Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 37: No one appeared in court

The public security in Kyoto has always been under the control of the Kyoto Prefecture. How could such a vicious case of street violence not be reported to the Kyoto Prefecture? However, the mayor of Kyoto will one day be unable to distinguish between the plaintiff and the defendant.

The murders escalated in Kyoto within a few days. Because they were so blatant, the news spread widely among the public. As a result, even the Kyoto Prefecture did not dare to take it lightly.

Seeing that both parties did not take any action, the Kyoto Prefecture had no choice but to order each party to submit a statement to prove their innocence.

Looking at the latest memorial submitted, the newly appointed Kyoto Governor Mei Zhili was very troubled.

The Liao family accused the Fan family of colluding with a third party to commit murder in the street in an attempt to kill people.

The Fan family counter-sued the Liao family for blocking the road in the street, gathering servants to take revenge and committing murder.

It is easy to talk about disputes between the people and between officials, but this is a dispute between officials. The result cannot be judged by good eyesight. On the contrary, if one has poor eyesight and offends one party slightly, there will be no recovery.

The present Qing Kingdom is peaceful and prosperous. Although His Majesty the Emperor never leaves the palace, what he hates most is trouble right under his nose.

Therefore, the position of Kyoto prefect is really hot. If you are not careful, you will take all the blame and resign and return home.

Mei Zhili wiped the sweat from his face and examined the petitions from both parties, each of whom insisted on his own opinion. He was confused for a moment.

But he finally understood one thing: there are differences in rank among officials.

On one side is Liao Yu, the son of Liao Xue Shi, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy. Speaking of the Hanlin Academy, its status in Qing Kingdom is very high. It shoulders the responsibilities of compiling books and history and being an examiner for the imperial examinations. It has always been a stepping stone for becoming an important official in the court. Now, the rising star Lin Ruofu is in charge.

Lin Ruofu was born in a poor family. He became famous through the imperial examination and started as a local official. Later, he was transferred to the capital for his meritorious service and was promoted repeatedly. Although he had ups and downs in the past ten years, it did not affect his wide connections in the court. The year before last, he was appreciated by His Majesty and entered the Hanlin Academy. The intention of cultivating him is self-evident.

Scholar Liao had served as an official diligently for decades. Although he was not very famous in Qing State, he was an old man in the Hanlin Academy and was highly regarded by Lin Ruofu.

Let's look at the other party in the case. The seventeen-year-old scholar Lin Ruo is just a retainer of Si Nanbo's mansion. Even if he is respected by the emperor, it is unlikely that Si Nanbo would offend the Hanlin Academy for him.

After a brief comparison, Mei Zhili couldn't help but consider where to stay.

However, everything still depends on the confrontation in court.

Early in the morning, the three groups of people from Kyoto Prefecture went out together to arrest people in their respective areas.

The first place to receive the news was the residence of Liao Xue Shi. An official rushed into the court holding a letter and said, "Sir, Liao Xue Shi's son refuses to appear in court."

Mei Zhili was puzzled: "Why?"

The official reported: "Mr. Liao is suffering from a horse disease and is now bedridden and unable to appear in court."

Mei Zhili waved his hand and the officials withdrew.

After a while, the official who went to the Fan Mansion to arrest the person also came back and reported helplessly: "Sir, the Fan family is unwilling to appear in court."

"Why is that?" Mei Zhili asked.

The officer whispered, "The Fan family said that the suspect Lin Ruo was frightened by the Liao family's attack on the street and became seriously ill."

Mei Zhili was immediately dissatisfied and slammed the table angrily: "You believe this?" "Sir, this is what Si Nanbo said with his own mouth. I really can't take the responsibility." The official wiped his sweat.

"And what about the criminal who rode the horse and committed the crime?"

An official reported: "Sir, we failed to catch the man who rode the horse to commit the crime, and were driven out of his residence."

Mei Zhili lost control of his emotions when he heard this: "How dare a commoner like you interfere with the official business of the Kyoto Prefecture. Arrest him immediately and make his crime even more serious."

"Sir, they are people from Prince Jing's Mansion." The official trembled.

"Prince Jing's Mansion..." Mei Zhili was stunned, "What's the suspect's name?"

"Your Excellency, the suspect's name is Li Zhi."

Mei Zhili's eyes darkened, and he was a little upset. He cursed: "Why didn't you tell me earlier, you bunch of idiots? That's the current emperor's younger brother, Prince Jing Li Zhi!"

Mei Zhili sat weakly in the court, tossing and turning. Having offended Prince Jing, he would be in great trouble. However, Prince Jing never left his house, so how could he suddenly appear in front of Shuyuan Street and join forces with the students of Fan Mansion?

Mei Zhili couldn't figure it out, but he didn't dare to think about it any further. He re-evaluated the current case and felt that there was no party he could afford to offend.

In such a huge city like Kyoto, even the normal procedures for a case cannot be carried out.

The sound of footsteps was heard, and another official rushed into the court.

"Sir, Hanlin Academy scholar Lin Ruofu has a message." The official looked upwards timidly, and only after hearing a nod did he dare to read the message, "Scholar Lin Ruofu said that he hopes you can enforce the law impartially."

Mei Zhili closed his eyes, the anger in his heart was dispersed for no reason, and he cursed, "What a fair and impartial law enforcement!" As expected of Lin Daxueshi, who was able to get along with everyone in the officialdom, with just a few words, he put all the heavy burdens on the head of him, the governor of Kyoto, and by the way, he also cleared himself of the title of Daxueshi.

No matter how this case is handled, no matter how entangled the various forces are, the reckoning will never be attributed to a person who claims to enforce the law impartially. However, Mei Zhili naturally knows the deeper meaning behind this.

Mei Zhili gritted his teeth, thinking about the most appropriate way to deal with the matter. He had to protect the Liao family while exempting Prince Jing. In contrast, the kid from the Fan family would have to suffer a little. However, he also had to consider Si Nanbo's thoughts and could not put all the blame on him.

But at this moment, another official rushed in with hurried steps. This official no longer cared about the mood of the adults in the hall. He sweated profusely and presented the object and said, "Sir, this is the accusation sent by the Supervisory Council. The Supervisory Council is responsible for supervising all officials. They believe..."

Supervisory Council… Mei Zhili couldn’t help but feel a headache when he heard this word, but he still forced himself to say, “Hurry up and tell me.”

"One department believes that Mr. Liao is guilty of failing to discipline his son strictly and allowing his son to do evil, thus disrupting the order of the capital. So they handed over the accusation and hope that you will make a ruling as soon as possible so that they can make the next step based on the results of the case..." The official said while gasping for breath.

"You are all using me as a tool." Mei Zhili looked at them coldly and angrily, looking sad. Kyoto is full of nobles. If you want to sit firmly in the position of Kyoto prefect, you naturally cannot rely on being honest and upright. This will only make countless enemies. When faced with disputes between officials, they usually try to smooth things over and try to come up with an answer that both parties can accept in order to settle the matter peacefully.

But at the moment, it seems that it is absolutely impossible to calm down the situation.

Thinking of this, Mei Zhili became furious and slammed the table in anger. He couldn't help but curse the ignorant young master of the Liao family in his heart, "If you had restrained your methods and kept this matter in secret, it wouldn't have ended up in such a mess that it's impossible to deal with."

At this point, if I don't act impartially and selflessly, I'm afraid the Supervisory Commission will investigate me tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)