If what Zhou Jing said was true, there was still a slight possibility that the Head of the Secretariat would use this opportunity to suppress the old faction of the royal family, then the Head of the Secretariat would completely eliminate this small possibility.
The Head of the Secretariat was the head of all the officials, and the Head of the Secretariat was only second to the Head of the Secretariat. Furthermore, he had no enmity with Cui Ming. How could the two of them deceive the Empress and the officials at the same time?
The Assistant Minister of Personnel, who was speaking up for Cui Ming, immediately turned pale and sweated profusely. He knelt on the ground and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I swear to the heavens that I was also deceived by Cui Ming. I didn't know that he was colluding with the Demon Sect …"
At this moment, no one in the imperial court cared about the Assistant Minister of Personnel.
The imperial court would investigate whether or not he knew, or whether or not he was a spy for the Demon Sect. Not only him, but anyone close to Cui Ming would be thoroughly investigated.
The Demon Sect was notorious. They harmed the people and tried to overthrow the imperial court. No country would tolerate the Demon Sect.
The Governor of Jiujiang was a high-ranking official in the imperial court. However, because of the crime of colluding with the Demon Sect, his family of more than a hundred people was killed. Even his soul didn't survive.
Cui Ming's case involved the Demon Sect. It was a serious matter.
Colluding with the Demon Sect was equivalent to treason.
The Empress immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to take control of the people in Princess Yunyang's residence. Anyone close to Cui Ming, whether they were officials in the imperial court or nobles in Luoyang, would be strictly interrogated without exception.
After the imperial court was dismissed, the officials left with solemn expressions. After Li Mu walked out of the main hall, he didn't leave the palace. Instead, he went to Shangyang Palace.
Before the imperial court was dismissed, he received a message from Shangguan Li. The Empress wanted to see him.
Li Mu returned to the North County with a mission. He needed to meet the Empress to report on his work.
After arriving at Shangyang Palace, he told the Empress everything that had happened, including the assassination attempt by Phantom Princess, how they caught her and let her escape.
The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court acted quickly. As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court asked for an audience outside Shangyang Palace.
After the Empress issued the summons, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court walked into the main hall. The Minister of Justice had a solemn expression as he said, "Your Majesty, a day ago, Cui Ming and Princess Yunyang went to the Divine Dragon Court to play and have yet to return. Your subject and the Minister of the Supreme Court went to the Divine Dragon Court and discovered that only Princess Yunyang was unconscious in her room. Cui Ming's whereabouts were unknown..."
Hearing this, Shangguan Li's expression changed slightly. She said, "Impossible. The internal guards have been watching Cui Ming. He has never left the Divine Dragon Court..."
Li Mu wasn't surprised. With Cui Ming's cultivation, there were countless ways for him to leave quietly. Obviously, the speed at which Cui Ming received the news was much faster than the speed at which Li Mu traveled. It was very likely that he and the Demon Sect were communicating with each other through some kind of magical item or secret technique.
The Empress closed her eyes and pinched her fingers. After a while, she slowly opened her eyes and said sternly, "He went to the north. Send an order to the 36 counties. Princess Yunyang's husband, Cui Ming, colluded with the Demon Sect and framed an official of the imperial court. Once discovered, he is to be arrested immediately, dead or alive..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Li Mu immediately realized how important instant communication was. He looked at the Empress and asked, "Your Majesty, is there any magical item that can instantly transmit messages from a thousand miles away? If I had such a magical item, I wouldn't have given Cui Ming the chance to escape."
The Empress thought for a while and stretched out her hand. An item appeared in her palm.
It was a white item that looked like a conch shell.
The conch shell slowly floated in front of Li Mu and he held it in his hand.
The Empress said, "If there is an emergency, use your magic to activate this conch shell and speak to it. I will then be able to hear your voice."
Li Mu happily accepted the treasure and asked again, "Your Majesty, is there any item that can instantly send someone a thousand miles away? Can you give me one? If it wasn't for this treasure, Huan Ji wouldn't have been able to escape from me..."
Hearing this, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Justice looked at Li Mu a few more times.
The Empress glanced at him and said, "The Teleportation Talisman requires a powerhouse above the Transcendence level. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it. I don't have one either."
Li Mu felt that it was a pity. He thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, do you have any more Fate Pills? I used the one you gave me last time..."
"No more!"
The Empress waved her sleeve and Li Mu was violently swept out of the door.
She didn't need to chase him away so violently. Li Mu tidied his clothes and slowly walked out of the palace.
Cui Ming had escaped, but he couldn't escape forever.
His actions had crossed the bottom line of the Imperial Court. Even if he ran to the ends of the earth, he couldn't escape the Imperial Court's pursuit. He had lived in the Divine Capital for more than a decade and left behind countless traces. It wasn't difficult to calculate his location through the things he left behind.
After returning home, Li Mu released the two female ghosts. Su He was still asleep and he didn't know when she would wake up. He let them accompany Xiao Bai at home and do chores like cleaning the house.
Raising two obedient ghosts at home was much easier than hiring maids and servants.
Li Mu didn't stay at home for long. He walked out of the door and headed to the Ministry of Justice.
When he left the palace, he received a message from the Empress telling him to go to the Ministry of Justice and investigate the case of the Jiujiang County Chief.
It had been confirmed that Cui Ming was a spy from the Demon Sect. From the tree demon's memories, he also learned that the tragedy in Jiujiang County was framed by Cui Ming and the Demon Sect. The so-called investigation was just to urge the Ministry of Justice to reverse the verdict for the Jiujiang County Chief.
On the way to the Ministry of Justice, Li Mu's heart was heavy.
Even if he reversed the verdict for the Jiujiang County Chief, it would be useless. The Jiujiang County Chief's entire family and more than a hundred lives had been lost more than a decade ago. Even if the Imperial Court cleared their names today, they wouldn't be able to see it.
Princess Yunyang's son-in-law was a member of the Demon Sect. This time, the entire Xiao clan and its old clique would probably be in a panic.
Most of the people in the Divine Capital were shocked that Cui Ming was a spy from the Demon Sect and gossiped about the Xiao royal family's scandal. However, very few people talked about the Jiujiang County Chief and his family, who had died unjustly.
Li Mu arrived at the Ministry of Justice and explained his intentions to the Ministry of Justice's director.
The Imperial Court had already concluded that the Jiujiang County Chief and his family had died unjustly. Li Mu was also acting under the Empress's orders, so the Ministry of Justice naturally didn't dare to be negligent. They mobilized all the officials to search for the case files of the Jiujiang County Chief from more than a decade ago.
These files would be overturned and rewritten. The Jiujiang County Chief's injustice would also be cleared.
Although this had nothing to do with him anymore, because colluding with the Demon Sect was a crime that could implicate nine generations of his family, his family and descendants had also died in the incident more than a decade ago.
The director of the Ministry of Justice destroyed the old fake files one by one and sighed. "After more than a decade, the Jiujiang County Chief has finally received justice."
Zhou Zhong placed his hands behind his back and said indifferently, "Justice that comes late isn't justice. From the day he died, he would never receive justice."
After saying this, he didn't speak again.
The director of the Ministry of Justice thought about his words. He felt that the atmosphere was particularly heavy when the assistant minister and Li Mu didn't say anything. He took the initiative to change the topic. "Sir, a deputy county chief from Tianhe County of Hanyang County died in his home under mysterious circumstances a few days ago. The way he died was similar to the way the county chief from Anyi County of Danyang County died. It seems like it was done by the same person. Although the two counties are thousands of miles apart and the two cases seem to be unrelated,. However, after investigating, I found that the county chief from Anyi County and the deputy county chief from Tianhe County were both officials in the Ministry of Personnel more than a decade ago … "
Zhou Zhong said calmly, "Send the files of this case to my office. I will send people to investigate. You don't have to worry about it."
The director of the Ministry of Justice nodded. "I will go get it now."
Li Mu stood in the Ministry of Justice and looked at the offices where the files were kept. He said, "I wonder how many more cases there are."
Zhou Zhong said faintly, "Each of these scrolls represents a few souls of the deceased. Perhaps some of them were wronged, but not all of them are as lucky as the Jiujiang County Chief. Their injustice will last for thousands of years until the end of the world …"
How could Li Mu not know what Zhou Zhong said? There were so many cases of injustice. Very few of them could be redressed. Most of them would be buried in the river of history until the end of the world.
It was the same in ancient times.
After a while, Li Mu left the Ministry of Justice and Zhou Zhong walked back to the office.
He glanced at one of the scrolls on the table. The scroll floated up, and a ball of fire suddenly appeared and engulfed the scroll. Soon, there was nothing left in the void. Not even ashes were left.
Late at night.
Li Mu lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
With more than a hundred lives lost, the Imperial Court only needed to say that this was an unjust case caused by the Demonic Sect, and they could easily brush it aside. It was as if nothing had happened more than ten years ago. This made him feel somewhat stifled and flustered.
After a while, he took out the conch. After activating it with his mana, he asked softly, "Your Majesty, are you asleep?"
Changle Palace.
It was already past midnight. Zhou Yi lay on the bed, but she did not feel sleepy at all.
To her, this palace was no different from a cage. This cage isolated her from family, friendship, love, and any other human emotions.
Even during the day, when people came and went in the palace and officials filled the Crape Myrtle Shop, she often felt lonely.
Every night, this loneliness would be infinitely magnified.
There was no sound around her. It was as if there was only dead silence in the entire world apart from her.
At a certain moment, a voice suddenly sounded in this dead silence.
"Your Majesty, are you asleep?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it brought endless vitality to this deathly silent world.
Zhou Yi cleared her throat and made her voice dignified. She asked, "What is it?"
Li Mu did not expect the Empress to still be awake. He slowly said, "I think that the imperial court should announce the injustice the Jiujiang Prefectural Governor suffered to the world. This is the only way to clear his name …"
Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, I will issue an edict and order the Ministry of Works to erect a monument and a temple in Jiujiang Prefectural Governor's memory for future generations."
The Empress thought more than he thought. Li Mu sighed. "Your Majesty is wise."
Zhou Yi asked, "Is there anything else?"
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, do you have many conches that can transmit messages? Your Majesty, my fiancée is in the Northern Prefectural, thousands of miles away from me. It is inconvenient for us to meet. I want to give her one …"
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