Mu Yunyang had governed his region for many years — he was no fool. Ignoring his usually pampered wife, he fixed a grave expression on the veiled woman before him. This was the Administration Office; whoever had the audacity to come here looking for trouble was certainly no ordinary person.

Mu Yunyang cupped his hands in a bow, carrying himself with graceful composure. “I wonder what brings you here, miss. If my thoughtless brother-in-law has given offense, allow me to first offer his apologies on his behalf — whatever you require, you need only say the word.”

Zheng Bei’s eyes bulged as he made to speak, but Zheng Shi moved swiftly, clamping her hand over his mouth and shaking her head at him.

“An old husband with a young wife — Administrator Mu certainly enjoys a comfortable life.”

Mu Yunyang held steady without the slightest tremor of unease. “Merely the workings of fate. I have always conducted myself in ways I need not hide from anyone, and my marriage was entered into openly and uprightly.”

Shao Yao laughed coldly. “Administrator Mu had best keep those words firmly in mind.”

Mu Yunyang’s brow furrowed slightly. For a moment he could not determine which particular words she meant for him to remember. How many officials could claim truly clean hands? Surely she had not actually caught him by the tail on something?

The clatter of hoofbeats drew near from a distance. Riding at the front was Yu Tao — before his horse had even come to a full stop he vaulted from the saddle, letting the animal gallop off on its own. That single move stunned the crowd into silence. The men behind him each reined their horses to a halt before dismounting.

When Mu Yunyang saw who had come, his eyelids twitched violently. That she had managed to bring Li Shiren here — just what were this woman’s connections?

Li Shiren was dressed in plain clothes. The moment he identified the right person he strode directly to Shao Yao and clasped his hands. “This subordinate, Li Shiren, pays his respects.”

“Good. Everyone is here.”

No one dared watch the spectacle at the Administration Office openly, yet more and more people were stealing glances from the shadows. Seeing how things were shaping up, Mu Yunyang knew this day would bring nothing pleasant. He exchanged a look with his head steward, who understood at once and signaled the garrison soldiers to clear the area.

But the moment those men moved, a whip arrived — one crack per man, each sent tumbling through the gates of the Administration Office. The sound alone made clear that no small amount of force had been applied.

“Administrator Mu just said he conducts himself in ways he need not hide from anyone — so why not let everyone listen in?” Shao Yao’s voice carried a smile, yet it radiated wave after wave of cold menace. Those who knew her well understood: a Shao Yao like this was absolutely not to be provoked. Yu Tao and Wang Cheng inconspicuously stepped back a half-pace each.

Shao Yao approached the nearest man and used the handle of her whip to lift his persistently bowed head. “General Li, come identify him.”

Li Shiren steeled himself and looked. The moment he had seen these men, he had known what matter had fallen into the Seven Lodges Division’s hands. “He is one of the Yixin Camp soldiers.”

“Good that you acknowledge it — I respect you as a man of backbone, General Li.” Shao Yao’s smile was cold. “Since he belongs to the Yixin Camp, can General Li give me an explanation as to why these men became servants of the Zheng Family, helping Zheng Bei wreak havoc across the region?”

Li Shiren forced himself upright and replied, “They were dispatched to Zhenyang to carry out a mission—”

“On General Li’s orders?”

“……” There was no way Li Shiren could ever admit to that. The moment he did, even a burden that was not his to bear would become his. Besides, his conscience was already uneasy about this matter.

Shao Yao pressed further. “Was it on General Li’s orders?”

Li Shiren looked toward Mu Yunyang, hoping he would take up the thread. Mu Yunyang chose precisely that moment to turn aside, as though speaking with his head steward about something.

“Does General Li perhaps hope someone else will share his burden? Is self-preservation not the particular talent of officials like yourself?” Shao Yao toyed with her whip. “I will ask one final time — were these men dispatched to Zhenyang on General Li’s orders?”

Li Shiren clenched his jaw and refused to answer.

“You will not speak? No matter. I shall ask another person instead. Administrator Mu — were these men dispatched to Zhenyang on your orders?”

Countless thoughts flashed through Mu Yunyang’s mind in an instant, yet his tongue lost none of its speed. “I wonder in what capacity you pose this question, miss.”

Shao Yao produced a token and tossed it over. It landed face-up squarely before Mu Yunyang. He looked at it and his mind went utterly blank with a thunderous roar — the Seven Lodges Division! She was from the Seven Lodges Division!

“Answer!” Shao Yao’s patience was exhausted. The hand gripping her whip stirred with restless intent.

Mu Yunyang drew a deep breath to steady his pounding heart. Without so much as a glance toward Li Shiren, he spoke in a low, measured tone: “This official does not dare to deceive you. The garrison soldiers were indeed dispatched by me. My brother-in-law was born with a trouble-making nature — years ago he had settled in Jiangling, yet he kept stirring up trouble time and again, and I had no choice but to send him back to Zhenyang. Fearing he would misjudge the gravity of a situation and cause even greater disaster, I sent garrison soldiers to keep watch over him. But as for those soldiers from the military camp — this official truly has no knowledge of how that came to pass!”

Shao Yao immediately laughed. “Oh? They were not dispatched by you?”

“Not by this official. Nor does this official possess the authority to mobilize men from the military camp.”

Li Shiren’s fists clenched tight. He had not expected Mu Yunyang to actually dare push everything onto him. What audacity! Let them see who feared whom!

Both fists clasped together, Li Shiren spoke in a clear, carrying voice: “It is true that this official approved the dispatch of soldiers to Zhenyang — however, it was Administrator Mu who proposed it, saying that Zhenyang harbored several powerful factions that were not easily provoked. Since Zheng Bei was returning, he needed to establish his standing, put on a proper show of authority, and ensure the locals would not look down on him. Roughly three months later, this official asked him to return the men, to which he replied that since there was no active warfare it made no difference where they were stationed, and turned down this official’s request—”

“Nonsense! That never happened!” The words had barely left Mu Yunyang’s mouth when the long whip arrived. It wound around him with a life of its own, and before he could react it snapped back — taking his official’s robe to the ground with it.

“Continue.”

“Yes.” Li Shiren watched Mu Yunyang with tremendous satisfaction; even his voice grew louder. “Afterward this official asked several more times, and each time he found various pretexts to put me off. This official had just about resolved to send men directly to bring our soldiers back, and had not expected that things would already—”

“Does General Li perhaps forget that these soldiers were not lent without cost?” Having already come to grief himself, Mu Yunyang had no intention of watching Li Shiren emerge unscathed. He immediately struck back with pointed sarcasm: “General Li cannot become so enamored of his new wife that he forgets where she came from. This official extended no small number of conveniences to General Li — by all means investigate how many officials within this Administration Office bear the Li family name.”

Li Shiren was not unaware that continuing down this path could only end with both men ruined. But when Mu Yunyang had chosen to look out solely for himself and tried to drag him under, there was no longer any possibility of a peaceful resolution. He simply threw caution to the wind and pulled out even more. “This official can also recall clearly how many men within the Yixin Camp belong to Administrator Mu!”

Splendid — truly splendid! Civil officials and military commanders had already learned to infiltrate each other’s ranks with such remarkable ease!

Shao Yao sent one lash across Mu Yunyang, then another across Li Shiren, knocking the latter clean off his feet.

Li Shiren instinctively reached for his weapon and sprang upright into a fighting stance. The personal guards who had accompanied him saw that their general had made his move and drew their blades all at once. Simultaneously the garrison soldiers surged forward, surrounding the group on all sides.

Yu Tao and Wang Cheng split apart in perfect unison, each taking on half, yet both were uneasy — this was, after all, the front gate of the Administration Office. If the opposing reinforcements kept coming in endless waves, then—

“Chen Zhen — bring Mu Yunyang here.”

“Yes.” Chen Zhen exchanged a look with his brother before stepping away. His Highness had too few people around him; yet this journey had kept delivering unexpected trouble at every turn, always leaving them feeling stretched thin.

When they dragged him over, Mu Yunyang could no longer sustain the dignified bearing of before. His hair hung loose and he was clad only in his inner robes — a thoroughly wretched sight. With him in their hands, the garrison soldiers’ movements visibly faltered.

The Sixth Prince looked at him. If a regional administrator had already come to this, what could one hope for from any other official? As the saying goes, when the beam above is crooked, the beams below will follow — how upright could the conduct and integrity of Jingzhou’s entire officialdom possibly be?

It was fortunate that the Seven Lodges Division had always wandered across the nine provinces, or his father would have known even less. Though even so, the picture he received was probably limited. From what he knew, the Seven Lodges Division did not, in ordinary times, keep close watch over officials — they were more concerned with neighboring kingdoms, and with patching the gaps across this vast nation.

In recent years, though no great calamity had proved insurmountable, lesser disasters had never been rare either. It was only after coming to the Hua Family that he had learned from Elder Sister Shao Yao that some matters were suppressed at the local level and never had the chance to reach his Imperial Father’s desk.

Exactly where had things gone wrong? Little Six stared at the brawling crowd with a touch of bewilderment. These men held high positions, gripping enormous power in their hands. Even if they devoted only two parts in ten of their energy to official duties, the common people would have enough to get by — so why could they not manage even that? Greed could not be stamped out; thus the Great Qing Dynasty, from its very founding, had adopted an easygoing attitude of live-and-let-live regarding such matters, and had never enforced discipline strictly on this front. But as Elder Sister Hua had said — you cannot pocket the benefits and then refuse to do the work.

Little Six lowered his head, pressing his lips into a thin line. Elder Sister Hua had said that if there were more capable officials — even somewhat corrupt ones — that would not be so bad. But what exactly made a capable official? Many officials who started out decently grew crooked over time. He personally knew of several such cases. The same smiles on their faces — once they had looked perfectly fine to him, now they turned his stomach.

Little Six searched for an answer. The fighting by now had reached its most intense. In terms of martial skill, Li Shiren was marginally superior to Shao Yao — yet Shao Yao had the advantage of poison, and in the end it was Li Shiren who became the defeated party. His personal guards had all been knocked down. Only the garrison soldiers continued to grow in number; but hamstrung by having Mu Yunyang in the enemy’s hands, the additional men had not meaningfully increased their fighting strength.

Shao Yao’s chest rose and fell in rapid heaves. “Bind them and throw them in the cells.”

Li Shiren struggled and shouted: “This official is the garrison commander of an entire province — you cannot humiliate this official this way! Nor do you have the authority to deal with this official!”

“Throwing your rank at me?” Shao Yao snorted coldly. “Even if I cut you down right now, your Li Family behind you would have to accept it!”

“Does the Seven Lodges Division truly think so little of imperial law and the Emperor’s authority? This official refuses to accept this! This official demands an audience with the Emperor!”

“Rest assured — that opportunity will come. Throw them in.”

Mu Yunyang was considerably more compliant — when the men came to bind him, he obediently placed his hands behind his back and let them proceed without resistance. The very image of knowing which way the wind was blowing.

Shao Yao paused to collect herself, then formally declared her authority. “The Seven Lodges Division is assuming control of the Administration Office. Within the time it takes to burn one incense stick, I want to see every officer of the garrison and every official of the Administration Office assembled before me — without exception.”

A person’s reputation is their shadow. If those earlier moments had frightened the assembled men, this announcement somehow also steadied them. Looking back through the history of the Great Qing Dynasty, the Seven Lodges Division had never once done anything to harm the nation — they had always held the Emperor’s deep trust. Even the most stubborn among those present softened at this moment. Whatever they were told to do, they did. In less than the required time, every last person had arrived — not a single one missing.

Shao Yao used the interval to familiarize herself with both sides’ personnel. Once everyone was assembled, she announced: “Song Qi — you will assume temporary oversight of the Administration Office while awaiting the court’s instructions.”

“Yes.” Song Qi jolted from head to toe. He had not imagined that such an enormous windfall would come crashing down on him. It was called “temporary oversight,” but if he applied himself, who was to say it could not become permanent?

“Zhu Yichun — you will assume temporary command of the Jingzhou garrison while awaiting the court’s instructions.”

Zhu Yichun drew a slow, deep breath. “This subordinate accepts the order.”

“Dispatch riders immediately to carry word back to the capital and have the court send people here to handle this matter. Until those individuals have departed, no visitors of any kind are to be permitted to see the prisoners — no visitors. Not a single one.”

“Yes.” Song Qi and Zhu Yichun exchanged a glance with a mutual understanding that both would apply themselves fully in this regard. Official positions were like radishes and holes — without the person above vacating a slot, there was no room for anyone below to move up. This was their opportunity.

“Do not exchange glances in front of me. Mutual non-interference between civil officials and military commanders is an iron rule — the garrison and the Administration Office exist to keep watch over each other, not to conspire together like jackals sharing a carcass while both grow fat on it. Keep your hides pulled tight. The Seven Lodges Division will henceforth pay close attention to this matter — if corruption is discovered again, severe punishment will follow without exception!”

Both men felt a chill shoot through them and dared not look at each other again. Their responses came with the most genuine sincerity they could muster. The lesson before them was plain to see — they could not stumble down the same path before they had even steadied their footing.

Shao Yao harbored no illusions that these two would from this moment on dedicate their hearts to the court. Even Little Six would not dream such a dream. She could only hope that they would prove somewhat better than their predecessors — otherwise, what had been the point of expending all this effort to replace one batch of people with another?

“As for the men brought back from Zhenyang — I trust you know how they are to be handled.”

“Yes. This official will give you a satisfactory answer.”

“I do not need you to give me an answer. Handle it as it ought to be handled.”

“Yes.”

Thoroughly weary of such matters, Shao Yao headed back to the room where they were temporarily staying. Seeing Little Six sitting there lost in thought, she was not at all surprised. Hua Zhi had been teaching him so much along this journey — if he still failed to develop any real sense in his head, he had better keep his distance from Hua Zhi in the future, so as not to waste her time.