My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 62: The Past of Li Xuanjing

A moment later, Li Nuo walked out of the County Magistrate's Office prison.

This girl, at least she was clear about debts of gratitude and grievances.

That stab was a return for the cut he owed her.

Although it wasn't Li Nuo who had stabbed personally, he decided not to quibble with her about it anymore.

Before leaving, Li Nuo also reminded Pei Zhe to find someone to treat her wound and to move her to a better cell.

If her wound went untreated, she might die in prison.

The conditions in the County Magistrate's Office's prison were limited; the single room she occupied was already a decent standard. Only after the case files were reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Justice would the prisoner be taken from the County Magistrate's Office and put under unified management.

On the way back to Li Mansion, Li Nuo was eager to learn what his father had done over the years to earn such a series of assessments as forming cliques for selfish ends, usurping the power, betrayal, corruption, murdering the loyal and good, treating human lives as grass...

He glanced at Housekeeper Wu beside him; these matters were ones he probably wouldn't discuss in detail with Li Nuo.

But one thing he said was true: there isn't a clear divide between a person of integrity and a treacherous official. If Li Nuo wanted to find the answers, it was best for him to seek them out himself.

To him, these answers were of great importance.

Upon returning to Li Mansion and entering his own courtyard, Li Nuo unexpectedly found his wife there.

Earlier on the street, although he had anticipated it, if it hadn't been for his wife by his side, he still wouldn't have been able to dodge that cut. Li Nuo approached her and said, "Just now on the street... thank you, wife."

Song Jiaren spoke softly, "We're family; there's no need for thanks."

The words that Li Nuo once said to her were now returned to him.

Twice she saved his life in critical moments. If there was someone in this world that Li Nuo trusted the most, it undoubtedly had to be his wife.

Although Li Nuo equally trusted Housekeeper Wu, the latter was more loyal to his father, and there were many matters he would not openly discuss with Li Nuo.

As for his wife —— based on Li Nuo's understanding of her, she appeared tough on the outside but had a soft heart inside and was an excellent point to break through.

Li Nuo thought for a moment, sat down beside her, looked into her eyes, and said sincerely, "Wife, in this world, you are the person I trust the most. May I ask you a few questions?"

"Ah?"

Song Jiaren was momentarily taken aback.

She couldn't quite believe what she had heard.

The person he trusted the most was her?

Although they were husband and wife in name, she not only failed to fulfill a wife's duties, but had also once beaten him in a fit of rage without discerning the truth.

How could she be the person he trusted the most?

Looking into Li Nuo's earnest eyes, Song Jiaren subtly lowered her head and said, "You may ask."

Li Nuo said, "I want to ask about my father's matters."

Song Jiaren fell silent for a moment and then gave a slight nod.

Initially, she did not intend to speak; with her status, it was not appropriate for her to discuss such matters.

But since he had said so much, if she refused to answer, would she not be betraying his trust?

Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. His wife had grown up in Chang'an since she was a child, and her father had once been a close friend of his own father; surely, she knew more about his father than Li Nuo did.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "I want to know what kind of person he is in your heart..."

Song Jiaren sat there, with a flickering gaze, still unable to believe that she was the person he trusted most. How could it be her? What was there about her to trust...

Li Nuo waved a hand in front of her eyes, probing, "Wife? Wife?"

...

Li Nuo had just learned many things from his wife.

Forming cliques for selfish ends, usurping power, betrayal, corruption, murdering the loyal and good, treating human lives as grass... the crimes that the assassin had pinned on him were not unfounded.

The Emperor of Daxia had started to neglect the court affairs ten years ago, focusing solely on the pursuit of immortality, giving his powers entirely to the various departments of the court. As a result, the powers of the top officials in the court lost their most important restraint.

Since then, the influence of important departments like the Six Departments and Nine Si expanded rapidly without checks and balances, and the power of the heads of each department reached a peak unprecedented since the establishment of the Xia Dynasty.

However, the rights and duties of the court departments varied.

The Ministry of Personnel managed the promotion of officials, and the Ministry of Revenue controlled the state's finances. The chiefs of these two departments usurped power only in personnel favoritism and biased allocation of funds at worst, leading to demotion of officials and salary deduction.

But the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice could take a person's life directly.

And among the two, the Ministry of Justice was held in higher regard.

Strictly speaking, the Ministry of Justice was not subordinate to the Ministry of Justice; the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Ministry of Justice were of equal rank, but the authority of the Minister of Justice was much greater.

The Ministry of Justice could only deal with commoners and low-rank officials below seventh-rank before reporting their cases to the Ministry of Justice for approval.

The Minister of Justice, however, could directly deal with officials below fourth-rank without going through the three provinces, affecting the life and death of most officials in the court.

This was considered usurping power.

Usurping power indeed, but in the current court, the chiefs of all departments in the court were practicing it.

As for forming cliques for selfish ends, ten years ago when the Crown Prince passed away, the Emperor neglected the court affairs, and the eight princes fought for power, all trying to expand their factions, it could be said that most people in court participated in factionalism, which was not a significant issue.

And regarding corruption...

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Although the position of Minister of Justice was high and the annual salary was not low, relying solely on the salary, he definitely could not afford the Li Family's current residence, nor could he support so many servants and guards; hence, people were sure that he had embezzled a lot of silver.

Li Nuo did know a little of the inside story: among the Princes, his father had aligned with King Chun. This residence was bestowed by King Chun, and the silver was provided by King Chun as well...

Plotting against the loyal and upright, treating lives as mere grass... Indeed, he would not hesitate to exterminate entire families; however, the loyal and upright here—if all are like the Qinghe County Magistrate, with quotation marks around "loyal and upright"—these words might actually be praising him.

Reputation can be falsified, but the Law Code does not lie. Executing that assassin prolonged Li Nuo's life by thirty days, which proved that the man indeed deserved to die.

Moreover, after killing the entire family of the Qinghe County Magistrate, he had uniquely spared the daughter, who had been unaware of these matters. Strictly speaking, he had even violated Daxia's laws.

Now Li Nuo was extremely well-versed in Daxia Law. As a parental official colluding with bandits and trafficking hundreds of women from his own county, this was a crime warranted the extermination of one's entire family, and not a single one would escape.

Among all the crimes he was accused of, the most condemned was actually the least noticeable: betrayal and abandonment.

More than a decade ago, when he first entered officialdom, he joined more than ten colleagues in advocating reforms, which ultimately ended in failure. More than a dozen new Advanced Scholars were accused of plotting rebellion and were executed without exception.

And he, he was their executioner.

By betraying his fellow scholars, he exchanged for the opportunity to raise rapidly in ranks, and over these years, he rose through the hierarchy until he finally became the unchallengeable Minister of Justice of today.

It was also because of this that he became the scorn of everyone in Daxia, and anything he did thereafter was magnified infinitely.

Of course, his methods were truly ruthless. In the past decade or so, especially after His Majesty delegated power, he had virtually blood-washed the Daxia court.

The loyal and upright who died at his hands were not few, and even more were the corrupt officials, causing the officials of Daxia to turn pale at the mention of "Li," which also gave him the nickname "Living Yama."

Officials of the court, out of extreme fear of him, didn't even dare to use silver to evade crimes.

Even though it was allowed by the Daxia Law.

Once an official attempted to use silver to avoid punishment, within three months, they would undoubtedly be implicated in other matters, leading to either demotion or extermination.

Hence the Minister of the Examination Bureau, fully aware that paying three hundred taels of silver could exempt his son from punishment, still sent him over tightly bound.

Li Nuo had thought he didn't understand the law, but it turned out that he himself didn't understand fathers.

Unspoken justice is something Li Nuo quite supported.

Everyone has a nose and two eyes, no one is nobler than anyone else; why should some be able to evade law and treat lives like dirt by just paying some money, considering the law as nothing? Is it unheard that nobility and high ranking officials have their kind?

But if his selling out his friends for glory was true, he couldn't blame others for speaking ill of him.

Since ancient times, people have profoundly detested traitors and oathbreakers.

Li Nuo sighed deeply, his feelings conflicted and complex.

In the future, when talking about eliminating harm for the people and punishing the wicked, he would have to soften his aura by three parts.

Although it is said in books, annihilating one's kin for the greater good can break through the bottleneck of Legalism and rapidly improve one's cultivation, did he have the strength to do so?

A reversal of Distortion of Facts, and it might be him getting wiped out.

Seeing him with a worried frown and heavy sighs, Song Jiaren couldn't help but say, "Others are others; you are you. You do what you need to do, why bother with others?"

Li Nuo was slightly startled.

Indeed, he judged his cases, practiced his law; why bother with others?

Just because his father was a treacherous official, should he stop practicing Legalism?

Wouldn't that just be sitting around waiting for death?

Whether his father was a treacherous official or a loyal one, to him, it made no difference; he needed to judge cases to fight for his own life.

No, there was a difference. Without such a father, would the officials of the Chang'an County Government pay any attention to him, would the Minister of the Examination Bureau have cooperated and sent his son for trial?

Definitely not.

Without the treacherous official Li Xuanjing, County Magistrate Pei wouldn't give him the time of day, and the Minister of the Examination Bureau wouldn't carry out justice at the expense of kin.

It was precisely because he had such a father that his path to prolong life could be so smooth.

Otherwise, he would've died on the third day after his transmigration.

His gaze turned towards Song Jiaren.

Truly, a single word could awaken one from a dream.

Although his wife was uneducated, her words were still very sensible.

Her light comment instantly brightened Li Nuo's heart, which had been somewhat gloomy.

Li Nuo held her hand and said sincerely, "Thank you, wife!"

At the last birthday banquet of the Old Lady, even though he had held his wife's hand, he hadn't paid much attention to how it felt. Now he discovered her hand was smooth and soft, not at all like someone accustomed to martial arts...

Seeing Li Nuo revert back to his usual self, Song Jiaren finally breathed a sigh of relief, then looked down at their clasped hands.

Li Nuo timely let go of her hand and changed the subject, "Wife, let's go back to the Song Family tonight..."

Li Nuo had a complex feeling toward his father.

The two of them were never close to begin with, and now, he was even less sure how to face him.

Compared to the desolate Li Mansion, he felt the Song Family was more like a home.

There, during the day he had the lovely Mumu, and at night, there was his fragrant wife.

Song Jiaren didn't immediately respond; actually, she had wanted to sleep in a bed tonight...

But remembering Li Nuo's experiences of the day, she couldn't help feeling sympathetic and nodded slightly, "Alright..."

[PS: Dragon Boat Festival, one more chapter will be updated.]