At nightfall, in the imposing Marquis Wei's mansion...

The rich and middle-aged Marquis Wei sat on a chair with an unpleasant expression.

There were two beautiful women in the hall, one of whom was kneeling and crying bitterly, heartbroken.

The other beautiful woman was comforting her in a low voice.

The Marquis concluded that his second daughter had been kidnapped due to the mysterious disappearance and the carriage collision that happened before.

He went through the possible enemies in his mind. It was unlikely to be a political enemy since his title was hereditary, and he had already been gradually pushed to the edge of the imperial power stage.

Of course, the noble group that stuck together was still an unignorable interest group.

However, there was a difference between the group and individuals. The Marquis could not recall having such a political enemy who dared to kidnap his family members.

As for personal enemies, he had not made any recently.

"The master has already reported to the officials and informed the Jingu guards at the city gate. Don't worry, Ying'er will be found," said one of the beautiful women.

"Sister, Ying'er is a weak girl. If something happens to her...even if we find her, she won't survive," the other beautiful woman said in a low voice.

The Marquis's face twitched, and his expression became even gloomier.

At this moment, a servant rushed in and shouted, "Master, Miss has been found..."

The Marquis and the two wives hurried to the front hall, where they saw their daughter, who looked haggard with tears still on her face, and the imperial guards who had brought her back.

After sending away the imperial guards with a reward, the Marquis scrutinized his daughter for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ying'er, what happened?"

Zhang Yuying was hugged by her weeping mother and cried, "It was the son of the Zhou Chamberlain who kidnapped me. He not only wanted to defile my innocence but also planned to kill me."

She immediately recounted what she had seen and heard, vividly describing how she had escaped from the den while the guards were careless.

"Master, you must help us. You must help Ying'er," Zhang Yuying's biological mother trembled with anger.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

"Master, Zhou Liyi's repeated harassment of Ying'er is also an insult to our Marquis mansion," the legal wife said in a deep voice.

The Marquis was furious, and he slapped the table, shaking with anger. "The Zhou family has gone too far!"

The next day.

The Meridian Gate, the east side gate.

The civil and military officials who were attending the court were surprised to see that Marquis Wei came in armor today, but he did not carry any weapons around his waist.

...

Something interesting happened in the court that day.

Marquis Wei appeared in armor, carried out his ancestors' merits, and tearfully accused Zhou Chamberlain.

He shouted, "Our ancestor fought for the emperor, braving death and danger. Yet, his descendant's daughter was bullied. If Your Majesty does not protect her, how can we expect the soldiers of the world to be loyal to you?"

The incident caused a great uproar.

The culprit, Zhou Liyi, looked confused. When did he kidnap the second young lady of the Zhang family? He had no idea.Emperor Yuan Jing was furious and ordered the Grand Court, Ministry of Justice, and Censorate to handle the case and provide results within two days.

As the suspect in the case, Zhou Li's first stop was the Censorate.

The imperial censor responsible for interrogating him was a sixth-rank official who gave Zhou Li a beating without a word.

After Zhou Li was beaten and cried for mercy, he slapped the table and said, "Zhou Li, is the yard where the Marquis of Wei's daughter was detained your private residence?"

"Yes!" Zhou Li had to admit.

It was common for powerful nobles to buy private residences in the inner city, and Zhou Li had purchased the yard without going through anyone else.

The deed was in his name, and the government office had records of the purchase.

"Since it's your yard, no need to say more, sign and seal!" Two yamen runners stepped forward, one with a confession, the other forcing Zhou Li to sign.

According to the procedures of the Ministry of Revenue, after the Censorate finished its review, the judgment was handed over to the Ministry of Justice. If the Ministry of Justice did not agree with the Censorate's result, it would be retried.

So Zhou Li was sent to the Ministry of Justice, where his treatment underwent a complete transformation.

He was given food and drink, and the Ministry of Justice's official in charge of the case found a doctor to apply golden wound medicine to Zhou Li's bloody buttocks.

After several hours of "interrogation," the Ministry of Justice overturned the Censorate's verdict and declared Zhou Li innocent, saying he was framed.

The case was transferred to the Grand Court.

The Grand Court did not hesitate to give Zhou Li another beating, and after a "rigorous" interrogation, it rejected the Ministry of Justice's verdict and found Zhou Li guilty.

The next day, with the Grand Court, Ministry of Justice, and Censorate each holding different opinions and no verdict given, Emperor Yuan Jing ordered a joint review by the three agencies to escalate the case.

The Grand Court dispatched a chief judge and two deputy judges, the Ministry of Justice sent two officials and four assistants, and the Censorate sent two imperial censors.

A total of eleven officials jointly tried the case.

The Ministry of Justice believed Zhou Li was innocent and was framed by a thief, while the Grand Court and Censorate unanimously found Zhou Li guilty.

After a whole day of argument with no winner, there was no verdict.

Until dusk, a white-clad person from the Bureau of Astronomy was invited to the court by the officials.

"On behalf of His Majesty, I have come to assist in the case." After the white-clad person from the Bureau of Astronomy explained the purpose of his visit, he looked at Zhou Li kneeling in front of the court and shouted, "Zhou Li, did you kidnap Zhang Yuying, the daughter of the Marquis of Wei?"

Zhou Li shook his head repeatedly. "No, it wasn't me. I was wronged."

The officials stared at the white-clad person from the Bureau of Astronomy.

The white-clad person spoke firmly, "He's lying!"

Zhou Li's face turned pale.

...

Three days later, Zhou, the chamberlain, was dismissed and sent to the southern border for embezzling national treasury funds and being lax in disciplining his children. His son, Zhou Li, was exiled to the southern frontier.Fifty riders traveled slowly on the official road, Uncle Xu led the way on horseback, feeling pleased with himself and his horse's swift pace.

After news of Zhou Shilang's downfall spread, Xu Pingzhi drank with Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian all night. There was both the pleasure of revenge and the relief of unburdening oneself.

The two brothers rode behind Xu Pingzhi, and Xu Xinnian said, "I have something to ask you, big brother."

Xu Qi'an glanced at him and said, "Curious why Zhou Lihui would admit to this crime, or rather, why the powerful figures in the court like Marquis Wei couldn't see through this not-so-clever framing?"

Xu Xinnian pondered and said, "I can only think of part of it. For Zhou Shilang's political enemies, it doesn't matter whether Zhou Lihui is innocent or not. They will seize this opportunity to bite down on Zhou Shilang."

"As for Marquis Wei, this is a chance for revenge. He couldn't beat Zhou Shilang before because he had no allies, but now is a heaven-sent opportunity. That's why he went to the court in full armor, causing a commotion."

"As for whether his daughter was kidnapped by Zhou Lihui, he may suspect it, but without enough evidence, it's clear that the son of Duke Zhou, who repeatedly abused his daughter, is more hateful."

"What I can't figure out is that Zhou Shilang didn't do this. Zhou Shilang and his accomplices knew this, so they should have come up with a response."

"Why do you think I went to the Bureau of Astrology that day?" Xu Qi'an laughed, "Do you remember what the eighth rank of the Bureau of Astrology is called?"

"The eighth rank is a stargazer..." Xu Xinnian's eyes lit up, suddenly enlightened.

"During the tax and silver case, the astrologers of the Bureau of Astrology participated in the tracking and trial of the case, which shows that the current emperor relies on the Bureau of Astrology." Xu Qi'an looked ahead, feeling pleased with himself.

"At first glance, the case seems unreasonable, but upon closer inspection, there is no trace left behind... Well, big brother, I'm a professional in this area. Coupled with the factors of factional struggle, the case is bound to be both troublesome and difficult to investigate. So the simplest and most effective method is to find the astrologers of the Bureau of Astrology."

Xu Xinnian was convinced, "So, big brother bribed the astrologers of the Bureau of Astrology."

"How vulgar!" Xu Qi'an spat, "How can you call it bribery when it comes to alchemists? It's an equivalent exchange!"

Pausing for a moment, he said, "Cijiu, remember, besides blood relatives, anyone who is a friend or an enemy is because of the word 'interest,' especially in officialdom."

"No one will treat you well for no reason, nor will anyone hate you for no reason. Even your closest friends must have a positive use for you in their existence when they become friends with you."

"When you become an official in the future, big brother hopes you can be a capable official, not a clean one." Xu Qi'an instilled his own thoughts into his younger brother, saying, "Remember, be in the same dust as everyone else."To cultivate my little brother into the prime minister of Great Feng, the first step is to make him look like me. Otherwise, what's the use of cultivating a prime minister who has a different path than mine?

Xu Xinnian looked into the distance and said loudly, "Living in harmony with others... what if I get lost in the mist of power in the future?"

"That's your own fate. Of course, if you become a corrupt official causing chaos, I will clean up the mess," Xu Qi'an half-jokingly and half-seriously said.

"Okay!" Xu Xinnian retorted, "If one day, big brother becomes a martial artist causing trouble, I will do the same."

Why do I feel like I just set a flag... Xu Qi'an coughed and looked at Xu Pingzhi. "Uncle, you have to witness this."

"Get out!" Xu Pingzhi turned around and cursed, "Always talking about fighting with each other in the same room. Do I not exist?"

PS: Originally, I wrote 6,000 words to highlight the factional struggle and the despair of Zhou Gongzi, the evil antagonist. I even researched ancient trial procedures for this.

Later, I realized why I gave so much ink to a minor character. It messed up the main and subordinate relationship. It would be better to write about my aunt with this much ink...

So I extracted the essence, highlighted the factional struggle, and reduced the trial process. That thing wasn't very interesting to write anyway, and I don't think you guys would like it.

The plot of Zhou Shilang is the beginning of this entire scroll.