CH 85.1

Chapter 85.1 – Will You Serve Me As Your Lord?

After the morning court session, Lu Qipei quickly caught up to the Court of Judicial Review’s Head Minister who had walked ahead.

The Head Minister looked back at her and asked with a smile, “Vice Minister Lu is in such a hurry today, is there anything important you wish to discuss with me?” After thinking for a bit, he said confusedly, “King Chu’s case is over, and there’s no major cases in the Court of Judicial Review lately.”

Lu Qipei quickly cupped her hands at him and said, “I must thank Sir Head Minister for the matter with King Chu.”

The Head Minister waved his hand and continued walking towards the palace gate. “The evidence in the case was conclusive, and King Chu deserved what he got. What do you have to thank me for? Alright, if you have anything to say, just say it.”

Lu Qipei had been in the Court of Judicial Review for three years. When she started, she was mentored by the Head Minister, who was still a Vice Minister back then. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the two had something of a teacher-student relationship.

Now, Lu Qipei had become the Head Minister’s right hand, and the two got along very well. So Lu Qipei didn’t beat around the bush and simply said, “Recently, the Princess has gone to Huguo Temple to pray, and it’s very lonely at home. Why don’t you let me go handle the case in Hequ?”

The Court of Judicial Review being in charge of prisons across the whole kingdom was not a statement in jest. Not only did they review major cases in the capital and the crimes of hundreds of officials, some difficult cases in local areas also needed them to go and intervene. Therefore, the Court of Judicial Review had a lot of assignments requiring travel every year.

These assignments were not easy. Without even mentioning how cases reported by local authorities would naturally be hard ones, even just the travel back and forth from the capital alone was already a pain.

So maybe for fairness, or maybe for other reasons, there was an unwritten rule in the Court of Judicial Review. Other than the Head Minister, everyone else would take turns to do the travel assignments.

In short, everyone from top to bottom would get their share of those assignments.

Lu Qipei hadn’t been sent out yet this year, and Hequ was not far from the capital. If she investigated the case quickly, she could be back in half a month. Since Qi Yang wasn’t at home right now, she could save a lot of trouble if she finished this matter now.

The Head Minister understood her meaning immediately, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh you, always know how to pick the good stuff. Hequ is so close, when you go and come back, it should be just around the time the Princess is coming back too, so it won’t delay you from being together at all.”

Lu Qipei didn’t make any excuse and smiled, “Then Lord Head Minister agree?”

Of course, the Head Minister didn’t mind this little matter. He casually nodded and said, “You can go if you want, but His Majesty’s Longevity Festival is not far from now. As the prince consort, you have to be there, so don’t take too long in Hequ.”

Lu Qipei nodded, then returned to the Court of Judicial Review to hand over all her current affairs, then left the government office at noon.

The princess’s mansion had just sent Her Royal Highness The Princess off the day before, but in just one day, the Prince Consort also left.

She packed her bags at noon, and by afternoon led two minor officials from the Court of Judicial Review out of the city and went straight to Hequ.

But no one noticed that shortly after Lu Qipei’s carriage left the city, another carriage was following far away.

Inside was Qi Bo, sitting in front of a small table. His beard and hair were turning grey, and his shrewd eyes were half-closed.

The case in Hequ could be said to be simple, but could also be said to be complex. In short, it was a case where a relative was murdered.

After arriving at Hequ, Lu Qipei first went to the local government to take over the files, then she went all the way to investigate and uncover the case. In three to five days, the case was solved.

It’s not that the local government was incompetent; it was just that their field of specialization was different. This was what the people of the Court of Judicial Review specialized in, so their handling of cases could not be compared to ordinary government officials.

Therefore, everytime they were sent out to the locals, the time they spent investigating the case was often less than the time they took to travel, which was the source of everyone’s complaints.

Fortunately, Lu Qipei had a good temper and didn’t complain much after the case was solved. It was rare for the Hequ’s County Magistrate to meet such a high-ranking official, and he was worried that his incompetence would leave a bad impression on the prince consort. So, he tried all he could to keep him for a few more days.

If this was as usual, Lu Qipei would certainly ignore this. But this time, things were a little different…

In the middle of the night, someone knocked the door of the county government guest room where Lu Qipei was staying in. The person inside who was in a light sleep immediately got up.

If you looked at her carefully, you would find that she didn’t even take off her coat when she went to bed. She had slept with her clothes on, and she jumped up immediately.

Walking quickly to the window, Lu Qipei asked in a low voice, “Who?”

Qi Bo’s familiar voice could immediately be heard from outside. “It’s this old slave, is Young Lord already up?”

Hearing this, Lu Qipei immediately opened the window. Seeing that she was neatly dressed and obviously ready, he bowed slightly and said, “Since Young Lord is ready, then please follow this old slave.”

There already seemed to be a tacit understanding of where they were going and what they were going to do.

Lu Qipei didn’t say much and made a soft “un” sound, then she went through the window and followed Qi Bo. The two were like shadows in the dark night, moving in the darkness without alerting anyone, directly leaving the county government building.

Hequ County was not big, and Lu Qipei had become familiar with it during the past few days’ investigation. She followed Qi Bo and soon entered the mansion of a rich man from the city. Interestingly, this mansion was very close to the place where the murder case happened. Lu Qipei had passed by its gate once, and heard a lot of stories about its owner.

She just didn’t know that this place was also connected to the Lu family.

The two’s feet went past the door, and before their feet could land, many people had already come out and took the initiative to greet them. Judging from their age, most of them were not young.

When they saw Qi Bo and Lu Qipei, they were a little surprised. Then, they immediately bowed down and saluted in unison, “Young Lord.”

Lu Qipei’s heart couldn’t stop beating wildly, but she had already learnt not to show her emotions in the past three years. She immediately raised her hand and said, “No need to stand on ceremony, everyone. To be able to meet you all today, my efforts for the past few years has not been in vain.”