By the time they had finished talking, the carriage had already arrived at the Court of Judicial Review.

Before getting out, Lin Xiao gave Qin Yao’s attire a thoughtful glance, then called Wei Bo over and gave him a few quiet instructions.

After Wei Bo had gone off to carry out his orders, Lin Xiao turned to Qin Yao. “The Court of Judicial Review has many eyes and ears. I’ve asked Wei Bo to bring a set of men’s clothing. Once you change into men’s attire, it will make things easier when we go inside.”

Qin Yao nodded quickly. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

The three of them waited inside the carriage, talking among themselves. A little while later, Wei Bo returned as expected, bringing with him a set of men’s clothing.

Lin Xiao and A’Han stepped out of the carriage to give Qin Yao privacy to change inside.

Qin Yao unfolded the outfit and saw that it was a round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe in an understated grey-blue. The fabric was of ordinary quality. Perhaps because this time there had been sufficient time to prepare, the sizing was a considerably better fit than the set she had been given up on Jade Spring Mountain — she was not nearly so swamped in it. The cloth headpiece also fit just right, without any risk of being blown off in the wind.

She changed quickly and stepped down from the carriage. Lin Xiao looked her up and down, and saw that the headpiece sat perfectly straight, the robe was fastened with meticulous care, and her delicate, refined face held a pair of dark, bright eyes — the overall effect was one of spirited liveliness. Only compared to her usual female attire, she seemed perhaps one or two years younger.

The sight pleased him, and he said to her, “Chang Rong has gone in to inform Lord Liu Zan. We can wait here a moment.”

Qin Yao nodded and peered through the imposing crimson gate into the courtyard beyond, standing quietly at Lin Xiao’s side.

After a short while, Chang Rong came back out from the Court of Judicial Review and stepped up to Lin Xiao, saying in a low voice, “Lord Liu happens to be inside right now. He invites the Young Lord to come in.”

Lin Xiao nodded and led Qin Yao and A’Han inside.

As she followed Lin Xiao in, Qin Yao could not help but think that the Presiding Justice of the Court, Lord Liu Zan, was precisely Liu Bingyu’s father. By reputation, he was an upright official with considerable prestige at court. Given how things had unfolded on the past few occasions, she surmised that he was not only on good personal terms with Lin Xiao, but also held Lin Xiao’s character in high regard — otherwise, given the gap in their ages, there was no reason he would have opened these doors to Lin Xiao time and time again.

The matter of Qin Cheng’s case was another thing she wondered about — she had no idea how Lin Xiao had explained it to Lord Liu Zan and the others. In the end, the Emperor had suppressed all those cases, made every effort to protect Qin Cheng’s reputation in death, and had no intention whatsoever of seeking justice for the murdered women.

After Lord Liu Zan’s exhaustive two-month investigation had come to this muddled and unsatisfying conclusion, she could not help but wonder what he must have been feeling.

Inside, Lord Liu Zan was not sitting in the main hall as he had been last time. Instead, he was working in the study at the rear.

A clerk led them around the small courtyard behind the main hall to the door and announced, “My Lord, Commander Lin has arrived.”

From within came a low, resonant voice. “Please, show them in quickly.”

Qin Yao followed Lin Xiao inside and looked around. It was an exceptionally spacious study, its four walls lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves packed with all manner of volumes. In the center stood two desks — one large and one small.

Behind the large desk was a broad window that had been pushed open, admitting light generously into every corner of the room, illuminating the figure behind the desk — a middle-aged official. Qin Yao recognized him as the same Presiding Justice Liu Zan she had seen before. This time she looked more closely and noticed that his features did indeed bear some resemblance to Liu Bingyu.

The smaller desk had been pushed against a bookshelf, its surface covered in stacked case files. Behind it sat a refined-looking young man who was writing something with a brush.

When Lin Xiao and the others entered, the young man looked up. His originally cool expression shifted at once to one of astonishment. His pale fingers tightened around the brush and remained suspended for a long moment.

Then a drop of ink fell from the tip of the brush onto the white paper, spreading and bleeding into a stain that could never be wiped away. He came back to himself, set the brush down in some embarrassment, hastily crumpled the ink-stained page into a ball, and stood up.

Qin Yao had not expected to encounter Feng Boyu at the Court of Judicial Review today. She had very nearly let “Elder Brother Feng” slip from her lips. Seeing Elder Brother Feng watching her with a complex expression, she did not dare be too forward, and could only mouth a silent greeting to him, a smile on her face, nodding a wordless hello.

She had not seen him in some time, and she could not help noticing that Elder Brother Feng had grown noticeably thinner, his expression carrying a shadow of gloom that was quite different from his usual gentle and agreeable manner. She felt a vague unease. Her mother had mentioned that morning that Elder Brother Feng was about to be promoted to Deputy Judge of the Court of Judicial Review — by all rights he ought to be in high spirits. Why did he seem so listless? Surely it couldn’t simply be that the work at the office was too heavy and he was too exhausted.

Feng Boyu looked at Qin Yao, standing beside Lin Xiao, and felt a tumult of emotions churning inside him. Earlier, when the clerk had reported that Commander Lin had arrived — and there was only one commander in Chang’an with the surname Lin — he had known it could only be Lin Xiao. But Lin Xiao normally oversaw the Imperial Guard and had nothing to do with the Court of Judicial Review. If something had drawn him here, it was most likely either a secret imperial decree, or that he had developed an interest in some current case.

Thinking of certain puzzling aspects of the case currently in his hands, he could not help but speculate — could it be that Qin Yao had discovered some supernatural element at work and wanted to understand the details of the case, so had asked Lin Xiao to come inquire?

He had barely finished thinking this when he saw Qin Yao walk in with Lin Xiao, confirming his earlier suspicion. A sharp bitterness welled up in his heart at once.

He lost himself for he did not know how long, until Lord Liu called to him. Only then did he realize that everyone in the room had been looking at him — Qin Yao included, her clear eyes carrying a faint trace of puzzlement, and a touch of concern.

He worked his stiffened lips into a faint smile of reassurance for her, then turned to Lord Liu Zan. “What are your instructions, my Lord?”

Lord Liu Zan, seeing that his expression was weighed down with a heavy exhaustion quite unlike the man of a moment before, found it somewhat puzzling. “Boyu,” he said, “I am thinking again about a case submitted by Youzhou a couple of days ago — there seem to be some inconsistencies. Why don’t you go to the cells and interrogate the prisoner, and see if there are any contradictions in the testimony.”

Feng Boyu immediately understood that Lord Liu Zan was sending him away, and lowered his head. “I will see to it right away.”

Lin Xiao watched him with an impassive gaze. Seeing that he agreed and went out without the slightest hesitation, and that he did not look at Qin Yao again when he passed by her, nor linger in any way, Lin Xiao’s expression finally eased, and he brought his gaze back.

Feng Boyu closed the door and walked with heavy steps down the stairs, his legs so leaden they felt barely able to move. Cold ran through his body in waves. Though the blazing sun hung overhead, it felt as though he stood in the grey drizzle of a rainy season — he could not feel so much as a thread of warmth.

Reaching the center of the courtyard, the memory of a time not long ago when he and Qin Yao had together discussed a case rose up in him, and the pain drove straight through his chest. His body swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.

He looked down at the sun-whitened bluestone tiles beneath his feet. After a long moment, he slowly reached into his chest and withdrew a hairpiece ornament of flowing, shimmering blue tassels and pearl flowers. He held it up and examined it carefully for a long while. Then his throat moved with a difficult swallow. He tucked the ornament back inside his robe and walked on.

Lord Liu Zan beckoned Lin Xiao forward. “Weijin, please, sit down.”

Then, glancing at the refined-looking young man and the thick-browed young Daoist beside Lin Xiao, he recalled having seen them perform their arts before — he had heard they had also helped deal with the monster that gouged out people’s facial features. He felt a measure of respect for Qin Yao and A’Han as well. After all, since the Qin Cheng case had been closed, Chang’an had seen no more of those horrifying killings and had been peaceful for quite some time.

Not knowing how to address them, he simply said to both, “Two distinguished practitioners, please sit as well.”

After the courtesies were done, Lord Liu Zan wasted no time, flipping through the open case file on the desk. “The deceased you mentioned did indeed die under suspicious circumstances. Because the Prefect of Chang’an did not dare reach a verdict, the case was transferred to my Court of Judicial Review yesterday. Last night the coroner performed his examination and found that the young man’s body contained not a single drop of blood. In all the beheaded and throat-cut bodies he had examined over the years, there was always some blood remaining in the chest, abdomen, or internal organs. But this young man was clean in every part — as if something had drained him completely dry.”

Qin Yao and Lin Xiao exchanged a glance. Their earlier suspicion appeared to be correct — this young man had indeed been bled dry.

Lin Xiao asked, “Does anyone know whose son this young man was?” He had seen the people weeping in anguish around the body at the lakeside that day — all dressed in fine, expensive clothing, clearly not from ordinary families.

Lord Liu Zan did not know that Lin Xiao had already seen the victim’s family. He replied, “This is someone you ought to recognize. He is the son of Tang Yijun, who was granted the title of Baron of Changsheng last year for military merit. The boy was also granted the title of Young Lord at the same time. His name was Tang Qingsheng.”

Young Lord? Qin Yao found this puzzling. On the day by the lakeside, there had clearly been a young man several years older than this boy who had been wailing and calling himself Tang Qingsheng’s elder brother — which meant Tang Qingsheng was not Tang Yijun’s eldest son. In this dynasty, the rule had always been to establish the eldest, not the youngest. Why would the elder brother have been passed over in favor of Tang Qingsheng as the designated heir?

Lin Xiao did know who Tang Yijun was — the previous year, when the Emperor had bestowed that title upon him, they had shared a toast — but it had been only a passing acquaintance, and he knew very little about the man’s family affairs.

Hearing Lord Liu Zan say this, Lin Xiao felt the same puzzlement as Qin Yao. The difference was that he had no need to hold back, and simply asked the question outright.

Lord Liu Zan stroked his beard, hesitated for a moment, then finally opened his mouth. “A gentleman should conceal others’ faults and speak of their virtues. Strictly speaking, the affairs of his family are not for the likes of us to comment on. But if one gets down to it, these old matters may well have some bearing on the case, and keeping them back would do no good. Do you know who Tang Yijun’s current wife is? She is the cousin of his first wife — from what is said, she was strikingly beautiful from a young age, and even now, well past her fifteenth year, she remains one of the most beautiful women in Luoyang. When the original Lady Tang gave birth to her eldest son, she was left with some lingering ailment afterward, and this cousin would come often to help care for her. Not long after, Lady Tang suddenly became gravely ill and, after lingering for a while, passed away — leaving behind only a son. One year later, once Tang Yijun’s mourning period had ended, he married this cousin. Word is that the new Lady Tang was only fourteen or fifteen when she married him — more than ten years his junior. Neighbors who lived near them in Luoyang say that this young cousin had long since become entangled with her cousin’s husband, and that the first Lady Tang’s death was also far from straightforward. But with so many years having passed, and with Tang Yijun now growing ever more powerful — his new wife’s family having also risen to prominence — no one dares to dig any further into the matter.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao and Qin Yao exchanged a swift glance.

Lin Xiao asked, “What is Tang Yijun’s eldest son’s name?”