In front of the Secretariat.
Li Mu looked at Mr. Mei with resentful eyes, recalling the beating in his dream last night, and said, "You betrayed my trust."
Mr. Mei's lips moved as if he wanted to explain, but she couldn't tell Li Mu that Her Majesty had disguised herself as her and visited the Li Mansion incognito. She coughed softly and said, "I didn't tell Her Majesty, but in Shen Du, you can't hide it from her if you criticize Her Majesty behind her back."
As Li Mu's cultivation improved and his knowledge widened, the mysterious veil of the masters of the Upper Realm had long been removed in his eyes.
The Empress's cultivation was high, but it wasn't so high that she could know everything in the world just by sitting in the Changle Palace. She could even hear Li Mu complaining about her. Now he began to wonder if the Empress had installed some kind of eavesdropping magic weapon on him.
Or maybe when he was persuading Mr. Mei yesterday, she used the Dark Light Technique to spy on him, but he had a jade talisman that could shield the secrets of heaven, so the Dark Light Technique couldn't spy on him. Could it be that the Empress blocked others and only gave herself permission?
Just in case, Li Mu put the jade talisman that he carried with him into the Teapot Space. Most of the time, he didn't care if the Empress spied on him, but today was different from the past. He still had some inconveniences every day.
As for the thing that could shield the secrets of heaven, he could use Fu-lu instead.
The secrets of heaven were hard to predict, but shielding them was easy. He had the lifetime experience of Talisman Daozi and the inheritance of the Taoist Page, so it wasn't difficult to draw a Fu-lu to replace the shielding jade talisman.
After parting with Mr. Mei, Li Mu walked into the Secretariat.
These days, Li Mu had dealt with all the memorials that he needed to deal with in time. Today, he was only busy for more than 15 minutes and had nothing to do.
Since he had nothing to do, he picked up a pen and wrote a name on a paper.
"Li Yi …"
This official with the same surname as him used to be a clear stream in the imperial court, but his ending was extremely regrettable.
More than ten years ago, for the sake of the people of Great Zhou, he made an enemy of the nobles of the imperial court.
More than ten years later, Li Mu was living in his old house, doing things that he had never finished. It seemed that fate existed in the unseen world.
The four dead managers of the Ministry of Personnel were probably one of the people who had framed him back then. The real culprit behind their deaths was very likely a friend of Lord Li's.
Li Mu felt a little regretful.
Revenge was indeed satisfying, but the majesty of the law was not to be challenged.
The four of them had broken the law and should be tried by the imperial court. He had killed many officials of the imperial court for personal gain. The circumstances were extremely bad. No matter what the reason was, he would not be able to escape death.
At this point, Li Mu could not save him, but he wanted to do something for him, for the hero who had died in vain.
Not for anything else, but for the fate of a house.
He left the Secretariat and returned to the Ministry of Justice.
As soon as the director of the Ministry of Justice saw him, he came out of the yamen and asked, "Does Official Li have any orders?"
Li Mu said, "I want to investigate a case."
The director of the Ministry of Justice said, "Which case does Official Li want to investigate? I will send someone to find it for you."
Li Mu said, "Fourteen years ago, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Yi, committed treason."
The director of the Ministry of Justice trembled when he heard this, and his face immediately turned pale.
Li Mu saw the change in his expression and asked, "Why, is there a problem?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice pulled Li Mu into his yamen, and only then did he dare to take a breath and persuade Li Mu, "Official Li, this time you must listen to my advice. This case cannot be touched, really cannot be touched..."
Li Mu asked, "Why not?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice shook his head and said, "This case involves too many people. Moreover, it has been decided for more than ten years. Official Li, why do you want to cause more trouble?"
Li Mu looked at the director of the Ministry of Justice. When he wanted to investigate the Academy, he thought that the director of the Ministry of Justice had not been so afraid.
It seemed that this case was indeed unusual.
Li Mu said, "You just need to bring the file over."
The director of the Ministry of Justice still looked hesitant, "This..."
Zhou Zhong walked in and said, "Since Official Li wants it, then give it to him."
The director of the Ministry of Justice looked at Zhou Zhong and finally nodded, saying, "Yes."
Zhou Zhong looked at Li Mu and asked, "This case has been over for more than ten years. Why do you suddenly want to investigate it?"
Li Mu looked directly at Zhou Zhong and asked in return, "Why don't you investigate it?"
The former owner of the Li Mansion was Zhou Zhong's friend. He had more reason than Li Mu to commit a crime for his friend.
Zhou Zhong did not answer directly. His eyes stopped on Li Mu and said, "You are really very similar. Even the houses you live in are the same. I don't know if this is a sign from the heavens."
Li Mu said, "You haven't answered my question."
Zhou Zhong looked at Li Mu and said, "Don't bring up this case again. I'm doing this for your own good. You've done what many of us can't. Don't let the results of your previous efforts go down the drain …"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "Next time, if you dare to speak rudely in front of the Li Mansion, don't blame me for being ruthless..."
Considering that the former owner of the Li Mansion was Zhou Zhong's old friend, Li Mu could forgive him for remembering his old friend on the day before Li Mu's wedding.
After today, this reason would no longer exist.
The director of the Ministry of Justice had already brought over a thick dossier. After Li Mu opened it, he skipped over the series of evidence at the front. In a battle in the Imperial Court, if one wanted to pin a crime on a person, it didn't depend on what he did, but where he stood.
If you stood on the right side, then what was wrong was also right.
If you stood on the wrong side, then what was right was also wrong.
He directly flipped to the testimony section and saw a series of names.
"The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Xiao Yuan, the Director of the Ministry of Personnel Chen Jian, the Director of the Ministry of Personnel Gao Hong, the Vice-Chancellor of the Supreme Court Zhou Chuan, the Marquis of Zhongyong Liu Kun, the Count of Ping An Yao Bin..."
Fourteen years ago, it was these people who convicted Li Yi of treason, causing his family to be exterminated.
These were the official positions of these people fourteen years ago.
Li Mu was familiar with most of these names.
The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Xiao Yuan was now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was a member of the Xiao royal family.
The Director of the Ministry of Personnel Chen Jian was now the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
The Director of the Ministry of Personnel Gao Hong was now the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
The Vice-Chancellor of the Supreme Court Zhou Chuan was the younger brother of Minister Zhou Jing, the Empress's third uncle, and the current Minister of Works.
Most of these people after their names were the nobles of Luoyang. They were also the people whose fundamental interests had been affected by Li Yi's reform.
Fourteen years later, most of them had become important figures in the imperial court. Among them, there were nobles, pillars of the new party, and members of the old party …
Li Mu finally knew why the Director of the Ministry of Justice had stopped him. Previously, he had only been messing around with the younger generation of these forces. This time, if he wanted to reverse the verdict for Li Yi, he would have to face the elders of these people.
Fourteen years had passed, and they had already occupied important positions in the imperial court. It was not easy to touch even one of them, let alone all of them. It was tantamount to uprooting both the new party and the old party from the imperial court. Not to mention whether anyone could do it, even if they could, the imperial court of the Great Zhou would be riddled with holes. It would be a perfect opportunity for foreign enemies to take advantage of.
Zhou Zhong looked at Li Mu and asked, "Do you still want to investigate?"
Li Mu was no longer the hothead he was when he first entered Luoyang. This was also not a small fight between him and the hedonistic son of a wealthy family. To clear Li Yi's name, it meant that he had to completely clean up the Ministry of Personnel. One minister, two assistant ministers, Zhou Chuan of the Zhou family, and the empress's third uncle, as the mastermind of this case, it was inevitable that they would be sentenced to death …
As for the large number of officials involved, although their crimes did not warrant death, many of them would be stripped of their positions and banished from the army.
The current Great Zhou court could not accept such turmoil.
Zhou Zhong's gaze was still fixed on Li Mu. He said slowly, "Go back. If you still want to do something for the people in the future, you have to know how to protect yourself. Only by protecting yourself will there be hope …"
Walking out of the Ministry of Justice, Li Mu's mood was unprecedentedly low.
There were some things that even if he knew what was right, he could not ignore the consequences.
He had to think for the empress, and also for the Great Zhou.
Thinking carefully about what Zhou Zhong said before he left, Li Mu seemed to understand why Zhou Zhong's name was on the list he saw just now.
Protecting himself and leaving behind hope was probably the choice he made at that time.
At the same time, Li Mu also knew why the culprit of these four cases would choose to take revenge in such a way.
Although the law could give him justice, the imperial court could not.
Therefore, he chose to seek justice for himself.
Most of the time, Li Mu hoped that anyone who broke the law would be punished. Only this time, he hoped that the culprit could escape.
It would be best if after the deaths of the four managers of the Ministry of Personnel, he had already given up on revenge and did not go to Yantai County anymore …
Yantai County.
The Yantai County Commandant stood in the courtyard and looked at the figure that appeared in the courtyard. He said mockingly, "I didn't expect you to really dare to come."
As soon as he finished speaking, four powerful auras appeared in the four corners of the courtyard. They enveloped the entire courtyard with a formation, and no one could enter or leave.
The Yantai County Commandant looked at the woman wearing the bamboo hat and sneered. "You are only at the fourth realm. Who gave you the confidence to assassinate me?"
Under the bamboo hat, the woman's lips moved slightly, and she seemed to say a word.
A dark purple thunderbolt ignored the isolation of the formation and condensed directly above the Yantai County Commandant's head.
The Yantai County Commandant did not even have time to react before he was reduced to ashes by the thunderbolt.
A few of the imperial court's consecrators stood dumbfounded on the spot.
This person actually killed the Yantai County Commandant right in front of them!
The Yantai County Commandant's cultivation was at the peak of the fourth realm, much higher than that woman. However, she was only at the fourth realm. How could she know the Purple Heaven Heavenly Thunder that could only be used at the fifth realm? Moreover, the power of the Purple Heaven Heavenly Thunder was close to that of the mid-fifth realm …
After the woman killed the Yantai County Commandant, she took off her bamboo hat and stood quietly on the spot, as if she did not intend to resist.
One of the consecrators frowned. "She wants to die?"
They had set up an ambush here, but she still killed the Yantai County Commandant right in front of them. Another consecrator flew into a rage out of humiliation. He formed a hand seal and gritted his teeth. "If you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish!"
"Stop." A consecrator beside him stopped him and said, "Our duty is only to capture her. Don't do anything unnecessary. Bring her back to the Divine Capital, and the imperial court will deal with her …"
The woman looked at them and said, "I won't go back to the Divine Capital with you. Kill me now."
One of the consecrators looked at her coldly and said, "That's not up to you. With the crimes you've committed, it would be too easy for you to die just like that …"
Clang!
A shiny sword appeared in the woman's hand, and she stabbed it at the consecrator.
The consecrator easily caught the sword with two fingers and sneered. "You want to anger me and make me kill you? Dream on. I don't want to kill you now. You don't want to go to the Divine Capital, so I'll bring you back to the Divine Capital …"
As soon as he finished speaking, the other consecrators spoke as well.
"If she dies, we won't be able to report back."
"Let's attack together. Seal her spiritual power first. Don't give her a chance to kill herself!"
…
The Divine Capital.
A day ago, Li Mu asked for half a month's leave from the Empress. Firstly, he wanted to spend time with Liu Hanyan. Secondly, he wanted to adjust his mood.
Regarding Li Yi's matter, Li Mu wanted to but was powerless to do so. This made him feel very apologetic. The house that he used to live in was not so comfortable these days.
In order to make him feel better, he spread some news about the case.
The citizens of the Divine Capital were initially filled with righteous indignation about the deaths of the four court officials. This was a provocation to the imperial court and trampling on the dignity of the Great Zhou's law. However, after learning the truth, the public opinion changed overnight.
"So he's avenging Lord Li!"
"Lord Li is such a good person. Those people deserved to die!"
"I hope he doesn't get caught. He might be Lord Li's only descendant …"
…
It was also at this time that Li Mu realized that the citizens of the Divine Capital had never forgotten about Li Yi.
Even though more than a decade had passed, some of the older citizens still remembered his deeds when he was mentioned.
The younger ones were still young and did not know about Li Yi. However, after hearing the stories of the elders, the flames of justice were ignited in their hearts.
"Lord Li was persecuted by those people back then for the sake of the citizens."
"Sigh, it's a pity that Lord Li was not born in the imperial court. If only he could join forces with Lord Li Jr., how good would that be?"
"What a pity …"
Walking hand in hand with Liu Hanyan on the streets, Li Mu could occasionally hear the citizens discussing the events of the past. He finally felt a little better, even though he had already been called Lord Li Jr. by the citizens.
Liu Hanyan held Li Mu's hand and said with some regret, "I remember that Lord Li's incident happened exactly a year after I was sold to the music workshop. Lord Li's entire family was wrongly murdered. The workshop owner was so angry that he didn't open the shop for three days and didn't allow us to play. There was a younger sister who, because she didn't need to practice the zither, laughed happily and was punished by the workshop owner to stand for an entire day. It was also at that time that I heard about Lord Li from the workshop owner. Who would have thought that the house we're living in now was the house he used to live in …"
Li Mu sighed and said, "The day before our wedding was the anniversary of his death."
Liu Hanyan said with some regret, "If we had known, we would have pushed it back a few days."
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "When the time is right, I want to reverse the verdict for him."
Liu Hanyan tightly gripped his hand and said, "No matter what decision you make, I'll be with you."
With her at his side, Li Mu's mood improved greatly. He accompanied her to visit a few more shops. Just as the two of them were preparing to return home, there was a sudden commotion on the streets. Many citizens rushed forward.
Li Mu walked onto the street and stopped a person. "What's going on?" he asked.
That person saw that it was Li Mu and sighed. "It's Lord Li. I heard that a few days ago, the murderer of those officials was caught. Ah, how did she get caught …"
"Those who should be caught aren't caught, but those who shouldn't be caught are randomly caught!"
"The people he killed were all people who deserved to die. The Imperial Court didn't distinguish between right and wrong …"
… …
The common people's thoughts were often very simple. They did not understand the law, and most of them would only judge a matter based on the morals in their hearts. Their thoughts were often not in line with the law, but they were in line with the most simple understanding of things as an ordinary person.
Liu Hanyan walked out and held Li Mu's hand. "Can you think of a way to save him?" she asked.
Li Mu shook his head and said, "It's very difficult …"
Xiao Yu killed the County Magistrate of Yang County because the County Magistrate of Yang County killed her. Moreover, she was recognized by the heavens. Even so, the Imperial Court dared to go against the heavens at the beginning. If the Empress hadn't intervened, she wouldn't have been able to escape the fate of having her soul scattered.
This case was fundamentally different from Xiao Yu's case.
The law didn't encourage revenge. Even the victims could only fight back when their lives were threatened. Revenge after the fact would still be punished by the law.
Moreover, he killed four officials. The circumstances were extremely bad. There was almost no possibility of being forgiven.
A few citizens walked over from afar and spoke with regret.
"Ah, she was still caught."
"I heard that she's Sir Li's daughter. No wonder she wanted to take revenge for Sir Li …"
"Could it be that Sir Li's last bloodline is going to be cut off?"
… …
A prisoner's carriage slowly drove over from the front of the street.
Parading through the streets was an additional punishment given by the Imperial Court to those who committed the most heinous crimes. This was a humiliation to them, and also a deterrent to those who had bad intentions.
Usually, when criminals were paraded through the streets, the citizens would rush up and throw rotten eggs, rotten vegetables, and other things at them. This was also tacitly allowed by the Imperial Court.
However, today, the streets were exceptionally quiet wherever the prisoner's carriage passed.
The citizens silently stood on both sides of the street. They didn't say a word as they watched the prisoner's carriage pass. When they looked at the figure on the prisoner's carriage, there was no disgust or hatred in their eyes. There was only pity and anger towards the Imperial Court.
A citizen who didn't know what was going on saw the prisoner's carriage pass by. He quickly ran home and took out a rotten egg that he always kept at home. Just as he was about to throw it, he was seen by a sharp-eyed man. He kicked him to the ground and asked with red eyes, "What the f * ck are you doing?!"
The person who was pressed to the ground had a puzzled expression. "I'm going to throw a rotten egg. Why aren't you prepared at all …"
The man said angrily, "That's Sir Li's child. I told you to throw it, I told you to throw it. If you don't eat this egg today, I'll beat you to death!"
Just as the person was about to resist, the rotten egg in his hand was snatched and stuffed into his mouth.
"Urgh …"
An unbearable stench filled his mouth and nose. His eyes rolled back, and he directly fainted.
The prisoner's carriage slowly drove down the street. Beside the prisoner's carriage, two priests from the Department of Priests looked at each other and felt a chill in their hearts.
Strange, it was too strange.
Usually, when the prisoner's carriage passed by, the streets would be in chaos. What was going on today? Why was it so quiet?
The two Fifth Realm powerhouses actually couldn't stand the way the commoners looked at them.
Li Mu looked at the prisoner's carriage slowly driving down. He originally couldn't bear to look at it, but when his gaze swept over the figure in the prisoner's carriage, everything that he looked at, whether it was the prisoner's carriage, the streets, the shops beside the streets, or the citizens on the streets, everything disappeared.
There was only that figure left in his eyes.
Looking at the extremely pale and frail figure standing in the prisoner's carriage, Li Mu felt as if someone had grabbed his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
How could it be, how could it be …
At this moment, countless thoughts intertwined in his mind.
One mystery after another was solved just like that.
Li Yi, Li Qing …
Li Qing was Li Yi's daughter!
Why did she cultivate so hard? Why did she leave Fu-lu School? Why did she look hesitant and conflicted when she parted ways with Li Mu? Why did she hesitate to speak …
These were things that Li Mu couldn't figure out in the past. At this moment, he had an answer.
In the prisoner's carriage, Li Qing, whose eyes were originally closed, suddenly felt something. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in a direction.
The moment their gazes met, her body trembled. A hint of panic flashed across her face. She turned her face away as much as she could to prevent Li Mu from seeing her.
Liu Hanyan looked at the figure in the prisoner's carriage in shock. She instinctively let go of Li Mu's hand.
In the next moment, Li Mu grabbed her hand again.
She turned to look at Li Mu. Her heart instantly calmed down. She gripped Li Mu's hand tightly and then slowly let go.
She looked at Li Mu and said softly, "Go."
Li Mu nodded. He looked at her and said, "Wait for me at home."
…
After the prisoner's carriage entered the Divine Capital, it passed through a few streets and slowly drove to the entrance of the Ministry of Justice.
The culprit who had assassinated five officials of the imperial court would be temporarily detained in the Ministry of Justice to await trial by the imperial court. Based on her vile actions, she would be sentenced to death if nothing went wrong.
A moment later, in the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
Zhou Zhong walked into the prison and said to a few people, "You guys go out first."
All the prison guards had temporarily left. Zhou Zhong was the only one in front of the prison cell in the deepest part of the Ministry of Justice.
Zhou Zhong stood at the door of the prison cell and looked at the woman in the cell. His tone was extremely complicated. He said slowly, "Why didn't you listen to me? Do you know that this is a capital offense? Even I can't save you..."
Li Qing looked at him and asked, "If I listened to you, would I be able to clear my father's name? Would I be able to avenge my father, mother, and the entire Li family?"
Zhou Zhong shook his head and said, "You don't understand your father. He doesn't want you to avenge him. He only wants you to live well. I promised him that I would protect his bloodline. I also promised him that I would complete his unfinished business. He views this matter as more important than his life..."
He was silent for a long time. With his back facing Li Qing, he leaned weakly against the bars of the prison cell and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry..."
A smile appeared on Li Qing's face as she said, "You didn't let anyone down. You have done enough for me."
Zhou Zhong's lips moved. Just as he was about to speak, a furious voice suddenly came from outside the prison.
"Zhou, what are you doing in there alone? Come out!"
"I'll count to three. If you don't come out, I'll smash the door!"
"One..."
"Lord Li, Lord Li, calm down, calm down..."
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