Su Shilangs face stiffened, and he couldnt help but hear the venom in those words.

  He smiled awkwardly and felt the gaze on both sides was like a thorn in his back. After a moment, he stuttered and asked: "That... I dont know... did Lord Pei come here just to congratulate the young master... or is there something else?"

  Pei Tan heard this and gave Su Shilang a faint glance, after a while he said: "No hurry, lets wait until the wedding banquet is over, then Ill have a detailed talk with Lord Su."

  As soon as he heard this, Su Shilangs heart sank, and he forced a smile, nodded his head, and turned around to leave in a dejected manner.

  He also ordered his men that no one except the wine server at the banquet was allowed to approach Pei Tan.

  Who is Bae Doo-na?

  The Great Tang has always had five surnames and seven clans, as well as the four great surnames of Guanzhong, which are families that ordinary people cannot reach. The four great surnames of Guanzhong refer to the Wei family of the current empress, the Pei family of Hedongs Pei clan, the Liu family also from Hedong, and the Xue family. The Pei family is the most deeply rooted family among the four great surnames of Guanzhong, after the current empresss Wei family. For five generations, they have produced chancellors, and are a noble family among noble families.

  It so happened that Pei Tan, who had just taken office as the Grand Minister of the Dali Temple, encountered a major case.

  That was the son of Zong Chuke, the Minister of War, Zong Huo, who galloped his horse on Changan Street and killed a man. This matter, if you say its big, is indeed a human life. But then again, the one who died was just a small fishmonger, while Zong Huo was the son of a high-ranking official; no one thought their lives were equal.

  But what nobody could have imagined was what ultimately left everyones eyes wide with astonishment.

  The daughter of the fishmonger who died went to the Temple of Great Compassion to beat the drum and cry out for justice. At that time, Pei Tan had just been appointed as the Minister of the Temple of Great Compassion, on the third day.

  Pei Tan immediately took a group of people from the Dali Temple and went directly to the Shangshu Mansion.

  At that time, Zhong Chuke was in the palace, discussing matters with Emperor Zhongzong and other officials.

  Pei Tan arrived at the Ministry of Works, and Zong Huo initially put on a very arrogant attitude, not believing that Pei Tan dared to do anything to him.

  No one expected Pei Tan to say nothing, and directly ordered the prison guards to come forward, pinning Zong Huo firmly to the ground, with a single clang of the shackles, Zong Huo was stunned.

  Deng Zonghe struggled to get up, but it was too late. The Shangshu Fu were all thin and weak servants, no match for the Da Li Temples Kong Wu prison guards. Even if they were, who would dare confront the Da Li Temple directly?

  Pei Tan wore his official uniform that day, looking like he was handling a case. As soon as others saw him in that attire, they were already intimidated by three points.

  Zong Shangshu returned and learned that his son had been taken away, so he immediately rushed to the Temple of Justice to demand his release.

  But Pei Tan had already closed his door and refused to see Prime Minister Zong.

  Moreover, Pei Tan submitted a paper case to the Ministry of Punishment, which meant that after the Ministry of Punishment verified and approved it, he would send Zong Huo to the execution ground.

  The Ministry of Justice personnel were so frightened by this case that they couldnt sit still, who dared to approve this case?

  The Ministry of Justice immediately informed Zong Chuke again.

  Zong Chanshu took one look at Pei Tan and this little scoundrel, who actually dared to come, suddenly became enraged and directly entered the palace to complain to Zhongzong.

  But now its Zhong Zongs turn to be in a difficult position, on the one hand, Pei Tan insisted on convicting him, and on the other hand, Zong Chuke insisted on protecting his son.

  Later even the empress begged for mercy, asking Zhongzong to spare his life out of consideration that he had only one beloved son.

  Wei Hou stepped forward, and Zhong Zong naturally wavered.

  But at this time, Pei Tan brought that little vendors daughter into the palace and had her kneel before Zhong Zong.

  The peddlers wife was seriously ill, and at home there was only a daughter who had not yet married at the age of eighteen, all because of poverty. Now that the pillar of the family has fallen, the already struggling household is even more desperate, and in the future the mother and daughter will have no way out.

  Emperor Zhongzongs heart was greatly moved, and he suddenly became even more furious with Zong Ho, who had been killed by the vendor. With Pei Tan fanning the flames, Emperor Zhongzong impulsively issued an edict to execute Zong Ho according to the laws of the Great Tang Dynasty.

  Pei Tan brought this imperial edict back and ordered that Zong Huo be taken to the execution ground, ready to be executed.

  When Zhongzong wrote the imperial edict in a fit of anger, he immediately regretted it. However, an imperial edict cannot be taken back. In desperation, Zhongzong could only issue another imperial edict right away. The previous edict did not specify the time for the execution, and on this additional edict, Zhongzong said to delay the execution by a month.

  But no matter how much you drag your feet, it still has to be carried out.

  Its as if the God of Decay had collided with a Broom Star, and all the bad things have converged. As for Pei Tan, his reputation was already not great to begin with. Now that he has become an official, he is about to take down the son of a first-rank official, and privately, everyone in the capital is calling him "Bane Star".

  The ladys eyes rolled: "Its also that Minister Shangs bad luck, Pei Tan must be new to the job and wants to make a big show of it."

  The Dali Temple is exactly the place in charge of criminal cases, and all dead and alive cases must be sent to the Dali Temple for investigation. Otherwise, how would the people of the capital say that Pei Tan is a jinx? Look at him, even being an official is not a decent official.

  The lady of the Shilang household was biting her handkerchief in anger, Su Shouyue being the son closest to her heart. On the day of his grand wedding, such a person came knocking on their door, just thinking about it made her feel suffocated.

  ——

  Pei Tan sat here for an afternoon, and even when drinking wine, he didnt untie the white handkerchief on his hand.

  The wedding banquet of Sus family was a luxurious flowing water feast in Shengjing. The place where the gifts were placed had already become a small mountain.

  He saw a weak scholar put something like a silk ribbon from his sleeve into the pile of gifts.

  Among all the seats at the banquet, Pei Tan was the most quiet. He drank wine like water, and the maids who poured wine for him had to be extremely cautious when approaching him.

  The sun was setting, and the groom finally came out.

  The lady of the Cui family is a noblewoman and would certainly not appear to drink with the guests, at this moment, she must have been sent into the bridal chamber already.

  The groom, Officer Su Shouyue, wore a magnificent red wedding attire, with a red flower on his chest. He walked towards the guests, bowing and politely finishing the wine in his cup.

  The guests all applauded and cheered: "Su Gongzi has a great capacity for wine!"

  Su Shouyue also saw Pei Tan, he didnt dodge like others, but walked over with big strides.

  "Brother Pei." He cupped his hands together in greeting.

  Bai Tans age was actually not much older than these young masters of the capital, and Su Shouyue felt that calling him Brother Bai was quite appropriate.

  However, two attendants beside him frowned and said stiffly, "Our master sealed off the Grand Preceptor of Dalie Temple a month ago."

  In the capital city, those who have official positions should be addressed as "dà ren" (adult), and any other form of address is considered impolite.

  Su Shouyues face stiffened slightly.

  Onlookers snickered, even the grooms official was kicked onto the iron plate with just one lift of his leg.

  Pei Tan neither corrected the two attendants nor responded to Su Shuangs words, but simply picked up the wine on the table and said lightly: "Congratulations, young master Su, for bringing back a beautiful woman."

  Su Shouyue hastily raised his cup: "Lord Pei... youre too polite."

  The two drank wine, Su Shouyue was still a bit awkward, and said a few words casually before leaving Pei Tans place to go to other seats.

  Pei Tan held an empty wine cup and watched Su Shouyue walk by, those guests saw the new official coming, they all stood up to welcome him.

  Pei Tans gaze was fixed on a person wearing casual clothes, who wore a crown hat, had a fair complexion, and looked like an ordinary bookworm, but the clothes were loose and sloppy on him, as if he was too thin to hold them up.

  There were many people dressed like this in the audience, all ordinary citizens who came from far and near to watch the excitement.

  Unlike others who stared at Su Shouyao, that persons eyes never fell on him.

  Until the wine had gone around three times, Pei Tan stood up from his seat and prepared to leave. At this time, some people also got up and left one after another, including that strange guest who looked like a scholar. This person walked over and bumped into Pei Tan at the door, and after reacting, he apologized repeatedly: "Sorry, sorry."

  The man then hastily walked away.

  Pei Tan stared at the figure that had disappeared from the doorway, slowly lowered his head, and picked up something from his pocket.

  The attendants face changed as soon as he saw this thing and said: "Sir, what is this?"

  Pei Tan saw the thing in his palm, thin as a cicadas wing, soft and limp in his hand, with some red thread-like patterns on the edge. Pei Tan rubbed it gently with two fingers, as if he was rubbing against human skin.

  Pei Tuo also saw it at this time, his expression was gloomy and unfathomable: "It looks like human skin."

  The person who bumped into him hastily stuffed a piece of human skin into his arms.

  The attendant immediately turned around and rebuked those behind him: "Did you see that person?"

  The two attendants were slightly flustered: "No, never."

  The attendants immediately fell in behind him: "You follow me to pursue."

  "Its all right."

  The attendant was taken aback: "Milord?"

  Pei Tuan stared at the entrance, "Were going back to Dali Temple."

  Back at the temple, Pei Tan naturally called over the servant and threw the thing in his hand over to him.

  The doctor also looked at it and his face changed slightly, then he carefully stroked it for a long time before cautiously bringing it to his nose and sniffing it lightly.

  "Adult... Its definitely human skin."

  "Living person... or?"

  The coroner was startled for a moment. The skin of the living and the dead is also very different, and Pei Tans question obviously didnt stop there.

  The coroner slowly put down the human skin: "There is a stench of death on it, most likely from a dead person."

  Moreover, the bloodstains on the edges have turned dark and have a foul smell, which doesnt seem like the signs of skinning a living person.

  "Can you recognize the pattern on this?" After a long while, Pei Tans gaze fell onto the strange tattoo on that piece of human skin.

  The servant stood there for a moment, staring at him, before saying: "Reporting to the master, I dont actually recognize him. But I... have one guess."

  "Tell me about it."

  He looked up at Pei Tan and said, "The body is given by ones parents, and normally no one would tattoo themselves. Its even more impossible for people from aristocratic families. However, in ancient times there was a punishment called ink penalty, where slaves who committed serious crimes were tattooed on their bodies as a warning. Even if the slave was later pardoned, this punishment would follow them for life."

  This was once one of the most undignified punishments, causing people to forever lose the opportunity for forgiveness.