Madam, protect me!

The middle-aged man refused decisively. As a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he had a fourth-rank official position. Although he was not that afraid of Li Xuanjing, that was because he was an upright official. If he used the power in his hands to engage in favoritism and malpractice, wouldn't he take the initiative to create something for Li Xuanjing? A chance to touch him?

Wang Duo trembled when he heard the words of the Minister, and his body slowly stooped.

Looking at this old friend for many years, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs couldn't help but feel soft and said: "Send that beast to Chang'an County Government. Remember, it is Chang'an County Government, not the Ministry of Punishment or Dali Temple. The county government can deal with it how it should be dealt with." , as for you, immediately write to the court, donate all your family property, resign and return to the fields, and while you can still have children, take in a few more young concubines, see if you can have another one, and leave a legacy for your Wang family..."

"Thank you for your advice..."

Wang Duo was silent for a long time, hugged his fists, and turned to leave.

At this moment, something seemed to have been taken away from his body, and he seemed to have aged twenty years instantly.

When he walked out of the door, he looked up. Although it was almost sunset, the sky was still blue and without a trace of color.

Twenty years later, the sky in Chang'an is still so blue.

He remembered clearly that 20 years ago, when he led many of his fellow students from the academy to demonstrate on the streets of Chang'an, scolding the then Chang'an County Magistrate for being an unkind official and looking down upon human life, the sky in Chang'an was so blue.

Twenty years passed in a flash.

At this moment, Wang Duo finally felt a trace of regret in his heart.

He came from a humble background, and endured countless hardships and misfortunes during his academic journey. In order to seek advice from famous teachers, he traveled hundreds of miles no matter how cold the winter or the heat, just to get a piece of advice. Finally, he was chosen by Qingfeng Academy. He was admitted out of the norm, and all of his fellow students came from the families of powerful officials. They had been taught by famous teachers since they were young. They had a high status, had luxurious food and clothing, and were among the rich and famous. The money for a meal and a drink was more than the wife could earn even after working hard for a year. number……

However, even though there was such a huge gap in life experience and background, he never wavered in his belief at that time.

Under such circumstances, he stood out from hundreds of thousands of people in that imperial examination, and became a high school Jinshi in one fell swoop. He won the gold medal and ranked fifth among Jinshi. He started out as a seventh-grade county magistrate. In the following nearly twenty years, he rose from a The seventh-rank official, who was far away from Chang'an, walked step by step to Chang'an and sat down at his current position. Not to mention that his classmates at that time were their fathers and ancestors. When they saw him, they had to address him as "Master Wang"...

In these twenty years, he gained a lot and lost a lot.

Looking back now, when did all this start to change? Was it the first time I accepted a bribe, the first time I used power for personal gain, or the first time I was greedy for money to pave the way for an official career...

It's been so long that he can't remember clearly...

He looked back one last time and walked away with heavy steps, his back looking particularly desolate.

At this moment, in the house of the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the middle-aged man looked at the direction Wang Duo left, with some memories in his eyes. He shook his head and said: "Wang Duo, Wang Duo, why are you like this, why are you like this..."

A young man walked out of the back hall and said to the middle-aged man: "Father, my son has recently been studying the "Daxia Law". Uncle Wang is a fifth-rank official, and Wang Yue is his son. The crime he committed was only three years old at most. He can atone for his crime with silver, so why doesn't he pay the penalty and avoid punishment? After three years of apprenticeship, the redemption of silver is only 300 taels, so the Wang family won't be unable to get it..."

"Redemption?"

The middle-aged man twitched his lips and said: "With Li Xuanjing's character, if Wang Duo handed over Wang Yue, resigned from office and donated money, the Wang family might still be able to survive. If he wanted to redeem his sins with silver, not only would Wang Yue die, but the Wang family would also have difficulty surviving... …”

The young man said angrily: "Then Li Xuanjing is really so lawless and regards the law as nothing. Is there no one in charge of this huge court?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said: "There were people who wanted to take care of it before, but those people were all dead and he was still alive. Then no one dared to take care of it..."

"That's unreasonable!"

The young man waved his sleeves fiercely and said with a righteous look: "If this beast is not to die, the laws of heaven cannot tolerate it. The child must study hard and become an official. In the future, he must kill this beast for the people and the court. Give Daxia a bright and clear sky..."

Before he finished speaking, he was hit hard on the head.

The young man covered his head and asked in confusion: "Why are you beating me..."

"I want you to have a clear sky, let you have a clear sky!" The middle-aged man took off his boots, slapped him, and cursed angrily: "You don't know the heights of the world, you dare to provoke people who I don't dare to provoke, otherwise you Come and be this me...

…

Wang family.

In the ancestral hall, Wang Yue knelt on the futon. A woman stood beside him and said, "Don't worry, Yue'er. Your father has many friends. Many ministers in the court betray his favor. There must be a way to save you!"

Wang Yue's complexion improved a little. At this moment, there was the sound of slow footsteps outside the ancestral hall.

The woman looked back, ran forward happily, held his hand, and asked: "Master, how is it..."

As soon as she finished speaking, her face was filled with shock, and she said tremblingly: "Master, you, your hair..."

The master is forty years old this year and is in the prime of life. There used to be not a single gray hair on his head, but now most of it is gray, and he looks much older.

He had only been out for an hour, but it seemed like twenty years had passed.

Wang Yue also stood up slowly, walked to Wang Duo, looked at his head of white hair, his lips trembled, and he said with difficulty: "Dad..."

A wry smile appeared on Wang Duo's face, he patted his shoulder gently and said, "It's the father's fault that the son doesn't teach him. It's the father who is sorry for you."

Wang Yue already understood something. Although his face was still pale, he no longer had the panic and fear.

Looking at his father's stooped body and his head full of white hair, he realized for the first time that his father was also old.

His mother often told him about his father's childhood. In his eyes, the man who was upright and single-handedly transformed the Wang family from a poor family in a remote mountain village into a wealthy family in Chang'an. His father, who was omnipotent, was finally old.

At this moment, he had no fear for the future, only heartache for his father.

He stretched out his hand, helped his father tidy up the messy hair on his temples, shook his head and said, "No, it's the child who is unworthy and has let the father down. The child will bear the responsibility for the mistakes he makes. Father, don't blame yourself..."

…

On the streets of Chang'an, Li Nuo was questioning the case.

People were already surrounding him.

This was the first time they had seen this kind of court moved to the street, with public trials and public pronouncements. They found it novel and interesting. This kind of opportunity to have close contact with the government did not come around all the time.

At a certain moment, there was a commotion among the crowd, and several figures squeezed out from the crowd.

Walking in front was the salesman who had just left and returned.

Of course, Li Nuo knew very well that he appeared to be a salesman but was actually his plainclothes bodyguard.

Behind the salesman, there were two figures following.

The man on the left is a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes. He exudes the aura of being in a high position for a long time. He has white hair and looks a little lost.

The one on the right is a tied up young man. He looks to be in his early twenties, and his eyebrows are very similar to that of the middle-aged man. His face is also very pale, and his expression is dull and dull.

"Young man, kneel down!"

Wang Duo said in a deep voice, and the young man slowly knelt down.

Afterwards, Wang Duo walked up to the Chang'an County Magistrate who was wearing official uniform, bowed to him with clasped fists, and said, "Sir, this traitor has violated the law. Wang tied him to the county government office and asked you to deal with him in accordance with the law..."

Li Nuo was a little surprised when he saw this scene.

This case... seems to be going somewhat smoothly.

He originally thought that since this case had been going on for so long and there was no direct evidence, even if Dali Temple intervened, it would not be easy to convict him. Unexpectedly, not long after that, the other party came directly to the county government to surrender.

Now even the investigation process is omitted.

Could it be that the doctor in charge of the exam had no knowledge of his son's crime before?

After being informed by his own bodyguard, this righteous court official immediately decided to kill his family in a righteous way, and sent his son to the county government to punish him according to law - what a good official!