On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Lin Zhen felt that the muscles on her wrist were no longer so tense, so he loosened his hand and took her soft and cool hand in a very natural way.

Place your palms together and gently clasp your fingers.

Murong Yan struggled symbolically, but Lin Zhen held her hand firmly, with a soothing warmth, so she stopped struggling and let him hold her hand.

The wonderful sense of security she felt when he held her in his palm made the last bit of unhappiness in her body slip away quietly.

The two of them walked hand in hand in silence, slowly along the winding corridor along the water.

The breeze blows across the clear pool water under the corridor, bringing the coolness of water vapor and the fragrance of grass and trees.

The sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting mottled, swaying shadows on the robes they held.

The tense atmosphere dissolved quietly as they walked hand in hand silently.

Finally, they came to a small and elegant pavilion surrounded by lush flowers and trees.

The pavilion is open on all sides with bamboo curtains hanging down, and in the center are a white marble table and two brocade cushions.

The surroundings are quiet, with only the chirping of insects, birds and the gurgling of water.

Murong Yan sat down on the brocade cushion first.

Lin Zhen also sat next to her, and the two of them were still holding hands.

The breeze in the pavilion was more pleasant, blowing away the last bit of anxiety between her brows.

"Husband," Murong Yan finally broke the silence, her voice calm, but still tinged with resentment and deep confusion. "I was wrong about this matter. I shouldn't have kept it from you. But Xia Zhu was a renowned talent during the reign of the previous emperor! She was an expert in poetry, political commentary, and classics! I've read her policy papers from back then. She was so concerned about the country and the people, and her thoughts were so meticulous that few other officials in the court could match her! How could such a person be arrested by the Censorate?"

The more she spoke, the more unreasonable it seemed. Her voice was filled with indignation. "It must be those clerks and petty officials! Those old-fashioned people can't stand the idea of ​​a woman being the county magistrate above them! They're deliberately making things difficult for her, secretly tripping her up, and setting her up to frame her! Humph! If I find out who's behind this, I'll kill all nine of his clans! I'll wipe out his entire family!"

Lin Zhen listened to her inference quietly, holding her hand without letting go.

After she finished speaking, she stared at him intently, then slowly shook her head, her eyes deep and calm:

"Yan'er, your guess is not unreasonable. The people below don't like women serving as officials, so it's possible they want to cause trouble."

He paused, his tone becoming grave, "But, although I wasn't directly involved in this matter, I am ultimately inseparable from it."

Murong Yan's eyes suddenly focused!

With inquiry and a hint of the resurgence of anger that had just been suppressed.

"Moreover," Lin Zhen's voice was filled with unquestionable certainty, "Xia Zhu, the one you sent, is indeed talented. But... she's too paranoid."

Facing Murong Yan's suddenly constricted pupils, he continued, "She, like you, has a heart that fights for a place for women everywhere. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem lies in her being too eager and too extreme. Especially when it comes to judging matters between men and women, she unconditionally favors women."

Lin Zhen's voice was low, but every word echoed clearly in the quiet pavilion: "Her so-called protection of women has exceeded the boundaries of justice. During her tenure, in cases involving disputes between men and women, especially those accused of rape, she rarely listened to any arguments, blindly accepting the women's side of the story, even without asking for reasons or evidence, and often sentencing them to heavy sentences. Many innocent men have been ruined, imprisoned, and even had their families destroyed simply because they were framed by women!"

"Nonsense!" Murong Yan subconsciously refuted, but Lin Zhen's calm gaze and firm tone made her feel uneasy. "How could she be like this?! Husband, please don't frame a good person!"

"False accusation?" Lin Zhen sighed softly, "Yan'er, if I didn't have real evidence, why would I lie to you about such an important matter?"

He raised his eyes, his gaze passing through the eaves of the pavilion, as if recalling something.

"If it weren't for the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Chen Mo... well, you know, although he's a scholar, he's extremely cautious and prudent, and he rarely asks for favors. He came to my house a few days ago and, with great anxiety, told me a heartbreaking story."

Lin Zhen's voice, calm as if recounting someone else's tragedy, stirred even greater emotions. "He said his brother-in-law, an honest peddler, was accused of rape by a woman in Penglai County. Xia Zhu took over the case, ignored all arguments, ignored the evidence, and sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve based solely on the woman's one-sided statement! Fortunately, Chen Mo used his connections to temporarily save him, but his reputation has been completely ruined."

He looked at Murong Yan's eyes, which were widening. "When Chen Mo cried to me, my first reaction was the same as yours—was someone framing the county magistrate? Or was it the local gentry who framed his brother-in-law? But since this matter had been reported to me, I had to be cautious. So I sent someone to investigate. We didn't do it in a big way, but secretly went undercover to examine the recent case files at the Penglai County Court."

Lin Zhen's eyes grew sharp. "This investigation revealed that during Xia Zhu's mere three months in Penglai, six such cases, all ruled rape, with weak evidence, or even later proven to be fabricated, have occurred! This doesn't even include those that were suppressed due to the huge controversy surrounding her sentencing methods! Even more shocking is that in none of these six cases did she carefully examine the physical evidence or thoroughly question the defendant! She almost always believed the accusations frivolously, and quickly concluded the cases with drastic measures!"

He spoke in a heavy tone, word by word:

"I know she sincerely wants to speak up for women. But she's using the wrong methods and going to extremes. She's not judging impartially, but rather abusing her power, using the blood and bones of men to lay the foundation for her ideal of reconciling gender order. If this continues, Penglai County will lose the support of the people, leading to widespread resentment and even civil unrest! By then, Yan'er, your brilliant move as a woman in office, reforming corrupt policies, will have become a disastrous one that fuels public resentment and destabilizes the nation! This is why, at my instruction, the Chief Censor brought her back to the capital! Not to frame her, but to prevent her from causing even greater trouble!"

"How... could this be? My husband, why has she made so many wrong judgments?" Murong Yan listened to Lin Zhen's unquestionable statement and painful analysis. She felt as if all her strength was drained away. She instantly became dejected and her face turned slightly pale.

The female justice she had always been so proud of was actually acting so cruelly and biased in private, causing such a tragedy?!

The huge disappointment was like a cold tide that instantly drowned her.

She subconsciously reached out, trying to grab something for support.

Musk Moon, the personal maid who had been standing beside him with bated breath, immediately and tactfully offered him a cup of warm ginseng tea.

Murong Yan took the teacup that warmed her hands, her fingertips were cold, and she looked at the ginseng slices floating in the cup in a daze, as if the last bit of luck had been shattered.

Her voice was filled with a barely perceptible tremor and confusion. "Husband, are these really all wrongful convictions? Is it possible that something was missed?"

"It's absolutely true," Lin Zhen answered firmly. "There's witnesses and physical evidence in every case. Xia Zhu is talented and ambitious, and she longs for change just like you do. But she went in the wrong direction, and her eagerness to achieve success blinded her."

Seeing Murong Yan's distraught look, Lin Zhen's voice softened, with a tone of guidance and promise: "Don't worry. Since it has already happened, we must make it go in a good direction. I have already talked to her."

Hearing the word "talked about", Murong Yan's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and she raised her eyes to look at him.

Lin Zhen continued, "After the three judges' joint trial, she will be temporarily placed in the palace."

"The palace?" Murong Yan's voice suddenly rose, with a hint of vigilance.

"Yes." Lin Zhen nodded, his tone calm. "She will study, reflect, and settle down in the palace. I will personally teach her what is the true way to be an official, what is true justice, how to protect the vulnerable while not trampling on the law, and how to achieve goals within the rules. After she completes her studies, I will let her take up her post in Wuqing County, but she cannot serve as a county magistrate anymore. She must start as a county magistrate."

He looked at Murong Yan gravely, "This is a punishment for her past mistakes. At the same time, it's also a chance for her to redeem herself and make meritorious contributions. If she can settle down in her position as the Magistrate of Wuqing County and make real achievements, proving that she has shed her impetuousness and understood responsibility, then I will help her recover. Your plan to reuse female officials will still have great potential. If she messes up again..."

Lin Zhen's voice suddenly turned cold: "Then, the career of a female official in Daqian ends here. None of us will give her a third chance to strike a heavy blow to the foundation of the New Deal!"

These words, like a bright light in the dark night, instantly pointed the way forward for the confused Murong Yan.

It also made her understand that Lin Zhen was not attacking her new policy, but was trying to save it and consolidate it in a way she had never imagined!