Zhang Xiangu had gotten halfway through her appeal on others’ behalf. First Zhù Ying had neither agreed nor declined; then Jiang Teng and Jiang Zhou had come over for a secret report; then Zhù Ying had summoned Xiang Le to give instructions.

The evening meal in the back quarters that night was eaten exceptionally late.

After the meal, Zhang Xiangu said nothing more about the plea. She lay awake turning things over for half the night before she fell asleep.

Zhù Ying slept very well. First thing the next morning she issued two official documents — one open, one covert. The open one sent Tong Li and his people, bearing Fulu County’s official document, to Sicheng County to request Sicheng County’s cooperation in the case: retrieving relevant case records pertaining to the Huang-Li dispute, and openly asking around Sicheng County about Huang Shi’erlang’s reputation and the Li family’s reputation. On the return trip, they were also to bring back Li Fu Jie’s parents and the witnesses named in the contract for questioning in the case.

The covert one sent Xiang Le alone to Sicheng County, with an official document for his personal protection, but Xiang Le was not to reveal his identity and had to operate in secret.

The open mission — the whole yamen knew about it. The covert one — even Xiang An didn’t know.

Around Zhù Ying’s side, sometimes both siblings were present, sometimes they took turns on duty; no one noticed Xiang Le’s absence and no one paid it much attention. Since Xiang Le had come to Zhù Ying’s side, he had never been particularly close with the runners, and they didn’t much care about his whereabouts.

Tong Li received his official document, collected half of the travel funds from the accounts in advance to be settled on return, picked up two brothers, lifted their short staffs, and set out on the road. The two counties shared a border, and the document gave them access to postal relay stations, so they didn’t need to provide their own mounts.

Zhù Ying called Xiang Le to the rear study and pointed to a money pouch on the table: “Take this.”

Xiang Le stepped forward, lifted it in both hands, and immediately knew from the feel what was inside. He set it back down again: “My lord, I have my own money.”

Zhù Ying said, “Take it. You’re operating in secret — there may be unexpected situations. Report the expenditure when you come back.”

Hearing the word “report,” Xiang Le accepted it and said, “Yes. My lord — how many days do I have before I must return?”

Zhù Ying said, “Use your own judgment. Get the matter done properly — no need to rush — and be sure to maintain secrecy.”

“Yes.”

Xiang Le sauntered out through the main gate, went home and packed a simple bundle, and told his family, “There’s a case at the yamen — I have to be on duty. I won’t be back for a couple of days, no need to leave the door open for me.”

His elder brother cautioned him, “Is this the Huang family case? Whatever happens next, we shouldn’t get entangled in other people’s business.”

Xiang Le said, “I know.”

His bundle contained only a change of clothes and a pair of cloth shoes. People traveling with merchant caravans did not choose brocade and silk — he owned mostly plain cloth clothing, the principle being not to display wealth. Xiang Le left the city gate carrying his small bundle, riding a mule at a leisurely pace; no one imagined he was setting out on a long journey. Once he was clear of the county seat he urged his mount along more quickly, and by evening he had left Fulu County and taken lodging in a small village.

Because he had been out with Zhù Ying on a number of trips to the countryside recently, to avoid being recognized and causing complications, Xiang Le relied on his memory to bypass villages he had visited before. And it wasn’t just county residents he wanted to avoid — he also planned to stay out of Tong Li’s way. Tong Li and his people, taking the post road to Sicheng County, were already moving quickly, but Xiang Le moved faster still.

Tong Li went first to the Sicheng County yamen; Xiang Le started not at the county yamen but from the villages near the county border of the two counties.

He changed into a plain cloth outfit and entered a Sicheng County village. In broad daylight, without looking for lodging, he pulled out a handful of candy near the village entrance and drew in a cluster of curious children who had been watching him, bringing them closer. He said, “One piece each. Whoever can answer a question of mine gets an extra piece.”

The children pressed in more densely.

Xiang Le distributed the candy and asked, “Do you grow oranges around here?”

“A few.”

He chatted with the children briefly, and then a passing adult from the village asked with clear suspicion, “Who are you?”

Xiang Le’s appearance looked somewhat out of place. His family was merchant class, but he had never done the peddler trade, had no peddler’s carrying poles and no goods. His clothes were plain cloth without patches, and freshly laundered and starched, making him look less like someone doing hard labor. Yet he didn’t seem like a refined scholar either.

He was sturdily built and traveling alone without a copper gong to announce himself, which clearly ruled out performing arts.

Xiang Le said, “Greetings, big brother — better to ask you directly! I’m from Yiyang Prefecture over there. The oranges grown around here sell well in our area, so I came to buy some — saves me buying from merchants later at higher prices. But their local oranges all apparently have fixed buyers already and they plan to sell them directly. So I thought I’d check whether the neighboring county has any.”

He had traveled on the road for several years through several states and prefectures, had listened to enough local dialects to imitate a reasonable approximation, and passed himself off as a native of the neighboring Yiyang Prefecture.

Fortunately, the villagers had never encountered anyone who had been to Nan Prefecture, let alone the distant Yiyang Prefecture, and hadn’t the faintest idea what accent Yiyang people had, so they harbored no suspicion.

The villager said, “What price are you offering?”

Xiang Le said, “Five coins per jin.”

“Why not just go rob someone?! Get out of here!”

Xiang Le smiled: “Are all the oranges in this village yours? You tell me to go and I go? Maybe someone else is willing to sell to me?”

Their back-and-forth drew more people over, and eventually brought the village head out. The village head invited him to his home, and half the village perched on the walls of the village head’s house to watch the spectacle.

Xiang Le used the pretense of negotiating a price to ask the village head, “How many oranges do you have? Are they sweet or sour? Let me take a look at the trees — I need to see the quantity and identify the variety. If there are enough and the flavor is good, I’ll pay a high price; if there are few and they’re sour, I won’t take them.”

They went together to look at the orange trees. The village had no great quantity of them. Xiang Le’s merchant instincts had been triggered; he negotiated and haggled with the village head, saying, “If you know any other village with orange trees, all of you together would count as a large quantity. I can see this village isn’t big, and there’s not much land. Who has the most land around here?”

The village head smiled. “The person with the most land around here — he wouldn’t bother with you! His land stretches very far!”

Xiang Le asked, “What family is it?”

“The Huang family.”

Xiang Le took the opportunity to ask, “Is the head of the family easy to deal with?”

The village head’s smile grew stranger still. “Easy, very easy — but if you talked back to him for half a day without quickly agreeing to his price, he’d have your legs broken. Heh.”

Xiang Le said, “He has that bad a temper? I’ve heard that the richer the person, the worse the temper — how large is his estate?”

The village head thought to himself: what harm in telling you? Do you think Huang Shi’erlang is the kind of person who’s easy to deal with? Are you going to pick a quarrel with him just to make a little extra money?

Thinking this, he felt a stir of pity, and warned Xiang Le, “That man is not someone to provoke. Don’t throw your livelihood away.”

“How so?”

The village head said, “Last year we all heard that Fulu’s oranges were selling at high prices — five coins apiece! We tried passing our own oranges off as Fulu oranges to sell them. That’s young master’s plan too, isn’t it?”

“Brother, we’re of one mind.”

“You just offered five coins per jin, right? If you come across Huang Shi’erlang, he’ll charge you five coins apiece and clean out your purse entirely. You buy at five apiece, then transport and sell — at what price per piece? Could you even sell them? I heard he used to do this sort of thing before, only with rice, not oranges.”

Xiang Le thought to himself: our top-grade oranges sold further away would go for more than five coins a piece! But if that’s how Huang Shi’erlang operates, the man certainly deserves a beating.

He pressed the village head for more about Huang Shi’erlang, but then the village head said, “He has a water pit — he’ll have you thrown in to soak until worms grow on your body!”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen it myself.”

“And the county yamen doesn’t manage it? Hasn’t anyone complained?”

“How easy is it to get into the county yamen? How easy is it to file a complaint?” The village head said no more after that. He thought to himself — this young fellow looks young; young people always liked to talk back. Say any more and he’ll actually go looking for Huang Shi’erlang, and if he comes to grief, that’s his own problem, but if he names me as the one who spoke ill of Huang Shi’erlang — wouldn’t I be in trouble?

Xiang Le asked more questions, but the village head flatly refused to say another word about Huang Shi’erlang. Xiang Le then stopped asking about him and inquired about other local products instead. After they chatted and rambled a while, the village head also didn’t dare offer him lodging, and Xiang Le wanted to travel while it was still light anyway, so he left the village quickly.

He moved along his way, roaming and wandering, also passing through places where the Huang family had farmland, and through the village that paid no taxes to the county. Whether for Xiang Le or for the various gentry, there was nothing internally objectionable about “unregistered households” — Xiang Le didn’t count this as part of what he needed to investigate. If he heard someone say “we pay rent every year to the great Huang Master,” he would establish which Huang Master was meant, and if it was Huang Shi’erlang’s household, he would dig a little deeper.

While Tong Li was at Sicheng County yamen presenting his letter and requesting a meeting, Xiang Le was still in a village, asking how Huang Shi’erlang “settled disputes.”

A local idler told him: “The old master doesn’t come over himself most of the time — it’s all handled by his steward. Whoever is a relation of his, whoever gives his steward more money, that side wins. Once there was a lucky one — no money given to the steward, happened to run into the great Huang Master himself, and had the nerve to ask him to uphold justice. By coincidence he was in a good mood, and he actually handled it.”

Xiang Le asked how he handled it and what happened after right and wrong were settled.

The idler said, “You just do what he says. He slaps people, or has them beaten with boards as well.”

“And everyone complies?”

“Once you’re dragged to his estate and locked up — let’s see if you comply then!”

Xiang Le felt dimly that something was off. He asked about the direction of the Huang family’s estate, then headed that way.

The Huang family’s estate was not in the county seat, yet it had all the appearance of being another center of Sicheng County. The estate was a picture of busy activity — old and young alike were about, and while they were not able to enjoy a carefree and contented life, it was not exactly a “no-entry zone for strangers” either.

Xiang Le still used the pretense of looking to buy oranges — saying he wanted to scope things out, so that when autumn came he would have an idea of quantities available for purchase. He had no money on him right now, but if the deal was favorable, he would come back in autumn and winter with the funds. Some believed him, some didn’t, and most just gathered to watch. Even the actual minor Huang family steward who managed proper affairs was not scowling and glowering at every moment.

Xiang Le had been on the road across several prefectures, so his knowledge was relatively broad — he could speak with some authority on the prices of various goods, and even talk about the profit margins of trade with the Ying people. He also said he bought and sold mountain goods.

The minor steward found him reasonably interesting to talk to after a few exchanges and was willing to say a few more words. Xiang Le slipped him a handful of coins, and the minor steward found him lodgings outside the main residence — he wasn’t going to take him into the main building.

Xiang Le was in no hurry. He took out some money and counted it coin by coin in front of his lodging host, who thought: now there’s a real merchant for you.

Xiang Le strolled outside the main residence and noticed several very large trees in the courtyard — by the diameter of their trunks and the spread of their canopies, these trees had to be several decades old. The Huang family had been here at least decades, perhaps over a century.

The next day, he went looking for the minor steward again and asked, “Could you introduce me to whoever is in charge here?”

The minor steward said, “That’s not easy to arrange.”

Xiang Le knew this would require money, and quickly said, “As long as it comes together, we can discuss the split when the time comes.”

The minor steward said nothing, just smiled.

Xiang Le sighed and said, “I won’t hide it from you, big brother — I’m just the errand boy. I don’t have ready cash on me.” The minor steward said, “All right then — you come with me and wait outside that door. If you’re lucky enough to meet someone, I’ll point them out and you can approach on your own. If not, don’t come looking for me again. Without giving him something of value, why would he have time for you? The Master is quite busy with something right now!”

Xiang Le said, “All right.”

The two went to stand outside the main building. Xiang Le took in the building from a distance as they drew closer. Before they even reached the side gate, he spotted several small figures in the tree canopy and called out, “Whose children are up there? Be careful! Quick, pull them down!”

The minor steward gave a start, looked up, and laughed. “No need to worry — they climb up there all the time. They’re not allowed to climb walls or trees anywhere else — if they do, their legs get broken — but this particular spot is allowed.”

“Hmm? What place is this?”

The minor steward smiled mysteriously. “Want to take a look?”

“Is that allowed?”

“Come along.”

Can’t meet the head steward, but allowed into this place? Xiang Le was full of curiosity. That tree had seemed close from outside, but reaching it required passing through two enclosed courtyards. Xiang Le quietly memorized the layout of the path. The main residence was divided into left, center, and right wings. The center went without saying — it was certainly the master’s living quarters. The left and right wings each served their own purposes.

At the very front, starting from the gatehouse, were the accounts room and other offices; the living quarters further back were not accessible to him.

The minor steward led him into the left wing. A passage ran northward; passing the first courtyard, the minor steward paid it no attention.

After the first courtyard, turning right off the passage was a narrow lane. Walking a short distance along the lane, there was a second courtyard sitting north-facing, with two doors. The minor steward pushed open the closed doors and beckoned: “Come.”

Xiang Le went inside and was greatly startled: “What is this?”

The setup here was oddly familiar. The courtyard was quite large. Along the north side was a main building of three bays; on the veranda to the left stood a drum; in the courtyard sat an enormous standing cangue — and there was currently a person standing inside it. The person had been left to blister in the sun until the skin was peeling. The minor steward mentioned casually, “Hands weren’t clean — this is the punishment for that.”

The main building’s three bays had closed doors; to one side stood three rooms of side wings, and a watchman guard came out in response to the sound: “Second Uncle.”

The minor steward said, “Nothing — go about your business.”

He pushed open the doors to the main building, and what Xiang Le saw when he looked inside gave him an even greater shock! Facing him was a well-crafted long case, with a gavel block on top, a cylinder of officer’s staves beside it. That alone was striking enough, but looking to both sides, there were wooden railings, and leaning against them were a number of rods of identical length with black-lacquered heads. And to the left of the main seat was an additional table and chair. This was a replica of the main hall of a county yamen!

A chill ran down Xiang Le’s back.

When Zhù Ying had told him to investigate “informal courts,” he had had some reservations. If a large household wanted to punish a servant, they generally preferred not to take it outside. Even among family members, if a dispute went to the public courts, it invited mockery and gossip. Moreover, once one entered the yamen — except under Zhù Ying, where you didn’t need to spend all your assets to file a suit, and she took no bribes in court — other yamens required gifts when you came through the door. A string of gifts all the way down the line added up to a significant sum, not to mention the cost of handling things above and below the table. And that was if you won — losing was even worse.

So many families preferred to resolve matters in-house, not out of contempt for the authorities but simply to avoid being squeezed dry. His own family was like that. To make an issue of this would be holding ordinary people to an unreasonable standard.

Xiang Le had taken on this assignment because he trusted Zhù Ying. He had been asking questions all along the road, learning of various instances of oppression and wickedness, thinking: with all the things he’s done, bringing him down wouldn’t be unjust.

That resolve made him all the more diligent in his inquiries.

Not until he saw this courtyard did he understand what truly “holding an informal court” meant. Not resolving internal family matters within the household, but genuinely putting on this display of power.

In truth, throughout history people had always shared one particular fondness: imitating the ways of officialdom.

Starting with forms of address — even a completely unranked country landowner would style himself “great master.” Then clothing: anyone with a few spare coins wanted to wear silk. Or homes: despite regulations, wealthy commoners secretly had decorative elements installed beyond what their station permitted. From the Han dynasty onward, when the Capital Administrator was at the height of his power, he spent every day in the capital’s streets seizing members of the imperial family who had dared to use the Emperor’s reserved imperial roads.

Even an ordinary household’s male head liked to sit at the center of the main hall, with sons and grandsons lined up below him.

But Xiang Le had never seen a private residence that so thoroughly resembled a public court.

Seeing that Xiang Le was taken aback, the minor steward spoke with a touch of pride, pointing to the tree nearby: “When we’re deciding cases in here, there are always people up there watching.”

Xiang Le wiped the sweat from his brow and thought: the magistrate is truly remarkable — how could she have guessed this?

He pretended to be frightened, then slipped another handful of coins to the minor steward and asked about the standing cangue. The minor steward said, “That’s a light punishment. Let me show you something better.”

“Will it be all right — bringing a stranger like me in?”

The minor steward smiled with a touch of satisfaction: “The big official is out on business. The one keeping watch here is my nephew.” He also had another thought in mind — this was a standard technique: frighten someone first, and then afterward everything was easier to negotiate. Be it a merchant or a farmer, once cowed, they would accept a low buying price or a high rent.

Behind this “courtroom” was a jail. Above was a torture chamber, stocked with numerous instruments. In the Fulu County yamen, instruments were few — shackles, leg-irons, chains, and boards. The first three were for catching, holding, and escorting criminals; the last was for corporal punishment. Exceedingly simple and boring. The county magistrate had absolutely no originality in this area — “twenty strokes of the board” and “twenty more” was all she knew.

This “imitation courtroom” was quite different: leather whips, thumb screws, awls, ropes hanging down from the ceiling, and a number of strange objects Xiang Le could not even identify.

The water pit was stone-built and recessed half underground. Someone was inside, stripped. There was also a ground pit, dark and gloomy, lit by only two oil lamps that flickered like ghost flames. Xiang Le grabbed the minor steward’s sleeve and said, “Let’s go back.”

The minor steward said, “These are all bad elements — an honest fellow like you could never end up in here.” He felt this trip had been very worthwhile. This young man looked as though he had been through some things — he was a genuine merchant, apparently someone who could actually get things done. Now that he’d been properly intimidated, next time things would be easier to negotiate; the great Master would praise him for being capable, and he might even be given a few more things to manage!

The two made their way back around to the front “courtroom,” came out through the doorway, and turned into the passage — only to encounter several men carrying grain sacks entering the first courtyard at the front. Xiang Le thought: so this is where rent is collected. But at this time of year, where would grain be coming from?

This was the height of summer, the season when the poor were going hungry. The poor were always on the edge of hunger, and paying rent in grain required an autumn harvest; after that there was less and less. At this point in the year — this was the famously lean “gap between the green and the yellow.” Without even asking, he knew nothing good was happening. His gaze followed the figures carrying grain sacks inside.

The men carried the grain in. Xiang Le looked at the minor steward again — seeing the smile on his face — and thought to himself: those people in there must be getting the short measure.

He went round the circuit without lingering further, and the next day went on to the county seat of Sicheng County, thinking to himself: even though my lord said there’s no need to rush, I still need to find out everything fully.

Zhù Ying was truly not the least bit anxious.

Xiang Le had gone without a word; on Tong Li’s side, the mission was open and aboveboard, but he encountered Sicheng County, and fast as he wanted to move, he couldn’t. Huang Shi’erlang had moved away and registered elsewhere, and Sicheng County’s residents were glad to see the back of him, but the yamen officials were less pleased — while Huang Shi’erlang was around, he gave them a bit more in the way of gifts; without him, that would diminish. The moment clerks thought of their own pockets, their hands slowed by another three parts.

Tong Li could only sit and wait in Sicheng County. He had an official document that entitled him to use post-relay stations to reach Sicheng County. But once he arrived, he could no longer stay at the relay station and had to take lodging at a guesthouse at his own cost. It was fortunate he had drawn some travel funds in advance; otherwise, spending his own money day after day, he’d have been anxious to death.

With no news from either front, Zhù Ying sat calmly like an angler waiting at a still pool. She summoned Xiang An and Jiang Zhou and instructed them: “Watch over Li Fu Jie carefully — nothing must go wrong while she’s in the cell.”

Zhù Ying reverted to the “normal” pace of officialdom in handling Huang Shi’erlang’s case — no longer the kind of case where the complaint came one day, she went out to the countryside the same day, finished investigating the day after, and had the case settled by the third day. She continued with her other public duties at her own regular pace, deliberately letting this one case move through its procedures slowly. When Tong Li’s people were being stalled by Sicheng County, she didn’t get angry and didn’t send anyone to press them; she just let them sit there and drag it out.

So it went for ten days. The weather grew hotter, and Huang Shi’erlang still felt nothing amiss — by his experience, that was simply how the authorities handled things. Even in Sicheng County, where the yamen protected him, the fastest resolution was to tell the complainant to “get out.” Second best was to accept the complaint and snap “troublemaking commoner” before having the person beaten and “thrown out.” For ordinary lawsuits, from accepting the complaint to investigating, judging, and issuing a ruling — no matter how long it took, it would have come as no surprise.

He swore to himself: in the future, he would never let Fulu County handle his cases at this pace again. It had to be like Sicheng County!

But certain other people in Fulu County were growing restless.

Lin Shi and her mother paid another visit to Zhang Xiangu, and received: “She says she sent people to Sicheng County to ask — they haven’t come back yet. How can she decide before asking clearly?”

Zhang Xiangu didn’t have much to talk about with these two, and she genuinely couldn’t fathom why, now that there was already a son, the woman wasn’t being released to be with her parents. Lin Shi said several times “I am willing to provide a dowry,” and by the third time Zhang Xiangu had caught the drift: “You’re saying this now — where was all this earlier? If you’d given the person a way out long ago, none of this would be happening.”

Lin Shi’s heart was bitter as yellow lotus; she had reasons she couldn’t voice, and could only take her leave in embarrassment.

She went back to her parents’ home and wept to her father. Lin Weng then went to his son-in-law: “Regardless of whether you win this lawsuit, send that woman away!”

Huang Shi’erlang asked, slightly excited: “Oh? Has a ruling been made? Did I win?”

Lin Weng said, “Ruling? The runner who was sent for evidence hasn’t come back yet! Are you listening to what I say?”

Huang Shi’erlang deflated a little and grew somewhat restless: “I know, I know.”

Lin Weng said, “That concubine of yours — I haven’t said a single word against her before. Now that there’s a lawsuit, I have to speak. Let the child stay; if she wants to go, let her go. If she stays, she’ll only be a source of trouble.”

Lin Weng and his wife and daughter were all of one mind. Lin Shi had no son, and when her husband died she wouldn’t be able to hold the family property together — that wouldn’t do; there had to be one, even a concubine’s-born son. But she genuinely had no wish for her son to have another mother. The best concubine was one who was obedient and knew her place; Lin Shi was genuinely glad to the bottom of her heart at the prospect of “seeing Li Fu Jie off with a dowry.” And Lin Weng felt the same.

In the past, the Huang family was in Sicheng County, so Lin Weng had nothing to say about it. Now that they had moved and landed themselves in a lawsuit, Lin Weng raised the matter with his son-in-law.

Huang Shi’erlang said, “I’m not being lecherous — it was for the sake of heirs.”

“Don’t you already have one?”

“One is hardly enough!”

Lin Weng said, “It’s been several years and you’ve only raised one, hasn’t it? Know when to stop.”

Huang Shi’erlang hesitated at length, then muttered, “Fine, she can go — she’s nothing remarkable anyway.”

Lin Weng breathed a sigh of relief: “I’ll inquire around a bit.”

“I’m grateful to my honored father-in-law.”

The person Lin Weng tasked with inquiring was Gu Tong. He didn’t go to Gu Weng but used his own son Lin Ba-lang to approach Gu Tong, a schoolmate at the county school.

Gu Tong said, “How could I ever sway my teacher’s judgment?”

Lin Ba-lang said, “That brother-in-law of mine — if it weren’t for my sister’s sake, I’d have beaten him long ago! My father told me to come and find you. If you can ask, ask; if you can’t, never mind — it’s not exactly a glorious matter. Hey — don’t you find it strange that my lord is being a bit slow in deciding this case?”

Gu Tong said, “Haven’t you noticed that Tong Li isn’t back yet? Is that my teacher being slow? That’s the Sicheng County people being slow!”

Lin Ba-lang said, “You’re right!”

Gu Tong said, “Just tell him that.”

“Fine.”

Lin Ba-lang had no genuine care for his brother-in-law Huang Shi’erlang, so when he went home he gave his own father a casual answer, barely engaging with it. What’s more, he privately felt the brother-in-law thoroughly deserved a good dressing-down from the county magistrate! Why should everyone else get to be reprimanded while his brother-in-law escaped?

As luck would have it, Gu Tong also disliked Huang Shi’erlang. The two of them gave a perfunctory reply, agreed on their story, and went their separate ways.

Having brushed off Lin Ba-lang, Gu Tong still had something he couldn’t quite make out in his own mind. He wanted to ask Zhù Ying how she intended to conclude this matter and how she would negotiate with Sicheng County.

He always acted swiftly on impulse, and turned and ran straight to the county yamen. But seeing Zhù Ying as calm and normal as ever, he didn’t dare open his mouth. He moved half a step forward, then drew his foot back.

Zhù Ying noticed the movement and knew he had something on his mind. She tapped the table: “If you have something to say, say it.”

Gu Tong approached and asked, “Teacher — how do you intend to deal with Huang Shi’erlang?”

Zhù Ying said, “When the evidence comes, we judge by the law.”

“That’s taking awfully long.”

“Mm. This matter is going to involve a prolonged wrangle.”

“Oh? With Sicheng County?”

Zhù Ying nodded: “The original plaintiff is from Sicheng County, the events occurred in Sicheng County, and there’s plenty of wrangling ahead.”

He had guessed right, yet Gu Tong felt not the least bit pleased: “How can there be so many shameless people in the world? Truly unworthy of the gentry class!”

What kind of “gentleman class” was Huang Shi’erlang anyway? Zhù Ying nearly laughed. The Huang family didn’t even have an official rank.

Zhù Ying said, “Why do you look so glum?”

Gu Tong said, “And then there’s Sicheng County — does he have no thought for the people?! Without even saying so, he must have been bribed.”

Zhù Ying said, “County Magistrate Qiu, though he is no great official, upright man, or man of integrity, is not a particularly brutal or greedy person.”

“Mediocre,” Gu Tong said quietly, slandering the magistrate of another county.

Zhù Ying said, “Where are there so many sages and worthies in the world? Most people are just ordinary.”

Gu Tong said, “But you’re different, Teacher! Everyone could see with their own eyes that you refused Huang Shi’erlang’s precious gifts — and they all say you are a true gentleman! Just like Prince Wang.”

Zhù Ying said, “I accept gifts too.”

“But it’s different from them.”

“How is it different?”

Gu Tong frowned and thought. “You carry the common people in your heart.”

The common people of the world? Zhù Ying thought — what on earth is that?

She shook her head, lowered her gaze, and went back to the work in her hands. For this case, not only did the plaintiff and defendant have registered residences in two different counties, but even after judgment was reached there was still the question of enforcement. The Huang family’s property was mostly in Sicheng County — how was she going to reach into Sicheng County’s territory?

A prolonged wrangle with County Magistrate Qiu was certain. The two of them might well end up trading arguments before their superiors in Nan Prefecture, and if things couldn’t be done her way, Zhù Ying had even prepared herself to take the case all the way up to Leng Yun. On the thirtieth day of the sixth month this year, all of them had to report to the prefectural governor’s office.

So Sicheng County dragging their feet was actually a good thing! The plan was to drag this out to the end of the sixth month — how cooperative of County Magistrate Qiu, being so accommodating. Zhù Ying almost felt like inviting him to a meal.

Gu Tong had been talking a great deal, yet the thing he most wanted to know had never been brought up. Seeing Zhù Ying like this, he didn’t want to disturb her further. While he was hesitating, Tong Bo came in with an official document: “My lord — a reply from Sicheng County.”

Gu Tong quickly went to receive it, then held it with both hands and presented it to Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying took it, unsealed it, and read: the two counties were not under each other’s jurisdiction; Fulu County had no grounds for demanding Sicheng County’s records; better to have the case transferred to Sicheng County.

The wrangle had begun.