MTLNOVEL Chapter 38 There were many people outside just now
Li Nuo had slept extremely soundly.
Not only had he slept soundly, but upon waking he noticed a pleasant fragrance lingering on himself.
A maid came in with washing utensils, and Li Nuo glanced out the window to see it was already bright daylight and casually asked, "What time is it now?"
A slightly chubby maid replied, "It has just passed the hour of Si."
The hour of Si was between nine and eleven in the morning. Li Nuo could not recall what time he had gone to sleep the previous night, but it was certainly before nine o'clock. He had slept for well over twelve hours.
Thinking back carefully, he seemed to have fallen asleep during dinner, and had no idea how he had returned to his room and bed.
No matter how hard Li Nuo tried, he couldn't recollect any related memories.
If he could not remember, he stopped trying. He was hungry again after more than twelve hours without food. Because he had gotten up late, he was, of course, eating breakfast alone; he had gotten used to his wife's elusive presence, like a dragon that showed its head but not its tail.
After quickly finishing breakfast, Li Nuo once again set out with Housekeeper Wu, heading straight to the Chang'an County Government.
In the carriage, Housekeeper Wu drove while heaving long sighs.
Li Nuo lifted the carriage curtain and asked, "What's wrong?"
Housekeeper Wu sighed softly and said, "Young Master, can we not practice Legalism and avoid handling cases?"
Li Nuo glanced at him. Not practice Legalism? Not practice Legalism and wait for death?
It was better to rely on oneself than on others. With so many enemies of his father, if he did not strive to become stronger, he could be implicated any day.
Moreover, without handling cases, he wouldn't even need his father's enemies to strike; he would simply drop dead himself.
He very naturally replied, "My father is the Minister of Justice; isn't it normal for me to practice Legalism? Don't you think it is meaningful to help the people and punish evil to promote good..."
"Alas..."
Housekeeper Wu did not speak further, just sighed deeply.
Moments later, upon arriving at the Chang'an County Government, Li Nuo couldn't help but be taken aback as he alighted from the carriage.
A long line stretched from the entrance of the hall to the street; the whole government office was as noisy as a marketplace.
It didn't take long for Li Nuo to realize that he had assumed too much.
There is a limit to everything.
Yesterday there were no cases to judge, but today there were too many to handle.
His daily tasks typically involved minor disputes and trivial cases, but today there were even more petty disputes to deal with, including common quarrels between neighbors that were being brought to the County Government for judgment.
This was somewhat an abuse of public resources.
The County Magistrate had many responsibilities, and handling cases was just one of them. If even these minor matters required personal attention from the County Magistrate, even someone as capable as Pei Zhe would be overwhelmed, never mind if he knew how to clone himself.
Thus, it was necessary to filter cases in advance.
Upon witnessing this scene, Pei Zhe called together all the constables and government officials of the county office and led the people queuing outside to an area on the wide street. They arranged the cases according to the complaints of the commoners and provided different solutions accordingly.
Those with slightly more significant cases were brought out of the hall and made to wait in order to appear before the court.
Most minor disagreements did not require a court session and were settled on the spot outside the court by the clerks.
In just a quarter of an hour, the previously chaotic county office became well-ordered.
Li Nuo couldn't help but marvel; it was no wonder he was only a junior legal officer, with 'assistant' prefixed to his title, while others held positions like the County Magistrate of Jing County. He had much to learn from Lord Pei.
Inside the court, Pei Zhe said to Li Nuo, "Young Master, I must leave the city today to visit and comfort orphans and widows in the villages. I'll need to trouble you to attend to the matters here."
Li Nuo asked Pei Zhe, "Is the Chang'an County Government without a County Governor and a County Magistrate? I haven't seen them these past few days."
The Chang'an County Government was one of Daxia's most important offices, and it was supposed to have both a County Governor and a County Magistrate to assist the County Magistrate; such matters as caring for the orphaned and widowed could be carried out by the County Governor on behalf of him. Normally, the County Magistrate wouldn't need to deal with everything personally.
Pei Zhe sighed.
Of course, the Chang'an County Government had both a County Governor and a County Magistrate. However, they had formed an alliance before he arrived, had always disregarded him, the County Magistrate, and recently had both taken leave, refusing to share the load of public affairs, clearly aiming to show him up.
Although these two ranked lower than him, they both had strong backing. With the two of them united, he was helpless as the County Magistrate.
Pei Zhe stepped out of the court, and a figure appeared, entering the government office from the outside.
Seeing Pei Zhe, County Magistrate Zhang's plump face revealed a slight smile as he walked over leisurely and said, "It has been a few days, Lord Pei seems a bit haggard. Even with the pressures of office, one must take care of their health..."
This sentence seemed to be concerned but was actually sarcastic.
As Assistant Officers, he and County Captain Wang did not share the load of government affairs with him. He had to manage everything in the County Government alone. How could he not look worn?
He had already investigated this new Lord County Magistrate. The man had no significant background; the only reason he became the Chang'an County Magistrate was due to his predecessor being killed by Li Xuanjing. The position of the Chang'an County Magistrate was quite important, and various forces within the court were vying for it. After much bickering and no side yielding, Lord Pei had ultimately benefited.
County Magistrate Zhang himself had hoped to grasp the official position of County Magistrate, but Pei Zhe's sudden appointment dashed his dreams.
Naturally, he bore resentment towards the man who took his place.
Pei Zhe clearly heard the sarcasm in his tone, lightly glanced at County Magistrate Zhang, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhang."
Just as County Magistrate Zhang was about to respond, he heard the sound of a gavel coming from inside the hall. After a slight start, his face showed confusion, and with furrowed brows, he asked, "Who is presiding over a trial in the hall?"
In the Chang'an County Government, there were only three people qualified to preside over a court session.
The County Magistrate, the County Governor, and the County Captain. Among them, both he and County Captain Wang needed Lord Pei's approval before conducting a trial.
Before he came to the government office, he had just seen County Captain Wang, and Lord Pei was standing here. So, who was presiding over the trial in the hall?
County Magistrate Zhang stepped outside and peered into the hall to see a young man sitting in the main seat. However, his eyesight was not good, and he couldn't see the young man's face clearly. He had seen Pei Zhe's son before. By his physique, the person presiding in the hall seemed to be Pei Zhe's son, who was studying in the academy.
Great, just as he was lamenting the lack of a handle on Lord Pei, the man handed him one on a plate.
His son was merely a scholar, without an official position. What right did he have to preside over a trial in the hall?
County Magistrate Zhang immediately snorted coldly and, in the presence of the commoners and Government Officials, chastised, "Lord Pei, I've been away from the County Government for only a few days, and you've turned it into a chaos-ridden mess. The solemn and serious government office has been made into a marketplace by you. What a disgrace! Not only that, but you also violated the court's laws, allowing an unemployed person to overstep and preside over a trial. Do you think this is the poor backwater you came from, where there are no laws, no court to speak of? I will definitely report you and present a petition..."
Pei Zhe merely glanced at him and said nothing, then turned and walked towards the back office.
County Magistrate Zhang puffed out his chest, barely able to suppress the smug curve of his lips.
Pei Zhe, oh Pei Zhe, you really are naive. This is Chang'an, the capital. Do you still think this is some small local County Government where, as a County Magistrate, you can cover up the sky with one hand, act willfully, and do whatever you please?
Just as he was about to return to his office to write a memorandum to impeach Pei Zhe, the whispers of several Government Officials reached his ears.
"Have you heard? The Minister of the Examination Bureau has resigned!"
"Lord Pei is truly formidable. It took him only one month to bring down the Minister of the Examination Bureau. I remember the former Lord County Magistrate groveling before the Minister like a dog..."
"Hehe, what's the Minister of the Examination Bureau compared to? Behind Lord Pei is the Minister of Justice!"
"Ah, who told you that?"
"Don't you know? The young master who has been trying cases in the County Government these past few days is the son of Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing. Everyone knows about Young Master Li's relationship with Lord Pei. Young Master Li has lunch at Lord Pei's house..."
"I heard they even frequented brothels together, tsk tsk, what kind of relationship is that..."
...
County Magistrate Zhang's body trembled, and he steadied himself against the wall.
The sun blazed overhead, but at this moment, it felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, chilling him from head to toe.
Li Xuanjing, Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing!
Lord Pei had actually secured support from such a powerful figure!
County Magistrate Zhang would never forget how the former Chang'an County Magistrate had died—a fifth-rank official crushed by the Minister of Justice as if squashing an ant.
Pei Zhe was a man of Li Xuanjing.
Not only was Li Xuanjing the Minister of Justice, but he also controlled the Spiegel Bureau, Daxia's largest espionage organization.
It was likely that if he submitted his impeachment memorandum against Pei Zhe, he would be dead in the Ministry of Justice's Heavenly Prison by the next day.
With this thought, he broke out in a cold sweat and ran frantically towards the back rooms of the County Government.
In a room in the back halls of the County Government, Pei Zhe was changing his clothes, preparing to leave to provide aid to the widowed and orphans in the county. At that moment, a figure stumbled in from outside.
Hearing the sound of the door, Pei Zhe thought it was his wife and turned around, only to find it was County Magistrate Zhang.
Pei Zhe furrowed his brows and asked, "What do you want, Zhang?"
Thump!
County Magistrate Zhang's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, clinging to Pei Zhe's legs, sobbing and sniffling, he pleaded, "Lord Pei, I was wrong earlier, with so many people outside. This official is kneeling for you. From now on, whatever Lord Pei instructs this official to do, I will do it. Please, just spare this official this once for not holding a grudge over a petty offense!"