From afar, Xiao Jingnan saw Li Wanming approaching.
She seemed to be in a relatively good complexion, but looked a bit haggard.
Xiao Jingnan quickened his steps, walked forward, and grabbed her hand. "How are you? Are you cold? Did they give you any trouble?"
Li Wanming shook her head. "It's okay. I just sat for too long, and my legs are a bit numb."
"Don't be afraid. In a little while, we should be able to leave."
Xiao Jingnan somehow got a cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Seeing her looking puzzled, he explained, "When a case is being tried, one can't let the defendant catch a cold from the cold. Cotton-padded clothes and cloaks can still be sent in."
Seeing that he was also wearing a cloak, Li Wanming believed him. Then she let out a bitter laugh. "Do you think the yamen is your family's business, that you can leave whenever you say so?"
She glanced at the officers and soldiers on both sides, grabbed Xiao Jingnan's arm, and lowered her head to whisper, "I think we're probably in big trouble this time... Although we don't know who's trying to frame us, I always feel that they mean business and are not easy to deal with."
After hearing this, Xiao Jingnan was silent for a moment, then said in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible, "I'm sorry..."
"What?" Li Wanming didn't catch it.
When Xiao Jingnan looked up again, his eyes were firm. "Wife, trust me. No matter who it is, I won't let them hurt you."
...
Li Wanming had seen Xu Kai before.
But she didn't recognize him at first.
...
Wasn't this the Ministry of Revenue's yamen?
Why was the Minister of the Ministry of Justice sitting in the main hall?
Moreover, after they were brought up, no one paid any attention to them.
Because the two ministers were... arguing?
Zhu Mingxiu was so angry that his face turned bright red. "You... You're just being unreasonable!"
Xu Kai said calmly, "It's the law of the Great Sheng Dynasty that the Ministry of Justice is responsible for interrogating prisoners and verifying cases."
"But there's no rule that people can be taken away in the middle of the night..."
"Lord Zhu, tonight I'm not only going to take the people away, but also the relevant case files. If you don't want to waste time, go quickly and get everything ready."
Zhu Mingxiu slapped the table and roared, "Xu Kai! Even if you want to take the people from me, it should be our Ministry of Revenue that organizes and submits the corresponding case files and reports them to your Ministry of Justice. When have you ever come here to ask for them..."
Xu Kai replied, "Oh, then hurry up and report them."
"You..."
Xiao Jingnan spoke up. "Lord Xu."
Xu Kai glanced at him casually, as if he had just noticed him, and said calmly, "Out already? Then let's go."
Saying this, he stood up and actually seemed to be planning to take them away.
The armored soldiers outside were on high alert. As soon as they saw Xu Kai's movement, they immediately surrounded them, and it seemed that they were about to clash with the officers and soldiers of the Ministry of Revenue on the other side.
But Xiao Jingnan stood still and calmly looked at Xu Kai. "My lord, I have something to say."
Xu Kai seemed a bit surprised, but after sizing him up, he actually sat back down. "Speak."
Li Wanming stood to one side, stunned.
She had been hesitating whether to kneel or not. She didn't expect that Xiao Jingnan would talk to the minister in such an attitude, neither overbearing nor humble, calm and composed. The aloof charm between his eyebrows made it seem as if he were the one in a high position.
Li Wanming was momentarily stunned and didn't know what to say.
And this time, Xiao Jingnan didn't even bow.
He just stood there and calmly said, "Market shops and business operations are originally under the management of the Taifu Temple of the Ministry of Revenue. Only when sentencing and detention are needed should the case be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for approval and execution. This is the law of the Great Sheng Dynasty and cannot be violated."
Zhu Mingxiu clapped his hands on one side and shouted, "Right! Xu Kai, did you hear that! This is the law of the Great Sheng Dynasty. The Ministry of Revenue originally has the power to investigate these unscrupulous merchants... Hm?"
Suddenly, he realized something was wrong.
Xu Kai had come here in the middle of the night clearly to save this merchant.
But this merchant's words just now had rejected Xu Kai's kindness!
What was he doing?
Wasn't he slapping Xu Kai in the face and putting himself in a dangerous situation at the same time?
Zhu Mingxiu stared with both eyes and carefully sized up Xiao Jingnan again.
He looked handsome and seemed intelligent. He shouldn't be a fool...
No, something was wrong!
This man was wearing a long indigo silk robe. It wasn't extremely luxurious, but neither did it look shabby. More importantly, his attitude when talking to Xu Kai was calm and unruffled, and his demeanor was outstanding. He was obviously not an ordinary merchant...
Suddenly, Zhu Mingxiu remembered a sentence Xu Kai had said to him just now. "Lord Zhu, I also advise you: don't be too smart for your own good. Don't think that you know everything and treat others as fools."
...
Could there be something in this whole thing that he didn't know?
It couldn't be...
When that nobleman came this morning, nothing else was mentioned.
...
Sweat slowly dripped down Zhu Mingxiu's face. Only then did he realize that this matter might be more troublesome than he had thought.
Xu Kai glanced at him, then calmly picked up the teacup on one side and started sipping his tea.
I told you to let me take the people away just now, but you just wouldn't!
Now it's good. Even if you let me take them, I can't.
You've got a hot potato in your hands, right?
Serves you right!
Zhu Mingxiu couldn't help but look at Xu Kai. "Lord Xu..."
Xu Kai ignored him and didn't even give him a glance.
Zhu Mingxiu had no choice but to suppress the panic and confusion in his heart and force himself to speak. "You..."
"Lord Zhu," Xiao Jingnan interrupted him. "Since my wife and I were imprisoned this afternoon, three hours have passed. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue haven't interrogated us or asked us any questions. They've just locked my wife and me in the prison. May I ask what the reason is?"
"Ah?" Zhu Mingxiu was taken aback. He didn't expect Xiao Jingnan to turn the tables and question him first.
Xu Kai glanced at him and snorted from his nose. "What do you mean 'ah'? They're asking you why you only arrest people but don't try the case. You should answer!"
Zhu Mingxiu wiped the sweat off his head, came to his senses, and quickly said, "The Ministry of Revenue is very busy with official business. We always need to spend time to verify..."
"But Lord Zhang, the vice-minister who came to the academy to arrest us this afternoon, said that the evidence in this case was conclusive."
Xiao Jingnan looked calm. "Since the evidence is conclusive, I think the case should be tried as soon as possible to clear my wife and me of any suspicion."
"Yes," Xu Kai added slowly on one side. "Since there's a plaintiff, a defendant, and solid and conclusive evidence, the case should be tried quickly. Otherwise, locking people in prison for no reason will make people suspect that you, Lord Zhu, have accepted bribes and are trying to pervert the law."