As the chief of the Criminal Department, Qian Qian knew that this matter was not trivial. In just a few months, there have been several murder cases in the capital, and the victims were all powerful people. However, the Jingzhao Yin Mansion could not find anything, and their criminal department was even more silent.
Who would have thought that as long as you stay safe, the murderer will not come to your door. Now, the murderer not only found the Ministry of Punishment, a place of justice, but also killed an official of the Ministry of Punishment in broad daylight. Once this matter spreads...
Qian Qian did not dare to think about it. He and Zou Hongqi, the Minister of Punishment, both belonged to the Dugu faction and were of the same mind as the Queen Mother. Logically speaking, the Dugu family spans across the Western Territory, and there are no timid people under their command, but the capital city is peaceful after all, and there is always a bit of fear when things happen.
What's more, with the Duke of Yue Fang Zilan on one side and the brother of Duke Pei Juiqing on the other, neither could afford to offend him. The Jingzhao Yin Mansion is also unreliable. In the end, the Ministry of Punishment can only bear the responsibility.
Qian Qian sighed for a long time. He had already felt the pressure from Fang Zilan just now. If he couldn't give her a satisfactory explanation in three days, she would probably dismantle the Ministry of Justice.
But if Pei Juiqing, the Duke of Guo Guo, openly goes to Pei Mansion to question Pei Pening, will he still survive?
Qian Qian thought about this and looked at the people in the Jingzhao Yin Mansion next to him, and saw the same fear on their faces. He felt a headache more and more. If their punishment department was arguing with the Jingzhao Yin Mansion, let alone three days, or even thirty days, they might not be able to come up with an answer.
However, what Qian Qian didn't know was that while he and the people from the Jingzhao Yin Mansion were hesitating, Fang Zilan had already done it for them to interrogate Pei Pening.
Fang Zilan jumped over the Pei family's courtyard wall lightly and deftly without disturbing anyone. She fumbled for less than a cup of tea before she found Pei Pening.
Pei Poming was pacing back and forth in the room, seeming very uneasy. Fang Zilan observed it and made sure there was no one else in the house, then pushed the door open and entered.
Everyone was frightened and bowed one after another to apologize. Only Wu Sheng stood aside with a gloomy expression.
Fang Zilan raised her eyes and looked over, and said calmly: "Since all of you have nothing to do, and you have some opinions on the plight of orphans and widows, you might as well share your thoughts."
Yang Zhiqing said with a sneer: "Master Fang, there are still many official duties in the government office, so let's let everyone do it."
Fang Zilan was indifferent, "Master Yang, go find the others and we'll meet in the main hall."
After saying that, she turned and left, leaving everyone looking at each other in confusion, not knowing what kind of medicine she was selling in the gourd, but they still went to the main hall together.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Fang Zilan sat on the main seat and said: "My lords, if you feel that it is natural for a widow to be abused by others, please stand on the left side. If you feel that a widow is being treated harshly and is in a difficult situation, please stand on the right side."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the hall stood on the left side. Only Wu Sheng stood on the right side, and Yang Zhiqing stood in the middle, in a dilemma.
"Mr. Yang, why don't you choose?" Fang Zilan looked indifferent, and Yang Zhiqing looked embarrassed, "I..."
He hesitated for a while and then said: "Master Fang, can you allow me to think about it again?"
Fang Zilan said noncommittally: "Since we have become two parties, let's argue and see what the other side's reasons are and whether they can be convinced."
"Master Fang, are you asking us to reason?" One of them finally reacted. Fang Zilan nodded. He sneered: "The gap in numbers is so big, why is there any need to reason?"
"A large number of people does not mean that there is reason." Fang Zilan's tone raised a bit, "Or do you dare not argue with Master Wu?"
The method of provoking generals is always effective. The people standing on the left immediately became high-spirited and exchanged words with Wu Sheng.
However, after a few rounds, someone on the left hesitated for a moment, looked at Fang Zilan cautiously and said, "Master Fang, can we switch sides?"
Fang Zilan smiled slightly, glanced meaningfully at the people behind them who jumped in anger and cursed traitors, and said: "Of course."
So those people breathed a long sigh of relief and turned to stand on the right side, standing side by side with Wu Sheng.
Fang Zilan playfully scanned the left and right sides and said with a smile: "This is interesting. Now there are actually the same number of people on the left and right sides."
The people standing on the left took a closer look and couldn't help but be stunned, their faces full of surprise.
"Master Yang." Fang Zilan said unhurriedly: "It seems you have to choose a side."
Cold sweat broke out on Yang Zhiqing's forehead, and Fang Zilan calmed down and said: "Times have changed, and no one can stay on the fence forever."
Hearing this, everyone in the hall looked stern, and their eyes were all focused on Yang Zhiqing. They saw him taking the first step with difficulty and slowly walking to the right.
Everyone on the left immediately beat their chests and stamped their feet. Seeing this, Fang Zilan smiled, coughed lightly and said in a loud voice: "Quiet."
Everyone in the hall fell silent. Fang Zilan suppressed a smile and said seriously: "In today's discussion, winning or losing is not important. What is important is that I want you to understand three things. First, there are always people with different views from you in the world. You We can neither beat them all to death with a single blow, nor can we close our eyes and listen. Everyone may be wrong or right. As the pillars of the capital, all the gentlemen present must distinguish right from wrong."
She paused as she spoke and continued: "Secondly, no matter whether you are right or wrong, you must have a yardstick in your heart. You cannot cross that yardstick casually because of other people's words and deeds. It is a taboo to follow others' opinions and lose the principle. But if you really do it Don’t be afraid if you make a mistake. Rather than making the same mistake over and over again, turning back in time will help you stop the loss.”
"Third, whether you are an official or a human being, you need to have empathy. It is impossible for you to empathize with everyone, but you should consider others appropriately and make things convenient for others and yourself. Even if this life is not smooth and smooth, you will feel at ease."
After she finished speaking, she took a sip of tea and said earnestly: "My lords, since you are officials in the government offices, you know that the world is bigger than just the people in the capital. We are in charge of affairs in the southeast. Even if we are thousands of miles away, we must also take care of the southeast." Keep the people in mind. If we go higher in the future, we must seek benefits for more people. We must not let our minds and vision become narrow and short-sighted just because the mountaineering road is narrow and dangerous."
After hearing these words, everyone in the hall looked shocked. Fang Zilan's ambiguous attitude and unpredictable temper made them originally full of concerns about this argument.
As we all know, Fang Zilan hates people talking in private. They have already violated a taboo today. Who knows how she will torture people in different ways. Unexpectedly, not only did she not punish them, but she actually taught them a lesson.
Fang Zilan scanned the people in the hall one by one. No matter what her thoughts were, they more or less listened. As long as they could hear one word, her efforts were not in vain.
