Madam, protect me!.

Chapter 35: Killing relatives for justice
The middle-aged man refused decisively. As the Minister of Personnel, he was a fourth-rank official. Although he was not that afraid of Li Xuanjing, that was because he was an upright official. If he relied on his power to commit favoritism and corruption, wouldn't he be actively creating opportunities for Li Xuanjing to attack him?

Hearing the words of the Minister, Wang Duo trembled and slowly hunched over.

Looking at this old friend, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel could not help but soften his heart and said, "Send that beast to the Chang'an County Court. Remember, it is the Chang'an County Court, not the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple. The county court will deal with it as it sees fit. As for you, immediately write to the court, donate all your property, resign from your post and return to the countryside. While you can still give birth, take in a few more young concubines to see if you can have another child and leave a legacy for your Wang family..."

"Thank you for your advice, sir..."

Wang Duo was silent for a long time, clasped his fists, then turned and left.

At this moment, it seemed as if something was taken away from his body, and he seemed to have aged twenty years in an instant.

When he walked out of the door, he looked up. Although it was almost sunset, the sky was still clear blue without a trace of other colors.

Twenty years have passed, and the sky in Chang'an is still as blue as ever.

He remembered very clearly that twenty years ago, when he led many of his fellow students in the academy to march and demonstrate on the streets of Chang'an, denouncing the then Chang'an County magistrate for his cruelty and disregard for human life, the sky of Chang'an was so blue.

Twenty years have passed in a flash.

At this moment, Wang Duo finally felt a trace of regret in his heart.

He was born in a humble family. He had gone through countless hardships and sufferings on his way to study. In order to seek guidance from a famous teacher, he traveled hundreds of miles regardless of the cold winter or the scorching summer, just to get a word of advice. After that, he was finally selected by Qingfeng Academy and was admitted as an exception. His fellow students all came from powerful and noble families. They had been taught by famous teachers since childhood. They were respected, dressed luxuriously, and kept company with the rich and powerful. The money for a meal was more than what his wife could earn in a year of hard work...

However, even though his background was so different, he never wavered in his beliefs.

Under such circumstances, he stood out from hundreds of thousands of people in the imperial examination, and was ranked fifth among the Jinshi candidates. He started as a seventh-rank county magistrate. In the following nearly 20 years, he went from a seventh-rank minor official far away from Chang'an to Chang'an step by step, and sat in his current position. Not to mention his fellow students, even their fathers and grandfathers would respectfully address him as "Lord Wang" when they saw him...

During these twenty years, he gained a lot and lost a lot.

Now I think back, when did all this start to change? Was it when I first accepted bribes, when I first abused my power for personal gain, or when I first used money to pave the way for my career...

It's been so long that he can't remember clearly...

He looked back for the last time, then walked away with heavy steps, his back looking particularly desolate.

At this moment, in the residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the middle-aged man looked in the direction where Wang Duo left, with some reminiscence in his eyes. He shook his head and said, "Wang Duo, Wang Duo, why did you do this, why did you do this..."

A young man walked out of the back hall and said to the middle-aged man, "Father, I have been studying the Great Xia Law recently. Uncle Wang is a fifth-rank official, and Wang Yue is his son. The crime he committed is punishable by no more than three years in prison, and he can redeem his crime with silver. Why doesn't he pay the silver to avoid punishment? Three years in prison, and the redemption silver is only three hundred taels. The Wang family can afford it..."

"Ransom?"

The middle-aged man pulled the corner of his mouth and said, "Given Li Xuanjing's character, if Wang Duo hands over Wang Yue and resigns from office to donate, the Wang family may still survive. If he wants to redeem his sins with silver, not only will Wang Yue die, but the Wang family will also have difficulty surviving..."

The young man said indignantly: "Is Li Xuanjing really so lawless and disregards the law? Is there no one to supervise this huge court?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Some people wanted to take care of it before, but those people died while he was still alive. After that, no one dared to take care of it..."

"That's unreasonable!"

The young man waved his sleeves fiercely and said with a righteous face: "If this beast is not killed, it will be unforgivable. I must study hard and become an official. In the future, I will serve the people and the court, kill this beast, and restore a bright and clear sky for Daxia..."

Before he could finish his words, he was hit hard on the head.

The young man covered his head and asked in confusion: "Dad, why did you hit me..."

"I'll let you have a clear conscience, I'll let you have a clear conscience!" The middle-aged man took off his boots and beat him while cursing, "You don't know how high the heavens are, you dare to mess with someone I don't even dare to mess with, why don't you become my boss...

……

Wang family.

Inside the ancestral hall, Wang Yue knelt on a mat. A woman stood beside him and said, "Don't worry, Yue'er. Your father has many friends and many ministers in the court are willing to help him. He will definitely find a way to save you!"

Wang Yue's complexion improved a little, and at this moment, a slow sound of footsteps was heard outside the ancestral hall. The woman looked back, and hurriedly ran forward happily, holding his hand, and asked, "Master, what's wrong..."

As soon as she finished speaking, her face was filled with shock, and she said in a trembling voice: "Master, you, your hair..."

The master is forty years old this year, in the prime of his life. He used to have no white hair on his head, but now most of them are white, and he looks much older.

He had been gone for only an hour, but it felt like twenty years had passed.

Wang Yue also stood up slowly, walked to Wang Duo, looked at his white hair, his lips trembled, and he said with difficulty: "Dad..."

Wang Duo smiled bitterly, patted him on the shoulder and said, "If a son is not well-educated, it is the fault of the father. I am sorry for you."

Wang Yue already understood something. Although his face was still pale, he no longer had the panic and fear he had just had.

Looking at his father's hunched body and head full of white hair, he realized for the first time that his father had also grown old.

His mother often told him about his father's youth. In his eyes, his father was a man of integrity and omnipotence. He single-handedly transformed the Wang family from a poor family in a remote mountain village into a wealthy family in Chang'an. Now he had finally grown old.

At this moment, he had no fear of the future, only heartache for his father.

He stretched out his hand, helped his father to tidy up the messy hair on his temples, shook his head and said, "No, it's my fault that I have disappointed you. I will take responsibility for my mistakes, so don't blame yourself..."

……

On the streets of Chang'an, Li Nuo is investigating a case.

The area was already filled with people.

It was the first time for them to see a court being moved to the street, trials being held in public, and verdicts being announced in public. They found it novel and interesting. This kind of opportunity to have close contact with government officials is not always available.

At a certain moment, there was a commotion among the crowd, and several figures squeezed out from the crowd.

The one walking in front was the peddler who had just returned.

Of course, Li Nuo knew very well that he was a peddler on the surface, but in fact he was his plainclothes bodyguard.

Behind the peddler, there were two figures following him.

The one on the left is a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes. He exudes the nobility of having held a high position for a long time. He has a head full of white hair and looks a little lost.

The one on the right is a young man who was tied up. He looked to be in his early twenties. He had a similar look to the middle-aged man. His face was also very pale and his expression was dull and dazed.

"Young man, kneel down!"

Wang Duo said this in a deep voice, and the young man slowly knelt down.

Afterwards, Wang Duo walked up to the Chang'an County Magistrate, who was wearing an official uniform, clasped his fists and bowed to him, saying, "Sir, this rebellious son has violated the law. I have tied him up and brought him to the county government office. Please punish him according to the law..."

Li Nuo was a little surprised by this scene.

This case...seems to be going smoothly.

He originally thought that since this case had been going on for so long and there was no direct evidence, even if the Dali Temple intervened, it would not be easy to convict. Unexpectedly, not long after, the other party came directly to the county government to surrender.

This way, even the investigation process is saved.

Could it be that this doctor of the Ministry of Examination was unaware of his son's crime?

After being informed by his own guards, this righteous court official immediately decided to put the interests of the country above his own and sent his son to the county government to be punished according to the law - what a good official he was!

(End of this chapter)