Pick up a princess to be your wife

The Ministry of Justice has recently welcomed a group of special personnel.

All 239 death row inmates who were released by Li Mu to visit their families at the beginning of this year have voluntarily returned to the authorities, not one of them missing.

This incident actually shocked the entire Baiyujing.

Some old fogies in the court wanted to see Li Mu make a fool of himself, and even had a plan for how to criticize him.

Those death row inmates have all been released; who would be willing to come back to die?

But no one expected that all 239 people, no more and no less, would return on their own.

Upon learning of the situation, Li Mu was overjoyed and went to the Ministry of Justice prison that very evening to personally meet with the group of death row inmates once again.

He saw Wang Xiaoli again.

Upon seeing Li Mu and Zhong Wu, Wang Xiaoli immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"Thank you both, Your Excellencies! Your kindness and virtue are unforgettable! If there is an afterlife, I am willing to serve you as an ox or a horse to repay your kindness!"

He has encountered countless evil people in his life.

But he had never encountered many good officials like the one in front of him in his entire life.

With such a capable official in charge of the government, how could the Great Ning Dynasty not prosper?

"Keeping one's word is what makes a real man," Li Mu said in a deep voice.

Li Mu had visited Wang Xiaoli's home and knew all of his movements over the past year, as well as what he had done.

He is an absolutely good man.

Such a person should not die.

“Wang Xiaoli.” Zhong Wu stepped forward.

"The sinners are here."

"His Majesty's decree."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoli immediately looked up at Zhong Wu, and then knelt down on the ground.

"Wang Xiaoli killed seven people because his daughter was raped and died by evil people. Although he disregarded the laws of Da Ning, his crimes were heinous."

However, considering that you were avenging a woman, demonstrating utmost loyalty and righteousness, and that you were originally a death row inmate, we released you to go home to visit your family. But you did not escape; instead, you kept your gentleman's promise and returned to the Ministry of Justice on time to be brought to justice.

I hereby pardon your death sentence. I command that you strictly abide by the laws of Da Ning in the future and not commit the same offense again. Go home and reunite with your father and wife.”

After hearing Zhao Cuo's words, Wang Xiaoli suddenly sat up straight and looked at Zhong Wu in disbelief.

His Majesty the Emperor of Da Ning, a young but already accomplished and powerful ruler who cares deeply about the world, actually cares about the affairs of a mere death row inmate!

He even personally issued an edict, instructing Duke Zhongwu of Wei to convey his message to him.

"What virtue or ability do I, Wang Xiaoli, possess to receive such divine favor from His Majesty?"

Wang Xiaoli was so moved that he burst into tears on the spot.

"This is a pardon document written by His Majesty himself. Once he signs and affixes his seal, the criminal record will be immediately erased."

Zhong Wu took out a document and handed it to Wang Xiaoli.

"Wang Xiaoli".

"I am here."

"Take good care of your elderly father and wife for the rest of your life, provide for your father in his old age and see him off when he passes away. And build a good home with your wife."

After Zhong Wu finished speaking, he took out a money bag and handed it to Wang Xiaoli.

“I heard that your father has difficulty walking and suffers from an eye ailment. Take this money and use it to treat your father,” Zhong Wu said.

"This humble subject dares not accept the Duke of Wei's favor! My survival is already a tremendous blessing from His Majesty and the Duke of Wei!" Wang Xiaoli was deeply moved.

"Enough with the nonsense. This is a personal gift from me. If you want to repay me in the future, there are ways. Strive to improve yourself, join the army, try to join the White Horse Army, and serve under me." After saying this, Zhong Wu placed the money bag next to Wang Xiaoli, and he and Li Mu turned and left.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Duke of Wei!"

Li Mu not only pardoned Wang Xiaoli, but also pardoned all of the other two hundred-plus death row inmates without exception.

Since they dared to come back, it proves that they are all people who dare to take responsibility.

Moreover, Li Mu has recently conducted a thorough investigation of these two hundred-plus people.

Most of them were kind and honest people, and they committed capital crimes only because they had no other choice.

Moreover, it is estimated that there are quite a few people like Wang Xiaoli among them.

They avenged their own family members, and the blood on their hands proved that they were not cowards, but rather valiant men.

These death row inmates were all deeply grateful to His Majesty.

Little did they know that the young man standing beside Zhong Wu was none other than His Majesty the current emperor.

This incident will surely earn Li Mu a reputation for bestowing kindness and generosity.

Li Mu would show no mercy to those who deserved to die.

However, Li Mu would never hesitate to pardon those who deserve it.

This matter may still provoke criticism from the old guard in the government, but let them be.

"Xiao Zhong, your main task next year is only one: to thoroughly investigate all the wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in the world," Li Mu said.

"Huh? You're not letting me participate in next year's strategic plan?" Zhong Wu asked.

“When you finish this task, that’s when you’ll get your next one. We need to fight for the outside world, and we also need to govern the inside world,” Li Mu said.

"Alright, I will definitely investigate all the cases thoroughly as soon as possible," Zhong Wu agreed.

The imperial court has many things to do, not just fighting wars.

"We're not conquering new territories now. We need to gradually cultivate the talent we need and strengthen our control before we can officially expand," Li Mu said.

“I know that the most important thing is still governing the world,” Zhong Wu said, expressing his agreement.

The imperial court is now mainly utilizing the characteristics of the White Horse Army to launch blitzkriegs and plunder as many resources as possible.

Making the whole world like Lingnan and Huainan is a long and arduous task.

"Back in the capital, tomorrow I'm going to personally give those old fogies a piece of my mind. Didn't they laugh at me, saying that I released hundreds of death row inmates and none of them would ever come back?"

"Tomorrow is the grand court assembly, I'll give them a good dressing down for my second brother!"

"You're not very good at insulting people. I'll go find Wen Jing and ask him to lend me a hand tomorrow, haha."

……

The woman originally thought that Wang Xiaoli would never return after leaving.

She may have to wait for official notification to collect Wang Xiaoli's body.

She planned to use a portion of those several dozen taels of silver to properly bury Wang Xiaoli.

Just when she was feeling troubled, Wang Xiaoli came back.

Wang Xiaoli had never been so excited.

"My lord, what's wrong?"

"Your Majesty has shown mercy and pardoned my death sentence! I don't have to die!" Wang Xiaoli exclaimed excitedly.

"Bang!"

The woman didn't know what she was holding, but it suddenly fell to the ground.

"From now on, my family will settle down in Baiyujing and live a good life! If possible, I would like to join the army and serve in the White Horse Army!" Wang Xiaoli said excitedly.

Hearing Wang Xiaoli's commotion, the old man came out of the house.

Although he could no longer see clearly, he understood everything in his heart.

So when Wang Xiaoli left, he couldn't bear to come out and see him off.

Their family has already experienced the tragedy of parents outliving their children.

Hearing Wang Xiaoli's words now, the old man was still too excited to contain himself.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Your Majesty's reputation is truly sagacious, Your Majesty is indeed a wise ruler!"

……