Chapter 61

PS: During the new book period, I humbly request recommendations and collections!

Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Zhao Chen picked up a piece of paper. It recorded how in the fourth month of Wude 7, Zhao Yuankai had his eye on a new bride from a tea merchant's family in the eastern city. To force the family to submit, Zhao Yuankai fabricated a false charge and threw the merchant into prison. Only after he had taken the new bride did he release the merchant.

In the box was a stack of papers, each recording one of Zhao Yuankai's crimes. The crimes were heinous, and the words were heart-wrenching. Truly, the crimes were too numerous to list, and the evil too deep to eradicate!

"Is everything written here true?" Zhao Chen put all the papers back into the box, closed it, and looked straight at Wang Ning, his tone stern.

"Of course it's true!" Wang Ning, upon hearing this, immediately swore to the heavens: "These are all the evidence I've secretly collected over the years. Some of it I witnessed with my own eyes. I would never dare to deceive you!"

Witnessed with his own eyes! Zhao Chen sneered inwardly. The bastard in front of him was no good either, a kindred spirit to Zhao Yuankai. Perhaps half of Zhao Yuankai's crimes were committed with this bastard's help!

"Good that it's true!" Zhao Chen sneered inwardly but showed no emotion on his face. "However, I currently have no authority to investigate Zhao Yuankai. I will personally take this evidence to present to His Majesty, and then His Majesty will send someone to investigate Zhao Yuankai!"

"I will follow your instructions, sir!" Wang Ning, upon hearing this, was overjoyed. This was exactly what he had hoped for. He valued this evidence more than his life. He had been afraid that Zhao Chen would keep it for himself, leaving him helpless.

Now, once this evidence is presented to His Majesty, he won't have to worry about not receiving a reward.

After Wang Ning left, Zhao Chen sat alone, staring at the box in front of him. Suddenly, he chuckled. He thought to himself, Zhao Yuankai, Zhao Yuankai, it's not that I'm deliberately targeting you, but the fact is, you have committed too many sins. With this evidence, you are finished!

However, these pieces of evidence need to be verified with Liu Hui tomorrow. If they turn out to be false, it would be a real embarrassment.

"Magistrate, do you need me for something?" The next morning, after Zhao Chen had just finished breakfast, Liu Hui, looking exhausted, came to his room. Zhao Chen had ordered someone to wait for him in the county hall, and as soon as Liu Hui arrived, he called him to his room.

"Yes, there is something!" Zhao Chen nodded as he saw Liu Hui enter. He glanced at Liu Hui's limping foot and asked with concern, "Is there anything wrong with the registrar's leg?"

"Thank you for your concern, sir, I'm fine!" Liu Hui smiled bitterly and looked at Zhao Chen, asking, "Is there something you need me to do, Magistrate?"

"Yes, take a look at this first!" Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, gestured for Liu Hui to sit down. He then took out the box that Wang Ning had given him the night before and handed it to Liu Hui.

Liu Hui suspiciously took the box, opened it, and frowned as he flipped through the papers detailing Zhao Yuankai's crimes. As he went through them, he almost skimmed through the later ones, picking up another paper after a quick glance.

While Liu Hui was flipping through the papers, Zhao Chen closely observed his expression. Strangely, Liu Hui's gaze remained calm throughout, as if he had seen these things before.

Zhao Chen's brows furrowed. Could it be that Wang Ning had fabricated all this?

"Is this evidence from the county magistrate?" After a moment, Liu Hui finished reading all the papers in the box, carefully put them back, and looked at Zhao Chen with a bitter smile.

"Could it be that Wang Ning fabricated it?" Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, frowned and looked straight at Liu Hui, suspiciously asking.

"Not at all!" Liu Hui sighed and smiled bitterly. "I also have a copy of this evidence, though not as detailed as the county magistrate's."

"If this evidence is true, why haven't you reported it to higher authorities, given your character?" Zhao Chen, upon hearing that the evidence was genuine, became suspicious. From what he knew of Liu Hui, he was not the type to turn a blind eye to injustice and collude with Zhao Yuankai.

"Magistrate, you don't know!" Liu Hui, seeing Zhao Chen's suspicious look, smiled bitterly and explained, "I'm not unwilling to impeach County Magistrate Zhao, but I don't want to waste my efforts!"

"What do you mean?" Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, frowned and looked at Liu Hui, puzzled. "Does Zhao Yuankai have some background?"

"Hah!" Liu Hui, upon hearing this, couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Do you know who Zhao Yuankai's wife is?"

Zhao Chen frowned, thinking, "How would I know?"

But then he recalled the records he had read about Zhao Yuankai. It was said that Zhao Yuankai's wife was from the Cui family. When they surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, they were attacked by bandits. Cui died, and Zhao Yuankai, after identifying the bandits, brutally killed them and offered sacrifices at Cui's grave.

"Cui?" Zhao Chen, thinking of this, looked at Liu Hui, frowning.

"Exactly!" Liu Hui smiled bitterly. "Zhao Yuankai, with his despicable character, was notorious for exploiting the people and flattering Emperor Yang in the previous dynasty. Yet, he managed to become the county magistrate in the Tang Dynasty. Don't you find that strange, Magistrate?"

Damn! Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, was stunned. Although Liu Hui didn't say it outright, it was clear that behind Zhao Yuankai stood the Cui family of Shandong.

The Shandong aristocracy, one of the five surnames and seven clans, was a powerful force. The Xuanwu Gate Incident had many causes, one of which was the conflict between the Shandong aristocracy and the Guanzhong military group, which the Shandong aristocracy lost.

However, even though they lost, they still wielded significant influence in the Tang Dynasty, an influence that Emperor Taizong could not eliminate throughout his life. It wasn't until Xiao Wu came to power that he ruthlessly eliminated the influence of both the Shandong aristocracy and the Guanzhong military group.

Of course, that's a different story!

"Since the evidence is true, I don't believe I can't bring down a mere county magistrate like Zhao Yuankai!" Zhao Chen, upon hearing that Zhao Yuankai was backed by the Shandong aristocracy, was initially hesitant. The Shandong aristocracy was a formidable force, and no one would willingly provoke them without a good reason.

But then, thinking of Zhao Yuankai's heinous crimes, Zhao Chen's gaze turned stern. He didn't believe that the Cui family would risk a major conflict over Zhao Yuankai.

"If you are determined to do this, I am willing to sign all the evidence!" Liu Hui, upon hearing Zhao Chen's words, stood up and bowed, looking at Zhao Chen with a determined gaze.

"Very well!" Zhao Chen nodded, looking at Liu Hui. "But there are a few things that need to be done before that."

"First, immediately and secretly relocate all the victims. No one, especially County Magistrate Wang, should know their whereabouts."

"I will arrange it right away!"

Zhao Chen nodded, then his gaze turned stern. "Second, arrest Zhao Yuankai to prevent him from sending a message back. No one should be allowed to see him before His Majesty sends someone to investigate."

"This... I'm afraid I don't have the authority!" Liu Hui, upon hearing the first task, agreed without hesitation. But when he heard about arresting Zhao Yuankai, his face showed hesitation. Arbitrarily arresting a superior was akin to treason, a crime that a low-ranking registrar like Liu Hui could not afford to commit.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it!" Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, smiled reassuringly. "I'll just stay in Lantian a bit longer."

"Since that's the case, I'll take my leave now!" Liu Hui, being an impatient person, immediately wanted to go and arrange the relocation of the victims. Of course, he also needed to take care of the refugees who had entered the city last night, who were probably already at the soup kitchen.

"Not so fast, I have one more thing to ask of you, Registrar Liu!" Zhao Chen said, his face suddenly turning a bit embarrassed. "I need you to draft the memorial for me!"

Actually, Zhao Chen had written a letter to Emperor Taizong before, but it wasn't a formal memorial. It was more of a confidential letter, with less stringent language requirements.

But this time was different. The memorial would go through several high-ranking officials. If it was written in plain language, it might be rejected before the matter was even explained.

"This... I'm afraid I'm not good at writing memorials!" Liu Hui, upon hearing this, was taken aback. Seeing Zhao Chen's embarrassed look, he understood. However, writing a memorial was a new experience for him too.

"Registrar Liu, don't refuse!" Zhao Chen, upon hearing this, looked a bit displeased. He thought Liu Hui was afraid of taking responsibility, which made him somewhat unhappy. "Just write it, and I'll sign it!"

"Magistrate, you misunderstand me!" Liu Hui, seeing Zhao Chen's displeased look, smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid I'll write it poorly and ruin the matter. How about I recommend someone else to write it?"

"Are you talking about Ma Zhou?" Zhao Chen, upon hearing Liu Hui's recommendation, immediately thought of Ma Zhou. He had almost forgotten about Ma Zhou, who had been noticed by Emperor Taizong because of a memorial.

---

End of the page.