Li Mu looked at Liu Yi and said with a smile, "Lord Liu, this is a spirit orange carefully cultivated by the South Commandery. If a mortal can eat one, they will not be invaded by diseases for three years …"
Liu Yi was speechless for a moment. Finally, he sighed and asked, "Have you thought about it, Lord Li?"
Li Mu said, "I once made a great vow to establish my heart for the world and my life for the people. How can I watch the heroes of the Great Zhou be framed by villains and leave behind a torrent of infamy in history?"
Liu Yi picked up the pen helplessly and said, "Give me two more oranges."
Li Mu stretched out his hand and two more spirit oranges appeared in his hand.
Liu Yi signed his name on the document and shook his head. "I hope Lord Li has good luck."
Li Mu clasped his fist and said, "Thank you, Lord Liu."
Liu Yi waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. This document has to be handed over. It's useless for me to sign it …"
Li Mu said again, "Lord Liu, please give this to the head of the secretariat."
When he left the assistant minister's office, he took away the orange peel on the table and threw it away for Liu Yi.
Liu Yi hurriedly said, "Lord Li, please wait. I'll soak the orange peel in water …"
Ordinary people could not even get the orange peel of the spirit orange that was specially offered by the royal family. Li Mu decided to finish the orange and collect the orange peel. In the future, when he asked Liu Yi for help, he would give him a few taels each time. After all, it was not good to ask for help empty-handed.
Li Mu alone could not make the decision to reinvestigate the old case from 14 years ago.
After his proposal, it needed to go through the assistant minister and head of the secretariat first. Then, it would be handed over to the minister for review. Finally, it would be handed over to the minister for implementation. Li Mu could only deal with Liu Yi.
The Liu family was one of the oldest surnames in the Great Zhou. It was one of the nine surnames. Although it was not as powerful as the Xiao family and the Zhou family in the imperial court, it could not be underestimated. At the very least, Liu Yi did not have to be afraid of the old and new parties.
When Liu Yi saw Li Mu walk out of the Assistant Minister's Office, she put away the orange peel, picked up the document, and went to another office.
He placed the booklet on the table and said, "Sir, this booklet is from Li Sheren."
The head of the secretariat stroked the long beard on his chin and opened the booklet. After looking at it, he pondered for a moment and signed his name on it. He handed it back to Liu Yi and said, "Pass it to the door."
Moments later, in Menxia Province.
It was a letter from the Secretariat. After it was delivered to the Menxia Province, it was passed down through the ranks until it finally reached the hands of two attendants.
The attendant was a provincial official. The two of them looked at the booklet in front of them and fell silent.
Censorate Li Mu of the Secretariat submitted a memorial, requesting that the case of Left Assistant Minister Li Yi of the Ministry of Appointments, who had colluded with the enemy and committed treason fourteen years ago be reopened. The resolution of the Secretariat was passed and submitted to the Ministry of Interior for discussion.
If a fourth-ranked official of the imperial court was framed for the extermination of his family or was framed for treason, it was only natural that he would be thoroughly investigated.
However, the implications of this case were too broad. Both the old and new parties were implicated.
It was fine if the case could not be reopened.
Once the case was reopened, two out of the six ministers of the imperial court would be sentenced to death. One of them was the important minister of the Ministry of Appointments.
Other than the ministers of the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of Works, the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Appointments would be sentenced to death. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice would be sentenced to death. Even if the other high-ranking officials in the imperial court were not sentenced to death, they would not be able to escape severe punishment.
In this way, the imperial court would be in chaos. Perhaps it would give an opportunity to those with ulterior motives.
Compared to this matter, whether or not Li Yi was wronged was not so important.
One of the attendants shook his head and said, "The big picture is more important."
The other attendant nodded and said, "Agree."
Li Mu ate two oranges. Before he went to the yamen, the booklet he had handed out was returned to his hands.
His request to reinvestigate Li Yi's case was rejected by the Ministry of Family Affairs.
In the three provinces, the Secretariat of the Secretariat wrote the edict in the tone of the emperor and had to be submitted to the Ministry of Interior for review.
If the Ministry of Interior passed, they would sign their review opinion on the edict and send it back to the Secretariat. The Secretariat would pass it to the emperor. After the emperor gave his final approval, it would be sent back to the Ministry of Interior.
If the Ministry of Interior did not pass, they would also send the memorial back to the Secretariat. Sometimes, they would let the Secretariat revise it before sending it back. Sometimes, they would just write the word "reject" and directly reject it, not giving anyone a chance.
The booklet on Li Mu's desk had the word "reject" written at the end.
This meant that the Ministry of Interior did not agree to reopen the case.
This kind of thing was very normal. Not to mention the Secretariat, they even dared to reject the emperor's opinion. They could be said to be the most ruthless department in the imperial court.
Of course, if the empress was stubborn, she could bypass the Ministry of Interior and directly give the order. But in that way, the order in the imperial court would be in chaos. This was not what Li Mu wanted.
In any case, he did not expect the Ministry of Interior to agree. This booklet was just a prelude.
His purpose was to send a signal to those people — he had accepted Li Yi's case.
After that, Li Mu did not mention this matter again. He left the Secretariat and went straight home.
There were no secrets between the various departments in the imperial court.
Li Mu wanted to reopen the old case of Li Yi from fourteen years ago. The fact that his memorial was rejected by the Ministry of Interior spread to the various departments after it was sent to the yamen.
Ministry of Personnel.
Right Assistant Minister Gao Hong had just received the news from the Ministry of Interior. He said with a dark face, "That Li Mu really wants to reopen the case for Li Yi …"
Left Assistant Minister Chen Jian sneered and said, "He wants to reopen the case? He can't even get past the Ministry of Interior. Which one of those old fellows there isn't a shrewd old man? The stability of the imperial court is what they care about. They don't care if Li Yi died unjustly …"
Gao Hong said worriedly, "That Li Mu has the shadow of Li Yi from back then. He also has the emperor's protection. Sooner or later, he will become a big problem for us …"
Chen Jian said coldly, "Let him jump around. When he jumps around to the point where both sides can't stand it anymore, he will be the next Li Yi. Just wait and see. As long as he dares to insist on reopening the case of Li Yi, even if we don't kill him, the court officials will kill him!"
Regarding this matter, there were many opinions from the other ministries.
"This person is still so reckless. How many people are involved in Li Yi's case?"
"This Li Mu is basically the second Li Yi. Even Li Yi back then wasn't as bold as him."
"It's just that this time, he's too whimsical. I just don't know if the emperor will still go along with him."
"Could he have fed the emperor some kind of bewitching potion? Why is the emperor so good to him? Apart from being a little talented and a little handsome, there's nothing special about him. The emperor can't be so shallow as to be fooled by his looks, right?"
"If this old case is thoroughly investigated, it will have a huge impact on the situation in the imperial court. Both the old and new parties will be greatly affected because of this, which is not conducive to the stability of the overall situation. If the emperor ignores the overall situation and the Great Zhou for the sake of Li Mu …"
"This is a favored official messing up the government …"
"If he is not eliminated, the Great Zhou will not be peaceful …"
…
Once the news of Li Mu's suggestion to reopen the case of Li Yi spread, it caused widespread discussion in the imperial court.
In the hearts of some of the officials, the truth of Li Yi's case was no longer important.
What was important was whether the emperor's love and care for Li Mu had reached the limit of what an official should bear.
Many times, there was no clear boundary between a treacherous official and a loyal official.
Although what he did was righteous, if the imperial court collapsed because of him and the Great Zhou fell into a crisis, then he would be a treacherous official who brought disaster to the country and the people.
This kind of treacherous official should be eliminated by all the officials.
There were even many officials who had a grudge against Li Mu. They were secretly plotting whether they should take advantage of this opportunity to join forces with their respective parties to clean up the emperor and punish the traitorous officials …
However, during the morning court, Li Mu remained silent and did not mention a single word about the old case.
This was not unexpected by some officials.
Perhaps he also realized that if he wanted to investigate the old case, it would involve too many people. Not only would he not be able to find any results, but he would also be implicated. Thus, he was afraid of retreating …
This made some people feel disappointed.
Compared to Li Mu retreating in the face of difficulties, they hoped that he would walk this path to the end. This would give them a chance to get rid of him.
Just like this, the matter that had caused widespread discussion in the various departments yesterday was not mentioned in the morning court today.
Just as the officials thought that this matter was going to be forgotten, Mr. Mei walked in from outside the hall. He walked behind the curtain and seemed to say something to the Empress.
Soon, the Empress's voice came from behind the curtain.
"Enter."
A figure slowly floated into the Crepe Myrtle Hall. He bowed to the Empress behind the curtain and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
This was a middle-aged man wearing a moon-white Taoist robe. His hair was tied up in a tall crown, and he looked like an immortal.
On the left chest of his Taoist robe was embroidered the symbol of a white cloud.
"White Cloud Mountain?"
"Moon-White Taoist robe, a second-generation disciple of the Fu-lu School. Could he be the head of one of the peaks?"
"What is the head of the Fu-lu School doing in the Divine Capital?"
…
The officials looked at the middle-aged man in confusion. Although the Fu-lu School and the imperial court cooperated, it was limited to low-level disciples. This was the first time they saw such an important figure of the Fu-lu School in the Divine Capital, in this golden hall.
The Empress asked calmly, "Taoist Hyun Jinko, why have you come to the Divine Capital?"
Hyun Jinko said, "I am here on the orders of the Headmaster for one person."
The Empress asked, "Who?"
Hyun Jinko said, "Her name is Li Qing. She is the direct disciple of the Headmaster."
Most of the officials in the imperial court did not know who Li Qing was. The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel's expression changed slightly. He walked forward and said, "Li Qing has killed many imperial court officials and is a serious criminal. Does the Fu-lu School want to protect her?"
Hyun Jinko shook his head and said, "No. The Fu-lu School supports the Great Zhou court. If a Fu-lu School disciple violates the law, the court can punish them according to the law. However, the Headmaster knows that Martial Niece Li's family was wrongly killed more than ten years ago. He hopes that the court can follow the law and give her an explanation, and also give the Fu-lu School an explanation."
The moment he said this, the imperial court fell silent.
The Assistant Minister of Personnel was probably talking about Li Yi's daughter.
If the Fu-lu School wanted the court to give them an explanation, wasn't it asking the court to reinvestigate the case?
If this matter was found out by Li Mu, the Provincial Court would reject the case and it would be over.
However, the Fu-lu School was a colossus that was not inferior to the Great Zhou court. Mount Baiyun was located in the extreme north of the Great Zhou. The Ancestral Court of Fu-lu School was the Great Zhou's first line of defense against the Yao Kingdom and the Ghost Realm in the north. Their orthodoxy was spread throughout the Great Zhou. The court could only be kind and not evil …
However, for the sake of the Fu-lu School, reinvestigating the case of the past would cause unrest in the court. Of course, this was not allowed.
The court had to lower their stance and calmly reason with the Fu-lu School. Even if they refused, they had to show the court's sincerity.
This way, even they could not force the court.
One of the attendants stood up and cleared his throat. Just as he was about to speak, an angry roar suddenly came from the front of the court.
Prince Shou's face was full of anger. He pointed at Hyun Jinko's nose and scolded, "The Great Zhou is the Great Zhou of the court. Why does the court need to explain its actions to others? Who does your Fu-lu School think you are? How dare you teach the court how to do things …"
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