My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 235 - 126: A Woman’s Heart

Secretariat.

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The Secretariat originally served to convey the Emperor’s will and issue imperial decrees.

Since His Majesty disengaged from managing the court affairs, all the memorials to the throne from officials converged here, causing the Secretariat’s power to expand drastically. For years, as it managed all governmental affairs, it had become the highest decision-making center in the court.

All courtiers’ memorials had to be reviewed and endorsed by the Secretariat.

All imperial commands were also issued by the Secretariat.

Nominally, the Secretariat was headed by the Director of Secretariat, with two Secretariat Assistant Ministers as deputies.

However, since the Director was also serving as the court’s Prime Minister and oversaw various departments of the court, he rarely made appearances at the Secretariat.

The internal affairs of the Secretariat, big and small, were determined by six Secretariat Scheeren; after which an Assistant Minister would review and stamp them without objections, and forward them to the Ministry of Supervision for final review and implementation.

The official rank of a Secretariat Scheeren was not particularly high; previously, they held the Standard Fifth Rank, but in recent years it had been raised to the Standard Fourth Rank, placing them just within the ranks of high officials.

Yet, they wielded significant authority. They controlled the issue and execution of most government directives.

A Secretariat Scheeren sat in the government office, flipping through a memorial.

After glancing at it, he furrowed his brow.

This memorial was concerning a restructuring of the Ministry of Justice.

Traditionally, the Ministry of Justice only had Four Divisions, but he actually wanted to establish an Anti-theft Bureau within it.

If there’s nothing worth reporting, then don’t report. Catching and apprehending thieves is the responsibility of the Chang’an County Government; what does this have to do with the Ministry of Justice?

This official not only wanted to set up an Anti-theft Bureau within the Ministry of Justice but also intended to recruit a number of thieves into the fold, which was utterly preposterous.

The officials of the Ministry of Justice are too idle in everyday affairs, so full of themselves that they actually dare to present such bizarre proposals.

Do they even think? Do they believe the officials at the Secretariat are as brainless as they are?

He handles countless memorials every day; such bizarre proposals wouldn’t even merit a glance, typically returned right away.

But this proposal was so strange that he actually wanted to know who the official behind it was.

He scanned the name in the lower right corner of the memorial.

Li Xuanjing.

Du Yu paused slightly.

He picked up the proposal again and after reading it over, his thinking had changed.

Letting thieves catch thieves — indeed, this was a novel concept he had never considered.

On one hand, it could allow these thieves to make amends for their wrongdoing.

It is inevitable to go astray on life’s journey. The crimes they committed weren’t unforgivable; giving them a chance to redeem themselves wasn’t out of the question.

On the other hand, it could enhance urban security, which would also be a good thing for the public.

True to his reputation as Minister of Justice, this suggestion was simply brilliant.

Du Yu quickly drew a circle on the blank spot of the memorial with red ink, signed his own name, and proceeded to another office, knocked on the door, and said to the figure seated behind the desk, "Assistant Minister Wang, here’s a memorial that needs your urgent review."

The Secretariat had many memorials to review daily, and unless it was an emergency situation, these were typically reviewed in order.

The Left Assistant Minister of the Secretariat, taking the memorial, thought it was a matter of great urgency. After reading it, he looked at Du Yu with a skeptical expression, asking, "Scheeren Du, are you alright?"

He dared to mark such an absurd proposal and bring it to him for an urgent review?

Facing the Assistant Minister’s patronizing gaze, Du Yu reluctantly said, "Sir, I think this proposal is very good..."

Standing up, the Left Assistant Minister of the Secretariat said, "Come now, tell me, what’s good about this proposal?"

Du Yu pointed at the name in the lower right corner of the memorial and said, "The goodness lies here."

Looking where his finger pointed, the Left Assistant Minister fell silent for a moment, then slowly sat down and said, "I have thought carefully, and the proposal does seem quite reasonable..."

Whether the proposal was good or not depended on who submitted it.

If it were submitted by an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Du Yu himself, as a Scheeren, would have denied it.

If the memorial came from the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Left Assistant Minister would have, after leaving the morning court session, politely informed him that the action was against protocol, then sent the memorial back.

But this memorial was written by Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing.

It was just about adding one more bureau to the Ministry of Justice, hardly a big deal.

It did not require the court to disburse salaries or establish official positions; they could fuss over it how they wanted and make a racket, no need to offend that person over such a trivial matter...

Last time, under pressure, they had issued an imperial decree, forbidding his son from judging cases.

If they rejected Li Xuanjing’s proposal now, what would happen next was unpredictable...

Let alone them, a mere Secretariat Scheeren and a Secretariat Assistant Minister, even the Director himself, the current Left Prime Minister, had to give that person some face.

After all, the Left Prime Minister might not be able to obtain a Death Exemption Token from Your Majesty...

The Left Assistant Minister glanced at Du Yu impatiently and said, "What are you still standing there for? Draft an imperial decree immediately to establish the Anti-theft Bureau within the Ministry of Justice, and send it to the Ministry of Supervision for review. The faster, the better. Ideally, it should reach the Ministry of Justice today..."

...

Song Residence.

While Song Jiaren was practicing swordsmanship, Li Nuo played the zither by her side.

Strangely enough, despite her high aptitude for the Martial Path and not even fully recognizing characters, she always enjoyed playing the zither, drawing, and engaging in poetry and lyrics.

It seemed that she liked what she didn’t understand the most.

But upon closer reflection, it wasn’t all that strange.

Li Nuo had no interest in poetry or lyrics, yet he dreamed of being as adept in combat as his wife.

The more one lacks something, the more one aspires to obtain it.