Li Xingzhi strode out of the Princess Mansion and politely declined the servant's kind offer to call a carriage for him.
By the time he had trudged across half of the capital city under the scorching sun to reach the residence of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he was drenched in sweat. His hair clung to his scalp, and his clothes seemed wringing wet. He looked extremely disheveled.
The servants guarding the gate quickly invited Li Xingzhi into the mansion. The minister's wife first arranged for him to take a bath and change clothes, then ordered a servant to hurry to the Court of Judicial Review to inform her husband to come back.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was nearly forty years old, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face. Whenever he interrogated a criminal and grew impatient, the cold glint in his eyes would strike fear into people's hearts.
Upon learning that his master had come to the mansion and was in a rather bad state, the minister quickly assigned his tasks to his subordinates and rushed back home immediately.
When the minister returned, Li Xingzhi was still taking a bath in the room. The minister's wife was waiting for him in the front hall.
"My lord," she said anxiously, "I inquired and found out that master came all the way on foot from the mansion of Princess Jingning. Seeing that master looked unwell, I didn't dare to ask too many questions. I just asked him to freshen up and change clothes first."
She used to be a peasant girl who wanted to sell herself to pay for her father's medical treatment. It was Li Xingzhi's kindness that hired her to do laundry and cooking for two taels of silver. Later, Li Xingzhi took the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review as his first disciple, and she and the minister fell in love over time and got married. It was also a well - known love story in the capital.
The minister's wife stepped forward and took her husband's hand. "You should ask carefully. Master has never been so distraught even when he was wrongly accused before."
Hearing his wife's serious words, the minister felt a pang of uneasiness in his heart.
He didn't have a very good reputation in the capital. He had also heard about Princess Jingning. First, the princess's husband was struck by lightning. Then, a female marquis moved into her mansion, along with the young master of the Minister of Revenue. It was also said that the Prince Rui often visited the princess's mansion recently and even seemed to have taken up residence there.
If someone in the princess's mansion had bullied his master... Just as the minister was thinking about what to do, Li Xingzhi walked out in a blue robe.
He looked worried, but his face lit up with joy when he saw the minister.
Li Xingzhi didn't beat around the bush. "I have a good news and a bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"
Without waiting for the minister to answer, he continued on his own. "The good news is that you have a new junior brother, and there may be two junior sisters in the future."
"The bad news is that I need your help to punish Shen Qingshan severely!"
When he said the last sentence, Li Xingzhi gritted his teeth. Previously, out of their brotherhood in the same school, he would rather take in a foolish prince as his disciple than harm Shen Qingshan.
But now, Li Xingzhi wished he could go back in time and strangle his kind - hearted self!
The ancient book was a gift from an old friend of the Li family's ancestors and had been passed down for generations. If it hadn't been for the severe natural disaster back then, Li Xingzhi would never have donated it. After the book was stolen, Li Xingzhi almost hanged himself to atone for his guilt. Fortunately, the Prince Rui stopped him.
The minister was slightly stunned. He knew that his master had a brotherhood with Shen Qingshan, and he was even more surprised by the hatred revealed in Li Xingzhi's words.
His wife said with concern, "Master, don't get so angry that you hurt your body. No matter who Shen Qingshan is, as long as he has bullied you, my husband will never let him go. You should take good care of yourself. There are still junior brothers and sisters waiting for you to teach them."
Li Xingzhi sighed softly. "It's not that I'm being mean. It's just that Shen Qingshan has gone too far. The family heirloom that I've been searching for for years was actually stolen by him! He's gone too far!"
The minister found it hard to associate the word "steal" with Shen Qingshan. Out of caution, he asked a few more questions. "Master, how are you so sure that it was Shen Qingshan who stole the family heirloom? Maybe he bought it by accident, or someone else framed him."
"You unfilial disciple! Who else could it be if not him! The ancient book was found in his study. He and I are from the same school, and I even copied a version of the book and gave it to him. If he bought it by accident, why didn't he tell me? He knew that it was the Li family's heirloom, but he bought it secretly and hid it in his room. How is that not stealing!" Li Xingzhi exploded at these words and pointed at the minister angrily.
"Fine! If you won't help me, I'll go to my second disciple!"
Li Xingzhi waved his hand and left without giving the minister a chance to explain. He went straight to his second disciple's house.
The minister watched his master's back and vaguely sensed something was wrong. "Wife, what's wrong with master today? I just asked a few more questions, and he got so angry."
The minister's wife also thought something was off, but she unconditionally supported Li Xingzhi. "What's wrong? Master has no children of his own. We are his only juniors. He couldn't wait to come and find you as soon as he found the family heirloom. What does this mean? It means he trusts you."
"And what did you do? You even questioned master. You must help master teach that Shen Qingshan a lesson."
Under his wife's just - and - proper words, the minister felt guilty, but at the same time, he was a little proud. Master had told him first when he got the family heirloom, which meant that master trusted him the most!
He must not let master down.
...
Li Xingzhi's second disciple was a female disciple. Instead of becoming an official in the court, she became a very energetic female teacher.
The second disciple was preparing lessons at home when she saw Li Xingzhi storm in. She was shocked and quickly stepped forward. "Master, what's wrong with you?"
Li Xingzhi also didn't beat around the bush. "I'm so angry with your senior brother! I've found the thief who stole my family heirloom, but he doesn't believe me. Alas, I hate myself for being such a useless old man!"
Hearing Li Xingzhi's self - deprecating words, the second disciple quickly comforted him. "It must be senior brother's fault. Master, don't get so angry that you hurt your body. It's good that the family heirloom has been found. We can talk about the rest later."
"Second disciple, now I can only rely on you. Help me come up with a way to teach that thief a lesson." Li Xingzhi told her Shen Qingshan's identity.
The second disciple was a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but Shen Qingshan was already in prison. If she wanted to teach the thief a lesson, she still needed the help of the senior brother. But seeing how angry master was just now, this way seemed impossible.
After wracking her brains, the second disciple tentatively asked, "Master, how do you want to take revenge on Shen Qingshan? I'll find a few students to write this into a storybook so that the whole world can despise him?"
Li Xingzhi hesitated. "The pain only hurts when the board hits the body. I'm afraid no one will understand!"
"It doesn't matter. I'll ask those students to change the family heirloom to something that everyone can understand, so that everyone can understand your pain." The second disciple added.
Li Xingzhi sighed softly. "But Shen Qingshan is in prison and will be interrogated soon. I'm afraid he won't have a chance to hear the storybook. Maybe I should go back to your senior brother."
The second disciple said without hesitation, "It doesn't matter. I'll call a few more students. They are all good at writing policy papers. I'll ask them to write overnight and hire storytellers early tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow, let all the people in the capital know about it, and spread it across the Great Yong Empire within a month!"
"Don't worry, master. Your disciple will take care of everything."
Li Xingzhi looked at his second disciple and was very touched. "I'm so lucky to have you. By the way, I've recently taken in a new disciple. He will live in the Princess Mansion for a long time. If you have anything to do, just go to the Princess Mansion to find me."
The second disciple saw Li Xingzhi out and wanted to hire a carriage for him, but Li Xingzhi politely declined.
Watching Li Xingzhi's back, the second disciple thought about the location of the Princess Mansion. The road from her house to the Princess Mansion happened to pass by the third disciple's house.