I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 38 Two major events in the capital.
The Dali Temple is equivalent to the modern Supreme Court in normal historical novels. In ancient times, all important cases involving the death penalty had to be reviewed by the Dali Temple. Many criminal cases in the capital were also under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple. It was originally an institutional department with considerable power.

But things are a little different in this world.

After resting at home for a day, Zhang Rui began to recall the information given by Yuchi Hong.

After thousands of years of construction by the Jin Dynasty, the capital city has become the most prosperous capital in the Central Plains. However, hidden beneath the prosperity are many complex forces and sneaky things in the shadows.

All the great families that can worship the Yin gods are in the capital. The military families who followed Taizu to conquer the world are in the capital. Two of the five great masters in the world are also in the capital. All the major sects also have garrisons in the capital. Most of these privileged sons are restless. In addition, many children of secluded families go to the capital to cause trouble under the pretext of imperial examinations. As a result, many bizarre and evil cases are often very deadly.

What's more, the timing of his taking office this time is also the most troublesome time.

Because two major events are about to take place in the capital.

The first is the Spring Examination, an imperial examination held every three years. It was a very important event in any ancient dynasty. Students from all over the country flocked to Beijing to take the examination. Whether what they had learned for many years could be sold to the imperial family depended on this examination.

But this is a world of ghosts and gods. The ones who control the lifelines of civil servants throughout the world are actually the sorcerer families. Families from all over the country fight for power, grab shares, and show off their magical powers. There are also many hidden families who want to re-enter the world. Basically, they enter the royal family's eyes first through the imperial examination. By that time, the personnel are mixed, and public security is the most troublesome.

Especially when it comes to cases involving strange and evil things, many times there are people who deliberately make trouble, and you never know if it is a big shot who you cannot afford to offend behind the scenes. The position of Dali Temple Chief is in charge of deciding lawsuits and reviewing prison cases, and the duties are very heavy. It seems to be a good position with low status but great power, but in a place like the capital where forces are mixed, it often becomes a good candidate to take the blame, especially those without any background or power.

The second is the world competition!

This world not only has sorcerers, but also warriors who are capable of defeating thousands of enemies. As the saying goes, heroes break the law with force. When a warrior's power reaches a certain level, he can threaten the order of the court. The martial arts sects in various places are typical examples.

Taizu called on all the heroes in the past, and later personally rewarded the sects in various places to help the court maintain public order. The local court would also share some of the benefits with the sects, and even transfer many military positions to the sect's children, in exchange for the safety of the sects in the martial arts world, and also to check and balance the overly powerful sorcerer families.

In terms of strategies for governing martial artists, Taizu was unprecedented. No dynasty had ever been able to turn a competition among martial artists into a national event.

Yes, the world competition is hosted by the royal family!

Young men under the age of 30 from major sects and military families will participate in the competition. Depending on their ranking, the court will grant them the title of military scholar, which allows them to be appointed as officials, obtain tax exemption opportunities for certain industries for their sects, and obtain various martial arts training resources donated by the court.

Not only does it have many benefits, it is also a great opportunity for martial arts schools around the world to make a name for themselves. After years of operation, it has become the most prestigious martial arts conference in the world.

And the time is just after the Spring Examination.

After the literary competition, it was the martial arts competition. This great Jin Dynasty's Taizu was more colorful than Zhang Rui had imagined.
A large number of disciples from martial arts sects and military families came to Beijing. Martial artists are full of vigor and it is easy for them to cause trouble. At this time, the Dali Temple, which is responsible for criminal prosecution, becomes extremely important. Anyway, according to Yuchi Hong, every time this happens, there are always a few people in the Dali Temple who take the blame and die!

Why.
Zhang Rui covered his head and looked at the busy family outside with mixed feelings.

Now my family is very happy because of my promotion, but I don’t know how long I can keep them happy like this.

The prince, right? Revenge, right?
I don't care who you are, if you dare to lay your hands on me, I will kill you.

"Brother. Is brother here?"

There was a sudden hurried knock on the door. Zhang Rui was startled and hurried forward to open the door.

He could tell from the voice that it was his second son Zhang Yu. He remembered that a long time ago, when he had failed the imperial examination for the nth time and had the audacity to ask his family for next year's tuition, his dull younger brother no longer liked to talk to him and tried to avoid him whenever they met.

In fact, he knew the reason himself. The family could only afford to send one person to school. As the eldest brother, he was studying outside and well-dressed. As a child of the same parents, he had to work in the fields with his back to the earth. The key point was that most of the money he earned after a year of hard work had to be used to support his brother's studies.

One failure, two failures, multiple failures, and even the strongest relationships will be worn out.

"What's wrong, Xiaoyu?"

Zhang Yu at the door was stunned. How many years ago was this name used? It's not like we were kids.

"Brother, can you help me?"

Zhang Rui's heart skipped a beat. How long had it been since he last heard the word "brother"?
"Come in and talk."

After entering the house, Zhang Rui poured a cup of tea for the other party and said gently: "Tell me slowly, don't be impatient."

"Mother is planning to go back on the Mei family's marriage proposal. Do you know about this, brother?"

"I just came back, how would I know about this?" Zhang Rui had no memory of the past two years, how would he know what was going on at the Mei family? So he asked tentatively, "What's going on? Tell me in detail."

"Brother, you are going to be promoted to a Beijing official this time. Mother just came to me to talk about this matter. She said that the girl from the Mei family is no longer worthy of me and wants to cancel the engagement."

Zhang Rui covered his face when he heard this. Why do I always do such things as crossing the river and destroying the bridge? I never thought I was so bad before.

"Brother, you know that I have never been to school and I am illiterate. After moving here, I have been an idle person. My sister-in-law doesn't let me get involved in her business. Although the Mei family is a merchant family, they don't think highly of me. If it weren't for the insistence of the second Miss Mei, I would have no chance to marry such a good girl."

Zhang Rui looked at the other person in a daze after hearing that. What a good guy! He tricked an unmarried girl into marrying him. I never realized it before. How could this fool have such a talent?

"Are you so fond of the girl from the Mei family?" Zhang Rui asked with a smile. "Brother," Zhang Yu nodded his head a little embarrassedly, "she is indeed a good girl. I got to know her when I was helping with shopping for the family. Although she is unmarried, she is a good hand at the family business. She manages the Mei family's fabric store. Like my sister-in-law, she is a good woman who manages the household."

"Oh?" Zhang Rui was a little surprised that there were actually people in the family who recognized his cheap wife. He originally thought that under the leadership of his mother, no one liked Luo.

"Besides, we are already engaged, how can we cancel the engagement for no reason? My younger sister wants to marry a better family, and is willing to follow mother's wishes and cancel the engagement, and go to the capital to find a better one, but I don't want to."

"Is that so?" Zhang Rui thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I'll go and help you talk to him."

"Brother, are you really helping me?" Zhang Yu said excitedly.

"I'll really help you." Zhang Rui was speechless. Why was there so much distrust in this kid's eyes?

"Don't frame me. You say you're helping me here, but you turn around and help mom to talk about me tonight."

"You kid." Looking at the other party's cautious look, Zhang Rui knew that this stubborn boy rarely asked him for help. If he couldn't do it, he would probably blame himself in the future.

"I promise you, no matter whether mom agrees or not, I will help you get what you want. How about that?"

Zhang Yu looked at his brother blankly, feeling that his elder brother seemed different.
Even if he would help me in the past, he would not have such a sure tone, as if as long as he decided, this thing would definitely be accomplished -
"mother"

Zhang Rui did not say much. After all, the New Year's Day was just a few days away, and he would have to go to Beijing after the New Year's Day. His mother might cut the Gordian knot and cancel the engagement without telling the second son, and Zhang Rui did not want this to happen.

"Son, why don't you sleep a little longer? I used to have the habit of taking a nap."

"The second brother came to me just now." Zhang Rui said with a smile.

"Humph!" Huang's face fell immediately when she heard this: "Is it because of the matter about Miss Mei?"

"Mother is wise."

"Stop flattering me!" Huang glared at me and said, "No, our family is now considered an official family, and the wives we marry are all daughters of merchants. How do you want outsiders to see us?"

"If that's the case, why were you willing to get engaged before?" Zhang Rui asked with a smile.

"The present is different from the past. Before, the second son was very persistent and insisted on marrying that girl. Secondly, he thought that the Feng family was a big family in the local area, and the second son had no job, so marrying the second girl Mei was a compromise. But now it's different. You are an official in Beijing. You can find a decent servant for your brother, right? Then the Mei family is not good enough."

"Don't bring up your reputation. You're not the second child. If he cancels the engagement, it won't affect your reputation, right?"

"Mother" Zhang Rui looked at the tough look of his mother, and finally sighed: "How many years has the second son supported me?"

"Huh?" Huang was stunned, and a trace of guilt suddenly appeared on her face: "What's the point of talking about support between brothers? If you read it out, he can also enjoy the benefits, and we can help each other."

"Mom," Zhang Rui interrupted, "For so many years, the second son has been working hard without complaint. We are the only two men in the family. I studied for ten years, and the second son worked in the fields for ten years. He is five years younger than me, but he has been worn out to look older than I do."

Huang lowered her head and bit her lip when she heard this: "What should I do if you call me mother? Back then, our family was in such a difficult situation that we could only support one child. You were so smart when you were little, so of course I could only take care of you first. I will compensate the second child as much as possible later."

"I know that we had no choice back then." Zhang Rui said gently, "But what about now? Our family situation has improved, and we should let the second son have a happy ending after all the hardship. Now he finally has a girl he likes, but mother wants to break up the couple."

"I'm doing this for his own good. He's looking for death right now, but that's because he hasn't seen anything better. He won't listen to me now, but he'll regret it someday."

"We'll talk about it when the time comes." Zhang Rui said with a smile, "We have to let him choose for himself once. He had no choice before because his family conditions were like that. Now that his family conditions have improved, he still has no choice. That's a bit too much."

"Okay, okay, you are all good people, and it's just me, an old evil woman, who is meddling in other people's affairs, okay?" Huang's eyes were red, and she slammed the door and left angrily.

Zhang Rui smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly, but when he turned around he was startled: "When did you get here?"

The person who suddenly appeared next to her was Murong Yunji.

"It's been a while."

"Did you hear everything?"

"I'm not interested in your crap."

"Then why are you looking for me?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.

After coming back from the North Sea, this guy said he wanted to travel and then disappeared without even getting my consent. Now he suddenly appears here again. What is he doing?

"I want to participate in that world competition!"

"Ah?" Zhang Rui was stunned and thought: Why don't you just go and participate? Why are you looking for me?
"Without a sect or family guarantee, you cannot participate." Murong Yunji raised his head: "You have to help me."

Labor
(End of this chapter)