I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

As Lu Yuan stepped into the East Courtyard, the Imperial Guards immediately sealed off the courtyard gates behind him.

The officials surrounding Shen Yilei quickly stepped back and bowed.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Yuan walked to the overturned table and pushed aside the chair blocking his way.

Shen Yilei put down the chair he was holding and raised his hand to straighten his clothes.

"Your Highness, I have caused you trouble."

"Whether it caused trouble or not, we need to clarify things first."

Lu Yuan glanced at the injury on his face, then turned to look at Li Zhenyuan.

"Dr. Wu, you speak first."

Li Zhenyuan walked forward, clutching his abdomen.

He took several punches to the face, and his official robe was torn, but seeing that Lu Yuan did not immediately stand up for Shen Yilei, he regained some confidence.

"Your Highness, Shen Yilei has no respect for his superiors. He openly snatched the case files and even physically assaulted me in the East Courtyard."

"According to the imperial law, insubordination and assaulting a superior should at least result in dismissal and punishment!"

One of the leaders then spoke up.

"Your Highness, what Physician Wu said is true."

"Lord Shen first threw the case files at him, and Physician Wu was so angry that he retaliated."

Shen Yilei took the case file out of his pocket.

"Why don't you explain why he tried to steal the case files?"

"Cao Yuan, the magistrate of Yongning County, got drunk and rode his horse recklessly, killing an old charcoal seller. Afterwards, instead of helping the man, he ordered his yamen runners to beat the victim and force them to sign a settlement agreement."

"The Ministry of Justice had originally planned to exile him three thousand li away, but Li Zhenyuan wants to change it to a fine to atone for his crime!"

Li Zhenyuan immediately retorted, "I have only convened my colleagues to discuss the matter; the final judgment has not yet been determined."

"You had the Cao family deliver ten thousand taels of silver to the side courtyard of the Ministry of Justice, and have the aggrieved party sign and affix their fingerprints to it. Is that what you call negotiation?"

"That was the money the Cao family paid as compensation to the victims."

"The old charcoal seller's family didn't even receive their hundred taels of silver. Where did the rest of the money go?"

The two grew closer, but then started arguing again.

Lu Yuan raised his hand and separated the two people.

"Shut up, all of you."

Shen Yilei pressed the case file to his chest and took two steps back.

Li Zhenyuan had also tidied up his clothes and was waiting for Lu Yuan to take care of them.

Lu Yuan said to Shen Yilei, "Father-in-law, apologize to Physician Wu."

The officials in the East Courtyard also raised their heads.

Shen Yilei was also stunned.

"Your Highness, should I apologize to that person?"

Didn't you hear me?

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenyuan could no longer hide his smugness.

He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, then took a step forward.

"Your Highness is discerning, Lord Shen. We are both officials in the same court."

"As long as you sincerely admit your mistake, I am not unable to forgive you."

Shen Yilei looked at Lu Yuan.

After his daughter entered the Ninth Prince's residence, he never thought of using this relationship to bully others.

But he was still upset after being insulted today and Lu Yuan made him apologize.

He handed the case file to the clerk next to him, and then walked up to Li Zhenyuan.

"Lord Wu, I acted impulsively today and injured my superior. This is my fault, and I apologize to you."

Li Zhenyuan raised his hands and deliberately delayed nodding for a while.

"However, the case in Yongning County must be tried by me; you have no right to interfere."

Shen Yilei tightened his hands at his sides, but did not refute again.

Lu Yuan walked to his side. "Don't you understand why I made you apologize?"

Shen Yilei lowered his head.

"Your Highness has his reasons."

Lu Yuan helped him pull up his torn sleeve.

"I'm asking you to apologize because you did indeed do something wrong."

"If you discover that your superior has abused his power and committed favoritism, you should protect the case files, collect evidence, and then report it to the Minister of Justice, the Censorate, or the Emperor."

"Even if they don't care, you can still come to the Ninth Prince's residence to find me."

"But you chose the stupidest way."

"He fought with his superior in public."

Shen Yilei raised his head.

Lu Yuan pointed to the scattered files on the ground.

"So what if you win? Li Zhenyuan's revised judgment is still there, the money sent by the Cao family is still there, and the victim's injustice has not been cleared."

"If you are dismissed and imprisoned, this case will fall entirely into their hands."

"When the case files are lost, witnesses recant their testimonies, and the victim is forced to sign and fingerprint documents, who will stand up for the old charcoal seller?"

Looking at the files scattered all over the floor, Shen Yilei's anger gradually subsided.

He only thought about not handing the case file over to the other party, but he didn't expect that the case file would also be confiscated after he was arrested.

"Your subject understands."

He bowed to Lu Yuan again and said, "If I encounter such a thing again in the future, I will first preserve the evidence and report it for investigation. I will never act impulsively again."

"That's more like it."

Lu Yuan pointed out Li Zhenyuan, "The apology is because you hit someone. As for whether he abused his power, that's another matter."

The smile on Li Zhenyuan's face immediately became unnatural.

"Your Highness, the idea of ​​paying silver to atone for a crime is not my idea. There is a precedent in the time of the late Emperor for officials who paid silver to atone for their crimes."

"I handled it as usual, giving the Ministry of Justice another option to deal with it."

He glanced at the surrounding crowd and said, "If Your Highness believes that fining someone to atone for a crime is disregarding the law, then doesn't that mean the late Emperor was also wrong?"

The people in charge looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.

The late emperor's affairs have also been recorded in the Ministry of Justice's archives.

If anyone agrees with Li Zhenyuan that the late emperor was wrong, the Censorate can impeach him for disrespect the next day.

Li Zhenyuan straightened his back and his facial expression returned to normal.

"Your Highness, even outside the law there is human sentiment, and one must adapt to the circumstances."

"The Cao family is willing to offer ten thousand taels of silver. Part of it will be used to compensate the victims, and the other part will be turned over to the national treasury."

"It can both appease the families of the deceased and bring more tax revenue to the imperial court."

"This approach is more effective than exiling Cao Yuan three thousand li away."

Lu Yuan did not offer any opinion, but instead looked at Shen Yilei.

"Father-in-law, is there anything you want to say?"

Shen Yilei stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Li Zhenyuan is trying to confuse the truth."

"There was a regulation in the late emperor's time that fines could be used to redeem crimes, but the mistakes made by those officials at that time were only dereliction of duty. They did not harm the people, nor did they embezzle, accept bribes, or bend the law for personal gain."

"But Cao Yuan, the magistrate of Yongning County, was different. He rode his horse and killed people, injured the victims, and forced the people to change their stories."

"During his three years in office, he privately collected taxes from merchants and allowed the Cao family to encroach on farmland. There were twelve complaints submitted to the Ministry of Justice."

Li Zhenyuan interrupted him, saying, "Those legal documents haven't been investigated yet!"

"If the matter hasn't been thoroughly investigated, it should be investigated; people shouldn't be released directly."

Shen Yilei looked at Lu Yuan and said, "Back then, there was a flood in Hedong, and hundreds of thousands of people were short of food."

"Because the national treasury could not raise enough funds for disaster relief in a short time, the late emperor made an exception and allowed officials who had neglected their duties to pay silver to atone for their sins."

"Every tael of silver we received was sent to the disaster area to buy food and provide relief to the people."

"That's just an emergency measure, not a magic bullet to absolve corrupt officials."

The older person in charge nodded in agreement.

"I have already checked the late emperor's records. The seven officials who were granted redemption at that time were all careless in their work."

"The late emperor issued another edict, imposing a fine and then demoting the person but allowing them to remain in service, to observe their future conduct."

Another person stepped forward.

"The case in Yongning County is different from the one back then."

"If even intentionally killing ordinary people can be punished with a fine, wouldn't wealthy people be able to kill at will?"

Li Zhenyuan turned and glared at the two of them.

"Did I tell you to speak?"

The two main leaders stepped back, but did not retract their earlier remarks.

Lu Yuan pointed at Li Zhenyuan.

"They have already explained it clearly."

"It's your turn!"

Li Zhenyuan's face immediately darkened. He said, "Your Highness, this case is still under discussion. I need to verify the testimonies again."

"Explain now!"

"Many details are in the case file, and I can't remember them clearly at the moment."

"Can."

Lu Yuan handed the case file to the person in charge and then turned to the first page.

"I'll accompany you to the archives!"

This court will examine Cao Yuan's confession, the victims' petitions, and the witness statements sent from Yongning County, one by one.

Li Zhenyuan's eyes widened, and he immediately reached out to stop him.

If he can stall until tonight, he can have someone destroy the relevant case files and get the Cao family to send the witnesses away.

But now that Lu Yuan has entered the archives, all the secrets will be discovered.

"Your Highness!"

"Although you are a prince, you do not have the authority to arbitrarily view the Ministry of Justice's files!"