My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 80 - 78: Eating Alone [Seeking Monthly Pass]

"Mother!"

A piercing cry rang out, and the green-robed scholar hurriedly rushed towards the house.

Halfway there, his body suddenly stopped, and he moved with difficulty, step by step, as if trying to confirm something yet unable to accept the result.

Those in the courtyard, witnessing this genuine display of emotion, could not help but feel sorrow and sigh.

He reached the doorway and saw the straw mat covered with a white cloth; his body went limp, and he nearly collapsed, but two neighbors quickly came to support him.

Eventually, the green-robed scholar, mustering his strength, slowly walked inside. Soon after, heart-wrenching sobs could be heard from within.

"Mother, why were you so foolish!"

"Why didn't you wait for me!"

"There must have been a way; once I had earned the silver, a Divine Doctor would surely have been able to cure your illness!"

"Mother!"

...

The heart-wrenching cries touched everyone with sadness and drove many to tears.

It was a true human tragedy. The crowd sobbed continuously, and even Housekeeper Wu and the four guards by Li Nuo's side let out long sighs.

The woman in black wiped away her tears and glanced unintentionally at the handsome young official from the Chang'an County Government. She noticed that not only was he unmoved, but his expression was also exceptionally cold, in stark contrast to the people around him.

What, an official of the court with not a shred of compassion? How could such a person be a good guardian of the people?

She had quite liked him initially.

After all, in today's court, officials who practiced Legalism were rare. It was not easy to find a kindred spirit, yet he turned out to be so heartless...

Her favorable first impression of him instantly vanished.

As time passed, the onlooking villagers gradually dispersed.

After an unknown duration, the green-robed scholar emerged from the house, wiped away his tears with his sleeve, bowed to the people from the Chang'an County Government and the Ministry of Justice, and said with a hoarse voice, "I've caused trouble for all the officials here..."

County Captain Wang sighed, gently patted his shoulder, and said, "The deceased are gone; the living must carry on."

He pulled out one ingot of silver from his chest and placed it in the scholar's hand, looking at him with hope, "This is just a small token from me. Take care of your mother's funeral properly, then return to the academy to study. Strive to top the imperial examinations next year and don't disgrace Qingfeng Academy."

The green-robed scholar clutched the ingot of silver tightly and choked up, "Thank you, my lord!"

Seeing this, the woman in black also took out an ingot of silver, and said to the green-robed scholar, "Your mother sacrificed her life for you. Make her funeral a grand one; she would be happy to know this from the underworld..."

She casually grabbed a bamboo basket drying in the courtyard, placed the silver ingot inside, then held the basket as she walked past the constables from the Ministry of Justice and Chang'an County Government. Everyone also took the cue to put some copper coins and broken silver into the basket.

When she reached Li Nuo, he halted.

She looked at Li Nuo.

Li Nuo looked at her.

Seeing no response from him, she nudged her chin towards the basket.

Li Nuo understood her meaning but shook his head, saying, "I have no money."

The woman in black frowned, "Even the constables from the County Magistrate's Office have donated. If you don't donate, how can you, as an official of the court, be so lacking in compassion?"

Li Nuo truly had no money.

Since he arrived in this world, he had never touched money.

Whenever he needed to buy anything while traveling, it was either Housekeeper Wu or his wife who paid.

He looked at the black-clad woman and said, "I'm not an official of the court."

"You're not an official of the court?" she asked in surprise, then added, "If you're not an official, what are you doing here, and wait, if you're not an official, how come you practice Legalism? Don't try to deceive me..."

Li Nuo wondered to himself; surely, she could not be an official of the court either, yet how did she come to practice Legalism? Not only had she practiced, but her cultivation was also even higher than his...

At this moment, a constable from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and whispered a few words in her ear.

The woman in black widened her eyes in shock, obviously startled by some news. She stared intently at Li Nuo, incredulous, "He's the son of Li Xuanjing? The son of Li Xuanjing practices Legalism? Are you joking..."

Li Nuo dismissed the thought that this woman resembled his wife.

His wife didn't talk this much.

He looked toward the people from the Ministry of Justice and asked, "Hasn't your Ministry already closed this case? Why haven't you left?"

After realizing that this woman also practiced Legalism, Li Nuo started to guard against her.

Legalism was not like the Martial Path where everyone practiced on their own without interfering with each other. The number of criminals was limited; if one person caught an extra criminal, another would catch one less.

Thus, disciples of Legalism were actually in competition, and Li Nuo did not want his case to be snatched away by her.

The woman in black had been planning to leave, but these words stirred up her rebellious spirit.

She intended to cross her arms across her chest, but they wouldn't fit, so she placed them behind her back instead and said, "Who says the Ministry has closed the case? Is it not allowed if I have discovered some new doubts regarding this case?"

Li Nuo crossed his arms and asked, "What doubts?"

The woman's eyes darted around as she said, "I..."

Unable to think of a reason, she suddenly stuck out her chest, "Why should I tell you?"

Li Nuo took a step back, not wanting to get entangled with her on this topic.

He had no interest in arguing with her. If her portrait appeared in the law code, it meant she was directly related to his mother's death. This case was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

He turned to the green-robed scholar and asked, "Your name is Han Zhuo, a student of Qingfeng Academy?"

The green-robed scholar's expression was sad as he replied, "Yes."

Li Nuo glanced at County Captain Wang and said, "Come with us to the County Magistrate's Office for a moment."

Everyone was slightly stunned.

Why would he take someone to the County Magistrate's Office when they had just lost their mother and hadn't even prepared her funeral?

Li Nuo explained, "After all, this is a murder case. He is the victim's son. Lord Pei would need his testimony to close the case, and he must be present to cancel the victim's household registration. And those neighbors as well—please ask them to take a trip to the County Magistrate's Office..."

Although Li Nuo already knew that the old woman's death was in no way unrelated to her son Han Zhuo, he did not point it out directly.

One reason was that he needed to conduct a further investigation.

Another was that there was only one case, but two Law Practitioners.

It wasn't that Li Nuo was stingy and didn't want to share credit with her. It was a matter of life and death; he wasn't sharing credit, but his own life.

Moreover, since the other party had discovered nothing and concluded it as a suicide case, he wasn't hogging the case for himself.

Li Nuo's explanation was logical and well-founded. When a person died in the county, the deceased's relatives indeed needed to cancel their household registration at the government office. Likewise, the birth of a newborn had to be reported there. The government office used this information to keep track of the population's annual changes within its jurisdiction.

The woman in black frowned and said, "Canceling the registration isn't urgent. Death is a serious matter. It's better to bury the deceased soon. It wouldn't be too late to cancel the registration after handling his mother's funeral arrangements."

Li Nuo said, "If we go quickly and return quickly, half an hour will be enough. After completing the procedures, I'll send him back on a fast horse, so it won't delay anything."

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After he finished speaking, he turned to Housekeeper Wu and said, "Send someone to buy a high-quality coffin and bring it here immediately, and also procure some funeral items. Please arrange for some monks and priests to pray for the departed. The expenses for the old lady's funeral will be covered by Li Mansion..."

The people from the Ministry of Justice felt ashamed of their previous thoughts after hearing this.

They had thought this lord was a miser who wouldn't spend a penny, but it turned out he had considered everything more thoroughly.

The scholar from the academy had just lost his mother; how could he have the capacity to prepare such complicated things? No amount of silver would be helpful to him right now...

The green-robed scholar bowed deeply to Li Nuo with hands clasped in gratitude, "Thank you, my lord!"

Li Nuo patted him lightly on the shoulder and said, "Take care and accept this change. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to the County Magistrate's Office to find us."

The scholar thanked him profusely once more.

County Captain Wang took him and selected a few neighbors to go along to provide their testimonies at the County Magistrate's Office. Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the courtyard with Housekeeper Wu. As they were about to get into the carriage, Li Nuo turned around and nearly bumped into two prominent curves.

Thankfully, he stopped in time. Li Nuo looked at the woman in black and asked, "You're not returning to the Ministry? Why follow us?"

The woman's eyes, clear as autumn waters, stared straight at Li Nuo and said, "I suspect you want to hog all the glory."