The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 63: Covered In Wounds, Yet Without Thinking Of Pain.

In the Ministry of Justice1, which was in charge of the Yuan Residence, the night was dark and windy, while dark clouds covered the moon in the sky.

In the inner room of a wing room, Yuan Baode was so angry that he kicked the man kneeling in front of him: “Trash! You’re all a waste! You can’t even kill a coroner! Fucking hell, this is all that fucking monk’s fault, that damn dog! Why the fuck would he go to a dilapidated temple to look into a well?! I was just playing with her, but that servant whore died! A waste of a slave! Nothing ever goes right!”

“Young Master,” A man tried to persuade Yuan Baode: “It would be wiser for you to talk to the Master and Madam. Let Madam plead with Lord Huo. As the head of the Jail Department, he will surely have a way to resolve this matter properly.”

“No!!! If my uncle finds out about this, he’ll break my legs!” Yuan Baode was so angry that he brought his hand to his mouth and continued biting his nails. “Are you sure you saw correctly? The one who went to see the Coroner and saved his life, was none other than Mu Zhiming, the son of the Duke of Yan? Wasn’t it someone from the Capital Prefecture?”

“That’s right.” The subordinate nodded.

Yuan Baode pondered for a moment and then said: “Let’s wait and see what happens. The son of the Duke of Yan and I have no animosity, so why should he denounce me? Besides, he’s now supporting King Xian’s party in the fight for the throne, and he must gather as many forces to his side as possible. He will surely do all he can to climb to my uncle and claim connections with him!”

—

Dark clouds covered the entire Capital, and not long after, it began to rain. Due to the strong wind, the rain was slanting, adding a touch of coldness to the silent night.

At the Duke of Yan’s Residence, Caiwei and Wen Heyin were standing at the door of the study. Caiwei was worried: “Why isn’t the Young Master resting? Ah, where did you two go, hmm? Why is it that as soon as you two arrived, Young Master locked himself in the study, ignoring everyone?”

A lot had happened in a single day, so Wen Heyin didn’t know how to explain it clearly. Wen Heyin anxiously scratched at the door, trying to peek through a crack in the door, to see what Mu Zhiming was doing.

In fact, Mu Zhiming wasn’t particularly doing anything.

He was simply sitting in front of the bookshelf, silently staring at the brocade money pouch resting on the desk, which was also stained with dark red blood.

Not long ago, when they were still on their way to the Yan Residence, Wen Heyin suddenly remembered where he had seen that money pouch before.

“That’s it! Yuan something! The son of the Yuan family! That’s Yuan-gongzi’s money pouch, he paid me for my kindness with it!” Wen Heyin claimed. “He also said that his uncle was the Head of the Jail Department!”

As soon as Mu Zhiming heard those words, his breathing suddenly stagnated.

The words ‘Head of the Jail Department’ were like five bony fingers of a sharp claw, one by one slowly penetrating Mu Zhiming’s chest, twisting his flesh and blood, with the intention of tearing his white bones apart.

It felt like this because in Mu Zhiming’s previous life, the one who carried out a thorough investigation in the case of the Mu Family’s rebellion, was the Jail Department.

The one who, under the orders of Crown Prince Fu Qi, brought people to raid the Mu Family Residence, put Mu Boren in shackles, and exiled the three clans belonging to the Mu Family to an extremely cold land, was the Head of the Jail Department, Huo Xin!

The Jail Department was founded by the Great Ancestor2 of the Jin Dynasty. It was originally created with the intention of suppressing corrupt and treacherous Officials by establishing rules to distinguish between right and wrong, thus judging with fairness and impartiality.

After several Dynasties, the high power and great influence of the Jail Department made both civilian as well as military functionaries tremble in fear.

In fact, there was a saying: I’d rather offend Tathagata, than offend the Jail Department.

Mu Zhiming then asked Wen Heyin how he knew Yuan Baode, and why had Yuan Baode paid him for his kindness. Wen Heyin then told Mu Zhiming all that he had experienced at the celebration banquet, the day Fu Ji’an was awarded the title ‘King Xian’.

So, in an instant, Mu Zhiming understood everything.

In Mu Zhiming’s previous life, he had also heard Wen Heyin tell him that he had met Yuan Baode by chance at King Xian’s celebration banquet. 

Later, when the Jail Department raided the Mu Family Residence, Wen Heyin remembered that he had picked up the brocade money pouch that day, and recalled that Yuan Baode had mentioned that his uncle was the Head of the Jail Department. Therefore, Wen Heyin tried his best to find the Yuan Family, hoping that Yuan Baode might save Mu Zhiming’s life.

Wen Heyin must have said: “As long as you save my Young Master, I’m willing to do anything.”

Then, in the cold winter, in a cold alley and with torn clothes, someone’s sobs were muffled by the sound of falling snow. His mouth was all cracked, but even then, he had a big smile on his face. Although Wen Heyin was covered in wounds, he wasn’t thinking about the pain. All he could think about was: ‘This must save the Young Master from exile, right?’

And then…..

A while ago, on the day when the peaches and apricots were drenched with rain, the fragrant beginning of Spring had arrived. At that time, the young man in an indigo Imperial Guard uniform, with a bird’s egg in his hand, had walked into the room like a strong wind. The young man smiled at Mu Zhiming and said: “Young Master, you called for me? I was taking bird eggs from the bird’s nest in the willow tree in the courtyard!”

—

At the entrance to the study in the Duke of Yan Residence, Caiwei asked Wen Heyin, who was struggling to see through the door: “Can you see anything?”

Wen Heyin took a step back and dejectedly said: “No, I can’t see anything.”

After giving it some thought, Caiwei went to the back kitchen to get osmanthus-flavored milk pudding and a cup of hot tea. After handing the tray to Wen Heyin, she said: “Go ahead and give it to Young Master. Try persuading him to go to bed early. If you can’t persuade him, at least we must not let the Young Master starve.”

“Alright.” Wen Heyin nodded, picked up the tray and knocked on the door of the study.

“Come in.” When Mu Zhiming’s voice was heard inside the study, Wen Heyin responded and pushed open the door. As he walked in, Wen Heyin saw that the light inside was dim, as only two candles glowed in front of the desk. As for Mu Zhiming, he was sitting in front of the desk, on it laid the brocade pouch they found today.

When Mu Zhiming saw that Wen Heyin had come in with tea and a dessert, he smiled: “Did Sister Caiwei ask you to send this to me?”

Wen Heyin nodded, put down the dessert and tea on the desk, then asked: “Young Master, why don’t you go take a rest?”

Mu Zhiming replied: “I’m thinking of something.”

“What else are you thinking about?” Wen Heyin asked. “Isn’t the case solved? We’ll give the money pouch to Pei Hantang tomorrow morning and let him arrest the assassin. Everything will be settled!”

Mu Zhiming hesitated: “But…..”

Wen Heyin: “But what?”

Mu Zhiming raised his head and looked at Wen Heyin: “But, will the Capital Prefecture really go and arrest ‘that’ guy?”

Wen Heyin didn’t understand: “Ah? The evidence is conclusive. Why wouldn’t they arrest him?”

Mu Zhiming breathed a long sigh: “A-Yin…. the killer’s uncle is the Head of the Jail Department, Huo Xin. He has a lot of power, and is a very ruthless, dictatorial person. Huo Xin is also the Emperor’s personal Guard, who is also highly esteemed and respected by His Majesty. If this case were to be solved, either for blood relations, or to keep his own face, Huo Xin will definitely not allow the murderer, his nephew, to be arrested. Can the Capital Prefecture really oppose the Jail Department? Will this murder case really not become a minor case that falls into nothingness? If we hand over this conclusive evidence, can it really not be destroyed?”

“Ah, this…..” Wen Heyin scratched his head, pondering over Mu Zhiming’s words. After hesitating for a moment, Wen Heyin said: “I don’t know if the Capital Prefecture would dare to oppose the Jail Department, but I believe in Pei Hantang.”

Mu Zhiming was slightly stunned when he heard Wen Heyin’s words, and even blinked in disbelief.

Wen Heyin stammered: “It’s, it’s just that….I think….Pei Hantang is a righteous person. Someone like him wouldn’t let the murderer get away.”

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Mu Zhiming couldn’t help but laugh softly. After suddenly calming down, he said: “Well, since A-Yin believes in him, then I will believe in him too. Tomorrow I will invite Lord Pei to come to the Residence to discuss it.”

“Mm-hmm.” Wen Heyin nodded.

“While we are at it,” Mu Zhiming added: “I’ll invite General Gu to come too. He too must want to know the truth about this case.”

Footnotes

刑部 xíng bù; In charge of national justice and administration. The specific functions of the Ministry of Justice are: to review the various laws, to review criminal cases sent to the Ministry from all over the Country, to review the death penalty cases with the Nine Secretaries, and to directly review the cases above the crimes pending in the Capital.太祖 tài zǔ; A posthumous title for the founder of a Dynasty.