My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 64 - Help-seeking

It wasn't until the sun was three poles high that Li Nuo leisurely made his way to the County Magistrate's Office.

The Song Residence was not far from the Chang'an County Government, but he arrived so late deliberately because Housekeeper Wu took a detour.

That day, he didn't take the wide Chang'an Street, but chose those less traveled and quiet alleyways instead.

Such places were beyond the patrol routes of the Street Envoy and the Imperial Guard, making them ideal for ambushes and assassinations.

In just half an hour, a minor Second Realm assassin could add thirty days to his lifespan, which was much more profitable than the exhausting task of hearing cases.

He hoped for more assassins like these.

So he thought.

There is always a debtor for a debt, so those with a grudge against his father should seek revenge from him. What skill is there in murdering the innocent?

He had been a fool, living honestly at home for eighteen years without provoking anyone, yet in just a few days of gaining wisdom, he rose early and stayed up late, sparing no effort or expense to diligently serve the people. How could he not be considered a good person?

Should a good person be held at gunpoint?

No such principle exists in the world.

A true person of justice should have a correct sense of right and wrong.

Those who seek revenge without finding the proper target and only know how to kill indiscriminately are no good.

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He would capture and judge any that dared to appear.

Within the bounds of the law, give the heaviest sentence!

Perhaps the influence of the Legalist texts he had read these days had subtly affected him.

Due to the special nature of cultivation, Legalist verdicts always leaned toward harsher sentences within the limits of the law.

Those that could be executed were never left alive, those that could be exiled for two thousand miles were not exiled for only one thousand, and those that could be sentenced for three years were never sentenced for two. The rise of every Legalist powerhouse was accompanied by mountains of corpses and seas of blood at court...

Of course, issuing heavier sentences did not mean killing innocently. Those they executed had to be deserving, or they wouldn't have reached such high levels of cultivation.

A single grave misjudgment could see years or even decades of cultivation washed away in an instant...

Fortunately, Li Nuo had the Law Code to prevent errors, enabling him to judge boldly and confidently with almost no chance of error.

To his disappointment, after a long detour on the streets, he didn't spot the shadow of a single assassin.

It must've been because Housekeeper Wu brought too many guards. Even if a Fifth Realm Grandmaster attacked, they could hold their ground for quite a while, and no assassin would be foolish enough to come forth to their death.

Li Nuo wanted Housekeeper Wu to reduce the level of guards for bait, but he was flatly rejected without mercy.

Housekeeper Wu looked at him sincerely and said, "If anything were to happen to young master, this old servant would not choose to live alone. Please let this old servant enjoy his later years in peace..."

With a helpless sigh, Li Nuo turned and entered the County Magistrate's Office.

Inside a certain room of the Chang'an County Government, County Magistrate Zhang and County Captain Wang were chatting softly.

"The young master didn't come today..."

"The incident from yesterday has likely dealt him a heavy blow, and he may not recover for some time."

"It's true. I just heard Lord Pei saying that several Imperial Censors again jointly impeached Lord Li this morning, accusing him of disregarding the law and wantonly taking lives, probably because of the execution of the assassin yesterday..."

"Do you think Gu Wenhan was really a corrupt official?"

"Does it matter if he was corrupt? In the end, Lord Li purged all the officials in Xuan State under the pretext of investigating cases, which dealt a blow to King Rui's years of planning there and ultimately benefitted King Chun..."

Li Nuo stood at the door and listened for a while. He truly had no idea that the case of the female assassin's father was so extensive, even involving the factional strife between two princes.

He stepped into the room, and County Magistrate Zhang and County Captain Wang immediately stood up, panic-stricken, "Young Master..."

Li Nuo gestured for them to settle down and said, "Don't be nervous, I have something to ask you. What do you know about the case involving Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan..."

The two men exchanged glances, clearly unwilling to speak, but Li Nuo had already summarized some experience in dealing with these people; they responded to toughness and not to softness.

His expression darkened abruptly, and with a fierce slap on the table, he commanded in a deep voice, "Speak!"

The son of Daxia's biggest traitor still possessed considerable intimidation, and hearing this, both men trembled and their faces turned pale. In the end, it was County Magistrate Zhang who forced a bitter smile and said, "This humble officer dares not conceal anything from you, my lord, but what I am about to say are merely speculations from other officials in the court, and do not represent my own views. Please, my lord, discern the truth for yourself…"

He began with a disclaimer and only then slowly continued, "Although Gu Wenhan, the Qinghe County Magistrate, held only a seventh-rank position, his case caused an uproar at the court. It even involved a power struggle between Prince Rui and King Chun…"

After a moment, Li Nuo accepted the tea that County Magistrate Zhang handed over and took a gentle sip.

The case appeared similar to what he had learned the day before; there were no significant discrepancies.

It was roughly that Gu Wenhan, during his three-year tenure as Qinghe County Magistrate, had been ruthless and had broken the laws he was supposed to enforce. Colluding with gangsters, not only did he kidnap hundreds of innocent girls, but he also committed a series of crimes such as corruption, bribery, and embezzling public funds. When his crimes were exposed, his entire family was executed by his own father…

Of course, that was just the surface. Using Gu Wenhan's case as a pretext, the Ministry of Justice had purged the officials in Xuan State and replaced them with those loyal to King Chun.

Gu Wenhan had a good reputation locally, and a significant portion of people in the court and among the populace believed that his crimes were fabricated and that he had been framed by the great traitor Li Xuanjing.

His ultimate purpose was to remove dissidents and replace the local officials in Xuan State with King Chun's supporters.

Such tactics were all too common in factional conflicts.

In officialdom, what mattered was not doing the right thing, but aligning with the right people.

Officials could make grave mistakes, but as long as they chose the right allies, those mistakes would not count as faults, allowing even corrupt officials and traitors to ascend rapidly.

But if one allied with the wrong side, even if they were a renowned and competent clean official, they might squander their life without progress, and might even become casualties in the power struggles among the upper echelons…

Because Li Xuanjing was a great traitor and the case involved factional strife, whether Gu Wenhan was a corrupt official or a man of integrity had become a Rashomon.

People preferred to believe he was a man of integrity, since he died at the hands of the great traitor Li Xuanjing, and what Li Xuanjing opposed often garnered popular support.

County Magistrate Zhang refilled Li Nuo's tea with a cautious expression, reiterating for perhaps the umpteenth time, "All of these are others' speculations, not representing my own views. Please, my lord, do not misunderstand…"

"Alright, alright, I understand,"

Li Nuo reassured him and then inquired, "Other than the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Judicature, where else might I find the case files about Gu Wenhan?"

To others, the case might just be gossip over tea.

But to Li Nuo, the truth behind the case was quite important.

Even if it was due to political strife, deep down, he hoped that the case was merely an issue that the Ministry of Judicature had capitalized on, rather than a deliberately concocted miscarriage of justice.

Although the additional thirty days to his lifespan confirmed that the assassin deserved death, the law code did not clarify his crimes, and Li Nuo still wanted to see the truth with his own eyes.

"Besides the Ministry of Punishments and the Ministry of Judicature…" County Magistrate Zhang pondered for a moment before saying, "There might indeed be another place that could have the case files of Gu Wenhan, and that is the Ministry of Personnel. Gu Wenhan was a seventh-rank official, and his entire career history, including promotions and evaluations, should all be recorded by the Ministry of Personnel. However, the details regarding the case itself might not be as comprehensive as those recorded by the Ministry of Punishments and the Ministry of Judicature…"

Less detail was still better than no information at all.

But Li Nuo didn't know anyone in the Ministry of Personnel. The only acquaintance he had was the Minister of the Examination Bureau, whose son he had just apprehended. Going to ask for his help would be like Sun Wukong seeking a fan from the Bull Demon King—would he be willing to help?

Li Nuo looked at the two men and asked, "Do you have any connections in the Ministry of Personnel?"

Both men shook their heads continuously. The officials in the Ministry of Personnel prided themselves on their authority and always looked down on them. How could they possibly have any connections there?

County Magistrate Zhang looked at Li Nuo with surprise and said, "We may not have any, but my lord, you have quite deep connections in the Ministry of Personnel…"

Li Nuo was taken aback, "Me?"

He didn't know he had any connections at the Ministry of Personnel.

County Magistrate Zhang added, "Have you forgotten, my lord? Your father-in-law, Song Zhe, Lord Song, is a minister in the Ministry of Personnel…"

Li Nuo indeed did not know what his father-in-law did. He had only met him twice and had never exchanged a single word with the man, who seemed even more reticent than his own father.

His wife was also not very talkative; perhaps she took after her father.

Collecting his thoughts, Li Nuo quickly handled two civilian disputes and returned to the Song Residence.

In the room of Song Jiaren, she was at her desk reading a book, the thick volume of "Shuo Wen." Hearing footsteps approaching, she turned her head for a glance.

Li Nuo approached her and said somewhat embarrassedly, "My wife, may I ask for your help…"