Righteousness Over Kin

The middle-aged man refused decisively. As a Minister of Personnel, holding a rank of the fourth grade, he wasn't exactly terrified of Li Xuanjing. This was because he conducted himself with integrity in his official duties. If he were to abuse his power for personal gain, wouldn't that be handing Li Xuanjing an opportunity to act against him?

Hearing the words of the Minister, Wang Duo trembled, his body slowly hunching over.

Looking at his old friend of many years, the Left Minister of Personnel couldn't help but soften. He said, "Send that beast to the Chang'an County Office. Remember, the Chang'an County Office, not the Ministry of Punishment or the Court of Judicial Review. Let the county office handle it as they see fit. As for you, immediately submit a petition to the court, donate all your assets, resign from your post, and return to your hometown. While you're still able to have children, take a few more young concubines and see if you can have another son to carry on your family line..."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir..."

Wang Duo remained silent for a long time. After cupping his fists in a gesture of respect, he turned and left.

At that moment, it felt as if something had been ripped out of his body, as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.

As he walked out the door, he looked up. Although it was almost sunset, the sky was still a clear, azure blue, without a single speck of impurity.

Twenty years. The sky over Chang'an was still this blue.

He remembered it clearly. Twenty years ago, when he led many fellow disciples from the academy in a protest on the streets of Chang'an, denouncing the then Magistrate of Chang'an for his cruel governance and disregard for human life, the sky over Chang'an was just this blue.

Twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, a trace of regret finally surfaced in Wang Duo's heart.

He came from humble beginnings. The path to his education was fraught with hardship and suffering. To receive guidance from a renowned master, he would travel hundreds of miles regardless of the weather, just for a word of advice. After finally being noticed by Qingfeng Academy and admitted as a special case, his fellow disciples all came from powerful and official families. They had received private tutelage from famous teachers since childhood, enjoyed esteemed status, lived in luxury, and associated with the elite. The cost of a single banquet was more than his wife could earn in a year of hard labor...

Yet, despite such a vast disparity in background and circumstances, his conviction had never wavered back then.

Under such conditions, in that year's Imperial examination, he stood out from tens of thousands of people, achieving the Jinshi title with flying colors. He ranked fifth among the Jinshi, starting his career as a county magistrate of the seventh grade. In the nearly twenty years since, from a seventh-grade official far from Chang'an, he had climbed step by step to Chang'an, reaching his current position. Not to mention his former fellow disciples, even their parents and grandparents would respectfully address him as "Minister Wang" when they met him...

Over these twenty years, he had gained much, and lost much.

Reflecting now, when did it all begin to change? Was it the first time he accepted a bribe, the first time he abused his power for personal gain, or the first time he used wealth to pave his path to officialdom...

It had been too long; he couldn't quite remember...

He glanced back one last time and walked away with heavy steps, his figure appearing particularly desolate.

At this moment, in the residence of the Left Minister of Personnel, the middle-aged man watched in the direction Wang Duo had left, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. He shook his head and said, "Wang Duo, oh Wang Duo, why did you have to end up like this, why..."

A young man emerged from the back hall and said to the middle-aged man, "Father, I've been studying the Great Xia Codex recently. Uncle Wang is an official of the fifth grade, and Wang Yue is his son. The crime he committed is at most three years imprisonment, which can be commuted by paying a fine. Why didn't he pay the fine to avoid punishment? Three years imprisonment would only cost three hundred taels, and the Wang family shouldn't be unable to afford it..."

"Redemption by silver?"

The middle-aged man twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Given Li Xuanjing's character, if Wang Duo hands over Wang Yue and resigns to donate his wealth, the Wang family might still survive. But if he tries to redeem the crime with silver, not only will Wang Yue surely die, but the Wang family will also struggle to continue..."

The young man retorted indignantly, "Is Li Xuanjing truly so lawless, disregarding the law as if it were nothing? In this vast court, is there no one to manage him?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "There were people who wanted to manage him before, but they are all dead. He is still alive. After that, no one dared to manage him anymore..."

"Preposterous!"

The young man suddenly waved his sleeve, his face full of righteous indignation. "If this scoundrel isn't dealt with, heaven's justice will not be served! I must study hard, enter officialdom, and in the future, I will surely eliminate this scoundrel for the people and the court, bringing clear skies back to Great Xia..."

Before he could finish speaking, he received a hard blow to the head.

The young man clutched his head, confused. "Father, why are you hitting me..."

"I'm telling you to bring clear skies, to bring clear skies!" The middle-aged man took off his boot and began to whip him, cursing, "You ignorant fool, you dare to provoke someone I don't even dare to provoke! Why don't you just take my place as father..."

Wang Family.

Inside the ancestral hall, Wang Yue knelt on a prayer mat. A woman stood beside him and said, "Don't worry, Yue'er. Your father has many friends, and many ministers in the court owe him favors. He'll surely find a way to save you!"

Wang Yue's expression improved slightly. Just then, slow footsteps were heard from outside the ancestral hall.

The woman turned and rushed forward, her face filled with joy. She clasped his hand and asked, "My lord, how did it go..."

As soon as she finished speaking, her face was filled with shock, and she trembled, "My lord, your... your hair..."

The master was forty years old, in the prime of his life, with not a single white hair before. Now, more than half of his hair was white, and he looked much older.

He had only been out for an hour, but it felt like twenty years had passed.

Wang Yue also slowly stood up and walked to Wang Duo. Looking at his white hair, his lips trembled, and he managed to speak with difficulty, "Father..."

A bitter smile appeared on Wang Duo's face. He gently patted his shoulder and said, "A child's misbehavior is the father's fault. I have failed you."

Wang Yue had understood something. Although his face was still pale, the panic and fear from before were gone.

Looking at his father's hunched back and white hair, he realized for the first time that his father was also old.

His mother often told him stories of his father's youth. The father who, in his eyes, was a towering figure, who single-handedly transformed the Wang family from a poor household in a remote mountain village into a prominent family in Chang'an, a man who could do anything – that father was finally old.

At this moment, he felt no fear for the future, only heartache for his father.

He reached out and gently tidied his father's disheveled hair at the temples, shaking his head. "No, it is I, your unworthy son, who has disappointed you. I will bear the consequences of my mistakes. Please do not blame yourself..."

On the streets of Chang'an, Li Nuo was hearing a case.

A crowd of onlookers had already gathered around.

It was their first time witnessing a public trial and sentencing held on the street, and they found it novel and interesting. Such an opportunity to interact closely with the government office was not common.

At one point, there was a commotion among the crowd, and several figures pushed their way through.

Leading the way was the peddler who had returned after leaving earlier.

Of course, Li Nuo knew very well that he was a peddler on the surface, but in reality, he was his plainclothes bodyguard.

Behind the peddler, two figures followed.

The one on the left was a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes, exuding an air of nobility from a high position, his hair completely white, looking somewhat dejected.

The one on the right was a bound young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, with a five-point resemblance to the middle-aged man between the brows. His face was equally pale, his expression wooden and dazed.

"You unfilial son, kneel!"

Wang Duo said in a deep voice, and the young man slowly knelt.

Afterward, Wang Duo walked to the side of the Chang'an County Magistrate, who was wearing official robes, bowed with his fists clasped, and said, "My lord, this unfilial son has broken the law. I, Wang, have brought him to the county office. I request that you deal with him according to the law..."

This scene surprised Li Nuo somewhat.

This case... seemed to be going rather smoothly.

He had originally thought that since the case had been dragging on for so long and there was no direct evidence, it wouldn't be easy to convict even with the Court of Judicial Review's involvement. He hadn't expected that after only a short while, the other party would directly turn himself in at the county office.

This way, even the investigation phase was skipped.

Could it be that this Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Department was unaware of his son's crimes before?

After being informed by his own guard, this righteous court official immediately decided to uphold justice over kinship and deliver his son to the county office to be punished by law—what a good official!