The Imperial Court had been peaceful for so long, and the sudden appearance of a disruptor was something that no one wanted to see.
Perhaps Li Mu had no selfish motives, but it was precisely because of this that he was an eyesore.
Without him, whether it was the old or new parties, or the other officials, their days would be much more comfortable.
"Before the Imperial Court, no discussion is allowed!"
While the officials were whispering, a stern voice came from outside the group of officials, interrupting their whispers. Everyone looked over and saw Li Mu wandering outside the group, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd.
Li Mu was the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court. His main responsibility was to inspect the officials' manners during the Imperial Court and correct their improper behavior. The Emperor used to use him as a personal guard, but now that Li Mu had fallen out of favor, he was only the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court. He had the right to reprimand the officials before the Imperial Court.
The crowd stopped talking, but they sneered in their hearts. The days when he could strut around like this were numbered.
Li Mu walked to a certain place and looked at an official.
The Physician of the Board of Rites, Zhu Qi, also looked at Li Mu, his heart inexplicably weak.
Li Mu coldly asked, "What are you looking at?"
This was not the past, when the Silver Law of Guilt had been abolished. Zhu Qi did not believe that if he looked at Li Mu one more time, Li Mu would dare to beat him like he had beaten his son in front of the officials.
If he really dared to do so, he would not be far from death.
Zhu Qi coldly snorted and asked, "What, can't I look at you?"
Li Mu shrugged and said, "Of course you can."
Zhu Qi looked at him, his gaze even more unbridled, a trace of mockery in his contempt.
Li Mu's tone changed and he said, "You can look at me, but you are not wearing your official hat properly. According to the law, you will be caned ten times and your salary will be deducted for half a month. Men, drag the Physician of the Board of Rites to the side, seal his cultivation, and punish him with ten canes as a warning to others."
Zhu Qi's expression changed as he shouted, "How can there be such a law!"
Li Mu stretched out his hand and a copy of the Great Zhou Laws appeared in his hand. He flipped to a page and pointed it out to Zhu Qi, saying, "Look for yourself. The third article of the thirty-fifth volume of the Great Zhou Laws states that officials must tidy up their attire before attending court. Those who are disheveled will be regarded as disrespectful in front of the monarch. Their salary will be deducted for half a month and they will be caned ten times. Have I said anything wrong?"
Zhu Qi stared blankly at this clause. It was written in black and white. Unless Li Mu had the guts to change the laws of Great Zhou, what he said was true.
Tampering with the laws of Great Zhou was a capital offense. There was no way he would fabricate this just to give him ten beatings.
Li Mu shook his head and said: "This is the rule set by the previous emperor. You didn't follow it when it came to His Majesty. It is clear that you have no respect for His Majesty. If I don't teach you a lesson today, I'm afraid you won't respect His Majesty in the future."
He looked at the two guards in front of the palace and said: "What are you waiting for? Start the punishment."
The two guards looked at each other and didn't move. They hadn't been on duty for long and hadn't heard of this rule.
Mr. Mei walked over from afar and looked at the two lightly. He asked: "Didn't you hear what Sir Li said? Disrespectful in front of the palace was a serious offense in the previous emperor's time. Ten beatings is already a light punishment. What are you waiting for?"
Seeing that Commander Mei had spoken, the two didn't dare to hesitate. They walked up to Zhu Qi and said: "Sir, please."
Zhu Qi's expression was stiff and his throat moved. He walked with difficulty and left with the two guards.
Li Mu used the law to suppress him. He didn't even have a chance to resist. He swore in his heart that when he returned, he would take a good look at the laws of Great Zhou. What kind of bullsh * t rule was this?
Zhu Qi was taken away to receive his punishment. The officials beside him were very nervous. Some of them even used their mana to adjust their official hats. Some of the officials who had been on the court during the previous emperor's time even remembered the rules of the previous emperor's time.
Disrespectful in front of the palace was a crime that existed during the previous emperor's time. Many officials had been punished because of this. After the Empress succeeded the throne, she didn't care about this anymore. When the officials went to court, they also became casual. Most importantly, they didn't have to worry about it anymore.
Who would have thought that Li Mu would bring this up again today?
He brought out all the provisions of the law. No one could say that he was wrong unless the officials all agreed to abolish this law. But that was a matter for the future.
Li Mu didn't care about the frightened officials and continued to patrol outside.
As he walked, his footsteps stopped again.
He stood in front of Wei Teng, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue. Wei Teng's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He finally understood what Li Mu meant when he said those last words to the three of them yesterday.
Revenge!
This was undisguised revenge!
Li Mu stood in front of Wei Teng. At first glance, he didn't find anything strange. At second glance, he also didn't find anything strange. So he began to look carefully, up and down, front and back, left and right.
At this moment, Wei Teng really wanted to curse. When Li Mu walked past the other officials, he only glanced at them. When he came to Wei Teng, he had already looked at them for the time it took to brew a cup of tea.
Wei Teng's official hat was properly worn and his clothes were neat. But his efforts didn't let him down. Li Mu still found a stain on his sleeve.
Li Mu looked at him and said, "Lord Wei, the official robes you are wearing aren't just official robes. They are also the symbol of the Great Zhou, the face of the court. The previous emperor requested that when the officials go to court, their clothes must be neat and tidy, and their official robes must not be stained. Have you forgotten?"
The two guards who had punished Zhu Qi had already returned. Li Mu looked at Wei Teng, his expression gradually becoming cold. He said, "Forfeit your salary for half a month, ten strokes of the cane!"
After the two guards examined him, they also took Wei Teng away.
Li Mu continued forward.
The director of the Ministry of Justice lowered his head to look at a conspicuous hole in his official robes. Sweat began to seep out of his forehead.
The director of the Ministry of Rites just didn't wear his hat properly, and the vice-director of the Ministry of Revenue just had a stain on his sleeve, yet he was already beaten ten times. His official robes had a hole. He had lost the face of the court. Wouldn't he be beaten at least fifty times?
He looked at Li Mu out of the corner of his eye and found that he had already walked in front of him.
He stopped in front of him.
His gaze wasn't right. He seemed to be looking at the hole in his official robes …
It's over, it's over. He found it …
Li Mu walked in front of the director of the Ministry of Justice, gave him a look, and slowly walked past him.
The director of the Ministry of Justice froze in place. Li Mu was letting him go just like that?
After Li Mu left for a long time and didn't come back, he finally felt completely at ease.
Li Mu really had let him go. Although it was clear that he was taking revenge on the three people who had gone to the Ministry of Justice to watch the show yesterday, the two of them also had old grudges. Whether he would be punished or not, it would be up to Li Mu to decide.
The director of the Ministry of Justice heaved a sigh of relief and felt a little touched. It seemed that Li Mu had indeed forgotten the grudges between them and remembered that he had helped him before. Li Mu was different from other people in the court. Although Li Mu was sometimes annoying, he was a person who could distinguish between kindness and hatred. He was a person worthy of deep friendship …
Walking past the director of the Ministry of Justice, Li Mu went straight to the side of the Minister of Taichang Temple.
The Minister of Taichang Temple looked ahead. Even though he had already guessed that Li Mu would not let him go easily after taking revenge on the director of the Ministry of Rites and the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue, he was not afraid.
He had a slight obsession with cleanliness. Normally, he would often use disguising techniques. His official robes were impervious to fire and water, dirt, holes, and dirt. His official hat was also properly worn. Even with Li Mu's discerning eyes, he could not find anything that could be used against him.
Li Mu walked in front of the Minister of Taichang Temple and sized him up for a long time. He could not find anything wrong with him.
His official robe was spotless. It was obvious that he had cast a concealment technique on it. His official hat was also properly worn. Under such circumstances, if Li Mu still made things difficult for him, it would mean that he was trying to harm him.
He observed for a while more and suddenly looked at the feet of the Minister of Taichang Temple.
The Minister of Taichang Temple also noticed Li Mu's actions. His heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he had woken up in a hurry and put on his shoes the wrong way?
He did not remember. However, after this thought appeared in his mind, he felt that his feet were somewhat uncomfortable. Especially since Li Mu had been staring at his feet for a long time without saying anything. This made him panic.
Finally, he could not help but look down.
Luckily, there was nothing wrong with his shoes …
However, because he lowered his head, the official hat on his head accidentally bumped into the hat of an official in front of him. It fell to the ground.
Li Mu looked regretfully at the Minister of Taichang Temple and said, "Someone …"
…
Today's morning court session was a little different from usual.
Other than the officials at the very front, most of the officials standing in the middle and at the back of the court were standing straight. Their official robes were neat and their official hats were properly placed. They were much more energetic than usual.
This was because there were three officials who had already been fined their salaries and given beatings because of their impoliteness in front of the court.
The atmosphere in the court was also different from usual because of this.
They did not know what was wrong with Li Mu today. He suddenly brought up the old system of the previous Emperor. It should be known that before this, he was strongly opposed to the various systems established by the previous Emperor.
Only a few people, such as the Minister of Justice, understood why the three officials were punished.
Li Mu stood in the corner. This was the only thing he felt that the previous Emperor had left behind that was useful in his decades on the throne.
Yesterday, the three of them had said that they wanted to see how long Li Mu could be arrogant. Today, he would let them see with their own eyes.
The person who presided over the morning court session today was still Mr. Mei.
As soon as Mr. Mei announced the start of the morning court session, Zhang Chun stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have a report."
He held the ceremonial tablet and said, "I want to impeach the Assistant Minister of Justice, Zhou Zhong. As the Assistant Minister of Justice, he abused his power and imprisoned Imperial Censor Li Mu on a groundless charge. Where is the dignity of the law?"
Li Mu was comforted. Elder Zhang was his only true friend in the entire court.
When he became successful in the future, he would treat him better.
Mr. Mei looked at Zhou Zhong and asked, "Mr. Zhou, what do you have to say?"
Zhou Zhong said, "Mr. Zhang is lying. As the Assistant Minister of Justice, I handled the case according to the law. That woman was raped, and I saw from her memory that the person who raped her looked similar to Imperial Censor Li. It was reasonable and legal to detain him temporarily. Later, Imperial Censor Li told me that he was still a Yuanyang Body. After he was cleared of suspicion, I immediately let him go. How is this abuse of power?"
Hearing this, the courtiers were in an uproar.
"I was wondering why the Ministry of Justice suddenly let him go …"
"So his Yuanyang Body is not broken …"
"It can be cleared of suspicion like this? This is unheard of."
"I have learned something new!"
"Is he really a Yuanyang Body?"
…
Li Mu glared fiercely at Zhou Zhong with a murderous gaze. When he realized that everyone in the hall was looking at him, he quietly moved his feet and hid himself behind a pillar …
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