Calling to Apologize

Song Yu was deeply moved, and felt guilty too.

He was moved by the way his brother-in-law had repaid resentment with kindness, and felt guilty about how he'd acted before. He explained, "Actually, I wasn't targeting you back then. I just thought you weren't good enough for a beauty like Jia Ren, so I was a little too hard on you. I hope you won't hold it against me..."

Li Nuo could understand Song Yu. If his own family had wanted to marry his sister off to a fool, he might have gone even further.

He waved a hand magnanimously. "We're family. There's no need to bring up the past..."

Song Yu said gratefully, "Thank you, brother-in-law!"

Just then, two figures hurried into the county office.

Song Yu turned and exclaimed in surprise, "Father, brother-in-law, what are you doing here?"

The slender young man stepped forward and asked with concern, "Xiao Yu, are you all right?"

Song Yu smiled. "Fortunately, my brother-in-law was here. Otherwise, I'd have taken a real beating today."

After Song Yu and the others were taken away by the Chang'an County Commandant, Chen Ling had immediately hurried back to Song Manor and told Song Lian what had happened. Since the matter involved the authorities, it was beyond their ability to handle.

Worried that Song Yu might suffer, the two had rushed over. But when they arrived, they saw him perfectly fine, chatting and laughing with Li Nuo.

After hearing Song Yu explain what had happened, Song Lian breathed a sigh of relief, then glared fiercely at him. "You little rascal! I'll settle accounts with you when we get home!"

Song Yu ducked his head and didn't dare say another word.

Song Lian then turned to Li Nuo and apologized. "I'm terribly sorry. This rascal has caused you trouble."

Li Nuo smiled. "There's no need to be polite, Second Uncle. We're family. It's only right."

As Song Yu and his father thanked him, Li Nuo felt a little awkward inside.

After all, saving Song Yu hadn't been his original intention.

Though Song Yu was his wife's cousin and one of his brothers-in-law, Li Nuo had no real bond with him. If anything, they'd had some friction.

But since Song Yu had apologized so sincerely, Li Nuo wasn't petty. At the end of the day, Song Yu had acted for his wife's sake. Li Nuo could tell the difference. And truth be told, the Song family's children were quite close.

A short while later, they all left the Chang'an County Office together.

Li Nuo had meant to go straight home, but Song Yu grabbed his arm and insisted he come to Song Manor. Unable to refuse him, and with Second Uncle Song Lian inviting him too, Li Nuo agreed.

Back at Li Manor, he was once again alone, keeping watch over the courtyard.

With Mu'er chattering by his side, Song Manor was much livelier. Perhaps because he'd never experienced this sort of bustle in either of his two lives, Li Nuo really liked the atmosphere of the Song family.

Before getting into the carriage, Li Nuo remembered something and turned to Song Lian. "Second Uncle, have they caught the thief who stole the birthday gift last time?"

Song Lian shook his head. "I've investigated every servant in the Song family, but still haven't found a single clue. I'm afraid those two ruyi scepters are gone for good."

Among the birthday gifts prepared by the Song family, many were more valuable than those ruyi scepters. The thief had taken only those two, which clearly meant they were targeting his wife or Li Nuo. That was why he'd paid special attention to the theft.

After all, no one wanted someone lurking in the shadows with their eye on them.

The Song family's servants probably wouldn't have dared do it.

Li Nuo had suspected Song Yu, and he'd suspected Song Qian too. They were the only two in the entire Song family who had a grudge against him and his wife. But now, it seemed it hadn't been Song Yu. After getting to know him better, Li Nuo was sure he wasn't the sort to do such a thing.

As for Song Qian, though she was always picking on his wife, Li Nuo's instincts told him she hadn't done it either.

But if it wasn't Song Yu or Song Qian, then who was it?

Outside the Chang'an County Office, two carriages set off and slowly headed toward Song Manor.

At that moment, the Zhou family's atmosphere was especially tense.

The Zhou brothers, Zhou Yu and Zhou Tao, knelt on the ground. Though their backsides still throbbed with pain, they didn't dare so much as whimper.

Standing before them, their father, the Director of the Department of Chariots, frowned and asked, "So you and Song Yu fought over a courtesan, first in the academy, then challenged each other outside it—and just as you started fighting, people from the Chang'an County Office showed up?"

Zhou Yu protested, "Father, Miss Yuanyang isn't just some ordinary courtesan..."

"Isn't she still a prostitute?"

The Director of the Department of Chariots glared at him and roared, "A prostitute ridden by a thousand men, and you treat her like a treasure? You've brought shame upon eighteen generations of the Zhou family!"

Zhou Yu wanted to argue, but one look at his father's eyes made him shudder into silence.

The Director of the Department of Chariots pressed on. "Was there anything else besides fighting over a woman?"

Zhou Yu immediately replied, "No."

At that, the Director's brow eased slightly. He had been afraid the two brats had done something that violated the law and disgraced the family. Such matters could be serious or trivial; most of the time, they were minor, and the Zhou family had enough influence in Chang'an to settle a few small problems.

But the moment anything was even remotely connected to Li Xuanjing, a minor problem could become a catastrophe.

As things stood, it seemed Li Xuanjing hadn't meant to go after them.

Otherwise, those ninety strokes alone would have left the two rascals unconscious, not kneeling here to answer him.

Just then, Zhou Tao, still kneeling, seemed to remember something. He looked up and said, "I remember now! The law teacher said that direct relatives of court officials of rank seven and above can redeem their punishment with silver. Ninety strokes would only cost ninety taels..."

In law class, he hadn't remembered much else, but he'd remembered that rule perfectly.

After all, his father was the Director of the Department of Chariots, a fifth-rank official. As long as he committed a crime punishable by something less than penal exile, he could pay silver instead of serving the sentence.

At the Chang'an County Office just now, he'd been so nervous that he'd completely forgotten something so important.

Zhou Yu's backside still burned like fire. He glared at his younger brother. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

The moment the words left his mouth, both brothers took another heavy kick to their freshly punished backsides. The Director of the Department of Chariots roared, "You little idiots! You never learn what's good, only what's bad!"

The kick landed on Zhou Tao's injured backside, and cold sweat poured down his forehead from the pain. He protested, "Father, how is that fair? The law teacher taught us this in the Great Xia Codex class. You beat me when I don't pay attention, but when I do pay attention, you beat me too..."

The Director of the Department of Chariots looked at his two sons and said gravely, "Fools. In this world, not everyone will reason with you. There was once an official who used the Redemption Penalty for his son, who'd committed rape. He paid a mere three hundred taels. A month later, that official was dismissed over another case, and his entire estate was confiscated by the court. Every direct male relative in his family, including him, was executed. His collateral relatives were exiled, and the women of the household were made into government slaves..."

In Great Xia, county offices, prefectural offices, the Ministry of Justice, and other government offices could impose the Redemption Penalty.

Only the Court of Judicial Review could not.

Li Xuanjing was a ruthless, arbitrary man. If he sentenced you to three years' imprisonment, your best bet was to confess without a fuss and serve the full three years. Once your sentence was over, you could live in peace. As long as you didn't commit another crime, you could rest easy from then on.

If you paid silver to escape punishment, Li Xuanjing wouldn't stop you. After all, the Great Xia Codex did allow it.

But if you crossed him this time, you'd better watch your step from then on. You'd better pray you hadn't done anything illegal in the past and wouldn't do so in the future. And it wasn't enough for you to behave—your family and relatives had to as well. Otherwise, you'd soon learn what Li Xuanjing was capable of.

He wasn't only the Minister of Justice; he also commanded the court's largest intelligence network, the Mirror Division. There were indeed many people at court he couldn't touch, but there wasn't a single one who could touch him without the Emperor's approval—not even the Princes who hated him to the bone.

The Magistrate of Chang'an was one of Li Xuanjing's men, so the Chang'an County Office naturally fell within the Court of Judicial Review's sphere of influence. That was why the Official of the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Evaluation, despite being able to pay three hundred taels to escape punishment, had still chosen to give up his son, resign and retire, and donate his entire estate.

He must have known that certain things he'd done couldn't withstand investigation. Everything he'd done was simply to save his own life.

The Director of the Department of Chariots glared at them again and said coldly, "We needn't look far. Just consider the recent case of the Official of the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Evaluation. He had far more power than your father. His son committed rape, and when the Court of Judicial Review found out, do you know what happened? The Official of the Department of Evaluation personally bound his son and handed him over to the authorities. He donated his entire estate and resigned to return to his hometown. It only happened a few days ago..."

After hearing all this from their father, the Zhou brothers had gone pale, their bodies trembling like sieves. They stammered, "Father, you have to save us!"

Seeing their reaction, the Director of the Department of Chariots knew his warning had hit home. He waved a hand and said, "All right, there's no need to worry. This was only an ordinary brawl; it doesn't involve the Court of Judicial Review. Still, to be safe, we'd better prepare a generous gift and go apologize at Song Manor..."