Chapter 61: It is difficult to be an official

  Hua Xiaoqian slightly moved her eyes and hesitated: "Who is the old man?"

  The old man's voice chuckled twice and said, "Do you think I would tell you?"

  The little man said: "I'm just a gatekeeper, earning a living, please spare me, sir."

  The old man's voice said, "I have no grudges against you, why would I commit more murders? I still want to accumulate some good karma for my children and grandchildren. As long as you listen obediently, I will not harm you. Tell me, where is Yang Ming now?"

  "The old man has gone to bed!"

  "Where will you sleep?"

  "In the main house of the second courtyard of the rear residence."

  "Alright, take me there!"

  Hua Xiaoqian suddenly fell silent, and the person behind him sneered: "If you want to be loyal to your duty, that's up to you. Maybe Yang Mingsheng will remember to give your family some more consolation."

  As he spoke, the iron fingers on Hua Xiaojian's throat suddenly tightened, and Hua Xiaojian was greatly shocked, hastily saying: "I'm telling the truth, Lang Zhong is...he's still in the study!"

  The old man's voice hummed low, saying: "I knew you were lying, take me to the place, and I will spare your life! Otherwise, I'll take your dog life!"

  "Alright, I'll agree with you, but don't go back on your word!"

  "I have always kept my word!"

  He spent a small amount of money wanting to go forward, his fingers tightened in his throat, and he pulled him back. The cold voice said again: "Wait, you solve that black dog first."

  Hua Xiaoqian said with a bitter face: "How should I solve this..."

  The voice behind him sneered, "Don't tell me you're not familiar with it! The Night Watchman and the Night Watchdog are not familiar, and as soon as you make a move, it will bark incessantly, isn't that a joke!"

  The last hope was shattered after spending a small amount of money. In desperation, he had no choice but to shout out loud: "Xiao Bai! Xiao Bai!"

  That black dog was actually named Little White, and Yang Fan standing behind Hua Xiaochan was speechless.

  That big black dog had just looked around and, not noticing anything unusual, lay down again. When it heard the call, its ears perked up, and upon recognizing that it was Hua Xiaoqian calling, it ran over with a wagging tail.

  After all, a beast is just a beast, its intelligence cannot be compared to that of humans. Although its six senses are extremely keen, even the most cunning and elusive rogue cannot escape its notice. However, with familiar people by its side, it completely loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe.

  Xiao Bai ran to Hua Xiaoqian's side, lowered his head and sniffed at the tip of his boots, then looked up and wagged his tail at him. Perhaps in this black dog's heart, he still thought that Hua Xiaoqian was lonely and bored, calling him over to play.

  The old voice behind him spoke again: "It seems that you are really familiar with it, since you can control it, then it's best to take me to the study in the backyard, no need to kill the dog if it doesn't bark!"

  Hua Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the words of the person behind her back. Since this person was not even willing to kill a dog, let alone a human being, it seemed that as long as he listened obediently, there was still a great hope for survival.

  Perhaps this night walker didn't intend to harm Lang Zhong, but just had a grievance to express. These Jianghu people are eccentric, and this reason is not impossible. This thought made Hua Xiaomoney feel better, he slowed down his voice and said to the black dog: "Xiao Bai, go back to sleep, go, go."

  The black dog seemed to understand what he said and ran back quickly, lying on the ground, still looking over here.

  Yang Fan and Xiao Qian walked forward slowly, passing by the black dog's side, circling to the side of the house, and walking along the dimly lit corridor. The big black dog did not bark wildly, but instead wagged its tail at them in a friendly manner.

  Two people walked to the back garden, passing through a moon gate, and along a small path in the midst of a cluster of flower beds, they turned left again. At the end of the path, a small building appeared, with a window on the upper floor faintly visible, shining with light.

  Stop for a moment and say, "It's right here."

  "Who else is in the building besides Yang Mingsheng?"

  "This, I don't know, but usually when Lang Zhong handles official business, he only brings one book boy to serve tea and water, and to grind ink."

  "Alright! If you're telling the truth, I guarantee you'll see tomorrow morning's sunrise."

  As soon as the words fell, Hua Xiaoxiao's ears were shocked, and she collapsed to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

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  Yang Mingsong is reviewing a case involving Xu Jingye's younger brother Xu Jingzhen.

  Xu Jingye was the grandson of Xu Shiying, one of the 24 meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion.

  Xu Shi Ji broke, defeated Goguryeo, and was known as one of the two great generals of the Tang Dynasty along with Li Jing. He served in three dynasties: Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong, and was a prominent military leader and politician, being relied upon by the imperial court as a pillar of state.

  Later, Emperor Gaozong of Tang wanted to make Wu Zetian empress, but a group of powerful officials from the "Guandong faction", including Chancellor Longsun Wuji, strongly opposed it. Although Wu Zetian's family was also part of the Guandong faction, Longsun Wuji and his associates preferred the daughter of the Wang clan, Empress Wang, as their candidate for empress. At that time, Xu Shi, who controlled the military power, expressed support at a critical moment, which allowed Wu Zetian to be smoothly appointed as empress.

  So at that time, Wu Zetian and the Xu family were extremely close, like one family. Unfortunately, honeymoons will always pass, and later Wu Zetian's power grew heavier, slaughtering the Li Tang imperial clan, demoting and killing ministers loyal to the Li Tang imperial clan. Xu Shi Ji's grandson, Xu Jing Ye, who had succeeded to the title of Duke of England, was also demoted to be the Administrator of Liu Zhou.

  When Xu Jingye passed through Yangzhou, he coincidentally met with Tang Zhiqi and Lu Binwang, who were also demoted officials. After some discussion, they raised the flag of supporting the Li Tang Dynasty and started a rebellion against Wu. However, it didn't take long for them to fail. Except for a few descendants of Xu Shi who managed to escape by hiding their names, the rest were all executed.

  In her great anger, Wu Zetian not only issued an edict to strip Xu Jingye's ancestors of their official titles for two generations, but also ordered people to dig up Xu Shi's tomb, smash the coffin with a sharp axe, and flog his corpse with a whip. The depth of her indignation can be seen from this.

  Yang Mingsheng naturally knew that although the Empress Dowager was a woman, she was not a narrow-minded person who would seek revenge for every slight. The Empress Dowager had great talent and vision, and everything she did had her own purpose. She wouldn't extend her sharp claws without reason, just to show off her power or simply to vent her anger.

  Everything she does has a profound and far-reaching significance, all of the above is to kill the chicken and warn the monkey. In recent years, Wu Zetian has been making frequent moves, with the intention of overthrowing the Li Tang dynasty and taking over the world. However, it's unprecedented for a woman to rule the world, and it's difficult to do so without resorting to cruel measures. How can she make the heroes of the world submit without using harsh methods?

  The slaughter of the Li Tang imperial clan, even to the point of killing one's own sons and grandsons, was for this purpose; the slaughter of the Li Tang loyal ministers, similarly, was to eliminate obstacles. The use of severe measures to strike down opponents was also for this purpose. Now that Xu Jingzong has been captured and brought back to the capital for trial, with his confession in hand and the truth already clear, why does Empress Dowager still want the Ministry of Justice to retry him?

  The true purpose of the Empress Dowager...

  He is so cautious that he probably doesn't care about wine at all.

  It seems that Empress Dowager wants to take advantage of the Xu Jingzhen case to prune some branches and roots from this shaky big tree, Li Tang!

  The Empress Dowager reused such people, which was the right person for the job. If they couldn't understand her intentions and use the Xu Jingzhen case to do something that would satisfy the Empress Dowager, how could they gain her favor?

  Now that he understood the Empress Dowager's true intentions, Yang Mingsong's mind was clear. He narrowed his eyes and thought to himself: "The Empress Dowager has handed over the Xu Jingzhen case to Minister Zhou, and Minister Zhou has handed it over to me to handle. It seems that Minister Zhou also wants to take advantage of this opportunity for personal gain. This case must be utilized properly, if we handle it well, we can suppress 'Lai Suo' at the same time. This opportunity cannot be missed."

  There are currently four major cruel officials in the Empress's claws, namely Qiu Shenji, Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen and Suo Yuanli. On the surface, these four people are united, and they are all public enemies of the world, but internally, they also have factions.

  Qiu Shenji is the second son of Qiu Xinggong, a meritorious minister at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. He has always been in the army and is now the General of the Left Golden Armor Guard. Zhou Xing, the Autumn Official Serviceman, was originally from Chang'an, Jingzhao, and was also a member of a noble family. As a young man, he studied law, later entered officialdom, served as an official in the Ministry of Works, and successively held the positions of Shangshu Province's Governor and Simin Xiaocheng. He was reused by Empress Dowager and became Autumn Official Serviceman, in charge of the Department of Punishment.

  These two men were both from official families and became close friends, forming a clique. 'Lai Suo' refers to Lai Junmin and Suo Yuanli, these two people were only of humble origin, relying on informing and flattering to gain office, they did not get along with Qiu Zhou, on the surface polite but secretly fiercely competing for power and favor.

  Yang Mingsheng is a member of Zhou Xing's faction, and naturally he wouldn't let go of this good opportunity to flaunt his own faction's power. Before Xu Jingzhen was even escorted to the capital, Yang had already been thinking about how to utilize this matter to create a disaster in the prisons. Xu Jingzhen's confession is actually not important, whether or not there is a confession is also unimportant, what's important is first figuring out the Empress Dowager's intentions, then deciding which people to move against.

  Yang Mingsheng was deep in thought...

  Downstairs, Xiao Shu Tong "Mu Ding Er" was holding a large fan and fanning the charcoal fire to make tea. He threw in two pieces of charcoal, and the slightly dim flame brightened up again, casting a red glow on the small clay stove.

  Mù Dīng Er let out a yawn and mumbled sleepily, "A Lang is pulling an all-nighter again, keeping others from sleeping too!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, a palm appeared on his shoulder. The palm was like a knife, and with a slanted cut, the little book boy fell asleep.

  His body shook, and he fell backwards, his reclining body was gently supported by those hands, slowly put on the ground, then one hand stretched out, picked up a wiping cloth from the low table, rolled it twice, wrapped the handle of the ceramic pot on the stove, held a pot of boiling tea in his hand, and stepped upstairs.

  Sincerely seeking recommendation votes!