Championing the People

Li Nuo's question made the woman blush. She fidgeted and said, "My husband is very capable in that regard. He wears me out for at least half an hour every night, sometimes even a full hour..."

Everyone present, including Pei Zhe, was shocked.

A full hour!

For them, who lasted less than fifteen minutes, or even less than seven minutes, they couldn't even imagine what level half an hour or a full hour represented. They had just been looking down on the man who beat his wife, but now they looked up to him with respect.

They had no choice but to accept it.

Although Li Nuo had been a virgin in both his lives, he knew what an hour meant.

Truly, there's a master in every trade.

For this reason, he even went to the prison to see the guy. He hadn't expected that such immense strength was hidden beneath his emaciated body.

Of course, Li Nuo wasn't the only one watching.

After he left, Pei Zhe and several Runners were still gathered outside the man's cell, whispering to him. Li Nuo vaguely heard County Magistrate Pei asking him what he usually ate and if he had any special tricks...

Li Nuo did not join their ranks.

Because he didn't need to.

No matter what special skills others possessed, as long as the portrait in the Codex was lit, it was also his special skill.

Although this skill was useless to him right now...

He would eventually find a use for it.

Imprisoning the domestic abuser had not only set a good precedent for the other citizens but also unexpectedly provided him with a useful skill. Li Nuo was in a great mood.

As he passed a certain cell, Li Nuo's steps paused slightly.

He turned to look at the figure sitting in the cell, a hint of confusion in his heart. The last time he was at the prison, she had gnashed her teeth and cursed him as a "Dog Thief." Why wasn't she cursing today?

The Young Girl glanced at him, her gaze complex for a moment before she quickly looked away.

Li Nuo certainly wasn't so pathetic as to ask her why she wasn't cursing him. After a surprised glance, he walked out of the prison. At this moment, people were already lining up at the long table outside the County Office...

Li Nuo's guess was correct. The County Office didn't have many cases, not because the area under the Emperor's rule was peaceful and prosperous, with people living in contentment and having no grievances.

The main reason was that the common people held a certain fearful filter towards the Government Office. For minor disputes, they would either resolve them themselves or swallow their pride, even if they suffered a small loss, rather than step through the gates of the yamen.

Let alone in a feudal dynasty, even in modern times, the vast majority of ordinary people lack the awareness and courage to use the law to protect their legitimate rights.

However, the situation today was different.

Today, they didn't have to enter the yamen. Li Nuo had brought the yamen out to handle cases on the wide street, shortening the distance between them and dispelling the people's nervousness towards the Government Office. More and more people began to line up.

Of course, the cases they brought were not major ones.

A considerable portion involved lost items, with hopes that the yamen could help find them. The probability of solving these minor theft cases was very low, but Li Nuo still had the scribes record them one by one. If the thief was caught later and the stolen goods recovered, they could be notified.

Only a small portion of the cases could be handled on the spot.

This small portion mostly involved civil disputes closely related to people's lives, such as marriage, finance, land, and property. There were no major criminal cases.

Li Nuo was not greedy. He understood the principle of accumulating small gains to achieve a large one. The harvest from these small cases was no less than that from major criminal cases. He personally handled each case, working from morning till night, even making do with a few steamed buns for lunch.

Li Nuo had left home at dawn. Now, the sun was about to set, and there were still people lining up.

Although he was hungry, Li Nuo felt fulfilled.

The reason was simple: when he left home in the morning, his Lifespan was twenty-five days. Now, it had increased to thirty days.

Although a month was still a short time, at least it was increasing daily, giving him a sense of a promising future.

After concluding another debt case, an old woman with white hair trembled as she approached and suddenly knelt before Li Nuo, crying, "Your Honor, please seek justice for my daughter!"

Li Nuo quickly helped the old woman up and said, "Please sit, elder. Tell me your grievance slowly."

As the old woman appeared, the crowd began to murmur.

"It's Granny Chen!"

"Why is Granny Chen here?"

"Her case is different. If it could have been handled, it would have been handled long ago. Why wait until today..."

"Alas, Granny Chen is too pitiful. Her daughter was about to marry into a good family, but she was defiled by someone. The good family broke off the engagement. Such a good girl, and now she's gone mad..."

"What a sin..."

The old woman cried incessantly, making her words disjointed and difficult to understand.

At this moment, the scribe responsible for recording whispered to Li Nuo, "Young Master, I am aware of this case. Half a year ago, this old woman's daughter was raped and defiled. She was to be married in less than half a month, but upon learning of this, the family she was engaged to broke off the engagement. The girl couldn't bear the blow and went mad..."

Li Nuo frowned slightly and asked, "Such a serious case, and the County Office didn't handle it?"

The scribe shook his head and said, "They couldn't handle it. She came to the County Office half a year ago, but without witnesses or evidence, the case was difficult to conclude. Moreover, the person she accused has a noble status, and the County Magistrate couldn't afford to offend him..."

Li Nuo looked at Pei Zhe, who immediately shook his head, spread his hands, and said, "I don't know. This has nothing to do with me. I've only been transferred here for a month. This was handled by the previous County Magistrate..."

He had no intention of taking the blame for his predecessor and immediately distanced himself.

Li Nuo looked at the scribe and asked, "What is that person's status?"

The clerk said, "The son of the Official of the Ministry of Personnel from the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Examination."

Great Xia's official system was similar to the Tang Dynasty's, but with many differences. Li Nuo was just beginning to understand it and asked, "Is the Official of the Ministry of Personnel a high-ranking position?"

Pei Zhe glanced at him and thought to himself, whether the Official of the Ministry of Personnel's position was high or not depended on who you compared them to...

Compared to most officials, he was like a father.

Compared to your own father, he was nothing more than an ant.

The Official of the Ministry of Personnel's position wasn't considered too high, ranked as a fifth-grade official, equivalent to his own position as Magistrate of Chang'an. However, the Ministry of Personnel was one of the Six Ministries, and the Department of Examination was responsible for assessing the performance of officials throughout the Great Xia and making recommendations for promotions or punishments. The Official of the Ministry of Personnel was the head of the Department of Examination, and he couldn't afford to offend him.

Although he wasn't his direct superior, giving him a hard time during performance reviews was an easy matter. Three consecutive years of failing performance reviews would lead to a demotion, followed by further demotions for each subsequent year of failure. Six consecutive years of failure would result in the immediate removal of his official hat, and he would never be employed again...

Therefore, few officials below the fourth rank in Great Xia were willing to offend the Department of Examination.

He cleared his throat and said to Li Nuo, "The Official of the Ministry of Personnel is the head of the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Examination, a fifth-grade official. He is in charge of assessing the performance of officials below the fourth rank in Great Xia and can, to a certain extent, influence the promotion of officials below the fourth rank..."

A fifth-grade official was at the same level as the Magistrate of Chang'an; the position was not low.

In more remote areas, a seventh-grade county magistrate could wield absolute power, deciding life and death.

But Chang'an was under the Emperor's direct rule. Could the son of a fifth-grade official trample on the law with impunity?

Li Nuo looked at Pei Zhe and asked, "Your County Office dares not handle this case?"

Pei Zhe said helplessly, "No one in the Chang'an County Office, including myself, can afford to offend the Official of the Ministry of Personnel. The difficulty of this case is not about whether we dare to handle it, but rather that it happened half a year ago, making evidence collection difficult. Unless he confesses himself, it will be hard to convict him..."

Li Nuo understood these matters, of course.

This was also a difficult problem for him.

Whether the son of the Official of the Ministry of Personnel was guilty or not, he would know once he brought him in, and the Codex would tell him.

The problem was that others didn't know about the existence of the Codex, and Li Nuo couldn't falsely convict him.

After all, the man was the son of a high-ranking court official. Let alone Li Nuo, who held no official position, even if his father, the Minister of Justice, wanted to arrest and try someone, he would need evidence and couldn't act arbitrarily.

In principle, it should be like that.

The difficulty of this case lay in collecting evidence. Li Nuo looked at Pei Zhe and asked, "Where is the previous Magistrate of Chang'an now? Can you have him come out to testify?"

Pei Zhe shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

Li Nuo asked, "Why? Is he not in Chang'an?"

Pei Zhe said, "He is dead."

The previous Magistrate of Chang'an had been ordered to be executed by the Minister of Justice. The grass on his grave should be quite tall by now.

If he hadn't died, Li Nuo wouldn't be here