Chapter 277 Investing in the Future
After marrying Jia Yingchun smoothly, Sun Shaozong rested at home for a day and then resumed his life of going back and forth between the government office and the Sun Mansion from seven to five.
And this time when they arrived at the government office again, Wei Ruolan did not avoid it. However, when she met Sun Shaozong, her face was less sharp and more depressed.
Sun Shaozong was naturally still very friendly. He encouraged him a few words and then assigned him some official duties that were thankless but could not be postponed.
So in the following days, the six advisors under Wei Ruolan were so busy that even Wei Ruolan, the hands-off boss, had to be patient and review the official documents personally. Naturally, he had no time to cause trouble for Sun Shaozong.
A few days of peace and tranquility passed in this way. On the afternoon of the 24th, when Sun Shaozong had finished his official business and was playing with the talking parrot given by Xue Pan, he saw Cheng Rixing hurried in from outside, looking quite frightened.
Sun Shaozong put the long, thin wooden spoon used to feed the birds on the shelf next to him and asked casually, "Why, is there another big case?"
"This... is not a big case."
Cheng Rixing stammered, "It was near Shichahai. Two families had a conflict over a residential plot . They had a fight yesterday evening and a young man died on the spot. Inspector Qiu and Captain Zhao have been investigating for most of the day but still can't figure out who killed him. I'm afraid we have to ask Mr. Dong to come to court and make a judgment."
Tsk~
This kind of confusing death in the melee makes it very difficult to find the real culprit afterwards. If there is no unexpected evidence, the only thing you can do is pay compensation.
What I am afraid of is that the one who dies is a rich man, while the one who beats people to death is the impoverished proletariat.
As Sun Shaozong thought about it, he gave an order with ease: "Tell Qiu Yunfei to sort out the case files and interrogation records, and copy them for me as soon as possible."
"Have Captain Zhao send more people to quietly keep a close eye on the people and see if there are any who are fleeing out of fear of crime. Also, have Lin Delu send a few clerks to check the status of the property of both parties."
After Cheng Rixing responded one by one, Sun Shaozong waited for a while. Seeing that he had no intention of continuing to speak, he smiled and said, "Why, after taking the imperial examination for half a month, you are alienated from me? Just say whatever you want to say."
These words may be said lightly, but the listeners should think carefully.
Therefore, after Cheng Rixing's face changed several times, he sneaked out and locked the door, then came back and said carefully: "Dong Weng, it is rumored that the policy paper your nephew-in-law wrote during the palace examination was quite offensive and made His Majesty so angry that he even overturned the table in the imperial study !"
This matter has indeed spread!
In fact, after Shangshu Wang left angrily that day, Sun Shaozong called Yu Qian into the house and interrogated him carefully.
As for the result of the interrogation...
Sun Shaozong didn't know for a moment whether he should say that Yu Qian had no political awareness or was too politically aware!
In his essay for the palace examination, he listed , lambasting the imperial court for launching two expeditions to Goryeo, wasting national strength due to its vanity, and resulting in the current empty treasury and inability to intimidate the barbarians.
Although on the surface it is talking about the imperial court, in fact every sentence is alluding to the retired emperor!
In the eyes of ordinary people, such behavior is simply seeking death!
After all, although the retired emperor had abdicated, he was still the supreme ruler of the Zhou Dynasty. To criticize the achievements that the retired emperor was most proud of so blatantly, what else could this be but courting death?
But after Sun Shaozong comprehensively analyzed the information in the court and pondered it carefully, he felt that Yu Qian was sacrificing the present and investing in the future rather than seeking death!
The current external environment of the Great Zhou Dynasty is indeed deteriorating year by year. The Korean delegation being forced to take the sea route is a landmark event.
The reason for this situation is definitely related to the fact that the retired emperor exhausted national strength in his two expeditions to Goryeo and the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, as well as his attachment to power after his abdication, which led to his obstruction of power with Emperor Guangde.
However, the one in power now was Emperor Guangde after all, and due to the rule that a son should not tell the story of his father, he could not make the truth public, so he could only silently endure the reputation of being "weak towards foreign countries and watching the Hu people wreak havoc."
It's a complete sense of 'the baby is feeling sad, but can't say it'.
At this time, Yu Qian suddenly appeared. In the palace examination, he clearly linked the waste of national strength in the expedition against Goryeo with the current predicament of the court. Emperor Guangde was furious on the surface, but who knows how happy he was in his heart!
Emperor Guangde had been on the throne for more than ten years, and his control over the court was no longer what it was before. It was not a problem for him to protect Yu Qian by raising him up high and letting him down easily.
Although Yu Qian will inevitably suffer some hardships at present, once the emperor passes away, Yu Qian will have a promising future based on today's policy paper alone!
What's more, Yu Tingyi is a great man of the time. He is definitely not the kind of person who would make a big splash and then fade into the dust.
So after thinking it through, Sun Shaozong was a little confused as to whether Yu Qian did it on purpose or it was just an accident.
According to historical evaluation, it is normal for the person who wrote "I am not afraid of being torn to pieces, I would rather keep my innocence in the world" to dare to speak out and give direct criticism.
But if we say that this was just an accidental blessing, considering Yu Qian's usual shrewdness and capability, couldn't he have thought of what Sun Shaozong could think of?
Therefore, Sun Shaozong even had the same feeling as Jia Yucun at that time: after a few years, when he saw Yu Qian again, he might have to respectfully address him as "Shangguan".
Of course, this also depends on when the emperor will die. What if the old man is like the Queen of England and has a long lifespan, and ends up outliving Emperor Guangde?
"Dong Weng? Dong Weng!"
Sun Shaozong was lost in his memories without noticing, and only came to his senses after Cheng Rixing called him a few times.
However, he naturally couldn't tell others about his psychological analysis, so he sighed and said in a hypocritical manner: "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. If he gets into trouble, he can only bear it himself - after all, I am just his wife's cousin, and I really can't care so much."
"That's all we can do."
Cheng Rixing also sighed, secretly thanking his luck that Dong Weng and Yu Qian were only distant relatives, so he would not be implicated.
It was also because Sun Shaozong usually behaved too steadily and maturely. A 22-year-old man said to the 23-year-old Yu Qian that "children and grandchildren will have their own blessings", but Cheng Rixing didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.
After Cheng Rixing bowed and left, Sun Shaozong picked up the wooden spoon, but had no intention of playing with the bird anymore. He was thinking about what to do to while away the time so that he could go home after the shift, when he saw Cheng Rixing coming back again.
"Dong Weng, there's a Dragon Guard outside. He says he's Jia Shanyao, a centurion from Jinmen Prefecture."
Jia Shanyao is here?
Was he transferred to the capital, or was he responsible for escorting Zhou Ruqing to the capital?
Anyway, no matter what happens, you still have to meet him.
So Sun Shaozong ordered: "Bring the person in."
Soon Jia Shanyao came in hurriedly. The person who led the way with a nod and a bow was not a servant or a boy from the Criminal Law Department, but Zhao Wuwei, the captain of the fast squad.
Could this guy be...
Sun Shaozong's heart moved, but his body did not move at all. He sat steadily behind the desk, waiting for Jia Shanyao to come forward and pay his respects. Then he stretched out his hand to support him and said, "Stand up and talk."
After Jia Shanyao stood up, he asked, "Why did you come to the capital instead of staying in Jinmen Prefecture?"
"Reporting to the Lord Qianhu."
Jia Shanyao said respectfully, "I was ordered by the Lord to escort the prisoner to the capital. We set out at midnight and arrived in the capital at noon. After sending the prisoner to the Northern Pacification Office, I hurried over to pay my respects to you, Lord."
Departing at midnight?
Hand over the prisoner to the Northern Pacification Office?
Sun Shaozong frowned and waved his hand to signal Cheng Rixing and Zhao Wuwei to leave. Then he asked, "Who is the prisoner you are escorting?"
If the prisoner was Zhou Ruqing, he should have been detained by the Dali Temple. Besides, there was no need to set off in the middle of the night.
Jia Shanyao didn't say it explicitly just now because he was concerned about the presence of others. Sun Shaozong himself was considered a high-ranking official in the Northern Pacification Office, and this matter was not a big earth-shattering secret.
Therefore, when Sun Shaozong asked, he bowed and said, "To be honest with you, my Lord, the person I am escorting is not someone else, but Zhao Wutong, the co-magistrate of Jinmen Prefecture."
"Zhao Wutong?"
Hearing this name, Sun Shaozong was stunned again and asked in surprise: "Could it be that he is also involved in Zhou Ruqing's corruption case?"
"On the contrary!"
Jia Shanyao smiled bitterly and said, "After my careful investigation, I found that Zhao Wutong was the one who replaced the couplet and exposed Zhou Ruqing!"
