Chapter 125:  “Records of Injustice” 1/2

With his ability, Li Qingzhi could stay awake and work without resting for a short time.

At first, when his health wasn’t as good, he prioritized taking care of his body, but now his health had improved a lot.

A few nights without sleep didn’t matter to him.

That night, Li Qingzhi lit an oil lamp and wrote all night.

He didn’t write very fast; he could write about three thousand words in an hour. But that night, he wrote twelve thousand words in one go.

As dawn approached, Li Qingzhi refueled the oil lamp, hid the manuscript he had written, then extinguished the lamp and lay down on the couch nearby.

This couch had been given to Li Damao to sleep on before, but now Li Damao slept in Li Damao’s bed, and Li Damao and Li Ermao slept together in Li Ermao’s bed. So Li Qingzhi put the couch in the study to rest when he was tired.

After lying down, Li Qingzhi didn’t fall asleep; he just adjusted his body’s condition with his ability… Shortly after, Jin Xiaoye came in quietly.

Jin Xiaoye didn’t realize until she woke up in the morning that Li Qingzhi hadn’t come back to sleep all night. When she entered the study and saw Li Qingzhi sleeping peacefully, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Li Qingzhi timely opened his eyes.

“Xiaoye…” Li Qingzhi called out, looking around dazedly before saying, “I didn’t come back to the bedroom last night? I was a little tired and lay down on the couch for a while, but I didn’t expect to fall asleep.”

He didn’t want Jin Xiaoye to worry, so he pretended that he had slept in the study all night.

“The couch is not as comfortable as the bed. Don’t sleep here in the future,” Jin Xiaoye said.

“Definitely won’t happen again! I missed out on so much last night; I didn’t even get to hug you while sleeping,” Li Qingzhi hugged Jin Xiaoye and kissed her.

After being affectionate for a while, Jin Xiaoye went downstairs to prepare breakfast, while Li Qingzhi went to see the three children.

He woke up Li Damao and Li Ermao, telling them about his trip to Linhu County.

He was leaving again in just two days after returning from the capital… Li Qingzhi felt somewhat guilty, and Li Damao and Li Ermao were also very sad. “Dad, can you not go?”

“Dad, I want to go with you.”

…

Normally, Li Qingzhi didn’t mind taking the children with him, but this time he had a lot of things to do… “Be good, Damao, Ermao. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

After comforting Li Damao and Li Ermao, Li Qingzhi took them to have breakfast. For breakfast, they had rice porridge and boiled eggs. While they were having breakfast, Jin Xiaoshu and Jin Sangshu came with a group of girls.

Previously, Jin Xiaoshu had taken these girls back to Miaoqian Village on one boat, but this time, because the parents of these girls had prepared a lot of things for them, one boat was not enough.

Fortunately, they had two boats in their village.

Jin Sangshu was quick-witted and knew that Li Qingzhi had a promising future, so he should maintain a good relationship with Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye.

He didn’t say anything flattering, but after dropping off the people, he left without asking Jin Xiaoye for money.

Li Qingzhi wasn’t familiar with these girls. After all, these people had come to the embroidery workshop, and he often went out.

After eating something simple and informing Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi carried a large box of books and a small box and went out.

County Magistrate Gou asked him to go to the county office first, and Li Qingzhi found Zhu Qian there.

“Nephew, I’ll go to Linhu County with you,” Zhu Qian said to Li Qingzhi.

“Then that’s great! With Uncle Zhu here, this journey is sure to go smoothly,” Li Qingzhi smiled.

With Zhu Qian accompanying them, their boat was quite luxurious, with tea and snacks available onboard.

Along the way, Zhu Qian was quite worried: “I wonder if King Jin will encounter any trouble. If something happens to King Jin, I have no idea what kind of leader will take his place…”

Zhu Qian truly admired King Jin. He never demanded money from them; as long as they conducted their business within the rules, they had nothing to worry about.

If a leader who liked to extort money or cause trouble took over, who knows what kind of mess they would make of Hexing Prefecture!

Li Qingzhi brewed himself a cup of chrysanthemum tea to clear away the heat. After taking a sip, he began discussing court affairs with Zhu Qian.

Zhu Qian was just a businessman and didn’t know much, but perhaps he knew some information that Li Qingzhi didn’t.

The two of them chatted amiably, and meanwhile, Linhu County was also within sight.

Li Qingzhi truly disliked King Jin because the original owner died at the quarry and because… the entire family of the original owner was executed, possibly because of King Jin.

The original owner’s father was executed on charges of embezzling disaster relief funds, but he was very clear that the original owner’s father didn’t do it.

The original owner’s father was just a poor county magistrate without any background, busy to the point of being overwhelmed at the time… If they said he embezzled ten taels, that might be possible, but to say he embezzled one hundred thousand taels… where would he find the courage?

Since the original owner’s father didn’t embezzle, then… where did that money go?

Li Qingzhi discussed this matter with Zhu Qian and learned some things from Zhu Qian’s mouth, realizing that the money had never been recovered, and the matter had ended without resolution.

Although Lü Qingxi was favored by the emperor, the eunuch who replaced the emperor in handling memorials, suppressing dissidents in the court, and amassing wealth in the capital was not liked by officials in the court. Magistrate Zhang had clashed with Lü Qingxi before.

If Lü Qingxi had embezzled the money, court officials would surely have tried hard to find evidence. Even if they couldn’t bring him down, it would definitely have become widely known.

But no one said Lü Qingxi embezzled. It was said that Lü Qingxi even mobilized some grain to be sent to disaster areas – his hometown was near Yuxian County.

“Then that’s great. With Uncle Zhu here, this trip will surely go smoothly,” Li Qingzhi smiled.

With Zhu Qian also present, their boat was quite luxurious, with tea and snacks onboard.

Along the way, Zhu Qian was quite worried: “I wonder if Magistrate Zhang will encounter any trouble. If something happens to Magistrate Zhang, I wonder what kind of magistrate will come in his place…”

Zhu Qian genuinely liked Magistrate Zhang. As long as they followed the rules in their business dealings, they didn’t have to worry about anything.

If someone who loved to extort money or cause trouble were to come, who knows what their Heping Prefecture would become!

Li Qingzhi brewed himself a cup of chrysanthemum tea to clear his mind. After taking a sip, he started discussing court affairs with Zhu Qian.

Zhu Qian was just a merchant and didn’t know much, but perhaps he knew some information that Li Qingzhi didn’t.

The two of them had a good conversation, and at the same time, Linhu County was within sight.

Li Qingzhi really detested King Jin because the original owner died in the stone quarry, and because… the entire family of the original owner was wiped out, possibly due to King Jin.

The original owner’s father was executed on charges of embezzling disaster relief funds, but he was very clear that the original owner’s father didn’t commit this crime.

The original owner’s father was just a poor county magistrate without any background, only achieving the rank of juren. He was too busy at the time… It’s possible that he might have embezzled ten taels, but to say he embezzled a hundred thousand taels… where would he have the audacity?

Since the original owner’s father didn’t embezzle, then… where did that money go?

Li Qingzhi learned some information from Zhu Qian’s mouth about this matter and realized that the money had never been recovered, and the matter had been dropped.

Although Lü Qingxi was favored by the emperor, the eunuch who replaced the emperor in handling memorials and purged dissidents in the court, the eunuchs in the capital didn’t like him because he extorted money and caused trouble.

Magistrate Zhang had clashed with Lü Qingxi before.

If Lü Qingxi had embezzled the money, the court officials would definitely try to find evidence. Even if they couldn’t bring him down, it would certainly become widely known.

But no one said Lü Qingxi embezzled. It was said that, at the time, Lü Qingxi also mobilized some food to be sent to disaster areas—his hometown was near Yuxian County.

Since the money wasn’t taken by Lü Qingxi, then who could have taken it?

Could it be King Jin? If it really was King Jin, then not only did King Jin cause the death of the original owner, but also the entire family of the original owner!

When the two arrived at Linhu County, Magistrate Zhang was still conducting trials.

There were too many criminals, and they hadn’t finished the trials yesterday.

However, Magistrate Zhang didn’t execute all of the defendants today; most of them just received beatings and were sent to prison.

Their crimes didn’t warrant death.