Chapter 130: The Thief's Heart Does Not Die

  These things that happened in the imperial palace, from Xia Liu's position, were completely imperceptible to him. He only knew that Peng Ziqi had taken a sachet and met with Xu Zengshou, the third son of the Zhongshan King's mansion. Xu Zengshou went to the Ying Tian Fu for a while and then was released back, thinking that this matter was all thanks to Xu Zengshou's help. He didn't think about what kind of background the person who was being dealt with had. Afterward, in the midst of the storm, how many connections did the Zhongshan King's mansion mobilize?

  In fact, things have come to this point, even if he is willing to give up and accept any sanctions, the Zhongshan Wangfu will not give up. Since the Zhongshan Wangfu has intervened, this is no longer a personal matter for Xia Liu, but a matter of face for the Zhongshan Wangfu, which must be done with all one's might.

  Xia Hui returned to Muling Town and made careful preparations for the reopening of the case ten days later.

  As for human evidence, the initial eyewitnesses were those servants in his mansion. In addition, there were workers and craftsmen who were hired to clean up the house. As for physical evidence, there was a broken incense table that had been cleaned out, as well as the late mother's spirit tablet which still had filth on it.

  In these days, the officials of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, the Hanlin Academy, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Rites were all busy. The special nature of this case had made it a key point of debate among the courtiers, and with the secret manipulation of the Zhongshan Wangfu and Huang Zicheng, it had become a grand academic conference.

  Later, Huang Zizheng sadly discovered that he could no longer control the situation, nor could anyone else. The plaintiff and defendant in this case had been automatically ignored by those officials who were enthusiastic about debating, they were scholars who liked to delve into the social significance and academic value hidden beneath the surface of the case, as for the plaintiff's dead cow and the defendant being humiliated, who cares

  How can filial piety and national law be reconciled when they conflict with each other without contradicting each other?

  The focal point of dialectics ultimately lies in this aspect, although the core of governing the country throughout history has always been law, but it was packaged with Confucianism, or outwardly Confucian and inwardly legalist, or both Confucian and legalist. However, even if everyone knows it in their hearts, the Legalist things are absolutely not allowed to be brought on stage, so Confucianism is the keynote, and is the core of law.

  In Confucianism, what is emphasized is reason, heavenly principle, national law, and human emotions. These three must be unified, with a clear understanding of heavenly principle and compliance with human emotions, which is the standard for a qualified law. The laws of Confucianism have always required those who enforce the law to follow heavenly principle and cater to the people's emotions, bending the law to uphold justice, following the classics to determine guilt, with the main principle being to judge based on one's original heart. Those who are good-hearted but violate the law are exempt, while those who are evil-hearted but comply with the law are put to death. In other words, if one's subjective motive is good, they are not guilty even if they break the law. If one's subjective motive is evil, they will be put to death even if they comply with the law, in order to punish evil and promote goodness.

  Therefore, since ancient times, there have been many behaviors that seem illegal but are allowed by law, such as hiding crimes committed by family members (except for treason), not speaking ill of one's father, keeping ancestral worship, and the five degrees of mourning determining guilt. This is the unique Chinese legal system composed of the three elements of heavenly reason, national law, and human emotions that has been stable for thousands of years, until the Ming dynasty, no one had ever broken it.

  Yang Xiu was in the right: private property is protected by law, and others are prohibited from encroaching on it; he also upheld righteousness, as his parents' home was humiliated, and as a son, he should clear their name, which is filial piety. As for what Yang's clansmen called "demanding compensation", "being beaten", "being humiliated", "the ox being killed" and so on, all of these were the result of their own wrongdoing, and they had violated the great moral principles, therefore they should bear all the consequences themselves, and Yang Xiu should not be punished.

  Before the result of this debate came out, Wang Hongrui had already written a verdict. He didn't care about those people making noise, Xu Zengshou had already brought the words of the Crown Prince, and the Emperor said that the Crown Prince's intention was the same as the Emperor's intention. This is the imperial edict, how you discuss it is your business, I, old Wang, have made up my mind: following the top will never go wrong

  So Xia Yu's second trial was a complete victory without any surprise. Yang, who had been shouting that he was being slapped in the face, hurriedly added his old face to the crowd of countless people from all walks of life, and was once again given a loud slap in the face, this time he finally really fell ill.

  The Yang family's arrogance was instantly suppressed, and now the servants of the Xiafu government walked out with their chests held high, heads raised, and eyebrows raised. The Yang family members saw that people in their own home were walking around them, and the outsiders in the town of Muling were even more enthusiastic about flattering them.

  Xia Liu and Peng Ziqi, Xiao Ding stood under the willow shade, looking at the house frame that had been set up in their own yard, said: "We just came back, it's already like this, temporarily not suitable to have a big conflict with the Yang family. Although the house is being built day and night, it still takes some time to finish, I think I'll go find that family my father arranged for me when I was young, meet their elders, and discuss the wedding date."

  "I'll go with you."

  "It's no use."

  Xia Xun paused for a moment, grasped her hand, and gently pinched it. He smiled and said, "Xiao Guan Shi is the most familiar with his family situation, so he has to accompany me. Although our old Yang family was hit on the head by a mallet, they may not have the guts to come and make trouble again. But it's better to be safe than sorry, just in case."

  "With me here"

  Xia Han glanced at her, Xiao Di stuck out her tongue and said with a red face: "Hmph... then I'll stay home with sister."

  Xia Yu smiled and turned to Peng Ziqi, saying in a low voice: "Don't worry, if we're meant to meet, we'll meet sooner or later. What I said to you will always be effective."

  "It's not like others are worried about this."

  Peng Ziqi felt a bit embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, you go ahead, I'll take good care of... the house."

  "Uh-huh, tonight pick out four items from the gifts sent by Prince Yan. I'll bring them along tomorrow when we go to the Xie's house. Oh, and don't touch those two walking disk pearls of average size."

  Peng Ziqi asked in surprise: "Why?"

  Xia Liu lightly scratched her nose and smiled: "Because I saw that you and your brother both have pearls inlaid on the handles of your knives, I guessed that the father-in-law in Qingzhou must like pearls. Those two walking pearls, I plan to use them as betrothal gifts when I return to Qingzhou to propose."

  Peng Ziqi's face turned as red as a pomegranate flower, and she happily responded with a "yes", her slight nervousness and sadness instantly swept away.

  Next to the ground, Wang Mujiang was hammering nails with one eye open and one eye closed. Hearing this, he raised his head and glanced at him with one eye open and one eye closed, thinking: "My master is really a master of coaxing people."

  "Master, how old is my young mistress who has yet to enter our household this year and what's her name?"

  Xia Jiu couldn't bear to see the two of them being so lovey-dovey, and his skin crawled with goosebumps all over the floor. He hastily interrupted them, lest they get too carried away with their flirting. Peng Ziqi was also curious about Yang's wife's name, and he looked at Xia Jiu with inquiring eyes. Xia Jiu subconsciously touched the waist where the marriage certificate was hidden.

  "She's just 28 this year, her name is Xie Luti, style name... thank you..."

  "Thank you"

  Xiao Guan Shi thanked the middle-aged man playing chess by the roadside and returned to Xia Jiu's side: "Young Master, I heard that person say that the Xie family sold their house and moved away ten years ago."

  "Moved away?"

  Xia Fu was a bit dazed, and before he saw the unmarried daughter-in-law, his heart was also racing with anxiety, not knowing whether she was ugly or black or had acne all over her face, what she looked like, whether her temperament was gentle, and whether her character was decent. He worried all the way, but when he arrived at Jibao Gate, the family had already moved away. Xia Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that if she had moved to an unknown location, he would never be able to find her again, and he wouldn't have to take the risk of marrying her after all.

  "Yes, this place near the Treasure Gathering Gate is a prosperous area. I heard that old man say that the Xie family was quite poor at the time, so they sold their property here and moved to the outskirts of the city where the land prices were cheaper. Since selling one's ancestral property is always a shameful thing, no one dared to ask about the specific place they moved to, and over the years, there has been no contact, so no one knows now."

  Xia Jiang heard this and his heart rose again: "Still in Nanjing City, that's not good, pretending to be unknown, but Nanjing is not small either, when will it be found?"

  "Master, let's head towards the San Shan Gate area. Old Xiao accompanied Master to this alley once before, it was for signing the marriage contract. Afterwards, they invited the old master of the Xie family out for a drink at a wine house located near the San Shan Gate. From their tone when greeting the shopkeeper, it seems that the owner of the wine house and the old master of the Xie family are extremely familiar friends. Perhaps we can gather some information from him. If not, Master can return first, and Old Xiao will spend some money to hire a few local idlers to help us investigate."

  Two people walked along the Qinhuai River towards San Shan Men while chatting.

  The Qinhuai River from the聚宝门 to the鸡鸣寺 is the most prosperous area, with sixteen buildings standing tall along the riverbank, where music and singing fill the night, and the sound of silk and bamboo instruments can be heard every day. Even under the strict rule of Zhu Yuanzhang, this place was still a paradise for the golden powder of the Southern Dynasty, where people indulged in luxury and pleasure, and romance filled the air.

  Although the Qinhuai River is a place of music and dance, it's not all brothels and alleys. Many wealthy officials and merchants also built houses here. In fact, during the Yuan Dynasty, Nanjing had already declined. After Zhu Yuanzhang unified China and established his capital in Jinling, he rebuilt the city on a large scale. Due to the enormous cost, the court couldn't afford it, so Shen Wansan, the richest man in the country at that time, took charge of rebuilding half of the city wall of Jinling. As a result, Nanjing became the largest city in the world, with an unparalleled grandeur that had no equal in history, past or future.

  Having a city without people is not a dead city? Zhu Yuanzhang also used Qin Shi Huang's migration strategy, and the wealthy households of Jiangnan were relocated in a large-scale move. In one breath, 200,000 households were relocated, with 100,000 moving to Zhongdu Fengyang and 100,000 moving to Jinling. As a result, Jinling finally regained its splendor, with high-rise buildings everywhere, and aristocratic families could be seen everywhere.

  The Guozijian under the Ji Ming Mountain is where the spiritual energy of Jinling City converges. The Taixue students of our dynasty and foreign Taixue students who come to study abroad all gather here to pursue knowledge. The buildings are grand and magnificent, with a main hall of 15 rooms called "Yi Lun Tang"; there are also six branch halls, namely Shuai Zheng, Xiudao, Chengxin, Zhengyi, Chongzhi, and Guangye, each with 15 rooms; a library of 14 rooms; over 1,000 rooms for Taixue students to live in; over 100 rooms for foreign students to live in; and more than 100 mu of land for lecture halls, archery grounds, vegetable gardens, mills, warehouses, etc.

  At this moment, in a grove of bamboo behind the Imperial Academy's shooting range, a faint and elegant guqin melody was drifting through the air. Under the swaying bamboos, there was a stone platform, on which lay a guqin, and Huang Zicheng, dressed in white robes, sat cross-legged on a rush cushion, his eyes slightly closed as he played the instrument. Behind him stood a young man, wearing Confucian robes, with his hair tied back in a knot, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, the scene resembling an ancient painting of sages and worthies.

  "Clang......", Huang Zicheng's hands gently touched the zither strings, and he slowly said: "Yang Chong, your heart... is not calm."

  Yang Chong hastily bowed: "Sir..."

  Huang Zicheng raised his hand, stroked his beard lightly and chuckled: "Knowing oneself but not the other, defeat is inevitable. Who would have thought that he actually knew someone from the Zhongshan Wangfu? I was also careless, being tricked by Xu Zengshou, who went to seal off the crown prince's mouth first. The crown prince was indeed somewhat remorseful when he learned the truth, but you have no choice, and neither do I."

  Yang busily said: "Yes, this is a family matter for the student, originally didn't dare to trouble sir, sir has taken so much care, the student is already infinitely grateful, how could there be any complaints?"

  Huang Zicheng hummed and said, "Although he took the path of Zhongshan Wangfu, he was able to narrowly escape punishment, ultimately winning out due to a single word 'filial piety'. This little thief is cunning, but if one wants to punish him, it's not entirely impossible."

  Yang Chong's eyes lit up and he hastily said: "Please instruct me, sir."

  "Come closer and listen."

  Huang Zicheng called him over, whispered something in his ear, patted his shoulder and smiled complacently: "With your gift for attack and my shield of defense, even if he has a tongue as sharp as a knife, when the time comes, he'll either surrender or be ruined. Is there a third road to take?"

  Yang Chong's handsome face flushed with joy, and he repeatedly said: "Master is brilliant, Master is brilliant, Master is truly a talent like Zhuge Liang, I know what to do now."

  Huang Zicheng burst out laughing, his long sleeves fluttering as he strode away. Yang Chong hastily picked up the guqin and followed closely behind him, walking quickly to keep up.

  Half a time later, Yang Chong left Guozi Jian and appeared in a hurry on Chengxian Street.

  Yang Chong hastily walked for a while, looked around in all directions, didn't see any familiar faces, and then hastily turned towards the Qinhuai River.

  Yang Chong walked through the narrow alley between two large mansions with green tiles and white walls, and arrived at the bank of the Qinhuai River. By the river, under a willow tree, was moored a small boat, on which lanterns were hung, indicating that it belonged to a respectable family rather than a brothel. A young girl in a green jacket and red skirt was playing with water at the bow of the boat. When she saw him coming, she jumped up quickly and said happily: "Young master, you're here."

  Yang Chong nodded, took a step forward and jumped onto the boat. He lifted the curtain and entered the cabin, where he heard a surprised voice: "Brother Chong, we've been waiting for you for so long, we were about to leave. Why did you come so late?"

  Right after that, Yang Chong's voice came: "Sir must play the zither, what can I do as his disciple?"

  The woman said, "Is that old man Huang Zicheng? He's the most annoying person. Brother Chong, I've finally managed to come out this time, but you're delaying too long. I have to go back soon, or Father will scold me again for being out for too long."

  Yang Chong said: "Hongyi, I came to tell you that there is an urgent matter and I have to go back home immediately. When I come back, we can set a time to be together."

  "Get out, I'm someone who genuinely cares about you, but all you think about is my body..."

  Two people were in a loving embrace, and after a while of tender affection, Yang Chong somehow managed to delight the woman. He hastily returned to shore, lifted the cabin curtain, and peeked out with half of his face illuminated by the sunset, saying: "Brother Chong, I'm waiting for your message."

  Yang Chong waved his hand at her and hastily left.