“Spit it out, you’ll feel better after you do!”
Wei Ming looked calm and collected. He was a detective, after all, and he often encountered all sorts of corpses. Some were quite gruesome, which was normal.
Truthfully, he would probably throw up too if he had to see them. After all, movies were one thing, but it was completely different when you actually saw it. But he wasn't stupid. Could he just refuse to look?
“Your two younger brothers are here. Liu Shi Qi, do you need this Imperial Censor to personally go outside and greet you before you're willing to come in?” Wei Ming looked towards the entrance of the post house.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a snap from outside, followed by the sound of a dry branch being stepped on. Lu Ling Feng moved swiftly, darting out like a flash of lightning and apprehended Liu Shi Qi.
Liu Shi Qi looked at Su Xian Wei, his eyes pleading. However, Su Xian Wei stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed on his nose, as though he were oblivious to everything around him. Yet, his heart was churning with turmoil, like a raging tempest.
“Don't bother looking. Of all the people present, the one your master hates the most, besides me, is you.”
“If you hadn't sneaked into the office to secretly alert him, he would still be in the arms of his beauty, drunk and merry.”
Upon hearing these words, Liu Shi Qi felt a wave of despair wash over him. However, he also became even more frenzied. Su Xian Wei's eyelids twitched, his killing intent palpable.
He could now confirm that this inspecting Imperial Censor, Wei Ming, knew about all the illegal activities he had done in the past!
“Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin.”
“The story of you three brothers, I’m afraid we need to start from your childhood. Who wants to tell us?”
Liu Shi Qi kept his head down, refusing to speak. Liu Shi Jiu let out a series of hisses, delirious.
Liu Shi Ba sighed, “I’ll tell it.”
“Twenty-five years ago, our mother gave birth to the three of us. At first, we thought it was just two, but then we realized there was another baby brother.”
“Our mother was already in a lot of pain, and she had fainted several times. When they discovered there was another child in her womb, our father asked the midwife to do everything she could to save him.”
“In the end, our little brother survived, but our mother died!”
Liu Shi Jiu hissed at Liu Shi Ba, but there was no malice in his voice. Instead, it was filled with remorse and guilt.
As for Liu Shi Qi, he simply sneered, his expression contemptuous.
“But our little brother was strange from birth. He couldn't speak until he was five years old, and he couldn’t walk upright. He would just crawl around on the ground all day.”
“I don't know what kind of words our father listened to, but he actually believed that our little brother was a demon and abandoned him.”
“Only Liu Shi Qi and I were left at home!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Shi Qi suddenly shouted, “Two are too many!”
“If they had thrown you away too, wouldn’t it have been better?”
Su Wu Ming and the others were all shocked. How could Liu Shi Qi say such heartless things? Weren't they brothers?
Wei Ming said calmly, “I had Xue Huan specifically go to your home in Gan Tang County and find out some things. He also took a few case files from County Magistrate Wang along the way.”
“You, Liu Shi Qi, were a worthless rascal since you were a child. You cheated, swindled, and stole, becoming addicted to it. Later, because your father worked at the county office, he was constantly humiliated because of your thievery. Finally, when you were thirteen, he couldn’t take it anymore and kicked you out of Gan Tang County.”
Liu Shi Qi smirked, humming smugly, “That’s because I sold a few young girls. He was afraid that if he didn’t get rid of me, the girls’ parents would come and beat me to death, and he’d be implicated and lose his job!”
Wang Nai Ling fumed, “So, it was you, a thirteen-year-old child, who was involved in the trafficking of young girls all those years ago?”
He then pulled out the case files from his sleeve and handed them to Wei Ming. “My lord, all the case files from that year are here. Please take a look.”
He then added, “No wonder your young apprentice insisted I bring these case files. My lord Wei, you are truly a master strategist, a visionary!”
Wei Ming waved his hand, looking at Liu Shi Qi, “Back then, you were only thirteen years old, and you dared to traffic people. ‘Human nature is inherently evil’, this saying is truly reflected in you. What else do you have to say?”
Liu Shi Qi didn't feel ashamed, instead, he took pride in it, arrogantly saying, “Heaven has bestowed upon me a talent for business. You all must be very envious, right? Hahahaha…”
Su Wu Ming and the others were enraged. How could someone be so wicked? Could it be that Master Xun Zi was right?
Lu Ling Feng clenched his spear tightly, “There are such evil people in our Great Tang territory! They deserve to be punished!”
Wang Nai Ling was burning with anger, heartbroken. “That case shocked the entire Gan Tang back then. You, Liu Shi Qi, have harmed so many families. Don’t you have even a shred of conscience?”
“Conscience? Conscience is useless. Can it be spent like money?” Liu Shi Qi sneered disdainfully.
Wei Ming turned to Liu Shi Ba, “Did you know that your brother was trafficking children?”
Liu Shi Ba nodded, his voice solemn, “I regret that I didn’t report him to the authorities back then, leading to the mistakes I made later!”
“You’re my own brother, my blood brother. You’d betray me?” Liu Shi Qi suddenly roared, even shamelessly accusing him, “Are you even human?”
Liu Shi Ba retorted, crying out, “You’re not human! You stole all the savings from our house. That was the money our father was saving to send me to school.”
“What’s the point of studying!” Liu Shi Qi spat contemptuously, rolling his eyes, and disdainfully said, “With a father like that, even if you studied your whole life, your fate wouldn’t change!”
The imperial examination system was first established by Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian. It was inherited by Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin. Through Emperor Wu of Tang, Empress Wu Zetian, it was further developed and improved with the introduction of the three-stage examination and military examinations. It has developed to this day. While it does provide an opportunity for the commoners to rise, it comes with a catch.
The term “commoners” needs to be enclosed in quotation marks. During this period, commoners generally referred to the declining members of aristocratic families.
Take Su Wu Ming, for example. His ancestors were important officials during the Western Wei dynasty. They flourished in their ancestral land of Wu Gong County in the northwest. They were a local aristocratic clan. Even though generations have passed, and the Su family had declined, it wasn’t until Su Wu Ming that the decline was halted.
However, even so, Su Wu Ming never suffered any hardship growing up. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather… all served as government officials.
Su Wu Ming was able to study since childhood, and he was highly regarded by his family elders. He later became a disciple of Di Gong and passed the imperial examination at a young age. He quickly rose to fame and became a talented official, capable of governing the state. He had the demeanor of a prime minister.
Otherwise, Princess Taiping wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to win him over. Princess Taiping wanted to become another Empress Wu Zetian, and even more, she wanted Su Wu Ming to become another Di Ren Jie. If Su Wu Ming didn’t have the ability, why would Princess Taiping go out of her way to recruit him.
I digress. To get back to the main topic.
The imperial examination system has only existed for a hundred years, and it is still not perfect. In addition, the cost of paper is very high, books are not widely available, and most books and cultural materials are controlled by the aristocratic families. Therefore, the threshold for ordinary people to rise is still very high, extremely high!
The reason why the Five Great Families and the Seven Great Clans could claim that a commoner could laugh at noble officials was not only because they controlled vast amounts of land and had many family soldiers, but also because they controlled culture.
No matter how powerful the emperor is, he needs civil and military officials to govern the four corners of the world, right? So, during the Tang dynasty, the Five Great Families and the Seven Great Clans, as well as the Four Great Clans of Guanzhong, produced countless officials and generals!
Of course, later on, a failed candidate named Huang Chao, because of the control of aristocratic families and repeated failures in the exams, rose in anger, "trampled the bones of noble officials on the streets", and wiped out the aristocratic families that had held power for thousands of years.
If I can’t pass the exams, then no one can!
As for Liu Shi Ba, he was from a family of clerks, even more ineligible to take the imperial examinations. He could only inherit his father's occupation as a low-ranking clerk or engage in business.
That's why Liu Shi Qi said that Liu Shi Ba’s studying was useless!
Upon hearing this, disappointment filled Liu Shi Ba’s eyes. Yes, what was the point of studying so much, when the sons of clerks could never rise to high positions?
Hearing this, Wei Ming walked to Liu Shi Qi and asked, “Isn’t that your father?”
Liu Shi Qi roared hatefully, “He’s not worthy of being my father! He worked in the county office his entire life, and our family was poorer than beggars!”
“If I were him, heh, I would have been rich and powerful by now!”
After Liu Shi Qi said this, Su Xian Wei straightened his chest, a strange sense of pride surfacing within him. The other clerks and constables exchanged glances, as if they had something to say, agreeing with Liu Shi Qi’s statement.
However, Wang Nai Ling, the magistrate of Gan Tang County, felt ashamed and shook his head slightly.
In fact, the salary of officials in the Great Tang Dynasty was quite high. Even a simple clerk could support a family. However, the situation in Gan Tang County was a bit special. Their salaries were often delayed or not paid at all.
At that moment, Xue Huan came down from upstairs, carrying a wooden box, “Sir, I found it!”
With that, he opened the box and its contents spilled out, spreading across the table – a collection of gold, silver, and jewels.
Wei Ming glanced at Su Xian Wei, with a playful smile, “It seems like Liu Shi Qi has been hiding a lot of stolen goods, but he didn’t turn them over to you, his savior, Su Xian Wei?”
Su Xian Wei looked enviously at the gold, silver, and jewels scattered across the table, but then turned his head away, “What are you talking about, my lord? I don’t understand!”
Wei Ming chuckled, “It’s fine. You’ll understand.”