Chapter 11: The Merits Are Not Worth the Faults
Linghu Da was an official appointed by the imperial court and also made great contributions in the excavation of the canal.
He was a loyal fan of Yang Guang when Yang Guang proposed to dig the Tongji Canal and Jiangnan River.
When he discovered that the supervisor Zhao Er was committing corruption for personal gain, he immediately submitted a letter to the court.
Unfortunately, Duan Dawei, a high-ranking official, suppressed the report and did not report it.
Linghu Da thought about it and felt very ashamed and annoyed.
A country bumpkin actually relied on a temporary official document to beat up an official appointed by the imperial court.
I shouldn't have been given ten strokes of the cane, but because I refuted it, I was given ten strokes of the cane again.
The master usually followed Yang Guang in beating people, but today he was beaten to a pulp.
Well, when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
Linghu Da was feeling depressed when Li Ji came down the hall.
He carefully checked Linghu Da's injuries and then comforted him:
"General Ling, you have cooperated with me and actively reported Zhao Er's misconduct. You have performed very well."
He patted Linghu Da's arm gently and said, "I was a little too harsh just now. Please forgive me, General."
Li Ji's words made Linghu Da feel a little relieved.
Linghu Da's opinion of Li Ji also changed slightly.
A young man, who was trying a major case for the first time, was able to act decisively and with courtesy. It seemed that Lord Li was also a trustworthy colleague.
In the officialdom at the end of the Sui Dynasty, most officials turned a blind eye in order to save their lives and accumulate wealth.
Duan Da suppressed the situation and did not report it, which was just because he was worldly-wise.
Li Ji saw that Linghu Da was indeed seriously injured, so he sent someone back to Ling's mansion to report that General Ling was fine and would stay in Shenmiao Village for a few days, so don't worry.
At the same time, they sent people to clean the room and vacate a good single room for General Linghu Da to recuperate.
Li Ji arranged someone to take care of him and provide him with good food and drink on weekdays, so Linghu Da's recovery was no problem.
It drizzled in the afternoon of that day.
Linghu Da drank a few more glasses of liquor in the temple.
Unfortunately, I haven't been home for a long time to reunite with my family, and I can't help feeling sad.
Linghu Da lay on the bed, tossing and turning, in a daze.
Suddenly, a pair of warm jade-like hands touched his cheeks. He felt as if he had received an electric shock, and his nerves jumped .
When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Wu Qianqian, the beautiful maid who took care of him on a daily basis.
Wu Qianqian took care of Linghu Da in every possible way according to Li Ji's arrangements.
One day, when she saw Linghu Da's quilt sliding to the ground, she picked it up and covered him.
The little hand accidentally touched Linghu Da's cheek, which caused some trouble.
When Linghu Da saw Wu Qianqian's beautiful eyes, he was frightened, and a bit of elegance and grace was revealed.
Seeing that there was no one around, he hugged her slender waist.
Wu Qianqian struggled wildly, but Linghu Da was young and energetic, so he succeeded in just a few moves.
It must have been something fishy, as Wu Qianqian's screams were actually heard by the housekeeper Li Ai who was passing by.
He ran into Linghu Da's room and saw Wu Qianqian with disheveled hair and open clothes, and he felt angry.
He didn't care whether he was a general or not, he grabbed Linghu Da and punched him twice.
Linghu Da's eyes turned blue and his nose was broken.
Li Ai was still not satisfied, so he reached out and took out the knife from his waist.
"stop!"
Li Ai was about to kill Linghu Da with a knife when Li Ji rushed in.
When Linghu Da saw Li Ji coming in, he felt ashamed and embarrassed.
"General Ling, I served you good food and wine, but you acted like a scumbag."
Linghu Da knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Master Li, please show mercy. I was also tempted and lustful."
Li Ji thought, you are an official appointed by the court, it is not appropriate for us to take your life.
"According to the rules of Shenmiao Manor, I, Li Ji, can kill you with one blow. However, you have done a great service by reporting Zhao Er."
Li Ji looked at Li Ai and said, "Butler, cut off his right ear to teach him a lesson."
"Master Li, no!"
No matter how Linghu Da begged, Li Ai just twisted the ox-ear knife and a piece of pink ear was cut off.
"Ah!" Linghu Da grimaced in pain.
"General Ling, you have brought this upon yourself. Country girls also have dignity, how dare you ruin their innocence."
Li Ji continued, "Butler, give five taels of silver to Wu Xiaomei and go to the market to buy some good cloth."
After Wu Qianqian left, Li Ji's expression changed slightly.
"General Ling, this is a mistake that will bring eternal regret! However..."
Li Ji counted on his fingers and muttered a few words.
"I see that you look gloomy, and I'm afraid you might get sued."
Linghu Da was horrified. "Master Li, hasn't this matter been settled on your territory?"
"It's settled? You know the laws of the Great Sui Dynasty better than I do."
Linghu Da grabbed Li Ji's hand and begged:
"Master Li, you are good at calculating. Please give us some advice."
Li Ji looked at Linghu Da, whose face was sallow, and thought to himself, boy, you dare to do things but not to take responsibility for them, and now you are afraid.
"I have an idea. As long as you pass on the information from the government in a timely manner in the future, I will suppress this matter."
When Linghu Da heard what Li Ji said, he immediately felt relieved.
"That's right. I'm definitely more informed than you. The one who is close to the water gets the moon first."
"Okay, it's a deal."
In the evening, Li Ji arranged for drinks to entertain Linghu Da. Linghu Da thanked him repeatedly and drank a few more glasses.
Let me explain this on two sides.
After the supervisor Zhao Er was escorted to Suiyang Prison, Li Ji sent the housekeeper Li Ai to lead the yamen runners to search Zhao Er's private property.
When they arrived at Zhao's house, Zhao Er's father, Zhao Tangguan, was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Li Ai said: "I dare not do anything lightly without any reason. If there is an incident assigned by the emperor, Mr. Zhao will accept the order."
The Zhao family was receiving guests, and when the relatives and friends heard about it, they left in a flash. Only the official Zhao was so frightened that his face turned pale and his whole body was trembling.
Not long after, countless yamen runners came in and guarded the gates, and no one in the house was allowed to move around.
These yamen runners were all rebels who followed Li Ai in the rebellion. They all lifted their clothes and tightened their arms, waiting for Li Ai's order.
Suddenly, a report came: "Lord Li is here!"
Li Ji's face was cold and he shouted:
"Zhao Er has violated the laws of the Great Sui Dynasty by abusing his power for personal gain. According to the imperial decree, he must be stripped of his post and confiscated according to the law. No one is allowed to stop him."
At this time, Li Ai shouted: "Capture Zhao Tangguan, and guard the rest."
Li Ji sat in the main hall drinking tea and supervising work.
Li Ai registered items with the yamen runners.
A certain amount of gold was found in Zhao's mansion.
All kinds of pure gold jewelry and jewellery are available.
Gold bowls, gold keys, silver wine glasses, gold-plated wine vessels, etc. were all recorded one by one.
They also unexpectedly found a white jade disk and a jade seal. The characters on the jade seal were very obvious and could be identified at a glance.
Li Ai brought back all the valuables including gold, white jade, and jade seal.
When Li Ji saw it, his eyes widened immediately.
"The imperial seal is actually in Zhao Er's private residence. Just based on this fact of privately keeping the national treasure, he can be beheaded."
Li Ji asked Linghu Da: "General Ling, do you know what is going on?"
