nucmednet Chapter 402 Tooth for Tooth
Chapter 402 Tooth for Tooth
Turns out, her instincts were right.
A short while later, torches were suddenly thrown in from outside the wall.
It was broad daylight, and the torches were only discovered immediately because of the smoke.
"Oh no, they're going to set it on fire!"
The officials scattered to the surrounding area, searching for torches to extinguish the fire.
Some people even chased after their opponents outside the wall with knives to intercept them.
The number of people around Xiao Ji dwindled, but Shen Lan didn't move an inch.
Suiying and Suifeng fought to a standstill with their opponents, which shows that the two opponents were also highly skilled.
"That's strange, why aren't they moving?" someone exclaimed.
Shen Lan looked around and saw that all the officials who had gone to put out the fire had fallen down.
She was startled and smelled a hint of smoke.
"Oh no, there must be a sleeping drug in the smoke!"
Everyone quickly covered their mouths and noses and fanned themselves with their sleeves.
"Sir, would you please leave here?"
It seems that today's attempt to trap them like turtles in a jar will be difficult to complete; they might even become the ones who get trapped instead.
The other party was obviously prepared.
"No need, go wake them up."
Shen Lan took out a bottle of pills and gave them to everyone to take, so that they could keep their minds clear at all times.
Then they taught them to wake everyone up by pouring cold water on them.
If you look closely, you'll see two rows of large water vats in the courtyard, enough to handle the current situation.
As the officials gradually awoke, they saw a large net descending from the sky.
They quickly retreated and saw someone climb over the wall, holding a crossbow, a weapon typically found only in the military.
"I heard that the Ordnance Department was robbed last night, it seems that they were responsible."
Xiao Ji whistled and led everyone inside, quickly closing all the doors and windows.
The leader of the opposing group was a man wearing a half-mask. He jumped down from the wall and surveyed his surroundings.
"Send half of the people to rescue them. If they can't be rescued, kill them. Don't leave any survivors."
"Yes."
The man twisted his neck, pointed the crossbow in his hand at the door Xiao Ji had just entered, and said with a wicked smile, "Come on, let's wipe out this Criminal Investigation Department today."
The arrow hit the door frame, and the man scoffed, continuing to shoot arrows inside.
But the expected screams did not come.
He was somewhat annoyed and raised his hand to order: "Charge in!"
A group of rioters stormed into the yamen and found that it was the courtroom where the Chief Justice was trying cases.
The courtroom was very large, but when a group of people rushed in, they found it empty; there wasn't a single person inside.
"Bang!" The door behind me suddenly slammed shut.
"Oh no, we've fallen into a trap." The group turned to run out, only to find the door locked and all the windows inexplicably locked.
Immediately afterwards, thick smoke seeped in through the gaps and quickly filled the entire courtroom.
None of them expected that the officials of the Provincial Judicial Commissioner would set fire to their own office.
The furnishings inside the house were all soaked in tung oil beforehand, so they could be ignited by the slightest spark.
"Get out! Get out of here now!"
They charged out shouting, but what awaited them was a barrage of arrows.
This time, they were trapped like turtles in a jar; going out meant certain death, and staying inside meant certain death as well.
Yesterday they burned down an entire street like that, causing countless deaths and injuries.
Today, their karma has come back to bite them; now it's their turn to become fish on the chopping block.
The masked man laughed out loud.
He had thought he would die, but he never imagined he would die this way.
Xiao Ji and Shen Lan were standing on another high building of the Criminal Investigation Department, watching as the building in front of them gradually burned to charcoal.
"He deserved to die," Xiao Ji said in a low voice.
Shen Lan also felt relieved.
Thinking of the mangled corpse she saw on the street yesterday, her anger finally subsided somewhat.
"I truly hope for world peace and an end to war."
This was only a war of changing imperial power; if the dynasty were to change, even more people would die.
On the other side, the remaining half of the thugs were also shot dead by the ambushing officers.
The original group of officials was merely a decoy to lure the enemy in; the real killing moves had been laid in advance.
Seeing that the fire was getting smaller, Shen Lan asked curiously, "You didn't deliberately burn down your own government office, did you?"
"How could that be? This is the simplest and most effective method. It's just a government office; we can just build another one."
Shen Lan agreed, "That's true, the original government office was too old."
Xiao Ji leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I have performed a great service, and the Emperor has long wanted to reward me, but he has never been able to find an opportunity. Now that my yamen has been burned down, doesn't that give the Emperor the opportunity to reward me?"
"That's not yours either."
"I plan to move the Criminal Investigation Department to a different location."
The location of this government office is not very good, and it is not very big.
"Where to change to?"
Xiao Ji didn't say it, but he had already planned that when the government office was rebuilt, he would build a morgue that belonged only to Shen Lan.
Cleanliness and tidiness were Xiao Ji's most direct impressions of Shen Lan's autopsy.
Nowadays, all government offices and morgues are either extremely poorly equipped or simply don't have any, and simply leave the bodies in mortuaries.
"Go down, the Imperial Guards are here."
They were standing on high ground, and Shen Lan saw a contingent of Imperial Guards parked outside the Criminal Investigation Department.
They always arrive late.
"Who is the current commander of the Imperial Guard? How is the Zhang family doing?"
"The general from the Zhang family died in that palace coup. The others were dismissed from their posts when Prince Zheng ascended the throne. Now the commander of the Imperial Guard is the Second Prince's man, just like the commander of the Imperial Guard. They are all the Second Prince's confidants."
"Then this commander's abilities must not be very good." Shen Lan pouted.
"The people the Second Prince used to gather were of varying quality, and now he has few people he can use, so this is the only way for now."
By the way, your fellow villager got promoted; he's now the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.
You mean Li Ye?
"Yes, he is highly skilled in martial arts, has a high reputation in the Imperial Guard, and has repeatedly made meritorious contributions. Now he is considered a favorite of the Emperor."
"Does His Majesty not know about his relationship with Li Ge?"
It's easy to imagine that if the Emperor knew about Li Ye's relationship with Li Ge, he probably wouldn't give him an important position.
Li Ge is in a somewhat awkward situation now.
The emperor seemed to trust him, but he didn't give him much real power.
Every day during court sessions, new memorials impeaching him are submitted.
Many court officials hated him intensely, and as long as the emperor didn't kill him, the impeachments would not stop.
Shen Lan was deeply worried.
"Has the secret passage of the Tong family been completely sealed off?"
Xiao Ji took out a blueprint and gave it to her, saying, "Keep it safe and don't give it to anyone."
He turned and walked down the high-rise building to greet the Imperial Guards, and then handed over the follow-up matters.
The emperor was in a state of utter distress.
The people were filled with anxiety, and some privately said that the Zhao family's fate was sealed, which was why rebellions were so frequent.
The court remained stable and continued to wipe out the rebels, allowing the people to live and work in peace.
Upon learning that Xiao Ji had annihilated the rebels in one fell swoop, the emperor was overjoyed; finally, there was something to be happy about.
"Minister Xiao is truly my lucky star!"
Upon learning that the main hall of the Provincial Judicial Office had been burned to the ground, the emperor immediately ordered the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to oversee the construction of a new government office.
Just as Xiao Ji said, the emperor was not in a position to lavishly reward him personally, so he attached great importance to the reconstruction of the government offices and was very generous in doing so.
Xiao Ji proposed that the imperial laws were incomplete and hoped that the legal code could be revised.
The emperor readily agreed.
Xiao Ji also pointed out that coroners are very important in solving cases, but there are very few qualified coroners in the country, and their status is low, which is not conducive to the cultivation of talent. He suggested abolishing the rule that three generations of coroner families are not allowed to take the imperial examinations.
Despite strong opposition, the emperor agreed.
It was merely giving the children of these families the opportunity to take the imperial examinations; it wasn't a big deal.