When the small local boss hired a cart, he paid in a fairly haphazard manner — sometimes the full price, sometimes more, sometimes nothing at all. Today, with Zhù Ying present, the small local boss knew that Zhù Ying generally handled the practical side of things properly, and so he paid the correct fare.

Sure enough: he negotiated the price, helped wrap Yingying up in a quilt and load her into the cart; Zhù Ying paid him the money.

The small local boss said, “How could I take your money?” Two fingers pushed outward, three fingers curled inward; in the end he accepted the money all the same, smiling to find he’d made a bit of a profit on the exchange, and cheerfully sent the party off. He turned back to Xiao Jiang and said, “Get this room cleaned up — better start looking for another tenant. You’ve done nicely — you got a few days of rent for free.”

Rentals generally ran from three months; with the person taken off by the authorities and clearly not coming back, the rent was forfeit, and a new tenant could be found. The small local boss congratulated Xiao Jiang on her windfall. Xiao Jiang kept her face still; she turned to the small dark girl who had returned with the shoes and said, “Take them back. When someone comes for the bundle, give it to them.”

The small local boss didn’t take offense; he stole a few more glances at Xiao Jiang’s figure, laughed to himself, and left.

Xiao Jiang pressed her lips together, didn’t bother with the clean shoes, and walked back with long strides.

The small dark girl tucked the clean shoes into her front fold and began cleaning the room; before long two large bundles had been packed up and dragged to the doorway; she went in and folded the quilt and locked it in the cabinet, then latched the room door from outside. Shouldering the bundles, she went back to the small courtyard and put them in the storage room. She turned around to find that Xiao Jiang had already changed into clean clothes and shoes; the small dark girl took the used ones to wash.

——

Meanwhile, Zhù Ying sat on the cart shaft, her expression cold. The cart driver dared not say a word and drove the cart quickly to the gate of the capital prefectural office. He jumped down and stood respectfully. “Young sir — the capital prefectural office is here.” He went to bring a stepping stool for Zhù Ying to use to get down. Zhù Ying made a slight effort and jumped down herself, then said to Head Constable Li at the gate, “Get some people out here — someone’s arrived!”

Head Constable Li said, “Who would you personally be delivering?”

Zhù Ying said, “If you don’t want her, I can take her somewhere else.”

Head Constable Li was about to argue further, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh — has the person been found?!”

Zhù Ying said, “Eight out of ten chance of it — someone go report to the prefect and to our vice minister.”

Head Constable Li kicked two constables. “Did you hear? Get moving!”

“Get a stretcher to carry her in; and have them prepare a private room — she’s not in great shape.”

“Yes yes!” Head Constable Li agreed and personally stepped forward. “Master Little Zhù — well done.”

Zhù Ying said, “Pure luck.”

A crowd rushed out, and with no stretcher immediately at hand, they simply used a long bench; the woman was set on it and carried in wobbling. Zhù Ying followed on foot. Many people had heard the news and came crowding to look; Head Constable Li stood up straight: “What are you all looking at? What are you looking at? Go back to your duties!”

Pei Qing and Fan Shaoqi were playing chess. Hearing the news, Pei Qing slowly placed a piece and said, “Cheng De — shall we go have a look?”

Fan Shaoqi said, “The Court of Judicial Review has an abundance of talent.”

Pei Qing said restrainedly, “The child’s just fast on her feet.”

Both walked over and asked the constable who had come to report, “How was she found?”

“Not sure — Master Little Zhù brought the person back. She’s not in good shape — had to be carried. They’re looking for a doctor now.”

Fan Shaoqi said, “Then go quickly!”

By the time the two arrived at the door of the room where Yingying was being kept, He Jing had already come running. He cupped his fists and said, “Both sirs — a doctor has already been sent for.”

Pei Qing gave Zhù Ying a pat on the shoulder and said aloud, “Well done — don’t let it go to your head.”

“Yes.”

Both stood at the doorway and looked in. The room was small enough to see from the door to the back wall: a small bed, on which lay a motionless figure. Pei Qing asked, “What happened to her?”

Zhù Ying said, “She was already injured that day — Xiao Fan arranged her hiding place. After Xiao Fan was arrested, no one was looking after her, and it came to this. She’s running a fever, so a doctor needs to be called.”

A little later the doctor arrived and felt her pulse, then said with exasperation, “Why wasn’t the illness tended to sooner? In this kind of weather, still covering the wound! Absolutely outrageous!” He prescribed both an herbal decoction and a medicinal ointment, and had the wound cleaned and re-dressed. Then, with considerable audacity, he said to Head Constable Li, “Hasn’t the capital prefectural office already stopped using severe punishments? What sort of treatment is this to give a young woman?”

Head Constable Li said irritably, “Does that look like something we did?”

“Oh right, whoever did this really had no sense of proportion — please don’t let that person near her again.” The doctor wasn’t from Wu’s type of pharmacy and took this for some family dispute — a fight over a daughter-in-law between her household of origin and her husband’s.

Head Constable Li said, “He’s already dead — rest easy.”

This rather alarmed the doctor; he suppressed his agitation and went to write out the prescription.

Pei Qing and the others looked for a moment and stepped back, telling the doctor not to stand on ceremony but to treat the patient immediately.

He Jing followed, looked, and gave a quiet instruction: “Go bring in a few people to have a look and confirm whether it’s Yingying.”

Pei Qing and Fan Shaoqi had been about to leave but both paused. Fifth Niang, Ling Ling, and others were brought in; one look and they insisted, “That’s Yingying.” Fifth Niang even wept and cursed, “You little hussy — you ran off and made the whole family suffer!” He Jing waved his hand and had them taken away. Then two large, strong constables escorted Xiao Fan in.

Head Constable Li said, “Have a look — who is this?”

Xiao Fan had been listless until he stood at the doorway; at first glance at the ** figure lying on the bed he didn’t recognize her, but taking two steps closer to see the build, he became agitated. Both constables held him down tightly.

He Jing waved his hand: “Take him away!”

Pei Qing and Fan Shaoqi exchanged a glance and nodded. Everyone went together to see Wang Yunhe, reporting the discovery of Yingying, the identifications by Fifth Niang and the others, and Xiao Fan’s reaction.

Wang Yunhe said first to Pei Qing, “The Court of Judicial Review truly does have talented people.” Pei Qing made a modest disclaimer or two, then said, “Shall we interrogate Xiao Fan first? As for Yingying — she should rest and recover before we question her.”

Yingying was alive, which made her a key figure — but with her in this state, keeping her for now was fine. Xiao Fan’s reaction showed he was at least connected; interrogating him straightaway was perfectly natural. As for how many days of rest, how many days of interrogation — that could be left to fate. In any case, those out searching for “enemies” hadn’t yet found enough unlawful evidence against Zhou You or Ma. And the two offices now had the development of “Yingying found” to report to the emperor tomorrow — at least something to show.

Wang Yunhe was a man of broad worldly experience. He asked Zhù Ying, “You found only her? What was her situation?”

Zhù Ying said, “Renting a single room in a place by the river — Xiao Fan had rented it.”

Wang Yunhe asked further, “What did she have with her?”

Zhù Ying said, “Just a simple room.”

Wang Yunhe said, “Have people go and search everything she had with her — there may be physical evidence.”

Pei Qing smiled. “Still the capital prefectural office is more thorough. Little Zhù — you really are inexperienced; learn something from this.” He thought to himself: Xiao Zhù is not usually someone this careless — why didn’t she bring the belongings along?

Over there, Head Constable Li went to get the address from Zhù Ying, took people to collect the belongings — more on that later. Here the interrogation of Xiao Fan began.

Since He Jing was the seasoned veteran, the questioning was handed to him; Zhù Ying and Bao the Evaluating Official sat in. Pei Qing told Zhù Ying, “Pay attention and learn.”

He Jing’s seasoned quality lay in this: he dared to strike. First a good beating, then questions. Xiao Fan held fast: “That’s my house — I could go anywhere in it. I also know Yingying — of course I was agitated to see her.”

He Jing was convinced it was him but lacked further evidence. He glanced at Zhù Ying, thinking: if only when you found Yingying you had also found some physical evidence from her side of things!

But He Jing had another angle of attack: “And what about Yanyan?!”

Indeed — Yingying was alive; Yanyan too had been alive when tied to the bedpost! The money Xiao Fan received for “selling” her he had also given to Fifth Niang! And furthermore, the room had been rented by Xiao Fan!

Xiao Fan said, “I truly don’t know! I did take the money and give it to Mother! That day, I was worried about Yingying — so I slipped in on the pretext of fetching things and stayed. I didn’t leave. Later, when I heard things go quiet inside, I was genuinely worried and crept under the window to peek in — General Ma was already dead. So I went in and got Yingying out. After that, I don’t know what happened.”

He Jing could tell from Xiao Fan’s changes of story at every turn that this version was probably also not the truth, and thought: just you wait — watch how I deal with you.

He looked at Zhù Ying and Bao the Evaluating Official; not making his move yet, he only had the statement recorded. Then he asked Xiao Fan what the buyer of the corpse had looked like. Xiao Fan said, “Just an old fellow buying for his son. Don’t know anything else about him — local accent.”

Further questioning brought only, “Beat me to death, and I still can’t say more, because I truly don’t know.” He Jing really did beat him again; both legs were bloodied. Xiao Fan just clenched his teeth and endured. Bao the Evaluating Official said quietly, “Judicial Officer He — this criminal’s mouth is very hard; beating won’t break him. Another method may be needed.” He Jing also stopped, had Xiao Fan taken away, and brought the statement up to report.

This round of statements was considerably more plausible than before. But Zhù Ying, reading it through, felt something still wasn’t quite right. Only Wang Yunhe said, “No more questioning!”

Fan Shaoqi asked, “Why is that?”

Wang Yunhe said, “Each round gives him a bit more information — and he’ll patch his lies together more tightly!” He ordered: first, treat Yingying — women were usually easier to crack; and second, continue finding hard evidence.

Pei Qing said, “Yanyan…”

Zhù Ying said, “I already asked everyone in Fifth Niang’s household — there was no one at Yanyan’s side when she was nearly gone; no one can confirm that he carried out a corpse and sold it, versus having hidden a living person. “

Wang Yunhe was not in a hurry and said, “Continue the investigation.”

In everyone’s mind, it was already practically settled that Xiao Fan had done it; whether he admitted it or not was secondary. The substitution, once done, meant Xiao Fan and Yingying were ready-made culprits. They only needed their own confessions. But this reason could also serve to drag things out, and continue investigating Ma and Zhou You.

When all parties were about to be assigned yet another task, Head Constable Li returned with the bundle collected from Xiao Jiang’s place. Xiao Jiang had packed the bundle for Yingying, intended for use once the case was over — she hadn’t expected it to be taken away as evidence. Not only that, Head Constable Li had sent people to go through every inch of that one room, inside and out, and found not a single coin. He could only sigh, “This place really is clean.”

The bundle was brought to the capital prefectural office and laid out item by item: a change of clothes for Yingying, a change for Xiao Fan, and only a small amount of loose silver and a few strings of copper coins. They studied these things carefully. Pei Qing said to Zhù Ying, “Look carefully — don’t let anything slip by again.”

Zhù Ying agreed, and after everyone else had gone through things, she pushed aside the money bag, counted the coins, and said, “This isn’t right — they only had this much?”

He Jing said, “He had to pay for a replacement corpse.”

Pei Qing shook his head. “They even prepared a replacement corpse — money couldn’t not have been prepared. A travel permit couldn’t not have been prepared. Unless there’s someone else involved, otherwise the proper preparations should be there. Best to look again.”

Wang Yunhe said, “Investigate further! Check the room he rented! Check Fifth Niang’s house!”

Pei Qing said to Zhù Ying, “You go too. This time be thorough.” Then in a lower voice, he added, “Search first; how we report it upward — that’s another matter.”

Zhù Ying smiled bitterly.

——

It was now the middle of the afternoon; the group split into two. Zhù Ying went to Fifth Niang’s establishment. The whole of Fifth Niang’s house was plastered with sealing strips, and the surrounding area had grown lively again — only this one spot remained in complete silence. The seals were removed; Zhù Ying and He Jing and the others went in, starting their search from the main hall. Zhù Ying said, “Let’s not trample and disturb things first.”

The constables said, “Don’t worry — we know!” They imitated what Zhù Ying had done before, trying not to disturb anything, poking about gently with their staffs.

Bao the Evaluating Official smiled and shook his head: “All form, no substance.” He had his own methods; carefully searching, he found considerable amounts of private savings tucked under floorboards beneath beds in several rooms, and also found correspondence between the courtesans and their patrons — including quite a number of well-known figures in the capital, and sons of prominent families. Some were refined, some crude; those reading them exchanged significant glances.

The constables logged each item and said, “Those courtesans really know how to hide things. Master Little Zhù was right — Yingying’s money was a bit thin.”

Zhù Ying felt a little unsettled.

She went directly to Fifth Niang’s personal courtyard and turned Fifth Niang’s possessions inside out as well. Xiao Fan lived in the side room of Fifth Niang’s courtyard, having three rooms to himself. Compared to the courtesans’ rooms, this was surprisingly spartan. Zhù Ying had no hesitation in searching Xiao Fan’s room; she found a quantity of silver coins, not enormous, and then fished two gold ingots out of a hollow bedpost — these were more substantial.

The constables also followed her example and searched; they managed to pull a paper packet from under the surface of a drawer — peeling it off, opening it, they found two complete sets of identity papers and travel permits for a man and a woman!

Zhù Ying said to Head Constable Zhang, “Not bad!”

Head Constable Zhang, boasting, let it slip: “Of course — hiding private savings from the wife, you have to…”

A roar of laughter erupted.

The group returned in triumph.

Back at the capital prefectural office once more — another day had passed. Wang Yunhe was very satisfied with the day’s findings. He said, “It appears this was premeditated. Which means the theft of Zhou You’s saber and the framing of him was also planned in advance.”

Zhù Ying said, “The purpose was to escape — why drag Zhou You into it?”

Fan Shaoqi laughed and said, “What criminal ever leaves no loose ends?”

Wang Yunhe said, “Once Yingying can talk, we interrogate her. No one is permitted to speak to Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan is to be held in isolation.”

Pei Qing came out of the capital prefectural office again, bringing the two of them to Prefect Zheng’s residence. Zheng Xi, who had spent the past several days managing the emperor’s inquiries on one side and fending off Zhong Yi and others urging haste on the other, and arriving home to face his own mother — when he saw Pei Qing he simply asked, “How is it?”

Pei Qing smiled and said, “Xiao Zhù has distinguished herself — she found Yingying. The young one knows how to do things; she even deliberately let the capital prefectural office take some of the credit.”

Zheng Xi said, “She still shouldn’t be too confident.”

Zhù Ying, honest and straightforward, said, “Yes.” She also mentioned that today Bao the Evaluating Official had also found quite a few things at Fifth Niang’s house. Bao the Evaluating Official then said what Zhù Ying had found was more important.

They praised each other for a round; Zheng Xi said, “Only a few days left — it must be fast, and it must be an ironclad case.”

Zhù Ying said, “The evidence is nearly there; it’s just unclear which of the two is the mastermind. Yanyan — Xiao Fan must pay with his life. As for the Ma case, even if he doesn’t confess, it doesn’t really matter.”

Zheng Xi said, “That’s secondary. What’s needed is an explanation for His Majesty.”

Zhù Ying said flatly, “If the culprit isn’t Zhou You, I’m afraid a great many people will have…”

Zheng Xi cut her off: “That’s not for you to worry about — I have my arrangements.”

Zhù Ying said nothing more.

Pei Qing said, “We’ve already traced some of Zhou You’s misconduct; the capital prefectural office is even more focused on investigating Zhou You — this General Zhou…” He had a deep sense of regret; Zhou You had such a father, and that raised one’s expectations of him — who would have thought the son so unlike the father. A tiger father with a dog for a son, and even onlookers found it a pity.

Zheng Xi said, “Understood. A few more hard days to go.”

He did not tell them that he and Wang Yunhe had already reached a tacit understanding: in everyone’s heart the case was nearly settled — the culprit was almost certainly Xiao Fan, and perhaps Yingying as well. But how to close the case in a way that would satisfy everyone was an entirely different art.

Wang Yunhe intended to use this opportunity to further clean up the capital’s atmosphere; Zheng Xi was in favor of this, and starting with Zhou You was fine. Going through Zhou You’s unsavory business was also possible. The ideal thing would be, before the case was formally closed, to build up in public opinion the impression of “dog eat dog” — that nobody was any good. That way, when the revelation came that Xiao Fan was the culprit, public opinion wouldn’t say “they dragged up Xiao Fan as a scapegoat for Zhou You” — the psychological contrast would be significant.

Whether explaining upward or downward, there would be an accounting. As for those on the same level — mainly Zhou You’s relatives and friends — exonerating him would placate most of them. Zheng Xi turned it over in his mind and decided to keep a few items of Zhou You’s other misconduct in reserve to show them, presenting these as a personal gesture of goodwill.

For Ma’s side, it couldn’t weigh too heavy, nor too light — a little was to be reserved, and Zhù Ying would be dispatched to hand it to Jin Liang, as a way of preserving the southern army’s face. As for the imperial guards — he had his ways of handling them too.

So he gave them his instructions: “You must unobtrusively let a few things come to light…”

——

Zhù Ying received Zheng Xi’s instructions the previous day and had a heavy heart. First there was the glossy surface and hidden squalor of the flower street; then the poverty of the narrow street by the river. She had been born into a low and poor station, long accustomed to the miseries of the world — yet ever since becoming an official, all around her she saw increasingly gentle, opulent life, and she had nearly forgotten that the world’s hardships were right beside her, had nearly forgotten where she herself came from. For a moment, a flood of memories returned.

She thought to herself: how close have I come to turning into someone like Zhou You? Have I truly come to see myself as a carefree young gentleman with money to read and play with?

She also thought about the case. In her view, Xiao Fan had certainly caused Yanyan’s death; Zhou You and Ma were both not without guilt, especially Ma — looking at what Yingying had been through, Ma, too, was not far from death. Yet she also knew that even if she had truly died, Ma would not have to pay for Yingying’s life with his own.

Not a single decent person among them all. And when this case was over, it would be just like the case of Magistrate Gan Ze’s cousin, Cao Shi — the facts would be made clear, yet the more the human dimension became clear, the murkier it seemed.

The next morning she was up particularly early, while the whole family was still asleep; she skipped breakfast, said a word, and ran off. Zhang Xiangu chased after her calling: “What’s the great rush? It’s not even time yet! Theirs is when the high officials go to court — it’s not your hour!”

Zhù Ying was long gone!

She arrived just barely before Wang Yunhe set off for court, intercepting him. Wang Yunhe had been about to catch a nap in the carriage and was startled half-awake when Zhù Ying sprang out at him. Making out who it was, he said, “It’s you. What is it? Something on your mind?”

Zhù Ying was deeply confused. She said, “There’s something I’d like to ask about.”

Wang Yunhe looked at Zhù Ying — it seemed like there was something she didn’t want to ask in front of others. He glanced at the time; with a fast horse there was still time. He said, “Go ahead.”

“That case. Ma and Zhou…”

Wang Yunhe heard the opening and guessed what she was going to ask. He was patient with Zhù Ying because he had walked this same road himself. What young person, when young, didn’t want everything to be clear-cut? A little older and reality tells you that you need to go with the flow — yet you can’t completely go with it, because a shred of conscience still exists, still keeps you from drifting entirely, and that makes things very painful. The more perceptive you are, the more situations you encounter where you are powerless! And even when you finally manage to struggle free, some things still require all your ingenuity to approximate some form of “justice,” squeezed out of the cracks.

He said, “They should face their own retribution — but not for things they didn’t do.”

Zhù Ying said, “I’m afraid the retribution also… Magistrate — one should always judge according to the law. But what if the law is a bad law?”

“Then change it.”

Zhù Ying was startled. Wang Yunhe gave her a pat on the shoulder and said, “All right — I must go to court now. It’s not your hour yet. Come on — let me entertain Sanlang for breakfast. Eat your fill, then go to the Court of Judicial Review.”

Zhù Ying ate a bellyful of the capital prefectural office’s food, and on the way out even grabbed a paper-wrapped packet of pan-fried pork buns to take along — leaving the people in the capital prefectural office staring open-mouthed. The refined ones could only say: “A true eccentric in the old style!” The servants were more blunt: “Doesn’t act like a guest at all…”

“Not a guest” ate her fill, helped herself to the pan-fried buns, and walked out — and youth had its advantages; a full belly revived her spirits. Zhù Ying sorted through things again in her mind and thought: never mind! Things always need to be fully clarified before anything else can be said. I can choose to look the other way, but I won’t let the criminal think I’m a fool who’s easy to manipulate. I’ll focus on getting the facts straight; first find out who the culprit is, and then we’ll see what kind of people you are who render the verdict.

Today her task was still to follow Pei Qing on the case; time was now very tight, and the emperor had begun counting down. Zheng Xi still appeared utterly composed; Pei Qing was also considerably more relaxed. Pei Qing was also a man of principle, and at the same time had no patience for Zhou You’s idle young lord manner; he was willing to cooperate with Zheng Xi’s arrangements.

On the other end, Wang Yunhe had given no gag order to the constables, so some of the misconduct they were uncovering was also being let out simultaneously. Whether Zheng Xi or Wang Yunhe — their reputations differed in subtle ways, yet both were supreme political operators. With the two of them working in tacit coordination, the wind of opinion in the capital shifted gradually within two days.

In the morning people were still sympathizing with Ma; by evening they were saying, “Who would have thought — a daughter like that, from such a father. He didn’t care if he died himself, but what about the family he left behind?”

On the first day people still said, “A boy who grew up without a father in the house — if he turned out this way, you can’t ask too much.” By the second day they were saying, “Always surrounded by drinking companions and flitting from one flower house to the next, consorting with a pack of useless friends — serves him right to be taught a lesson; let’s see if it can make something decent of him!”

Zhù Ying also, following Zheng Xi’s instructions, passed some of Ma’s misconduct on to Jin Liang. After all, this was not in conflict with finding the real culprit, was it?

As for Zheng Xi — he personally showed one page of testimony to his mother’s closest friend: bad luck would have it, it was precisely Zhou You’s account of “casually taking” the jewelry from his wife’s box to give to Ling Ling, which nearly caused this future mother-in-law to lose her breath on the spot. Her original intention had been to ask Zheng Xi why unflattering talk was leaking out; Zheng Xi said, “I’ve already done my best to keep the worse-looking parts back.” Then he put the testimony away, fearing this auntie would snatch and shred it.

Zhù Ying went to Fifth Niang’s house one more time and spent an entire day there, searching the place from top to bottom again. Without colleagues and constables crowding around, her mind was stiller; she ended up discovering in the back garden’s rockery a small hidden room. It was very well concealed; it bore a copper lock, which Zhù Ying picked open with her hand.

She went in with an oil lamp and found that although the room was somewhat damp, it had a bed, a table, chairs, a cosmetics box, and bedding; paintings hung on the walls — clearly a sort of intimate, romantic nook in Fifth Niang’s establishment. The path outside the rockery’s small room had been swept, and the footprints on the floor inside were very clear: one set belonging to Xiao Fan, one to Yanyan, one to Yingying. All three had been in this room at the same time — and the prints were not very old.

She searched the interior thoroughly and found traces left by Yanyan. Very good indeed: she had suspected that since Yanyan didn’t die right away, she must have been hidden somewhere — and now she had found the hiding place.

She carefully wrapped everything up, blew out the lamp, locked the small room back up, left Fifth Niang’s house, and flew to the Court of Judicial Review.

——

Meanwhile, Yingying’s condition had at last stabilized; she was lucid again.

The interrogating officer was still He Jing.

He did not question Yingying first; instead he had Yingying returned to the prison cell, then had a constable take Yingying in front of the other members of Fifth Niang’s household — specifically instructing that she and Xiao Fan should “see each other from a distance” without getting too close, in case they had some signal to exchange.

Then came the interrogation of Yingying.

Yingying was still very weak; her eyes were a little blank. After hearing He Jing’s question, she gave a slow, bitter smile. “Magistrate — you can see what state I’m in. What General Ma did to me — I cannot hide it. Perhaps I was evil in a past life, and this life is punishment for it. Whenever I die, that will be when my sins are paid — and in the next life I can be a clean person. As long as I survived by some miracle, and one day I can leave the register, I will make do with just being alive. I truly have no hope beyond that. As for Xiao Fan — I truly did not conspire with him.”

She was so weak that when the ankle clamps were put on, she fainted, and nothing could be gotten out of her.

He Jing had her doused awake and said, “Yanyan died in your place.”

Yingying’s face went utterly white, and her words became incoherent. “She? Wasn’t she… already… dead…”

He Jing’s heart stirred unexpectedly at Yingying’s expression; he changed course and said, “Can you guess — how did we find you?”

Yingying’s expression shifted again; He Jing guessed seven or eight parts of the answer in his mind. He had Yingying taken out first. An old attendant came to lead Yingying away, shaking his head and sighing as he went: “Miss — in all your years, how many men did you meet who could be trusted?”

Yingying’s heart gave a sharp wrench.

He Jing then had Xiao Fan brought up again.

Xiao Fan changed his story once more: “I actually saw the culprit! The culprit was a blue-faced ghost! Long hair, blue clothing! A female ghost! I didn’t dare say! It was her! She’s the one who killed General Ma! I know her — she’s A’Le from next door, who served General Ma a few days and then died! She was there! She appeared and said, ‘A’Le, don’t harm us — we’ve all suffered the same.’ And she let me go! So I took Yingying and left! After that, I don’t know anything else! I was afraid she’d come after me if I said it — so I didn’t dare tell!”

He Jing was moved to bitter laughter. His elderly mother and wife both prayed to Buddha; he believed a little in gods and spirits himself. But years of handling cases had drained the stories of ghosts and deities from criminal suspects of all credibility in his mind. He had even played supernatural tricks himself during interrogations. And what Zhù Ying had found in the hidden room in the rockery was more than enough to prove Xiao Fan was spinning ghost stories.

He had Xiao Fan beaten again, and cursed the capital prefectural office’s prohibition on certain special penalties.

After the beating, he threw the travel permits found in the search down onto the floor before the prisoner: “If this wasn’t premeditated, where did these come from?”

Xiao Fan said, “Those were for me and Yingying to run away together — I never intended to kill anyone!”

He Jing threw another piece of evidence: it was the handkerchief embroidered with Yanyan’s name that Zhù Ying had found in the hidden room; it had faint spots of blood on it. Xiao Fan’s face finally moved. He still said he didn’t know. He Jing threw another item — a silk flower very similar to the one on the female corpse’s head, which had originally belonged to Yanyan. Xiao Fan’s breathing quickened.

He Jing’s last piece of evidence was a torn half-skirt of white silk; written on the skirt in eyebrow pencil was a prayer. It was Yanyan, praying that this time she might escape to safety, and vowing that if she survived, she would become a vegetarian for life, and erect a tablet for Xiao Fan to pray for his longevity.

At this moment a head constable walked in and said, “That woman has confessed.”

Xiao Fan’s face suddenly became utterly calm; a cold, contemptuous smile even surfaced. He Jing paid no attention, and said, “What has she confessed?”

“That man — on the day of the crime — took her to hide in the rockery, took out the person already hidden there, and left…”

Xiao Fan’s lips trembled; his voice came out hoarse: “I did it alone.”

He Jing gave a scornful laugh.

The constables all shouted together: “Tell the whole truth.”

Xiao Fan licked his lips and said, “That Ma was always tormenting people. I didn’t lie — A’Le was tormented to death by him. But Mother always said he was generous with his money. Generous — hah! And then he set his eyes on Yingying. Yanyan was nearly dead; I thought — use Yanyan to replace Yingying. I’d been planning it for a long time and was all ready. Zhou You? He was no good either — the only reason he never did any real harm was that he didn’t have the capacity for it. Anyway, anyone who kills or burns has people protecting him, so let him take the blame! That was my thinking.”

He Jing frowned: “Speak for yourself!”

“That night, Ma came again and got into a fight with Zhou You too — dog eating dog. I thought, the time to move is now. Zhou You was drunk, so I went and stole his saber. Ma was in one of his rages — nobody dared get close, and nobody noticed me going in through the back gate. I killed him and took Yingying away. What happened after, you all know. Mother had told me to deal with Yanyan; I’d been keeping her hidden in the small room in the rockery. After I killed Ma, I took Yingying to the rockery, switched Yanyan in, and exchanged the two women’s clothes.”

“Was Yanyan killed by you?”

Xiao Fan made a sound of acknowledgment.

He Jing took the confession, had Xiao Fan press his fingerprint on it, and brought it to Wang Yunhe.

Wang Yunhe said, “Let’s ask the Court of Judicial Review to come for the formal hearing.” Thirteen days had passed — it was time to produce a result. While waiting for Zheng Xi, He Jing reflected on Yanyan and said with feeling, “She was a woman who repaid kindness — what a pity that she fell into the life of the pleasure quarters, and gave her true heart to a wolf.”

Zheng Xi was waiting for this news; he arrived quickly at the capital prefectural office.

Both offices sat side by side at the high bench, yielding precedence to each other before sitting together, the other officials arranged in chairs below, the constables lined in two rows.

The hearing commenced!

Xiao Fan was brought up first and made to give his confession again. The account was essentially the same, with one additional detail: the money he had given to Fifth Niang was actually Yanyan’s private savings. Fifth Niang had told him to handle Yanyan’s “final affairs”; he pocketed some of it, then used Yanyan’s own savings as the money from “selling” her body, and gave that to Fifth Niang.

Zheng Xi said, “What grudge or grievance did you have against Zhou You that you would put him in prison?”

Xiao Fan stared straight at Zheng Xi and said, “Do you enjoy the sound of dogs barking? He enjoys it — when he can’t hear it, he makes people imitate it for him. That little animal — he likes watching people act like animals! In his last life he must have been an animal himself; this life, the animal skin has been shed, but the animal is still in the bones.”

Wang Yunhe slapped his court block: “No wild accusations! Was the female suspect Yingying a co-conspirator?”

Xiao Fan shook his head. “She knew nothing.”

He cleared his throat and ordered Yingying to be brought in.

When Xiao Fan heard Yingying enter, he stiffened; he watched all the way as Yingying knelt before the bench below.

Yingying had been waiting in the adjacent room all along, and hadn’t figured out why until now, kneeling down, she finally understood — she had been tricked! Xiao Fan had never betrayed her, and wouldn’t betray her; and there had actually been a man in this world who could be trusted!

She looked up at the row of officials above — composed, refined, capable, handsome — and wanted to accuse them of something, yet didn’t know what to say. In the end, more than twenty years of “accepting fate” won out: “I was out of my mind, seeing him take Yanyan as my substitute, and thinking I could actually escape from that place. Take me as a co-conspirator — I’ll die, it’s fine. I’m not going to live to see myself taken off the register anyway.”

Wang Yunhe said in a low voice, “A rabbit mourns the death of a fox, creatures grieve for their own kind. And you even harm your own kind!”

Xiao Fan said, looking up, “I also killed one of your kind!”

Head Constable Zhang turned on the spot and nearly struck him without waiting for an order.

Wang Yunhe and Zheng Xi both said, “Silence!”

Both the man and woman were made to press their fingerprints. Wang Yunhe then proceeded to investigate who had forged the identity papers and travel permits for Xiao Fan; Zheng Xi went aside to work out how to report all this to the throne.

By the fourteenth day, both offices began preparing the formal case closure. Xiao Fan and Yanyan were both of the lowest status; this time there was no escaping execution for murder. For killing Ma, the sentence was also death. Zhou You was acquitted as innocent.

Fifth Niang was implicated in the buying and selling of human remains; Wang Yunhe struck out her authority with a single entry, ordering that someone “law-abiding” be selected to oversee her former charges. Yingying had fled; she was now recovered and returned to custody. The private savings that had been confiscated from the courtesans were returned to them.

Additionally, during the investigation, unlawful activities committed by Ma and Zhou You had come to light. Ma was already dead; his illegally seized property was simply confiscated and returned to those he had wronged. Wang Yunhe separately submitted an impeachment of Zhou You, citing his failure to manage his household, resulting in his steward’s unlawful seizure of farmland and involvement in bought-and-sold litigation, among other matters; the impeachment was scathing enough to warrant Zhou You’s exile. He denounced Zhou You as “unworthy,” further stating that if the five generations of virtue in a noble family were to be exhausted, Zhou You was clearly on track to cut off his own father’s line of descendants. If the emperor truly valued him, he ought to let him grow up, not shield him from consequences — he needed to be taught a lesson!

Both the Court of Judicial Review and the capital prefectural office thoroughly disliked Zhou You; both offices worked hard to find his “unlawful activities.” Zheng Xi was a man who understood his imperial uncle well; he quietly advised him: “If one wishes to honor his father’s sacrifice, keeping him well-fed and well-clothed is enough. The northern imperial guards protect the palace interior — such undisciplined conduct sets a bad example and corrupts the atmosphere. This official worries about the safety of the palace interior. Here is the itemized list compiled during the arrest — please review it. He took his guard’s identity plaque to a brothel — that is not acceptable. A man who can steal a saber can steal a plaque; what someone who obtained a plaque might do, this official dares not think.”

Wang Yunhe, for his part, advised the emperor: “If the southern army and northern army are too harmonious, that is not good. If they have friction and resentment, that is also not good. It would be better to give them some work to do — have them drill, to keep them from fighting again over disputes in the pleasure quarter.”

Both men had struck at things the emperor cared most about — his own safety.

The emperor thereupon stripped Zhou You of his active post and ordered him to “reflect in seclusion.” Zhou You’s household stewards were either executed or exiled; their family members were stripped of status and made servants. At the same time, the southern and northern armies were ordered to step up their drills, lest they idle about making trouble. For a time, the southern and northern armies were filled with lamentation; all disputes of pride and honor were set aside. While drilling, they cursed Zhou You and Ma together.

The emperor’s face had been preserved, but he was still in a foul humor; he neither rewarded nor punished the Court of Judicial Review or the capital prefectural office, and the matter simply passed.

Zhù Ying returned to the Court of Judicial Review; Zheng Xi had her reading books again, as before. In her heart she found it only laughable: Zhou You still held his hereditary peerage and went on drawing his salary, still had that grand residence to live in. Wasn’t that exactly like her own life these past two years? Reading, being paid, utterly at ease!

I wore myself to a dead dog getting you out of prison, and you get to eat, drink, and stir up trouble as you like, and in the end we’re in the same position? Oh — actually your rank is higher than mine!

But however she searched through the entire legal code, she could find no provision that would allow for heavier punishment of Zhou You; for a moment she was so furious she sank to the floor unable to get up.

She thought about it, then brought the legal code to Zheng Xi to ask: “Prefect, these provisions — can they be changed?”

Zheng Xi took one look at what she was pointing to — the provisions on the eight categories of exemption — and laughed. “Don’t talk nonsense! How could those ever be changed? Stop thinking about Zhou You — he’s nothing but an itch and a rash. You should be learning to write poetry.”

Zhù Ying stared at him for two moments, and lowered her eyes: “Oh…” She had just remembered — the very first thing Zheng Xi had tested her on when they first met was the ten grave offenses and the eight categories of exemption.

Zheng Xi smiled and shook his head. “Learn to accommodate people.”

“He counts as a person?”

“Mm?”

“Oh…” Zhù Ying thought: what kind of rotten law is this — and it can’t even be changed? Then what is to be done? Wait for Zhou You to commit treason?

She was indignant, thought it over, and was about to go ask Wang Yunhe. She had only just reached the capital prefectural office when she saw a group of people coming out — chattering and chirping — it was Fifth Niang’s girls, now released.

Zhù Ying watched them from a distance, thinking: what does this count for?

One girl said, “Yingying — what’s wrong? Let’s hire a cart. I got my money back.”

Zhù Ying waved a hand, hired a few carts, paid for them, and the copper coins clinked and rang into the cart driver’s rough palm. Zhù Ying suddenly thought: wait — I just paid to send them where?!

The cart driver kept thanking her and drove the carts over to collect the girls; the girls chattered at the driver, and the driver pointed in Zhù Ying’s direction. They all looked over, and another round of chatter went up — their voices were quite lovely.

Zhù Ying stood watching them for a while; they actually drew aside the curtain in the cart and waved at her.

Then suddenly someone walked up close; Zhù Ying turned alertly — it was Chen Meng. They hadn’t met in a long time.

Chen Meng said, “Just now I thought it looked like you — didn’t expect it to really be you.”

Zhù Ying pointed at the white mourning band at his waist. Chen Meng said, “For this — Auntie passed away.”