This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

Dali Temple.

One of the three departments of the Great Wu Dynasty.

Unlike the late Ming Dynasty, which only had the power of review, the Dali Temple of the Great Wu Dynasty had the same functions as the Ministry of Justice in handling cases.

In fact, their status was even higher than that of the Ministry of Justice.

Zhang Ping'an and his companion stood before the vermilion gate, gazing at the solemn and imposing Dali Temple government office.

Lu Ruoxue comforted her, "Don't worry, the Dali Temple has always upheld the law impartially, and they will definitely handle Chen Zhishi's case."

The reason she was so sure was, of course, because Lu Wenhao had spoken to her.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has already agreed to Lu Wenhao's request.

"I hope so!"

Zhang Ping'an took a breath and strode towards the government office.

Lu Ruoxue put her hands behind her back and walked leisurely towards the teahouse across the street.

"Hmph, when this guy gets out, I'll make him tell me the Legend of the White Snake for three days and three nights to repay me!"

This time, Zhang Ping'an was directly led into the main hall by the guards at the gate, and met Du Qingzhi, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, in a side room.

Du Qingzhi was in his early forties, with a round figure and an ordinary face that seemed to naturally carry a kind smile.

When Zhang Ping'an came in, he was sitting in a grand chair drinking tea.

"Student Zhang Ping'an greets Your Excellency!"

Zhang Ping'an bowed respectfully, his posture was very standard.

"You've finally arrived." Du Qingzhi smiled, his fat face jiggling slightly, almost squeezing his eyes out.

Zhang Ping'an looked up at him with some curiosity.

"Did you know I was coming, sir?"

"Hehe." Du Qingzhi laughed strangely, his gaze suddenly turning towards the doorway.

Two figures walked in together.

It turned out to be Zhang Xuanling and Sun Guihua.

Zhang Ping'an's expression immediately changed: "It's you..."

"So you guessed I would come to the Dali Temple for help, and that's why you came here to ambush me beforehand?"

Zhang Xuanling sneered at him, "You little beast, stop trying to make yourself look good. Do we need to come and confront you?"

"Although we don't know how you persuaded the third young master of the Prime Minister's residence to come to Du Shaoqing for help."

"However, you are destined to make a wasted trip. No one will offend Lord Sun for your sake. We call the shots in this court."

The third young master of the Prime Minister's mansion? Lu Wenhao!

This kid is surprisingly kind-hearted. He must have been disgusted by Sun Xing's actions, which is why he secretly sought help from the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Unfortunately, he never imagined that even the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was in cahoots with the other party.

This incident made him realize that the mutual protection among officials in the Great Wu court had reached its extreme.

Although the Empress has worked diligently to govern the country since ascending the throne, the court is still beset by internal and external troubles. The prosperity of the Great Wu Dynasty is only a superficial and false prosperity, and the deep-rooted problems are difficult to eradicate.

"Hmph, if you truly could control everything, why would you even be here today?"

"There will always be places in this world that you cannot reach."

Zhang Ping'an said no more and turned to leave.

"You little beast, don't waste your energy. With your and those poor scholars from the academy, what makes you think you can fight against Lord Sun?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just stay in the Prime Minister's residence and be his son-in-law?"

Zhang Xuanling said with a mocking expression.

Zhang Ping'an paused slightly, remembering Chen Zhishi's words.

"In this world, there are some things that always need to be done by someone, even if it means getting hurt and bleeding."

After saying that, he strode away.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself!" Zhang Xuanling cursed, glancing at Sun Guihua, whose face was gloomy.

"Lord Sun, if we let this brat cause trouble, it will likely alarm His Majesty sooner or later. This case must be closed as soon as possible."

Sun Guihua frowned and said, "Lord Zhang, do you even need to tell me? It's just that the poor, pedantic scholar in prison is incredibly stubborn!"

"Besides, with those old fogies from the academy keeping an eye on things, we can't go too far."

"However, I have already sent people to look for his parents in the countryside, and I believe news will come back soon."

Zhang Xuanling nodded: "That's good. Should I send someone to follow that little bastard Zhang Ping'an? Let's see what other trouble he's planning."

"No need. What trouble can a mere penniless wretch cause?" Sun Guihua said with a disdainful look.

Outside the Dali Temple.

Upon seeing Zhang Ping'an emerge, Lu Ruoxue immediately ran out of the teahouse across the street.

"You're out so quickly? Du Shaoqing agreed?"

Lu Ruoxue stared at Zhang Ping'an with excitement and asked.

Zhang Ping'an's face darkened: "No."

"You go back first, I'll think of another way."

"How could that be?" Lu Ruoxue asked, her face full of doubt. "Could it be that Wenhao lied to me?"

"Where else can you go besides Dali Temple?" Lu Ruoxue asked with a worried look.

Zhang Ping'an's gaze turned eastward, towards the direction of the Night Watch's office.

"Shadow Tower".

Zhang Pingan uttered these three words in a deep voice.

Lu Ruoxue exclaimed in shock, "Are you crazy?!"

"That's the Night Watch's office—a place that eats people alive!"

"It's a sword hanging over the heads of all the civil and military officials by His Majesty!"

"How could they possibly care about such a routine case!"

Zhang Ping'an looked at Lu Ruoxue with some suspicion: This young man knows quite a lot!

"What if I join them? Wouldn't that give me a legitimate reason to thoroughly investigate this case?"

A crazed light flashed in Zhang Ping'an's eyes.

"Are you crazy? Joining the Night's Watch is tantamount to giving up the imperial examinations and a career in government!"

"Your future is ruined!" Lu Ruoxue said anxiously, almost shouting.

"Ha, I've offended the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and there will definitely be other vice ministers in the future. Do you think I can still pursue a career in government?"

Zhang Ping'an gave a self-deprecating laugh, a bitter laugh that revealed his resentment and helplessness.

"This..." Lu Ruoxue was speechless.

It seems that Zhang Ping'an's career path is indeed as difficult as climbing to the sky.

But once Zhang Ping'an joins the Night Watch, she won't be able to win him over to the Prime Minister's residence!

"Zhang Ping'an, although you've offended many people, the court isn't ruled by them alone. You still have a chance!"

"If you really join the Night's Watch, your career will be over. You should think it over again!"

"Don't think about it anymore, you can go back!"

In fact, he had already made his decision when he left Dali Temple.

"Zhang Ping'an...you should think about it again..." Lu Ruoxue shouted as she watched his retreating figure.

Zhang Ping'an didn't even turn his head, striding towards the Shadow Tower.

Shadow Tower.

The third layer.

This is the office of Lord Guo Sanbao, who is in charge of the entire Night's Watch organization.

The third floor of the Shadow Tower is spacious and bright, unlike the oppressive and gloomy first floor.

A bald, greasy middle-aged man dressed in a silver bird-patterned robe was bowing to a red-robed eunuch sitting with his back to him in a chair behind the desk.

"Lord, the matter you instructed me to do yesterday has not been accomplished."

The red-clad eunuch's back stiffened slightly, and he asked in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, why?"

Zhao Qianshan began to shift the blame: "Lord, as you instructed, I personally sent my Iron Guards to invite that boy to Qingshan Hall and extended the most sincere invitation."

"But that boy is only interested in taking the imperial examinations and looks down on us Night Watchmen. He doesn't give me any face at all and has decisively rejected my invitation."