Chapter 704: Jiang Li’s Past

“Come quick, look at this! This person’s name is really interesting—it’s the same as Mr. Jiang’s.” Luo Zhu called out to her brother and Ji Kongkong, her previous gloominess swept away.

“It really is, this person is also named Jiang Li.”

Luo Ying and Ji Kongkong were drawn over, their reactions similar to Luo Zhu’s, all intrigued by this namesake.

“It’s rare to see someone with the exact same name as Uncle Jiang. Should we take a look at this person’s past?” Ji Kongkong suggested.

Because Jiang Li existed in the Nine Provinces, out of respect for him, parents would not name their children “Jiang Li.” In the current Nine Provinces, only one person was named Jiang Li.

“This person named Jiang Li grew up in this orphanage.”

Ji Kongkong used the Dao of time to see the past and shared the images she saw with Luo Ying and his sister using her spiritual sense.

…

At the orphanage gate, a young couple, holding a basket, furtively placed it by the entrance, gently knocked on the door, and quickly left.

The orphanage director was an elderly woman. She opened the door to find only a lonely basket on the ground, with no one in sight, and sighed.

Inside the basket was a baby sleeping peacefully.

The old director sighed. This wasn’t the first time she had encountered such a situation. Young couples, caught up in the moment, would have a child but, for various reasons, couldn’t raise it. They would leave the child at the doorstep of an orphanage, hospital, or similar place and slip away as if nothing had happened.

“If you lack the capability, why bring this child into the world to suffer hardship?”

The old director picked up the child and noticed a note in its hand, which read “Jiang Li.”

“It seems this child’s name is Jiang Li.”

Time flew by, and ten years passed. The child named Jiang Li grew up in the orphanage, spending a happy childhood with his many brothers and sisters.

“Jiang Li, you did very well on this final exam, but your homeroom teacher called me in again.” The old director called Jiang Li into her room, her face full of helplessness.

Jiang Li had just finished playing soccer and was covered in dirt. He washed his face and asked excitedly, “Did the teacher praise me again?”

The old director pointed at her own expression. “Does my face look like I received praise? The teacher told me your thinking shouldn’t be so… divergent.”

“For example, this problem: ‘Xiao Ming and his mother’s combined age this year is 38. In five years, the mother will be 16 years older than Xiao Ming. How old is Xiao Ming this year?'”

“Yes, you correctly calculated that Xiao Ming is 11 years old this year. That’s not wrong.”

“But why did you also calculate the mother’s age? Fine, you calculated that the mother is 27 years old this year. That’s also not a problem.”

Jiang Li nodded and continued the old director’s train of thought as if it were perfectly logical. “So I wrote that the mother gave birth to Xiao Ming when she was 16, which is early marriage and early childbirth, violating the Marriage Law. That’s not wrong either.”

The old director rubbed her temples in pain, somewhat regretting having taught Jiang Li about law too early.

Her original intention was to worry that Jiang Li, having been abandoned by his parents, might develop a withdrawn personality. So she explained the law to him, saying the world was a good place and that there were laws to punish bad people.

Jiang Li didn’t develop a withdrawn personality; on the contrary, he was the most outgoing among his peers. At the same time, he also developed an interest in law.

This was originally a good thing, except the old director kept receiving complaints from the homeroom teacher, saying Jiang Li’s thinking was too active, and he always managed to add unnecessary complications while getting the answers right.

The old director tried to persuade Jiang Li not to do this every time, but she failed each time.

“Forget it. Knowing and understanding the law isn’t a bad thing either. Let it be.” The old director waved her hand, telling Jiang Li to go back and continue playing soccer.

Watching Jiang Li’s figure joyfully running away, the old director shook her head helplessly, a gratified smile appearing on her face.

Jiang Li excelled in his studies and got into a good university. The major he chose was, naturally, Law.

The field of Law had many subjects: Criminal Law, Civil Law, International Law, Jurisprudence, and so on.

The very first class Jiang Li attended was Jurisprudence.

Jurisprudence, the principles of law, is a subject with strong theoretical overtones.

The Jurisprudence professor stepped onto the podium and, unhurriedly, posed a question: “Students, do you know what the law pursues?”

What does the law pursue?

This question sparked discussion among the freshmen. Most of them had chosen Law not because they liked it, but because they didn’t know what to choose when selecting a major. They thought Law had good prospects, so they chose it.

As for legal knowledge, they knew nothing.

Although Jiang Li had studied law, he had only learned legal statutes. He had never thought about why the law was born in the first place or what its underlying meaning was.

Right, what exactly does the law pursue?

Seeing the freshmen couldn’t answer, the Jurisprudence professor smiled slightly. This was very normal. He soon revealed the answer.

“What the law pursues is eternal fairness and justice.”

“Since ancient times, the law has constantly changed precisely because people’s understanding of the connotations of fairness and justice has continuously evolved.”

“Even today, there is still no definitive answer to what exactly our fairness and justice mean.”

“Perhaps in your future lives, you will find the answer.”

Hearing this, Jiang Li’s body trembled.

The professor continued, “Using power for personal gain, lining one’s own pockets, appointing people by favoritism—these are absolutely not acts of justice.”

“As people of the law, I hope that after you enter your respective positions in the future, you do not forget the original intent of the law and your own true hearts.”

After finishing the introduction, the professor began the formal lecture: “In ancient times, people envisioned a possibility, hoping for the emergence of a ‘Philosopher King.’ The Philosopher King, at the pinnacle of power, could transform real society into an ideal society. However, this is merely a hypothesis; a Philosopher King has never appeared…”

Four years of university ended. Jiang Li, captivated by Jurisprudence, chose to pursue further studies, obtaining a master’s degree and then a doctorate in Jurisprudence.

During his master’s and doctoral studies, he learned various legal theories from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. He could recite any theory backwards and forwards. His doctoral advisor praised his learning ability profusely, believing he would undoubtedly become an authority in the field of Jurisprudence.

After Jiang Li passed his doctoral defense, his advisor hoped he would stay at the university to teach. However, Jiang Li wanted to put theory into practice. He chose to work, to uphold fairness and justice.

The advisor initially wanted to dissuade him, but after exchanging a few words with Jiang Li, he found Jiang Li’s will was firm and he simply couldn’t be persuaded.

The advisor sighed and said, “You seem carefree and lack seriousness on the surface, but in reality, your principles are very strong, with sharp edges and corners that no one can shake.”

“Thank you for the praise, teacher.” Jiang Li said, scratching his head sheepishly.

“I’m not praising you. With this personality, you’ll suffer great losses in the workplace. There are some things you need to turn a blind eye to. Do as others do, don’t be a maverick, and don’t draw the line between right and wrong so clearly.”

“You might be right, but the right thing doesn’t necessarily have to be done. It will affect your career development.”

Jiang Li was puzzled. “Why? Right is right, wrong is wrong. Why not draw a clear line? If I know this is right, of course I should do it.”

The advisor shook his head. “You’ll understand in the future.”

Jiang Li got his wish and started working, becoming a legal professional.