. Ming Huazhang was Ming Huashang's brother, so it was normal for him to appear in her room and to talk through the window. However, the way the two of them hurriedly distanced themselves from each other made him feel strange.

Ming Huazhang saw that Jiang Ling was familiar with the place and his face was not very happy: "What are you doing here?"

"I'll copy... No, I'll take a look at how Ming Huashang wrote her essay." Jiang Ling was very familiar with this place, and he walked in and looked around without Ming Huashang asking him to. He had no idea that this was a girl's room. He found Ming Huashang's homework, flipped through it, and looked up in surprise: "You didn't write it?"

"Yes." Ming Huashang said sincerely, "I am still waiting for you to finish writing and will refer to yours."

Jiang Ling looked puzzled and said, "What a coincidence. I just came from Xie Jichuan and he didn't write it either."

Ming Huashang asked, "Where is Sister Ren?"

"She?" Jiang Ling frowned exaggeratedly, "Even if she wrote it, would you dare to copy it?"

Ming Huashang was silent for a moment and looked behind him. Jiang Ling was startled and turned around quickly. Seeing the empty door, he breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death. I thought that tomboy was here."

"Sister Ren, Brother Xie, you are here."

"You're still using this trick." Jiang Ling sneered and said disdainfully, "Even if the tomboy really comes, I'm not afraid. I used to let her go, but now she can't beat me anymore. I was just giving her face in class. If I'm serious, it won't be a matter of moving a finger to beat her until she crawls on the ground."

Ming Huashang looked at him hesitantly, "Do you want to think about it again?"

"What's there to think about!" Jiang Ling held his head high and said proudly, "I can beat five pretty boys like Xie Jichuan with one punch, but I just have to read his articles and can't do it for the sake of face."

"Really?"

Jiang Ling answered without hesitation. After he finished speaking, he felt something strange. Why did the voice come from behind him?

Jiang Ling slowly turned around and saw the "pretty boy" standing by the door, smiling at him: "I see, thank you for showing mercy before."

Jiang Ling saw Ren Yao gritting his teeth beside Xie Jichuan, and his head was buzzing. Ren Yao pinched his fingers and made a crackling sound, sneering: "Okay, I want to see who is crawling around."

A shrill scream rang out in the yard. Ming Huashang quickly leaned over the window and shouted outside: "If you want to fight, go outside and fight. Don't destroy my yard!"

The response was a dull sound of flesh hitting the ground, and it was unknown whether they heard it or not. Ming Huashang half-knelt in front of the window, feeling distressed: "I have finally planted these chrysanthemums, and I have to make moon balls in a few days. Don't let them crush me."

Xie Jichuan calmly walked around the crime scene, walked up the stairs leisurely, and said to Ming Huazhang: "You are here, it was hard for me to find you. Han Jie wants to see you."

"What is it?"

"Most likely to go down the mountain." Xie Jichuan said, "The empress intends to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chang'an. She has ordered the departure and is expected to enter the city in three days. This relocation of the capital is a grand event. The three provinces and six ministries, the princesses, the dukes and the earls are accompanying her. The Zhenguogong Mansion is also among the accompanying carriages. You came to Chang'an nominally to prepare for the imperial examination. It would be unreasonable for you not to show up when your grandmother and father arrive."

After the elders came to Chang'an, Ming Huazhang could no longer move freely. He sighed and said, "I know. Thank you for the message. I will go find Han Jie now."

After saying that, Ming Huazhang looked at the other two who were having a great time fighting, and said in a low voice, "That's enough. The final exam is about to start, and instead of preparing for the exam, you're messing around here."

Ming Huashang felt sorry for her mooncakes and responded angrily, "That's right."

"You too." Unexpectedly, Ming Huazhang suddenly turned his attention to her and said, "You only have food on your mind. Jiang Ling just walked in casually and rummaged around in your room, and you just let him do it?"

Ming Huashang was a little confused by what she said, and said in surprise: "But, it has always been like this..."

This was not the first time, Ming Huazhang was getting angrier. Xie Jichuan saw this and said, "It's just a small matter, but you are too petty to care about it."

"A small matter?" Ming Huazhang looked at Xie Jichuan coldly, "A man entered your sister's room without knocking and rummaged around in her room. Do you think it's a small matter?"

Xie Jichuan spread his hands and said sincerely, "I don't have a sister."

Ming Huashang almost laughed out loud, Ming Huazhang glanced over, and Ming Huashang immediately fell silent, resting her head on the window sill. Seeing her innocent and righteous look, Ming Huazhang was so angry that he hit her forehead hard: "You only know how to eat."

Ming Huashang didn't dare to dodge and took the blow head on. She put her hands under her chin and glared angrily: "What's wrong with eating? Of all things, eating is the most important."

Ming Huazhang glanced over, and under the pressure of his brother's strong gaze, Ming Huachang said reluctantly: "Okay, I get it. I won't let him copy my homework next time."

"What else?"

Ming Huashang thought hard: "Lock the door when reading?"

Xie Jichuan was left alone for a long time, then said slowly, "That's enough. I didn't come here to see you two being so friendly and affectionate. Your excuse for being in Chang'an is to prepare for the imperial examination. It's less than a month away, and if you fail, you'll be a laughing stock."

Ming Huazhang seemed to have no enthusiasm for the exam. He said calmly, "It's just a show. The places have been reserved. What does it matter whether you take the exam or not?"

"That's different." Xie Jichuan said, "The Queen specially held an imperial examination to get you into the officialdom. If you don't go, wouldn't our company be in vain?"

Ming Huashang leaned against the window sill, her eyes moving between the two of them, and asked, "Xie Axiong, are you also going to participate in the imperial examination in September?"

"Yes." Xie Jichuan smiled, "Not only me, but also Qianshan from another group will participate. Second sister, who do you think will be the top scorer?"

Ming Huashang smiled without letting anything slip, and said sweetly, "It must be my brother."

What she said was not wrong. Ming Huazhang was her fake brother, Su Xingzhi was her real brother, and Xie Jichuan was Ming Huazhang's friend, so he could be called brother. No matter who was the top scholar, he was still her brother.