Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 358 The Officialdom is Like a Battlefield

She closed the brocade box, put it away in a corner, and never looked at it again.

Afterwards, she lay in bed and began to think again about how to completely split the Minister of Justice and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion.

The best breakthrough in this matter is undoubtedly the son of the Minister of Justice.

The solution isn't hard to come up with; the hardest part is how to implement it.

Lin Zhiqing tossed and turned, thinking about this and that, and came up with some ideas.

She had used the content of "Game Theory" when she played against Jiang Yunhe.

She used to be quite familiar with these things, but since coming to Dasheng, she has fallen behind in many areas.

The more she interacted with the various court officials of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the richer her knowledge of "Game Theory" and "The Art of War" became.

Putting aside other things, there is some truth to the saying that officialdom is like a battlefield.

Lin Zhiqing thought about it carefully, but didn't approach it from those two aspects.

Compared to psychology, her understanding of game theory and other related knowledge is still in a learning and exploratory stage.

However, other knowledge came to her mind.

For example, the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

To completely sever ties between the Minister of Justice and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion, isn't that exactly the kind of tactic to sow discord?
She had actually used it once before when dealing with Jiang Liuyun, but now it needs to be revised and a more sophisticated plan needs to be developed.

Marquis Zhenyuan is cautious, Jiang Liuyun is good at hiding his true intentions, the Minister of Justice is cunning and treacherous, and the Minister of Justice's son is lecherous.

Lin Zhiqing went through the information about these people in his mind, pondering it over and over.

A lecherous man…wait! Lin Zhiqing’s eyes lit up; she had an idea!

After refining his plan in his mind again and again, Lin Zhiqing finally closed his eyes and began to conserve his energy.

Even though she had already made up her mind, she didn't sleep particularly soundly.

Early the next morning, Lin Zhiqing first went to see Lin Yangyang, and then went to find Yan Yu.

But this guy is elusive and isn't in the yard.

Yan Yu is a sensible person, so Lin Zhiqing isn't particularly worried about him.

Lin Zhiqing plans to visit the three officials of the Three Departments today.

Previously, she was trapped in the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion and was so overwhelmed that she had no intention of visiting him or getting to know him better.

Now that she's out of trouble, it would be a waste of all their planning if she didn't go and find out what they were up to.

After careful consideration, she invited Lin Congli and Lin Shi'an to accompany her on a visit.

One of them was a senior official with a reputation for self-discipline and adherence to propriety, which made him quite popular among some conservative officials.

A person with high martial arts skills can prevent some unexpected accidents.

Knowing that Lin Zhiqing was working hard for the Lin family, neither Lin Congli nor Lin Shi'an refused to help.

The three of them rode together in a horse-drawn carriage.

Perhaps because of the recent events, everyone's mood is not high.

Lin Zhiqing looked at Lin Congli, thought for a while, and finally decided to speak:
"Uncle, about my cousin..."

But before he could finish speaking, he saw Lin Congli shake his head.

Lin Congli seemed to have already anticipated what Lin Zhiqing was going to say, and began to speak:

"I will also try to find renowned doctors on Yangyang's side, but all of this depends on the Lin family not encountering any mishaps."

"Zhiqing, what you have to do is a hundred times more difficult. Only when we stabilize the battlefield at the front can we help Yangyang with more peace of mind."

"What we did was against the will of Heaven, and we deserve to pay some price."

"The road ahead will only get more difficult, but the Lin family will always be behind you."

Lin Congli's voice was as calm and steady as ever. But Lin Zhiqing could detect a lot of complex emotions in it.

She understood what Lin Congli meant.

Lin Shi'an nodded in agreement: "Zhiqing, we will all support you, and your older sister will support you too."

"In any case, let's just go for it. Things can't get any worse than they are now, can they?"

Yes.

Lin Zhiqing nodded.

She could see perfectly well that the Lin family was now walking on a knife's edge, and if they weren't careful, they would fall into the abyss and never recover.

She has many people following her, and she must be prepared for many of them to be injured or even killed.

Because not everything will go smoothly as she expects.

The same applies to Aunt Mu's situation, and also to my cousin's situation.

To protect the people she cares about and herself, she must become strong.

It is precisely because of the difficult situation that Lin Congli and Lin Shi'an's words are all the more precious.

Throughout the journey, Lin Zhiqing's feelings were very complicated.

However, upon disembarking from the carriage, those emotions transformed into a hard armor; she still had many tough battles to fight.

The first place they visited was Dali Temple, where they had the most frequent interactions with people.

Zhou Chongzheng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, inherited the fine traditions of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's family and was particularly skilled in acting.

At least in the past, Lin Zhiqing truly regarded him as being in a neutral position.

But many things cannot be carefully considered.

For example, when Liu Mang was killed in full view of everyone, why did the officials of the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice act like incompetent fools and not do anything to stop it?

For example, why was Zhou Chongzheng able to quickly receive the news and accurately locate Lin Zhiqing and restrict the freedom of the Lin family as soon as the flute player appeared in Bianliang?

Furthermore, after his cousin escaped from the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion, why did Zhou Chongzheng treat him as a hot potato and make things difficult for him repeatedly?
With these questions in mind, Lin Zhiqing entered the Dali Temple once again.

Zhou Chongzheng seemed not to have expected the Lin family to make such a big fuss to visit him.

"Lord Zhou, I hope you will take good care of my father's affairs," Lin Zhiqing said naturally.

Zhou Chongzheng chuckled lightly: "Miss Lin, you flatter us. We are all acting in accordance with the law. How can you say we are giving you special treatment?"

“Acting in accordance with the law is naturally a good thing, and I believe Lord Zhou is not the kind of despicable and shameless person who would act against his conscience.” After saying this, Lin Zhiqing looked at Lin Shi’an:

"Right, cousin?"

She was bringing up old matters again, alluding to Zhou Chongzheng's previous difficulties with Lin Shi'an and his unwillingness to confront the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion.

Lin Shi'an readily agreed: "Zhiqing is absolutely right. The other day, you were indeed very fair in my case, repeatedly asking for evidence. An official should be like Lord Zhou."

He deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the word "justice," and Zhou Chongzheng could tell that he was being mocked.

However, having worked his way up to the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he was not about to be easily angered by a few words.

Zhou Chongzheng smiled and said, "Your father's matter is still in its early stages, and no one can say for sure what will happen next. Miss Lin, let's wait for news."

This is not a compliment.

At least Lin Zhiqing knew very well that since Zhou Chongzheng had said that, it meant that things would not go smoothly in the future.

However, she couldn't get any more information by asking, so she simply smiled and said, "Thank you for bringing the flute player back, sir. I await your good news."

The matter of the flute player was Lin Zhiqing's way of reminding Zhou Chongzheng that she had won back the flute player last time, and she could win again this time.

A crack appeared on Zhou Chongzheng's usually perfect expression.

He realized that Lin Zhiqing was issuing him a challenge.