Zhou Zhong was the mainstay of the old party. Although his status was not as high as Cui Ming's, his status in the old party might not be comparable to Cui Ming's.
Among the three provinces, the Secretariat was directly involved in the decision-making of national affairs. However, how to interpret national policies and implement them was the responsibility of the six ministries of the Minister. Among them, the six ministries had a lot of freedom to act. There were many cases where they agreed in public but disobeyed in private.
The Secretariat was only responsible for making plans. It was beyond their control whether or not the six ministries of the Minister implemented the policies and how to implement them.
Li Mu could not understand why Zhou Zhong would help Mrs. Chu.
Even though he had been in Luoyang for a long time, there were many twists and turns in the imperial court. He still could not see through them.
Maybe Zhou Zhong and Cui Ming had old grudges and wanted to use Mrs. Chu to get rid of him. Or maybe he was just like Zhang Chun, a middle-aged man who was jealous of his excellent peers …
Mr. Mei led Li Mu and Mrs. Chu into Shangyang Palace.
Mrs. Chu was already in the fifth plane and was one of the strongest in the world. However, when facing the back of the figure in the palace, she still lowered her head respectfully.
Mr. Mei walked forward and said, "Your Majesty, Li Mu and the woman from the Chu family are here."
Mrs. Chu knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant."
The Empress turned around and said softly, "Rise."
Mrs. Chu was still kneeling on the ground and said, "Twenty years ago, Cui Ming killed me and 36 people of the Chu family. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for me."
The Empress raised her hand slightly and Mrs. Chu could no longer kneel.
She looked at Mrs. Chu and said, "Although the tragedy of the Chu family was caused by Cui Ming, the imperial court was also at fault. I will do things according to the law. Apart from that, you can ask for any compensation you want."
Mrs. Chu shook her head and said, "The Chu family did not collude with the Heretical Cultivation. They were framed by a villain. I want the imperial court to clear the Chu family's name and ask Cui Ming to pay the price for what he did!"
The Empress nodded and said, "This is what the imperial court should do."
She looked at Madam Chu and said, "You've just broken through and your foundation isn't stable yet. Mei Wei, take some soul jade from the treasury and help her stabilize her cultivation …"
Mr. Mei nodded and said to Mrs. Chu, "Please come with me."
The current Madam Chu no longer needed Li Mu's protection. The internal guards would protect her. After they left, Li Mu did not plan to stay any longer.
After the embarrassment of having his wet dream interrupted by the Empress last time, he still felt a little unnatural in front of the Empress. He was clearly wearing a few layers of clothes, and his body was tightly wrapped, but he always felt like he was naked, without a trace of clothing.
Li Mu bowed and cupped his fists. "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
The Empress asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Cui Ming's case was completely different from Zhang Chun making a fuss in the imperial court by the Empress.
Li Mu paused and said honestly, "Cui Ming's case is better handled by the Imperial Clan Temple than by Your Majesty. If Your Majesty directly intervenes, it will send some wrong signals to the imperial court and affect the balance between the new party and the old party. Moreover, Your Majesty will directly face the pressure of the West Palace and the Xiao Royal Family …"
The Empress said, "You're really considerate of me."
Li Mu said seriously, "Taking a salary from you and sharing your burdens is what I should do."
The Empress was silent for a moment and sighed softly. She said, "More than 30 people disappeared from this world because of one false statement. Isn't the imperial court giving the local government too much power?"
Li Mu had considered this problem before.
When dealing with Zhao Yong and Ren Yuan, as long as the Zhang County Magistrates submitted the application and the county government checked the file and found no suspicious points, they could sign the document of execution.
In reality, the person in charge of the life and death of the people was the county magistrate.
There was a saying among the people, "Break a family's county magistrate, destroy a family's county magistrate."
A county magistrate could destroy the families of the ordinary people in his jurisdiction. A county magistrate could destroy a family and confiscate a family's property with just a word.
This would greatly increase the efficiency of closing cases, but it could easily lead to a large number of unjust, false, and wrong cases.
Human lives were greater than heaven. This system of Great Zhou was indeed too hasty.
He looked at the Empress and said, "Human lives are at stake. Why don't we take back the authority of local officials? Sentences above execution need to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for approval and finally handed to Your Majesty for approval and then sent to each county …"
The Empress thought for a moment and nodded. "Your suggestion is very good. When you leave the palace, go to the Hall of Secretaries to pass on my decree. In the future, the sentences of serious homicide cases in each county of Great Zhou will be approved by the county government and then handed to the Ministry of Justice …"
Li Mu cupped his hands and said, "Your subject obeys."
Unknowingly, the distance between him and the Empress was one step closer.
Things like passing on decrees should have been done by Shangguan Li. In the eyes of the officials, she was the spokesperson of the Empress.
If this continued, the day when he replaced Shangguan Li was not far away.
Standing in front of the Empress, he felt as if he was naked. Li Mu opened his mouth again and said, "Your subject will go to the Hall of Secretaries to pass on the decree."
The Empress nodded and said, "Go."
He took two steps and the Empress's voice came from behind him. "Do you need me to reward you with a few maids?"
Sure enough, the Empress still remembered that matter. Li Mu said awkwardly, "There's no need. Thank you, Your Majesty. Your subject will take his leave …"
Although the Empress had good intentions, even if she rewarded Li Mu with a few beautiful maids, Li Mu would not dare to accept.
Not using them was one thing. If Liu Hanyan returned home and saw a group of beautiful women in his house, he would be jealous on the first day.
Up until now, Li Mu had always kept the promise he made to her before he left.
After leaving Shangyang Palace, Li Mu went straight to the Hall of Secretaries.
The Hall of Secretaries was a confidential place and outsiders were not allowed to enter. However, the constable at the entrance did not stop him. Some time ago, he came to the Hall of Secretaries more frequently than he came home. He could almost be considered half a person of the Hall of Secretaries.
Li Mu walked through the entrance of the Hall of Secretaries and asked the constable, "Is Lord Liu here?"
The constable swallowed his saliva and said, "Yes, the lords are all here. I will go and call …"
In the Hall of Secretaries, anyone who mentioned Li Mu's name would tremble.
The assistant minister of the Hall of Secretaries, the emperor's son-in-law, was a high official with a prominent status. However, he was sent to the prison of the Zongzheng Temple in less than a month.
The assistant minister was sent to the Zongzheng Temple by him. This was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that he first placed the Zongzheng Temple on the same level as the other officials from the imperial examinations. Then, he used sufficient reasons to persuade the lords to expand the number of officials in the Zongzheng Temple. Then, he took the opportunity to send his own subordinates to the Zongzheng Temple …
Along the way, he fought steadily and surely, advancing step by step in order to pull the assistant minister of the Hall of Secretaries down from his high horse.
Before this, he did not express any intention to target Assistant Minister Cui. Even when he met him, he would take the initiative to smile and greet him …
What kind of scheming was this?
If he wanted to scheme against someone, it was likely that the other party would not know why they died until they were at death's door.
Soon, Liu Yi hurriedly ran out from a yamen and asked, "Lord Li, is, is there a problem?"
Li Mu said, "His Majesty asked me to pass on a verbal order. In the future, when serious murder cases occur in the various counties, after being investigated by the county yamen, they will be sent to the Ministry of Justice for approval. In the end, His Majesty will give the final approval. You all should discuss and quickly write out a written rule for the Ministry of Justice to implement."
Liu Yi nodded and said, "I understand. This official will discuss this with a few colleagues …"
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Then I will be leaving. See you later."
Liu Yi also raised his head and said, "See you later, Lord Li."
When he returned to the yamen, he let out a long sigh of relief.
When he thought about how Li Mu had discussed the imperial examinations with them for the past half a month, he felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed that he was planning for the Hall of Secretaries, but in reality, he was thinking about how to kill the assistant minister of the Hall of Secretaries.
Li Mu had always given people the impression that he was very upright.
He was not afraid of power and did not fear the heavens and earth. In the Imperial Court, he spoke bluntly, and in the Imperial Court, he was courageous.
The six officials of the Hall of Secretaries, including Liu Yi, all believed that Li Mu was a straightforward person.
He did things in a straightforward manner and did not know how to compromise.
If he were to be compared to an animal, the most suitable animal would be a dog.
He was the Empress's loyal dog, loyally protecting his master. Anyone who dared to provoke the Empress would have a piece of their flesh bitten off by him.
Although a loyal dog was fierce, he was not to be feared. As long as one avoided him, there was no need to worry about being bitten.
However, no one would have thought that Li Mu was not a dog, but a fox.
An extremely cunning fox.
On the surface, he looked harmless, showing a kind smile to you every day. However, at the critical moment, he would reveal his sharp fangs and bite off your neck …
A vicious dog was not frightening. What was frightening was a cunning fox.
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.
