Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 355 Treating the symptoms rather than the root cause

She thought about it for a long time, but couldn't come up with a perfect solution yet.

From Lin Zhiqing's perspective, none of these three people are allies of the Lin family, so it would be best to kick them aside.

But this raises a new question: if these three are removed, won't the others who take their places pose a threat?
In that case, it will only start a new cycle, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

The best way to overcome these three obstacles is to start with the three individuals themselves.

Whether through coercion or bribery, those who can be kept should be kept, and those who cannot be kept should be eliminated; this is a more prudent approach.

Because of the incident involving the mole-faced woman, the Minister of Justice had become enemies with Jiang Liuyun.

But this hatred seems to have nothing to do with Jiang Yunhe. In other words, the only person who cares about the life or death of the mole-faced woman is Jiang Liuyun, not Jiang Yunhe.

This is the person Lin Zhiqing needs to control most right now.

Factional strife has always been like this!
Currently, the Minister of Justice, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Vice Censor-in-Chief are all enemies, not friends, and this is where the biggest problem lies in this retrial.

Lin Zhiqing's fear wasn't the lack of evidence, but rather that these people were colluding with the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion, taking a biased stance during the investigation and favoring the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion.

That's why she had to find a way to break the alliance between these people and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion, so that she could overcome these three major obstacles.

At this stage, this is her biggest goal!

It is still uncertain what stance the Censor-in-Chief has, but since the former Censor-in-Chief had convicted the Lin family, Lin Zhiqing has temporarily categorized him as an enemy.

Zhou Chongzheng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is an old fox. He rarely leaves any evidence of his actions, but Lin Zhiqing's intuition tells her that everything Zhou Chongzheng does is beneficial to the Jiang family.

The fact that the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review initially did not want to take on the matter concerning his cousin, and later dared not take it on, further confirms this point.

The Minister of Justice is the most easily swayed person.

On the one hand, the Lin family knew about his filthy relationship with the Zhenyuan Marquis's family and also about the mole-faced woman. The Minister of Justice certainly didn't have a good impression of the Lin family.

On the other hand, Jiang Yunhe is cautious in his actions and will certainly try to clean up the mess left by Jiang Liuyun and win the position of Minister of Justice.

Therefore, the most urgent matter at present is to completely sever ties between the Minister of Justice and the Jiang family.

How can we ensure a complete break between the Minister of Justice and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's household, leaving no possibility of a renewed alliance?

A shadow crossed Lin Zhiqing's brows. She remembered that Lu Huai had once mentioned that the son of the Minister of Justice was a man who couldn't control his desires.

The opportunity for the Minister of Justice to form a united front with Jiang Liuyun arose because the Minister of Justice's son had abused a girl on the frontier, and Jiang Liuyun covered it up for him.

Lin Zhiqing knew about this matter, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to use it to threaten the Minister of Justice.

However, the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion also holds this handle, and with the two forces clashing, it's easy to push the person in the middle to the other side.

Lin Zhiqing felt that this method was not very reliable.

Firstly, if the threat is too great, it is easy to suffer a backlash, and you may end up losing more than you gain.

Secondly, Lin Zhiqing had her own selfish motives; she didn't want the Minister of Justice's beastly son to die a peaceful death.

Considering both of these points, threats are definitely not an option.

What if it's a bribe?

The moment the thought crossed Lin Zhiqing's mind, she quickly shook her head.

The Lin family's current wealth is not only comparable to that of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion, but it is probably not even comparable to that of an average wealthy family.

To suggest that bribery is simply unreliable.

Neither coercion nor bribery worked.

Lin Zhiqing fell into deep thought.

Just as she was pondering, a loud bang came from the window. Lin Zhiqing frowned, holding a flute in one hand and a dagger in the other, and spoke cautiously:
"who?"

"Aqing, it's me." A gentle voice rang out.

Lin Zhiqing was taken aback, and his hand holding the weapon loosened slightly, but he quickly tightened it again.

It's Lu Huai!
She showed no intention of opening the window, but simply walked over slowly, her voice indifferent:

What brings you here?

“Yesterday I heard from Yunfeng that you and Miss Lin were not doing well, so I came to check on you.” Lu Huai noticed Lin Zhiqing’s coldness and felt heartbroken.

Lin Zhiqing's attitude remained cold and hard: "I'm fine, please leave."

Lu Huai wanted to say something more, but looking at the tightly closed window, he was speechless for a moment.

After a while, he finally spoke:
"Alright, it's good that you're alright. I heard that Miss Lin was seriously injured and brought some Five-Cleansing Dew with her."

"Thank you, Young Master Lu. I cannot accept such a reward without having done so. I will have Chaoyan deliver the money for the medicine to the Lu family later."

"If there's nothing else, you may leave."

Hearing this, Lu Huai paused in placing the medicine, and gave a bitter smile:
"Ah Qing, what happened before was my fault. I shouldn't have hidden it from you, but can you give me a chance? I..."

"Young Master Lu, please leave." Lin Zhiqing interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

This attitude is even colder and harsher than it was a few days ago.

Lu Huai, being perceptive, naturally noticed this and couldn't help but ask:

"Aqing, what happened that made you so distant from me? Did Jiang Liuyun say something to you again? Or did I do something wrong?"

“You did nothing wrong,” Lin Zhiqing replied. She wasn't planning to speak further, but seeing the silhouette in the window, she sighed.

"I had a dream."

Lu Huai looked puzzled upon hearing this.

Lin Zhiqing continued, "In your dream, you are in love with another Lin Zhiqing."

Upon hearing this, Lu Huai instinctively wanted to explain, but Lin Zhiqing spoke very quickly.

“Lu Huai, perhaps you don’t know, but the reason I confirmed my feelings for you was because of a dream.” Lin Zhiqing’s psychology background told her that dreams can reflect a person’s subconscious.

Her previous liking for Lu Huai and her wariness of Jiang Liuyun both stemmed from Lin Zhiqing's subconscious.

But now, her subconscious tells her that Lu Huai may very well be attracted to another soul within her body.

Because of her absolute trust in psychology, coupled with Lu Huai's concealment, Lin Zhiqing would not deny her subconscious judgment.

After understanding her words, Lu Huai couldn't help but step forward: "Your feelings for me started with a dream?"

In fact, this statement is not wrong. Although she felt there was something slightly off, Lin Zhiqing still nodded:

"good."

Receiving an affirmative answer, Lu Huai's mood plummeted. He quickly spoke again:
"Aqing, what if Jiang Liuyun, Yan Yu, or other people appear in your dreams?"

"That's impossible," Lin Zhiqing shook her head.

"No!" Lu Huai spoke again: "Are you trying to tell me today that it doesn't matter who appears in your dreams, it doesn't matter who it is?"

"is it?"

Lin Zhiqing sighed softly: "Lu Huai..."

"Answer me." This was the first time Lu Huai had ever interrupted Lin Zhiqing.