“Organize archives?” Bu Shulin found it sounded like decent work, especially since it came with a monthly salary.

“Yes,” Cui Jinbai nodded.

Bu Shulin looked at Cui Jinbai suspiciously, unsure if it was just her imagination. Though Cui Jinbai maintained his usual serious expression with his cold face, she felt she detected a hint of amusement. After observing him for a while without confirming anything, she decided not to dwell on it.

“How did a vacancy suddenly appear at the Court of Judicial Review?” She worried internally that it might be because of her.

Just yesterday, she had mentioned Ding Jue to Cui Jinbai, and today, as if by coincidence, Ding Jue had such bad luck that he wouldn’t be able to keep her company anymore. The timing seemed too perfect, yet she felt it might be presumptuous to think this way – why would Cui Jinbai do such a thing?

The Court of Judicial Review was an important institution, if not a crucial post, and shouldn’t be handled so casually, especially by someone as rigid as Cui Jinbai. He wouldn’t possibly… use public office for private gain, and they didn’t even have any private matters between them.

“The vacancy has existed for some time. This kind of tedious physical work, requiring neither martial nor literary skills, is most suitable for those…” Cui Jinbai moved his book aside and looked Bu Shulin up and down, “who can’t lift heavy loads, can’t carry things, can’t speak properly, and lack sufficient mental capacity.”

Bu Shulin: …

Why did she feel he was subtly mocking her?

“Stone-face Cui, have you forgotten how it felt to be pinned down by me? Want to fight?” Bu Shulin hitched up her lower garments and tucked them into her belt, ready to prove her abilities in an immediate fight.

Cui Jinbai put down his book unhurriedly: “It seems the Young Master has recovered well. The Marquis of Zhenbei happens to be sending Third Young Master Ding over. I should tell the Marquis that the Young Master can start duty rotation tomorrow…”

“Oh my!” Bu Shulin cried out pitifully, clutching her chest and retreating several steps before sitting down, wearing a weak expression. “My chest hurts, and my arms ache too. I must have been poisoned and suffered internal damage. I probably won’t recover for at least half a month…”

Cui Jinbai lowered his eyes to watch her performance without comment.

Feeling guilty, Bu Shulin stood up dejectedly: “My chest feels tight and I’m short of breath. I need to go home and lie down, so I won’t disturb Junior Assistant Minister Cui during his duty.”

Only after watching Bu Shulin slink away like a thief did Cui Jinbai show a slight smile.

After leaving the Court of Judicial Review, Bu Shulin didn’t return home but instead took a detour to the Princess’s mansion, where Shen Xihe was organizing the house.

“What’s all this for? Which distinguished guest are you preparing to host?” Bu Shulin arrived to find servants bustling about while Shen Xihe personally supervised, making her feel somewhat jealous.

She wondered which important person commanded such attention from her Youyou.

“My father is coming to the capital.” Shen Xihe’s face was full of joy. As soon as she returned, she had received a letter from Shen Yueshan. Because of her coming-of-age ceremony, Emperor Youning had specially summoned Shen Yueshan to the capital.

Shen Xihe thought it might also be related to next year’s war against Tibet, wanting to discuss it with Shen Yueshan in advance.

Without Madam Xiao in the capital, Shen Yueshan was quite willing to make the trip. The imperial edict hadn’t specifically named either Shen Yueshan or Shen Yun’an, only stating that one of them must come. Someone had to remain in the Northwest, so father and son had another fight, and finally, Shen Yun’an was forced to yield to superior martial prowess.

“Oh right!” Bu Shulin slapped her forehead. “You’re about to come of age. The King of the Northwest should indeed come to preside over your coming-of-age ceremony.” Looking around at the mansion’s arrangements, she asked, “But isn’t the King of the Northwest staying at the Shen residence?”

“With me here, he’ll stay here,” Shen Xihe knew her father and brother best. “His Majesty won’t quibble over such a small matter.”

“His Majesty has been quite irritable these days,” When mentioning Emperor Youning, Bu Shulin couldn’t help but comment. After returning, she had gone to the palace to report and saw Emperor Youning, who lacked his usual composure – though not visibly angry, his displeasure was palpable.

“News from Henan Prefecture indicates there are irregularities with Yu Zao’s identity, so the matter has been delayed again,” Shen Xihe could understand Emperor Youning’s mood. The common people were particularly unwilling to wait – they just wanted to know the results quickly. “By tomorrow at the latest, His Majesty will surely issue an imperial decree of self-blame to appease them.”

Originally, they had planned to identify the true culprit behind the scenes, and the self-blame decree could have been somewhat vague. Now that Yu Zao’s identity was in question, involving a case within a case, and Yu Zao still insisted he was indeed Yu Zao with no mastermind behind him, the case had reached a stalemate while the people grew impatient.

“His Majesty has already sent people to investigate Yu Zao’s identity. Youyou…” Bu Shulin still showed some concern.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything properly,” Shen Xihe said with a smile. “Since this was my idea, I naturally couldn’t just let Prince Zhao handle it alone. He’s been following my arrangements, and everything has been properly set up – they won’t find anything suspicious.”

She had spent two days and nights carefully questioning Yu Zao about his experiences, such as the burn mark on his body, which was indeed acquired while studying abroad. It was just an ordinary burn, but she insisted there had been a birthmark that he had destroyed. This made it more believable to others, as the age of the injury could be verified upon examination.

“I’m worried about the witnesses you found,” Bu Shulin wasn’t concerned about these true and false pieces of evidence.

“The identity arranged for Yu Zao isn’t fake either – it belongs to a real person. As for the witnesses…” Shen Xihe smiled faintly. “I used some methods to make them truly believe their testimonies, so they’ll hold up under questioning.”

After a pause, Shen Xihe continued: “To ensure absolute certainty, among the investigators His Majesty sent, the Crown Prince has also interfered.”

With two investigators, one controllable and one that could be enticed, nothing could go wrong with this matter.

As for the Yu family, there was no need to coordinate testimonies or even give advance notice. Once the Yu family caught wind of the situation, they should know how to choose. They would rather Yu Zao not be a member of the Yu family, so they could become the victims. Otherwise…

They might produce even more evidence.

After hearing this, Bu Shulin felt somewhat numb: “When you two work together, what can’t you accomplish?”

Shen Xihe first froze at these words, then broke into a gentle smile.

Her smile made Bu Shulin click her tongue twice before giving her a teasing look: “Youyou and His Highness the Crown Prince truly are of one mind.”

If Prince Zhao hadn’t been sent to Henan Prefecture, this matter couldn’t have been accomplished. Only Prince Zhao Xiao Langmin could take such a long time away to arrange this matter.

Bu Shulin understood Shen Xihe – she wouldn’t easily ask others for favors. She probably hadn’t asked Xiao Huayong to arrange for Xiao Langmin to go to Henan Prefecture.

“Without any reminders or manipulation, the one who came would inevitably be Prince Zhao, or only Prince Zhao,” Shen Xihe’s fingertips lightly brushed the branches and leaves before her.

If Xiao Huayong hadn’t sent Prince Zhao, Shen Xihe would have presented evidence proving Xiao Huayong’s innocence. With clear signs of a prince behind the scenes and even suggestions of embezzlement and possible rebellion, His Majesty would only send the unsuspicious Prince Zhao – anyone else would only complicate matters further.

The incident’s impact was severe, and His Majesty could no longer tolerate any more mishaps. Prince Zhao and Yu Zao were after all related by marriage, making it easier for Yu Zao to open up to him.