Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 187

Chapter 187 Unhurried Guests At Night

For many people in later generations, after the seventh or eighth day of the first lunar month, the Spring Festival would be over and they would have to go to work. However, to the people of the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago, the New Year had to wait for the Shangyuan Festival to come to an end after enjoying the lantern festival.

This was the same for both merchants and officials of the Imperial Court. Therefore, even though all the major government offices in the capital had opened their offices before the 15th day of the first lunar month, there weren’t many people who really did anything wrong. Naturally, the Daxing County Government couldn’t be exempted from the customs.

Lu Zhen had also allowed the servants and clerks to come and go freely in the past few days without any intention of making things difficult for them. Although he already knew that he would be transferred to a certain place in the south of the Yangtze River to be an official in the near future, he still did not dare to be careless in his duties. After all, he had made many enemies in the court, so he might cause complications. However, he pushed out some things that he could not care about.

On Shangyuan Festival, the capital was even more bustling. Mountains of lamps were erected on each of the main streets. Lanterns and trees were also erected everywhere in a low profile, reflecting Beijing into a city of daylight. It was a city without night.

At this time of the year, men and women, regardless of status, would bring friends and companions to wander around to see the scenery of the last time. With that wealthy owner, he would leave some of the restaurants along the streets under his wallet early and enjoy the picturesque scenery while drinking and admiring the moonlight.

However, Lu Zhen wasn’t very interested in this. Before he crossed over, he was not a lively person, and he had seen too many sceneries in big cities before. Now, this scenery of Beijing City was simply difficult to see. In addition, going alone to enjoy the lanterns would only make him feel even more lonely, so he still stayed in the county government. After reading the books as usual, he rested early.

It wasn’t until early the next morning that Lu Zhen learned that something had gone wrong last night. However, a street in the east of the city suddenly lit up, burning three or five shops to the ground. As a result, more than ten lives were lost, and 50 to 60 people were injured.

Fortunately, the people from the Military Horse Division were nearby-there would be fires at this time of the year, and the Military Horse Division would naturally be prepared in case of any accidents-so the fire was controlled in a timely manner and did not spread too far. Most of the casualties were trampled by shock.

Afterwards, the people from the Military Horse Division and the Shuntian Prefecture cooperated to arrest the culprit who caused the fire. I heard that the two gangs in the capital attacked because of some friction, resulting in this fire.

Originally, the place where the fire occurred was also under the jurisdiction of Daxing County. As the local county magistrate, Lu Zhen naturally had the right to ask about it. However, Shuntian Prefecture did not even greet him. This made the subordinates who knew about the incident somewhat unhappy.

Lu Zhen did not think so. He knew that he had already offended the entire Shuntian Prefecture because of what had happened before. How could he possibly hand over such a casual case to him for meritorious service? Moreover, he was about to leave, so it was fine if he didn’t fight for the credit.

So in the end, Lu Zhen didn’t even pay attention to what was going on with this small case and let it pass.

After Shangyuan Festival, everything in the Imperial Court was back on track. At this moment, the officials began to get nervous again, because they were most worried that the Jingcha that decided their future was about to begin.

On the third day of the second month, the first day after Long raised his head, the capital investigation of the Great Ming Imperial Court began. In just one day, more than ten officials were rated as inferior for various reasons, so they were likely to be removed from office or banished.

Two days later, the evaluation of Daxing County Magistrate Lu Zhen came out.

At this time, the imperial court’s evaluation divided the officials into the upper, middle, and lower ranks, and then the upper, middle, and lower ranks, resulting in a total of nine ranks.

According to the Confucian doctrine of the mean, it was naturally impossible for high-grade officials to exist, so high-grade officials became the most outstanding examiners. However, this was also rare, and could not be obtained by those who had not made great contributions to the Imperial Court. In this way, Lu Zhen’s winning a top-notch award was already the highest praise.

There wasn’t much criticism in the court, because everything he did was obvious to everyone. Whether it was the taxes of the county government, the public security under his control, or anything else, Lu Zhen didn’t do anything picky. Coupled with the fact that he didn’t dare to cause any trouble for the capital’s many curfew servants, as well as the big case that he had solved, this credit was naturally enough for him to obtain a high-grade evaluation.

However, at the same time, some rumors quickly spread in the official circles that Lu Zhen would soon be promoted because of his merits and would be sent to a certain place in the south of the Yangtze River to serve as an official. After hearing this news, many people heaved a sigh of relief and felt the urge to celebrate.

Because of the existence of this madman county magistrate, many people were cautious about what they were doing, afraid that he would catch a bite. Now that he was about to be transferred, it was naturally a matter of great pleasure.

Soon, however, they were attracted to another matter. This time, Jingcha was much stricter than before. In less than ten days, no less than fifty officials had been dismissed. Moreover, these officials held important positions in the yamen, and they had more or less backing.

Even so, the Ministry of Officials did not show the slightest mercy this time and dismissed all of these officials like autumn winds sweeping away the fallen leaves. What was even more shocking was that after such a thing happened, no matter if it was officials or their backers, they remained silent and all admitted defeat.

This made many people curious, but no matter how much they tried to inquire, they couldn’t find out why. Only a handful of wise people knew the reason for this. These officials who were dismissed by Jingcha were all involved in the case of Guang Ningbo, and now it was just a matter of settling accounts in the autumn.

At that time, the matter was on the cusp of a storm, so the Imperial Court stabilized it first and did nothing to them. But now that the situation had changed, with a suitable reason, he naturally wouldn’t let them off lightly.

It could be said that it was only at this moment that the hastily settled case could be considered to be completely over. Although there were still people at large, at least enough people had paid the price for it, which made Lu Zhen feel that he could console the souls of those who had died.

For this reason, after receiving this news, Lu Zhen specially invited Lin Lie and a few other subordinates to the restaurant outside to have a drink. Eating until his face was red and his ears were red, he walked back to the county government with Lin Lie’s help.

It was already February 15th, and the bright moon was in the sky, illuminating the entire backyard of the county government, making it seem even more deserted.

Lin Lie turned his leg and carefully helped Lu Zhen into the bedroom. He poured a cup of strong tea for him to sober up and poured hot water to wipe his face. Only then did he intend to leave.

At this time, Lu Zhen, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes and reluctantly rolled over, “Brother Lin, do you think what I did was meaningful?”

“Sir, why did you say that?” Lin Lie asked, somewhat puzzled, as he stopped in his tracks.

Lu Zhen smiled bitterly. “Although I have complained for them, there are still people who are at large. Also, I will be transferred to Jiangnan very soon. Everything I try to do will be pushed back by others. So what use do you think I have in doing all this?”

“Your Excellency’s words are too small to agree with. If you don’t do some things, nothing will change. I only know that it is because of your courage to investigate the case that these people have to pay the price. Otherwise, those dead will probably be buried deep underground, let alone avenge them.” Lin Lie said solemnly, “It is precisely because you have such an ideal that I am willing to follow you around. No matter what happens in the future, I will not change.”

“Heh … in the future.” Lu Zhen belched and said something vaguely before he fell back onto the bed.

Lin Lie didn’t know why he said this bitterly. He could only pretend that he was drunk and gently shook his head. After walking out of the door, he closed the door again.

But just as he was about to leave, his ears suddenly moved. Two vigilant lights flashed in his eyes and he turned to look at a cluster of trees on the side.

Without warning, Lin Lie flew up like an eagle when he was short. At the same time, a saber was already in his hand. As he swayed, he arrived in front of the bushes. With a flash of his saber, he stole the figure hiding behind the tree.

That person hadn’t expected that his Xingzang would be seen through by others. Furthermore, the other party’s attack was so swift and without the slightest warning. He hurriedly rolled off the ground and dodged backwards in a sorry state before dodging Lin Lie’s deadly saber strike.

However, Lin Lie’s movements did not pause for a moment. With a movement of his body, he waved his wrist and followed closely with a knife. The momentum of that person’s roll had already dissipated. At this moment, there was no room to dodge. It was even more impossible for him to resist. It seemed that he would definitely die under this saber strike.

Ever since Lu Zhen had been assassinated, Lin Lie had become much more vigilant than before. Now that he discovered that someone was sneaking up here, he naturally wouldn’t show any mercy. However, a cry of alarm still caused the knife he was about to obtain to temporarily stop at his opponent’s throat–

“Brother Lin, it’s me!”

Lin Lie was momentarily stunned by the fact that the other party actually recognized him. He then borrowed the moonlight from the full moon and finally saw clearly the appearance of the person whose throat had almost been cut off by his saber. Although this person looked much more haggard and miserable than before, his appearance did not change drastically. It was precisely the Vice Sect Master of the Green Bamboo Gang, Zhu Chang, who had helped Lu Zhen and the others that day but had failed in the end!

Just as Lin Lie was stunned, he was even more stunned by the other party’s next words, “Brother Lin, don’t misunderstand. I’m not here to harm County Magistrate Lu. On the contrary, I’m here to ask County Magistrate Lu for help.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Lin Lie asked curiously.

“Ah, this matter is hard to say” Zhu Chang’s eyes suddenly flashed as he looked ahead, but Lu Zhen walked out unsteadily …