Li Mu and Xiao Bai swaggered out of the Ministry of Justice and basked in the gazes of the people on the streets. Then, they returned to the government office.
However, the incident at the Aroma Tavern had already spread within a small circle.
"Did you hear? Just now at the Aroma Tavern, the son of Minister Counsellor Wei of the Ministry of Revenue, Wei Peng, was beaten up!"
"Who would be so daring to do such a thing? Could it be the son of another family?"
"It's the constable of the Divine Capital. Two days ago, the son of Minister Zhu of the Ministry of Rites was beaten up by him."
"Is the constable purposely against these people? Will the Ministry of Justice let him off?"
"There's more to come. After arriving at the Ministry of Justice, Wei Peng was beaten up again, but the constable walked out unscathed …"
…
The commoners were happy to see this kind of thing. They were usually bullied by these people. When had they ever seen them being bullied? Just thinking about it made them feel incomparably happy.
A young man walked on the streets of the Divine Capital with a few attendants behind him.
Hearing the discussions of the people on the streets, he looked surprised. He said, "I went out to play for a few days and something like this happened in the Divine Capital?"
One of the attendants behind him said, "Minister Counsellor Wei and the Master are close friends. How could the Master let him be beaten up in the Ministry of Justice? It must be the groundless rumors spread by these ignorant people …"
The young man nodded and said, "I think so too. How could there be such an arrogant person in the Divine Capital? He dared to beat up the son of an official just by looking at him …"
Bang!
He was walking on the streets when he accidentally bumped into a person walking towards him.
It was obvious that the person in front of him had deliberately bumped into him. Yang Xiu frowned and looked at the person.
The constable looked at him coldly. "What are you looking at?"
Before Yang Xiu could react, a fist grew larger in front of his eyes.
The two attendants reacted quickly. One of them blocked the constable's fist, while the other attacked his chest.
The constable's footwork changed and he easily dodged the follower's attack. His fist also changed direction and landed on Yang Xiu's other eye. After a sharp pain, a bruise appeared on Yang Xiu's right eye.
"How dare you!"
"How dare you!"
The two followers were furious. Just as they were about to attack again, the constable pulled out his sword and pointed at them. He said coldly, "Have you considered the consequences of attacking and arresting people on the streets of Luoyang?"
The two of them paused. Assaulting an arrest was a serious crime, much more serious than fighting.
Moreover, the aura that was inadvertently leaked out from that person's two simple actions just now made them feel extremely pressured. That person was at least at the Third Realm; they were no match for him.
A follower's face turned green as he said angrily, "Why did you hit him for no reason?"
Li Mu: "Who asked him to glare at me just now!"
The other person found it hard to understand his logic. "You hit him just because he glared at you?"
Li Mu asked, "Half a month ago, wasn't there someone who was beaten up by you just because he blocked his way?"
"You!"
The attendant pointed at Li Mu, speechless for a moment.
The young master dared to do this because his father was the director of the Ministry of Justice. Did this insignificant constable have a father who was also a director of the Ministry of Justice?
They might not be able to beat him, but they did not dare to either. The attendant said sternly, "As a constable, you hit someone for no reason. Come with us to the Ministry of Justice for trial!"
They did not dare to attack and arrest people on the streets of Luoyang. However, it was different at the Ministry of Justice.
The young master's father was the director of the Ministry of Justice. Even when they were in the wrong, he could let them off the hook. Moreover, they were in the right this time …
"Fine." Li Mu sheathed his sword and swaggered towards the Ministry of Justice.
The attendant looked at Yang Xiu and asked, "Young Master, are you alright?"
He had just returned to Luoyang and was punched by someone. Yang Xiu covered his eyes and said with a dark expression, "Return to the Ministry of Justice!"
A few attendants followed behind Li Mu. Coupled with Li Mu's constable attire, those who did not know would think that they were the ones who had committed the crime.
At this moment, they realized that this person was probably the constable of Luoyang who had made Wei Peng suffer.
If he could make Wei Peng suffer in the Ministry of Justice, it meant that he was quite capable.
However, their young master was different from Wei Peng. Their young master was the son of the director of the Ministry of Justice. Going to the Ministry of Justice was like going home. How could he be bullied in the Ministry of Justice?
Wei Peng followed behind Li Mu and glared at him fiercely. His attendants also looked fierce as if they could already see what would happen to him.
Ministry of Justice.
The director of the Ministry of Justice was drinking tea in the side hall. He had yet to calm down.
As the director of the Ministry of Justice, it was a great humiliation for him to be played by a lowly bailiff in his territory.
Whenever he heard Li Mu's name, he would have a headache.
Why was there such a lunatic in Luoyang?
Soon, a constable came to report that Li Mu was here again.
The director of the Ministry of Justice was stunned. He put down his teacup and said angrily, "He only left a few hours ago. Why is he here again?!"
He knew that Li Mu had come to the Ministry of Justice without fear. If he went out, he would be angered. He waved his hand and said, "Tell him that I'm not here. Tell him to return to his yamen!"
The constable said helplessly, "But he hit young master this time …"
"What!"
The director of the Ministry of Justice stood up abruptly and ran to the front hall. When he saw his son standing there with one of his eyes bruised, he could no longer hold back his anger. He pointed at Li Mu and shouted, "Li, what the hell do you want to do?"
Li Mu sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Sir Director. Sometimes I can't control my temper. You can punish me however you want. I deserve this …"
Yang Xiu covered his eye and said loudly, "Father, flog him twenty times and lock him up for seven days!"
Li Mu couldn't help but look at him. As expected of the son of the director of the Ministry of Justice. He was clearly familiar with the laws of the Great Zhou.
The director of the Ministry of Justice looked at Li Mu and said with a gloomy face, "In one day, you've provoked trouble twice. As a constable, you knowingly broke the law. Your crime is even worse. I'm not going overboard with flogging you twenty times, right?"
"It's not," Li Mu took out two pieces of silver and said, "These are two taels of silver. Sir, please keep them well."
The director of the Ministry of Justice's eyelids twitched. He said, "You've already used silver to pay for your crime today."
Li Mu smiled and said, "The laws of the Great Zhou don't stipulate that I can only pay for my crime once a day. Could it be that Sir Director wants to abuse your power for personal gain because it's your son who's involved in the case?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice's eyelids twitched wildly. The anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
He had never thought of himself as a good person. But today, in front of Li Mu, he finally understood what the true power of evil was.
Using the law to repeatedly trample on justice made people want to grind his bones and scatter his ashes.
He glared at Li Mu and said through gritted teeth, "Do you really think that you can do whatever you want with money?"
"I've already paid my fine. I'll go back first," Li Mu waved his hand and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, we'll meet again."
When he reached the door, he turned back and said with a smile, "I'm sorry. You really can do whatever you want with money. Haven't you always been like this?"
Yang Xiu pointed at Li Mu's departing figure and asked, "Father, are you just going to let him go like this?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The law is like this. What can I do?"
Yang Xiu's chest heaved up and down. He said angrily, "What bullshit law …"
Li Mu, who was about to walk out of the Ministry of Justice, paused his steps.
Seeing that Li Mu was about to step out of the yamen, the director of the Ministry of Justice slapped his son's mouth and said angrily, "Shut up. This law was set by the previous Emperor. Who are you to question it?"
Li Mu sighed and walked out of the Ministry of Justice.
Yang Xiu covered his face with an innocent expression.
He had clearly done nothing. He had been punched on the street for no reason. When he returned to the Ministry of Justice, the person who hit him had left, and he had been slapped again. At this moment, the grievance in his heart could no longer be described with words.
The director of the Ministry of Justice's chest heaved up and down. He clenched his fists and loosened them after a while.
The law of paying in lieu of punishment was very convenient when he used it normally. When those officials or children of the rich and powerful committed crimes, he could not really punish them. Using silver in lieu of punishment was a very good way to avoid this trouble.
There were clear laws and regulations. Even the victims had nothing to say.
However, when these things happened to them, the feeling was completely different. This was the source of the feeling in his heart that something was wrong.
The rules that were originally set for them were used by Li Mu as a tool.
If it was someone else, he would not need to talk about rules with them.
However, Li Mu had the Internal Guards behind him. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only act within the rules unless they set up new rules.
He returned to the side hall and thought about this matter. After a while, another bailiff knocked on the door and came in.
The bailiff looked at him with a dazed expression and said, "Sir, the grandson of the Minister of Taichang Temple was beaten on the street. The one who hit him was that Li Mu …"
From the time Li Mu left the Ministry of Justice to the time the grandson of the Minister of Taichang Temple was beaten and reported to the Ministry of Justice, only half an hour had passed.
The director of the Ministry of Justice held his face with both hands and muttered, "Is he crazy …"
Beating the son of the Director of the Ministry of Rites, the son of the Minister of Revenue, the son of the Director of the Ministry of Justice, and the grandson of the Minister of Taichang Temple … Only a lunatic would do such a thing.
At a certain moment, a light flashed through the director of the Ministry of Justice's mind.
The Director of the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Taichang Temple, and himself were all strongly against abolishing the Act of Substitution.
However, Li Mu used the Act of Substitution to make them suffer unspeakable … Could it be that his true purpose was to abolish the Act of Substitution?
However, he was only a lowly bailiff. What good would it do him to abolish the Act of Substitution?
No, the first person to propose abolishing the Act of Substitution was the Commandant of Shengdu. Li Mu was the Commandant of Shengdu. Could it be that the Commandant of Shengdu was behind all this?
His purpose was to abolish the Act of Substitution so that he could perform a meritorious service to His Majesty?
The director of the Ministry of Justice had a look of realization. He finally realized the truth.
"Achoo!"
In the Shengdu yamen, Zhang Chun sneezed. He picked up his teacup and took a sip. Looking at the cramped room, he sighed and said, "Why hasn't His Majesty delivered the house that he promised …"
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