The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 78 This is a test of my conscience!
"Please, Daoist Master, punish me!"

Du Yuan remained silent, which only intensified Governor Pei's anxiety.

As for this torment, is it due to fear of the silent pressure from the reclusive sage, or is it from the inner questioning of one's own heart?

He probably can't tell the difference himself.

Perhaps it is a combination of both?

But one thing is certain: the longer this silence lasts, the more uncomfortable he becomes.

Therefore, Prefect Pei bowed to Du Yuan with a face full of shame and apologized.

I want to end this torment as soon as possible.

It was this sentence that pulled Du Yuan back from the bottom of her heart.

After glancing at the other person.

Recalling what she had seen before, Du Yuan smiled and said:

“I am not the emperor, and you have nothing to do with me. I have no reason to punish you.”

The governor was taken aback by these words.

Since you didn't intend to blame me, why did you point it out directly?

As he pondered this, Governor Pei's expression froze.

The Taoist priest has presented me with a test of my conscience!

He was a fourth-rank official appointed by the emperor himself, a legitimate official of the imperial court. The only ones who could hold him accountable were the imperial court and the emperor!

He violated the law, so he should be dealt with according to the law.

And if he wasn't mistaken, even if he hadn't gone, the Taoist priest wouldn't have made any report.

Because the Taoist priest did not specify what kind of despicable things he had done.

Therefore, this test is simply the Taoist priest questioning his own heart.

The only one who can punish him is his own conscience!
Even if there is no major punishment, going there would likely ruin one's future and cause one's career to be ruined.

If I don't go, I'll be tormented by conscience for the rest of my life, having already been awakened by the Taoist priest.

As he pondered, he paused again, mentally correcting himself—well, actually, he would live his entire life in the shadow of whether the Taoist priest would come to question him.
What a mental hurdle!

But who can blame this?
Could anyone in Qingzhou possibly force a governor with deep imperial favor to collude with the emperor? Therefore, this was my own choice.
After taking a deep breath, Governor Pei bowed again with a bitter expression:

"Daoist Master, Pei Yibai knows he was wrong! From today onwards, he will write a letter to the Censorate to plead guilty!"

These words caused the burly man to gasp in shock:

"grown ups?!"

At this moment, all he could think about was, "No, sir, why are you suddenly going to the imperial court to plead guilty?"

In response to the attendants' exclamations, Governor Pei merely rebuked them sternly:

"Shut up! I had already gone astray, and it is already a great blessing that the Taoist priest was able to enlighten me in time and help me turn back from my wrong path. You must not ruin my good deeds!"

The burly man quickly lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

Sitting opposite the governor, Du Yuan stared at him silently for a while before speaking:
"Have you thought about it?"

After struggling internally for a long time, Governor Pei finally said with a sigh of relief:
"Think about it!"

The moment he uttered those three words, he felt as if he had been reborn, refreshed and invigorated.

He knew his political career was over, but he felt he had never been so relaxed in his life.

Seeing this, Du Yuan smiled and said:
"Then I will say no more."

After speaking, Du Yuan stood up again, and to Prefect Pei's puzzlement, walked up to him, squatted down, and gently patted his shoulder, saying:
"This humble Taoist priest offers you a piece of advice: To err is human, to forgive divine! It's never too late to mend one's ways!"

These words left the governor utterly astonished. But a moment later, he exclaimed with immense joy:
"Taoist Master, it's difficult. Could it be that I can still do it?"

Du Yuan did not answer the question, but simply smiled and repeated:
"You must be able to admit your mistakes and correct them!"

Du Yuan didn't necessarily want to exterminate every corrupt official she encountered, because it's impossible for all officials to be honest and upright, nor is it possible for all officials to be so wicked that everyone wants to kill them.

The vast majority of them operate in a gray area.

It's just so-so, good or bad, it's passable.

So, if Du Yuan could try to pull these people towards justice, she would naturally be willing to do so. But if not, there was no reason to simply kick them to the ground.

Of course, if you really encounter a black guy, you should definitely go up and kill him first!
As for Governor Pei's words, they clearly fell into a gray area; judging from Yun Yan's appearance, they certainly weren't exactly black, but they were far from being completely innocent either.

He wasn't wrong; it was indeed Du Yuan asking about his heart.

Du Yuan hadn't expected him to go directly to the imperial court to plead guilty; Du Yuan's original intention was simply to give him a warning.

However, since he said he was going to the imperial court to plead guilty, Du Yuan naturally wouldn't stop him.

Moreover, since she acknowledges her mistakes and is willing to correct them, Du Yuan is also willing to offer some assistance.

Of course, it's more accurate to call it a warning rather than a helping hand.

Governor Pei is now so engrossed in his own "supernatural abilities" that he can't see the whole picture.

He was a trusted confidant sent by the emperor to Qingzhou to check and balance the local area. Even if he really apologized, judging from the behavior of his wild goose, he was still a confidant.

It's unlikely that it will truly hit the nail on the head.

Therefore, since the sword of law cannot actually fall, in order to prevent himself from having to kill him when they meet again in the future.

I should just hang a sword of Damocles on him myself.

Governor Pei was so excited he was speechless, having thought his career had come to an end.

Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest said there was still a glimmer of hope!
After witnessing the dramatic exchange of words, he truly had no doubts about Du Yuan. He immediately bowed repeatedly to Du Yuan in gratitude:
"Thank you so much, Master Daoist, for pointing out the way! Thank you so much, Master Daoist, for pointing out the way!"

Du Yuan waved her hand to stop him from continuing:
“You don’t need to do that. There are plenty of people you should kneel to, like heaven, earth, your parents, and your teachers, but I don’t need to. Because I haven’t done anything for them.”

The governor shook his head repeatedly and said:
"Master, you have truly given me a second life!"

He also thought that without Du Yuan, nothing would have happened.

He immediately dismissed the idea, thinking, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

If he were from a prominent family, it wouldn't matter, but he was the emperor's dagger planted in Qingzhou.

Therefore, there are quite a few people who want him to break off the relationship.

Now that nothing has happened, it seems he didn't really manage to deceive everyone.
Upon realizing this, Pei Jingyuan was suddenly struck by a cold sweat.

Even a powerful outsider like him would suffer when encountering a local bully, and he was certainly no match for this powerful local clan that had been entrenched in Qingzhou for many years.

So it's not that they don't know what filth they're hiding, it's that they feel it's not enough!

They might even have deliberately slipped some of the things they took into their possessions!
They only need to accumulate this amount until they feel it's enough, or when they think it's time to use it.

It's likely that something will suddenly happen and be brought to the court.

At that time, even if the emperor wanted to, he could probably only leave him with a whole corpse!

If they get any older, the whole family might not escape disaster.

Even if Pang Yu seizes this opportunity to cause trouble, at most he'll just be dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown. If he's lucky, he might only be fined.

So this was not only a test of conscience, but also a death trap for his entire family.

One wrong step and you're separated by life and death!
After wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with great difficulty, Governor Pei, almost exhausted, bowed again to Du Yuan and said:
"Thank you so much, Taoist priest, for saving the lives of my whole family!"

(End of this chapter)