Aspirations

Chapter 125
"The case file of the Fuke case will be in your custody from now on." Xia Xiang wants Lu Zhiyue to take on more clerical duties and reduce Xu Heguang's power. The Fuke case is about to enter the final stage. At the critical stage, if Xu Heguang played tricks secretly and destroyed the key evidence, all previous efforts would be wasted.

Lu Zhiyue immediately understood Xia Xiang's implication, nodded and said: "I obey orders!"

Xu Heguang's eyes flickered, and he was thinking angrily in his heart, if Lu Zhiyue only obeyed Xia Xiang's orders in the future, he would be even weaker in the Zhending county government, no, Yang Jiang must be made to do something. Come out with hands and feet, so that Xia Xiang can know how powerful he is.

"Today is to reminisce about the past, not to discuss business, not to discuss business!" Zheng Hao got up and smiled, and pulled Xia Xiang's arm, "Xia Xianzun, I heard that there is a large pond in the backyard of Zhending County Yamen, and the scenery is beautiful and picturesque. Come, come, and show me around."

Xia Xiang had no choice but to take Zheng Hao there.Fortunately, he is not yet married, and there is no family member in the backyard. He said as he walked, "Seeing that winter has entered, and now everything is withered, where is there any beauty?"

Ma Zhanguo and Ding Ke didn't care to enjoy the scenery, and were eager to interrogate Fu Ke again, so they left with an excuse.Xu Heguang was in a dilemma, hesitated for a while, but still wanted to hear what Zheng Hao wanted to say to Xia Xiang, so he stayed.

Speaking of which, it must have been a while since Xia Xiang came. He came and went in the backyard countless times, but he never paid attention to the scenery in the backyard.Zheng Hao forcibly pulled him here today, and after a careful look, he secretly felt ashamed. He turned a blind eye to such a scene, and there is no view around him. This is a mistake that both emperors, generals, and common people have easily made throughout the ages.

Although it is late autumn, there is still plenty of greenery in the backyard.The well-proportioned trees and shrubs, the chic and ingenuity of the distant mountains and near the water, as well as the open space in the southeast corner and the flower garden in the northwest corner, all have their own vitality and interest.

Zheng Hao's childlike innocence burst out, and he climbed up a dirt hill in the middle of the backyard with great joy.The mountain is not big, and there is a pavilion on the mountain, named Liushang Pavilion, which means Qushui Liushang.Put the cup filled with wine in the stream, and slowly float down from the upstream, passing through the winding stream, whoever turns or stops in front of the cup will have to compose poems and drink wine impromptu.

In fact, Xia Xiang has already noticed that Zheng Hao seems to be interested in enjoying the scenery, but in fact he still has something to say to him.He didn't pick out the details, and continued to accompany Zheng Hao to climb high and look far away, enjoying the autumn.

Zheng Hao stood with his hands behind his back, letting the autumn wind blow his clothes. He recalled the past: "On the Shangsi Festival on the third day of March in the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, the internal historian of Kuaiji, and 42 relatives and friends, including Xie An and Sun Chuo, gathered at Lanting in Shanyin, Kuaiji. , After the ceremony of repairing the sacrificing ceremony, a game of flowing water was held, and 42 people drank wine and chanted poems. The poems they wrote formed the "Lanting Collection". , drinking wine and enjoying the scenery, it has been popular for thousands of years..."

Everyone knows the allusions of Lanting Collection, and Zheng Hao didn't intend to show off his knowledge, but to draw out the following, he turned around and smiled: "Master Xia, on March [-]rd next year, we will also hold a ceremony of "flowing cups of water" Game, okay?"

"Okay." Xia Xiang nodded in response, "It will be March [-]rd in five months, less than half a year, and today I will make a half-year agreement."

"I hope that half a year later, we can still meet here." Zheng Hao suddenly felt emotional, with a lonely face, "Winter is coming, and this winter will be long and cold, and I don't know who among us is waiting." I will be frozen to death, and I won’t be able to wait until next year’s spring to bloom.”

Xu Heguang heard what Zheng Hao said, and couldn't help asking: "Why did Zheng Tong judge say that? Since the founding of Daxia, there have been many years of peace, and even in the poorest and most remote places, people rarely freeze to death. The rich and large county in the Central Plains is really determined, not to mention that in addition to the regular salary, we also have clothing, grain, tea, wine and kitchen materials, fuel charcoal, salt, clothing and food for entourage, horses, millet, supplementary expenses, salary, minister's money and so on. Rewards, etc., just the charcoal is enough to warm the fire."

Zheng Hao had something in his words, Xu Heguang was pretending to be stupid, Zheng Hao smiled disapprovingly: "The freeze to death I mentioned is not because of the cold weather, but because of the coldness of people's hearts."

Xu Heguang blinked and smiled: "If you freeze yourself to death, there is nothing you can do. No one can save a person who wants to die, right?"

Zheng Hao turned his head away with a look of disgust, and ignored Xu Heguang: "Xia Xianzun, how is the trial of Dong Xian's murder going? Is there any difficulty? If there is any difficulty, just tell me, I will do my best Let's help each other. Not to mention that all official documents of Zhending Mansion must be signed by the official, even Zheng Shan, the prisoner in West Hebei Road, can speak."

Xu Heguang felt uncomfortable, and said eccentrically, "Zheng Tongpan is really good. No matter what Cui Fuzun does, Zheng Tongpan must nod."

"Master Cui eats, dresses, and goes to the toilet. This official is out of my control." Zheng Hao laughed, "By the way, Mr. Cui does not need the official's joint signature to agree to marry a wife and take concubines."

"You..." Xu Heguang almost lost control of his anger. Fortunately, when the cold wind blew, he regained consciousness a bit. In terms of official position and background, he couldn't compare to Zheng Hao. What's the point of winning a war of words, he hehe With a smile, "Zheng Tongpan is young and promising, and he was born as a Jinshi. If he can marry another woman with four surnames and compile the history of the country, the four honorable things will be combined in one person, and he will be a leader in the world."

Zheng Hao snorted: "Except for the fact that it is impossible for me to compile the history of the country, the other three things are all easy. But Xu Xiancheng, I am afraid that even a glorious thing will not be obtained. Haha, I will be reborn in a good family in the next life , if you are smarter, you may be able to pass the Jinshi examination at a young age."

Xu Heguang's face was livid with anger. It wasn't his background as a Jinshi that was his biggest pain point. When Zheng Hao exposed his faults in public, the anger in his heart suddenly ignited: "Zheng Tongpan, don't bully others too much!"

Xia Xiangcai would not let the two quarrel in his backyard, so he hurriedly stepped forward and laughed: "The joke is just a joke, don't take it seriously. The trial of Dong Xian's murder went smoothly, and there are no difficulties at present. Zheng Tong sentenced to report."

Seeing that Xia Xiang still lifted Cui Fuzun out and put it in front, Xu Heguang felt a little relieved, but he still gave Zheng Hao a dark look, thinking indignantly, don't be too arrogant, don't think that you raised the proposal The criminal officer Zheng Shan can overwhelm Cui Fuzun.In the case of Dong Xian's murder, Xia Xianzun only has the right to hear, not to judge.

As for the punishment of responsibility, Xia Xianzun can decide with one word.The death penalty must be approved by the magistrate, and then reported to the Criminal Division for approval.After the approval of the Department of Penalties, it must be reported to Dali Temple for review. If there is no problem in the review of Dali Temple, it will finally go to the Ministry of Punishment.The death penalty will not be executed until the Ministry of Punishment approves it again.

In contrast, the power of the Criminal Division is greater than that of Dali Temple.Generally speaking, most of the cases approved by the Criminal Division have no possibility of overturning the case.

A faint look of disappointment flashed in Zheng Hao's eyes, and regardless of Xu Heguang's presence, he still said: "Xia Xianzun doesn't have to care about Cui Fuzun's thoughts, just do his duty faithfully. I'm here to keep you safe. No matter how bad it is, there's still Zheng Tixing, right? I've heard about the Shile County incident, but Zhuang Feifan is the key witness?"

Zheng Hao decided to intervene in Dong Xian's murder case, Xia Xiang hesitated slightly in his heart, Zheng Hao, as a judge, had the right to check and balance and supervise the magistrate, but Zheng Hao was too angry and acted too radically, maybe sometimes he was too eager for success On the contrary, it is a bad thing.

But Zheng Hao also had good intentions. Zheng Shan, as the criminal officer of West Hebei Road, besides pointing out all the criminal cases on West Hebei Road, he also has the duty of supervising the guards stationed in Zhending Mansion. He cannot reject people thousands of miles away. Nodded and smiled: "If you have any difficulties, you should report to Zheng Tong. I have heard of Zheng Ti's famous name, and I have always admired Zheng Ti's judgment as a god. If you have a chance to meet him, you will definitely mention Zheng. I would like to ask you. Zhuang Feifei is one of the witnesses. Whether it is the key depends on the progress of the interrogation by the defense department..."

"Fu Ke is so confident that he refuses to explain many things. He is afraid that someone behind him will support him..." Zheng Hao said while looking at Xu Heguang, "Even if Fu Ke is a scoundrel who is not afraid of death, there are always other shortcomings. I found his shortcoming, and I am not afraid that he will not speak up."

Xu Heguang turned his head to one side, ignoring Zheng Hao's bangs, his left ear went in and his right ear went out, he was not as big as Zheng Hao, and his aura was not as strong as Zheng Hao's. Instead of confronting him head-on, it is better to avoid his edge and wait for the future.

Xu Heguang has visited the mound in the backyard of the county office many times. Although the mound is not high, standing under the mound, you can overlook the entire Zhending City.Not only can you have a panoramic view of the government office, but you can also see the banks of the Hutuo River and the Zilong Bridge.He had climbed the earth mountain many times before, and several times he told Hao Haiji half-jokingly and half-seriously that the mountain was higher than the government office and should be bulldozed.However, Hao Haiji said that if the official did not repair the government office, he would not make large-scale repairs to the county government office.

Xu Heguang's eyes swept back and forth on both sides of the Hutuo River at will, not deliberately looking at anything, but just not wanting to hear what Zheng Hao said and not wanting to meet Zheng Hao's eyes.His gaze crossed the Hutuo River and landed on the opposite government office, and suddenly he felt that Denggui Tower, the tallest building in the government office, was actually higher than the earth hill of the county office, and it was in the north. The north has always been the direction of power. Faintly formed a majestic trend towards the county government.

Even if Xia Xiang tried his best to clear the Fuke case, so what?Isn't it going to be submitted to Zhending Mansion for final trial?Xu Heguang's mental balance was a bit more balanced, thinking that Xia Xiang and Zheng Hao's efforts were wasted, and Xia Xiang's power was only to submit all witnesses, material evidence, and confessions to Cui Fuzun, and Cui Fuzun would directly use suspicion The crime was never dismissed, and Xia Xiang's previous efforts were wasted.

Xia Xiang really didn't know that Cui Fuzun could make all his previous efforts go to waste, or was he lucky, thinking that he, a little county magistrate, could really do whatever he wanted?The more Xu Heguang thought about it, the more pitiful Xia Xiang felt, and he gave Xia Xiang a sideways look, showing contempt.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something out of the corner of his eye. Xu Heguang turned around and saw that there were several more people on the Zilong Bridge at some point. Two of them were riding on horseback, looking left and right. He is not obedient, but he is quite magnanimous when he raises his hands.

Xu Heguang didn't know the two of them. Although they were far away and couldn't see their faces clearly, they could still guess that the two of them were not ordinary people. Could it be that they were from the capital?
What Xu Heguang didn't notice was that Xiao Wu, who was beside him, also noticed the two on the horse. He was lazily like a leopard that had found its prey, and his whole body tensed up, staring at the two on the hair bridge.

Xia Xiang also noticed Xiao Wu's abnormality, and followed Xiao Wu's gaze towards the bridge, and was stunned after just one glance, why are they?Zheng Hao and Lu Zhiyue couldn't hold back their curiosity, and looked at the bridge at the same time...

Zheng Hao's face changed slightly: "The third prince's people are here!"

Lu Zhiyue's gaze directly passed the two on horseback, and stopped on a carriage not far behind them, showing a slight surprise: "What is the third prince, it is clearly that Lady Lian has returned."

Xia Xiang was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashed over the majestic Gao Jianyuan and Yan Hao, and he looked behind, and sure enough, there was a gorgeous carriage slowly approaching.He was both surprised and delighted. What surprised him was that Gao Jianyuan and Yan Hao came here, probably because they had important missions on their shoulders.The happy thing is that Lian Ruohan didn't come sooner or later, so why did he come back with Gao Jianyuan and Yan Hao?

Thinking about it again, Xia Xiang's heart trembled again. With so many important people gathered in Zhending, Zhending might really have a storm!
(End of this chapter)