Aftermath

The more-than-threefold increase in his lifespan left Li Nuo utterly baffled.

But when he thought about it, it did not seem strange. The criminals he had arrested before were all ordinary people without any background, who did not even possess basic Martial Dao cultivation. Wang Yue was not only the son of a high-ranking court official; he was also a Second Realm Martial Artist. If those previous criminals had been minor monsters, then Wang Yue was at least a mini-boss.

The difficulty of judging him was far greater than that of the previous criminals, so it was only reasonable that he had received a little more experience.

This was remarkably similar to Legalist cultivation.

The higher a criminal's status and the more exalted his identity, the faster a Legalist's cultivation would increase through judging him. Once Legalist experts reached the later stages of cultivation, judging ordinary people could no longer bring them any increase in strength, so they would all set their sights on the high officials and nobles filling the court.

Li Nuo had a small guess.

When an ordinary person was sentenced to three years of Imprisonment Sentence, it could only increase his lifespan by three days. Flogging did not add anything; he needed to accumulate it from multiple people.

Wang Yue was a Second Realm Martial Artist. Three years of Imprisonment Sentence plus one hundred strokes of Flogging had increased his lifespan by eleven days, more than three times the amount granted by three years of Imprisonment Sentence. Could the lifespan added by the Code of Law be calculated according to the criminal's strength and status? Ordinary people received no multiplier, the First Realm doubled it, the Second Realm tripled it, the Third Realm quadrupled it, and so on...

By that calculation, the Seventh Realm could multiply it eightfold.

Sentencing an ordinary person to Death Penalty could only increase his lifespan by ten days.

If the rules for extending one's lifespan really worked this way, sentencing a Seventh Realm expert to Death Penalty could increase his lifespan by eighty days—nearly three months. It seemed like a lot, but in reality, the cost and reward were completely out of proportion.

The Seventh Realm was already the realm of the All Saints. Who could arrest a Saint and sentence him?

Not to mention the Seventh Realm—even the Sixth Realm was impossible.

An existence like that was comparable to a small army all by himself.

Even the Fifth Realm was a colossal power capable of dominating an entire region. Behind such a person there would certainly be a powerful force, one that could easily rise above the secular world and the law. However, all of this was currently only Li Nuo's guess. He would have to truly arrest such experts before he could know how exactly the lifespan increase worked.

Even so, this was still good news for Li Nuo.

Who would not want a twofold, threefold, or even fourfold or fivefold multiplier? If he could arrest a few Fourth Realm murderers and sentence them, adding several months to his lifespan, he could relax a little and would not have to push himself so hard every day.

After being busy the whole day, he had not had the chance to eat much. He had not noticed anything while passing judgment, but now that he had some free time, he felt both exhausted and hungry. Fortunately, when he returned home, the food was already prepared. Li Nuo only cared about shoveling rice into his mouth, feeling that even plain rice tasted better than usual.

He ate dinner with Song Jiaren, but the two of them did not have much to say.

Li Nuo had no mind to speak either. He was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open. He mechanically shoveled rice into his mouth, his eyelids growing heavier and his movements slower and slower...

A moment later, Song Jiaren looked at Li Nuo lying sprawled across the dining table. A few grains of rice still clung to his face, while steady breathing had already begun to drift from his nose. She shook her head slightly, rose, and walked over to brush the grains of rice off his face. Then she picked him up horizontally, left the dining hall, and slowly entered a small courtyard...

Inside Li Nuo's room, Song Jiaren placed him on the bed. With only a slight lift of her hand, his shoes and socks automatically came off and were neatly arranged on the floor. The folded brocade quilt opened by itself and gently covered Li Nuo.

Song Jiaren stood beside the bed and watched him quietly for a while before turning to leave.

As the door creaked shut, the room once more returned to silence.

Yet at that moment, certain great households in Chang'an were anything but peaceful.

In the evening, the commotion caused by the people in front of Chang'an County Office had been considerable, startling several officials and nobles who lived nearby. After sending servants out to inquire, they soon learned the whole story.

The son of the Official of the Ministry of Personnel had violated the law and been arrested by Chang'an County Office. In full view of countless people in Chang'an, he had been struck one hundred times and sentenced to three years of Imprisonment Sentence.

A Principal Fifth Rank official was not especially high-ranking, but neither was he insignificant. Under the Great Xia Codex, officials of this rank could use silver or an official position to atone for crimes they themselves had committed. Their direct relatives could also use Redemption Silver to atone for crimes below "exile."

It was only three years of Imprisonment Sentence—merely three hundred taels of silver. To the Wang family, three hundred taels was nothing at all.

Yet Wang Duo had not chosen to use silver to redeem his son. Instead, he had sacrificed family for righteousness, personally sending his only son to Chang'an County Office and leaving him to the authorities' judgment. This left many people utterly confused.

Not only that, some well-informed officials learned through unofficial channels that after returning from Chang'an County Office, Wang Duo had immediately sold off the Wang family's shops, farmland, residences, and other properties in Chang'an at rock-bottom prices. He had also submitted a memorial to the Left Minister of Personnel that very night, resigning his post and returning to his hometown. Before leaving, he had donated all his family property to the state treasury...

This made matters even more incomprehensible.

Although the position of Official of the Ministry of Personnel was not especially high, the power in his hands was truly considerable. Wang Duo was in the prime of his life and in good health. He had worked desperately to climb to that position, and still had the possibility of advancing further in the future. Why resign for no reason? Even if he wanted to resign, there was no need to sell his property at a loss and donate it...

Countless people were left scratching their heads over his actions.

"What happened to Official Wang? Why is he doing this?"

"It's only such a minor matter. Surely it hasn't come to this?"

"There must be a reason behind it!"

"Investigate it. Investigate it further!"

Before long, someone finally managed to learn an even more inside story.

Yet this inside story was even more shocking.

"What? It was someone under Li Xuanjing who made a move?"

"I understand now. Wang Duo is one of Prince Rui's people. Prince Rui's faction just suffered a crushing defeat at Li Xuanjing's hands, with many officials losing their positions. It seems Wang Duo was next. This case was merely an excuse..."

"Prince Chun intends to completely crush Prince Rui's faction!"

"This time it wasn't the Court of Judicial Review, but Chang'an County Office. Could it be that the new Magistrate of Chang'an has already submitted to Li Xuanjing—to Prince Chun?"

"Isn't that obvious? Otherwise, how could a mere Magistrate of Chang'an afford to offend the Official of the Ministry of Personnel, let alone Prince Rui?"

"No wonder Wang Duo resigned and donated his wealth. He was trying to save his life..."

"This new Magistrate of Chang'an cannot be underestimated!"

"Heh, Li Xuanjing has gained another dog under his command..."

The resignation of the Official of the Ministry of Personnel stirred up a small-scale storm in Chang'an's upper circles.

On the surface, this seemed to be merely a minor case, but beneath it was a clash between two princes.

With Li Xuanjing as his powerful arm, Prince Chun possessed an innate advantage in certain aspects. As for the officials in the other princes' factions who kept themselves clean, they were fine. But once they failed to conduct themselves properly and Li Xuanjing caught them by the handle, it was difficult for them to meet a good end.

The Official of the Ministry of Personnel being dragged down by his son also sounded an alarm for the other officials.

No one knew how many officials had woken their children in the dead of night, repeatedly warning them to take Wang Yue's affair as a lesson.

Others who harbored guilty consciences had immediately begun thinking of ways to settle matters peacefully. Whether through warnings or compensation, they absolutely could not allow things to reach the light of day.

At that moment, in Li Manor.

The night was deep. In a study somewhere in the manor, candlelight swayed.

Steward Wu stood before the desk and said, "...Later, Wang Duo personally bound his son and sent him over. The young master struck him one hundred times in front of the people at the entrance to Chang'an County Office and sentenced him to three years of Imprisonment Sentence..."

After finishing, he asked tentatively, "Only afterward did this old servant remember that Wang Duo seems to be one of Prince Rui's people. Will this offend Prince Rui even more and cause trouble for Master?"

The refined middle-aged man took a sip of tea and said, "It is of no consequence. Prince Rui already hates me to the bone. One more Wang Duo makes no difference, and one fewer Wang Duo makes no difference either."

Steward Wu thought for a moment before saying, "Prince Rui suffered such a great loss at Master's hands some time ago, so he must bear a grudge. Could the young master's assassination last time have been ordered by Prince Rui from behind the scenes? I questioned that female assassin, but she knew nothing. Perhaps she was hiding something. Should we use some more methods...?"

Li Xuanjing waved his hand and said, "If it truly was Prince Rui, he would not have left any traces behind. There is no need to do more than necessary."

Then he asked, "What did the young master do today?"

At the mention of the young master, Steward Wu said helplessly, "The young master went to the county office first thing in the morning and only returned after dark. He practically neglected food and sleep in order to pass judgment. In this old servant's opinion, he has set his heart on cultivating the Legalist school..."

The young master's determination to cultivate the Legalist school was far greater than he had imagined.

If this continued, the final result would be either the young master sacrificing family for righteousness, or Master purging his own household...

What a calamity!

Li Xuanjing merely smiled. "It is of no consequence. If he wants to cultivate it, then let him."

Only after Steward Wu left the room did he slowly rise and walk to the window. Gazing at the full moon in the sky, he let out a faint sigh, his voice filled with regret. "Wang Duo..."