The officials of the Great Zhou were upholding justice and making decisions for the people. After gaining the trust of the people, the people would naturally generate psychokinesis towards them.
This was an advantage that Taoism and Buddhism did not have. It was also the foundation of a country that could firmly suppress these sects.
The psychokinesis generated by the people had been completely absorbed by Li Mu. Li Mu looked embarrassed and said, "Next time, I'll definitely leave some for you …"
Zhang Chun glared at Li Mu and said, "I've been busy for so long, and you're getting all the benefits?"
Li Mu said, "I couldn't control it this time. Next time, I'll be more careful …"
"There's still a next time?" Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "I don't want your psychokinesis. Don't cause trouble for me again. I can still handle it this time, but I can't be sure about the next time …"
"I'll try my best …"
"I don't want you to try your best. I want you to promise me!"
"Okay, okay, okay. I promise …"
Li Mu gave him a perfunctory promise. His promise to Liu Hanyan was a promise, but Li Mu could not guarantee Lord Zhang's promise.
After all, he could promise not to cause trouble, but he could not guarantee that trouble would not cause him trouble.
As a constable, it was his duty to seek justice for the people, punish evil, and uphold justice for the people. This could not be considered causing trouble at all …
Zhang Chun thought for a moment and said, "No, you're new here. There are many things you don't understand. I still have to remind you of the people and forces in Fairy's Capital that you must not provoke …"
Li Mu thought for a moment and asked, "The old party?"
Zhang Chun asked, "Why do you think it's the old party?"
Li Mu had heard about the old and new parties from Constable Zhao. He said, "The nobles led by the Xiao royal family have always wanted the Empress to stay in the Xiao family. They've been working hard to make the Empress lose the people's support …"
Zhang Chun shook his head and said, "It's not that simple whether the new party is black or white. I can't explain it clearly to you, but you'll see in the future. In short, no matter who is black or white, it's best not to provoke the people of these two parties, especially the former imperial family members and the current empress's Zhou Clan …"
"Other than these two, the yamen of the three provinces, six ministries, and nine temples aren't people that we can afford to offend. There's another group that we can't afford to offend, and that's the four academies. More than half of the officials in the current royal court are from the academies. Offending the academies is equivalent to making an enemy of the entire royal court …"
As Li Mu listened, he finally understood that as the arrester of the Luoyang Government, there were two people he could not afford to offend.
He couldn't afford to provoke this and that.
It was no wonder that the Divine Capital Magistrate and Divine Capital Deputy were nowhere to be seen. If nothing happened in the capital, they were useless here. If something happened in the capital, they would not be able to handle it. That was why they left a Divine Capital Commandant to take the blame.
Li Mu had a clearer understanding of the situation in the Luoyang from Lord Zhang.
The old party was just a general term. Among them, there were members of the Xiao Clan who wanted to regain the imperial power, senior officials who had made outstanding contributions, and some young officials who were more radical.
They all felt that it was inappropriate for a woman to be the empress, but their methods were completely different.
Some were conservative, while others were radical. The conservative wanted to seize power peacefully, while the radical wanted to stir up conflicts in the Luoyang and the 36 counties. They wanted to destroy the foundation of the empress's rule by sowing discord among the people.
As for the new party, it was the power of the officials in the royal court led by the Zhou Clan.
The Zhou Clan was the empress's maternal family. When the empress ascended the throne, the Zhou Clan helped a lot behind the scenes. After the empress ascended the throne, they became the most prestigious clan in the Great Zhou. They attracted many officials who wanted to curry favor with the empress and quickly strengthened their power in the royal court.
The new party led by the Zhou Clan not only supported the empress, but also wanted to pass the throne to the descendants of the Zhou Clan after the empress abdicated. This was the most intense and irreconcilable conflict between the old party and the new party.
Although Li Mu did not make a fuss about a woman becoming the empress, in the end, Wu Zetian still belonged to the Li Clan. The current empress was only trying to seize power, but the Zhou Clan wanted to steal the country.
After knowing this, Li Mu felt some sympathy for the empress in the palace.
Although she was the ruler of the Great Zhou, the power in the royal court was basically divided between the old and new parties. The old party opposed her, while the new party supported her. But in the end, they wanted to use her hand to steal the country from the Xiao Clan …
Zhang Chun saw that Li Mu was a little distracted. He coughed heavily and asked, "Do you remember what I said just now?"
Li Mu nodded. "I remember."
Zhang Chun said, "Then tell me, in Shen 'du, which people and powers can't be offended?"
Li Mu repeated, "The three provinces, six departments, nine temples, four academies, the imperial family, the Zhou Clan … they can't be offended."
Zhang Chun nodded and sighed in relief. But for some reason, the more Li Mu assured him, the more uneasy he felt.
After the head of the Ministry of Justice left, the capital office remained calm and peaceful. Nothing happened.
Li Mu was puzzled. With the old party's determination to hunt him down, they would definitely not let go of such an opportunity.
The Ministry of Justice was considered the radical faction of the old party. If the assassination in the North County was really related to the old party, Li Mu would definitely be the target of the Ministry of Justice. Just based on the fact that he showed his weapon to the people of the Ministry of Justice, there were countless ways to make a fuss.
However, the Ministry of Justice did not say anything. When he first came to Shen 'du, he wanted to use this as an opportunity to test the old party and at the same time find out the empress's attitude.
In the end, not only did the old party fail, but the empress also failed.
Li Mu thought about it carefully and guessed that the empress was busy every day and would not know about such small matters. She might have forgotten that she had just transferred a small bailiff from the North County to the imperial capital …
This was not a good thing for him, who wanted to ride on her coattails.
He still needed to wait for an opportunity to make the empress pay attention to him.
Imperial palace.
In a certain dark palace.
Behind the curtain, a dignified voice said, "Those who carry the people's firewood should not be frozen to death in the wind and snow. Those who pave the way for justice should not be trapped in thorns … Is this what he said?"
The young female official stood in front of the curtain and said, "He just arrived in Shen 'du today. In less than an hour, he snatched this case from the Ministry of Justice. Many people saw it with their own eyes …"
"Let's wait and see. When the time is right, we can lure him into the inner guard." The dignified voice paused and asked, "How is the investigation of the assassination in the North County?"
The young female official lowered her head and did not speak.
The empress asked, "Have you found it?"
The young female official said, "Yes."
A gaze shot out from behind the curtain and swept across the young female official's face. After a while, a cold voice slowly said, "Tell them that if there is a next time, I will not show mercy."
The young female official bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The voice behind the curtain was silent for a while and asked again, "That official is called Li Mu, right?"
The female official lowered her hands and said, "Yes."
The voice behind the curtain said, "He does not fear the heavens and the earth, nor does he fear power. I hope that he can hold the firewood for the people and open the path for justice. Pass down my orders …"
Shen 'du yamen.
In the side hall, two people were drinking tea.
Zhang Chun brewed a cup of tea and asked, "How is the taste?"
Although Li Mu did not know much about tea, he knew that when Sir Zhang was still the county magistrate of Yangqiu, he liked to drink tea. His tea would naturally not be ordinary. He said, "Good tea!"
There were three officers in Shen 'du yamen, but only the Commandant of Shen' du was stationed here.
This was because the magistrate of Shen 'du and the deputy of Shen' du changed too frequently. Later on, other officers took up the role. These officers were usually busy with their own duties and did not want to come here. Only the Commandant of Shen 'du was left in the yamen to handle the daily chores.
If one ignored the words Shen 'du, the Commandant of Shen' du was actually just a county magistrate in other counties. He did not need to care about other things in the yamen. Chasing criminals, arresting robbers, solving cases, and other tiring tasks were usually done by the county magistrate.
Yangqiu County was just a small county. There was no deputy or commandant. At that time, Zhang County Magistrates had no one to share his duties with. Other than managing taxes, education, and the economy, he also had to manage public security.
After being transferred to Shen 'du and not being a county magistrate, he had a lot more free time. When he was free, he would ask Li Mu to drink tea together.
Li Mu drank tea while listening to his complaints.
"Shen 'du sounds good, but it's not as good as Yangqiu County. In Yangqiu County, I can do whatever I want, but in Shen' du, I have to be humble …"
"Not only do I have to act like a grandson, but the things in the Divine Capital are also extremely expensive. How dare they charge ten copper coins for a bowl of ordinary noodles? I originally wanted to work for a few years and buy a house in the Divine Capital, but after doing some calculations, I realized that with my salary, after working for a few years, I can only afford a toilet …"
Li Mu expressed his sympathy for him.
In a place like Shen 'du, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, even Liu Hanyan could not afford a house, let alone an officer with a fixed salary.
It was not too difficult for cultivators to get their hands on gold and silver. However, the officials of Great Zhou were restricted by the rules of the imperial court. They could only give up on the idea of getting rich.
Before Li Mu could finish his cup, Deputy Constable Sun suddenly ran in to report that someone from the palace had arrived.
The two of them did not dare to delay and immediately walked out of the side hall.
A figure stood in the yard of the yamen.
It was the charming woman who had sent Li Mu to Shen 'du.
The charming woman glanced at Li Mu and said, "Listen carefully to Her Majesty's verbal instructions …"
Zhang Chunzai and Li Mu straightened their bodies and stood in the yard.
Li Mu was puzzled as to what the Empress's decree was and whether it had anything to do with him. Then, he heard the charming woman say, "Constable Li Mu of Shen 'du, for punishing evil, upholding justice for the people, and curbing evil in Shen' du, shall be rewarded with a house and eight maidservants …"
Li Mu was stunned. He thought that the Empress had not noticed him. He did not expect that in less than two hours after the incident, the Empress would give him a reward …
Zhang Chunzai was also stunned.
Even Li Mu, the arrester, had received such a generous reward. Not only was he given a house, but he was also given a maidservant. Wouldn't he be rewarded even more as the commandant, the real hero of this case?
He held his breath and concentrated, afraid that he would miss a single word from the woman.
However, after the charming woman finished talking about Li Mu, she did not say anything else.
Zhang Chunzai raised his head and asked in confusion, "What else?"
The charming woman shook her head and said, "Nothing else."
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