The Beacon of Kyushu

Zhao Yuanzuo nodded slightly, "Yes, this man came to Tokyo a few days ago. He had a conflict with others and wanted to kill someone to vent his anger. But because of his uncle Wang's ruthlessness, he had no choice but to resort to this last resort, trying to steal the golden mace and then commit crimes in the hope of avoiding punishment."

Zhao Guangyi twisted the imperial pen in his palm with three fingers and said with a half-believing tone: "Yuan Zuo, are you serious?"

Wang Jie'en seemed to have noticed something wrong in Zhao Yuanzuo's words, and there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he looked at Ying Rufeng.

Zhao Yuanzuo smiled calmly, walked slowly to Zhao Guangyi, and whispered: "Father, this is indeed not true. But Ying Fei has always been stealing from the rich and helping the poor, and he has a good reputation in the martial arts world. If I can have such a friend, I will be able to be more powerful in the future, whether in the martial arts world or in the court."

Zhao Guangyi was silent, and it was obvious that this reason could not impress him at all. In order to excuse Ying Fei, Zhao Yuanzuo had to grit his teeth and said against his will: "What's more, if there is one time and two times, there may be three or four times. Since he dared to sneak into the Nanqing Palace to steal the golden mace twice, he might go a third or fourth time. This time, I found my cousin's golden mace to help Uncle Wang, but if I don't take action next time, my cousin will definitely not be able to find the golden mace. Then, can't you take action against him?"

Zhao Guangyi was delighted when he heard this and said with a smile: "Haha, that's right, this is reasonable. Since Ying Fei has a chivalrous heart and has benefited many poor people, why not pardon his death penalty and exile him instead. But if Defang insists on not agreeing, I will be somewhat embarrassed!"

Wan Jianfeng heard this and said confidently: "Sir, don't worry about this. I have a way to deal with the Eighth King. But I will ask for it tomorrow, I am afraid..."

Zhao Guangyi understood what Wan Jianfeng meant and said, "Young Master Wan, you are going further and further away on your way to Quyue. General Gao is leading his troops to protect you along the way. Why don't you take him away? As for the place of exile, let's set it in Yongzhou. But you are not allowed to steal again in the local area. Otherwise, once the local officials report it to me, I will kill him for both crimes!"

Wan Jianfeng pressed Ying Rufeng and said with a smile: "Boy, the government has sentenced you to live, why don't you thank me?" Ying Rufeng always hated being an official, not to mention that the person in front of him was the most powerful official in the world, so he naturally hated him to the core. But in order to save Wan Jianfeng's face, he had to kneel down reluctantly and kowtowed three times before he stood up again.

Zhao Yuanzuo also clasped his fists and said, "Since my father has made the decision, I will report to my uncle and ask him to prepare a wooden cage prisoner cart to prevent Ying Fei from escaping halfway."

"Okay, you go. I want to rest." Zhao Guangyi waved at the three people. The three people immediately left the imperial study and went towards Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhao Guangyi looked at Zhao Yuanzuo's back and sighed, "Alas, Yuanzuo is still so close to Zhao Tingmei. If this continues, how can I deal with Zhao Tingmei? But since the three-pass agreement has been signed, I will never let Zhao Tingmei die after me."

Wang Jie'en said, "Sir, since you are unwilling to execute Zhao Tingmei outright because of the King of Chu's affection, you have no choice but to settle for the next best thing and suppress his wings first. According to our informant in Kaifeng Prefecture, before the battle of Gaoliang River last year, the reason why Zhao Tingmei came to the army was all because of Lu Duan's instructions. If you use the incident at Wansui Mountain yesterday to demote Lu Duan, who has a brain, Zhao Tingmei will surely find something to hold against him in no time, and it will be reasonable for us to get rid of him then."

Zhao Guangyi looked at Wang Jie'en and smiled sinisterly, "Jie'en, you are right! Tomorrow I will banish Lü Duan and wait for Zhao Tingmei to give me a reason to talk about it. Then I will kill him."

The next day, Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhao Tingmei had just finished his morning court session, and he looked worried. His steps from the gate to Mingjing Lake were so heavy that they seemed to be filled with lead. He had not stood by the lake for long when Lu Duan, with a big belly, came over with a smile, "Your Highness, you have finished your court session."

Zhao Tingmei felt even more heavy-hearted when he saw Lü Duan. After a while, he said, "Yi Zhi, I'm sorry for you. The incident at Wansui Mountain the other day was not your fault, but mine and that hateful Ying Fei's. But during the emperor's morning court session, he insisted that you were deliberately trying to sow discord between me and Chai and Zhao. I explained it over and over again, but the emperor just didn't believe it, so he ordered you to be demoted to Shangzhou. Moreover, not only do you have to wear a heavy yoke on the road, but you are also not allowed to ride a horse. It's really..."

Lu Duan said disapprovingly: "Your Majesty, I have been eating delicacies from the mountains and the sea at your place for so many years, and it is time for me to stretch my legs. You don't have to worry about me. It's just a matter of walking to Shangzhou, I'll go."

Zhao Tingmei felt even more distressed when she heard Lü Duan pretending to be relaxed, and tears were faintly flashing in her eyes. Lü Duan knew that Zhao Tingmei was upset, but it was futile to persuade him at this moment, so he had to pretend that he didn't know and smiled brightly, "Your Majesty, when does the emperor want me to leave? Are the shackles given by him, or do we in Kaifeng prepare them ourselves?"

"I will leave as soon as the imperial edict arrives. It's probably almost time now..." Zhao Tingmei wanted to say a few more words of comfort, but suddenly he heard the shrill voice of a young eunuch outside the door shouting, "The imperial edict has arrived. Please ask the prefect of Kaifeng, the Prince of Wei, Zhao Tingmei, and the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, Lu Duan, to receive the edict!"

The two hurriedly walked to the door, knelt in front of the young eunuch, and said, "Your subordinates receive the order!"

The young eunuch held the imperial edict in his hand and read aloud, "The edict says: The king should not forget the country, and the ministers should not forget the king. If the king forgets the country, the country will be in chaos, and if the ministers forget the king, the country will perish. Now the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, Lü Duan, has disregarded the law and deliberately instigated, causing discord between the king and his ministers, and alienation between his colleagues. He is really a great crime to the country. However, I appreciate that Lü Duan has always been fair in judging cases and diligent in the king's affairs, so I allow him to go to Shangzhou to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. If he performs well in politics, he will be allowed to return to the capital in the future."

After the two men kowtowed to express their gratitude, the young eunuch waved to the two imperial guards behind him and said, "Bring the heavy shackles bestowed by the emperor to Lord Lu." The imperial guards responded, and the two of them worked together to bring a large and heavy shackle and handcuffed Lu Duan tightly. Lu Duan suddenly felt that his neck was extremely heavy, but his face did not show any pain at all, and he still looked naive. Zhao Tingmei looked at him distressedly, trying hard to hold back tears so as not to lose the dignity of the prince.

"Your Highness, I am leaving now. Please take care of yourself!" Lu Duan said as he raised his hands with difficulty as a farewell to Zhao Tingmei. Then, under the escort of two imperial guards, he slowly walked towards the southwest.

Zhao Tingmei looked at Lü Duan's back as he walked further and further away, tears finally rolling down his eyes. As the prefect of Kaifeng and the prince of Wei, he felt so incompetent for the first time, and smiled bitterly: "Haha, I, Zhao Tingmei, can't judge major cases in public, and can't protect my ministers in private. What kind of prefect is this, what kind of prince is this! Yi Zhi, you may return to Tokyo one day, but by then, I will probably have become a dry bone in the grave..."

The three of them walked for a long time before they reached the Ten-Li Pavilion.

In order not to worry Zhao Tingmei, Lu Duan had to pretend to be relaxed, but now that he had walked a long way, he could no longer pretend. He glanced at the two imperial guards and asked, "You two, do you really want me to walk to Shangzhou like this?"

The two imperial guards rolled their eyes at him. "If not this way, how else do you want to go?"

Lü Duan pointed at the shackles around his neck and suggested, "Can't we take it off first and wear it when we get closer to Shangzhou?"

The two guards shook their heads at the same time, looking at him like a madman, and said, "Lord Lu, you are the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, but you actually said such illegal and disorderly words. Let me ask you, when you send prisoners to exile in Kaifeng Prefecture, why don't you take off the shackles and put them on when the time comes!"

Lu Duan shook his head helplessly. Just as he was about to continue walking forward, he heard someone running towards him from the direction of Tokyo, shouting, "Lord Lu, please wait a moment!"

Both Lü Duan and the imperial guards thought that the emperor had changed his mind and were happy to save the trip, so they stopped and looked towards the source of the voice. However, the person who spoke was a young bailiff from Kaifeng Prefecture, and the three of them were disappointed.

"Lord Lu, I finally caught up with you!" The yamen runner panted heavily, "Lord Lu, you just had a difficult case that you didn't finish reviewing, and the prefect is waiting for your review urgently."

Lü Duan took the case file calmly and said with a smile, "Just bring it here, just bring it here! Wearing the cangue to judge cases has been a tradition since ancient times! I, Lü Duan, am not talented, but today I will learn from the ancients to repay the prince for his kindness."

The yamen runner took out the file from his pocket and handed it to Lü Duan with both hands. Lü Duan quickly read it through and made a decision in his mind. He asked the yamen runner for a brush and wrote down a judgment of several hundred words in one breath. Only then did he stop writing with satisfaction.

Lü Duan's magnanimity not only stunned the yamen runners, but also the imperial guards who were escorting him. It was not until the sound of applause and laughter came from the official road that everyone realized, "Haha, he is indeed the magnanimous and generous Lü Yizhi! Although he can't solve the golden mace case, it's really easy for him to solve these trivial matters in the government!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man in green clothes with gray hair coming, followed by a boy holding a donkey. The master and the servant both looked honest people, dressed simply but exuding a graceful and elegant air, giving off a feeling of hermits in the mountains.

The imperial guards and the bailiffs did not recognize the visitor. Only Lu Duan was greatly surprised. He knelt down in front of the old man with great effort and said, "Your humble servant Lu Duan greets Lord Xue!" The other three people saw this and realized that the visitor was Xue Juzheng who had been reinstated as the Vice-Chancellor, and they knelt down as well.

Xue Juzheng smiled and helped Lü Duan up, saying, "Judge Lü, after you came to my house yesterday to question me about the golden mace, my son has indeed restrained himself a lot! Today, I heard that the emperor has issued an order to exile you, so I specially brought a donkey to give to Judge Lü as a token of my gratitude. I hope you don't mind."

Lü Duan looked at the donkey and laughed, "Hahaha, the emperor forbids me to ride a horse, but he didn't say I can't ride a donkey. This thousand-mile journey was originally a disaster for me, Lü, but now it has become a disaster for Chang'er. Thank you, Lord Xue!"

Xue Juzheng nodded and bowed, saying, "Judge Lu, although you are of low rank and have little influence now, as long as you are willing to serve the country with loyalty, you will surely achieve success in the future! I bid you farewell here today, and wait for you to return to Tokyo to realize your ambitions in the future!"

"Thank you, Master Xue. I will live up to your expectations!" Lü Duan bowed repeatedly, then climbed onto the donkey with great effort, and rode to Shangzhou under the escort of two imperial guards. (End of this chapter)