Film and TV: Traveling through countless worlds at the same time

Now, Si Lili is the most crucial witness and clue in this case, and she is also a secret agent of Northern Qi.

With these two identities combined, it will naturally attract the attention of countless people.

Some people wanted to snatch the person away and silence him.

Some people want to use Si Lili to write articles.

Some people simply wanted to show off their abilities in front of Emperor Qing.

Therefore, Lu Xiao had already anticipated the situation he would face upon his return.

..Qi Ershan's Cold Stories 34....

Nanqing Imperial Palace.

Emperor Qing was still sitting at the table in the hall, sharpening his arrows.

He has maintained this habit for more than twenty years.

So out of every ten times I met Emperor Qing in the palace, at least eight or nine times he was doing this.

"Calculating the time, Lu Xiao should be returning to Beijing soon, right?"

As Emperor Qing's voice rang out, the eunuch Hou, who was guarding outside, immediately came in and replied.

"Your Majesty, they should have entered the city by now."

Emperor Qing then snorted coldly, "Hmph, the head of the First Division of the Inspection Bureau. I just praised him, and now he's secretly colluding with Northern Qi. If I hadn't just removed the word 'acting' from his position, I would have resigned him."

I just gave it to you a few days ago, so if I take it back today, it would be a bit embarrassing no matter how I look at it.

Changing one's orders every day is not the style of an emperor.

It can be heard that Emperor Qing is indeed a little angry at this moment.

However, Eunuch Hou had long understood Emperor Qing's intentions.

Hearing Emperor Qing rebuke Lu Xiao so bluntly, one could tell that Emperor Qing didn't really care about the matter at all.

On the contrary, if Emperor Qing said nothing, then he would be in trouble.

As a mature eunuch, he naturally has to speak according to his master's wishes.

Eunuch Hou immediately said, "I heard that Si Lili is the most popular courtesan in Zuixianlou. She must be stunningly beautiful. Director Lu is still a bit young, and young men, full of passion, are inevitably attracted to beauty. Sometimes it's hard to blame him. Fortunately, Director Lu also knows what's important. At least he personally captured her. Although he had the intention of protecting her, he did it in an upright manner. This shows that his loyalty to Your Majesty is unquestionable."

Emperor Qing looked up at Eunuch Hou with a slightly surprised look: "Huh, you know this?"

Eunuch Hou smiled awkwardly and said, "I am just talking nonsense."

Emperor Qing said, "Even if you're right, this matter is still unbecoming of the state. We must teach him a lesson, or he might do something even more outrageous in the future."

Eunuch Hou said, "Your Majesty is wise. What do you mean?"

Emperor Qing thought for a moment and said, "Aren't all those officials at court blocking him at the city gate? Let him handle it himself. If he can handle it, the woman will be his. If not, let him fend for himself."

Although Si Lili had been brought back to the capital by Lu Xiao.

But she is a Northern Qi spy after all.

He was also involved in the Niulan Street assassination.

Therefore, if Emperor Qing hadn't issued a clear decree regarding who would be the presiding judge, then legally speaking, any department involved in the case would be qualified to bring her to trial.

Dealing with court officials is not something that can be won simply by relying on force.

Of course, if Lu Xiao were to resort to force to resolve this issue, Emperor Qing's opinion of him would be lowered several notches.

East Gate of Kyoto City.

Lu Xiao held Si Lili in his arms and rode slowly ahead.

Fan Xian and Wang Qinian followed closely behind.

But just after they passed the city gate, they were immediately blocked by a large group of people.

Lu Xiao reined in the reins, glanced at Fang, and then spoke in a lazy tone.

"The city guards, the Kyoto government office, and the Ministry of Justice all came to greet me. Why did I feel that I didn't have such a great reputation before?"

Commander of the City Guards, Prefect of the Kyoto Prefecture, and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Take any one of them, the quality is not low.

In addition, there were nearly a hundred city guards behind them.

This was already a huge event in Kyoto.

After hearing Lu Xiao's words, the Minister of Justice on the other side spoke first.

"Sir Lu, we don't want to embarrass you, but the criminal you hold in your arms has widespread ties. Everyone in the capital now knows you have an ambiguous relationship with her. If we were to hand this case over to the Inspection Office at this point, no matter what the outcome, it would be difficult to convince the public. We are doing this for your sake, to avoid embarrassment."

This didn't mean death directly.

It seems they still have concerns about Lu Xiao's identity as the host.

Then the governor of Kyoto also stood up and said to Lu Xiao with a smile.

"Yes, Lord Lu, you and I have frequent interactions. If you hand the person over to me, I promise I will never resort to lynching. Once the truth of the case is uncovered, I will definitely return the person to you unharmed."

Lu Xiao didn't buy their tricks.

He immediately retorted: "I will not hand over the person. If you gentlemen are capable, you can come and rob him yourself."

Seeing him so stubborn, the smiles on the faces of the people opposite him gradually disappeared.

"Master Lu, please don't make a mistake. You don't have any official documents for the interrogation. It would be against the rules to take the criminal away like this."

When doing business in the court, everything must be done according to the rules.

If there are no rules, then anything can happen.

The result of messing around is something no one wants to see.

Therefore, unless they are forced into a desperate situation, most officials will abide by the rules.

Lu Xiao himself also recognized the word "rules".

Admittedly, he can choose not to speak now, and he has the power not to speak.

He even killed those in front of him if they disagreed with him.

Nothing to think about.

But the problem is, just as Emperor Qing believes, using killing to solve problems is always the worst option.

You can kill one person, you can kill ten people, you can kill a hundred people.

But what about one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand?

You can't just use this trick whenever you see someone opposing you, right?

If this continues, the world will be in complete chaos.

Therefore, after hearing these words, Fan Xian and Wang Qinian, who had been standing behind Lu Xiao, cast worried glances at him.

Lu Xiao definitely didn't have the interrogation documents.

I'm afraid this matter won't end well today.

But just when everyone thought Lu Xiao couldn't come up with anything, they suddenly heard him say.

"Alright, since you all want to follow the rules, I'll have a proper chat with you today. Some time ago, one of our divisions apprehended a minor official. His offense wasn't serious; he simply bribed one of our officers with a hundred taels of silver. However, the laws of Daqing are strict, and even though he pleaded for mercy, I, Lu, still followed the law and punished him with a hundred strokes of the cane to serve as a warning to others."

Everyone was confused when they heard what he said, not knowing what he was trying to say.

Chapter 135 Slap and Sweet Dates

Everyone listened to Lu Xiao's incoherent words with puzzled expressions on their faces.

They are now fighting for the ownership of Si Lili, so what does it have to do with a minor official who has committed bribery?

At this moment, Lu Xiao raised his head and fixed his gaze on the Minister of Justice, then spoke slowly.

"Your Excellency, I heard you enjoy playing mahjong. Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to acquire a mahjong set carved from a single piece of Hengyang warm jade. It feels wonderful and is worth at least several thousand taels of silver. How about we arrange a game some other day?"

After hearing this, the Minister of Justice's expression suddenly changed. He finally understood why Lu Xiao had mentioned that minor official.

Because the set of mahjong cards that Lu Xiao was talking about, carved from top-grade warm jade, was exactly what he had sent over some time ago.

If a bribe of one hundred taels is offered, the offender shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane.

If you offer a bribe of several thousand taels, you will be beaten to death.

The Minister of Justice had no doubt that Lu Xiao could do such a thing.

Because according to what they just said, doing so is in accordance with the rules and in line with national laws.

Thinking of this, the Minister of Justice immediately put on an awkward smile, and then he hurriedly said.

"Lord Lu has a good memory. This humble servant only has such a small hobby, and yet you know about it. Okay, let's make an appointment some other time when we have time. I suddenly remembered that my Ministry of Justice has been quite busy with cases recently. I will not be involved in the Niulan Street assassination case. Although Lord Lu is implicated in the case, I still trust Lord Lu's character. In my opinion, Lord Lu would never do anything to abuse his power for personal gain."

Lu Xiao chuckled and said, "Indeed, the Minister understands me."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the governor of Kyoto.

"Your Excellency, I've heard that you love tea. I happen to have two kilograms of the finest Golden Silk Tribute Tea. It's said that this tea is worth more than gold. As you know, I'm a rough man and can't stomach such fine tea. How about you come sit with me someday and help me taste it?"

The governor of Kyoto was completely bewildered after hearing what the Minister of Justice said, not knowing why his teammate suddenly turned against him.

But now after hearing the name Gongcha, he immediately understood everything.

Because he had given this tea to Lu Xiao some time ago.

The price of two kilograms of tribute tea is definitely not less than that pair of warm jade horse tags.

"Ahem," the Kyoto prefect coughed awkwardly, then immediately said, "Oh, how can this humble official be so embarrassed? However, since Lord Lu is so interested, I certainly cannot refuse. I think the Minister is right. Lord Lu is truly a man of high moral character. My previous judgment was a bit too arbitrary."

Everyone present is a smart person.

Now, it was clear why the Minister of Justice and the Governor of Kyoto had suddenly changed their attitudes.

So, they subconsciously thought about their own problems.

This thought is incredible.

It seems that there really is.

As mentioned before, every government office in Kyoto City has a certain amount of personal relations with one place every month.

Especially when Lu Xiao had just taken on the role of a host, in order to build a good relationship with Lu Xiao in the future.

The gift I gave to Lu Xiao for the first time was much more precious than usual.

But no one expected that Lu Xiao would actually bring this up to threaten them today.

But unfortunately, everyone was unable to do anything to Lu Xiao.

After all, they really gave the gift.

Although Lu Xiao took it, he didn't hold it for long.

Even if he just made up an excuse like "he was fishing", he could still get away with it.

But this makes it hard for those who give gifts.

Instead of getting any favors, you hand your own handles over to others.

This is truly unethical and shameless.

At this moment, all the officials were already gnashing their teeth in hatred towards Lu Xiao.

But even so, they still had smiles on their faces.

He even had to cooperate with Lu Xiao to continue the performance.

Regarding this matter, Lu Xiao once again set his sights on the commander of the city guards.

"Commander, some time ago Lu..."

It was the same opening line, the same rhetoric, but this time, before he could finish, the city guard commander spoke with a serious face.

"Sir Lu, my purpose for coming here today is different from the others. I heard that you encountered several assassination attempts on your way back to the capital. I am concerned for your safety, so I have specially sent someone to escort you back to the Inspection Office."

The city guard commander was very glad that he had not interrupted the Ministry of Justice and the others when they were talking.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have found such a smooth excuse.

Of course, this did not prevent other officials from looking down on him.