Zhang Chun found it hard to accept.
Why was there no one else?
He was the Commandant of Divine Capital. He was the one who upheld justice for the people. He was also the one who faced the pressure from the Ministry of Justice alone. Yet, the Empress only rewarded Li Mu. She did not even mention him. Things should not be like this. Where was justice?
Even if he did not want a house, eight maidservants would do too …
Li Mu was delighted to hear the charming woman's words.
Of course, he was not happy about the eight maidservants. He had only been in Divine Capital for a little more than two hours and he had already received such a reward. This meant that he had entered the Empress's sight. He was one step closer to hugging her thigh.
This time, the reward was a house and maidservants. Next time, it might be cultivation resources.
Li Mu cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Ordinary people had to kneel when they saw the Emperor. Cultivators only respected heaven and earth, not the Emperor.
Then, he said to the charming woman, "Sister, can I ask Her Majesty to take back those maidservants?"
The charming woman glanced at him and asked, "Why? You don't want them?"
If Liu Hanyan knew that Li Mu had eight maidservants in Divine Capital while she was cultivating hard on Mount Baiyun, she would probably be jealous.
During these days in Divine Capital, Li Mu only needed Xiao Bai by his side.
Li Mu was embarrassed to say that his family was strict. He could only say, "My salary is meager. My family can't support so many people."
The charming woman asked, "Do you want a house?"
Li Mu immediately said, "Yes, of course."
Without a house, where would Liu Hanyan and Wanwan stay in the future? This reward solved a big problem for Li Mu.
The charming woman nodded and said, "I'll return to the palace and report to Her Majesty."
Li Mu sent her out of the government office. The charming woman suddenly stopped in her tracks and said in a low voice, "Be careful of the Zhou family."
Li Mu was stunned. He was about to ask again when the charming woman walked away.
"Zhou Clan …"
Li Mu mumbled. The Zhou Family was the Empress's relative and was the most powerful family in the Divine Capital. The Zhou Family and the officials who relied on the Zhou Family for survival had been fighting with the old party for many years and had a firm control over the entire Imperial Court.
She wouldn't remind Li Mu to be careful of the Zhou family for no reason. There must be a reason behind it.
Logically speaking, Li Mu had offended the old party and was assassinated. Even if she wanted to remind Li Mu, it should be to remind him to be careful of the old party, not the Zhou family.
Unless the assassination in Beijun was done by the Zhou family or the New Party.
Li Mu recalled the scene in the assassin's memory. The black-robed man who hired the old man to come to the North County to kill him called him "my master". In other words, the black-robed man was the one who hired the assassin to kill Li Mu.
At first, Li Mu thought that it was done by the Old Party. After all, Li Mu had caused them great losses. They had enough motive and reason to commit the crime.
The charming woman's reminder caused Li Mu's thoughts to change slightly.
What if the mastermind was from the Zhou family or the New Party?
After all, after that incident, Li Mu would be a staunch supporter of the Empress's party in everyone's eyes. If he was assassinated, no one would suspect the New Party. Whether or not it was done by the Old Party, they would have to take the blame no matter what.
At that time, the New Party would use this as a pretext to deal a heavy blow to the Old Party.
Li Mu hadn't thought of this before. After the charming woman's reminder, he faintly felt that this incident might be a plot by the New Party.
Wang Mu and Lord Zhang were right. The waters of the Divine Capital were unfathomable …
When Li Mu returned to the courtyard, he saw that Lord Zhang was still standing in the same spot with a wooden expression.
Seeing him like this, Li Mu actually felt quite embarrassed in his heart.
After all, he was the one who had contributed the most in the entire case.
Li Mu was the one who took the person back from the Ministry of Justice. As for how he would be sentenced, that was his business.
In the end, he bore the greatest pressure but got nothing. The psychokinesis, the house, and the maids all belonged to Li Mu. If it was anyone else, they would feel unbalanced and narrow-minded. They would inevitably make things difficult for Li Mu in the future.
Li Mu walked to his side and comforted him, "Lord, don't be discouraged. Next time, Her Majesty will definitely think of you …"
Zhang Chun turned around and said, "I want to be alone. Don't let me see you for four hours."
The commandant wanted to be alone so that Li Mu could leave the yamen. He happened to see Wang Mu and a group of constables coming out.
Everyone bowed to Li Mu. "Greetings, Boss!"
Li Mu asked, "Where are you going?"
Wang Mu smiled. "We're going out to eat. Boss, do you want to join us?"
"Let's go." Li Mu waved his hand and said, "It's my treat today. You can choose the place. I'll pay for it."
"Boss is generous!"
"Drifting Fragrance House, Drifting Fragrance House!"
"It must be Drifting Fragrance House!"
…
The constables made a commotion. Deputy Constable Sun's face darkened and he reprimanded, "All of your salaries added together are not enough to eat at Drifting Fragrance House. The noodle shop at the end of the street, if you don't want to eat …"
Although everyone was clamoring for Drifting Fragrance House, they still chose the noodle shop at the end of the street.
A bowl of noodles cost ten coins, which was much more expensive than the ones in Beijun. However, the total cost of a dozen people was less than one coin.
Li Mu did not insist on going to Drifting Fragrance House. It was not that he was reluctant to spend money, but compared to the atmosphere in the restaurant, the noodle shop on the street was less restrictive and could improve the distance between them.
The reason why he treated everyone to a meal on his first day in the capital office was to get closer to the constables under him.
There were dozens of constables in the North County. The actual jurisdiction of the Divine Capital was even smaller than that of Yangqiu County. The number of constables was about the same as the county government. There was one constable, one deputy constable, and sixteen constables. Including Li Mu and Deputy Constable Sun, there were six cultivators. All of them were in the Divine Realm. The other ten, like Wang Wu, grew up in the Divine Capital. They inherited their ancestral business and were ordinary people who had never cultivated before.
After Deputy Constable Sun sat down, he looked guilty. He cupped his hands at Li Mu and said, "I was disrespectful to Constable Li just now. I apologize to you here. I hope you don't mind …"
At first, he still held a grudge against the imperial court for sending a constable out of nowhere and taking his position. However, after seeing the scene with his own eyes, he had to admit that Li Mu was brave.
If it were him, he would definitely pretend that he did not see it. The capital office and the Ministry of Justice were on completely different levels.
Li Mu gently stroked Xiao Bai in his arms and said to Deputy Constable Sun with a smile, "Let bygones be bygones."
Constable Sun picked up his bowl and said, "I'll use tea as wine to toast Constable Li."
The other constables around also shouted.
"Boss is a real man!"
"When have we ever held our heads high in front of the people from the Ministry of Justice?"
"When we beat up that old man, it was so satisfying. Even I wanted to do it!"
…
Because there were too many government offices in the Divine Capital, the capital office's presence was extremely weak. It was so weak that many people had forgotten that there was such a government office.
In the past, when they encountered something, they would avoid it. They had never experienced the feeling of many people standing behind them and cheering for them.
Although all of this was not because of them, as constables of the capital office, it did not prevent them from sharing this glory.
"The noodles are here …"
The owner of the noodle shop smiled as he served a few bowls of noodles. Wang Wu picked up his chopsticks and asked curiously, "Why is there so much noodles today?"
The owner of the noodle shop smiled and said, "I was at the capital office just now. When I saw the lords punishing that villain, I was very happy. Lords, please eat as much as you want. Today's noodles are free …"
The owner of the braised meat shop next door brought over a large pot of braised beef and said with a smile, "How can we just eat noodles without meat? There's still meat in the pot. Lords, if you don't have enough, you can come and get more. Today's meat is free too …"
This street was very close to the capital office. Many people had entered the capital office to watch the commotion. The group of constables sitting here quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding vendors.
"Lords, this is my shop's pastry candied fruit. You must try it!"
"Lords, you can divide this basket of apples when you leave later …"
"Waiter, quickly bring some jars of wine to the lords. Bring that 20-year-old Nu 'er Hong too …"
…
The constables looked at the table piled high with the things that the surrounding people had brought over. They looked at each other.
Deputy Constable Sun looked embarrassed and shook his head. "I'm ashamed. This is what the government office should do. In the eyes of the people, it has become a rare thing …"
Li Mu picked up his chopsticks and said, "Eat. When you do things in the future, remember to think of these people."
What he saw was not only the things on the table, but also the thoughts of the people.
He also saw the psychokinesis in their bodies.
Those who made decisions for the people would be trusted by the people.
The power of the people's faith was the fastest shortcut to cultivation.
The constables lowered their heads and ate silently. No one spoke. Their expressions were thoughtful.
Li Mu did not expect that after this incident, they would become direct officials who did not fear power. This was impossible. He just wanted them to feel this collective honor and plant a seed in their hearts.
After eating the noodles, Li Mu insisted on paying, but no shop was willing to accept it.
The noodle stall owner shook his head and said, "Sir, I really can't accept today's money. Otherwise, I'll be criticized behind my back …"
Li Mu's insistence was fruitless, so he did not insist. After thanking everyone, he carried Xiao Bai back to the government office. Before he left, the tavern owner even gave him a small jar of Nu 'er Hong.
The three years of conflict between the old and new parties had stirred up the atmosphere in Luoyang. The people who suffered were the people at the bottom.
This justice that was supposed to exist was so precious in their eyes.
As the constable of the Luoyang government, he had to make some changes.
For the sake of justice and for the sake of cultivation.
After entering the Spirit Realm, even with the help of spiritual jades, his cultivation speed had slowed down. Until today, when he received the psychokinesis from the people of Luoyang, his originally obscure Dharma power showed signs of speeding up.
He did not care about the new party or the old party. He only did what he should do as the constable of the Luoyang government.
Pleading for the people, punishing the strong, upholding justice and justice. These were his duties.
As long as he did his job well, he would be loved and respected by the people and condense the last soul.
In this process, he could absorb the psychokinesis and take the shortcut to cultivation.
At the same time, he could help the Empress gather the people's support and hug the most powerful thigh in the Great Zhou.
Killing four birds with one stone. Wasn't it beautiful?
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