Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 253 Conviction
Soon, the stone table in front of Lu Zheng was filled with utensils.

Yun Xiao stared and found that there were many things he had never seen before.

"What are these?" Yun Xiao was puzzled. "You use these tools to make pills, but where is your furnace?"

If you can make elixirs without using a furnace, you are either an expert or you don’t know how to make elixirs.

"I know what these things are!" Qing Wan beside her said excitedly, "That's a beaker, that's..."

Yun Xiao couldn't help but look at Qing Wan, thinking that he didn't know, so how come this little guy knew more than him?
"Are you also learning alchemy?" Yun Xiao asked curiously.

Qing Wan said, "I've read the book. It's in the book! I'm not learning alchemy. I'm studying other things."

Research? Yun Xiao narrowed his eyes and couldn't help laughing: "You little guy, what are you researching?"

"A lot, but I haven't figured it out yet." Qing Wan shook her head and said, "I'm studying things, this is chemistry! Lu Zheng said that alchemy is similar to chemistry."

"Chemistry?" Yun Xiao didn't quite understand what he heard. "The science of transformation?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Master, you can understand it this way."

Yun Xiao turned and stared at Lu Zheng, "Practice it and let me see."

Lu Zheng took out the herbs and said slowly, "Actually, these are auxiliary tools, used for purification. I think when refining the elixir, we can first purify the useful substances in each ingredient, and then..."

"Different medicinal materials require different purification methods..."

Lu Zheng explained while slowly operating.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but listen carefully, and then stared at Lu Zheng's actions without blinking.

After a few hours, Lu Zheng completely purified the materials used for a batch of pills.

Then light a flame in your hand and start throwing each ingredient in according to the proportion and order to make the reaction proceed.

The flame transformed from one's own righteous energy is easier to control.

Before long, several high-quality pills were condensed.

Yun Xiao immediately stood up to check, reached out to take the still warm pill, and marveled at it.

Yun Xiao was surprised and said, "Although your method of refining pills is much more complicated, it seems that the success rate is very high, and the quality of the pills is also very good!"

"The usual alchemy technique is to remove impurities during the process, but you've removed the impurities first."

"Purifying each herb first is no easy task. Where did you learn this?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng replied, "I figured it out on my own. What do you think of this method, Taoist Priest?"

Yun Xiao pondered and said, "It does have some unique and valuable points. What book do you have? Can you show it to me?"

Lu Zhengdao: "That's fine, but there might be some errors in the content."

Yun Xiao said nonchalantly, "It's just a small matter. How can any classic be completely correct?"

Lu Zheng handed a sorted book to Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao flipped open the book and frowned slightly. "It seems like there are missing paragraphs or words in your book. And there are these symbols. Why have I never seen them before?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I've read some books before, and when I summarize them, there are naturally some unclear points..."

Yun Xiao couldn't help but browse through it carefully. He only half understood it and felt that it was a strange book. It contained a lot of knowledge that he had never understood before.

"Come on, come on, Fellow Daoist Lu, tell me, what do these mean?"

Yun Xiao had a smile on his face, and looked like he was asking for advice humbly.

……

In the state prison, a group of officers rushed in and came to a group of cells.

Those imprisoned here are all big shots in Hongzhou City.

A policeman opened the prison door with a key and escorted Mr. Gao and others out.

Seeing this, someone couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking us?"

An official said coldly, "The governor and the prefect are going to convict you, so just behave yourself."

The officials escorted the group to the county government court.

Inside and outside the lobby, armored soldiers stood on both sides with solemn expressions and menacing demeanor.

You can tell at first glance that they are not ordinary yamen runners.

They had seen similar soldiers before, and they were An Dingyuan's subordinates.

But in the court, An Dingyuan was sitting upright, and Su Ming was sitting beside him.

Today, it is time to convict those with the greatest status.

Those who should be released should be released, those who should be locked up should be locked up, and those who should be executed should be executed.

An Dingyuan was a little excited, after all, it was the first time he did such a thing.

Even if you have discussed it with others many times before, you can't help but feel uneasy.

Seeing a group of people coming, An Dingyuan's expression became serious.

He picked up a stack of files at hand and asked calmly, "Who is Zhao Zhuo?"

Two officers brought a middle-aged man to the front.

An Dingyuan looked at the officials around him and said, "Read it!"

The official quickly picked up the file and said aloud: "Zhao Zhuo, a native of Hongzhou, secretly communicated with the enemy country..."

The officer read out all the evidence he had found without haste.

"The above is an unforgivable crime of treason. Zhao Zhuo's entire family must be executed immediately! The execution will take place on August 17th, after the Mid-Autumn Festival!"

"Zhao Zhuo, do you have any objections?"

The middle-aged man stood there without saying a word.

An Dingyuan said coldly, "Since you have no objection, sign and seal it, and take it away!"

A policeman helped Zhao Zhuo sign and seal the document, and then dragged him away.

Then, An Dingyuan looked at another file, "Gao Yi?"

The Gao family's head's face changed slightly when he heard this. Why was he the second one to be selected? The official continued to read: "Gao Yi, patriarch of the Gao family in Hongzhou, a successful candidate..."

Then came another series of charges, but the crimes they committed were much less serious than those committed by Zhao Zhuo.

Moreover, as the head of a family, Gao Yi did not handle many things, and many sins were borne by his clansmen.

"Gao Yi has surrendered himself and made meritorious reports. Considering his good attitude, his status as a juren (academic candidate) will be revoked, his property will be confiscated... and he will be released immediately."

Being stripped of one's honors and titles is a very serious crime, except for the death penalty.

To be stripped of one's fame and honor is a disgrace for a scholar.

Reputation is sometimes more important to a person than life.

Moreover, without fame and honor, he would be a penniless person. If Gao Yi committed any crime again, he would not be able to use his wealth or fame to atone for his crime or get a lighter punishment.

"Gao Yi, do you have any objection?" the official asked again.

Patriarch Gao had a complicated expression. He took a deep breath and said hoarsely, "No objection."

What objection could he have? Even if he did, he would still be locked up and sentenced slowly.

This is not an interrogation at all, it is a direct conviction.

The state government has sufficient evidence of guilt, so the previous steps are unnecessary and can be completed in one step.

An Dingyuan nodded slightly and said, "Since that's the case, sign your name! There are still people from your Gao family hiding out, trying to evade responsibility. As the head of the Gao family, you still have suspicions that haven't been cleared. Stay in Hongzhou City and don't run around and embarrass me."

Gao Yi looked unnatural and raised his hand to sign.

The subordinate officer then handed the confession letter to An Dingyuan.

An Dingyuan waved his pen and took out his official seal and pressed it.

The confession letter was shining brightly, and a ray of light shot towards Gao Yi, directly cutting off part of the literary energy in Gao Yi's body.

Gao Yi was struck by lightning and his body trembled.

The Wen Palace within his consciousness suddenly cracked, and he instantly felt dizzy.

To strip a scholar of his honors is to strip him of his honors and literary prestige bestowed upon him by the court.

Some of Gao Yi's own literary aura is still there, but he has now been directly reduced to the second level of Confucianism and Taoism.

Without the honors in the imperial court, even if one has the status of a Confucian or Taoist scholar, one will not have so many privileges.

Moreover, it is almost impossible to cultivate the three levels of Confucianism and Taoism in this lifetime.

Gao Yi became completely dejected.

An Dingyuan waved his hand and said, "Alright, Gao Yi, you are free, go back!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yi left the provincial government office with an expressionless face.

As soon as he left the provincial government office, he felt relieved.

No matter what, he was finally out of jail.

The provincial government did not take advantage of the situation by charging Gao with treason, nor did it take his life directly.

Seeing that no one came to pick him up, Gao Yi had to walk home by himself.

On the street, guards were distributing mooncakes.

When he got close to Gao Yi, the guard stuffed a mooncake into Gao Yi's hand without even looking at him.

Gao Yi was stunned holding the mooncake for a moment, and only after hearing other people's discussions did he realize what was going on.

Lu Zheng... Gao Yi looked at the mooncake in his hand, his heart in turmoil.

Finally, he put away the mooncakes and hurried home.

When we arrived at Gao's house, we found the door closed.

Gao Yi walked up and knocked on the door. After a long while, an old man answered and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me." Gao Yi said.

The old man vaguely heard a familiar voice, but couldn't place it, so he slowly opened the door.

"Master!" The old man was surprised and delighted to see Gao Yi. "Master, you're out. Home..."

The old man's eyes were red and he was incoherent for a while.

Gao Yi had a calm expression as he walked into the mansion.

As we walked along, the mansion was completely quiet, but many places were in a state of disrepair, as if they had been robbed.

When I came to the living room, the originally luxurious living room had changed its appearance.

The valuable calligraphy and paintings and furniture disappeared, leaving only a few ordinary tables, chairs and benches.

Seeing this, Gao Yi took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Even though he had anticipated such a scene, it was still difficult for him to accept it when he saw it with his own eyes.

The old man next to him said, "Master, it was those bastards from the county government who did it. They came to your house and searched and took things, confiscating a lot of your valuables. They also took away the eldest and second young masters, and there's been no news of them since. The mistress and the young lady have taken refuge in a small courtyard elsewhere in the city. Now, there are only a few people left in your house. Many of the servants were scared away and don't want to come back."

It is said that when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The Gao family, which was once prosperous, also suffered the same fate.

Gao Yi sat on a chair and said quietly, "I'm not dead yet, and now it's such a mess? Call back everyone who can! As long as I'm here, the Gao family won't fall!"

"Master!" The old man was immediately excited when he heard this.

Gao Yi said, "I need to rest for a while. Tell me in detail what happened at home later. Go call the mistress and the young lady back!"

"Okay, sir." The old man responded quickly.

Gao Yi continued, "Send someone to the provincial government office to inquire. They are closing the case now. I want to know what happened to the other families."

The old man was startled and nodded, "I will go now. Master, do you have any other instructions?"

Gao Yi waved his hand and closed his eyes with a tired look.

The old man didn't dare to say anything more and left quickly and quietly.

(End of this chapter)