Duan Xu expected that Dali Temple Minister Jing Yan would definitely look for him, so when the invitation arrived, he simply packed up and rode to Jing Yan's residence. When he dismounted in front of Jing's residence, Jing Yan, wearing a purple official uniform with wide sleeves embroidered with peacock patterns, stood in the courtyard and looked at him with eyes as sharp as an eagle, as if he wanted to see through his skin to see into his heart.
Jing Yan is in his early thirties this year. His elder brother is the consort of the Emperor's favorite Princess Anle. With this relationship, the Jing family has the confidence to not be attached to any party. In recent years, he has been the Minister of the Supreme Court and is well-known for his sharp observation and impartiality. He has rejected and retried many cases of the Ministry of Justice and has never made a mistake.
Such a gaze could see through the hearts of countless bandits and prisoners. Duan Xu accepted Jing Yan's gaze without flinching or avoiding it, and bowed naturally, saying, "Hello, Lord Jing, I am here to keep the appointment."
He and Jing Yan were not close friends. The last time they met was at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet before leaving Nandu. He played a game of chess with Jing Yan, and the banquet ended before the game was over. Today, Jing Yan invited him to his house just to finish the unfinished game of chess.
Jing Yan looked at him deeply and said calmly, "Please come in, Master Duan."
They sat down in Jing Yan's study, and on the desk was the unfinished chess game, with the black and white pieces crisscrossed and aligned exactly. Duan Xu took a look at the chess game and couldn't help but smile, thinking that Jing Yan had memorized the game long ago and had intended to finish the game with him, but suddenly the Ma Zheng corruption case came up, and the game became mixed with other purposes.
Duan Xu placed a chess piece and said leisurely, "Master Jing is wearing an official uniform. I think he just came back from the Dali Temple. I am honored that you still remembered to play chess with me despite being so busy with official duties."
Jing Yan also dropped a piece and said, "I heard that General Duan is decisive and brave on the battlefield. I used to think that General Duan was just a civil official, but now I have to look at him with new eyes."
Duan Xu looked up at Jing Yan and said, "Master Jing, why don't you get straight to the point? Since you invited me here, it shouldn't just be for playing chess, right?"
Jing Yanyu then went straight to the point: "General Duan, have you heard about Sun Changde's confession in the Ma Zheng corruption case?"
“I have heard of it.”
"He confessed that he was instructed to slander Lord Sun of the Ministry of War and Lord Li of the Imperial Household Department, and he said that the person who instructed him was you, General Duan."
Duan Xu's eyes were still on the chessboard. He laughed loudly when he heard this, as if he found it absurd. "I ordered him to do this? I'm a young man who has just started out and hasn't even established my footing yet. How dare I do this? He thinks too highly of me."
"Three days after the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, he accidentally fell into the water while crossing the Lanqing Bridge at night. You saved him."
"Yes, that's the only impression I have of him. Is it wrong for me to save him?"
"According to him, he had a feud with the Minister of the Imperial Household, so he suspected that the Minister of the Imperial Household wanted to harm him. After that day, you used your favor to get information from him, used coercion and bribery to fabricate the Ma Zheng corruption case, and put the blame on the Ministry of War and the Imperial Household."
"It's ridiculous. I haven't seen him since that day. Does he have any evidence to prove his nonsense?"
Jing Yan held up his sleeves and dropped a piece. He said calmly, "Of course he has a lot of evidence in letters and keepsakes, but it's not worth mentioning because I think those evidences are fake."
Duan Xu raised his eyebrows and looked at Jing Yan. Black and white were intertwined on the chessboard, occupying most of the squares, like two forces competing with each other.
Jing Yan also looked at him, his expression unchanged as he said, "It's just like the key evidence that Sun Changde used to accuse the Minister of the Imperial Household Department of corruption - the account book, which was all forged."
"Oh?" Duan Xu showed a surprised look, as if he knew for the first time that the account book he forged was fake, and said: "Sun Changde's account book is also forged? He is so bold?"
"Although the account book was forged, it was not forged by Sun Changde. When he reported it, he should have thought that it was a real account book. There was indeed a mastermind behind the scenes who fanned the flames and allowed him to hold the so-called evidence and go to the court to expose the case. But Sun Changde didn't know who the mastermind was, and now he just followed certain arrangements and pushed the blame on you." Jing Yan stated calmly.
Duan Xu smiled and said, "Your Excellency is wise."
Jing Yan dropped a piece and said calmly, "But forging an account book is not a simple matter. This account book has been through the hands of several officials in the Ministry of Justice and no one found any problems. I also believed it when I first got it. If it weren't for Sun Changde's reversal of the case, I would not have found out that the account book was fake. The person who could forge this account book must have seen the real account book, and at least half of it was copied from the real account book."
Duan Xu paused holding the chess piece, and Jing Yan continued, "There are only two possibilities. This person has the real account book, but for some reason he refused to give it to me, so he forged one. Or this person has seen the real account book, but the real account book has been lost or destroyed and cannot be used as evidence, so he can only forge it. Sun Changde was able to change his testimony so confidently, so I think someone must have confirmed that the real account book had been destroyed before he dared to do so. Then it's the second possibility. This person was in a hurry to look through the real account book, and he didn't even have time to take the real account book away. But he memorized most of the account book based on his hasty memory afterwards. He must have an amazing memory."
Jing Yan looked directly into Duan Xu's eyes and said, "General Duan returned to Daizhou to worship his ancestors last July, and the Shunzhou horse farm exposed by Sun Changde was on your way back home. This account book also came from Shunzhou. The timing of your letter attacking Yunluo Prefectures is too good for this case."
Duan Xu laughed loudly. He held his forehead and said, "Master Jing, have you also been deceived by those rumors that I am really a young genius with a photographic memory? Those are just empty words that others flatter me because of my Duan family's status. I can't memorize half an account book by just looking at it for a few times, as you said."
"Really?" Jing Yan said calmly, "We played this game more than half a year ago. I was able to restore it because I drew it as soon as I got home. You were a little surprised when you came in and saw the game. I think you found it was exactly the same as it was half a year ago, and then you sat down and made your move without hesitation. Not only do you remember the game with me half a year ago, but you also remember where you were going to make your next move. With such a good memory, it's no problem for you to write down an account book, right?"
Duan Xu's eyes gradually darkened. He tapped the chessboard carelessly with the black piece in his hand. After a while, he smiled and said, "Is that it? Master Jing said it was all speculation. There is no evidence at all. What can it prove?"
He leaned down, stroking the black piece in his hand, looking at the stalemate chess game, and said lazily: "In this case mentioned by Lord Rujing, except for the witness, all other key evidences are forged, and this witness wavered, saying one thing today and another thing tomorrow. In the final analysis, Sun Changde is just a chess piece in this game. The real players are not us, but we are also in the game. The Ministry of Justice has already concluded the case, but when it was reviewed by the Dali Temple, the witness changed his testimony. It's because the Ministry of Justice is a disciple of Prime Minister Du, and Duke Pei must make him leave Prime Minister Du's sphere of influence and make trouble again. Now the case, witnesses, and evidence are all in your hands. They each hope that you can use the false evidence and witnesses they have prepared to attack the other side. No one cares about the truth, they only care about the result."
"No, I care about the truth."
"Master Jing cares about the truth, so do you think the Ma Zheng corruption case is true or a false accusation?"
Jing Yan shook his head and said calmly: "There is insufficient evidence, so we cannot draw a conclusion."
Duan Xu repeated, "Insufficient evidence? Can this matter just be let go? Daliang has no natural pastures, and all the horse farms built must occupy the people's arable land. The land for raising one horse can feed 25 people, and 3,000 horses means 75,000 people. If corruption is true, the livelihoods of these 75,000 people were embezzled. And I am on the front line with a shortage of war horses and an unorganized cavalry. I can only launch surprise attacks and cannot fight head-on. Every victory is extremely difficult. How can I protect my home and my country like this?"
Jing Yan looked at him calmly, his deep and sharp eyes looking straight into Duan Xu's eyes. The incense ball on the table was emitting a wisp of fragrant mist, which passed hazily between the two of them. Jing Yan said slowly: "I know everything you said. I know it better than you."
"I called you here today to tell you that if you take false evidence as truth, you can make it up today and he can make it up tomorrow. How can the truth stand? General Duan is still young. You must know that lies cannot lead to the truth, and unjust means cannot achieve justice. I am sitting in the position of the Supreme Court Justice, and I only believe in the word "evidence". "
Duan Xu's eyes moved slightly, and he remained silent.
It was not easy to prove the truth. The traces of this incident were completely covered up by him, and the account book he had finally found was also destroyed by him. If he wanted to investigate, he could only start with the Minister of War, the Minister of the Imperial Household, and even Qin Huanda and Pei Guogong behind him. Not only would he be exposed, but he would also be obstructed at every step.
"Master Jing, can you really find evidence?"
"I will try my best to investigate. If I can't find anything, I can't use false evidence to make a verdict." Jing Yan made his move, looked up at Duan Xu and said, "General Duan is young and serving in the court. It's not a bad thing to be thoughtful, but you must not be too obsessed and go astray. I will keep today's events in this study, and I won't talk about them again when I go out. General Duan, take care of yourself."
Duan Xu lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked up at Jing Yan, placed a piece on the chessboard, and said, "Thank you, Master Jing, for your advice."
Jing Yan won the endgame. Duan Xu bowed to Jing Yan before leaving Jing's house and said with a smile, "I have heard that Master Jing is good at chess. Today I see that his reputation is well-deserved."
Jing Yan just nodded slightly and said thank you.
Duan Xu mounted his horse, pulled the reins, looked at Jing Yan, and said, "Lord Jing, I hope that under your rule, there will never be an unjust case in Daliang."
This sentence may sound like sarcasm, but it comes from the heart. The planners pave the way for the interweaving of truth and falsehood, while the judges adhere to the true law. There is nothing wrong with each doing their job.
Jing Yan will always be the strongest shield. What he protects is the law of Daliang, not someone's unproven justice.
Duan Xu came out of Jing Yan's mansion but did not go back. He rode his horse south along Shengxin Street and stopped beside an apricot-yellow wall. The bells under the eaves rang happily in the wind, and many people came and went through the wide-open vermilion door, looking respectful and happy.
This is the Liansheng Pavilion of the Imperial Master's Mansion.
In order to show his sympathy for the people and share happiness with them, the Emperor built the Liansheng Pavilion connected to the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion. It is open on the first and fifteenth day of every month and on festivals. On weekdays, the Imperial Preceptor, who is only responsible for divination and blessings for the royal family, sits in the Liansheng Pavilion, listens to the prayers of all living beings, and relieves the worries of the people.
All people can enter the pavilion to pray, but only those who are destined to be with the master can ask the master questions. It is said that the master's disciples will place tokens in the homes of those who are destined to be with him or give them to the destined people in person, inviting them to enter the pavilion to answer their questions.
Those who hold the red lotus umbrella are destined to be together.
Duan Xu took out the paper umbrella that He Simu gave him when they met on the streets of Nandu from the bag tied by his horse's side. A fresh red lotus appeared on the umbrella.
A few days ago, he met the Imperial Master during the morning court session. The Imperial Master said to him casually - "Since we are destined to be together, why don't you return the paper umbrella?"
Duan Xu weighed the umbrella, smiled gently, and stepped into the vermilion gate.