Baima Temple No. 52

  Luo Dachun was slightly startled, then smiled and cupped his hands: "I am Nie Qiuyuan from Yikuan County. Are you Lord Su Lizhen, the judicial officer of Dingzhou?"

  The green-robed official smiled slightly and said, "Indeed, Lord Nie's reputation is well-deserved."

  "Long admired!" Kou Daichun said with a very sincere false smile.

  The two of them chatted and laughed as if they had known each other for a long time, walking towards the designated meeting place.

  "Brother Luo, do you know each other?" I took advantage of the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.

  "It's just a guess," said Luo Da Chun, "Before coming, we should have a general understanding of the information about Henan Road. Henan Road has one prefecture, 29 states, and 126 counties. There are only a few dozen officials who have some reputation for breaking cases, and there are no more than three men of this age. The one who looks weak is only Su Li Chuan, it's very clear. Didn't he guess me out too?"

  It turns out that it's an occupational disease of detectives. However, Lu Da-chun's ability to collect and analyze information has always been a point I admire. In modern times, collecting and screening information is often the responsibility of specialized personnel. It can be said that their work is the foundation of all detective activities.

  "This Mr. Su is not ordinary! Don't look at his weak and sickly body, he's actually famous for being cunning and clever in his thinking. His way of investigating cases is completely different from the usual steady and reliable approach." Lu Da Chun said with a smile, secretly gossiping about him behind his back.

  I'm very curious, but now I don't dare ask in detail, so I can only endure and follow slowly behind.

  The inn was not far from the Luozhou governor's mansion, so we arrived on foot very quickly. On the way, we met several groups of people in uniform, everyone greeted each other warmly, introduced themselves, and it was quite lively.

  In my eyes, this should be a gathering of famous detectives from Henan, just like on TV, everyone is so cool and has their own personality, even being slightly disdainful towards each other, with sharp tongues. But in reality, they were all laughing and flattering each other, completely official and obsequious, which made me feel very annoyed.

  However, after inquiring, there were a total of ten people who came to Luozhou to investigate the case this time. In other words, these ten people are the most capable detectives recognized by Henan Road. Among these ten people, only "Nie Qiuyuan" is a county magistrate, and the others are basically legal officials from various states, that is, government officials in charge of criminal justice at the state level. Among these ten people, there is even a high-ranking official, who is Bai Qianfan, the governor of Mizhou, under the jurisdiction of Henan Road.

  It's not good to compare like this, let me put it simply. They are all deputy directors of the municipal public security bureau, or even directors, while we are just district police station's patrol officers.

  Now that you mention it, with our identity, being evaluated as one of the top ten outstanding young people is really impressive!

  At this time, a red shadow caught my attention.

  It's not accurate to say that he caught my attention, because it was hard not to notice him, as almost everyone's gaze was drawn to the red shadow. The dinner party was set in the East Flower Hall of the Lu Prefecture Governor's mansion, and he was standing under a willow tree in the hall, leaning against the trunk, alone and still.

  That's why it's so eye-catching, because this red-clad person is a woman, too beautiful a woman.

  The woman was about twenty years old, with a cloud-like bun on her head, adorned with golden hairpins and earrings. A gold flower pattern was pasted under her left eye and on her cheek, shining brightly. The woman's eyebrows, eyes, and facial features were delicate and three-dimensional, her skin as white as condensed milk. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a charming light, extremely alluring. However, the aura revealed in those eyes was not just enchanting, but also sharp and proud, making her look very special.

  Goodness, where did I get so many adjectives from? This isn't my style at all! But she's just too beautiful, and as a woman myself, I'm moved. Standing in front of her, I feel inferior and unconsciously rummage through my vocabulary to describe her.

  The woman in red saw a large group of people approaching and straightened up, leaving the tree trunk she was leaning against, her eyes casting towards us.

  High-quality men saw such a fairy, and for a while they were all infatuated and couldn't speak. It was the woman who smiled slightly and opened her mouth first: "I have met you all, I am Ruo Yanjuan, the general catcher of Yingzhou. The superior refers to He Mian, the judicial officer of Yingzhou, but Mr. He suddenly fell ill before his departure, so he had to report back and let me, this general catcher, replace him."

  The men were stunned for a moment, and then enthusiastically introduced themselves one after another. I secretly admired that at this time, there were already female captives, and it was not yet the era of the female emperor, the Tang Dynasty's style was really open!

  Ruò Yuànjuān is a beautiful person with a nice-sounding name. From her speech and behavior, she also appears to be capable. I noticed that when she speaks, she doesn't use humble words like "little woman", but simply uses the word "I" in a straightforward and clear manner, just like a man.

  While Yu Juan was chatting with people, her eyes were intentionally or unintentionally scanning the crowd, and finally fell on Nie Qiuyuan beside me. We are all subordinates of the top ten outstanding young people, and it is not necessary to go forward and talk to people, but the beauty's eyes instantly locked onto the most handsome one in the crowd.

  This is probably also a common human feeling. But my mood quickly turned from admiring the beauty to being furious. What if such a woman comes and competes with me for the male god? That would be terrible! This type of person poses a greater threat than even the Virgin Mary! I can play Han Meilan around my fingers, but this kind of woman is not something to be trifled with, or she might just get me killed!

  The only thing that comforted me was that Nie Qiuyuan didn't even glance at her, seemingly without any interest.

  I was feeling anxious and uneasy, but then I heard someone behind me say in a low voice: "You'd better hurry up and deliver this to the mistress, go quickly, go quickly! If you're slow, the mistress will scold again, go quickly!"

  I was shocked and turned back to look, even more shocked. Under the escort of two crimson officials, a thin, middle-aged man in a purple robe with a golden fish bag hurried over. Those who wear purple are high-ranking officials above the third rank, so this thin man is probably none other than the famous Fang Xuanling in history.

  My heart is filled with mixed emotions, tense, excited, reverent, and amused, to the point of forgetting about encountering formidable enemies. Calculating with my fingers, Fang Xuanling should be 47 years old this year. Because he, along with Du Ruhui, Changsun Wujie, Yuwen Jingde, and Hou Junji, were the planners of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, they received the highest reward, and just this year, he was newly appointed as Duke of Xing. Currently, his official position is Minister of the Central Secretariat, jointly discussing national policies with the Door Awaiting Minister and the Minister of Works, all of whom are chancellors.

  Because what I studied is related to the judiciary, among the several prime ministers of the early Tang Dynasty, the one I pay most attention to is Fang Xuanling. The reform of the legal system in the early Tang Dynasty was led by him. The Tang Code revised under the leadership of Prime Minister Fang has hardly changed in the hundreds of years since the Tang Dynasty existed.

  So, was Li Shimin's ideal of rule of law also realized through his own hands?

  Just from what I heard, he really is afraid of his wife just like the legend says! It's obvious that when he comes to a place to handle a case, he still has to bring his wife along, how depressing. His wife, Madame Lu, was also quite famous in history, facing imperial power with great righteousness and writing the famous anecdote "drinking vinegar".

  "Ah, everyone's here! Come on, come on, no need for formalities, take a seat!" The purple-robed elder had no airs about him at all, waving his hand like an ordinary old man as he turned to the Governor of Luozhou, "Let's get started quickly, the earlier we start, the earlier we finish, don't let it get too late!"

  It's probably too late, Your Excellency is going back, and will be scolded by his wife again.