◎Rules and Regulations◎

Zhou Tan drank from the cup of clear tea at his side—too many tea leaves had been used, giving it a faint bitterness.

Liang An bent low before him in a posture of great deference. “My lord, the one who beat the drum is a former attendant of the Court of Judicial Review, surname Yan. The person he wishes to accuse is Peng Yue, Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, of the fourth rank, upper class. The charge… is…”

He stammered, cold sweat trickling down from his temples. Peng Yue had clearly said Yan Wuping was already dead—so how, now—

“The charge is arson and attempted murder.”

Having said this, Liang An abruptly raised his head. “My lord, this man is nothing more than a minor functionary of the Court of Judicial Review, and his household registration isn’t even in the capital, yet he insists on demanding a public trial. Should—should the petition be dismissed?”

He was considerably older than Zhou Tan and had spent far longer navigating the Ministry of Justice, always having to bow and scrape before a junior. It rankled him—but ever since that incident at the Zhou residence, he still felt a lingering dread, terrified that Zhou Tan might take revenge on him, and had grown even more deferential than before.

Liang An felt his back aching in waves, yet he did not dare straighten it.

He still remembered the string of major cases Zhou Tan had handled right after arriving at the Ministry. They were called old, cold cases, but everyone understood perfectly well why they had been suppressed for so long. Yet Zhou Tan had shown not the slightest fear—decisively gathering evidence and overturning verdicts, taking down three officials of the fifth rank or above within a single month, shocking the entire court.

Since the Emperor himself had granted him this authority, the court had simply turned a blind eye and tacitly allowed it. It was only later, when Liang An looked into it, that he discovered every one of those officials had, not long before, impeached Gu Zhiyan in connection with the Candlelit Tower case.

A man like Zhou Tan, who never forgot a slight and devoured people whole without spitting out the bones—how could he possibly let this go so easily?

After a long silence, just as Liang An felt his back was about to lose all feeling, Zhou Tan finally set down his teacup and said, neither warm nor cold, “Is that so?”

He rose and walked past him. As he pushed open the door, he asked one more question: “Lord Liang—what are the rules governing whoever beats the Ministry’s drum?”

“I wonder what requirements the Ministry’s drum has for the one who strikes it?”

Qu You and Bo Ying spent a good long while struggling before they finally managed to squeeze their way to the front of the crowd.

The front courtyard of the Ministry of Justice faced directly onto Imperial City Street, which connected to the great avenue along the Bian River—an extremely bustling area. The moment people heard the sound of the drum, they gathered with astonishing speed, and by now the front gate was packed so tight that not even water could seep through.

The law stated clearly: if anyone beat the court drum, it meant they had a grievance to lodge, one so urgent they could not rest until it was heard, and the case must be tried publicly.

But if that were so, wouldn’t every plaintiff in every petty case be able to demand a public trial?

Qu You asked this aloud, and someone beside her eagerly leaned in to explain. “Young master, you’re not from the capital, are you? You wouldn’t know—not just anyone can beat the Ministry’s drum.”

Most of the onlookers who had gathered were scholars and students, though a few idle young dandies had come purely for the spectacle. Bo Ying, without Qu You noticing when, had struck up a conversation with a young gentleman beside him and was happily cracking melon seeds.

Another man addressed Qu You. “Our dynasty’s laws don’t spell it out in writing, but the Ministry has an unwritten rule: whoever beats the drum must be an official or a relative of one, must own a household and land, must possess property worth at least fifty taels of silver, and must be petitioning over a capital case—only then may they cry injustice.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk—there’ve been drummers before who didn’t meet the conditions, and the Ministry threw out their petitions and gave them fifty lashes as a warning. No one dares try it lightly these days.”

An official household. Property. A capital case.

How convenient—all three conditions, finally met.

Qu You thought back to the look in Yan Wuping’s eyes the day she’d left the Fragrant Heart Pavilion. So she really had conspired with Zhou Tan all along—faking her death to escape, only to reappear like this, precisely to fan the flames higher.

Yan Wuping, holding the drumstick, struck the Ministry’s drum—taller than a person—three times with great force, then stepped back, knelt, and raised high the petition in her hands, calling out in a ringing voice: “This lowly servant, Yan Wuping, former attendant of the Court of Judicial Review, was involved in the case of the fall from the tower half a month ago and should by rights have been awaiting trial. But because I learned a secret concerning my lord, Chief Minister Peng Yue of the Court of Judicial Review, he had me murdered in secret—he set fire to the building, and I nearly lost my life. I have witnesses and evidence, both, and humbly beg the Ministry of Justice to hold a public trial!”

Many of the onlookers who had just arrived, upon hearing this, immediately fell into a buzz of chattering discussion. Qu You rose up on her toes to peer forward, and a thought struck her. She tugged at Bo Ying, who was chatting away eagerly beside her. “Find a child, send them to the Fragrant Heart Pavilion, and tell them—if any of the girls need to come here, ask Boss Ai to send extra guards.”

Bo Ying quickly found a beggar boy in the crowd—most of these children lived in the poor quarter of North Street, fed and clothed under Boss Ai’s protection, and they roamed the streets and alleys daily, making them the most convenient messengers.

The boy, delighted at the silver ingot he’d been given, hurried off. Bo Ying, somewhat pained, tucked away his money pouch and asked in a low voice, “How did you know someone was coming?”

“She didn’t bring any witnesses. I’d guess the witnesses are the women of the Fragrant Heart Pavilion,” Qu You said. “They’ll certainly need to be summoned once the public trial begins. Boss Ai has protected them closely until now, but the road out today needs even more caution.”

The words had barely left her mouth when a hush fell over the crowd. Two Ministry guards in narrow-sleeved black robes carried out a carved red-sandalwood table from the inner gate of the front courtyard, and Zhou Tan walked out behind them.

The Ministry’s vermilion round-collared robe deepened to a heavy crimson beneath the sunlight. Zhou Tan descended from the high steps of the Ministry’s inner hall, looking down over the crowd, one hand tucked into his somewhat wide sleeve. A jade belt cinched his slender waist, from which hung a white jade scholar’s sword and a gilt brocade fish pouch.

Young as he was, no one dared look down on him.

The moment he appeared, the crowd fell silent for no clear reason. Qu You could only hear the admiring murmurs of women beyond the crowd, and here and there a sigh: “So this is the Vice Minister,” or “He doesn’t look at all like the rumors say.”

Zhou Tan walked all the way to the drum, casting a careless glance over the crowd. Qu You felt that his gaze had paused for a second when it landed on her, but it quickly moved on to Yan Wuping.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, Qu You thought.

“Who kneels before this court?”

Yan Wuping knelt and kowtowed before him, repeating the grievance she had just voiced. Zhou Tan was about to speak when a sharp voice called out from behind him: “Wait, please.”

Liang An hurried forward, past caring about propriety now, his face wearing a placating smile though his tone carried a hint of threat. “My lord, your subordinate means no offense—it’s only that whether this person truly meets the conditions to beat the drum remains uncertain. The magistrate of the capital and the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review have not yet arrived. The rules cannot be broken…”

Someone in the crowd could not help but object, and guards immediately stepped forward, blocking the gate. Qu You crossed her arms and spoke, her voice neither loud nor soft: “It’s not written in any statute—so where exactly did this ‘rule’ come from?”

Someone at once chimed in agreement. “This man is a suspect in the fall-from-the-tower case—by rights, the court should open a public trial.”

“That’s right, that’s right…”

Zhou Tan suddenly gave a small cough and said calmly, “Lord Liang is correct.”

Qu You, in the crowd, froze.

Someone protested. “Insisting so rigidly on procedure—could it be the Ministry has a guilty conscience?”

“For the Vice Minister to conduct himself so improperly—how can he possibly…”

Just then, a guard in black, drenched in sweat, squeezed his way out of the crowd. Qu You looked closely and realized, to her surprise, that it was He San.

He San ran forward, gasping for breath, and knelt, calling out loudly as if making a proclamation. “My lord! The magistrate of the capital has confirmed it. The woman Yan kneeling before this court is a native of Yuhang. Two years ago she came to the capital by merchant ship, and afterward served as a close attendant to Lord Peng Yue of the Court of Judicial Review. She owns five mu of farmland and one residence, receives an official stipend, and has no living relatives.”

He unrolled the household register in his hands and turned in a circle before the surrounding crowd, letting everyone see it clearly.

Qu You glanced over and heard the same eager bystander from before remark, “What impeccable timing—everything lines up perfectly. On top of all the other conditions, she’s happened to live in the capital exactly two years.”

“That’s right, that’s right—by rule, the Ministry doesn’t accept petitions from those not registered in the capital. This one’s had quite the stroke of luck. Wasn’t he in hiding these past few days—wasn’t that just to make up the two years?”

“Brother Li has a point…”

So that was how it was.

Qu You watched as Zhou Tan reached out and took the petition from Yan Wuping’s hands, ignoring the dumbstruck Liang An beside him, and turned, expressionless, to seat himself before the red-sandalwood table.

“The drummer, the woman Yan, meets the requirements. She shall proceed according to Article Forty-two of Book Three of the Great Yin Code regarding drum petitions. Open the east gate—let all who wish to hear the trial come forward.”