667: Chapter 423: Trial in the Hall 667: Chapter 423: Trial in the Hall Compared to those in Di’an City who hold great power, the officials in the county governnt office can enjoy life in a certain sense.
At least, they don’t have to get up early before dawn to prepare for the morning court.
The shadow of the sundial pointer outside the governnt hall had already moved to the hour of Chen with the rising sun, yet the entire governnt office was still very quiet, with only the early-rising servants and a few duty clerks tiptoeing through.
However, the silence of the governnt office today was eerily different from usual.
The guards on duty, the servants sweeping up fallen leaves, and even the advisers aiding the county magistrate in handling official business would occasionally glance towards the deepest part of the governnt office amidst this quiet.
In this silence,
another gentleman in an expensive robe leisurely entered the county governnt office.
The constables at the gate of the county governnt subconsciously wanted to stop him, because they did not recognize him and should have stopped him out of duty, but after seeing the obviously expensive attire of the visitor, they silently let him pass.
These early risers had all witnessed the astonishing scene that just took place.
Nearly all entry-level officials, prominent scholars and gentry, and well-known business owners in the vast Huizhou County had hurried to the deepest hall of the county governnt within less than a quarter of an hour.
They did not know why these important figures were gathering at the governnt office this early morning, but they knew that these were not matters for them, the lowly, to discuss.
Unobstructed, Xu Yuan entered the governnt office and took an interested look at the arrangents inside.
In his view, the facilities and architecture were standard, but for a county-level governnt office, the center for handling official business, the place had been refurbished a bit too opulently.
High walls and a large courtyard, waterside pavilions and terraces, a qin chamber and a book gallery—in short, areas for entertainnt and daily life were all available.
Even more so, Xu Yuan saw a sizable artificial lake after walking through several courtyards.
The rockery looked lifelike, koi swam in schools, and in the middle of the lake stood a pavilion.
Pausing to enjoy the view, Xu Yuan suddenly noticed several maids escorting a woman as she passed by the lakeside.
With her hair in a simple up-do and without makeup, her figure was captivating and youthful, her ample chest swaying with each step.
She appeared to have just woken up, not yet having bothered to put on an undershirt.
Noticing Xu Yuan’s gaze, the woman turned with a disapproving look to see which impertinent soul dared to be so brazen.
But after locking eyes for a brief mont and seeing the young man’s features, the disapproval in the woman’s eyes gradually turned to a hint of shyness.
She tightened her clothing, coquettishly blinked her eyes, and then hurried off with a flushed face.
Watching her departing figure, Xu Yuan’s lips curved slightly.
He glanced at the handso reflection in the lake and gently shook his head.
The woman must be the wife of the local county magistrate, considering the Di’an governnt office is also the magistrate’s residence.
The beauty of the residence reflected the power in hand.
This magistrate, quite the connoisseur of pleasure.
Xu Yuan exhaled softly, chuckling to himself,
“Three years as a clean magistrate, a hundred thousand silver…
this magistrate must be an upright official, heh.”
As the words fell silently, his cultivation technique activated, and Xu Yuan’s figure disappeared from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already on top of the courtyard wall of the deepest hall in the county governnt.
Looking down, Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Things were rather lively inside.
The courtyard of the hall was still very quiet, with a tall ginkgo tree sitting in the middle, and a well-maintained stone path leading inward.
The golden yellow of autumn leaves scattered on the brick and stone ground, but at this very mont, the entire hall was filled with people kneeling.
There were officials in their uniforms and also scholars and gentry in expensive silk.
Each of them was a dignitary whose re foot stomp could make the city shudder, yet at this mont they knelt on the ground, as ek as quails.
If there was no room to kneel inside the hall, they knelt in the courtyard.
If no one spoke inside, they continued kneeling.
In the silence, Xu Yuan slowly descended from the courtyard wall.
Right after, he spotted two corpses in the corner, one dressed in the uniform of a county magistrate and the other seed to be from the City Defense Office.
Beside them lay seven or eight n dressed in constable uniforms.
They were piled up in the corner like stray dogs.
That had the hallmarks of how his elder sister handled matters.
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
The sound of boots on stone pavent was light, yet it hamred on the hearts of the dignitaries, and none dared to raise their heads.
They actually didn’t know what had happened, only that before dawn the county head had sent for them to wake them from their sleep.
He said a high-ranking official from the imperial court had arrived.
At first, they thought it was just another auditor coming to skim off so benefits and make a show, but as soon as they arrived here, they found out there were already dead people.
County Magistrate Cao was dead.
The third in command of Huizhou County, an Eighth Grade official personally appointed by the Imperial Court, was beheaded without any report?
This was damn near rebellion!
The City Defense Commander, in charge of the defense formation, tried to activate the protective formation while protesting that this was against the law and needed to be reported to the prefect.
Then,
The City Defense Commander also died.
Despite being surrounded by the protective formation, his head was removed with one strike.
After that,
No one spoke.
The newcor was at least a Great Grandmaster, and in front of a person at this level, even those resentful had to hold their tongues, for anyone who dared speak would be risking death.
The footsteps faded into the distance, moving into the main hall, and a gentle voice of a young man quietly erged:
“Sister, how goes the investigation here?”
Xu Yuan glanced at the officials kneeling on both sides and fixed his gaze on the enchanting woman seated at the head:
“How many of these people are clean?”
His voice echoed in the spacious hall,
Lou Ji languidly reclined in the soft chair behind her, her long, jade legs crossed straightly and resting casually on the desk, as she glanced through a stack of docunts in her hand.
Hearing Xu Yuan’s question, she slightly lifted her eyelids and replied with a casual laugh:
“Clean?
That depends on what you, Changtian, an by clean.
If we go by Dayan’s legal code, everyone here is guilty of capital offenses.”
As soon as she casually spoke, the officials in the hall stirred slightly, but the residual intimidation from the woman’s random acts of killing kept them silent.
Xu Yuan glanced over the officials who were wasting their places one more ti and walked up to the desk:
“What’s the verdict?”
Lou Ji handed the docunt in her hand to Xu Yuan, smiling as if nothing were amiss:
“Collusion between officials and rchants led to the extermination of families, hiring assassins, kidnapping children for trafficking, indulging ard followers to commit murder in the street, and releasing prisoners…
There’s just too much, take a look for yourself.”
Xu Yuan took the docunt and quickly scanned it, his eyes involuntarily twitching.
How could such a small county town have so many talents?
Damn, the cris listed here could almost make up an encyclopedia of Dayan’s legal code.
Casually throwing these docunts on the floor, Xu Yuan didn’t want to say more; after all, he still had to face the upcoming assassination attempt.
His voice was soft:
“Give them a chance to explain themselves, if they can’t explain…
then just kill them all.”
“Okay.”
“You are rebelling!”
Their conversation was not concealed, and the humming discussion suddenly exploded.
A middle-aged man dressed in embroidered official robes suddenly stood up, looked towards the man and woman on the platform, and shouted angrily, “Although you hold the imperial envoy’s token, Liu is a Seventh Grade official personally appointed by The Imperial Court, devoting himself to Huizhou County.
How dare you convict based on these baseless accusations!”
Lou Ji didn’t say a word upon hearing this, instead just smiling and giving Xu Yuan a sidelong glance.
She didn’t care about the officials and gentry of this one county.
Back when Li Yaoxuan ascended the throne and reford the bureaucracy, the officials whose hos were raided were counted by the province.
According to the laws of Dayan, the people kneeling below all deserved to die.
However, from her point of view, there were indeed so talents among them worth sparing, not all deserving death.
But if Changtian made a decision, then they could only lend their heads for the cause.
Xu Yuan looked at this good-looking middle-aged man, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes, chuckled twice, and asked:
“You say you’ve worked your heart out?”
“Naturally!”
The middle-aged man stood tall in the hall, his voice clear and firm as he clasped his hands and raised them to the sky: “When Liu first ca here, the area was plagued with supernatural nuisances, and bandit calamities were everywhere; after decades of poverty and weakness, with over ten years of governance here, I have truly brought wealth to the people and darkness to the land!”
Xu Yuan sighed and smiled:
“County Magistrate Liu, don’t be in such a hurry.
Compared to when you took over, you have indeed accomplished so things over the past decade-plus, and your abilities are quite outstanding.”
“That is a matter of fact.”
The middle-aged man frowned, staring at the noble young master of unknown status on the platform: “Under Liu’s governance, Huizhou County has exceeded its silver tax quota every year, and regularly led fundraising initiatives against bandit and supernatural nuisances each year, organizing volunteers to clear them out and bringing peace to the commoners of Huizhou!
“During the unrest on the Northern Frontier spanning over a decade, this official even took the initiative to gather contributions from many gentry, donating over three hundred thousand taels of silver to aid military expenses, for the provincial leaders to allocate!”
“…..”
Upon hearing the end, Xu Yuan almost laughed out loud:
“Fundraising…
the gentry returned the full amount, and the commoners got a thirty percent cut?
I’m very curious, whose seventieth percent is that?”
The middle-aged man frowned, feeling that the other party had misunderstood his aning.
Xu Yuan thoughtfully stroked his chin:
“Not talking, huh?
It seems that seventy percent belongs to that Grandmaster Xu, right?
Tsk tsk, a county official embezzled so much silver over more than a decade…”
“Please watch your words, sir.”
The middle-aged man couldn’t quite grasp the situation, and whispered with furrowed brows:
“A lowly person’s words carry little weight; Grandmaster Xu isn’t so easy to talk to.”
“So what if he’s not easy to talk to?”
Xu Yuan smiled and shook his head, leaning back against the desk behind him, looking down on the middle-aged man with a settled voice, and smiled softly, “If that Grandmaster Xu you ntioned were here and he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, I’d have him killed along with the rest.”
“…..”
With casual words, the County Magistrate Liu’s eyes flashed with a tremor; he was completely uncertain about the depths of the two people before him.
Xu Yuan smiled and waved his hand:
“Don’t play your official connections and superiors with ; that sort of thing is useless against .
If you don’t have any other explanations, just go outside and wait for death.”
County Magistrate Liu’s lips pursed, his throat bobbing:
“Liu…
Liu has records of governance that are witnessed across the entire province, from repairing water conservancy, reclaiming fertile land, to introducing rchants…
”
“As I’ve said, you truly have done so things and indeed your ability is outstanding.”
Xu Yuan’s eyes were already showing impatience, enunciating every word:
“But those things you ntioned, aren’t they the duties an official appointed by The Imperial Court ought to do, County Magistrate Liu?”
“…..” County Magistrate Liu’s face paled.
Xu Yuan stood up from the bench:
“Honestly, I don’t mind you officials embezzling or enjoying such opulent material wealth, because after all, you are human, and you have desires.
If you don’t indulge, others will force you to.
“But,
“There’s a limit to everything, isn’t there?
“I want an explanation for why you have the authority to disregard human life, the right to indulge ard followers in committing murder, and why you have the power to make the people in your jurisdiction fear officials and power as though fearing a tiger!”
“…..”
After he spoke, the hall fell silent.
Xu Yuan sighed:
“It seems you really can’t explain.”
As he spoke, Xu Yuan turned and walked towards the back of the hall.
Lou Ji also slowly rose from her chair, her smile radiant as she followed behind Xu Yuan.
“According to Dayan’s laws, even if this official is guilty, I should be judged by law, what you’re doing is disregarding royal authority!”
County Magistrate Liu seed to realize sothing, and he hurriedly yelled at the backs of the two.
However, the two of them proceeded as if they hadn’t heard, chatting and laughing as they entered the hall.
And the last thing County Magistrate Liu heard,
Seed to be:
“Sis, is the dead man still talking…..”
As they spoke,
Inside the grand county hall, the heads of over a hundred mbers of the gentry and elite simultaneously fell to the ground, and the bright red blood covered the golden ginkgo leaves on the courtyard floor like a stream…
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