Ministry of Justice.
Zhou Zhong returned to the office and tapped the table with his knuckles. No one knew what he was thinking.
The director of the Ministry of Justice knocked on the door and walked in. He put a file on the table in front of him and said, "Assistant Minister, I went to the Ministry of Appointments and asked them to make a copy of County Magistrate An Yi's resume. It's here."
Zhou Zhong looked forward and his mind seemed to be elsewhere. He asked, "Is there a problem?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice said, "This person's resume is an A in every three years. However, everyone knows what the Ministry of Appointments' resume is about. It's too hard to use it to wipe someone's ass. There's no reference value. Even the County Magistrate of Yangyang County can get an A in every year. This County Magistrate An Yi was originally from the Ministry of Appointments. It's normal for the Ministry of Appointments to protect him. If you want to know how An Yi County is governed, you have to send someone to An Yi County to see for yourself …"
"Ministry of Appointments?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice's words seemed to have touched Zhou Zhong. He opened the resume of County Magistrate An Yi and glanced at it. His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he put down the resume and said, "I'll send someone to handle this case. You don't have to worry about it anymore."
Danyang County was far away and it was very troublesome to investigate An Yi County. The director of the Ministry of Justice didn't want to take care of this troublesome task. He was delighted and said, "If that's the case, I'll take my leave first."
He strode out of the office. Zhou Zhong looked at the resume of County Magistrate An Yi for a long time. This resume from the Ministry of Appointments and a case file about the assassination of County Magistrate An Yi slowly floated up from the table.
Puff …
A ball of fire suddenly appeared in the air. The resume and the case file were quickly swallowed by the fire. In an instant, they disappeared without a trace. Not even ashes were left.
…
Li Mu walked out of the Ministry of Justice. He was still angry.
With his character, he wouldn't have said so much to the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. However, Zhou Zhong used to be a clear stream in Luoyang more than ten years ago. The law reform he proposed was very advanced even now.
Evil people would do evil. This was a fact that had never changed since ancient times.
It was a pity and anger that a hero who slayed a dragon became an evil dragon.
Li Mu was not Zhou Zhong, so he did not know why Jiang Zhe had changed like this. However, the way the Ministry of Justice dealt with Jiang Zhe was not entirely a bad thing.
If the Ministry of Justice dealt with Jiang Zhe fairly, the Hundred Rivers Academy would inevitably lose some face. After all, it was shameful for a student of the academy to have such a scandal.
This loss of face was negligible. Perhaps it would not be mentioned again in a few days.
However, after Jiang Zhe committed the crime, he was still able to get away with it under the protection of the academy. This matter would stir up even more public opinion among the people. It was inevitable that the people would look at the Hundred-Rivers Academy through colored glasses in the future.
It had to be said that some people in the Academy were used to being high and mighty. That was why they made such a stupid decision.
Zhou Zhong wasn't helping the Hundred Rivers Academy. He had solved a small problem for the Hundred Rivers Academy, but he had also planted a big problem for them.
Once the reputation of the Academy collapsed, it would not be so easy to rebuild it.
If Her Majesty could seize the opportunity, she might be able to change part of the situation in the imperial court.
Li Mu felt that he was really worried about Her Majesty. As a lowly official with only a few taels of silver a month, he was worried about the Prime Minister.
Outside the Ministry of Justice, the onlookers had not dispersed.
A man came forward and asked, "Constable Li, why did Jiang Zhe swagger out of the Ministry of Justice? Is he really not guilty?"
Li Mu did not speak. He only sighed and said, "The Ministry of Justice has already declared Jiang Zhe not guilty. Let's disperse."
"How could this be? Constable Li, is there any inside story?"
"Isn't it obvious? Don't make things difficult for Constable Li. He has his own difficulties."
"Who dares to provoke the Academy? Constable Li might even lose his position. Constable Li has done so much for us. We have to think for him …"
…
The people were very dissatisfied with Jiang Zhe's ending. If there was no outside intervention, this dissatisfaction would reach its peak in a short period of time and then slowly fade away.
Humans were forgetful. After a few days, if something new happened in Luoyang, these old things would be replaced and forgotten.
Li Mu was still brooding over Zhou Zhong's matter. When he returned to the yamen, he flipped open the Law of Zhou and found the laws that Zhou Zhong had advocated. The more he read, the angrier he became.
He had advocated the abolition of the Silver Law of Substitution more than ten years ago.
Since the establishment of the Great Zhou, it had pursued the rule of etiquette. Under this rule, the aristocrats and officials enjoyed great privileges. Later, some emperors began to accept the idea of the rule of law, which led to the current situation of rule of etiquette and law.
The Silver Law of Substitution was actually to legalize the privileges of the privileged class.
Zhou Zhong was resolutely opposed to this practice, thinking that it was an insult to the legal system. The law did not distinguish between relatives and estrangement, high and low; the monarch and his ministers, from top to bottom, high and low, all followed the law; punishing the wrong did not evade the ministers, rewarding the good did not spare the common man; he wanted to implement a thorough rule of law.
In addition, he also pointed out the shortcomings of the Academy and suggested that the imperial court should select talents from outside the Academy. This could effectively prevent the officials from forming cliques and the Academy from interfering in politics.
Later, he failed.
His failure was not surprising. It was because he challenged the officials, the nobles, and the Academy. Because of this matter, he was demoted and almost exiled.
Seeing this, Li Mu's anger and resentment subsided a little. He could not describe what he was feeling in his heart.
Those who held the firewood for the people froze to death in the wind and snow. Those who opened the way for justice died in the thorns. This was the true portrayal of Zhou Zhong.
Li Mu did not know what happened later, but it was not difficult to guess based on his current status and power.
Zhang Chun strolled in from outside and looked at Li Mu with a proud expression. He asked, "Did His Majesty reward you with anything?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "No."
Zhang Chun smiled and then said regretfully, "His Majesty rewarded me with three tribute pears. They were much sweeter than the ones I ate from you. Unfortunately, there were only three. Otherwise, I would have given you one and let you have a taste …"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "I still have half a box at home. Sir, you can keep it for yourself."
Feeling a familiar breath, Li Mu walked outside and saw Mr. Mei walking in from outside the yamen.
The two people behind her moved a big box into the yard of the yamen. Mr. Mei said to Li Mu, "These spiritual jades are from His Majesty …"
Li Mu quickly walked forward and opened the box. Seeing that it was full of high-quality spiritual jades, he immediately put them into the Flask Space. After using up all the spiritual jades he got from the county yamen, he was worried about new ones. He did not expect His Majesty to be so considerate and send them to him so quickly.
With these spiritual jades, he and Xiao Bai did not have to worry about cultivation resources in a short time.
Zhang Chun looked at the box of spiritual jades from afar. He touched the two tribute pears in his sleeve and suddenly felt that the one he ate just now was not as sweet as before.
Li Mu knew that he was just doing what he was supposed to do. He said embarrassedly, "I didn't do anything wrong. Why did His Majesty suddenly reward me …"
Mr. Mei said, "How can you hide your thoughts from His Majesty? Are you trying to take the opportunity to make trouble for the Academy so that you can avenge His Majesty?"
If he did not know that the Empress was a cultivator of the Seventh Land who could sit in the palace and know everything in the world with a pinch of her fingers, Li Mu would have thought that she had installed a surveillance camera on him.
But since they were talking about this, he could use Mr. Mei to tell His Majesty his thoughts.
Li Mu said, "It's not entirely a bad thing that the Ministry of Justice covered up for Jiang Zhe. The Deputy Headmaster of the Baichuan Academy dared to criticize His Majesty in front of the court because of the Academy's high status and high reputation among the people and the court. If the Academy loses its reputation, His Majesty can reasonably reduce the number of students from the Academy who can become officials. If such a scandal happens, how can they refute His Majesty?"
The Academy's high status was because they had sent many talents to the court and the people trusted them.
Once the people no longer trusted them, they would naturally lose their high status.
As the ruler of the Great Zhou, the Empress had absolute power. In principle, as long as she wanted to do something, there was nothing she could not do.
However, if she acted arbitrarily and did not care about the opinions of the Academy and the officials, it would not be good for maintaining the stability of the court and gathering the people's support.
All she needed was a reason. If the Empress took advantage of this and made a fuss, the Academy would lose more than just trust and status.
Mr. Mei's eyes flashed with a strange light. He said, "You're right. I'll go to the palace and report to His Majesty."
Before she left, Li Mu added, "Remember to remind His Majesty that the impact of Jiang Zhe's incident is limited. The Baichuan Academy has been in Luoyang for hundreds of years and will not lose its reputation so easily. The people will soon forget about this unless someone is fanning the flames and pushing the Baichuan Academy to the cusp of the storm …"
In the palace.
In a hall.
The space in the hall fluctuated and the figure of "Mr. Mei" appeared out of thin air.
Her body began to change, gradually turning into another figure.
She looked at the real Mr. Mei and said, "You're right. He is indeed loyal to me and smart. If he were in the court, I would feel much better. Think of a way to get him to my side …"
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