Li Mu walked on the streets of Luoyang with Wang Wu following behind him.
Letting Xiao Bai see him beating people up for no reason would hurt his upright image in Xiao Bai's heart. That was why Li Mu had her stay at the yamen to cultivate instead of following him around.
Wang Wu followed behind Li Mu with a look of reverence.
In the past few days, he was completely convinced by this new constable.
Upholding justice for the people, punishing evil, and upholding justice. This was the constable of the people.
The sons of some officials in Luoyang were evil, but he was even more evil than them. He went to the Ministry of Justice as if he was drinking water and eating. He had beaten people up, but in the end, he could walk out of the Ministry of Justice unscathed. Who else in Luoyang could be like him?
"Constable Li, would you like a bowl of noodles?"
"Constable Li, would you like a pear?"
"There are two new girls in the brothel. Would you like to come and have some fun?"
…
In the past few days, Li Mu's name had spread throughout Luoyang.
It was not because he was upholding justice for the people, nor was it because he was handsome. It was because he could walk out of the Ministry of Justice unscathed after beating up the sons of officials on the streets. This gave the people a lot of fun to watch.
The people whom the constable of the Luoyang yamen had attacked were all sons of officials who were used to being arrogant and despotic in the Luoyang. Seeing them being bullied and unable to do anything to Constable Li, the commoners were extremely pleased.
Li Mu rejected the brothel madam's invitation. He looked ahead, searching for his next prey.
At one point, his eyes lit up as a familiar figure came into view.
It was Zhu Cong, the son of the director of the Ministry of Rites. Li Mu had only been in Luoyang for two days, but he already had a grudge with him because of the horse riding incident on the streets. Zhu Cong had been beaten a few times in the Ministry of Justice, but he had completely recovered in a few days.
Wei Peng, who had been beaten the most, had probably recovered by now.
Being beaten with a cane might take the life of an ordinary person, but these people were rich and definitely did not lack healing pills. At most, they would suffer some physical pain during the torture.
Zhu Cong had already seen Li Mu, but he didn't dare to look at him again.
Over the past few days, he had investigated thoroughly. Li Mu had Internal Guards behind him. They were the Empress's lackeys and fangs. Although there were many people in Luoyang who could afford to offend him, it definitely did not include him, whose father was only a director of the Ministry of Rites.
He simply turned around, planning to slip away as soon as possible.
As soon as Zhu Cong turned around, Li Mu appeared in front of him.
Li Mu looked at Zhu Cong and asked with a smile, "Isn't this Young Master Zhu? Where are you going in such a hurry?"
Zhu Cong lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Mu. He said, "Just strolling around."
Li Mu frowned and said, "Why don't you look at me when you speak? Are you looking down on me?"
Zhu Cong immediately raised his head and said with a sad face, "Arrester Li, it was all my fault. I was blind. I shouldn't have ridden on the street and provoked the imperial court. I won't do it again. Please forgive me …"
"…"
Li Mu looked at Zhu Cong, stunned for a moment.
If Zhu Cong was as arrogant and despotic as before, beating him up would not be a big deal.
But he suddenly turned over a new leaf and admitted his mistake. If Li Mu beat him up again, he would be in the wrong.
A prodigal who turned over a new leaf was more precious than gold. If he could really repent in the future, he would be spared a beating today.
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Behave yourself in the future. Let's go …"
"Thank you, Arrester Li."
Zhu Cong did not hesitate and quickly left. Li Mu sighed regretfully and continued to search for his next target.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from behind.
Li Mu looked ahead and saw a young master riding on a horse. He crossed the road, causing the people to run away in panic.
Riding on horses on the streets of Luoyang was common, but it was not so common. This was the second time Li Mu had seen it. He was about to chase after the young master when he felt something on his leg.
He looked down and saw Wang Mu hugging his leg tightly.
Li Mu asked, "What are you doing?"
Wang Mu said bitterly, "Boss, we can't go. We can't afford to offend this person …"
Given Wang Mu's eyesight, after following Li Mu for the past few days, he should already know who they could afford to offend and who they could not. Even in such a situation, Li Mu was still so determined to drag Li Mu along. This showed that this person's background was indeed not small.
Li Mu asked, "Who is he?"
Wang Mu said, "A disciple of the Zhou family."
A disciple of the Zhou family. Although there were only four words, it was very important in the hearts of the people, officials, and nobles in Luoyang.
Although the royal family had no relatives, and since the Empress ascended the throne, the relationship with the Zhou family was not as close as before. But now, the Zhou family was undoubtedly the number one family in Great Zhou.
The Zhou family and their vassal forces controlled half of the imperial court.
The Zhou family's ancestor was a peak Sixth Realm cultivator. The family recruited countless cultivators, including Dongxuan.
In Luoyang, even the Xiao family was inferior to the Zhou family.
Lord Zhang had once warned Li Mu that the Zhou family was first among the people and forces that he could not afford to offend in Luoyang.
Even if Li Mu had internal guards behind him, he could not afford to offend this family.
Wang Mu hugged Li Mu's leg tightly and said, "Boss, listen to me. This is really not something we can afford to offend."
Li Mu knew very well that he could be arrogant in front of the sons and grandsons of Rank Five and Six officials in the name of internal guards. But he did not have the right to be arrogant in front of these people.
In the end, before he had absolute strength and power, he was just someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong …
He walked a few steps and soon saw his next target.
It was a young man dressed in luxurious clothes. He seemed to have drunk a lot and walked on the street drunk. Occasionally, he would smile at the girls passing by, causing them to cry out in surprise and hurriedly move away.
An old man was following behind him at a distance that was neither too far nor too close. He should be a bodyguard.
Wang Wu followed Li Mu's gaze. His hands, which had already let go of Li Mu's thighs, hugged him again.
He said helplessly, "Lord, this … this is also not something we can afford to offend!"
Unlike riding a horse on the street, being drunk was not a crime. Smiling at women while drunk was not a crime. If it was not for the fact that he was usually arrogant and domineering in Luoyang and bullied the people, Li Mu would not have taken the initiative to offend him.
He was just curious about the background of this young man who had a Fifth Realm guard.
He looked at Wang Mu and asked, "Who is this?"
Wang Mu said, "Crown Prince Ping, the former crown prince's cousin. He's from the Xiao royal family."
The former crown prince usually referred to the previous emperor of the Great Zhou. However, he had only been on the throne for less than a month before he died. The people and officials of Luoyang did not call him the former emperor.
According to Lord Zhang's reminder to Li Mu, the Xiao royal family was ranked second, just below the Zhou family.
The Great Zhou court had been swayed by these two forces since three years ago.
The Xiao royal family wanted to regain the Emperor's Aura after the Empress abdicated and return the power of Great Zhou to the right track.
The Zhou family wanted the Empress to pass the throne to the Zhou family's descendants and change the surname of the Great Zhou royal family.
These two forces had an irreconcilable fundamental conflict. Among the various forces in Luoyang, some leaned toward the Xiao family, some leaned toward the Zhou family, some leaned toward the Empress, and some remained neutral. Even though the Zhou family and the Xiao family were locked in a fierce battle in court, they would try their best to avoid offending each other outside of court.
Some people could not be offended for the time being. Those who could be offended had been in seclusion for the past two days. Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Let's return to the court!"
Ministry of Justice.
Several officials gathered together. The atmosphere was rather gloomy.
"Preposterous!"
"Too arrogant!"
"Lawless! Simply lawless!"
…
The director of the Ministry of Justice looked at the furious director of the Ministry of Rites, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue, the Minister of Taichang Temple, and a few other officials. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows but did not speak.
His son had been beaten 100 times and had not fully recovered even now. His concubine had been causing trouble at home every day. The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue looked angrily at the director of the Ministry of Justice and asked, "Sir Yang, don't you have a way to deal with that Li Mu?"
"What can I do?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice had been extremely irritated these past two days. Seeing that the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue was vaguely blaming him, he said impatiently, "The Ministry of Justice is the Ministry of Justice of the Great Zhou, not my Ministry of Justice. When the officials of the Ministry of Justice do things, they have to abide by the law. Although that Li Mu is arrogant, everything he does is within the law. What do you want me to do?"
The Director of the Ministry of Rites said, "Is there really no way at all?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice said angrily, "That brat is more cunning than a fox. He is more familiar with the laws of the Great Zhou than I am. He also has the Internal Guards behind him. Unless the silver is abolished, no one can deal with him!"
Everyone looked at each other. They could all see a strong sense of helplessness in each other's eyes.
In the past, when their children got into trouble, they were the ones who were in the wrong. They thought about how to use the Ministry of Justice to turn big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing.
But these past few days, the ones who were bullied were them.
They were clearly officials of the imperial court. Their children were bullied, but they could not use the law to punish the culprit. The feeling of not being able to use the law to punish the culprit made them extremely depressed.
The Minister of Taichang Temple asked, "Is there no other way besides abolishing the silver?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice shook his head and said, "No."
Changing the law had always been the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Taichang Temple asked again, "What did the Minister and the Minister say?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice said, "The two of them are busy every day. Why would they care about such a small matter …"
To them, the matter of paying for the crime was a big matter. However, to the assistant minister and the minister, helping the Xiao Royal Family regain their power was the most important thing. An insignificant change to a law was simply not worthy of their special attention.
The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue gritted his teeth and said, "They must be doing this to abolish the silver law. Those who opposed the abolition of the law in the imperial court that day all suffered such revenge!"
The Director of the Ministry of Rites asked, "Who was the one who sent the letter proposing the abolition of the silver law?"
The Director of the Ministry of Justice said, "The Commandant of the Divine Capital, Zhang Chun."
The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue suddenly slammed the table and said angrily, "That damned Zhang Chun. He actually set up such a trap for us. I will never forgive him!"
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