Lu's wrongful case
"Clan bloodline..." Yuanli muttered to herself, "Was the Lu family exterminated due to revenge killing, or was it because they violated the court's laws or were exterminated due to the wrath of the emperor?"
"Lu's father was an official in the imperial court, of low rank, and spent half his life in mediocrity. The year his family was exterminated, a sudden flood struck. He was recognized by his superiors and helped with disaster relief efforts. However, he was soon accused of embezzling disaster relief funds. The severity of the disaster infuriated the emperor, who executed his entire clan. That's about all I remember."
"The cat demon has killed dozens of people in succession, and the bloodshed is severe. For this reason, both heaven and humanity should punish it. We can't just ignore it because it's a human now, right?"
"The human world has its own emperor, and the heavens have their own emperors. They maintain their own order. Since mortals have blood on their hands, they fall under the jurisdiction of the human emperor."
There are two places in the world that record the fate of all people. The most detailed and clear one is the Yang Scroll of the Underworld, and the second is the "Storybook" of the God of Destiny.
The relationship between the heaven and earth is now in an extremely awkward situation. No one wants to borrow the Yang Scroll from Cha Suxun, but he wants to. The one Tianshu is looking at should be the one from Siming Xingjun.
Cha Suxun has been quite busy lately, and Yuanli didn't want to bother him, so she had to investigate on her own.
When the medicine was ready at dawn, Tianshu Star Lord lazily disappeared from the chaise longue.
She opened the lid of the medicine jar, and the smell of medicine rushed to her head. Yuanli quickly filled two bowls with the medicine and brought them into Qi Heng's room.
As soon as he stepped into the bedroom, Qi Heng woke up. I don’t know if he was a light sleeper or if the pain affected his sleep.
As soon as he reached his bed, Qi Heng consciously moved slightly to the inside.
After taking two bowls of medicine, the charcoal brazier placed in advance had heated up the room. Qi Heng took off his clothes except for his underwear, and lay on the couch like a dead fish, very obedient.
The deep and long wound on the front of the body does not need to be changed, but the small wounds on the arms still need to be applied with medicine.
Yuanli leaned over and blew on him while applying medicine. Her movements were gentle for fear of using too much force, but that weak force made Qi Heng feel itchy.
In order to avoid his suspicion, Yuanli had to mention the matter of the Lu family in a roundabout way.
After pondering it over again and again, Yuanli finally asked, "Ah Heng, you said yesterday that you thought the cat demon might want you to investigate the injustice behind it. If the cat demon was seeking revenge, but the first person to die was a senior official of the court, could the injustice be related to a case that the court had previously closed?"
After Yuanli's reminder, Qi Heng thought for a moment and pointed at the desk and said, "Help me get all the case files under the paperweight."
Qi Heng took the case file and copied the notes from Yuanli, flipped through them, and finally locked onto the few cases at the bottom.
According to the notes, several old officials who were killed in the same county had been involved in corruption cases, and they were all involved in key links. Some of the younger ones had deceased elders who had served in the court and were involved in the case.
"This case happened during the time of the previous emperor. The nine clans of the Lu family have been wiped out. Even if there is injustice, it would be difficult to reopen the case."
"Perhaps the Lu case is the turning point of the cat demon case?"
After helping him put on his clothes, Qi Heng sat on the headboard and looked down at the case notes in silence for a long time, and finally said: "This is a cornerstone of the ten thousand steps of the stairway that led His Majesty to the throne."
Seeing her puzzled expression, Qi Heng continued, "After Lu Yongquan's execution, the late emperor was completely disappointed with the deposed crown prince. With no hope of the deposed crown prince's return, the subsequent flood control matters fell into the hands of the emperor. My fifth uncle, Qi Yuanzhen, was a member of the emperor's camp. Under the crown prince's leadership, the county's vitality was largely restored, and he won the hearts of half of the people in one fell swoop, firmly securing the crown prince's position..."
"You already knew that the Lu family's case was unjust?"
"Yes, the deposed Crown Prince spent six months planning to regain some of the late Emperor's confidence. Whether he could effectively control the flood in Tongxian County was the key to his turnaround, and also a critical moment for His Majesty. At the time, my fifth uncle was young. Although he had a good score on the imperial examination list, his career was uncertain without a top-three rank. By chance, he gained the Emperor's favor. He had a clear view of the situation and could roughly guess at the dirty work going on. But he didn't expect the Lu family to execute all nine generations of their clan for this. Whoever got the relief money would lose it."
"Then how did you find out about this?"
"My fifth uncle and my father were like brothers, and our two families had close ties. He also loved me very much and talked about it when he was drunk. He was young at the time, and although he didn't plan to kill Lu, when the Lu case was finalized, he already knew in his heart that there was a high possibility of injustice. However, it involved the dispute over the throne, and with the entire Qi family behind him, he was powerless to do anything. He often thought about this and felt guilty."
Things were far more troublesome than Yuanli had imagined. Prosperity and adversity were shared by all. This matter concerned the reputation of the Qi family, and it was difficult to redress the injustice.
But if the cat demon in the dark doesn't get what it wants and gets angry, I'm afraid more people will die.
Yuanli could understand the matter of the fifth uncle. Behind the fight for the throne, there were often frames of betrayal. As someone in the same camp, you could avoid some of the frames, or you could avoid killing everyone.
However, people who have concerns and weaknesses can only turn a blind eye even if they know the injustice behind it.
He can’t afford to mess with his fifth uncle.
There are countless grievances in the world, and she cannot afford to gamble with her own order.
"Almost everyone involved in this case has been killed. Even if you want to investigate, you're stuck. Knowing that there's injustice in this case is enough. At the very least, we might already know the cat demon's motives, which will make things easier."
Qi Heng paused while holding her hand that was applying the medicine, and stroked the back of her hand with his fingers, not daring to look directly into her eyes. "If I were selfish for once and didn't overturn the verdict, would you..."
She understood Qi Heng's concerns, so before he could finish, Yuanli interrupted him, "I understand your concerns. Some things have become secrets, so let them take their course."
Let others be the heroes who uphold justice; she just wants him to be safe.
After she finished speaking, Yuanli put down the medicine jar in her hand, helped him change into clean underwear, packed up everything, helped him lie down and rest his eyes, then Yuanli felt at ease to harness the carriage and leave the house.
She must go to Nianhua again.
The imperial capital's perennial prosperity has returned to tranquility in recent days. The bustling downtown area that is usually crowded with people is now only occupied by a few vendors, most of whom are from foreign countries, and business is slow.
Yuanli lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked through the window. The windows and doors of the wooden buildings on both sides of the street were closed.
The business in Yanliu Lane was also affected by the fear of the cat demon. Several large brothels were still operating normally, supported by long-term residents or spending money from drug addicts, and there was often decadent music inside.
The carriage slowly stopped, and the driver jumped down and knocked on the door. After a long while, someone finally opened the door, approached the carriage, and asked, "I wonder if the distinguished guest in the carriage is looking for that girl?"
"Pick a flower."
Without waiting for the madam to come up with an excuse to refuse, Yuanli pulled out a book from under the cushion and stuffed it through the window curtain, saying, "Please ask Madam Yu to give this token to Miss Nianhua for her to see before she decides whether to meet me."
Mother Yu took the book from Yuanli's hand with some reluctance and sent someone to deliver it inside. During this time, the spring breeze blew the carriage curtain slightly, and a touch of bright color remained waiting outside the window.
The person came in a hurry and whispered something to Yu's mother. He lowered his voice deliberately, so Yuanli couldn't hear what they said.
"Sir, please come in." Mother Yu spoke in a flattering tone, and her attitude was obviously much warmer.
Having achieved her goal, Yuanli left Chunyue and Qiuyue in the carriage and decided to go alone. When she got off the carriage, she did not forget to close the curtains tightly to block their figures inside the carriage.
Pulling out some silver and handing it to Mother Yu, Yuanli lowered her voice and warned, "The capital has been turbulent lately. I also came out without my wife's knowledge. Do you understand, Mother?"
"I see, I see, it's you, sir. If I had known it was you, there would have been no need to hand over any tokens. I could have just gone in directly."
After stuffing the silver into the box, Mother Yu smiled happily and brought Yuanli upstairs from the secluded backyard.
With Yu's mother taking care of things, there were few people along the way, and those who were there were only girls.
Nianhua was waiting at the stairs early, smiling as always, but even with all the makeup she put on, she couldn't hide her haggard look.
"Nianhua, it's rare for the young master to come again, you must take good care of him."
"I know, Mom." Nianhua came over and held Yuanli's arm affectionately, touching her wrist quietly while keeping a distance. It seemed intimate, but it was not difficult to feel her cautiousness.
"Sir, please."
"Okay." Yuanli agreed. Just as she took a step, she paused and turned back to remind her, "By the way, Mother Yu, I don't like anyone disturbing my beauty in my arms. Please go down."
After saying that, Yuanli hugged Nianhua's waist and went up to the Moon Viewing Platform.
After closing the door, Nianhua immediately broke away from her arms and kept some distance.
"There's no one here, so it's better not to get too close to me, sir."
"Nianhua, I said I don't care."
There was a hint of inferiority in Nianhua's eyes as she smiled faintly. She turned away and fiddled with the snacks, carefully scalding the newly taken out tea sets with non-boiling water before using them.
"But I do care. You are a noble man, and I don't want to dirty your clothes."
He poured the tea, placed the flower on the table beside him, and motioned for her to sit down. "You came here today to look for me, but what is it that you don't understand?"
"The Sanlang case has been closed. His dirty deeds are known to the entire court. The emperor has stripped him of his status as a prince and demoted him to a commoner. He will not be allowed to be buried in the imperial mausoleum after his death. I'm sure you've heard some of this. Thank you for your help."
"I have to thank you, sir, too, don't I?" Nianhua finally smiled from the bottom of her heart. "Did you come here today to ask anything else? Feel free to ask."
"I really can't hide it from Miss Nianhua's discerning eyes. What I want to ask is, the raccoon servants in Mudan Tower are not human, right?"
Nianhua's smile froze, and the corners of her mouth slowly lowered, the answer coming out without words.
"Is my guess correct? Then I'll guess again, she's related to the cat demon that's been causing panic among the people lately, or maybe, Li Nu is the cat demon."
While questioning her, Yuanli met her eyes, observing her carefully, not missing any subtle changes in her facial expression.
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