"I don't want to!" Li Jie refused without hesitation. Although he didn't know what Mao Xiang was going to say, it was definitely not a good thing, especially this guy was extremely insidious. Even if he died, he would have to take some cushions, so Li Jie didn't want to be fooled by him.

Mao Xiang didn't expect Li Jie to refuse directly, which made him stunned for a moment, but then he reacted and smiled again: "You don't want to listen to me, even if you have become the son-in-law of the prince, the future son-in-law, but for the royal family, you are still an outsider, and with your talents, you will definitely threaten the royal family in the future, just like your grandfather, so sooner or later you will end up like me now!"

Mao Xiang couldn't help laughing happily at the end, as if he really saw Li Jie being imprisoned in the heavenly prison for survival, and in the end he was executed by his owner like a lame old dog.

Looking at Mao Xiang who was crazy, Li Jie shook his head sympathetically, and then suddenly said, "Mao Xiang, do you think others are as stupid as you? From the moment you were willing to become a butcher knife in the hands of others, you should have expected that the ending today is like this. I am essentially different from you, because I will never become a tool in the hands of others!"

As soon as Li Jie said that, Mao Xiang immediately stopped laughing wildly. He stared at Li Jie with a vicious look on his face and said, "Tool? What do you think you are? Everyone in the world is the tools in the hands of His Majesty. Let's not talk about you, even those dukes, lords and princes are no exception. How can you escape the fate of becoming a tool?"

"It's useless to talk to people like you. Because you are not me, you never know what kind of confidence I have!" Li Jie smiled faintly, and after he said that, he ignored Mao Xiang. This made Mao Xiang yell, but Li Jie was lazy to look at him.

Li Jie chatted with Hu Jiang for a while, mainly to comfort him not to worry. In addition, Hu Jiang also learned about his daughter Hu Yingyu being taken to the palace. Although he knew that this was the best way to protect his daughter, he still couldn't bear it.

Finally, Li Jie packed up his things and left, and Hu Jiang also said goodbye to him with tears in his eyes. Mao Xiang next to him was still shouting endlessly, but no one was willing to look at him. This indifference also made Mao Xiang even more crazy, or he had been crazy since he was sent to the heavenly prison.

After leaving the prison, Li Jie also breathed a sigh of relief. He actually didn't listen to Mao Xiang's words at all, but he also had his own confidence. In the past, Lao Zhu might have just wanted to use him, but as time went by, Li Jie slowly gained Lao Zhu's trust and was even regarded as his own family.

Of course, the most important thing is that Li Jie himself is not an ordinary person. As a time traveler, he knows the direction of the entire history. Even if the current history has changed, the general direction of history has not changed much, so Li Jie still has great advantages.

It is precisely because of this confidence that Li Jie firmly believes that he is completely different from a person like Mao Xiang, or that he is capable of controlling his own destiny. Of course, the most important thing is that Lao Zhu is old and only has seven or eight years left. Once Lao Zhu dies, Li Jie will be completely liberated. Zhu Biao, who succeeded to the throne, is not as difficult as Lao Zhu.

Thinking of this, Li Jie also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stepped out of the prison. When he told Mrs. Hu about Hu when he told Mrs. Hu about Hu's situation, the other party was so distressed that he burst into tears. However, as long as he was still alive, it would be fine. What's more, although Hu Jiang is old and thin, he is at least healthy, which is a great blessing in disgrace.

Three days later, the case of Hu Jiang and others turned around, but it cannot be said to be a turn around, because Dali Temple has made a verdict and it cannot be easily overturned, so Lao Zhu simply issued an order to reduce the verdict of some people who were not deeply involved with Mao Xiang.

The most important thing is that Lao Zhu formally issued an order to abolish the law of demoting the family of the criminal to the Jiaofangsi, and change it to the official who committed a crime, and the person who committed a crime would be borne by one and no longer implicated innocent families. Of course, if the family of the criminal also participated in it, he would of course be sentenced to a heavy sentence.

It is said that when Lao Zhu proposed the above idea at the court meeting, almost all the officials knelt down excitedly, thanking Lao Zhu for his kindness. After all, as an official, even if he did not commit any crime, seeing his former colleague's wife and daughter demoted to the Jiaofangsi as prostitutes, they felt a sense of hurting each other. Now that Lao Zhu abolished this law, he simply lifted a shackle that was pressed on their hearts.

This incident also touched Lao Zhu very much. He has been tough for most of his life and has always maintained a vigilance towards ministers. In addition, he was born with disgust with corrupt officials, so he set up so many severe punishments, hoping to use this to intimidate officials in the world so that they dare not make mistakes.

But when he saw that all the officials were willing to express their gratitude to them because they abolished a harsh law, Lao Zhu suddenly realized that these officials were not just tools for their own management of the world, but also living people and their own emotions.

Although blindly being tough can achieve temporary results, over time, it will inevitably cause all officials to be disconnected from the emperor. Even as Li Jie said, officials are wary of the emperor, and the emperor no longer trusts officials. When the imperial power and the mutual power fight each other, it will only consume the strength of the entire country, thus giving foreign enemies an opportunity to take advantage of it.

It was precisely because of the above experience that Lao Zhu had a special chat with Li Jie afterwards. Li Jie also took the opportunity to make a few more suggestions. In fact, Lao Zhu's early governance was indeed very strict. Of course, he did this mainly to allow the Ming Dynasty to recover as soon as possible from the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The effect was very significant, but it also left many hidden dangers.

Now that Lao Zhu is old, he should have started to repair the hidden dangers left by the urgent governance. Of course, Li Jie also knew that this matter should not be too hasty, so at the beginning he only mentioned a few less important things. As for household registration, Daming Baochao, taxation and other more important things, he didn't even mention them, because it is not the time to touch them now.

Hu Jiang was also among the people who were pardoned. He was not deeply involved with Mao Xiang, so after Lao Zhu issued an order, he changed his exile to dismissal, which made Mrs. Hu cry with joy. Li Jie immediately told Hu Yingyu in the palace. I believe she would be very happy.

On the day Hu Jiang was released, Li Jie also took Mrs. Hu to greet him. However, after coming to the prison gate, Mrs. Hu refused to stay in the carriage anymore, but got off the carriage and stared at the gate of the prison.

Finally, when the prison door was opened, a group of more than a dozen people came out. Mrs. Hu also saw Hu Jiang, who was thin at first sight, which made her excited and burst into tears. She immediately stepped forward and shouted: "Master~"

"Madam!" Hu Jiang was so excited that he cried. He immediately took a few steps to hug his wife. The couple hugged their heads in front of the prison door and cried bitterly.

Not only Hu Jiang, the people who were released with him also cried when they saw their family. This time they were imprisoned and almost died once. Now they were able to come out to reunite with their families, which was like a dream.

After Hu Jiang and his wife cried for a while, Li Jie came forward to persuade them, and then asked them to get on the carriage and took them home for a while, because Hu Jiang was not only dismissed from office, but also his property was confiscated. Of course, compared to his life, these external things were nothing.

Li Jie had already asked someone to hold a banquet at home and then personally entertained Hu Jiang. At the banquet, Hu Jiang asked about his daughter Hu Yingyu again. Li Jie had also come into contact with Hu Yingyu several times during this period, so he talked about her close proximity in the palace. Hu Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that his daughter was not wronged in the palace.

"Nephew, I'm afraid it will be difficult to think about it again. I'll help you take care of her more when you enter the palace!" At this time, Hu Jiang raised his glass and said to Li Jie.

"Uncle Hu is so polite. Speaking of which, Yingyu also entered the palace because of me, and taking care of her is also what I should do!" Li Jie immediately picked up the wine glass and said.

After saying that, the two of them drank it all in one go, and then Li Jie said again: "Uncle Hu, you don't have a place to go for the time being, so why not stay here with me. After the Chinese New Year, my parents may be coming back from Fengyang, so you can get together at that time!"

Hearing Li Jie say this, Hu Jiang looked at Mrs. Hu, and then he said again: "Wei Dao, let's not hide it from you. My wife and I discussed it just now. After this disaster, I was also discouraged and almost implicated my family. So I decided to go back to my hometown to retire, and I don't have to worry about food and clothing. Yingyu's brothers have also restored their original positions. With them here, it is enough to support us."

Hu Jiang is not just Hu Yingyu, but in fact Hu Yingyu is his youngest daughter. He also has several sons, and they are all adults and are officials outside. When he was arrested before, his sons should have been arrested back to the capital, but now he has been released and his sons are also spared from being implicated.

"This..." Li Jie also showed a thoughtful look after hearing this. Li Jie could understand Hu Jiang's idea of ​​returning to his hometown to retire. After all, anyone who suffered such a big blow would probably be discouraged.

"Okay, since Uncle Hu has made up his mind, I can't stop him. But the Chinese New Year is coming soon. Should you wait until after the New Year? Taking advantage of this period, maybe I can find a way to arrange for you to meet Yingyu?" Li Jie said again at this time.

"Really, nephew, can you really let us see Yingyu again?" Hu Jiang was so excited that his whole body trembled. Mrs. Hu's eyes were red. She thought that after her daughter entered the palace, she would never see each other again.
Chapter completed!