This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Although he was compensated afterward, the person who was beaten couldn't stand it and went to the Wannian County government to file a complaint, but the magistrate of Wannian at the time did not accept it.

After many twists and turns, today, the person who was beaten has taken the complaint signed by Cheng Jun to Chang'an County.

Yan Xianfu was Yan Shigu's nephew.

"It's him..." Cheng Jun accepted the indictment and decided to make an example of him. He walked up to the Akhal-Teke horse, mounted it, and headed towards Chongrenfang, where Yan Shigu lived.

Soon, Cheng Jun rode his horse at breakneck speed into Chongren Ward, and with the help of the street patrolmen, he found the gate of Yan Shigu's mansion.

Yan Shigu came from a family of Confucian scholars. He inherited the family business at a young age, followed ancestral teachings, read extensively, and was very learned... Cheng Jun thought of the records about this person in the historical books.

In conclusion, Yan Shigu was a renowned Confucian scholar, classicist, linguist, historian, and philologist.

"A great scholar... That makes things easier. These kinds of people are the most reasonable..." Cheng Jun regained his composure, dismounted, walked to the door, and knocked.

Bang, bang, bang!!

Not long after, the gate of the Yan residence was opened from the inside, revealing the head of a middle-aged man wearing a turban. He looked Cheng Jun up and down, and seeing the xiezhi crown on his head and the light green imperial censor's robe, his slight drowsiness instantly vanished, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"Are you from the Censorate?"

Cheng Jun asked solemnly, "Is Magistrate Yan here?"

The steward of the Yan family immediately closed the gate a crack and asked warily, "What business do you have with my master?"

Cheng Jun pressed his palm against the door, exerted all his strength, and pushed it open, directly opening the Yan family's door.

The gate swung open with a sudden, tremendous force, causing the Yan family steward to stumble and nearly fall. He barely regained his footing and saw Cheng Jun step over the threshold and enter the mansion. He was both shocked and furious, exclaiming:

"You imperial censor, you are so ignorant! How dare you force your way into the residence of the Founding County Baron!"

"I won't force my way in, what if you close the gate later..." Cheng Jun glanced at him, already inside the gate, no longer worried about being locked out. He stopped, took out a petition from his robes, and said:

“Someone has filed a complaint against the Yan family. I’m here to investigate. Is Yan the magistrate asleep? If not, call him over. If he is asleep, wake him up!”

The Yan family steward snapped, "Is this how you conduct investigations at night?"

Cheng Jun raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, I am! Call someone, or I'll arrest you first!"

The steward of the Yan family, with his neck stiff, said, "You have quite the airs of an official! State your name!"

Cheng Jun said, "I am Cheng Jun, the Imperial Censor of the Palace."

The Yan family steward was taken aback upon hearing this. His eyes, clear as a child's innocent gaze, bowed politely and said:

"So it's Imperial Censor Cheng. Please wait a moment, I'll go and fetch my master right away!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran quickly towards the main house.

Soon, a cursing voice rang out:

"Don't you know who I am? When have I ever broken the law?"

The Yan family steward's aggrieved voice came through:

"I know that you are innocent, but the people from the Censorate specifically asked for your name, and I couldn't stop them."

The cursing and swearing grew even more furious as he said:

"So what if he's an imperial censor? Does he have three heads and six arms? You can just lock him out."

The steward of the Yan family said in an increasingly aggrieved voice:

"It's not that I didn't want to stop him, it's that the people from the Censorate barged in first, and then I spoke of what happened, and finally gave my name!"

Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Jun looked over and saw a middle-aged man, nearly fifty years old, dressed in a middle-aged garment and wearing a long robe, walking over with a dark face, accompanied by the Yan family steward.

Cheng Jun bowed and said, "Cheng Jun, Imperial Censor of the Palace, greets the Marquis of Yan County."

Yan Shigu walked to Cheng Jun's side, feeling the slight chill of the night. He tightened his long robe, then looked him up and down. Having already learned the identity of this tall man of 1.85 meters from the steward, he asked with a stern face:

"Imperial Censor Cheng, what are you doing at my residence so late at night instead of sleeping?"

Cheng Jun lowered his arms, looked at him, and said with a kind smile, "I'll handle the case."

Yan Shigu glared at him and asked, "What crime have I committed?"

Cheng Jun shook his head, waved the indictment, and said seriously:

“Yan Xiannan did not commit the crime, but your nephew Yan Xianfu did. The evidence is conclusive. If you don’t believe me, you can look at the indictment!”

"Yan Xianfu..."

Yan Shigu was stunned for a few seconds, then flew into a rage and said in a stern voice:

"He committed a crime, go find his father, Yan Qinli! His father isn't dead yet, why are you looking for me!"

"If I go find his father, then it's none of your business..." Cheng Jun said with a serious expression.

“Man from Yan County, your nephew assaulted someone. I went to his father, but do you think his father could stop me? He'll still have to ask you to intervene. Rather than waiting for you at your nephew's house, I'd rather come directly to you!”

Yan Shigu paused for a few seconds, thought about it carefully, and realized it made some sense. His expression softened, and he asked:

"What did my nephew do wrong?"

Cheng Jun said, "Your nephew got into a fight last year and injured someone."

Yan Shigu opened his eyes wide and said, "What happened last year? Wasn't the matter of the assault last year settled with compensation?"

Cheng Jun handed the complaint to him and said:

"If the issue has been resolved, why has the other party been suing your nephew since last year?"

Master Yan said with a stern face, "This is extortion!"

Cheng Jun shook his head and said, "I don't think so. When the government intervened last year, they only compensated the other party for some medical expenses, which was too little."

Yan Shigu glanced at the complaint, then looked up at Cheng Jun and said:

"But that family agreed at the time!"

Cheng Jun pointed to the complaint and said, "It's written clearly on the complaint how the other party agreed. It was your nephew's family who used their connections, along with the government, to force the other party to agree so that the person who was beaten would not pursue the matter further."

Yan Shigu returned the complaint to Cheng Jun, frowning as he asked, "What do you want?"

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "I want to impeach you."

Yan Shigu angrily said, "Someone is suing my nephew, why are you impeaching me?"

Cheng Jun retorted, "I'm impeaching your nephew, and you're not going to speak up for him? I'm going to cut off any thought you might have of speaking up for him!"

Yan Shigu's eyes twitched, and suddenly, as if remembering something, he widened his eyes and glared at Cheng Jun, saying:

"I remember now, I reported you yesterday. You didn't come here for my nephew's sake, you came for me!"

Cheng Jun categorically denied it, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, that's not true!"

Yan Shigu, however, did not believe it and sneered, "Cheng Jun, gunpowder is a waste of manpower and resources and does no good to the people. Besides, it is just icing on the cake, not a lifeline!"

Cheng Jun frowned and said, "Can't you understand human language? Didn't I already say it has nothing to do with this? I'm here to talk to you about your nephew!"