Water Margin people

Wen Huanzhang and Ruan Xiaoer knew nothing at this time. One was handling government affairs in the palace, and the other was handling military affairs in the navy.

Sun Lei returned to the palace as if nothing had happened, staring at the situation slowly unfolding.

As the investigation deepened, people on both sides began to get restless. They didn't dare tell Wen Huanzhang and Ruan Xiaoer, but they didn't dare to provoke the iron-faced Pei Xuan.

Everyone in Liangshan City knew that Pei Xuan was ruthless and impartial when he was a clerk, and this was true in both the officialdom and the military. Many people had committed crimes and fell into his hands.

The case was dragged on until the next day when more information was finally uncovered. The young man from the Wen family used Wen Huanzhang's name to rape a woman, of course not in Liangshan City, but in his hometown.

Liangshan City was under the feet of the emperor, and various laws were widely circulated. The people also knew that if they were wronged, they could go to the government office to file a complaint, and the Liangshan government office had always been in charge of honest officials.

On this day, Wen Huanzhang was handling government affairs. Countless memorials were submitted from all over the country every day. They needed to be processed first and then submitted to the emperor for his reading.

"Brother Wen."

Xiao Jiasui hurried into the side hall with a memorial in his hand.

"You all go out for a while."

Seeing that there were still many officials present, Xiao Jiasui cleared his throat and spoke.

Naturally, the officials did not dare to ask more questions, knowing that the two prime ministers had important matters to discuss.

"Brother Xiao, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? Is there another war?"

Wen Huanzhang asked in confusion, the four seas have been peaceful, the only war is in the west, but Qi's military is strong, and those people in the west are no match at all.

"Look at this!"

Xiao Jiasui immediately handed over the memorial.

Wen Huanzhang took it and looked at it with confusion, his face suddenly changed.

"Impossible! When did I get a nephew like this? Wen Zihao? I don't even know him! How can he use my name to forcibly seize a woman?"

Wen Huanzhang immediately spoke up and said that he was so busy every day that he had never even remembered having such a nephew.

"It has already happened. That person lives in your house. Now is not the time to explain. Pei Xuan has already found out the truth and has submitted a memorial. You should think about how to explain it to His Majesty."

Xiao Jiasui reminded Wen Huanzhang that as a minister, he could only help so much and the matter must not be suppressed and must be reported truthfully.

"Isn't this an unprovoked disaster?"

Wen Huanzhang looked bitter. He had done nothing, so how could he get into such trouble? The emperor was away on a campaign, and they had to help deal with state affairs. He had not left this side hall for three months at most, and he could count the number of times he went home in a year on his hands. It was only during the time when the emperor came back that he felt a little more relaxed.

"I also know that this is not your fault. Who doesn't have a lot of relatives coming to support them now? Things like today will happen sooner or later."

Xiao Jiasui said helplessly that he didn't have many relatives originally, but now a bunch of them appeared out of nowhere. Everyone wanted to have some relationship with the prime minister, a third-rank official.

"Report the truth. If you have made a mistake, you should be punished. It all depends on your majesty's judgment."

Wen Huanzhang said that the rape of a woman happened last year, when the emperor went to war and he was regent. The case was not reported and must have been suppressed by some officials. There is much more to this matter than meets the eye.

"It's not that serious actually. It depends on your majesty's judgment on the abduction of a woman. The custom there is that the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words are final. Wen Zihao also followed the procedures, but the woman just didn't want to."

Xiao Jiasui comforted Wen Huanzhang, saying that things were not as bad as he had imagined.

Wen Huanzhang shook his head and said nothing more. He just returned to his original position and continued to review memorials.

Xiao Jiasui also turned around and left. The officials outside returned to the hall, not knowing what had happened. The Minister of Justice did not speak and went about handling their own government affairs.

However, the memorial sent by Xiao Jiasui was left on Wen Huanzhang's desk.

In the afternoon, the day's government affairs were almost done and the officials were stretching, but someone noticed the unreviewed memorial.

"Prime Minister Wen, what is this?" an official asked.

"Look, these all need to be reported!"

Wen Huanzhang said without even raising his eyelids.

The official picked it up curiously and looked through it, but soon his face changed drastically, as if he had seen something horrible. He quickly closed the memorial, put it down and returned to his seat.

The other officials were very curious and winked at the official who had watched, but the official just lowered his head and said nothing, as if he was frightened.

Seeing that man like this, the others didn't dare to ask any more. Officials in their position still had to have good eyesight, so there must be something serious in the memorial.

"Come and take a look. You may also be asked about this at the court meeting."

When Wen Huanzhang saw that the others did not dare to approach, he looked up and spoke.

A group of officials then came closer, but after reading the memorial, their faces changed drastically and their mouths opened in horror.

"Xiang Wen, there's no need to report such a small matter."

An official spoke up and said that he wanted to suppress the matter, which they could still do.

"I'm afraid it's not a good idea. The memorial has already been submitted to the Secretariat, and according to the rules it must be submitted."

Someone objected.

……

A group of officials started arguing directly, each holding their own opinions and unwilling to give in.

"The memorial must be submitted. I am showing it to you just to prepare you mentally so that you will not be unable to answer when His Majesty asks."

Wen Huanzhang spoke up to stop the quarrel.

A group of officials looked at Wen Huanzhang in confusion. They thought Wen Huanzhang would say something, after all, this matter concerned Wen Huanzhang.

The officials had different thoughts. Some thought that Wen Huanzhang was testing them and asking them to take sides, while others thought there was another deeper meaning.

Wen Huanzhang said nothing more, but lowered his head and continued to deal with the memorial.

After a tiring day, Ruan Xiaoer returned home and Mrs. Ruan hurried to greet him.

"Boss, there are people coming from the village. Several young men got into a fight and were arrested by the government."

Mrs. Ruan spoke quickly.

"Got caught fighting? Who did you fight with? Did you not beat the person badly?"

Ruan Xiaoer's face changed. Although fighting is a common thing, it depends on who is fighting. If it is a misunderstanding between young people, it is not a big deal. If it is bullying the weak, it cannot be forgiven easily.

"It seems that the nephew of Prime Minister He Wen has been found to be oppressing the people and extorting money!"

Mrs. Ruan spoke.

"These guys are in big trouble!"

Ruan Xiaoer's face changed drastically and he quickly walked into the lobby. All the villagers from Shijie Village were waiting for him.

"Everyone, I know why you are here, but since they have committed a crime, they must accept the punishment of the law. Have we in Shijie Village forgotten the hard times we had in those years? Fighting and plundering people's wealth, what's the difference between this and those corrupt officials? We beat those corrupt officials away and overthrow the corrupt court. Does that mean we want to take over?"

Ruan Xiaoer did not wait for the others to speak, but sat directly on the main seat, and then spoke in a deep voice. (End of this chapter)