Su Kuang watched with yearning eyes as Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing out the door. The strange looks from colleagues around him were not what truly pained him. What pained him was that he was still a chief document officer, while the superior who now seemed to be taking renewed interest in the rival he had written off was right here in front of him.
He stayed to the very end, still hoping to push for one more chance at Zheng Xi. It was a rather large case — involving a commander of the Imperial Guards and requiring a head-to-head with the Capital Prefecture. Surely one more person wouldn’t be too many?
Zheng Xi looked at him and immediately 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 to 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 fathom what this meant. He glanced furtively at Zheng Xi and hesitated over how to respond, venturing 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 and easy to commit errors of judgment. Unless he corrected this flaw, trouble was certain to follow. Zheng Xi said, “Don’t gild the lily.”
Su Kuang thought: Getting involved in one case hardly counts as gilding a lily, does it?
Zheng Xi said, “You may go and read your books as well.”
The thought of Zhù Ying having been pressed to read books for two years sent a chill through Su Kuang’s heart. Was he to waste two years in the same fashion?
He looked at Zheng Xi once more and saw no sign of any explanation forthcoming. Full of misgiving, Su Kuang recalled the self-satisfaction he had felt over these past two years, inwardly convinced that Zhù Ying had run herself into a dead end by sitting on the cold bench. Imagining himself now in that same position, a cold sweat came over him.
He bowed himself out, thinking: Exactly how did that Zhù Ying manage to turn things around? Today’s assignment to go out with Deputy Chief Justice Pei should have been mine! What am I supposed to do now…
……
On the other side, Pei Qing’s mood was also less than ideal. He knew of Zhou You — neither a bad person nor a good one, but the trouble lay in the people standing behind him. Every single one of them, determined to demonstrate the depth of their loyalty and affection, collectively protected this one foolish young man, causing nothing but complications. In his view, the right approach would have been to let Wang Yunhe give this fool a proper dressing-down — which might have helped him mature. But the Imperial Guards had intervened, and they couldn’t be completely ignored.
Pei Qing had already decided: he couldn’t seize the case outright. The Capital Prefecture had to be allowed to participate. In the end, the Ministry of Justice still had to review the case, and Secretary Shi was there to watch over Zhou You. Hmph!
Neither of them was in the best of moods. The clerks accompanying them didn’t dare utter a word. Lieutenant Li from the Imperial Guards was careful and solicitous and said cautiously, “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 really would have preferred not to get involved. But the incident happened at the pleasure quarters — you understand — it doesn’t sound good when you say it out loud.”
Nonsense — you lot care nothing about how things sound! Zhù Ying cursed inwardly, but seized on this opening on Pei Qing’s behalf: “Old Li — you’d better tell us what you know first. Otherwise we’ll walk in blind, and if the Capital Prefecture turns us away, we’ll have lost face over a small matter and delayed justice over a large one.”
Lieutenant Li quickly obliged: “This way please. The story is actually fairly simple. Zhou the General had no duty yesterday evening, and today was also his day off. He came out of the palace and went to visit a lady friend. In that kind of establishment — you know how men are — they don’t like to lose face before pretty young women, and with some wine in him and a dispute on his hands he refused to yield an inch. He was eventually pulled apart from the other man, but not before he let out some harsh words — telling the man to wait, that he’d kill him.”
Pei Qing said, “Damn!”
Lieutenant Li said, “Exactly — the trouble all 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 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 it sounds like something he’d do either, do you? Who kills someone and then just 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 any great matter.”
Pei Qing also nodded. The savagery of the method didn’t fit, but the brazen, unconcerned manner — staying behind without a care — fit all too well.
Lieutenant Li thought for a moment and said, “He’s a pampered young master — the method doesn’t fit his style. The idea of him directing household brutes to do it is somewhat plausible; doing it himself, less so. And 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 up and swung herself 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 — looking after one of their own, especially within a military unit. That face had to be maintained.
Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing to the Capital Prefecture. From a distance, the whole party reined their horses in. Zhù Ying stood on her stirrups, looked around, then sat back down and shot a furious glare at Lieutenant Li: “Old Li! Explain yourself! How exactly did you trick Lord Zheng and deceive Deputy Chief Justice Pei into bringing us all the way here?!”
Lieutenant Li said, “How is it trickery?”
Before Pei Qing could say a word, Zhù Ying pressed on ahead: “Confess honestly — who was killed?! I knew something was off — why else would you be so anxious to get us 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 positions about the city. Those guarding the palace to the north were sometimes called the Northern Army, and those protecting the city to the south were sometimes called the Southern Army, with their camps positioned accordingly. The two forces dressed in broadly similar fashion, but the Northern Army’s uniforms were somewhat finer, with slight differences in ornamentation. This was common knowledge among longtime capital residents, and since Jin Liang was of the Southern Army, Zhù Ying knew it a little more clearly than most. One look had been enough for her to identify the twenty or thirty soldiers crowded around the Capital Prefecture as Southern Army personnel, while the several dozen facing them looked like Northern Army — some were not in uniform, but a few faces were familiar to Zhù Ying.
Pei Qing fixed his gaze on Lieutenant Li as well. Lieutenant Li said wretchedly, “I don’t quite know the full details either.”
“Then tell me what you do know,” Zhù Ying said, refusing to let this go.
Lieutenant Li had clearly done some preparation. He said, “That one — seems to have been a colonel of some kind in the Southern Army.”
Pei Qing stood watching as Zhù Ying interrogated Lieutenant Li: “A colonel who merits all this commotion?!”
Lieutenant Li said, “All right — he was originally a colonel, but 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. So this falls squarely under your Court of Judicial Review’s jurisdiction, doesn’t it?” Fallen into Wang Yunhe’s hands, officials of every rank would come out looking bad — especially in a violent homicide arising from rivalry over a woman. Their face had to be saved! He jumped down from his horse and gave Pei Qing a bow. Pei Qing said, “In broad daylight in public, you’re in Imperial Guards uniform — what does this look like? Very 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 — why are you this devoted to him? Coming here to beg and smile on his behalf?”
Lieutenant Li said with a weary 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 come out with a farcical verdict, 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 without taking it entirely at face value — he felt a face-to-face with the Capital Prefecture was still needed first. The party arrived before the office, where the constables were working hard to keep apart the two groups of soldiers, preventing these men whose trade was fighting and killing from coming to actual blows. Both sides were still exercising some self-restraint, but tempers were running high.
Zhù Ying glanced toward the Southern Army side and found, as expected, no Jin Liang. Good — with this many people here, if Jin Liang had been among them, that would have been far more worrying. She followed Pei Qing into the Capital Prefecture.
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 sides 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 experience with these situations and called out, “We are at the foot of the Son of Heaven! Soldiers causing a disturbance — are you planning to rebel?” The noise from both sides subsided a little.
Zhù Ying followed Pei Qing inside the Capital Prefecture.
Unlike the previous times Zhù Ying had come with a pass to coordinate case files — when she had sometimes even managed to see Wang Yunhe directly — this was now a formal 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 assisted the Prefect in managing affairs. The one who came out today was also a person Zhù Ying had encountered before — capable and efficient, named Fan Shaoji. Previously, Fan Shaoji’s manner with Zhù Ying had generally been a slight smile and a nod, sometimes with a few words of encouragement given 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. Fan Shaoji laughed, “Zi Cheng — you don’t visit unless you have good reason! There must be a purpose to this call!”
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 in any case, and you can see what’s outside — the deceased was surely someone significant.”
Fan Shaoji said, “Since it’s bound to come to you eventually, why rush at this moment?”
They sparred carefully all the way to the hall inside, where host and guest were seated, and the argument over case jurisdiction began. 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 jurisdiction — so the Capital Prefecture had every right to manage this. Pei Qing, knowing Zheng Xi’s bottom line was co-jurisdiction, was unhurried and said both parties were ranked at Grade Five, and especially the suspect 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, watching two senior officials argue in circles. When the two sides were thoroughly deadlocked, Pei Qing said, “Brother Fan — might I pay a call on Lord Wang Yunhe?”
Fan Shaoji said, “It seems I have been remiss as your host, 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? A formal transfer order can be issued. Or perhaps Lord Wang and our Lord Zheng should negotiate? That would only make us both look incompetent. We are all in service to the same Emperor.”
Fan Shaoji said sincerely, “For that very reason — to serve the Emperor — the Capital Prefecture will do everything within its power.”
More back and forth, still no resolution.
Zhù Ying suddenly spoke: “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 there, 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 the seriousness of the situation that he came in person. Every legendary upright official in the stories could summon officials to court only with considerable force of character — otherwise people simply did not come. So-called “punishment does not reach the educated classes” — they could choose not to appear. A judgment could be issued; it still needed to be reported for review. In a homicide case, if the suspect simply refused to say anything, 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 constitute a breach of etiquette.
The Court of Judicial Review, however, had jurisdiction over Grade Five officials and above who committed offenses — and could hold and question them. Bringing them inside the imperial city did not demean these unlawful officials. The only step was to move things slightly forward.
Fan Shaoji looked at Zhù Ying with a frown. Zhù Ying said sincerely, “The Court of Judicial Review will not privately release any suspect. Unless His Majesty issues an order.”
Fan Shaoji hesitated. He knew Wang Yunhe’s plans. After Wang Yunhe brought order to the capital, the streets had become considerably cleaner — yet Wang Yunhe still harbored some dissatisfaction with the conduct of the capital’s privileged young men. After the first round of reining in the most conspicuously flamboyant elements among the capital’s powerful circles, Wang Yunhe wanted to continue addressing the behavior of these privileged sons. These young men had behaved themselves for a spell when Wang Yunhe first took office, but over the past two years they had been unable to contain themselves again. Once a person’s wealth and power exceeded those of others, restraining oneself from displaying superiority was very difficult — and among privileged young men, displaying that superiority generally meant humiliating others.
Zhou You had rather stumbled into the cannon’s mouth. He had always been somewhat reckless, was a well-known figure among the privileged young men, and had now become a suspect in a homicide. There was no way this would pass with a gentle reprimand.
Fan Shaoji said, “While this person is at the Capital Prefecture, unless His Majesty issues an order, no one can release a suspect.”
Pei Qing offered a slight smile: “I’m afraid that won’t quite hold, will it? Can you convict Zhou You of murder before tomorrow morning’s court session? If not, it could get complicated. In fact, 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, this cannot stand as it is, can it?”
The two went another round of sparring. Pei Qing felt the time was right and once again asked to see Wang Yunhe. This time Fan Shaoji said, “One moment please.”
He stepped out briefly, then returned to welcome Wang Yunhe in.
Both sides exchanged greetings. Wang Yunhe’s expression was grave. Pei Qing became more formal in turn and conveyed Zheng Xi’s position. Wang Yunhe held his ground: “Within the imperial city, matters do not fall under the Capital Prefecture. Outside the palace city and imperial city — officials and civilians alike — how can the Capital Prefecture simply ignore them?”
Pei Qing restated that the Court of Judicial Review would not secretly release any suspect, and added, “You have seen for yourself how the Court of Judicial Review conducted itself, from reviewing the old cases to the Gong rebel 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 properly 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. The only need is to persuade Zhou You’s uncles and the rest to loosen their grip on this particular occasion.”
That was true enough — these uncles had spoiled him beyond measure. It was the same offense 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 guide him properly” — giving him a patient talking-to and then going back to cleaning up after him. Taken together, the constables no longer found him easy to deal with either.
Fan Shaoji asked doubtfully, “You can persuade them?”
Zhù Ying said, “No one can manage anyone else forever. Getting them to step back on this one point would be enough, 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. Zhong Yi’s gaze lingered briefly on Zhù Ying, finding her vaguely familiar before moving on. Both wanted to get Zhou You out first. Secretary-level Official Yao needed no explanation. Zhong Yi had formerly served as Minister of Justice — both men understood the question of case jurisdiction well. In any case, the Capital Prefecture couldn’t convict Zhou You either — so what was the problem with 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 least they should bring him out to be seen, shouldn’t they?
Wang Yunhe had Zhou You brought over. When Zhou You saw his uncles and elders, he cried out in great aggrievement: “Uncle! Elder Uncle! I have been wronged! They didn’t ask a single question — they just listened to some lowly servant’s word and dragged me in here!” He had been held as a suspect at the Capital Prefecture for quite a while, and his sense of grievance was enormous.
Zhong Yi was taken aback: “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’s face went 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 wasn’t my fault, Uncle!” Both Zhong Yi and Secretary-level Official Yao still went through the motions of reprimanding him: “All of this is because of your own carelessness! A gentleman does not stand beneath a precarious wall, yet here you were, wandering 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 two years Zhù Ying had put on height. While not comparable to someone of imposing stature, she was tall for a 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 so-called short person 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, traced from the Court of Judicial Review to Zheng Xi, and from Zheng Xi arrived at: “So it’s you! Did you come here on purpose to watch me make a fool of myself and torment me?!”
Zhù Ying held up both hands, palms out, and said smoothly, “If you think that, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
She then turned to Zhong Yi, who had reprimanded Zhou You: “Director Zhong — as you can see, General Zhou cannot manage even his own mouth. You cannot expect him to manage his own legs, can you? Even if you personally stationed yourself at his residence to stand guard, you’d find it very hard to contain a young general like him. The moment he steps outside, who can say what accident might befall him?”
Zhong Yi’s brow furrowed.
Zhù Ying said, “Can General Zhou restrain himself from personally going after the true culprit? If he cannot — once a living person slips out into the open, a whole host of accidents awaits. He could be ambushed and beaten senseless by men with sacks over their heads, or have his body dumped somewhere and be said to have fled in guilt…”
“Nonsense! I’m not the murderer!”
Zhù Ying said, “Can General Zhou restrain the urge to personally track down the killer? If not — once he gets out, countless accidents await him.”
Zhong Yi nodded. This young ward of his truly 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’d be inside the imperial city, with the Imperial Guards outside and the Court of Judicial Review’s own people within. He would be safe. Second — the Court of Judicial Review will of course investigate the truth. And since the crime occurred within the Capital Prefecture’s jurisdiction, the Capital Prefecture has no reason to stand aside — why not have both offices cooperate in earnest? If you’re worried about General Zhou’s safety, you’re welcome to come and visit whenever you like. 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 true culprit making a further 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’ll go and petition His Majesty.”
With that, the Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial Guards together escorted Zhou You back into the imperial city. Zhou You shouted all the way: “I didn’t kill anyone — what right do you have to send 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 carry on making a spectacle of himself. His shouting at least offered some comfort to the Southern Army side. Zhù Ying then clasped her fists toward the Southern Army: “Lord Wang Yunhe was going to adjudicate impartially regardless. Your confrontation with the Imperial Guards only made it impossible for anyone to back down with dignity — and so 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 this case, and the matter will reach the Emperor’s ears directly — you can rest easy.”
The Imperial Guards’ faces lit up. The Southern Army started to harbor doubts. Zhù Ying and the others seized the opening and brought Zhou You away. Wang Yunhe accompanied them to report to the Emperor.
Wang Yunhe was not entirely pleased, but he had anticipated that Zhou You would have people looking out for him. At least being made to sit in a cell was a kind of warning. The immediate priority was to find the true culprit as quickly as possible. Even if the murderer was not Zhou You, a Grade Five official had died, and the manner of death was horrific. The Southern Army cried out: “We survived campaigns without dying — to die here is unjust!” And indeed it was.
At the imperial city, Zhou You was left outside in view of everyone while Wang Yunhe, Zhong Yi, and the others joined Zheng Xi to see the Emperor. When they came out, they had obtained a joint-jurisdiction edict.
Zhou You had been standing outside, shouting his grievances at the top of his voice at first, but grew weary and fell silent. Then seeing Zhong Yi and the others come out, he was so overwhelmed with aggrievement that his eyes turned red and brimmed with tears — and yet he did not actually 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 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 give an account of myself.”
Zhou You was frightened all over again: “You —!”
In the end, Secretary-level Official Yao sent two Ministry of Justice officials to move 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 Gong Jie had occupied.
Zhù Ying was indignant: Good breeding really does count for everything — even your prison cell is incomparable to anyone else’s!
……
Zheng Xi had far better breeding than Zhou You, and not only in terms of rank — his mind was sharper too. The person currently in his grip, who had such unparalleled prison accommodations, was right there in front of him.
Zhou You was locked up, howling away. He refused to eat at first. Zheng Xi paid him no attention for the moment 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 spread his hands: “If I go to question him, he’ll play games with me. By the time I’ve dealt with him, time will have been wasted. His Majesty’s own words — the person cannot be held indefinitely. There’s a deadline to solve the case.”
Pei Qing quickly asked, “How long?”
“Fifteen days.”
“Only fifteen days to hold him?”
Zheng Xi said, “How much longer did you want to hold him? Off you go.”
Zhù Ying said, “Then I probably shouldn’t go in — every time he catches sight of me, he starts cursing you.”
Zheng Xi coughed: “Then stay behind for a moment — once Pei Qing is gone, you’ll go to the Capital Prefecture with their people to examine the scene.”
“Yes.”
Once Pei Qing had gone and Zhù Ying saw it was just the two of them, she started lobbying Zheng Xi: “Why are you even managing his affairs? Just for the Imperial Guards’ face? That can’t be it. You could have waited for His Majesty to order you before acting! That way he’d have gotten to suffer a few more days under Wang Yunhe.”
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.”
“Yes — but his mother-in-law is my mother’s closest friend.”
“What stroke of outrageous luck landed him such a fine wife? With you right there as a comparison — what kind of mother-in-law could be satisfied with him? A fine woman tossed away at his feet?” Zhù Ying was genuinely baffled. “How could you just sit by and watch a fine woman 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, and the two families are a proper match by rank. What do you think?”
Zhù Ying thought: I think they were all blind.
Zheng Xi said, “Now — your thoughts.”
Zhù Ying thought to herself: Wang Yunhe is incorruptible and upright, and yet you still have to play along with all these personal relationships. I understand — 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 readily. The only reason someone like Wang Yunhe could be taken advantage of was precisely because he was an honest man abiding by the rules.
“Nonsense! Say something useful!”
Zhù Ying said, “Hard to say definitively. He was shrieking as though he’d been genuinely wronged. Based on what Lieutenant Li described — he seems to have had the bad luck of quarreling with someone, and that person then ended up dead. But the injuries on his face — said to be from the earlier brawl — mean it wasn’t just a verbal quarrel; otherwise there’d be no reason to suspect him. As for whether he actually committed the killing — that knife is almost too conspicuous. Though that could also be deliberate: made this obvious precisely to use it as grounds for exoneration. Given his temperament, the idea of him killing someone just to see if he could get away with it isn’t out of the question. He’s never had to worry about anything in his life — people have always handled things for him. But he’s been pampered and soft; he doesn’t look capable of taking down a seasoned Southern Army fighter. At the end of the day, it comes down to the evidence.”
Zheng Xi nodded: “Reasonably argued.” A trace of resentment, but still focused on the matter itself.
He said, “Go and have a look.”
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 some people for errands and gathering information — and if we could also have a colleague along, that would be even better.”
Zheng Xi said with an amused rebuke, “You actually dare to request a specific colleague? Who do you want?”
Zhù Ying said, “Would Evaluator Bao work? We both joined the same year. I was cramming books blindly — and as I recall, his grasp of the legal codes was actually tighter than mine at the time.”
Zheng Xi said, “Fine — just the two of you, then.”
Zhù Ying thus brought Evaluator Bao into the matter. Evaluator Bao understood that it was likely Zhù Ying who had put his name forward. Since Su Kuang had failed to compete for this role, Evaluator Bao considered himself an even less obvious choice than Su Kuang, and so however Zheng Xi had arrived at the decision, at the very least Zhù Ying had supported him.
He gave Zhù Ying a bow. Zhù Ying said, “Shall we be off?”
The two obtained a warrant from Zheng Xi, went to fetch a Court of Judicial Review coroner named Coroner Tian, brought several 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 now looking at Zhù Ying with barely concealed displeasure. Even some of the people she had been on good terms with were being somewhat coolly odd — even the constable chief she’d known fairly well was being a little sourly strange and said, “Young Lord Zhù — what a rare visit.”
Zhù Ying was completely unabashed and said, “Nothing rare about it — I was just here not long ago. Have you forgotten?”
The constable chief was struck speechless, genuinely startled by her complete lack of shame! After everything Lord Wang did for you, and you repay it like this? Poaching a case from the Capital Prefecture? You ungrateful wretch!
Zhù Ying acted as if nothing were amiss and requested an audience with Wang Yunhe. The constable chief said, “Wait.”
Zhù Ying settled in to wait slowly. She could tell from his manner that they would make her wait for 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 offer the Court of Judicial Review later.
It was just when Evaluator Bao had started rubbing his legs that the constable chief came back out and said, “Lord Wang will see you.”
As they stepped inside, Zhù Ying tripped Evaluator Bao! The hands of a long-practiced con-woman moved like lightning, and by the time Wang Yunhe looked up he saw only Evaluator Bao: “What happened?”
Evaluator Bao was aggrieved beyond words: “Perhaps my legs aren’t used to standing for so long, my lord.”
Wang Yunhe sighed and, as expected, did not make things difficult for them, giving them permission to view the bodies and sending someone to lead 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 the tips of her shoes.
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 — dim, slightly eerie, cooled with blocks of ice. Coroner Yang saw Zhù Ying and gave a slow, sighing shake of the head. He and Coroner Tian were colleagues in the same profession and exchanged bows. Coroner Yang said, “Have a look first — then we can compare notes.” He also asked Zhù Ying coldly whether she also wished to look.
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 being “nearly severed” was no exaggeration — he had actually left out certain details, such as the fact that the cut marks on the neck resembled the ragged, disorderly chops left by a beginner’s first attempt at felling a tree. There was also some bruising on the face, likely from the earlier brawl, though it appeared lighter than Zhou You’s injuries.
Coroner Tian examined the body further. Coroner Yang said, “As for the female body — her person is in rather bad shape. The midwife has inspected her. Covered in injuries! Tsk — this general of theirs had quite the variety of methods, and his tastes aren’t what one would call presentable.”
Zhù Ying only examined the parts of the woman’s body that were exposed. Her face was unrecognizable. A mass of disheveled black hair made her look very young. In the hair, a silk flower was half-pinned and half-slipping out, still pretty. Her clothes were brightly colored. On her feet was a pair of embroidered shoes. Zhù Ying reached out and measured the shoe’s length 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, several stab wounds were visible through her chest, the clothing soaked through and congealed to a dark red.
Coroner Yang said, “That’s all there is.”
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 made no attempt 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 visitors. By now, who knew how much evidence remained. Any later, and there might be nothing left.