Chapter 12 Major Case
"Li Xuan, you actually dared to excuse the person who assassinated the imperial official. Are you still worthy of being a member of the royal family?"

Li Yu didn't want Li Xuan to ask any more questions, but the situation was stronger than him.

"call!"

Li Xuan ignored Li Yu and reached out to grab the servant who was holding down Xue Cuo.

The two servants were caught off guard and pushed away by Li Xuan.

When the other servants saw Li Xuan looking at them, they were afraid of Li Xuan's aura and had to let go.

Xue Cuo was freed.

"Just ignore his words. You can say whatever you want."

Li Xuan stretched out his hand and motioned Xue Cuo to stand up.

Xue Cuo was stunned. Although he was surrounded by three layers of enemies, after all, he was tasked with assassinating officials. Li Xuan was of noble status, yet he had to come into such close contact with him and even help him up.

He was a decisive man. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Li Xuan's hand.

Then he glared at Fan Ling with a fierce look, scaring Fan Ling so much that he retreated to the side of the servants in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

This time, Xue Cuo was not impulsive!

The opportunity has been missed.

Influenced by Li Xuan's demeanor, Xue Cuo told Li Xuan the whole story.

Xue Cuo lived in Yunmen Township, east of Chang'an City, and was a good family man.

He was born in a poor family and heard that he could make achievements and gain wealth in the Western Regions. At the age of 20, he joined the army in Anxi.

Over the past three years, he was appointed as an officer commanding 200 soldiers because he had killed many enemies.

I wanted to make more achievements, get some rewards, and then return home in glory.

But not long ago, he suddenly received a letter from home, saying that his third sister was buried alive in the tomb.

Xue Cuo's third sister was not a lowly woman as Li Xuan imagined. Instead, because she was quite beautiful, she was taken as a concubine by Fan Ling's deceased son.

The other four people who were sacrificed alive were of low status.

Upon learning of the tragedy of his relatives, Xue Cuo immediately left the Qiuci army on the pretext of returning home to visit his relatives.

After returning to Chang'an, Xue Cuo tried to assassinate Fan Ling many times, but Fan Ling was the Shao Yin of Jingzhao. He was usually cautious in going out and was followed by his subordinate county soldiers. These county soldiers could carry knives and swords openly, so Xue Cuo could not do anything.

Today, Fan Ling and Li Yu were traveling together, and the escorting county soldiers were waiting outside Qujiang Lake, giving Xue Cuo, who was filled with hatred, an opportunity.

He approached disguised as a ranger guarding a spotted horse, but he was blinded by hatred and became impatient. When he was about to launch a fatal attack, he neglected the skilled servant beside Li Yu.

"Have you filed a complaint against Fan Ling's crimes with the Jingzhao Prefecture?"

After learning what happened, Li Xuan asked a crucial question.

"After my grandfather learned that the Jingzhao Shaoyin was a subordinate of the Jingzhao Yin, he went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to file a complaint. However, he was severely beaten and his life was threatened. With no way to redress his grievances, he could only assassinate him." Xue Cuo replied to Li Xuan.

"Although this is a bad idea, when a common man gets angry, blood will splatter five steps away. This is the only thing you can do."

Although he felt sorry for his sister's life and admired Xue Cuo's actions, he did not approve of his behavior.

Because this behavior is in huge conflict with the order in Li Xuan's mind.

"If Fan Ling gets his retribution, even if he dies, he can rest in peace."

Xue Cuo fluttered and knelt down to Li Xuan.

"A man's knees are made of gold, so he doesn't have to kneel before me. It's in accordance with moral principles, and I won't sit idly by." Li Xuan pulled Xue Cuo up.

At this moment, Fan Ling looked as pale as death.

He grabbed Li Yu's hand like a straw.

But Li Yu suddenly shook off Fan Ling's arm.

In this situation, he was helpless.

He cursed Fan Ling in his heart for burying his dead son with a living person. His younger brother who died young did not receive such treatment and deserved to die.

Li Yu had some political wisdom and knew that Fan Ling would inevitably be in trouble after Li Xuan made a big fuss.

Seeing Li Yu remain silent, Fan Ling, in despair, seemed to have all his strength drained away. He sat down on the ground with a pale face.

Nearly half an hour later, Wannianling Zheng Yan arrived.

He received a report from the officials of Qujiangchi and heard that the case involved the sons of two prime ministers, so he rushed here without stopping.

Why is it still Li Xuan!

After seeing Li Xuan, Zheng Yan felt a headache.

The only difference is that the protagonist has changed to Li Linfu’s fifth son, Li Yu.

Although Zheng Yan was the son-in-law of Zhang Shuo, a famous prime minister during the Kaiyuan period, his "old Taishan" had been dead for more than ten years.

As the saying goes, people take tea to cool.

Now Zhang Shuo's sons Zhang Jun and Zhang Yi have to rely on Li Shizhi.

He doesn't want to offend anyone, nor can he afford to offend anyone.

"I heard that an assassin killed Jingzhao Shaoyin. Where is the assassin?"

After Zheng Yan saluted He Zhizhang and Li Bai on the scene, he began to ask.

Originally, he wanted to pay a visit to Fan Ling, but Fan Ling was slumped on the ground at this time, as if he had lost his mother, which made Zheng Yan confused.

"Magister Zheng, he is the assassin. But forgive me for being frank, in Wannian County, the Shao Yin of Jingzhao buried five living people with his deceased son, some of whom were from good families. Do you know about this?" Li Xuan patted Xue Cuo's shoulder and asked Zheng Yan with a smile.

"what!"

Zheng Yan was suddenly startled.

Burying people alive with the dead has not been heard of since the early Tang Dynasty. Even in the Han Dynasty, this was a privilege reserved for emperors and princes.

"I have only been in office for three months and have never heard of anything like this."

After being shocked, Zheng Yan quickly replied, and then asked a very wretched-looking official next to him: "Ji Qi, do you know about this?"

"I have not heard of it."

The official named Ji Wen responded without hesitation.

Hearing Ji Qi's name.

Li Xuan's eyes became deep as he stared at the wretched man.

This is Jiwen!
Li Xuan knew that Ji Wen was working in Jingzhao Prefecture at that time, but he didn't expect that he was Zheng Yan's subordinate. Judging from his clothes, he should be the Prime Minister of Wannian.

Li Xuan really wanted to kill Ji Wen, but he also knew that behind Ji Wen was Gao Lishi.

It's hard to move him without reason.

Ji Wen, who has a sinister personality, is not an easy person to deal with.

In the 27th year of Kaiyuan, Xiao Jiong served as the governor of Hexi, but was defeated by Tubo. Li Longji was furious and dismissed Xiao Jiong from his military power.

Fortunately, Li Linfu interceded for Xiao Jiong, and Xiao Jiong was appointed as the governor of Henan.

While serving as the governor of Henan, Xiao Jiong colluded with the powerful and committed many illegal acts. After being reported, Li Longji sent the Supervisory Censor to Luoyang to investigate Xiao Jiong thoroughly.

The Supervisory Censor heard that there was a county magistrate named Ji Wen in Xinfeng who was good at handling cases, so he assigned him to handle the case. During the trial, Ji Wen was cruel and tortured Xiao Jiong, leaving him covered in bruises.

Fortunately, Li Linfu lent a helping hand to Xiao Jiong, and he escaped again.

Including the time when Xiao Jiong was demoted to Qizhou by Zhang Jiuling on the grounds of lack of academic knowledge, this was the third time that Li Linfu rescued Xiao Jiong.

He also persuaded Li Longji to promote Xiao Jiong to the position of Minister of Punishment and concurrently Prefect of Jingzhao.

This shows Li Linfu's tremendous power.

Last year, Ji Wen finally used his connections to come to Chang'an from Luoyang and served as the Wannian Prime Minister.

But after a few days, Xiao Jiong took on the position of Jingzhao Yin and became the boss of Ji Wen's boss.

Logically, Xiao Jiong should have killed Ji Wen.

But Ji Wen was always smart. He predicted that Xiao Jiong would go to Gao Lishi's house when Gao Lishi was not on duty. He came to see Gao Lishi in advance to please him. Gao Lishi also used "Ji Qi", a clan ranking name, to express intimacy.

When Xiao Jiong saw the relationship between Gao Lishi and Ji Wen in Gao Lishi's mansion, he wanted to let go of the past grudges.

After leaving Gao Lishi's mansion, Ji Wen personally brought gifts to Xiao Jiong and sincerely apologized to him, saying that he was acting on orders and did not dare to violate the law. From now on, he would turn over a new leaf and serve Xiao Jiong as a loyal servant.

After this, Xiao Jiong and Ji Wen turned their hostility into friendship.

And seeing Ji Wen's ability, Xiao Jiong was ready to promote Ji Wen.

Li Xuan thought about what he knew and knew that he couldn't bring the fire to Ji Wen.

He wondered if Ji Wen would be discovered by Li Linfu, his "confidant", if Xiao Jiong was demoted.

Historically, it was Xiao Jiong who recommended Ji Wen to Li Linfu after he was promoted to the position of legal officer of Jingzhao Prefecture.

It will be within these two years.

"I want to be a general and a prime minister, so why should I be afraid of Ji Wen? The best strategy is to move forward step by step."

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and thought secretly.

"Zheng County Magistrate has just arrived and is busy with official business, so it is normal that he does not know. Besides, you are not in charge of Jingzhao Shaoyin. The crime of shielding will not fall on you."

Putting aside the thoughts in his mind, Li Xuan spoke to Zheng Yan with a hint of meaning.

He did not use the word "oversight" but "covering up".

This case happened half a year ago, and Xiao Jiong has been in office as Jingzhao Yin for a year.

Considering Xue Cuo's statement, Xiao Jiong cannot be free from responsibility.

Let’s see how Li Linfu protects Xiao Jiong this time.

Zheng Yan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Li Xuan's words.

When he heard Li Xuan talking about Li Shizhi's future, he felt relieved.

Although his two brothers-in-law had a grudge against Li Linfu, he did not want to get involved in such a struggle.

Li Xuan had been observing the changes in Ji Wen's expression. When he saw Ji Wen frowning, he must have guessed his purpose.

But after all, Ji Wen was a low-ranking official with little influence, so he couldn't say anything more.

His cousin Ji Xu was the prime minister of Wu Zhou, and Gao Lishi met Ji Xu when he was young. That is why Gao Lishi called Ji Wen "Ji Qi".

Ji Wen knew that in Gao Lishi's heart he was just "the son of an old friend".

Moreover, when Ji Wen was introduced to Li Longji by the Prince's literary scholar Xue Yi, Li Longji saw Ji Wen's wretched appearance and said bluntly: "He is a bad person, I don't want him."

It really hurts Ji Wen's heart!
It is not easy to get to this point after being denied by the emperor.

Because of this experience, Ji Wen made a bold statement: "If I meet a friend who understands me, the white-browed tiger in the South Mountain will not be easy to tie up."

He thought Xiao Jiong was his confidant, but now it seems that this is probably not the case.

Another half hour later, Li Shizhi finally arrived with the officials from the Left Prime Minister's Office.

Everyone paid their respects to Li Shizhi.

Li Shizhi, who had just responded to the request for exemption, was pulled aside by Li Xuan.

According to the past, it would be impossible for Li Shizhi to come.

Now that Li Xuan had demonstrated his talent and said it was "extremely urgent", Li Shizhi became cautious.

"Is there such a thing? Even if it is so, if Xiao Jiong refuses, and Li Linfu tries to stop him, it will not be easy to capture him!"

After hearing Li Xuan's explanation, Li Shizhi felt that this was an opportunity, but he was not absolutely sure.

Taking down the Minister of Justice is the best way to demonstrate Li Shizhi's authority and suppress Li Linfu's prestige.

"The father of the person who was buried alive once went to Jingzhao Prefecture to sue Jingzhao Shaoyin, but was beaten severely. This shows that Xiao Jiong knew about this and intended to cover it up. Impeach Xiao Jiong with this. As long as the father explains clearly that Fan Ling despised the imperial power and buried people alive, then find someone to impeach Xiao Jiong for the mistakes he made in Henan. Xiao Jiong is in great danger."

Li Xuan knew that one of Li Longji's biggest taboos was to despise imperial power.

Once such a crime is committed, it is considered an even more serious crime in Li Longji's mind.

"The tomb of Fan Ling's deceased son must be opened and verified. I will notify the Ministry of Justice, and when they arrive, we will dig up the tomb."

Li Shi nodded.

Logically speaking, as a prime minister, he would be criticized for digging up people's graves.

But Li Shizhi knew that the Ministry of Justice was full of Li Linfu's confidants, and Xiao Jiong was still the Minister of Justice.

When Li Shizhi was the Minister of Punishments, he felt that there were complicated and intricate connections inside. However, since he was not the Prime Minister at the time, he could not clear it up.

If he doesn't go, he won't be able to keep the situation under control.

"He Jian, Li Hanlin, this is our first meeting, but you are so hasty. Things are unpredictable now, and I am sorry to make you laugh. When this matter is settled, I will come to your house to apologize."

Li Xuan apologized to Li Bai and He Zhizhang.

"Qi Lang has lofty ambitions and will surely fly high."

He Zhizhang was amazed at Li Xuan's methods. In the turbulent political arena, only people like Li Xuan could gain a foothold.

More importantly, Li Xuan was only sixteen years old, but he had such a mature mind.

"There is ample time."

Li Bai is free and easy and not bound by any circumstances.

Although what he saw and heard today made him feel emotional, it did not affect Li Bai's original intention.

When Li Xuan said goodbye to He Zhizhang and Li Bai, his fifth brother Li Lang sneaked away.

Uncle Pei Huang and nephew Pei Zhou continued to look at the spotted horses.

Li Xuan followed Li Shizhi to the Fanling clan tomb outside the city of Chang'an.

Xue Cuo was guilty of assassinating an official, so he could only be taken back to Wannian County Office by Zheng Yan's men.

Li Xuan would persuade Li Shizhi to reduce the crime of Xue Cuo, the guard of Kucha, from death penalty.

Fan Ling, who was unable to stand up, was forcibly grabbed onto the horse's back by Li Shi's order.

Li Yu clenched his fists, rode back to Pingkangfang, reported the matter to Li Linfu, and asked Li Linfu to make a decision.

(End of this chapter)