Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 615: Diverting trouble to the east
In the west wing of the Censorate, the detained officials from the Ministry of Personnel were under great pressure.

They were interrogated every day, from different angles and based on different cases, which made them exhausted.

Especially Li Jianwu, the Left Selectman. His case had been reported to the Censorate before. Xiao Hongji took the initiative to show goodwill to him and gave him care. The matter was about to be settled, but Qiu Shunquan got into trouble and implicated him again.

In order to avoid repeated questioning of Li Jianwu by Xiao Yiran and others, Xiao Hongji had to restart the investigation of him.

Although Xiao Hongji's purpose was to keep Li Jianwu by his side and to protect him, Xiao Hongji was not the only one involved in the trial process, so he still had to do what he had to do.

Li Jianwu was already exhausted from dealing with this situation.

The most important thing is that as his direct subordinate, Qiu Shunquan's accusation was well-founded, which he could not refute.

Li Jianwu's purpose of delaying was, on the one hand, to avoid exposing his other problems and thus reduce his own guilt, and on the other hand, to delay until the Ministry of Personnel's counterattack was fully launched.

Li Jianwu woke up early in the morning, had breakfast without any appetite, and then waited for today's interrogation.

He knew that Xiao Hongji would bring him over early this morning and use the interrogation to get rid of the entanglement of Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze and others.

But today, after waiting for a long time and obviously exceeding the time limit, no one came to interrogate him. Li Jianwu couldn't help but start to worry.

Suddenly, Li Jianwu heard the sound of people passing by and talking outside the door.

At first, Li Jianwu was a little nonchalant until he heard this: "Experience Wen, have you searched Xiao Hongji's signing room?"

Li Jianwu was startled and immediately pricked up his ears.

"What? No search? No, no, no, we need to search his house and his signing room. He is the deputy censor of our Censorate. If nothing happens to him, who would dare to search his signing room? Maybe the most important things to him are kept there."

Then Wen Tian from the Experience Department agreed: "Okay, I will lead people to search right away."

Lu Chengze added: "Prisoner Wei, he should be detained farther away from the others, so that they don't have the opportunity to communicate with each other."

"Don't worry, Censor Lu. I will put him in custody next to the Jiali Treasury. It's remote and the houses there are bigger. After all, he is a member of our yamen. We can't treat him harshly, or it would seem inhumane."

"Not bad, not bad, you are still thoughtful..."

As the voices of several people gradually faded away, Li Jianwu's mind immediately started to work. Who? Who was being held there? Xiao Hongji? Could it be that...something had happened to Xiao Hongji?
Li Jianwu had thought about whether the words outside the door might be an intentional "bait" from the other party, but his common sense told him that this was impossible.

If Xiao Hongji hadn't gotten into trouble, he would have been the third in command of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Who would use the third in command of their own office as bait? To fabricate a crime for him?

Li Jianwu was interrogated by various censors every day, and was very familiar with the voices of Lu Chengze, Wen Tian, ​​Wei Shun and others.

Even if someone is bold enough to use his superior in the government office as bait, it is impossible that a few people conspired to do this. It would be too difficult to keep it a secret. Once the superior finds out, what will happen?
The three people outside the door just now are equivalent to the prosecutor, the office director and the captain of the judicial police. How could these three people get together to plot against their immediate superior?

Also, before being sent back to the detention room last night, Xiao Hongji said that he would be interrogated again early this morning.

If nothing happened to Xiao Hongji, why hasn't he been brought to trial until today?
……

Fan Shi, Fan Dong and Aunt Deng didn't even have breakfast, they rushed straight to Renmeifang.

That official is right, let’s go to Yang’s house for breakfast.

As soon as she entered Renmeifang, before she even found the Marquis's Mansion, Aunt Deng started crying at the top of her voice.

She cried and cursed, asking all the way about the location of Yang Yuan's mansion.

All the rich and powerful people lived in Renmeifang, and it was rare for them to encounter such a rare event, so all the mansions opened their doors upon hearing the news.

It is naturally not convenient for the owners of each household to go out to the streets to watch the excitement, but it is normal to send a servant out to find out what is going on.

Renmeifang, a place where high-ranking officials and nobles live, is equivalent to the high-end residential area in Lin'an. The head of Renmeifang is naturally no ordinary person.

His name is Li Youcai. He is experienced and has connections in the government.

The three members of the Fan family entered Renmeifang crying and making a fuss, and Li Youcai followed them with a few guards.

Gradually, from Aunt Deng's crying and cursing, Li Youcai figured out the purpose of their visit, and immediately sent a neighborhood guard to run to Yang's house to report the news.

Aunt Deng cried all the way, "She has no conscience. My family of three has no food to eat, we are starving and cold, and have no means of livelihood, but my biological daughter is just enjoying her life and doesn't care about her own parents."

Walking to the archway of "Three Prizes and One Di", Aunt Deng blew her nose and wiped it on the base of the stone pillar, and continued to cry: "Her dear brother broke both legs while working as a porter, and there was no money for treatment, but she didn't care, and he became a cripple... "

Li Youcai's expression suddenly straightened up. He strode forward and stopped in front of Aunt Deng with a gloomy face.

Fan Shi, who was pushing Fan Dong, was stunned. When he saw the man's behavior and demeanor, he felt a little timid, as he felt that the man seemed more majestic than the county magistrates he had seen.

He said humbly, "This... Sir, why are you stopping our family?"

Li Youcai pointed at the stone archway and said grimly, "You rude people, do you know what this is?"

Fan Shi was stunned for a moment, looked back, and asked tentatively: "Paifang?"

Li Youcai smiled coldly and asked, "What memorial archway?"

Fan Shi said at a loss: "I don't know, please teach me, sir."

“This is a memorial archway bestowed by the emperor!”

When Aunt Deng heard this, she pulled her old man back, put her hands on her hips, and said angrily, "What a bullshit jade archway! Do you think I've never seen jade? This is obviously just a piece of stone!"

The servants from various houses who were watching the scene immediately burst into laughter. Compared to this ignorant country bumpkin, they suddenly felt that they were well-informed.

Someone immediately smiled and explained to them: "Old woman, Li Fangzheng said it was gifted by the emperor, not made of jade. Do you know what is gifted by the emperor? It is a memorial archway built by the government, and it was built by the court."

Li Youcai said sternly: "This is an imperial memorial archway, and you, an old hag, dare to wipe your nose on it?"

When Aunt Deng heard this, her face turned pale and she said hesitantly, "I don't know. I can't read."

Fan Shi hurriedly apologized with a smile: "My lord, ignorance is not a crime, ignorance is not a crime."

Li Youcai sneered, "If ignorance is not a crime, then what do we need the government for? Well, considering your ignorance and that this is your first offense, I will not go too far and will not send you to the government for investigation. But you must clean this memorial archway for me. After cleaning it, rinse it with clean water at least seven times."

As soon as Li Youcai pursed his lips, a servant went to get a broom, a rag, a bucket and a ladder and placed them in front of the family of three.

Li Youcai put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Watch them. When they are done cleaning up, let them go."

After saying that, Li Youcai left.

Now that the task has been assigned to the Fan family of three, I believe the Yang family will have time to think of a countermeasure.

However... when he thought about the identities of this family of three, Li Fangzheng shook his head.

It is difficult for a judge to settle family disputes. No matter who handles this matter, it will be a headache and difficult!

Under the stone archway, Fan Shi and Deng were dumbfounded.

Deng just wiped his nose on the stone base, but judging from the situation, they were asked to climb up the ladder and clean the entire stone archway...seven times?
The male and female turned their heads and saw several guards with their arms folded, looking at them with ill intentions. They were so scared that they shrank back and dared not argue. They could only reluctantly lift the ladder and walk to the stone archway.

Fan Dong, sitting in a wheelchair, was alone in the scorching sun.

……

In the east courtyard of the Yang Mansion, Emmanuelle Belle and Fujiwara no Himeka had been sleeping for a long time and finally woke up.

When Belle saw Ji Xiang and recalled the craziness they had together last night, she felt a little embarrassed.

Himeka didn't care at all, not only did she have plenty of experience fighting alongside Kanon and Kona, but the older girl's past habits were far from serious.

Last night, when she turned against Yang Yuan and helped him deal with Bei'er, she took advantage of Bei'er quite a bit.

Seeing that Belle was shy, Ji Xiang became more and more outrageous. She slapped her plump buttocks hard and laughed.

"You and I are both women. There's nothing to be embarrassed about being coy."

After laughing for a while, Ji Xiang turned away and shouted angrily to the outside: "Didn't you hear that we are all awake? Come in and help us change clothes."

Duozi came in with a basin of water, and Ji Xiang glared at him again, "You are such a tactless person, why do you have to move!"

Bei Er couldn't bear it and said softly, "Ji Xiang, don't be so fierce. I think I'm very docile."

Ji Xiang said: "You don't understand, some people are born to be mean, if you treat her well, she will be very proud."

Duozi said nothing, but sneered in his heart.

You little stinky girl, just be so arrogant!
I've really got it in my mouth today, and I stole it right in front of you!

When I win the favor of Lord Yang Yuan, I'll show you how I'll deal with you, you little bitch!

Belle didn't know why the relationship between this "master and servant" was so strange, but Ji Xiang seemed to be just good at talking. She ordered this gentle and pretty little maid around and enjoyed ordering her around. Apart from that, she didn't do anything excessive, so there was nothing more to say.

They were both dressed and it was already bright outside, so Belle felt a little embarrassed.

Although it was Erlang who let her stay overnight, she couldn't help feeling shy when she went to Luxi to say goodbye after sleeping there until now.

Bei Er pulled Ji Xiang to cover her body and said, "Ji Xiang, I have to say goodbye to Madam Lu Xi. Please accompany me. I... am not familiar with the way to Yang Mansion."

Ji Xiang said carelessly: "Okay, I'll go with you, you don't have to worry too much, Lu Xi is gentle and has a good temper, he won't blame you."

The two came out of the east courtyard and went to the main room, where they saw the steward leading a guard standing in front of Luxi and saying something to her.

After the guard was accompanied by the steward outside, Ji Xiang pulled Bei'er and asked her to go forward and say goodbye.

Before Bei'er could speak, Luxi had already told little A'ta, "A'ta, go and ask Madam Danniang to come over. I have something to ask her."

Bei'er was about to resign, but when she saw Lu Xi's serious expression, she couldn't help but ask with concern, "Madam, is there anything troubling you?"

Lu Xi sighed and briefly introduced the grudge between Dan Niang and her family to Bei'er and Ji Xiang.

Although Lu Xi's words were very simple and without any exaggerated descriptions, Belle and Ji Xiang were still filled with indignation after hearing them.

After a while, Dan Niang, supported by Qingtang, hurried over. When she saw Luxi, Dan Niang couldn't help but shed tears.

She thought the nightmare that had plagued her since childhood had ended long ago, but she didn't expect that the nightmare would come again today.

The trouble with this matter was that she was indeed the biological daughter of Fan Shi and Aunt Deng. Even if those parents were not like parents, she could not completely cut off ties with them morally.

Even if you remove the bones and cut the meat, you can't actually sever this relationship.

Before, Yang Yuan was an ordinary citizen. With the letter of selling his concubine and the intimidation from people in Lin'an County, the Fan family could not get any benefits and had to return home in disgrace.

But now Yang Yuan has been promoted to the rank of Marquis, and has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Censor, and he is also the top scholar in the imperial examination. His identity, status, and influence are truly enormous.

Therefore, even if the Fan family made thousands of mistakes, if she turned a blind eye, it would have a huge impact on Yang Yuan's reputation.

This is the completely unreasonable aspect of etiquette: etiquette is more important than reason.

However, once she was forced to accept their extortion for the sake of her reputation, Dan Niang knew very well the character of the Fan family. They would be greedy and never stop.

"Sister, it's all Dan Niang's fault. It brought shame to the Yang family."

Dan Niang shed tears and said, "Dan Niang is their daughter, this cannot be refuted. With this relationship, no matter what we do, it will give those with ulterior motives an excuse to discredit Er Lang. Now there is no other way, only..."

Dan Niang wiped her tears and said resolutely: "Sister Luxi, please kick me out. If I have nothing to do with the Yang family anymore, they won't be able to use Dan Niang to slander Erlang."

There was a hint of madness in Dan Niang's resolute look. She not only wanted to leave the Yang family, she wanted to die together with the family of three.

Since the etiquette made it impossible for her to get rid of this bad family no matter what, and she was bound tightly by blood, then she would just die.

"Nonsense. It's obvious that someone instigated them to come here, and they want to use this as an excuse to slander my second brother. No matter what you do, they will not let my second brother go.

If they kick you out now, they will have an excuse even if they really want to disgust you. Your blood relationship with the Fan family cannot be severed. If you leave the Yang family, will your relationship with Erlang be severed? You are still pregnant with his child. If they kick you out, how will people in the world view him?"

Lu Xi lectured her a few times, and seeing her grief, he felt distressed, so he gently embraced her and said softly, "You are pregnant, don't be sad. You are a member of the Yang family, and the Yang family should naturally take responsibility for everything for you. I invited you here just to ask you in person, Dan Niang, have you completely drawn a line between you and the Fan family and are no longer bound by them?"

"Yes! I have been fed up with them for a long time. That damn etiquette can no longer restrain me. But, it can't restrain me, but it can restrain the mouths of all living beings. I can not care, but Erlang..."

Lu Xi interrupted her and said, "That's it, Qingtang, you help Sister Danniang back and take good care of her."

Lu Xi tightened Dan Niang's hand and said, "Just focus on taking care of the baby. I'll take care of this matter. Go ahead."

Luxi signaled to Ata, and Qingtang and Ata both stepped forward and helped Dan Niang back.

Lu Xi bit her lip and ordered in a deep voice: "The area inside the memorial archway is the territory of our Yang Mansion. No one from the Fan family is allowed to get close to the territory of our Yang Mansion. Send someone to watch over it. If they dare to take one step further, beat them out!"

Although Lu Xi hated the Fan family to death, he had no better solution.

Moreover, ruthlessly beating someone out will inevitably lead to slander and abuse.

Even if no one is fanning the flames, there will be many people in this world who ignore the evil that the Fan family has done to Dan Niang and blindly pursue "perfection" in terms of etiquette and law.

However, she and her second brother must protect Dan Niang.

If those people want to curse, let them curse. It won’t cost them anything.

She just didn't believe that the three members of the Fan family could stand there and curse for years.

Besides, you are allowed to disgust me, but I can't fight back?

Luxi was a girl born in the market, not a pure and innocent girl.

She waved to a family member and whispered, "Go to the left north wing and find a man named Xue Liang in the wing office..."

Lu Xi whispered some instructions and the family left.

The situation they are facing now is a bit like the mouse eating the elephant in the game of chess.

When the three scoundrels of the Fan family face off against the Yang family, it is like the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes.

Moreover, the people who instigated them to interfere with the Yang family were probably watching in secret, waiting for the Yang family to lose their patience and make a mistake.

Therefore, no matter what, the Yang family cannot move.

But the Yang family could do nothing about them, but the clerks in the government office had plenty of ways to deal with these petty people.

Xue Liang is Ya Ge's uncle, and now he works as a "Suoyou" in the township government office. Just say hello to him and Xue Suoyou will have his own ways to deal with them.

Luxi wants to see who can outlast the other.

Emmanuelle Belle stood aside, feeling angry and helpless.

The formation of etiquette and laws has given humans a code of conduct that is different from that of beasts.

However, some etiquette and laws that overemphasize certain principles have become shackles on people, and innocent people will become victims of etiquette and laws.

Etiquette is not unique to the East.

In Belle's hometown, the religion they believe in instills the same ideas.

"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother ..., all shall stone him to death. In this way you will put away the evil from among you."

“Whoever curses his father shall surely be put to death.”

“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his sin shall be upon him.”

Their teachings also believe that children must have absolute obedience to their parents, and disobedience is an evil act.

This is the concept instilled in them, and this etiquette also constrains Belle's thinking, making her unable to think of a way to break free.

However, Ji Xiang looked at their angry and helpless expressions and felt very confused.

Yang Yuan was a guy who could even defeat high-ranking officials like the Prime Minister and the six ministries, so why would he be controlled by these three low-level scoundrels?

They are Dan Niang's biological parents? So what!

The Japanese learned "loyalty, courage, righteousness, and courtesy" from the Han people and regarded them as their guiding principles, but they did not learn the word "filial piety".

They even tolerate people who kill their fathers.

When some samurai wanted to commit suicide, they would ask their sons to be the "kaishakunin", and the sons would gladly accept the offer.

Since Dan Niang has said that she has completely drawn a line between herself and those three bastards, wouldn't it be alright to just kill them?

Ji Xiang did what she thought and immediately rushed back to the East Courtyard.

Hanane and Konai would go back to the East Courtyard to rest during the day, and they were enjoying breakfast at this moment.

Ji Xiang rushed back in a hurry and slapped Hana on the shoulder: "Hey! Come on, can you two help me kill a few people?"

……

Yang Yuan said to investigate Zheng Gongqian first, so he really investigated Zheng Gongqian first.

On the morning of the second day after being detained in the Censorate, Zheng Gongqian was found hanged.

This turned out to be the first person he was tracked down.

Yang Yuan's tit-for-tat response effectively prevented the other party from continuing to make a fuss about someone's suicide.

Because the Zheng family members were either busy transferring their property or were taken to the Censorate for questioning, they were unable to organize an effective funeral procession.

Since the “victim” hasn’t shown up yet, the person behind the scenes fanning the flames can’t just do it all on his own, right?

Yang Yuan concentrated all his efforts on this investigation, and used the method of "knocking the mountain to scare the tiger" to expose the Zheng family's true colors, and finally caught Zheng Gongqian with solid evidence of his crimes.

Zheng Gongqian, Qiu Shunquan, Li Jianwu..., this line is connected.

Zheng Gongqian is dead, Qiu Shunquan has been recruited, so the next target of attack is Li Jianwu.

The Censorate is now "blossoming in all directions", but Yang Yuan has made "a small breakthrough".

Therefore, when Yang Yuan saw the evidence collected from the Zheng family presented by Xiao Yiran, he immediately decided to bring Li Jianwu to trial.

but……

Yang Yuan frowned and asked, "Is Deputy Xianxian Xiao still trying him?"

"No, Deputy Magistrate Xiao is ill due to overwork. He didn't come to the yamen today." Xiao Yiran answered with a sad face.

Yang Yuan glanced at him and suddenly felt that Xiao Bangyan, who looked honest, was actually a sinister person.

"Okay, then bring Li Jianwu over. Let's try to take him down today!"

Yang Yuan patted the pile of files and said, "The evidence is irrefutable. I wonder how he can deny it. As long as he confesses to one fatal crime, there is no need to keep the other crimes secret for him."

If torture is not an option, then bombing is not an option? After so many days, Li Jianwu should be on the verge of collapse, right?
Yang Yuan thought about it, and then he waved to Liu Dazhuang: "Dazhuang, I may have to be on night duty tonight. If I am still interrogating cases when the court is closed, go back and tell my wife."

When Li Jianwu was taken out of the room where he was detained, he pretended to move his hands and feet and secretly glanced in the direction of the Jiali Room.

The room that was originally used as a temporary resting place for the prison warden also had someone standing guard outside the door, and there were two more people arranged in front of the door than them.

Li Jianwu's heart sank immediately. Something really happened to Xiao Hongji!

A hint of sternness flashed across Li Jianwu's face.

Since Xiao Hongji is no longer of use to me, I will try to divert the blame to someone else.

My Ministry of Personnel is in chaos, and your Censorate must also be in chaos.

Li Jianwu was brought to the Right Assistant Hall. Yang Yuan listed the evidence of Li Jianwu's crime that he had found when investigating Zheng Gongqian's crime, and asked in a deep voice: "Li Jianwu, what is your defense for this?"

Li Jianwu avoided answering and said proudly: "Li will sue in court!"

"Whom to report?"

"Deputy Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, Xiao Hongji!"

(End of this chapter)