Then he saw an old man walking in from the door. He quickly put down his pen and stood up, "Old man, what can I do for you?"
This old man was dressed in coarse cloth and was poorly dressed, but the aura about him was frightening.
Li Changan stepped forward and saluted with clasped fists.
The old man walked into the courtyard gate, glanced at the pile of files on the table and the half-eaten bun next to him, nodded and said,
"I am going to Handong to offer wine to the Imperial Academy."
Li Changan's head jumped, the Imperial Academy offered wine!?
This is a very special official position.
In the Jin Dynasty, the first eunuch of the Fourth Court controlled most of the scribes.
Among the four courtyards and one prison, the Imperial College is the most special one, directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
Therefore, the Imperial College is the only one among the Four Courts and One Prison that has an official position in the court.
The person in charge of the Imperial College in the imperial court was the one who offered wine to the Imperial College.
A very noble man in the Jin Dynasty.
"I wonder why Xiang Jijiu is here?" Li Changan asked.
Xiang Handong walked into the yard, came to the table, turned around, clasped his fists and bent down towards Li Changan, and gave a deep salute.
Li Changan was startled for a moment. He quickly turned aside and stepped forward to help Xiang Handong up. "Why is Xiang Jijiu like this? The kid can't bear it."
Xiang Handong refused to get up.
Li Changan couldn't help him up even if he wanted to. He was caught off guard by this hand and could only say helplessly, "Xiang Jijiu, if you have anything to do, just tell me directly."
"You have great morals and high respect. I'm just a junior. I can't stand your courtesy."
Li Changan said something nice, Xiang Handong slowly stood up, then looked at Li Changan and said,
"I heard that Quanzi committed the serious crime of embezzling money and food for disaster relief, so I came here to plead guilty to Uncle Zhongyong."
Li Changan was stunned for a moment, and quickly thought of the only person named Xiang among the fourteen Yunyang County officials.
"Xiang Hongke, Commander-in-Chief, is... your noble son?"
He nodded heavily to Handong, "It's Quanzi."
Li Chang'an stepped forward and helped Xiang Handong sit down, "Xiang Jijiu, your young master is guilty, and there are court laws to convict him. It's useless for you to find me."
Xiang Handong's hair and beard are all white, and he looks quite old. When he speaks, he looks even more aged, "I have been working hard and dedicated to the Jin Dynasty all my life."
"I never thought but neglected to discipline my children. Hong Ke's mother died when he was a child, and he was sent to another place when he grew up."
"So in some matters, it is inevitable to act in a biased manner."
Xiang Handong grabbed Li Changan's hand, with sadness in his voice.
"Uncle Zhongyong, I only have this one son."
"If I could, I would sacrifice my old bones to take the blame for him."
Li Changan sighed softly and interrupted Xiang Handong's words.
"Xiang Jijiu, this case is now being heard by Dali Temple. It's useless for you to find me."
Xiang Handong grabbed Li Changan's hand and said, "I know that Zhongyongbo killed fourteen chief officials of Yunyang County."
"According to the laws of the imperial court, embezzlement of money and food for disaster relief and demotion of official position is already a huge crime and punishment. Why do they have to kill them all like this?"
"Originally, I should have cheered for Uncle Zhongyong's vigorous actions, but Hongke is my only son..."
"The love for licking a calf is so deep... I can only lick my face to beg the loyal and brave uncle and show my noble hand."
With that said, Xiang Handong bent down to salute again.
Li Changan quickly supported Xiang Handong, found one of the volumes from the pile of files on the desk, opened it and placed it in front of him.
"Xiang Jijiu, you are an honest official, you have the wind on your sleeves, and you are upright."
"If you were to try this case, how would you try it?"
"Inside this is the list of names of some of the Yunyang County Hundreds who died of starvation."
"A thin piece of paper is worth fifty lives."
"You can count how many there are in here."
Li Changan turned out another volume, two volumes, three volumes...
"There's more here..."
Xiang Handong's face instantly turned extremely pale, and his hands were trembling as he looked at the names in front of him.
So many human lives are too heavy.
It can almost make people breathless.
Li Changan didn't speak anymore, just stood aside and watched Xiang Handong flipping through the roster one by one.
The only sound left in the yard was the sound of paper being turned.
for a long time,
Xiang Handong closed the register, stood up slowly, and bowed deeply to Li Changan, "I'm sorry for bothering Uncle Zhongyong."
"To offer wine..." Li Changan returned the gift, "Please take care..."
He nodded to Handong, his back instantly hunched over, and he walked out of the courtyard step by step.
Li Changan watched Han Dong leave and let out a long sigh.
The Imperial Academy was a dignified person with great respect for nobles and nobility, but to have such a son was really a pity.
His heart also softened a bit.
However, looking at the list of hundreds of names piled high in front of him, Li Changan's eyes returned to coldness again.
The life of Xiang Jijiu’s son is life, but are these people not human lives?
If it were just an ordinary crime, he would not have murderous intentions.
But if these officials of Yunyang County committed such crimes, they must be sent down to apologize to the people who died because of them.
…
When Xiang Handong returned to the county government office, Lian Yuesong came forward to greet him and asked, "Xiang Jijiu, how is the situation?"
He returned the salute to Handong, then shook his head feebly.
Lian Yuesong said, "Don't worry, Xiangjiujiu. According to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, your young master will only be demoted three levels at most."
At this time, Qin Zhenliang's voice also came from the void, "Yes, this case will never let Li Changan do whatever he wants again."
"As long as the case is concluded in the future, it will not be overturned."
"It is absolutely impossible for Li Changan to take this opportunity to launch an attack."
Qin Zhenliang walked out of the void.
He cupped his fists and saluted both Han Dong and Lian Yuesong.
No matter who you are, unless you are also a third-grade scholar, other people must be polite when meeting a third-grade scholar.
After saluting Han Dong, he sighed softly, "I just went to see Uncle Zhongyong and wanted to ask for mercy, but it was useless."
"We can only ask Qin Xianggong and Master Lian."
"Don't worry, Xiang Jijiu, Li Changan's butcher knife will never be able to hit the head of one of our three hospitals and one prisoner."
Qin Zhenliang promised.
…
Time keeps passing,
In the blink of an eye it's a new day.
Although Li Changan was sitting in the courtyard, his heart had already flown to the county town.
The whole person seemed calm, but inside he was already anxious.
Tomorrow is the day to hear the case.
But there was still no news coming from Feng Buyi.
What if the person is still not found during the trial of the case.
The last chance to kill the fourteen chief officials of Yunyang County was about to slip away before his eyes.
Li Changan looked at the file in his hand and didn't even turn out a page for a long time.
Can't read a single word.
After going through countless major events, he still couldn't help but feel upset at this moment.
The stack of thick lists of names of hundreds of people who had died of hunger was like a mountain, weighing him down and suffocating him.
There is also Zhang Weimin, who is deeply respected and loved by the people of Zewu County, even risking his own life to get a chance to redress the injustice.
If witnesses cannot be brought before tomorrow's trial, so many people's deaths will really be in vain.
At the entrance of the courtyard, some people were cautiously poking their heads, but they did not dare to disturb Li Changan.
The case will be retried tomorrow, and Li Changan is not the only one who is impatient.
These people were also impatient.
"Master Li should be able to avenge Master Zhang tomorrow, right?"
"Definitely. Hasn't Gou Ermao already told Mr. Li everything he knows?"
"Do you think it's that simple?" said a commoner,
"I don't know whether the person Gou Ermao is talking about is alive or dead. Besides, he is not sure whether he is definitely related to Mr. Zhang's death."
"Even if it's really that person, that person is still alive, but trying to find that person is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Tomorrow we will put those dog officials on trial."
"I'm afraid I won't make it in time..."
Niu Dachuan said to the others, "Tomorrow we will go to the county government office to petition."
"I beg the imperial envoy from the capital to review the death case of Mr. Zhang."
"If the Imperial Envoy agrees, we can buy more time for Mr. Li."
"Even if there is only a slight chance, we must give it a try!"
Other people nodded, "Okay, let's go petition tomorrow!"
The sun moves westward little by little,
Dusk falls.
Li Changan sat in the courtyard, lost in thought.
It wasn't until Xue Shiqing came over to deliver the dossier that he came back to his senses.
"Are you, Senator, worried about tomorrow's case?"
Li Changan rubbed his eyebrows, piled the files aside, and sighed softly, "Yes..."
"We have stayed in Yunyang County long enough. We have to go to the next county. Otherwise, we don't know how long it will take to finish all the three huge southern prefectures."
"If we don't kill those dog officials before leaving Yunyang County, how can we be worthy of the hundreds of thousands of people who died because of them?"
Xue Shiqing said, "There will be a retrial tomorrow. Now Songyue Academy's Third Grade Xianggong, Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and the Imperial Academy's Sacrifice Wine are all in charge of the county government."
"If the Senator cannot find any physical or personal evidence proving the death of County Magistrate Zhang Weimin, I'm afraid he won't be able to kill those people."
Li Changan nodded.
Xue Shiqing took the opportunity to persuade and said, "Senior Councilor, in this kind of matter, it is enough to do everything humanly and obey fate."
"You have done your best. Even if you can't kill those people, I believe the people will understand."
"Those three big shots are trying to stop me, so why do you insist on resisting?"
Li Changan let out a long breath, always feeling panic-stricken in his heart.
If it hadn't been for the third-grade scholar from Songyue Academy, even if Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple and the Imperial Academy had come to offer wine, he would never have gone to such great lengths.
The third level of grammar is enough to suppress the two court officials who have not reached the third level.
However, a third-grade scholar showed up, and his plan to kill him by force was in vain.
Xue Shiqing persuaded him a few more words, then said goodbye and left.
Li Changan sat alone in the dark courtyard, saying nothing.
The night was as dark as ink, and there was silence everywhere.
The night in early February was still bitingly cold.
Li Changan was like a statue, sitting like this until there was a faint light in the east.
"well……"
Li Changan's eyes moved, but they were still empty.
Still can't find that person?
It was already dawn, and there was not much time left before the retrial.
At this time, someone knocked on the open courtyard door.
Li Changan looked and saw that it was Niu Dachuan and Gou Ermao.
Gou Ermao knelt on the ground with a pop and cried, "It's my fault for wasting time. If I had told you earlier, you would have found that person."
"It's all my fault!"
"It's all my fault..."
"Crack!"
Gou Ermao burst into tears and slapped himself hard on the face.
Just as he was about to slap him a second time, Li Changan grabbed his wrist and said, "Brother Ermao, what are you doing?"
"If I can't find anyone, that should be my problem.
Gou Ermao lowered his head and his body kept twitching.
Niu Dachuan on the side said, "Sir, we are going to go to the county government office to petition, pleading to hear the case of Mr. Zhang's murder."
"If it succeeds, Mr. Li will have more time..."
Li Changan patted Niu Dachuan's shoulder and finally nodded solemnly.
He knew that no one would accept such a petition.
But apart from using such powerless methods, everyone has no other way to seek justice for Zhang Weimin.
Even if there is only a slight chance, you have to do it.
Niu Dachuan left with Gou Ermao.
As soon as the genius had the slightest glimmer of light, many people began to walk to the county government office one after another.
Li Changan couldn't bear to close his eyes, and there was a strong intolerance and sadness in his heart.
Just then,
The Thousand Mile Transmission Symbol he was holding tightly in his hand suddenly trembled violently.