At the front, a wooden placard bore the character “Greed” in large strokes. At the back, another placard was scrawled wildly with the character “Lackey.”

The two placards sandwiched Manager Sun between them, like the judgment slips in the halls of the King of Hell before a plunge into the oil cauldron.

— Corruption and abuse of power, serving as a lackey for tyrants.

Pei Ruheng’s heart clenched. He grabbed people on either side and asked, “What’s going on here?”

“You don’t know yet?” the person beside him cursed and grumbled. “That Sun Yaozhu hasn’t been doing anything decent — he forcibly seized and sold off farmers’ fertile land, driving their families apart and ruining their lives. Word is he has a powerful backer and the authorities wouldn’t touch it, so some chivalrous soul dragged him here and tied him up.”

“I know him — he’s from Bitter Locust Township, used to be a local ruffian. Who’d have thought he’d somehow turn himself into the manager of a money house?”

“He’s just the fall guy. There must be someone else pulling the strings behind him.”

Murmurs filled the air, the crowd seething with indignation.

Pei Ruheng withdrew from the crowd, his face drained of color. Setting everything else aside, he grabbed Shoumo and ordered, “Go inform the Lu Family.”

“Yes.”

Lu Qingrong received the news and was immediately anxious. She went at once to report to her father — but her father showed not the slightest surprise, too lazy to even lift his eyelids. “Just send someone to bring them back.”

“How is simply bringing them back enough?” Lu Qingrong paced in circles with anxiety. “This is clearly someone provoking our family.”

“There’s time to investigate this matter afterward.” Lu Shouhuai turned a page of the account book. “The most pressing concern right now is my promotion to the Department of State Affairs. We need to set aside some silver to smooth things over.”

Lu Qingrong heard that and immediately sat back down. “The Princess Imperial isn’t obstructing it anymore?”

“She’s still obstructing it, of course she is.” Lu Shouhuai chuckled with disdain. “But I have the National Preceptor vouching for me, and your Uncle Cheng giving his strong recommendation, along with the Emperor’s regard for me — what good does her obstruction do?”

“Father is formidable.” Lu Qingrong said with delight. “I’ll have them go retrieve Manager Sun right away, and then have him withdraw a large sum of banknotes.”

Father and daughter earnestly discussed their grand plans. As for the small commotion at the gates of the Court of Judicial Review — in a few days everyone would forget about it. It was nothing serious.

Chen Baoxiang stood on an upper floor not far from the Court of Judicial Review, watching. Calculating that it was almost time for Xie Lanting to start his shift, she waved her hand at Zhao Huaizhu below.

Zhao Huaizhu, her face covered, nodded and swiftly led others to push seven or eight more carts toward the gates of the Court of Judicial Review. Each cart was draped with a white cloth.

The carts were left, the people slipped away — as slick as loaches.

“What are those?” Jiuquan asked beside her with curiosity.

Chen Baoxiang shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”

So many carts, and carrying a peculiar stench — the guards at the gates of the Court of Judicial Review finally could not hold their ground, and came over one by one to inspect.

It was precisely at this moment that Xie Lanting stepped down from his carriage, walking to the main gate with a bewildered expression. “What’s going—”

Before the words were finished, the white cloths were lifted by the guards.

Xie Lanting was caught completely off guard. He let out a “Urgh” and turned his head to retch.

The onlooking common folk were also given a tremendous fright, shrieking and scattering in all directions: “Rotting corpses — they’re all rotting corpses!”

Seven or eight bodies, some decomposed, some reeking, lay strewn across the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review — a truly horrifying and appalling sight.

“Someone come!” Xie Lanting retched so violently he could barely catch his breath. “Launch a thorough investigation immediately!”

“Yes!”

Such a spectacular scene was hard not to become fodder for people’s conversations over tea and meals. And with Chen Baoxiang stirring things along from behind, spreading word among the people — within less than two days, news of the Xiao Hui Money House’s killings blew through the whole of Shangjing like a spring breeze.

Jiuquan asked, stunned: “Where did the corpses come from?”

Chen Baoxiang answered without a change in expression: “Borrowed from the Yanglin Village side.”

Only in this way could Xie Lanting then pull out the matter of Xiao Hui Money House’s illegal land seizures along with everything else.

“The official is thorough in his thinking.” Jiuquan was full of admiration. “This way, our task can be considered complete.”

“It’s not enough.” Chen Baoxiang shook her head. “With him alone, at most the case can only be submitted up through the Three Departments. And as you said yourself, there are quite a few of their faction’s members within the Three Departments.”

“Then?”

“We need to find someone who can’t stand Lu Shouhuai — someone with enough rank and power — to bring this matter along with the evidence directly before the Emperor.”

Who in Shangjing dislikes Lu Shouhuai and also holds a position of high authority?

Within Dongrong Manor, Xie Lanting held his sleeve over his nose and listlessly answered: “The Princess Imperial.”

“In recent days, there is an important vacancy in the Department of State Affairs’ Ministry of Finance. Both the Princess Imperial and Cheng Huaili want to recommend their own people for the position and neither will yield, giving rise to no small amount of conflict. If she were to get her hands on such evidence, she would certainly demand imperial arbitration.”

Jiuquan’s eyes lit up. “Good — I’ll take all the evidence to the Princess Imperial’s residence right now.”

Chen Baoxiang promptly pulled him back, caught between tears and laughter. “Does your master have any close relationship with the Princess Imperial?”

“Not a single interaction.”

“Then you’d go barging to her door like that with things in hand — would she accept them?”

Jiuquan scratched his head. “If it’s useful, why wouldn’t she accept it?”

Chen Baoxiang sighed. “You all say that the Emperor and the Princess Imperial have always been at odds with each other in an awkward standoff. The Zhang Family has served the imperial household for generations and is also related by marriage to Cheng Huaili — would the Princess Imperial dare to use things delivered by you?”

“Then — then anonymously drop it off?”

“Things of unknown origin, people are even less likely to take seriously.” Chen Baoxiang clicked her tongue, scooped up all the account books and testimonies from his hands in one go, and stuffed them into Xie Lanting’s arms. “It has to be this official who goes.”

Dongrong Manor had old ties with the Princess Imperial, and Xie Lanting was a skilled hand at investigating cases — things he brought, the Princess Imperial would accept.

Xie Lanting had been left lethargic for several days from the stench of those corpses, and now a stack of ledgers came crashing down on him. He could not dodge in time and could only let out a wail of protest: “Why should I be the one to deliver such things?”

“The official is already aware of the Xiao Hui Money House case. As Vice Minister, how can he fail to report upward?”

“According to proper procedure, I can only report to the Three Departments.”

Chen Baoxiang stared at him steadily, then broke into a grin. “The Three Departments will yield no result — the official understands the workings of this far better than we do. The remains of Yanglin Village’s people are barely cold in the ground. How can the official stand aside and do nothing?”

Xie Lanting lifted an eyelid to look back at her. “Is this why you dumped those corpses at the gates of the Court of Judicial Review?”

Jiuquan was startled and immediately tried to cover for her: “It wasn’t Chen’s doing.”

Xie Lanting shot him a glance, then turned his gaze back to Chen Baoxiang. “You’re a remarkably strange person. Something happening so far away as Yanglin Village, and yet you reach out to meddle, going to such great lengths and trouble. What is it — does Lu Shouhuai have a grudge against you too?”

“The official jests.” Chen Baoxiang spread her hands with an innocent air. “All of this was a task given to me by Fengqing — I’m merely doing my job for the wages.”

“Right, I can vouch for Chen’s account.” Jiuquan said immediately. “Our master is the one who had her do this.”

“You, be quiet.” Xie Lanting pointed at Jiuquan, then turned his pointing finger toward the woman across from him.

“My instincts from years of handling cases tell me that you’re not right.” He narrowed his eyes. “But right now I can’t get a hold on anything against you.”

“The official worries too much — I truly have no private motives.” She met his pointing finger with composure and smiled with ease. “From beginning to end, what does any of this have to do with me?”