Su Kuang watched with barely concealed longing as Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing out the door. The strange looks from the colleagues around him were not the real source of his discomfort — what truly stung was that he was still a chief document officer, and his superior now showed signs of once again taking notice of the rival he had long dismissed.
He persisted until the end, still hoping to put in one more appeal to Zheng Xi: a rather significant case this was, involving a commander of the Imperial Guards and requiring a tug-of-war with the Capital Prefecture. Adding one more person wouldn’t be too many, surely?
Zheng Xi took one look at him and knew what he was after. When Su Kuang came forward to request, “My lord, this subordinate also wishes to contribute whatever small effort I can for the Court of Judicial Review,” Zheng Xi smiled and said, “Sitting still again?”
Su Kuang said, “In receipt of one’s sovereign’s salary, one bears one’s sovereign’s burdens. To eat well and do nothing weighs on this subordinate’s conscience.”
Zheng Xi said, “Then learn to let your conscience rest.”
Su Kuang could not decipher what this meant. He glanced furtively at Zheng Xi, hesitated over how to respond, and ventured cautiously, “Then this subordinate…”
Zheng Xi shook his head inwardly. This Su Kuang had some ability and was willing to work, but was too easily blinded by his petty calculations. Narrow vision made it easy to lose sight of the path, easy to commit errors of judgment. Unless he corrected this flaw, it would easily land him in trouble. Zheng Xi said, “Don’t gild the lily.”
Su Kuang thought: getting involved in a case hardly counts as gilding a lily, does it?
Zheng Xi said, “You may go and read your books as well.”
Su Kuang’s heart went cold at the thought of Zhù Ying being pressed to read books for two years. Was he too going to waste two years like this?
He looked again at Zheng Xi, who showed no sign of providing any explanation. Su Kuang was filled with anxiety. He thought of how his spirits had been soaring over these past two years, inwardly satisfied that Zhù Ying had finished off her own prospects by sitting on the cold bench until death. Now imagining himself in the same position, he broke out in a cold sweat.
He bowed himself out, thinking: How exactly did this Zhù Ying manage to turn things around? Being assigned to accompany Deputy Chief Justice Pei today should have been me! How am I supposed to…
……
On the other side, Pei Qing’s mood was not particularly good either. He knew of Zhou You — not a bad person, not a good one, but the trouble lay in the people behind him. Every single one of them, determined to show the depth of their loyalty and affection, took turns protecting this one foolish young man, adding one complication after another. In his view, the right thing would have been to let Wang Yunhe give this fool a proper dressing-down — it might have helped him grow up. But the Imperial Guards had intervened, so there was no ignoring that entirely.
Pei Qing had already made up his mind: he could not seize the case outright. The Capital Prefecture had to be allowed a share of involvement. In the end, the Ministry of Justice would still need to review the case anyway, and Secretary Shi was there to look after Zhou You. Hmph!
The two of them were not in the best of moods. The clerks accompanying them did not dare say a word. Lieutenant Li from the Imperial Guards did his best to be accommodating and said carefully, “Horses are ready for you.”
Pei Qing said, “The Imperial Guards certainly looks after their own.”
Lieutenant Li said, “Our General said this is truly embarrassing. We would have preferred not to get involved. But the incident happened at the pleasure quarters — that’s the thing — it doesn’t look good when you say it out loud.”
That’s nonsense — you lot care nothing for how things look! Zhù Ying cursed inwardly, but seized on this opening on Pei Qing’s behalf: “Old Li — tell us what you know first. Otherwise we’ll be walking in blind, and if the Capital Prefecture rebuffs us, we’ll have lost face over a small matter, and delayed justice over a large one.”
Lieutenant Li quickly obliged: “Over this way, please. The story is actually simple enough. Zhou the General had no duty to perform yesterday evening, and today was also to be his day off. He came out of the palace and went to visit a lady friend. In that kind of place — you know how it is — men don’t like to lose face in front of pretty young women, and with a bit of wine in him, when he got into a dispute with someone he refused to yield even an inch. He was eventually pulled apart from the other man, but not before he let out some harsh words — telling the other man to wait, that he would kill him.”
Pei Qing said, “Damn!”
Lieutenant Li said, “That’s exactly it — the trouble started with those words! That same evening, he stayed on at the establishment. As luck would have it, the other man was also staying the night there, and the two of them were lodged in rooms nearly directly across from each other. He slept there until the sun was high and mid-morning, arms around a young woman and not yet awake, when the door was battered open. The other man and the woman who had kept him company for the night were both found dead in their room.”
Pei Qing said, “That still doesn’t necessarily point to him.”
“That’s the thing — the man’s neck had been hacked some ten-odd times. His head was nearly severed, held on by only a sliver of skin. The woman had been stabbed several times through the chest, and nearly half her face had been torn away. The most damning thing is that the knife — it looked like it was Zhou the General’s.”
Pei Qing frowned deeply: “Zhou You? Him?”
Lieutenant Li said, “Right? You don’t think this sounds like something he’d do either? Who kills someone and then stays and goes to sleep? And he had no old grudge or recent grievance with the man — why would he bother? “
Zhù Ying said suddenly, “He has a large heart. He probably doesn’t think of this as a big deal.”
Pei Qing nodded. The savagery of the method didn’t fit, but the brazen, unconcerned manner of it — staying behind without a care — fit all too well.
Lieutenant Li thought for a moment and said, “He’s a young master who’s had everything done for him — the method doesn’t match, but the idea of him directing his household brutes to do it is plausible. That he did it himself, not so much. There’d be no need to use his own knife, would there? Ah — the horses are here! Quick, bring them over!”
Zhù Ying saw Pei Qing mount and swung herself up into the saddle as well. The Imperial Guards watched the party go, and one of them said quietly to Zhù Ying, “Little Zhù — we’re counting on you.”
Zhù Ying leaned down from the saddle: “You’re that close to Zhou You?”
The man spread his hands, “It’s not like he’d ever look twice at me, but he’s still one of us — the Guards.”
Fair enough. They were looking out for one of their own — especially in a military unit. One had to maintain that face.
Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing to the Capital Prefecture. From a distance, the whole party reined in their horses. Zhù Ying stood on her stirrups to get a clear look, then sat back down and shot a furious glance at Lieutenant Li: “Old Li! Explain yourself! How exactly did you trick Lord Zheng and deceive Deputy Chief Justice Pei into bringing us out here?!”
Lieutenant Li said, “How is it trickery?”
Before Pei Qing could speak, Zhù Ying pressed ahead: “Confess honestly — who was killed?! I’ll be damned! I knew something was off — why else would you be so anxious to have us get involved early in a case that would end up at the Court of Judicial Review anyway?! The victim was from the Southern Army, wasn’t he?!”
The northern and southern armies took their names from their respective positions about the city. The Imperial Guards in the north, closer to the palace, were sometimes called the Northern Army. The Capital Guards in the south, protecting the city, were sometimes called the Southern Army. Their respective encampments reflected this geography. The two forces dressed in broadly similar fashion, but the Northern Army’s uniforms were a bit finer, with slight differences in ornamentation. This was common knowledge among longtime capital residents, and since Jin Liang was with the Southern Army, Zhù Ying knew it a little more clearly than most. That single look had been enough to identify the twenty or thirty soldiers crowded around the Capital Prefecture as Southern Army men, while the several dozen standing opposite them looked like Northern Army personnel — some of them weren’t in uniform, but a few of the faces were familiar to Zhù Ying.
Pei Qing also fixed his gaze on Lieutenant Li. Lieutenant Li said wretchedly, “I don’t quite know the full details either.”
“Then tell us what you do know,” Zhù Ying said, refusing to let this go.
Lieutenant Li had clearly done some preparation. He said, “That one — he seems to have been a colonel of some rank in the Southern Army.”
Pei Qing turned to watch Zhù Ying question Lieutenant Li: “A colonel who merits this kind of commotion?!”
Lieutenant Li said, “Alright — he was originally a colonel, but he also held a general’s honorary title. Same as Zhou You. Little Zhù, you see — both parties are officials. No civilians from the capital are involved. That puts it squarely under your Court of Judicial Review’s jurisdiction, doesn’t it?” Fallen under Wang Yunhe’s hands, officials of all kinds would come out looking bad — especially in a violent homicide arising from rivalry over a woman. They needed to save face! He jumped down from his horse and made a bow to Pei Qing. Pei Qing said, “In broad daylight in public, you’re in Imperial Guards uniform — what does this look like? Well, let’s go.”
They were here now. He suspected Zheng Xi had already anticipated something like this.
Lieutenant Li was overjoyed: “Please.”
Zhù Ying said to him, “Old Li — how are you this devoted to him? Accompanying him to beg and smile?”
Lieutenant Li said with a long-suffering face, “The General ordered me to come. What choice do I have? Little Zhù — please.”
Zhù Ying said quietly, “That depends on what the Capital Prefecture thinks. If we take the person back and arrive at a farcical conclusion, the Capital Prefecture will certainly object.”
Lieutenant Li said, “Get him out first, that’s the priority.”
……
Pei Qing had taken in what Lieutenant Li described of the case and had not taken it all at face value — he also felt a meeting with the Capital Prefecture was needed first. The party arrived before the office, where constables were working hard to keep apart two groups of soldiers so that these men whose trade was fighting and killing would not come to actual blows. Both sides were still exercising some self-restraint, but the temperature was rising.
Zhù Ying looked toward the Southern Army side and saw, as expected, no Jin Liang. Good — with this many people, if Jin Liang were among them, that would be far stranger. She followed Pei Qing into the Capital Prefecture building.
The clerks announced loudly: “Deputy Chief Justice Pei of the Court of Judicial Review has arrived! Both sides, make way!”
With the Court of Judicial Review present, neither side was afraid. Both clamored for the Court to “give us justice — no playing favorites!” Some from the Southern Army recognized Lieutenant Li: “Hey! The man who pulls strings for the other side is here!” And they moved to block the way.
The Capital Prefecture’s staff had their methods too, and called out, “We are at the foot of the Son of Heaven! Soldiers causing a ruckus — are you planning to rebel?” The noise from both sides subsided by a small measure.
Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing inside the Capital Prefecture building.
Unlike the previous times Zhù Ying had come with a pass to coordinate the transfer of case files — when she had sometimes even managed to see Wang Yunhe directly — this was now an official exchange between two government bodies. The Court of Judicial Review had sent a Deputy Chief Justice, so the Capital Prefecture sent out a Deputy Prefect to receive them.
The Capital Prefecture had two Deputy Prefects, who served to assist the Prefect in managing affairs. The one who came out today was also a person Zhù Ying had seen before — capable and efficient, named Fan Shaoji. Previously, Fan Shaoji’s manner with Zhù Ying had generally been to give a slight smile, a nod, and sometimes a few words of encouragement out of deference to Wang Yunhe. Today he offered only a brief inclination of the head.
Fan Shaoji and Pei Qing addressed each other by their courtesy names, and Fan Shaoji laughed, “Zi Cheng — you don’t visit unless you have good reason! There must be a purpose to this visit!”
Pei Qing said, “Cheng De already knows my intention — why not oblige us?”
Fan Shaoji shook his head: “I’m afraid that won’t be very convenient.”
The two talked as they walked inside. Pei Qing asked Fan Shaoji about the case details: “It will end up coming to the Court of Judicial Review eventually, and you can see what’s outside — the deceased must have been someone significant, too.”
Fan Shaoji said, “Since it’s bound to come to you in the end, why rush it at this moment?”
The two were sparring carefully, and by the time they reached the hall inside and sat down as host and guest, the argument over jurisdiction in the case had begun. Fan Shaoji said that not only had a military officer died, but also a woman in the entertainment trade, and the scene of the crime was within the Capital Prefecture’s territory — so the Capital Prefecture had every right to manage this matter. Pei Qing, knowing Zheng Xi’s bottom line was co-jurisdiction, was unhurried. He said the ranks of both parties had reached Grade Five, and especially the suspect’s rank was Grade Five — the Court of Judicial Review had authority over this.
Zhù Ying and the others sat to one side and listened. It was the first time Zhù Ying had been this close to two senior officials going around in circles like this. When the two sides were thoroughly deadlocked, Pei Qing said, “Brother Fan — might I pay a visit to Lord Wang Yunhe?”
Fan Shaoji said, “It seems I have been remiss in receiving you, Brother Pei.”
The two sides were at an impasse. Pei Qing had no choice but to say, “The Capital Prefecture has no shortage of cases, nor of officials who have broken the law. Why fix on this one and refuse to budge? A formal communication can be sent, and our Court of Judicial Review can issue a transfer order. Or perhaps Lord Wang and our Lord Zheng should negotiate? That would merely make us both look incompetent. We serve the same Emperor.”
Fan Shaoji said sincerely, “For that very reason — to serve the Emperor — the Capital Prefecture will do everything within its power.”
They went back and forth at length and still reached no conclusion.
Zhù Ying suddenly spoke up: “Capital Prefecture — can you hold a Grade Five official?”
Fan Shaoji raised an eyebrow. Pei Qing snapped, “No manners.”
Zhù Ying said, “That is precisely the point of the rules. Deputy Prefect — the Court of Judicial Review can interrogate officials and detain them. Your office, however, faces certain difficulties in that regard, does it not?”
Speaking from her own experience: when Nanny Wang had turned herself in, neither the Feng nor the Shen household had sent their principals at first — only stewards. It was only when Chen Meng realized things had taken a serious turn that he came in person. Every legendary upright official in the stories could summon officials to court only with considerable force of character behind them — otherwise people simply did not come. So-called “punishment does not reach the educated classes” — they could choose not to appear. You could make your judgment; it would still need to be reported for review. In a homicide case, if the suspect simply refused to speak, what could you do? Right now, even though you had caught the person on the spot, if he chose to walk out, blocking him would be a breach of etiquette.
The Court of Judicial Review, however — for Grade Five officials and above who committed offenses, it had to go through their hands, and they could hold and interrogate them. Being brought inside the imperial city did not demean these unlawful officials. The only step was to move things slightly forward.
Fan Shaoji creased his brow and looked at Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying said sincerely, “The Court of Judicial Review will not privately release any suspect. Unless His Majesty issues a decree.”
Fan Shaoji hesitated. He was aware of Wang Yunhe’s plans. After Wang Yunhe brought order to the capital, the streets had become considerably cleaner — yet he still had some dissatisfaction with the behavior of the capital’s privileged young men. After the first round of reining in the most conspicuously flamboyant among the capital’s powerful circles, Wang Yunhe wanted to continue addressing the conduct of these privileged sons. These young men had behaved themselves for a spell when Wang Yunhe first took office, but in the past two years they had been unable to contain themselves again. Once a person possessed wealth and power beyond others, it was very hard to restrain oneself from displaying superiority — and among privileged sons, displaying that superiority generally meant humiliating others.
Zhou You had rather wandered into the cannon’s mouth. He had always been somewhat reckless, was a notable figure among the privileged young men, and had now become a suspect in a violent crime. There was no way this would pass by with a gentle reprimand.
Fan Shaoji said, “While this person is at the Capital Prefecture, unless His Majesty gives an order, no one can release a suspect.”
Pei Qing offered a slight smile: “I am afraid that will not quite hold, will it? Can your office convict Zhou You of murder before tomorrow morning’s court session? If not, that could be problematic. No — not even tomorrow. Secretarial Director Zhong, Secretary Shi, and several other lords — and perhaps even His Majesty — likely already know. Even proceeding according to law, it cannot be done as it currently stands, can it?”
The two went another round of verbal sparring. Pei Qing felt the time was about right and once again requested to see Wang Yunhe. This time Fan Shaoji said, “A moment please.”
He stepped out for a turn and came back to welcome Wang Yunhe.
The two sides exchanged greetings. Wang Yunhe’s expression was stern. Pei Qing became more formal in turn. He conveyed Zheng Xi’s position. Wang Yunhe, for his part, insisted firmly: “Within the imperial city, matters do not fall under the Capital Prefecture. Outside the palace city and the imperial city, all officials and civilians — how can the Capital Prefecture simply ignore them?”
Pei Qing restated that the Court of Judicial Review would not secretly release any suspect, and said, “You have seen for yourself how the Court of Judicial Review handled itself — from reviewing the old cases to the Gong rebel’s case.”
Wang Yunhe continued to frown.
Zhù Ying said, “Three lords — may this subordinate have a word?”
Wang Yunhe nodded. Zhù Ying said, “The concern in this case is that the suspect cannot be detained and questioned, and that the interrogation and trial cannot proceed fairly. In truth, one Zhou You is no great matter for either the Capital Prefecture or the Court of Judicial Review. You only need to persuade Zhou You’s uncles and the rest to loosen their grip a little.”
That was true — these uncles had spoiled him rotten. It was the same crime all over again. His own father would have beaten him half to death; his uncles all took the approach of “poor child, lost his father so young — we’ll educate him properly” — giving him a patient talking-to at most, then going back to cleaning up after him. Taken together, the constables no longer found him easy to deal with either.
Fan Shaoji said doubtfully, “You can persuade them?”
Zhù Ying said, “No one can manage anyone else forever. Getting them to back down on this one point would suffice, wouldn’t it?”
As they were speaking, Zhong Yi and Secretary-level Official Yao actually arrived! Secretary-level Official Yao was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and was of the same mind as Zhong Yi.
Wang Yunhe smiled: “Well, well.”
When the two saw Wang Yunhe, they also caught sight of Pei Qing, and Zhong Yi’s gaze lingered for a moment on Zhù Ying, seeming to find her vaguely familiar before passing on. Both of them wanted to get Zhou You out first. Secretary-level Official Yao hardly needed explaining. Zhong Yi was also a former Minister of Justice — both men understood the question of jurisdiction over cases. In any case, the Capital Prefecture couldn’t convict Zhou You either — so what was the issue in taking an official away? Secretary-level Official Yao said, “If the Capital Prefecture wants to question him, send him home first and come to the door whenever questioning is needed. What does it mean, keeping an official locked up at the Capital Prefecture?”
At the very least — shouldn’t they bring him out to be seen first?
Wang Yunhe therefore had Zhou You brought over. When Zhou You saw his uncles and elders, he called out with great aggrievement: “Uncle! Elder Uncle! I have been wronged! They didn’t stop to ask a single thing — they just listened to some lowly servant’s word and dragged me in!”
He had been held as a suspect at the Capital Prefecture for quite a while, and his sense of grievance had grown enormous.
Zhong Yi was startled: “What happened to your face? Capital Prefect — you cannot strike officials!”
Wang Yunhe said impatiently, “That was from the brawl he got into at the pleasure establishment, fighting over a woman!”
Zhong Yi turned bright red with embarrassment.
Zhù Ying rolled her eyes inwardly at the scene of the doting uncle and the aggrieved nephew. Zhou You said, “It’s not my fault, Uncle!” Both Zhong Yi and Secretary-level Official Yao still went through the motions of scolding him: “All of this is because of your own carelessness! A gentleman does not stand beneath a precarious wall, yet here you were, roaming about a crime scene!”
Wang Yunhe said, “He is the suspect.”
“I didn’t do it!”
Zhù Ying slipped in: “Lord Wang — may I ask that the suspect be transferred to the custody of the Court of Judicial Review?”
Zhou You glared furiously at Zhù Ying. Over these past two years Zhù Ying had grown in height. While not comparable to someone of imposing stature, she was still a tall young woman, shorter than Zhou You by less than two cun, and even taller than some men of more modest height. Zhou You stared fixedly at this short so-and-so and, not recognizing who it was, said furiously, “You little shrimp — just who the hell do you think you are?!”
Zhong Yi’s brow creased: “What kind of behavior is this!”
Zhù Ying said quite honestly, “This subordinate is a Court of Judicial Review Censor, Zhù Ying.”
The name was faintly familiar. Zhou You thought for a moment, went from the Court of Judicial Review to Zheng Xi, and from Zheng Xi landed on: “So it’s you! Did you come here on purpose to watch me make a fool of myself and torment me?!”
Zhù Ying fluently held up both hands, palms out, and said smoothly, “If you think that, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
She then said to Zhong Yi, who had reprimanded Zhou You: “Director Zhong — as you can see, General Zhou can’t even manage his own mouth. You cannot expect him to manage his own legs, can you? Even if you personally stationed yourself at his residence as a guard, you’d find it very hard to keep a young general like him contained. The moment he steps out the door, who can say what accident might befall him?”
Zhong Yi’s brow furrowed.
Zhù Ying said, “Is General Zhou capable of restraining himself from personally going to find the true culprit? If not — once a living person slips out, a whole host of accidents awaits him. If he were to be ambushed and beaten senseless, or if someone were to dump his body in the wilderness and claim he had fled in guilt…”
“Nonsense! I’m not the murderer!”
Zhù Ying said, “Can General Zhou restrain the impulse to go and find the killer himself? If he cannot — once he gets out into the open, countless accidents await.”
Zhong Yi nodded. This young ward of his really did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth.
Pei Qing pressed on smoothly: “How about transferring him to the Court of Judicial Review? First — he would be inside the imperial city, with the Imperial Guards outside and the Court of Judicial Review’s people within. He would be safe. Second — the Court of Judicial Review will investigate the truth, of course. And since the crime occurred within the Capital Prefecture’s jurisdiction, the Capital Prefecture naturally has no reason to stand aside — why not have both sides cooperate in earnest? If you’re worried about General Zhou’s safety, you’re welcome to come and visit often. The Gong rebel lived very comfortably at the Court of Judicial Review for over two years.”
“What? Prison? I won’t go!”
Zhù Ying said, “If he’s been wrongly accused, there’s also the risk of the real culprit making a second move against him — framing it as guilty self-destruction.”
Zhong Yi and Secretary-level Official Yao exchanged a glance and both said, “Very well! We will go and petition His Majesty.”
With that, the Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial Guards together escorted Zhou You back to the imperial city. Along the way Zhou You kept shouting, “I didn’t kill anyone — why are you sending me to the Court of Judicial Review? I won’t be managed by that hypocrite Zheng Xi!”
Zhù Ying and Pei Qing simply let him make a spectacle of himself. His shouting at least helped pacify the Southern Army to some degree. Zhù Ying then clasped her fists toward the Southern Army: “Lord Wang Yunhe would have adjudicated impartially regardless. You chose to confront the Imperial Guards instead, making it difficult for everyone to back down with dignity — and the Court of Judicial Review had no choice but to step in and participate. Now that the Court of Judicial Review and the Capital Prefecture have petitioned His Majesty to jointly handle the case, and the matter will reach the Emperor’s ears directly — surely you can rest easy.”
The Imperial Guards’ faces lit up with satisfaction, while the Southern Army began to harbor doubts. Zhù Ying and the others seized the moment and brought Zhou You away. Wang Yunhe went along as well to report to the Emperor.
Wang Yunhe was not entirely happy about the arrangement, but he had anticipated that Zhou You would have protectors. At least getting Zhou You to sit in a prison cell was a kind of warning in itself. The immediate priority was still to find the true murderer as quickly as possible. Even if the culprit was not Zhou You, a Grade Five official had died, and the manner of death was horrific. The Southern Army was crying out: “We survived campaigns and battles without dying — to die here, of all places, is unjust!” And indeed it was.
At the imperial city, Zhou You was left outside for display while Wang Yunhe, Zhong Yi, and the others went with Zheng Xi to see the Emperor. When they came out, an imperial edict for co-jurisdiction had been obtained.
Zhou You had been standing outside, shouting his grievances loudly at first. As he wore himself out, and then saw Zhong Yi and the others emerge, he became so aggrieved that his eyes were red-rimmed and welling up — and yet he did not cry. He had not expected Zhong Yi to turn to Zheng Xi and say, “I leave everything in your capable hands!” Secretary-level Official Yao also said, “I’ll stay out of it!” Zheng Xi said, “As we agreed — have the Ministry of Justice send two people to stay nearby, so that if anything happens to General Zhou, I am not left unable to explain myself.”
Zhou You grew even more afraid: “You — !”
In the end, Secretary-level Official Yao did send two Ministry of Justice officials who moved in right next door to Zhou You, taking turns going into his cell to keep him company. The conditions of Zhou You’s detention were extremely comfortable — he was in the same cell that Gong Jie had occupied.
Zhù Ying was indignant: This is what good ancestry gets you — even your prison cell is nothing like anyone else’s!
……
Zheng Xi had an even better ancestry than Zhou You, and not just in status — his mind was sharper too. The one currently clutched in his grip, whose comfortable prison cell was incomparable to anyone else’s, was right there in front of him.
Zhou You was locked up, howling away. First he refused to eat. Zheng Xi ignored him for the time being and said to Pei Qing and Zhù Ying, “The two of you, keep an eye on this case.” Pei Qing asked, “Won’t you oversee it personally?” Zheng Xi shrugged: “If I go to question him, he’ll use me to stall and play games. By the time I’ve dealt with him, time will have been wasted. The Emperor’s own words — the person cannot be held indefinitely. There’s a deadline for solving the case.”
Pei Qing quickly asked, “How long?”
“Fifteen days.”
“He can only be held fifteen days?”
Zheng Xi said, “How much longer did you want to hold him? Off you go.”
Zhù Ying said, “In that case, I probably shouldn’t go in either — every time he catches sight of me, he starts cursing you.”
Zheng Xi coughed: “Then stay a moment — once Pei Qing is gone, you go to the Capital Prefecture with their people to examine the scene.”
“Yes.”
Once Pei Qing had left and Zhù Ying saw it was just the two of them, she started pleading her case with Zheng Xi: “Why are you even managing his affairs? Just for the Imperial Guards’ face? That can’t be it, surely? You could have waited for His Majesty to order you before getting involved! That way he’d get to suffer a few more days under Wang Yunhe’s hands.”
Zheng Xi said, “He has a very fine mother-in-law. Now, tell me what you make of this case.”
Zhù Ying said, “Mother-in-law?”
Zheng Xi said, “His wife is a princess of the imperial clan.”
“Then it’s the father-in-law who’s fine.”
“Hmm — but his mother-in-law is my mother’s closest friend.”
“What stroke of ridiculous luck landed him such a good wife? With you right there as a comparison — what kind of mother-in-law could be satisfied with him? A good woman thrown away at his feet?” Zhù Ying was genuinely baffled. “How could you sit by and let a fine girl end up with him?”
Zheng Xi said, “Secretary-level Official Yao arranged the match, Secretarial Director Zhong vouched for it, General Ye of the Imperial Guards stood as witness, His Majesty gave gifts. He is also reasonably presentable in appearance, and the two families are a proper match by rank. What do you say?”
Zhù Ying thought: I say they were all blind.
Zheng Xi said, “Now, your assessment.”
Zhù Ying thought to herself: Wang Yunhe is upright and incorruptible, and yet you still have to play along with all these personal relationships? I know — you and he are different kinds of people.
She sighed: “It would be so much easier if Lord Wang were a merciless official.” A merciless official wouldn’t yield so easily. The only reason people like Wang Yunhe could be taken advantage of was precisely because they were honest men abiding by their rules.
“Nonsense! Say something useful!”
Zhù Ying said, “Hard to say. He was shrieking as though he’d been genuinely wronged. What Lieutenant Li described — he seems to have had the bad luck of getting into a dispute with someone, and then that someone ended up dead. But the man’s face shows injuries — said to be from the brawl, which means it wasn’t only a dispute; otherwise he wouldn’t be under suspicion. As for whether he actually killed anyone — the knife is almost too obvious. But it could also have been deliberate: made this obvious precisely to use that as an excuse for exoneration. Given his character, the idea of killing someone just to see whether he could get away with it isn’t out of the question. He’s never had to worry about a thing in his life — people have always taken care of things for him. But he’s been pampered and soft; he doesn’t look like someone who could take down a trained Southern Army fighter. At the end of the day, we need to see the evidence.”
Zheng Xi nodded: “Reasonable enough.” With a trace of resentment, but still more or less focused on the facts.
He said, “Go have a look then.”
Zhù Ying said, “I’ll need a few people.”
Zheng Xi asked, “What kind of people do you want?”
Zhù Ying said, “We’ll need a coroner, won’t we? And a few people for running errands and gathering information. If we could also have a colleague to go along, that would be even better.”
Zheng Xi said with an amused rebuke, “You’re actually bold enough to request a colleague? Whom do you want?”
Zhù Ying said, “Would Evaluator Bao work? We both joined the same year. I cramming my books blindly, and as I recall, his grasp of the legal codes back then was actually tighter than mine.”
Zheng Xi said, “Fine — just the two of you, then.”
Zhù Ying thus pulled Evaluator Bao along. Evaluator Bao could tell that it was likely Zhù Ying who had put his name forward. Since Su Kuang had failed to compete for this assignment, Evaluator Bao figured he was not quite as strong a contender as Su Kuang, and so whether or not Zheng Xi had thought of him himself, at least Zhù Ying had supported him.
He gave Zhù Ying a bow, and Zhù Ying said, “Shall we be off?”
The two obtained a warrant from Zheng Xi, fetched a Court of Judicial Review coroner named Coroner Tian, brought a few clerks along, and together made their way to the Capital Prefecture to pay a courtesy call.
Quite a number of people at the Capital Prefecture were already looking at Zhù Ying with barely concealed irritation. Even some of the people she had been on good terms with were now being a little coolly strange about it — even the constable chief she’d known fairly well greeted her with a somewhat sour look and said, “Young Lord Zhù — what a rare visit.”
Zhù Ying felt not the slightest embarrassment, and said, “Nothing rare about it — I was just here not long ago. Have you forgotten?”
The constable chief was struck dumb, genuinely startled by her complete lack of shame! After everything Lord Wang did for you, and this is how you repay him? Poaching a case from the Capital Prefecture? You ungrateful little wretch!
Zhù Ying acted as though nothing was amiss and requested an audience with Wang Yunhe. The constable chief said, “Wait.”
Zhù Ying settled in to wait slowly. She could see from the constable chief’s manner that they would keep her waiting a while. That was fine — the longer she waited and the more awkward it was now, the more concessions the Capital Prefecture would have to give the Court of Judicial Review later.
It was when Evaluator Bao began rubbing his legs that the constable chief came back out and said, “Lord Wang will see you.”
As they entered, Zhù Ying tripped Evaluator Bao! The hands of a con-woman of long practice were lightning fast, and by the time Wang Yunhe looked up all he saw was Evaluator Bao: “What happened?”
Evaluator Bao was aggrieved to the core: “My legs may not be used to standing for so long, my lord.”
Wang Yunhe sighed and, as expected, gave them no trouble, allowing them to view the bodies and sending someone to accompany them to the scene. The constable chief let out a very soft snort. Wang Yunhe said, “You all — don’t make things difficult for them. Was this something he had any say over?”
Zhù Ying studied her shoetips.
The constable chief’s attitude didn’t improve much, but he said, stiffly: “Please.”
The two bodies were still in the coroner’s room of the Capital Prefecture building — dim, somewhat eerie, kept cool with blocks of ice. Coroner Yang saw Zhù Ying and gave a slow shake of his head with a sigh. He and Coroner Tian were colleagues in the same trade, and the two exchanged bows. Coroner Yang said, “Have a look first — then we’ll compare notes.” He also asked Zhù Ying coldly whether she wanted to look as well.
Zhù Ying naturally did. Most of her skills had been taught by Coroner Yang. One look confirmed that what Lieutenant Li had described about “the neck nearly being severed” had not been exaggerated — he had even left out some of the finer details. For instance, the cut marks on the neck looked exactly like the ragged chops of a beginner’s first attempt at felling a tree — the cuts were a chaotic mess. There was also some bruising on the face, probably from the brawl, though it looked lighter than Zhou You’s injuries.
Coroner Tian examined the body further. Coroner Yang said, “As for the female body — her person doesn’t look so good. The midwife has already inspected her — covered in injuries! Tsk! This general of theirs — quite the range of methods, and his tastes aren’t what you’d call presentable.”
Zhù Ying only looked at the parts of the woman’s body that were exposed. The face was unrecognizable. A mass of disheveled black hair made her look very young. In the hair, a silk flower was half-hanging and half-pinned, still pretty. The clothing was brightly colored. On her feet was a pair of embroidered shoes. Zhù Ying reached out and measured the length of the shoe with her hand. Coroner Yang did not stop her. Zhù Ying took the opportunity to remove the shoe, pressed and squeezed the woman’s foot a few times, looked at the sole, then put the shoe back on.
Her exposed arms bore wounds. So did her neck. When the white cloth covering the body was lifted, her chest showed several stab wounds, the clothing soaked through and congealed into a dark red.
Coroner Yang said, “That’s all of it.”
Zhù Ying also asked about witnesses. Coroner Yang said, “That’s not my department. The Capital Prefecture doesn’t detain witnesses!”
Zhù Ying could see he was not well disposed toward her right now, and didn’t bother trying to justify herself. She said to Evaluator Bao, “Let’s go.”
She wanted to get to the scene of the crime as quickly as possible. A pleasure establishment saw a constant stream of people coming and going. By now, who knew how much of the evidence remained. Any later, and there might be nothing left.