Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 168 Hey hey hey...

Standing in the small archive room, with a cold wind howling outside, Xia Lin and An Mu Si were leaning against each other, staring at each other.

Xia Lin was fine, as he was wearing very thick clothes and had a pad on his buttocks, but Anmus was in a terrible situation. He was only wearing a small cotton jacket inside because he was worried that his official uniform would be deformed. He was now gasping for breath due to the cold.

"Silly child." Xia Lin pointed at the felt in the archive room to prevent dust: "If you use that, you will definitely freeze to death tonight. It's minus thirteen or fourteen degrees Celsius outside."

An Musi looked back after hearing this, then shook his head and said, "No, those are the imperial court's things, we can't take them."

"No wonder you, such a fool, are vomiting blood. You are just being too picky. You are not going to take it out, so what are you afraid of?"

Xia Lin walked over and pulled off the dustproof felt and threw it on Anmusi: "You are a high-ranking official, but you don't know how to adapt. You are unlucky to be under the current emperor. If it was a different emperor, you wouldn't be alive today."

Anmus ignored his nonsense and instinctively wrapped the blanket around himself. He didn't care whether it was clean or not. It turned out that he was not cold after wrapping himself in the blanket.

When he turned around to look at Xia Lin, he saw Xia Lin rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for something, so Anmus asked in a scolding tone: "Why are you rummaging through such a confidential place?"

"Silly egg."

Xia Lin didn't even explain and just cursed, then continued rummaging for a while, and then found a jar under an inconspicuous cabinet. After opening it, it was filled with engineering... shortbread wrapped in oil paper.

After taking out the shortbread, he even found a kettle for storing water, a stove for making fire, and a tea set, and then started to boil water to make tea.

Anmus was stunned by this operation. He was even puzzled as to why this man could take out so many things from those corners and even find the bag of coal.

Xia Lin pushed the window open a little, pulled a blanket over himself, and hummed a song while making a fire to boil water. Anmus, who was standing next to him, watched for a long time before his curiosity overwhelmed his dignity. He came forward and asked, "How did you know there was something here?"

Xia Lin turned his head to look at him, then continued to wait for the water to boil: "You look like someone with the ability to become an official directly from your family, right?"

"That's not the case. I am the top scholar in the tenth year of Hongbao!" Anmu raised his chin and said proudly, "I didn't become an official because of my family."

"Oh, I see, I see." Xia Lin took out a cup, poured tea into it and handed it to him: "Drink some tea and eat some cakes. I don't know if I can go out tomorrow."

"You haven't answered me yet, how do you know the existence of these things?"

Xia Lin was really annoyed by such stubborn people. He sighed, "The desk room is sheltered from wind and light. It is hot in summer and cold in winter. The clerks in charge of the desk sit here all day. It is okay to take off all clothes in summer, but it is difficult in winter. If there is no charcoal fire for heating, it will be difficult to hold on. In addition, this room also needs to be lit to remove moisture and insects, so it is generally equipped with a charcoal stove. In spring, it removes moisture, and in summer, it burns mugwort and realgar to drive away insects. In winter, it naturally becomes a thing for the clerks to keep warm. It is boring to just sit here to keep warm, so some people will bring some food. Eating only cakes will make you thirsty, so some people will take a kettle to boil some water. Now that there is a kettle and boiling water, it is unreasonable not to bring some tea. So if you find the cake, you can find the kettle. If you find the kettle, you will have a cup. If you have a cup, you must have tea."

This analysis made the stubborn Anmus a little unconfident. He really didn't know the secret here, but he felt it was very mysterious just by listening to it.

"You don't have to be surprised. It's like a beggar thinking that the emperor must use a golden hoe when farming. Which emperor would ask the victims of famine why they don't eat meat? There are too many things that we don't know about each other, and most of them can only be guessed. If you haven't been on duty in such a place, you don't know the difficulties of those on duty here." Xia Lin took a sip from the teacup, and then took a bite of the sesame cake. Although it was not as crispy as when it was just out of the pot, it was a pleasure to eat a bite on a cold winter night. "But you don't have to blame yourself. This is normal. The lack of communication between the upper and lower levels is the drawback of most courts. The root cause is the problem of the selection mechanism."

"Oh? Why do you say that? I'd like to hear more details."

This guy is a bit of a weirdo, but it's normal for all the academicians to be like this. Before coming here, Xia Lin knew quite a few academicians who were very stubborn. When they get stubborn, there's nothing you can say about them. They can be described as stubborn as a donkey.

But he was just sitting around doing nothing, and drinking tea alone was boring, so Xia Lin started chatting with him: "Since the establishment of the imperial examination, the original intention was to start from the bottom up and break the system of family recommendation. The first few years were indeed quite effective. The three hundred years of Wei Dynasty relied on the imperial examination of the first three generations. But now, the imperial examination has gradually become a laughing stock. Is it because you are smart that you are the top scorer? It's because your family has good resources, which can fill you up like a duck, and you are lucky that the chief examiner that year appreciated you. If you were really put in the lower position, would you know how to divide the five grains? Do you know how to talk to those old farmers who are covered in mud and can't read a few words? How can you talk to them? Open your mouth and talk about laws and regulations and close your mouth and the country? You will be taken away with a hoe."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Facing Anmusi's inquiry, Xia Lin just laughed but didn't say anything. After all, there are some things that cannot be said. If he said them, he would be beheaded. Even Emperor Hongbao couldn't save him.

Before I knew it, it was already late at night. Outside, the wind and snow were getting stronger, and the scary sound of snow pressing down on the pines and cypresses could be heard from far away.

At this moment, Xia Lin was squatting there and telling Amous the story of the Painted Skin. When he was talking about "Wang Sheng from Taiyuan leaned over the window and looked out, he saw an ugly and ferocious monster painting a human skin", a cold wind blew through the open window, and the candle on the stage was instantly extinguished.

Anmusi screamed for no reason and grabbed Xia Lin's arm tightly. Xia Lin shook his hand off and said with disdain: "You are not afraid of Wang Shichong's sword, so you are afraid of a ghost with painted skin, right?"

Anmus took a deep breath, wrapped himself tightly in the felt and leaned towards the stove: "Wang Shichong's sword can hurt my people, I'm not afraid, I know there is justice in the world. This ghost with painted skin is unreasonable..."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Xia Lin laughed so hard that she fell backwards: "You really are like an old sow wearing a bra. You wear one set after another."

At this moment, Anmus sighed and said, "I don't know how long we will be locked up."

"Don't worry, he won't be in prison for long. Once he comes to his senses, he'll let us go."

Anmusi asked in surprise: "What do you want? Why do you want to irritate him so much?"

"Because." Xia Lin frowned and said softly, "I want to avenge someone."

"Who is it for?" Xia Lin pointed at the file bag held in Anmus's hand: "The person who was killed by a horse in it."

After hearing his words, Anmus was also a little surprised. After reading the files, he knew that the person who was hit and killed by the son of the Meng County Magistrate was just a woman with no relatives. It was unacceptable to offend the commander of Henan Road for such a person.

Seeing his expression, Xia Lin hugged his knees and rocked back and forth with a contemptuous smile. Anmus also noticed his expression and asked, "Why do you look so contemptuous?"

"You idiot, aren't you tired of being scolded? Do you have to make me say it?" Xia Lin was a little impatient at this moment: "You said you were a top scholar and well versed in laws. I am really disappointed with the officials of Wei."

"Appreciate further details."

There was really nothing to do when faced with such a naive and somewhat retarded person, so Xia Lin could only sigh before asking, "Let me ask you a question. Throughout history, when was the sign of the decline of a dynasty or a watershed?"

Anmu looked up and thought: "The king is unjust and tyrannical."

"Fuck you, you've been talking big all day long. What does it mean to be tyrannical and unjust? I can't tell you, at best it's just debauchery and neglect of state affairs, oops, none of that. Let me tell you, there are countless reasons for the decline of a dynasty, it could be natural disasters, it could be corruption among officials, it could be the emperor's stupidity, but in the final analysis there is only one reason, that is, not treating the people as human beings, whether it's passive or active. Do you understand? And how do you show that you don't treat the people as human beings? It starts with people like you."

"I?"

"From the moment you looked puzzled as to why I would avenge a person who was hit and killed at the cost of offending a local official, this era was destined to be in chaos, it was only a matter of sooner or later. You, Lord An, pointed at me in the cell and scolded me for ignoring the law, claiming to be a brave and upright person who was ready to die. But you almost instinctively believed that the life of the woman who was hit and killed was not a life. In your eyes, she was no different from a wild dog or a pig, so you were shocked, puzzled, surprised, curious, and even asked me why I was laughing. Why was I laughing? Of course, I was laughing at your conscience that was eaten by a dog and the book that was read into a dog's stomach."

Anmus sat there like a statue. After being scolded by Xia Lin, his mind went blank. On one hand, he blamed himself for provoking this bitch again, but on the other hand, he was being eaten by his conscience. For a moment, he felt like he was being eaten by thousands of insects and the pain was unbearable.

When he began to realize that he was really becoming numb as Xia Lin had said, pain surged up, followed by shame and humiliation.

For a moment, Anmus' face turned red, his eyes avoided, and he didn't know how to continue talking to Xia Lin.

"Xiao Anzi, as a mage, you must remember one thing, that is, human life is more important than anything else. It is only natural that a murderer must pay with his life. No matter what the murderer does or how high his authority is, as long as he kills someone for no reason, he must pay with his life, at least after he is discovered. When you start to think that it is not worth it for someone, you are already dirty."

"do not talk!"

Anmu Si whispered: "I already know."

"So let alone Wang Shichong, even if Gao Shilian comes, even if he kills me, I will grit my teeth today. Don't you believe that there is justice between heaven and earth? Then you have to grit your teeth. Even if we really die here, the historian will record you and me. Thousands of years later, children will read in the classroom that in the winter of the sixteenth year of Hongbao, the censor Xia Lin and the law master An something in the Ministry of Justice were killed by Wang Shichong while investigating a murder case in Luoyang. In the future, there will be two statues at the main entrance of a law school, one of you holding a file, and the other of me holding a pen."

"what?"

After listening to this, Anmus seemed to have a picture in his mind. In the future, he would have a place among the statues outside the Legalist Academy. He would hold the code in one hand and the token in the other, standing there like a furious King Kong. Every time there was an exam, students would come to pray for him to pass the exam successfully...

Wow! That feeling was just like ascending to heaven. At this moment, life and death didn't seem so worrying. He even wished that Wang Shichong, who suddenly rushed in, would stab him to death with a sword. That way, his flesh and blood would be forever integrated with the spirit of the Legalists, and they would never be separated. He would always have a place in the code of law.

"it is good!"

The sudden shouting startled Xia Lin. He turned his head to look at An Musi who was almost insane: "Are you sick?"

At this moment, Amos's face was flushed, and the knuckles of his hands holding the file were white, as if he was imagining something extraordinary.

"Ah! It's back to life, old man."

After being yelled back by Xia Lin, An Musi's breathing became rapid. He tilted his head and asked fiercely: "Where is Wang Shichong! Let him kill me!"

"Calm down..."

At this time, Wang Shichong was discussing with his advisers the deep meaning of sending people here to appoint a county magistrate at the same time. Suddenly, he felt a throbbing in his heart and a chill rising from his tailbone.

"Commander-in-chief, it is well known that the two prime ministers have always been at odds with each other, but today they each sent an official to Luoyang. I'm afraid there is something fishy going on."

"Why are you talking nonsense? Everyone knows there is something fishy going on, but what exactly is it?" Wang Shichong sat there rubbing his temples: "Whether it's Gao Shilian or Zeng Ming, why do they have to come and embarrass me, an official who has been sent out to other places?"

The counselor rolled his eyes and said, "The inspector had already made Luoyang a mess. I thought he was just a passing inspector trying to make some money, but several county magistrates have been caught in succession. Now it seems that this is cutting off Lord Wang's arm."

Hearing this, Wang Shichong slammed his fist on the table: "Gao Shilian, I'll fuck your mother!"

Wang Shichong was born into a scholarly family, but his years in the military had tainted him with some vulgar habits. This time he was really furious, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Gao Shilian, let's have a fight!"

　I will only update one chapter today. I really don’t have time during the day because I have to do some house cleaning... Alas, there is no home.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)