Although Su Jin was a disgraced minister, he had formerly held the position of Minister. After returning to the government office, he was not imprisoned but instead invited to rest in the back office.

Troubled by concerns, he never rested properly. On Zhu Nanxian’s side, Shen Xi was there to strategize, so things should be safe. What worried him most were the townspeople of Cuiwei Town.

On the road back to Jinzhou, he didn’t know what Yao Youcai had said to these townspeople, but conflict had erupted between the two sides. Later, when Zhai Di inquired, both the Cuiwei Town residents and Yao Youcai gave evasive answers.

Su Jin felt uneasy.

News of Zhu Yushen’s recovery of Annan had spread from Shu, and within Jinzhou city, common people had already poured into the streets in celebration. After another day passed, when news of the capital’s relocation was announced, the entire realm would likely be in turmoil.

At such a critical juncture, if something went wrong with the new land policy, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Su Jin didn’t trust the officials at the yamen. Earlier that morning, he had encountered Wei Jiang, the Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and had originally wanted to ask him to dispatch the Guard to watch over the Cuiwei Town residents.

On second thought, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the Imperial Guard, answering only to the emperor. Liu Yun’s private deployment of the Imperial Guard was already a serious crime. Now with major events occurring frequently, if he requested the Guard’s assistance at this moment, it would likely be exploited by those with ulterior motives.

After pondering for a long while, Su Jin summoned Tan Zhaolin and asked about Zhai Di’s whereabouts.

Tan Zhaolin said, “Lord Zhai went to the Regional Military Commission early this morning and hasn’t returned yet.” He added, “Oh, Jinzhou’s Administration Commissioner has returned—his name is Ma Lu. Would you like to see him, my lord? I’ll go fetch him.”

Su Jin glanced at the sky. It was already late afternoon. He was puzzled about why he hadn’t seen this Ma Lu before when suddenly someone outside the courtyard requested an audience.

It was Old Wu from Cuiwei Town.

“Lord Su, have you rested well?” Old Wu entered the courtyard after obtaining permission from the guards, then continued, “Lord Su, we townspeople have discussed it, and we don’t want to go to the capital anymore. We want to return to Cuiwei Town.”

Tan Zhaolin said, “Uncle Wu, if you don’t go to testify and clear your grievances, when you return to town, the mulberry fields won’t be yours anymore. What will you live on in the future?”

Old Wu sighed, “We’ve already thought about this. There are only about a hundred people in all of Cuiwei Town. They say when people move they die, when trees move they live. If we really can’t survive, worst case we won’t stay in town—we’ll move the whole family elsewhere.”

Su Jin invited Old Wu into the room, poured him a cup of tea, and asked gently, “Uncle Wu, is your reluctance to go to the capital because you’re worried about being implicated by Su’s identity?”

Old Wu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t speak.

“If that’s the reason, you can rest assured,” Su Jin continued. “Su accompanied you all to the capital ultimately to testify about the mulberry field case in Cuiwei Town. As for who Su really is, whether Su holds official position, and what punishment Su will receive in the future—none of this concerns you, and you will absolutely not be implicated.”

“Your case has now been taken over by the Imperial Censorate. Su once served in the Censorate and knows deeply that everyone there, from the Chief Censor down to ninth-rank city patrol officers, puts the people first and maintains fair justice when handling cases involving common folk. As long as you’re willing to go to the capital to testify, the Censorate will certainly return the mulberry fields to the townspeople.”

Old Wu gripped his teacup, silent for a long time. “Lord Su has outstanding character. I have not the slightest doubt about your words. But I am insignificant and my words carry little weight. I wonder if my lord… if my lord could write a letter of guarantee for the townspeople, stating that—no matter what happens, none of our townspeople deserve death.”

Hearing this, Su Jin thought he feared being implicated in Emperor Jin’an’s disappearance, which prompted these words. He picked up his brush and wrote several lines, then realized something was wrong.

What did he mean by “not deserving death”?

What “crime” had they committed?

Su Jin set down his brush. “Uncle Wu, did something happen to you all just now?”

Old Wu still gripped his teacup. After a long while, he took a sip. “We’re just common folk—what could happen to us?”

Seeing his reluctance to speak, Su Jin grew increasingly worried. In Cuiwei Town, Chao Qing was closest to him. If Uncle Wu wanted his help, why didn’t he bring Yunsheng along?

Or… were they hiding this from Chao Qing?

After all, hiding it from Chao Qing meant hiding it from her, Su Shiyu.

Su Jin recalled yesterday at Jianmen Mountain, the conflict between Yao Youcai and the Cuiwei Town residents. Without further hesitation, he immediately headed toward the adjacent courtyard. Before he could cross the threshold, he heard commotion outside.

A guard approached: “Lord Su, County Magistrate Yao of Pingchuan County is dead. They’re arresting people outside—it’s quite chaotic. If you have no urgent business, please don’t leave the courtyard.”

Su Jin was stunned. “Yao Youcai is dead? How did he die?”

The guard said, “He died in the afternoon, just discovered. It was done by people from Cuiwei Town. They’ve all fled now. There’s a ring of purple marks around his neck, tongue sticking out—he must have been strangled to death.”

Hearing this at first, Su Jin found it absurd. This was government headquarters. There were over ten Cuiwei Town residents. From afternoon until now, two hours had passed—how could they have escaped so easily?

However, before he could think it through carefully, more shouting came from outside, as if someone was mustering troops.

Su Jin frowned. “What’s happening?”

The guard said, “Just now, Lord Ma learned of this matter and went to ask Lord Shu’s opinion. Lord Shu said that County Magistrate Yao was after all a court official. To have him strangled to death in the government office damages the emperor’s dignity. He ordered Lord Ma to immediately summon officials, seal off all the streets and alleys of Jinzhou Prefecture, and capture and bring to justice the dozen-odd fleeing Cuiwei Town residents at once. The noise outside must be Lord Ma leading officials out to arrest people.”

Su Jin took a moment to recall who this so-called Lord Ma was.

She immediately rebuked, “Does your Administration Commissioner have no brain?”

Emperor Yongji had recovered Annan. The current Jinzhou city was full of celebrating common people everywhere…

If Ma Lu led troops to seal off the streets and arrest Cuiwei Town residents at this time, before long, this matter would spread like wildfire.

By then, whether the Cuiwei Town residents could keep their lives was another matter. The key point was that this incident was triggered by the land system. If a tragic case of commoners killing an official occurred due to conflicts in the land system, the forty-seven cases of officials oppressing the people mentioned in the confidential letter Liu Yun had shown her would be even harder to redress. Worse still, if this matter were exploited by those with ulterior motives and blown out of proportion, even the new policies painstakingly implemented over the past three years might be halted.

In fact, the true cause of Yao Youcai’s death was another matter entirely. With such a major case, what was most taboo was for rumors to spread everywhere before any investigation.

Thinking of this, Su Jin called out, “Zhaolin!” and immediately chased toward the government office entrance.

But after taking just two steps, she stopped, turned back, and asked the guard, “You just said that Administration Commissioner Ma Lu led officials into the streets to arrest people after hearing Lord Shu—Shu Wenlan’s—opinion?”

The guard responded, “Yes. This subordinate was present at the time. This matter is absolutely true.”

Su Jin’s eyes darkened. She said to Tan Zhaolin, “Zhaolin, you stay here and guard Old Wu. Absolutely don’t let Shu Wenlan’s people take him away.”

Just as Su Jin exited the main gate of the government office, she nearly collided with someone wearing dark robes.

Liu Chaoming had just dismounted from his carriage. Seeing Su Jin rushing forward heedlessly, he reached out to steady her and asked, “Has something happened to the Cuiwei Town people?”

Su Jin stepped back, hastily bowed in apology, and with no time for propriety, replied, “Yes. Yao Youcai is dead. The guards at the government office say the Cuiwei Town residents did it. Administration Commissioner Ma Lu, following Shu Wenlan’s suggestion, has led officials into the streets to arrest people. I was rushing to stop them.”

Hearing this, Liu Chaoming’s brows furrowed slightly.

After a moment, his expression grew somber. He said coolly, “No need. You won’t be able to stop them.”

Then he said to someone behind him, “Li Qiong, go find Wei Jiang and have him bring the Embroidered Uniform Guard to accompany this official.”

However, upon hearing this, Li Qiong immediately said, “My lord, you mustn’t!” He continued, “My lord, you’ve already deployed the Embroidered Uniform Guard without authorization. His Majesty turned a blind eye and didn’t pursue it. But now His Majesty has arrived in Jinzhou Prefecture. If you mobilize the Imperial Guard in his presence, the situation will be entirely different. If you lead the Guard to stop Lord Shu, all the officials and guards in this government office can serve as witnesses against you. At that point, even if His Majesty wants to spare you, it will be difficult.”

“My lord, can’t you see? This is a trap Lord Shu has set for you.”

But Liu Chaoming said, “No need to say more. Just go find Wei Jiang. Tell him to have the Imperial Guard ready within a quarter-hour. This official will wait for him at the alley entrance.”

As he raised his foot to leave, Su Jin raised her hand to block him. “My lord, why not let Shiyu lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard instead? Shiyu is already guilty—one more charge won’t matter.”

Liu Chaoming asked, “Do you no longer want your life?”

He continued, “There aren’t many Embroidered Uniform Guards in Shu. Currently, there are only twenty in the government office. Ma Lu has over a hundred officials. Unless blood is shed, there’s no way to stop them.”

In other words, only if he led the Guard would Shu Wenlan be satisfied and have Ma Lu withdraw the officials.

Su Jin pressed her lips together, frowning, her mind racing.

Liu Chaoming raised his foot to leave again. She also stepped back, still raising her hand to block him. “My lord, please wait a bit longer. Let Shiyu think of another solution.”

Liu Chaoming looked at her. “Do you know why you’re at a complete loss right now?”

Su Jin was startled.

But Liu Chaoming didn’t give her an answer. He lowered the hand she had raised to block him and said softly, “I won’t come to harm.”