After making these arrangements, the following matters could not be rushed. All they could do was wait.
Liu Hanyan was playing the zither in the courtyard. Li Mu listened as he peeled the spiritual orange the Empress had just given him and fed it to her. When he turned around and saw Wanwan and Xiao Bai staring at him, he also fed them a few pieces.
When the song ended, Liu Hanyan turned around and asked, "How's the matter with Constable Li?"
Li Mu said, "The Imperial Court has already asked the Imperial Clan Court and the Supreme Court to investigate again. Everything is going according to plan."
Liu Hanyan suddenly asked, "When she left you, it was to avenge her family, right?"
This question caught Li Mu off guard.
From the moment Li Qing appeared in the Divine Capital, she had never asked Li Mu where he went or what he did every day. She had also never asked him about Li Qing.
However, Li Mu knew that she definitely cared.
If there was anyone in this world who could make him feel threatened, it would be Li Qing.
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "She withdrew from the Fu-lu School. She didn't tell all her friends because she didn't want to implicate the sect and us."
Liu Hanyan was silent for a moment and then whispered, "If Constable Li hadn't left at that time, could it be …"
Li Mu hugged her from behind and said, "There's no 'if'. We're already husband and wife. I've already given you my primordial yang that I've treasured for twenty years. What are you still worried about?"
Liu Hanyan whispered, "I was worried that after you met Constable Li, you wouldn't want me anymore. Clearly, she was the first person you met and the first person you liked …"
Li Mu suddenly realized that he might have been too busy with Li Qing these past few days and neglected her.
Liu Hanyan seemed to be strong and opinionated, but in reality, the experience of being abandoned by her parents when she was young made her easily lose her sense of security.
Coincidentally, Li Qing was the person who made her feel the most insecure.
Li Mu felt a little guilty. He hugged her tighter and said, "What are you thinking? If I don't want you, where can I find another pure Yin body that is so young, so beautiful, so versatile, and so good in the kitchen? You will always be the first wife of the Li family. In the future, no matter who enters this family, they will have to listen to you …"
After being comforted by Li Mu, Liu Hanyan's worries for the past few days had disappeared. While she was feeling touched, she seemed to have realized something and asked, "Who else will enter the house in the future?"
"I'm just giving an example …"
"When you make an analogy, who are you thinking of?"
Li Mu gave Xiao Bai a look, and Xiao Bai immediately ran over. She took Liu Hanyan's hand and said, "Whether it's in the past or in the future, Sister Wanwan and I will listen to Sister Liu …"
Li Mu took the opportunity to get away and said, "I'll go to Old Zhang's house to ask about the progress of the case …"
The Zhang Mansion was also in the North Court, not far from the Li Mansion. Li Mu left the house and walked a few hundred steps.
Inside the Zhang Mansion.
"Think about it. How old are you? Why don't you find a husband and stay at home all day? When can you get married like this?"
"I won't get married, okay?"
"You still dare to talk back?"
…
Hearing the quarrel from the inner courtyard, Zhang Chun looked helpless. At a certain moment, she noticed that the footsteps in the inner courtyard were getting closer. She immediately picked up a broom and started sweeping the yard.
Mrs. Zhang walked out of the inner courtyard. She wanted to find a place to vent, but when she saw Zhang Chun cleaning the yard obediently, she didn't want to lose her temper. She turned around and walked into the inner courtyard. She shouted, "Do you think I won't scold you if you hide in the house? Open the door …"
As soon as Li Mu walked into the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Chun threw down the broom and said, "You're finally here. If there's anything, let's talk outside …"
Not long after, in a wine shop on the streets of Luoyang, Zhang Chun drank a few cups and complained about his disobedient daughter and irritable middle-aged wife. Then he said, "You're here to ask about the progress of Li Yi's case, right?"
Li Mu nodded and asked, "How's the investigation going?"
Zhang Chun shook his head and said, "It's easy to prove a person's guilt, but it's harder than reaching the sky to prove his innocence. Besides, although the imperial court has compromised this time, it's only on the surface. The Zongzheng Temple and the Supreme Court won't spend too much effort. If the few minor officials who left the Ministry of Personnel were still alive, it's possible to find a breakthrough from them. But they've all died in the hands of Constable Li. And just yesterday, the only old official who had been in the Ministry of Personnel for more than ten years was found dead in his home. He died of old age …"
Li Mu raised his wine cup and slowly twirled it between his fingers.
How could there be such a coincidence in the world? When the imperial court wanted to investigate Li Yi's case from fourteen years ago, the only person from the Ministry of Personnel who had personally witnessed the incident died of old age.
Even if Li Qing didn't kill those people for revenge, they would probably die in the next few days due to various reasons.
There were too many people who didn't want them to find out the truth of the incident.
Li Yi's main crime back then was treason with the enemy. The officials from the Ministry of Personnel accused him of leaking important secrets of the imperial court to a certain demon nation. This led to the Department of Imperial Offerings suffering heavy losses in the war with the demon nation. Almost all of them were wiped out. Because of this case, Li Yi's entire family was exterminated. Only one daughter escaped because she was not in the Divine Capital …
There was no way to find out the truth of what had happened back then. Even the most powerful cultivators could not divine a trace of the heavenly secrets.
It was too difficult to overturn the case for him …
Ministry of Personnel.
Left Assistant Minister Chen Jian clasped his hands at a middle-aged man and said with a smile, "Minister, don't worry. Even if they investigate again, they won't find anything …"
The person standing in front of him was the Minister of Personnel, Xiao Yun. At the same time, he was also the Duke of Nanyang, a core member of the old party.
More than ten years ago, he was still the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Now, he was the head of the Ministry of Personnel.
He looked at Chen Jian and asked, "Are you sure you didn't miss anything?"
Chen Jian smiled and said, "Originally, there were quite a few of them, but they were all killed by Li Yi's daughter. Does this count as lifting a rock and smashing one's own foot? This official would like to know what expression she would have if she knew about this …"
The Minister of Personnel nodded and said, "That's good …"
In the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Li Qing lowered her head in self-blame and said, "I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, they might have had a chance …"
Li Mu comforted her and said, "You don't have to blame yourself. Even without you, they wouldn't have survived these few days. Those people wouldn't have let them live. Don't worry, I'll think of something …"
Li Mu was most worried that Li Qing would feel guilty and blame herself.
After comforting her, he walked out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and met Zhou Zhong outside the temple.
Zhou Zhong looked at him indifferently and said, "Give up. If this goes on, Li Yi's ending will be your ending."
Li Mu looked at him and turned to leave.
Zhou Zhong asked, "You really don't want to give up?"
Li Mu looked back at him and said in a deep voice, "I'm not you. I will never give up on her. Never!"
Zhou Zhong looked at Li Mu's departing figure until it disappeared from his sight. Only then did a faint smile appear at the corner of his mouth.
From afar, one could see that his figure was slightly hunched, as if he had put down something important.
Ziwei Palace.
There wasn't anything important in today's morning court. Li Yi's case, which had been a hot topic for the past few days, became the focus of the court's discussion.
Although the court had ordered a reinvestigation of this case, even with the combined efforts of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Supreme Court, they couldn't find a single clue.
After all, 14 years had passed since this case. Almost all the clues had disappeared in the river of time. It was as difficult as ascending to the heavens to find a new clue.
In the great hall, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the evidence for Li Yi's case was conclusive back then. Investigating it now is already an exception. We can't keep wasting the court's resources because of this case …"
The Minister of Works, Zhou Chuan, also stepped forward and said, "The Fu-lu School wants to investigate this case. The court has already satisfied them and given them an explanation. The court has its dignity and can't be forced by them …"
The officials of the New Party and the Old Party had already spoken. Their wishes represented the wishes of most of the court. If His Majesty still insisted, it would damage the court's dignity and the officials in the court would not agree.
At this moment, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Zhong, also stepped forward.
The officials in the court already knew that the New Party and the Old Party had joined forces to settle Li Yi's case.
Under everyone's gaze, Zhou Zhong walked to the center of the court, took off his official hat, and slowly knelt down.
When the officials saw this, they were all stunned.
"Lord Zhou is …"
"Why is he kneeling?"
"Why did he take off his official hat?"
…
The officials were in an uproar. In front of the crowd, Prince Shou stared blankly at the kneeling Zhou Zhong and muttered, "Good fellow …"
Zhou Zhong knelt on the ground and placed his official hat beside him. He touched the ground with his head and said loudly, "I'm guilty!"
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