Chapter 643 Cuju
After receiving the summons, Yang Zhiming hurriedly led Sun Shaozong to the main hall in the middle.
However, after crossing the gate, he quietly slowed down his pace to give people inside time to greet him.
"Hahaha……"
As they reached the steps, they heard a hearty laugh coming from inside, and before the laughter died down, two red-robed officials came out to greet them.
The man in the lead was probably in his early fifties, with relatively black hair and beard, but his face was full of wrinkles, especially the three-character lines on the edge of his nose, which were very eye-catching. Not only were they deep, but they also had some wrinkles.
This person should be Wei Yi, the Minister of Dali Temple.
As for the elegant middle-aged man who slowed down half a step behind him, he must be Li Wenshan, the Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple.
Wei Yi walked down the steps quickly and bowed first, saying, "I have heard of Sun Shaoqing's great name for a long time, but unfortunately I have never had the chance to meet him. Now that you and I are officials in the same government office, this has fulfilled my long-cherished wish!"
Sun Shaozong hurriedly returned the greeting and said with a smile, "You are joking, Lord Tingwei. You have been in charge of all the cases in the country for more than seven years. How many shocking cases have you handled? As a junior student, I can only look up to you. How can I deserve your flattery?"
As he spoke, he bowed to Li Wenshan and said, "Is this Li Shaoqing? I have long heard that 'there is no one more familiar with the laws and regulations in the world than Li Wenshan'. I am a latecomer and suddenly have to take on such an important task. I am really nervous. I am afraid that I will have to ."
Even though Sun Shaozong worked in the Criminal Law Department for two years and was theoretically under the leadership of Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple, he really had no dealings with the Dali Temple.
Things like 'has been in charge of all the lawsuits in the country for more than seven years' and 'no one is more proficient than Li Wenshan' were all pieces of information that I got from Yu Qian a few days ago.
Although he showed admiration on his face, he actually disagreed in his heart.
"I don't dare."
Li Wenshan smiled gently and said in return, "I am just a pedantic scholar who picks out sentences from books. How can I compare to the great reputation of 'Three Eyes Divine Judgement'?"
This...
At first glance it seems to be just self-deprecation, but upon closer inspection it reveals some sourness.
This is no wonder. Li Wenshan has been in the position of Right Shaoqing for five or six years. He finally got rid of Liu Fang, but then Sun Shaozong was suddenly appointed.
However, this person is a typical academic official. When it comes to infighting and struggles in officialdom, he is definitely below average, so there is no need to worry too much.
After the greetings, Wei Yi invited Sun Shaozong to talk inside.
Seeing this, Yang Zhiming was about to bow and leave, but before he could open his mouth, he was interrupted by Sun Shaozong.
"Lord Wei."
Then he said in a serious tone: "I am not very familiar with the Zuosi. If I just met the superior, it would be fine. If I want to ask about the case, I am afraid I have to rely on Yang Sicheng to make up for the missing."
Wei Yi was slightly stunned when he heard this, then he nodded and said, "As it should be, as it should be - Yang Sicheng, please come in and have a chat."
The four of them then filed in.
When we got to the inner hall, we found that the layout was not one facing south or north with the tables arranged in two directions. Instead, there was a round table in the middle, and three root-carved round stools were arranged in a "品" shape, looking like a tripod.
This is also the difference between Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture.
The Shuntian government is a people-friendly government, and has to deal with a variety of mundane affairs every day. Although the three officials in the yamen do not act independently, they do not often gather together.
The Dali Temple is different. There are usually no trivial matters that need to be resolved urgently, so there is plenty of time to brainstorm.
Since we get together so often on weekdays, it would seem too pretentious to make it a scene with clear distinctions between the upper and lower levels.
Stop talking nonsense.
The three of them took seats according to their status. Wei Yi then ordered his subordinates to bring an embroidered cushion so that Yang Zhiming could sit halfway on it. Only then did he put away the smile on his face.
"well!"
Then he sighed and said with regret: "I was originally thinking about giving Sun Shaoqing a good welcome, but who knew that things would not go as planned and such a case would happen."
"Although the deceased was only a seventh-rank official, I'm afraid that it will implicate the purse strings of our Great Zhou Dynasty."
"So I have no choice but to invite the two junior officials to come over to discuss how to deal with this case."
In terms of power, although the Minister of Revenue was slightly inferior to Yu Qian's Chief Minister and had less honor of assisting the emperor in matters of state, he could still be considered a person of low rank but great power.
On normal days, even the Minister or Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue would have to give him some respect.
The sudden death of such a person - reportedly on a busy street - inevitably makes people think about the reasons behind it.
If not for this, Shuntian Prefecture would not have dared to conduct a thorough investigation and reported the case directly to the Dali Temple - of course, there might also be the possibility that Ge Zhizhong was resentful and deliberately targeted Sun Shaozong.
When Dali Temple Minister Wei Yi heard the news, he hurriedly summoned Sun Shaozong to discuss matters, probably with the intention of shirking responsibility and assigning blame.
But Sun Shaozong didn't know the truth, so how could he easily jump into the trap?
He nodded immediately and said, "It is indeed as your Excellency said. This person is in a suspicious position, so it is not excessive to pay more attention to him."
Wei Yi was secretly delighted when he heard this, and was just about to put a few high hats on Sun Shaozong's head along with the entire case, so that he could sit back and watch the fight from afar.
Unexpectedly, Sun Shaozong said, "But it is precisely because of this that we should be more cautious on the outside and more relaxed on the inside, so as to avoid causing more suspicion from all parties before the matter is fully investigated."
The words that Wei Yi was about to say were stuck under his tongue.
After a slight delay, he said hesitantly, "I don't know how to tighten the outside and loosen the inside?"
Sun Shaozong said confidently: "To the outside world, ignore the background and treat it as an ordinary homicide case. Internally, you and Sun will take the lead and keep an eye on the case - if it really involves a lot of people, it won't be too late to make other arrangements."
After a pause, he spread his hands and said, "This way, Sun will have time to familiarize himself with the situation in the yamen, so that he won't be confused in a hurry."
These words were flawless, leaving room for both advancement and retreat, without revealing any intention of shirking responsibility.
Wei Yi pondered for a moment, but could not find anything to criticize. He could not help but sighed, "The reputation is well deserved." He then asked, "Sun Shaoqing, what you said makes sense, but who do you want to investigate this case?"
Sun Shaozong raised his hand and pointed, smiling, "I'll have to ask Yang Sicheng about this."
Yang Zhiming subconsciously stood up from the embroidery cushion, and then secretly groaned in his heart. This case was a hot potato no matter how you looked at it. When Sun Shaoqing called his name at this time, didn't he know clearly that he wanted him to take the blame and offend others?
But how could he, a mere Zuo Si Cheng, dare to raise any objection to what the top and second-in-command had agreed upon?
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, he decisively said, "In my humble opinion, Deputy Zuo Si Chen Jingde has always been steady and capable, and is just right for investigating this case!"
