Suzhen started and turned to look—it was Zhu Xiaozhou.

She was both surprised and delighted. She hadn’t seen him since the palace examination. She whispered, “Do you know why everyone can recognize that I’m Li Huaisu?”

Xiaozhou also lowered his voice. “I know.”

Suzhen asked why.

Xiaozhou suddenly tore a piece of paper from her back.

Suzhen took it and looked—it read: I am Li Huaisu, come watch quickly.

That childish Lian Qin! >0<

Xiaozhou said disdainfully, “Who did this?”

Suzhen: “You also think this behavior is stupid, right!”

Xiaozhou: “Of course. The handwriting is too ugly. If it were me, the characters would be much more beautiful.”

Suzhen: “…”

At this time, someone else sneered coldly, “Who knows if there’ll just be a ‘maintain original verdict’—this officials protecting officials, can us common folk compare to the royal family’s interests? If the Wei Kingdom reduces grain and oil prices, the national treasury can save quite a bit. Whose money is in the treasury? Isn’t it still theirs!”

“Exactly,” another person chimed in, their tone full of disdain and contempt. “Do you think the government wants to retry this case for our sake? This is to shut everyone’s mouths. Aren’t you dissatisfied with the previous verdict? That Dog Official He was corrupt, this Chief Justice Li… heh heh?”

“You can’t say that. Who was it that saved General Liu’s child? It was Chief Justice Li!”

“Oh, that was before becoming an official. Who knows about now?”

“I heard the top scholar in the palace examination should have been Li Zhaoting, but he flattered and clung to His Majesty’s leg to get the top position!”

Suzhen felt uncomfortable hearing this. Looking around, she saw several scholars talking with veiled sarcasm, arguing with a crowd of sturdy men and women.

Some elders said impatiently, “Instead of talking about this and that, why don’t we just watch tomorrow’s trial?”

Everyone looked at her. Suzhen smiled bitterly and didn’t argue. Some things couldn’t be explained in a few words—like the national treasury, it depended on how those in power used it, whether for the people or otherwise.

But Xiaozhou snorted coldly and pointed at those scholars. “Get lost! What sour grapes mentality! Hey, if you’re so capable, try getting top scholar yourselves. If you’re so capable, try clinging to His Majesty’s leg yourselves. Everyone in the world wants to cling to His Majesty’s leg—if His Majesty is willing to let him cling, that’s his ability.”

Everyone’s faces changed, momentarily speechless at his scolding.

Suzhen was once again amazed by Xiaozhou’s sharp tongue. She asked if he wanted to go inside the yamen for a look. But Xiaozhou pulled her to a corner. “A new official lights three fires—don’t you feel you’re missing something?”

Suzhen: “His Majesty has prepared everything for me.”

Xiaozhou snorted disdainfully. “Do you know Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Ma Han?”

Suzhen: “I don’t know them.”

Xiaozhou looked contemptuous.

Suzhen: “But I have Leng Xue, Wuqing, Tieshou, and Zhuiming.”

Xiaozhou: “Don’t know them.”

Suzhen: “…”

Xiaozhou: “At least you don’t have any advisors or secretaries, right?”

Suzhen: “That’s true.”

Xiaozhou: “I’ve calculated it for you—your annual salary is 750 taels of silver. Give me 300 taels and I’ll condescend to be your secretary.”

Suzhen: “300 taels and you call it condescending?”

Xiaozhou: “Look at those operas—who gives bad advice and does bad things? Aren’t they all secretaries? Is it easy being a secretary?”

Suzhen: “That seems to make sense. Will you do it for 250 taels? If not, forget it!”

Xiaozhou: “You’re ruthless. Deal!”

Suzhen: “Zhu Xiaozhou, I want to ask—did you appear here by coincidence?”

Xiaozhou: “Idiot, if I said it was coincidence, would you believe me?”

Suzhen: “…”

Thus, Suzhen spent the night before the trial in various regrets over picking up this sharp-tongued man of unknown origins.

She even suspected those scholarly extras were hired by Xiaozhou to demonstrate his arguing talents and make her hire him as a student-secretary in her confusion. Later facts proved that while those people weren’t hired by Xiaozhou, that guy’s character truly had no bottom line.

She told her sorrows to the four young men who returned dusty that night, earning a collective eye-roll from them.

Wuqing said slowly, “Which of us wasn’t picked up by you randomly? Which of us isn’t of unknown origins? I think you’re just heartbroken over that 250 taels.”

Suzhen: “…”

Tieshou was always a practical child at any time. “Huaisu, thank you for the reminder. When you pay Xiaozhou, don’t forget to pay us four as well, or else… heh heh heh…”

He waved his “hand” at Suzhen as he spoke.

Suzhen: “…”

Suzhen thought she would walk into court with this relaxed mood.

But the reality was—no.

When she wore the Chief Justice robes and, under the protection of five young men, parted the crowd outside the main gate like water, with voices like cymbals, and walked into the yamen’s main hall, her heart pounded like thunder.

The yamen had three main gates. East of the first gate stood the great leather drum for appeals. The black lacquered main gate had fierce, menacing beast heads embedded in the rings, staring coldly at her.

The second ceremonial gate usually only opened when new officials took office—others could only enter through side doors. Today it was wide open to welcome the famous ministers from court, as well as Prince Zhennan and his wife who had arrived the previous night with their retinue.

Entering the main hall, she saw the “Silence” and “Avoid” plaques standing on either side. Court drums, blue flags, blue fans… bailiffs on both sides held staffs in neat rows. In the center was the main judgment seat, with red and green tokens on the table. Red tokens for punishment, green tokens for arrest.

Before the bailiffs on each side were several large chairs carved with dragons and phoenixes, showing their extraordinary status.

The tension and unease in her heart expanded like rising dough. Suddenly looking up, she saw the horizontal plaque reading “Mirror Hung High” suspended above. This day was overcast, with heavy, oppressive clouds. Though all three gates were open, the hall still had a gloomy feeling. At this moment, seeing these words, she felt no encouragement at all—instead, they seemed like great stones pressing down on her heart.

At this moment, she finally felt most deeply the pressure from this case.

That feeling of suffocation was like standing on a ten-thousand-foot precipice, with half her feet hanging in the air. Looking at that height, you feel dizzy and breathless, yet there’s no way to retreat.