Pei Gonggui

Zhang San was taken aback: "Master, I—"

"Kneel down!" Jiang Yue reprimanded in a deep voice, and raised his finger to Li Si behind him, "You are in the case and you can't stop your grievances. You just watched Li Zhizhou die. Now facing Mr. Li, don't you have any guilt?"

Zhang San's whole body froze when he heard the words, and his eyes followed Jiang Yue's pointing to look at Li Si, who was in a panic behind him, with shame in his eyes.The next moment, he closed his eyes and frowned, bent his knees, and knelt down in front of Jiang Yue with a thud. Although his face was still cold, the fingers on his knees were already clenched tightly on the hem of the cloud-patterned gown:

"Students are incompetent, and they have failed their master's high expectations...Students deserve death!"

"You are guilty." Jiang Yue withdrew his hand and clenched it into a fist under his sleeve, "You are an official in the capital, and you are a prime minister in Xiantai. You were supposed to clear up the rules and check the officials, but now you are letting me go. Father respects the law and is forced by the cabinet to become an accomplice in the persecution of Zhongliang. What you bear is not the high hopes of being a teacher, but the high hopes of thousands of people who have wronged and loved the people in the world... until now, you still don’t want to make up for it! "

Zhang San immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Students can't sleep all night, have trouble eating and drinking, and want to make up for their mistakes! But..."

"Since you think about it, there's nothing wrong with it." Jiang Yue interrupted him, "Release Li Zhizhou's body immediately, and let Mr. Li return home with his father."

"But master," Zhang San stood up and looked at Jiang Yue, "The person on file is dead, and the body can only be released after the documents are returned according to the regulations. This is the court's law, and I can't—"

"Imperial law?" Li Si, who was behind Jiang Yue, spoke out suddenly, tremblingly intercepting Zhang San's words.

He shook his burly body, leaned on the corner of the table and stood up, his eyes staring like copper bells, and he looked at Zhang San in disbelief: "My father is dead...he didn't die from natural disasters and floods, from famine and tuberculosis, and more I didn’t die on that road, and now I finally came to the capital, and I didn’t even see me, but I was beaten to death in prison by you dog officials! You committed such a crime, but You still want to keep him as a face for the court and as a clerk, are you all fucking crazy!"

In an instant, Li Si suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhang San. In a short while, he grabbed Zhang San by the back of the collar, and pulled him up with a tug.

Pei Jun quickly caught the fist he clenched in the other hand with quick eyesight, and persuaded loudly: "Li Si can't do it!"

Jiang Yue also quickly pressed Li Si's arm: "Mr. Li, he is only following orders, and he is definitely not the one who harmed your father."

Li Si broke his body, grabbed Zhang San's collar and yelled sadly under the restraint of the two: "Anyone said to obey orders, and anyone said they didn't harm my father, so who killed my father?! Who can pay for my father's life?! Who!"

Pei Jun and Jiang Yue were stunned when they heard the words, and suddenly, Li Si also seemed to have exhausted all his strength with a drink, loosened Zhang San's collar, fell back on the stool, closed his eyes and sighed in a daze, tears flowed down his face again. Bruised and dirty face.

Seeing this, Pei Jun sighed deeply, blocked Li Si behind, pulled Zhang San out, and said, "Zhang San, have you seen it? The Li family's case is already a grievance, and there is no time to regret it. If Xiantai still detains him Wouldn't it be even more unconscionable for a corpse to block the mouths of the world?"

Zhang San swayed under his pull, looked at Li Si behind him with complicated eyes, but his throat moved slightly, and he didn't say a word.

Seeing that he was silent, Pei Jun opened his mouth and wanted to persuade him again, but suddenly felt that someone was pulling his sleeves, and when he turned around, he saw Jiang Yue sighing to him: "Forget it, Pei Jun, he probably knows what you mean. You help Mr. Li go out and wait for me first, and I will talk to him about the rest."

Hearing what he said, Pei Jun also knew that Li Si was in a difficult mood to stay, and he was afraid that there would be another dispute, so he helped Li Si to go out according to what he said, but after taking two steps, he looked back at Zhang San and said, "Little Ah San , It’s not terrible to be wrong, it’s terrible to make mistakes again and again. Now you are not only the third son of the Zhang family, but also a courtier in charge of the judiciary. If you are an official without the responsibility of being an official, you will never get what you want.”

After saying this, he stared deeply at Zhang San for a moment, and then walked out of the ear with Li Si.

At this time, only Jiang Yue and Zhang San were left in the room, and the green smoke from the indoor incense burner lingered between the master and the apprentice, gradually dissipating in the silence of the room.Jiang Yue pushed the stool beside him forward a little, motioned Zhang San to sit down, and looked at him with a sigh: "See Yi, how do you feel so powerless?"

Zhang San leaned on the edge of the table and sat down, then replied suddenly: "Like maggots, like ants eating the heart."

Jiang Yue pondered for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "If you have more power in the future, so that you can fight against the cabinet, do you dare to do something?"

Zhang San frowned and looked at him: "What does Master mean by that?"

Jiang Yue said: "I have agreed with Mr. Pei that I want to recommend you to the Ministry of Punishment to make up for Cui Yu's lack of servant in the Ministry of Punishment."

"Minister of the Ministry of Punishment?" Zhang San frowned coldly, "But I'm currently in the fourth rank, and I haven't been released yet. How can I be promoted by leaps and bounds?"

"Master Pei has already made arrangements for this matter." Jiang Yue said, "Soon there will be a major case to be investigated by the imperial court, and we will know as soon as the palace examination is over. In due course, Mr. Pei's students will go out of Beijing to investigate the case with you, and wait for the two of you to make great contributions Returning to the imperial court is the time to become an official."

Zhang San got up slowly, looked at Jiang Yue with reddish eyes and asked: "Master knows that I am cowardly from the clan and cowardly from my father, but why...how do you still believe that I can be in charge of the Ministry of Punishment?"

Jiang Yue raised his head and looked at him, looked deeply into his eyes and said: "Jianyi, although one's birth is not one's will, but where one lives in the world is chosen by everyone. There is nothing you can do about Li's case. Yu Wuquan, but you still know right and wrong in your heart, and you know the right way, so now I just need to help you, and you can go forward indomitably, so why not Mr. Gu and Pei helping you?"

Zhang San hesitated: "But Master's own situation..."

"Then you don't need to worry about it." Jiang Yue also stood up, "You can do one thing right now."

Outside the ear chamber, Pei Jun was sitting with Li Si on the porch waiting for Jiang Yue. Seeing that Li Si had calmed down a little, he asked Li Si in a low voice, "What are your plans when you send your father back?"

Li Si stared at the stone floor, his lips trembled: "Can you really let my father go?"

Pei Jun leaned on the railing and looked at him, sighed and said, "Master Zhang just now, don't look cold, but his heart is hotter than mine. He won't try to embarrass you."

"It won't be difficult..." Li Si sneered sadly, "Who wouldn't say that among all the officials in your capital? You officials and officials protect each other, and there are a few truths in your mouth! I was framed by the Tang family. He was escorted from Wuzhou to the capital, interrogated so many times, and never pleaded guilty once, but when he arrived at the Ministry of Criminal Justice, he was also thrown into death row!"

Li Si turned his head and stared at Pei Jun, his two thick eyebrows twisted his forehead into a knot, he gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "Master Pei, why do you think my father didn't dare to go to Beijing to sue? He knew that going to Beijing would kill him." Worrying, that's why he was timid and dared not leave! He has been clean and honest all his life, and he was oppressed and squeezed out by the state officials. What I was waiting for was..."

Speaking of this, he choked up for a while, picked up his sleeves and wiped his eyes, and sighed evilly: "The lord dressed as a Taoist just now, since he was called Master by that lord, and also advanced and retreated with Lord Pei, he must also be a high-ranking official. But even such a person and Mr. Pei...you can't save my father, so what kind of situation has become in this whole dynasty? Counting up the justices, the cabinet and the emperor in the heavenly palace, each of them must be the ultimate insensible..."

"Li Si, be careful with your words." Pei Jun closed his eyes and sighed, and interrupted him heavily, "Your father's death was caused by the system. Now that you have escaped, you should be careful with your tongue."

"Since it was harmed by the system, what's the use of being careful?" Li Si asked angrily, "I heard that the Tang family was arrested in prison, but I also heard that my father was killed in prison. In the final analysis, the court arrested the Tang family. In order to let the people in the world know the benevolence of the imperial court, and know that the imperial court can kill corrupt officials and investigate corrupt officials, but killing my father is to silence the world's mouths of injustice! Mr. Pei, my father and Nandi's corruption are just emerging in this world. One of the countless grievances, and now seeing my father die first, so tragic, there are thousands of grievances in the world, who would dare to expose them!"

The resentment and unwillingness brought out by these words are like a raging fire that burns the grass and fields, burning blazingly in Li Si's eyes.Under such eyes, Pei Jun seemed to see himself kneeling in front of his late father's tablet and crying bitterly many years ago.

He settled down and was about to continue to comfort Li Si, when the door of the wing behind him opened.

Li Si stood up immediately, and Pei Jun also looked back, only to see that Zhang San came out first, Su Rong paused at Li Si, and then hurried to the front yard with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Yue, who came out after Zhang San, had put on his mask again, looked at Pei Jun, and nodded to him.

After a while, two yamen servants trotted over from the front yard, and raised their hands to invite Pei Jun and the others to move.Jiang Yue walked beside Pei Jun, seeing that Pei Jun was looking at Li Siqianxing's back in a gloomy manner, he tugged on Pei Jun's sleeve and quietly asked him what was wrong.

Pei Jun came back to his senses with his words, and looked away at Li Si, but just shook his head quietly at him, saying it was okay.

The yamen servant led the three of them to the inverted wing next to the back door of Yushitai.A plaque with the word "Waiting for Recognition" hangs outside the door, indicating that it is the place where the perpetrator or relatives of the victim claim the body.

Li Si clenched his fists and walked back and forth in the room, his bloodshot eyes eagerly looked out of the room, and finally Zhang San brought four yamen servants and put a load of dead bodies covered in white cloth on the ground.

Pei Jun and Jiang Yue got up and looked at each other.Li Si immediately knelt down and walked forward, throwing himself on the corpse and uncovering the white cloth wrapping him, he let out a hoarse cry and fell on the ground crying bitterly: "Father...Dad!..."

Pei Jun looked down at Li Cunzhi's bloodless face in the white cloth, thinking back to the last time we met, it was when Li Cunzhi first went to the capital to play drums and kowtow, and now it has only been half a month, and the old man's arrogance and determination have all disappeared , only the skin and bones left in a thin, embarrassing and scarred body testify to the sorrow along the way.

"Mr. Li's condolences." Zhang San who was silent on the side opened his mouth, hesitating for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "When Li Zhizhou was dying, I was by his side...I heard that he has something to entrust to you."

Li Si couldn't stop crying, he leaned beside Li Cunzhi and looked at Zhang San, and asked sadly and bitterly, "What did my father say?"

Zhang San choked up again and again, lowered his eyes and said: "He said that if you rehabilitate yourself, you should go back home, don't read the word 'injustice' again, just live a good life."

Li Si cried even more when he heard the words: "Life... how can I live! How can I live in the current situation! Why... why are the corrupt officials fattening their pockets, but the people who avenge their grievances have to die? Why did my father not live a good life all his life, but even died a wronged death! Why..."

Pei Jun frowned, and leaned forward to help Li Si, knowing that he could not persuade the bereaved man, so he sighed, first sent the yamen servants to buy a donkey cart and a coffin, and then untied his purse. At Li Si's waist, he called someone to the bodyguard bureau of Mei Linyu's house to invite bodyguards, and arranged to send Li's father and son back home.

After waiting for more than half an hour, people from the Meijia Escort Bureau came, and the donkey cart bought by the yamen servants also arrived with the coffin.A total of seven or eight strong men put Li Cunzhi into the coffin properly with their hands, and because they had also heard about the incident of the upright official suing the imperial court, they all respectfully observed silently for a while, and then patted their chests to assure Pei Jun that if necessary Send Li's father and son back to Wuzhou safely.

Pei Jun and Jiang Yue got into the carriage, slowly followed Li Si and his party's donkey cart out of the south gate, walked for two miles, got off at the post pavilion outside the city, and watched Li Si and his party head south.

It was almost summer, the sky was at noon, and the sun was so hot overhead that people could hardly keep their eyes open.

Pei Jun stood under the rough thatched shed of the post pavilion for a long time and looked as far as the eye could see, until the donkey cart and pedestrians were no longer in sight, then he closed his eyes sadly under the blue sky, and let out a foul breath.

At this time, a pair of gentle hands held him, and the thick calluses on the palms of those hands rubbed dryly on the back of his hands, and then, a shallow sigh rang in his ears.

Jiang Yue said: "Pei Jun, we have to hurry up."