Zhang Chun looked at Li Mu and felt like he had nothing to live for.
He had just offended some of the officials in the old party and was even labeled as a member of the new party. In the blink of an eye, Li Mu had captured the Zhou family members.
The Zhou family was the core of the new party. All the officials in the new party had to rely on the Zhou family for survival.
Now, in the vast Luoyang, there was no place for Zhang Chun in the old party or the new party.
He knew that the residence given to him by His Majesty was not for nothing. What he owed now, he would have to pay it back one day.
But Zhang Chun did not expect this day to come so soon.
Zhang County Magistrates were furious. Li Mu also felt wronged.
That was a human life, a living human life. Even if he wasn't a bailiff and didn't have this responsibility on his shoulders, as a mere human, he couldn't just watch as Zhou Chu arrogantly left after committing murder.
But as a constable, he was only responsible for arresting people. After he was arrested, Lord Zhang would have to take the blame.
This seemed unfair to him. Should he ask His Majesty to transfer him to the Ministry of Justice through Mr. Mei?
Li Mu was thinking about the feasibility of this idea. Zhang Chun's eyes suddenly lit up. He said, "Wait, I am now the Minister of Luoyang. You can go to the Commandant of Luoyang to solve the case …"
Li Mu shook his head and reminded him, "Although His Majesty promoted you, he did not appoint you as the Commandant of Luoyang. You are still in charge of all matters in the Luoyang yamen."
Zhang Chun was stunned. "If that's the case, this official's promotion was for nothing?"
Li Mu nodded. "You can see it that way."
The light in Zhang Chun's eyes dimmed again.
He covered his face with both hands and said angrily, "What a sin …"
After a while, he removed his hands from his face. His eyes changed from hesitation to determination. He seemed to have made a decision.
Yang Xiu, Zhu Cong, and the others were still at the entrance of the yamen.
Zhu Cong stood outside and looked inside. He asked, "What do you think they will do?"
Yang Xiu shook his head and said, "I don't know either. But according to the law, if a horse kills someone, he should pay with his life …"
Wei Peng glanced at him and said disdainfully, "You're the son of the Director of the Ministry of Justice. There are many different situations when a horse hits someone. It's impossible to generalize."
"What do you mean?" Zhu Cong asked.
Wei Peng thought for a moment and said, "There are several situations when a horse runs into someone and causes death. If you didn't break the law and ride a horse on the official road and someone rushes out from the side and is killed by the horse, the responsibility is on him. You only need to pay a small amount of money."
"If he was walking on the official road and you accidentally killed him while riding a horse, the responsibility would be on you. You would have to compensate for all the losses. But because it was just a mistake, you don't have to pay with your life, and you don't even have to go to jail …"
"Not only do you have to take full responsibility for killing someone with your horse after drinking, you will also have to go to jail."
"This is under the circumstances where riding a horse is allowed. Riding a horse is not allowed in Luoyang. That's another crime. Riding a horse while drunk is another crime. Murder and escape is another crime. Resisting arrest is another crime …"
Wei Peng flipped open the law of Great Zhou in his hand and said, "What Zhou Chu did was extremely bad. If it were someone else, it wouldn't be too much to sentence him to death."
Zhu Cong swallowed his saliva. He suddenly felt that compared to Zhou Chu, his image was suddenly lofty.
Although he also liked to ride a horse on the streets of Luoyang, he didn't dare to ride too fast. He would give the people blocking his way time to dodge. He just wanted to show off and didn't want to kill someone.
Wei Peng walked into the yard of the yamen and said, "Let's see what they will do …"
In the court of the Luoyang yamen.
The old man's body was lying flat on the ground. After the coroner of the yamen examined the injuries, he said, "Your Honor, the victim's sternum is all broken. He died from the collision."
Zhang Chun looked at the old man and closed his eyes. After a while, he slowly opened them and looked at Zhou Chu. He said, "Offender Zhou Chu, you broke the law by riding a horse while drunk on the streets of Luoyang and killed an innocent old man. On the way to escape, you resisted arrest. Countless people on the streets witnessed it. Do you plead guilty?"
Zhou Chu had sobered up. He looked at him indifferently and said, "I plead guilty."
"It's good that you plead guilty." Zhang Chun sat back in the main seat and said, "According to the law of Great Zhou, Book 5, Article 13, if you break the law by riding a horse on the streets of Luoyang and cause serious injury or death, you will be sentenced to more than ten years in prison. You rode a horse while drunk and attempted to escape after killing someone. You also ordered your subordinates to attack the yamen arresters of Luoyang. The circumstances are extremely bad and have caused serious consequences. I sentence you to be executed and immediately sent to the Ministry of Justice for review."
Zhou Chu shrugged and said indifferently, "As long as you like it."
Zhang Chun said, "Men, throw these three into prison first."
Two yamen runners walked over with fear on their faces. Zhou Chu looked at them with disdain and said, "Where's the prison? I'll walk by myself."
Seeing Zhou Chu being taken away without fear, Li Mu did not feel relieved. This was because he knew that this was not the end, but only the beginning.
Zhang Chun walked down from the court and patted his shoulder. He said, "Don't be discouraged. You didn't do anything wrong."
Li Mu was actually a little embarrassed to face Zhang Chun.
As a subordinate, he had never let Zhang Chun be at ease.
Everything he did in Luoyang was actually because he had a strong backing. He was just a small official. The old and new parties could not suppress him through the court. If they wanted to use secret methods, they would have to send out a Sixth Realm cultivator.
Even if it was a Sixth Realm cultivator, Li Mu could temporarily hold them off for 15 minutes. If they wanted to get rid of Li Mu secretly, they would have to send out a Seventh Realm cultivator.
A cultivator of that level was a deterrent in both parties. They were used to keep the Empress in check. They would not listen to the orders of the Zhou Clan or the Xiao Clan, and they would not care about a small official like Li Mu.
Therefore, although Li Mu's status was low, he could do whatever he wanted in Luoyang.
However, Zhang Chun was different. He was as timid as a mouse, but he had a strong sense of justice.
He wanted to hide from everything, but whenever he needed to stand up, he would stand up without hesitation.
This time, he had completely offended the Zhou Clan.
Li Mu looked at him and asked, "Have you thought it through, Sir?"
Zhang Chun let out a long sigh and said, "I didn't get promoted for nothing, and I didn't live in this house for nothing. This is life …"
Li Mu asked, "Sir, do you mean that you've accepted your fate?"
"No." Zhang Chun shook his head and said, "We'll make a big deal out of this, the bigger the better. We'll make it so that both the new and old parties can't tolerate me. Then, I can be transferred out of Luoyang …"
Li Mu thought about it carefully and realized that Zhang Chun had a good plan.
He was the Minister of Luoyang. His position was not high, but it was not low either. Even if he offended both the new and old parties, as long as he did his job well and did not commit crimes or use his power for personal gain, neither party could do anything to him.
They could only use some power to push him out of this position and transfer him far away. Out of sight, out of mind. This was exactly what he wanted.
No wonder he gave Zhou Chu's case such a harsh verdict. Of course, Zhou Chu's bad behavior had a huge impact, but he probably already had this idea before he decided on the case.
Li Mu gave him a thumbs up and praised, "Good, you're really good …"
Zhou Chu rode his horse on the streets of Luoyang and killed innocent people. He was arrested by the Luoyang yamen and later sentenced to death by the Minister of Luoyang. When this case spread out, it caused a sensation in Luoyang.
What shocked people was not that Zhou Chu rode his horse and killed people, but that the Luoyang yamen dared to sentence the Zhou family to death.
Although Zhou Chu was not a direct descendant of the Zhou family, his status in the family was not low. The Minister of Luoyang had made a mortal enemy of the Zhou family by doing this.
Zhou Chu was just a small sixth-rank official. If he went against the Zhou family, he would not have a good ending. After this, he might not even be able to keep his position.
In the Luoyang yamen.
Less than 15 minutes after Zhou Chu was locked up, a man in an official's uniform hurried into the yamen.
When the yamen saw him, they immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Minister of Luoyang."
The man looked angry and asked, "Where's Zhang Chun?"
One of the yamen pointed and said, "Minister Zhang is at the back of the yamen."
Soon, Zhang Chun, who was drinking tea at the back of the yamen, saw the Minister of Luoyang. He had only heard about it but had never seen it before.
Before him, the Luoyang yamen was dispensable. Even the officials there were officials from other departments. They would not come to the yamen on a normal day. As the Minister of Luoyang, this was his first time seeing the Minister of Luoyang.
The Minister of Luoyang reprimanded him, "Your men captured Zhou Chu and you sentenced him to death?"
Zhang Chun said, "Zhou Chu was drunk and rode his horse to kill people. He fled and resisted arrest. Is it wrong for me to sentence him to death?"
The Minister of Luoyang gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know who he is?"
Zhang Chun said calmly, "I don't care who he is. If he broke the law, he should be punished according to the law. The last one who bent the law was beheaded by His Majesty …"
The Minister of Luoyang explained, "What I mean is that you don't have to punish him so harshly. You can take him into custody first and judge him slowly …"
Zhang Chun asked mockingly, "Take him into custody first and drag it out until the people forget about it. Then, close the case hastily. Is this how the Luoyang yamen used to do things?"
The Minister of Luoyang pretended not to hear Zhang Chun's mockery. He said, "It's better for you, me, and everyone else …"
Zhang Chun shook his head and said, "I'm sorry. I can't do that."
The Minister of Luoyang said with a sullen face, "From now on, I'll take over this case. You don't have to worry about it anymore!"
Zhang Chun shrugged and said, "Do as you wish. I've sent the file to the Ministry of Justice anyway. We're just waiting for their approval."
The Minister of Luoyang pointed at him and said angrily, "You …"
Zhang Chun asked, "What about me?"
"Your future is gone!"
The Minister of Luoyang said coldly and turned to leave in big strides.
Zhang Chun walked out of the door and exhaled deeply. He exclaimed, "Nice!"
He stood in the courtyard and was silent for a while. Suddenly, he looked at Li Mu and asked, "Are you close to Mr. Mei from the Internal Guards?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "Not bad."
Zhang Chun thought for a moment, then said, "Next time you see her, help me ask if the residence bestowed by His Majesty can be sold..."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
