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

Cheng Jun stepped forward, looked at the middle-aged and elderly man, and asked with a smile, "Minister Wang, what brings us to the palace this time?"

Wang Liang raised his head and said calmly, "Of course, His Majesty should uphold justice."

Cheng Jun asked, "What justice do you want His Majesty to uphold?"

"..."

Wang Liang's words were on the tip of his tongue when his expression suddenly changed, and he swallowed them back, a look of unease flashing in his eyes.

Seeing that he had already thought of it, and seeing that he didn't say anything, Cheng Jun said directly, "You haven't forgotten, have you? Then I have to remind you."

"The reason we came to see His Majesty is that you asserted with absolute certainty that there was no injustice in Song Xuehou's case, and that you told His Majesty that you felt there was a problem with the Dali Temple's verdict!"

"Now the facts prove that Song Xuehou's case was indeed a miscarriage of justice, his wife died unjustly, and the Dali Temple's verdict was indeed problematic, just as I said!"

"Now that the truth is out, His Majesty has issued an edict to drag Song Xuehou away and beat him to death with sticks!"

"And what about you, Minister of Justice Wang?"

Cheng Jun stared at him, watching his face turn as white as a frozen bun placed in a hot steamer, then turned to Li Shimin and said with a serious expression:

“Your Majesty, Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice strongly supports the innocence of Song Xuehou, which shows that he is blind to right and wrong. I told him that there was a miscarriage of justice in this case, but he turned a blind eye. He sees injustice but does not speak out, and he sees wrongdoing but does not seek justice! How can such a person who occupies a position without doing his job continue to serve as an assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice?”

"That's why I knocked his official hat off!"

After saying this, Cheng Jun cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said in a firm and resounding voice, "Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to make an example of Wang Liang and severely punish him as a warning to others!"

Killing chickens... Li Shimin twitched the corner of his mouth. This kid never swore when he cursed. He asked, "Should we also punish the people from the Dali Temple who made the wrong judgment?"

Cheng Jun solemnly replied, "As I just said, we must kill the chicken to scare the monkey!"

"..."

Severely punish Wang Liang, and then let everyone else off the hook... Li Shimin instantly understood, and then looked at Wang Liang.

He witnessed the trial of Song Xuehou.

He heard every word Cheng Jun said.

He had already taken Wang Liang's incompetence to heart and was already considering not letting him continue to serve as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice.

With someone like that in the Ministry of Justice, who knows how many wrongful convictions he would cause!

"Ananda, draft the decree!"

Li Shimin decisively said, "Wang Liang has failed in his duties. Effective immediately, he shall be dismissed from his post as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice! Then, hand him over to the Ministry of Personnel to see if there are any vacant positions in the localities, and let him take up a post there!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Zhang Anan bowed his head and accepted the decree.

Wang Liang's face turned pale. Taking up a post in a local area meant leaving the capital.

This also means he is no longer a government official in Beijing!

Local officials, whether in terms of treatment, influence, or promotion, are far inferior to officials in the capital!

At his age, sending him to a local post would be tantamount to ending his career!

Such a blow is a hundred times more painful than killing him.

Wang Liang's face turned ashen, yet he had no choice but to bow and say, "Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!"

The emperor had already issued the decree, so he had no choice but to accept it. He then left dejectedly, his face ashen.

Wow, that's impressive... Cui Yue looked at Cheng Jun with admiration. As expected of someone from the Censorate, his words were like knives, and he convicted Wang Liang in no time.

Inside the Ganlu Hall, only Cheng Jun, Li Shimin, the purple-robed eunuch, and Cui Yue, the judge of Dali Temple, remained.

Li Shimin looked at Cheng Jun and Cui Yue and asked, "Do you have anything else to do? If not, go and get on with your tasks!"

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

Cheng Jun and Cui Yue bowed simultaneously, then turned and left.

Watching their retreating figures, Li Shimin sat back on his dragon throne, picked up a memorial and began to read it. Suddenly, he remembered something, looked up at the purple-robed eunuch, and said in a deep voice, "Anan, go and investigate what they mean by delaying the process."

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Zhang Anan nodded, accepted the decree, and walked out of Ganlu Hall. He then saw Cheng Jun and Cui Yue standing in the distance, watching four palace guards execute Song Xuehou.

Two of the palace guards raised their batons and struck Song Xuehou hard on the back.

Song Xuehou was in pain and kept screaming in agony.

The other two palace guards pinned him to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of the cane striking the body echoed all around.

"Stop acting like you're being coquettish, use some force!"

Cheng Jun suddenly said.

Bang bang bang! !

The two palace guards who were administering the punishment immediately intensified their efforts.

"..."

"How did this become a teaching exercise..." Zhang Anan was speechless. He walked to Cheng Jun's side and said in a gentle voice, "Imperial Censor Cheng, this is an execution. Aren't you horrified?"

Cheng Junzheng felt relieved and turned to look at him, pondering, "Eunuch Zhang, let me give you an example. Imagine you've worked hard all year to grow grain and piled it up in the granary. Today you want to take it out, but you find a mouse has eaten it all. Because of this mouse, your family is starving and can't afford to eat. If someone is catching the mouse, would you feel creeped out?"

Zhang Anan thought for a moment, then turned to the two palace guards who were administering the punishment and shouted, "Give me some strength! His Majesty has decreed that this man be beaten to death with sticks, beat him to death!"

Bang bang bang bang! ! !

The two palace guards were sweating profusely, having used every ounce of their strength.

"Ah—" Song Xuehou's screams grew louder, but as the cane continued to fall, his voice gradually faded, and soon his eyes closed, his neck drooped, and he fell silent.

One of the palace guards put his finger to his nose, then looked up and said, "Eunuch Zhang, this man has been beaten to death!"

With a look of disgust, Eunuch Zhang waved his hand and said, "Take him away! Send him back to the Ministry of Justice!"

"promise!"

Four palace guards immediately dragged the lifeless Song Xuehou toward the Ministry of Justice.

As Cui Yue, the judge of Dali, watched their departing figures, he sighed, "Song Xuehou has come to such an end; his wife, Yuan, can rest in peace now."

Zhang Anan laughed and said, "Fortunately, Imperial Censor Cheng was insightful and discerning, and discovered that Yuan was wrongfully killed. Otherwise, this villain would have gone unpunished. Imperial Censor Cheng's judgment is divine. I admire him greatly!"

"You flatter me, Eunuch Zhang." Cheng Jun returned the compliment with a cupped hand, then asked curiously, "Where are you headed, Eunuch Zhang?"

"I have received an imperial edict and have no further comment."

"clear."

Cheng Jun expressed his understanding and nodded, saying, "Then I won't disturb Eunuch Zhang any longer, please go ahead!"

"Farewell."

Zhang Anan smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to leave.

Cui Yue asked, "Imperial Censor Cheng, now that we're missing one person from the Ministry of Justice, should we continue with the criminal cases?"

"This is a task assigned by His Majesty, so of course it must be carried out."

"But without one person, the three judicial offices cannot be formed."

Cheng Jun thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll go back to the Censorate and consult the Censor-in-Chief, and you go back to your Court of Judicial Review and consult the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Let's see what they have to say, and then we'll meet at the Ministry of Justice."

Cui Yue's eyes lit up, and he said, "Imperial Censor Cheng is absolutely right. I'll take my leave now!"

"Farewell!"

Cheng Jun cupped his hands in greeting, watched the other person leave, and then turned and walked towards the Censorate.

Back at the university, Cheng Jun walked into the main hall and saw Wen Yanbo writing an official document. He deliberately coughed twice.

"Cough cough!"

Wen Yanbo glanced at him and said, "Come in. How did things go?"

Cheng Jun sat down next to him and said thoughtfully, "There have been some problems lately."

Wen Yanbo, head down, asked as he wrote, "What went wrong?"

Cheng Jun said, "The Ministry of Justice official who came with me to handle criminal cases has been banished from the capital by His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yanbo's hand trembled, and his pen instantly drew wavy lines. He couldn't care less about writing the official document anymore and looked up in astonishment, saying:

"What?"