Chapter 1246 Cruel official!

At night, Yijing Zhu Mansion

Although it was already the second watch of the night, the light in the study was still on. Zhu Xiaowen, the third-rank official of the Dali Temple of the Great Zhou Dynasty, looked exhausted but was sitting in a chair thinking hard. In front of him was the draft of the working method that Li Jian had given him during the day.

After finishing the meeting and saying goodbye to Li Jian during the day, Zhu Xiaowen found Xiao Lingyu again. Although Xiao Lingyu said that he had intended to leave a long time ago, Zhu Xiaowen thought that it was just an excuse and that there seemed to be other reasons behind Xiao Lingyu's resignation.

In the SF system of the Great Zhou, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate are three departments that are independent of each other, but restrict each other and complement each other. In the current Yijing court, in order to make better achievements and show his abilities to Ye Mingsheng, Li Jian does not want the Ministry of Justice, which he leads, to be strictly restricted by the Dali Temple and the Censorate!

Li Jian hoped that the Dali Temple and the Censorate could maintain a united front with the Ministry of Justice led by him. However, this was unacceptable to the Dali Temple and the Censorate. One of the important values ​​of the existence of these two departments was to restrict the power of the Ministry of Justice and supervise Li Jian, the Minister of Justice!
It is precisely because of the existence of Li Jian, and because Xiao Lingyu is from Liaoyang and used to be a subordinate of Cui Shao, and is considered a peripheral member of the Cui faction, that Zhu Xiaowen and Xiao Lingyu have always had a good relationship, and the two often work together to restrain Li Jian.

So Xiao Lingyu's sudden retirement this time can be said to have caught Zhu Xiaowen off guard, so Zhu Xiaowen wanted to ask Xiao Lingyu why he did this.

After being found by Zhu Xiaowen, Xiao Lingyu still insisted on his excuse at first, saying that he was old, in poor health, and lacked energy. He had considered retiring before, but now his health was not good enough and he was really unable to perform the work of Zuodu Yushi, so he chose to retire. It had nothing to do with the work method...

Faced with this set of rhetoric, Zhu Xiaowen simply sneered and questioned Xiao Lingyu further. In view of his relationship with Zhu Xiaowen and the Cui faction, Xiao Lingyu finally revealed some of his true thoughts under Zhu Xiaowen's continuous questioning!
As the old saying goes, when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bows are put away. It is not uncommon in history for the dog to be cooked when the rabbit dies!
However, Ye Mingsheng was obviously not a man who would stay content with his lot. After the Fengwu Army unified the country, the two generals with the most outstanding military achievements in the army, Yuan Song and He Jingyun, were both made marquises and rewarded with large amounts of wealth, but their military power was all taken back by Ye Mingsheng without exception.

At present, although Yuan Song and He Jingyun only have titles and wealth, they do not have any real power. Especially He Jingyun did not know what the Marshal talked about with him in Jiangnan. After returning to Yijing, he directly reflected on his mistakes behind closed doors.

Even his former subordinates who came to visit him refused to see them. He seemed to be under house arrest by the commander-in-chief, and would not leave the mansion even for a few hours!
Although the Marshal did not do it as obviously on the civil service side as he did on the military side, both the progressive tax rate and the current working methods have already demonstrated the Marshal's current executive thinking!

Xiao Lingyu believed that if the tiered tax rate was a test from the Marshal to the officials in the court, then this working method was the Marshal officially sounding the clarion call for deep reforms, and the Yijing court would not be too peaceful for a long time in the future.

Therefore, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate will inevitably become a sharp blade in the Marshal's hand, but the difference from the past is that this time the blade will be facing inwards...

After realizing this, Xiao Lingyu didn't want to attack his own people deep down in his heart, and he was also worried that once he became a cruel official under Ye Mingsheng, although it might be glorious in the short term, it might not be a good thing in the long run!
So after repeated consideration, Xiao Lingyu chose to retreat at the right time. He was originally just a minor official in Liaoyang, and his biggest dream was to become a county magistrate in his hometown. He never thought that one day he would be able to become a high-ranking official of the second rank, enter the cabinet as the Left Censor-in-Chief, and become a senior official of the Great Zhou!
Xiao Lingyu's life was worth it, and he had no regrets in his official career, so the best ending for him was to retire at this moment and go home to become a wealthy man who didn't care about worldly affairs!

After understanding Xiao Lingyu's thoughts, Zhu Xiaowen admitted that he did not think as far as Xiao Lingyu did. Xiao Lingyu's words also made him see more clearly the working method in front of him!
Obviously, the issue of the Work Law may not simply be a matter of the bill, it is also a decision of whether or not to become a cruel official under the Marshal!
Faced with this choice, Li Jian and Xiao Lingyu both made their choices, and now it is Zhu Xiaowen's turn to make a choice!
When Zhu Xiaowen thought of this, he became extremely confused. As a student of Cui Shao, he was well-versed in history books and knew that the cruel officials in history all had bad endings, with many of them being beheaded and having their property confiscated. However, if he opposed the Marshal now, Zhu Xiaowen knew very well that his end would be even worse.

So this is really a dilemma. The only way Zhu Xiaowen can think of to get out of this situation is to follow Xiao Lingyu's example and retire...
But Zhu Xiaowen is different from Xiao Lingyu. Xiao Lingyu is 49 years old this year, which is 50 years old. In this era when the average life expectancy is less than 60 years, he is already considered an old man, so it is barely acceptable for him to retire due to illness.
Zhu Xiaowen is not yet forty years old this year and has always been in good health. So if he retires on the grounds of illness, he will most likely be regarded as a deserter by the Marshal, and his fate will be even worse!
What's more, deep down in his heart, Zhu Xiaowen himself doesn't want to leave the court. He is not even forty years old this year, but he is already the Minister of Dali Temple. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes in the future, he will have at least ten years of political life. Even if he lacks seniority, he will be able to enter the cabinet, or even become the prime minister of the cabinet. It is not impossible for him, Zhu Xiaowen!

Therefore, Zhu Xiaowen was really reluctant to give up his bright future. He also wanted to display his talents on the stage of the Yijing court. He hoped that he could go down in history as a wise prime minister and be remembered forever!
Thinking of this, Zhu Xiaowen couldn't help but sigh. The choice before him was too difficult for him. He instinctively wanted to find his teacher to give him some guidance!
Like Cui Zibo, he had always followed the direction planned by Cui Shao in his past political career, and then climbed up step by step under Cui Shao's promotion and cultivation!

If faced with such a difficult decision before, Zhu Xiaowen would go to Cui Mansion tonight without hesitation and let teacher Cui Shao tell him how to make the right choice····················
However, things are different now. Just two days ago, he used illness as an excuse to refuse Cui Hang's visit!

Before Cui Zibo fell ill, Zhu Xiaowen had never had any other thoughts. He just wanted to complement each other with his good friend Cui Zibo in the court in the future.

But after his good friend Cui Zibo fell ill, facing the huge temptation of becoming Cui Shao's successor and inheriting Cui Shao's legacy, Zhu Xiaowen admitted that he was tempted, and he thought he also had a chance. After all, he was not only Cui Shao's disciple, but also Cui Shao's nephew-in-law. The two sides were closely related!
However, Cui Shao finally chose his nephew Cui Hang, and told Zhu Xiaowen with facts that he was just wishful thinking. Zhu Xiaowen was extremely disappointed and full of frustration, so when Cui Hang came to visit him, he found an excuse of feeling unwell to refuse Cui Hang!
At that time, Zhu Xiaowen realized that Cui Hang's visit was most likely instructed by Cui Shao, who hoped that he could help Cui Hang just as he had helped Cui Zibo before.

Although Zhu Xiaowen rationally felt that he should do so, after all, his teacher and the Cui family had always been kind to him, but at that point in time, Zhu Xiaowen really could not accept this reality, so in the end he chose to follow his heart and rejected Cui Hang's visit.

Zhu Xiaowen knew rationally that it was wrong for him to do so, as it would destroy the harmonious relationship between him, Cui Shao and even the entire Cui family. After refusing, Zhu Xiaowen felt a little regretful in his heart, but if he had the chance to turn back time, Zhu Xiaowen believed that he would still make the same choice·························
After all, Cui Hang is not Cui Zibo, and Zhu Xiaowen is now the Minister of Dali Temple, so he should be allowed to have his own ideas!
However, everything has its pros and cons. After rejecting Cui Hang's visit, Zhu Xiaowen felt a little embarrassed about going to Cui's house again to ask Cui Shao for advice!
Just as Zhu Xiaowen was struggling in the dark night, a woman walked into the study. Looking at Zhu Xiaowen sitting on the chair, she couldn't help but say:
"Husband, it's almost three o'clock in the morning, why aren't you sleeping yet?"

The woman who called Xiaowen "husband" was Zhu Xiaowen's legal wife, Cui Mingzhu, the daughter of Cui Shao's second brother. When Zhu Xiaowen asked his wife, he shook his head and said:

"My dear, go back to sleep first. I'll think about it for a while by myself. I'll go back to sleep in a while!" After listening to Zhu Xiaowen's perfunctory reply, Cui Mingzhu asked tentatively:
"My husband, did you encounter any problems at work?"

Zhu Xiaowen did not speak but shook his head. Seeing this, Cui Mingzhu hesitated for a moment and said:
"Today, Liu, the wife of Right Vice Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Personnel, Wang, the wife of Vice Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue, and Liu, the wife of Vice Minister Shen of the Ministry of Rites, came to visit us!"

Zhu Xiaowen was stunned at first, then he frowned and asked his wife:
"What did they tell you?"

Cui Mingzhu said without hesitation:
“They didn’t say anything. They just asked me to advise you, overtly or covertly, not to be a cruel official. As the Chief Justice, you must speak out bravely to eliminate the villains who spread rumors around the Marshal…”

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaowen felt helpless, and at this time Cui Mingzhu continued:
"Is it about the draft work law?"

Seeing that Cui Mingzhu already knew it, Zhu Xiaowen did not hide it anymore and nodded under Cui Mingzhu's gaze.

After getting a positive answer from her husband, Cui Mingzhu hesitated and persuaded:

"Husband, if you can't make up your mind, don't make a rash decision. I think you should ask your uncle for advice!"

Listening to his wife's advice, Zhu Xiaowen showed a bitter smile on his face. Seeing this, Cui Mingzhu understood Zhu Xiaowen's thoughts and immediately complained:

"I told you at the time to let you and Cui Hang meet, but I don't know why you had to pretend!"

After the words fell, Zhu Xiaowen said in a deep voice:
"What do you woman know?"

Cui Mingzhu got angry when he heard this, and immediately retorted:

"I, a woman, don't understand, but do those S-foxes understand?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiaowen's expression turned cold and he said in a deep voice:
"If you have nothing to do, go back to sleep. I'm really annoyed here!"

Although he was not a live-in son-in-law, he was marrying up to a higher level by marrying Cui Mingzhu. Therefore, he had never been able to maintain his position as a husband at home and had never dared to take a concubine. However, after being promoted to the position of Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, Zhu Xiaowen, who felt that he was already a high-ranking official, became more and more bold and kept a young and beautiful mistress outside!

After several in-depth exchanges, the mistress fell into the trap. Seeing this, Zhu Xiaowen bravely brought her back. After all, the mistress was pregnant with his child...

When Cui Mingzhu saw that Zhu Xiaowen not only kept a woman outside, but also brought her back home, she refused to give in and made a big fuss at home!
Finally, the matter was brought to the attention of Cui Shao, who advised Cui Mingzhu not to act unreasonably and be a jealous woman. Given Zhu Xiaowen's status as the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, it was completely understandable for him to have several concubines. However, when she saw that her most respected uncle was speaking for Zhu Xiaowen, Cui Mingzhu had to swallow the matter.

With Cui Shao's support, Zhu Xiaowen let himself go, relaxed his requirements for himself, and kept two mistresses outside. Although Cui Mingzhu was dissatisfied with this, she pretended not to know as long as Zhu Xiaowen did not bring them back.

Feeling the coldness in Zhu Xiaowen's words at this moment, Cui Mingzhu felt very aggrieved. It was this man who said all kinds of sweet words and made vows to marry her. He even swore to all the ancestors of their Zhu family that he would only love her in this life!

However, after becoming a high-ranking official, he completely changed his face and heart, and threw all his past vows behind his back!

Although Cui Mingzhu felt very aggrieved and helpless, and felt that she had made a mistake in her life and had been fooled by Zhu Xiaowen, she had already boarded Zhu Xiaowen's pirate ship. She could not watch the rift between Zhu Xiaowen and the Cui family grow bigger and bigger. She wiped the tears from her face and said:
"I'll go back to my parents' home tomorrow and ask Uncle San for you..."

(End of this chapter)