You Hongying took the note and placed it on the table, then stared straight at me. My emotions inevitably churned like rivers and seas once more. Prince Dongxuan had taken such a forceful grip of the Court Deliberation Office that even a routine file request from the Hall of Penal Law had been sent back. This was clearly a tampering with the rules, but why had none of the Hall of Penal Law ministers submitted a memorial against him? At the very least, Prince Qingxu should have shown extreme displeasure!
Could there be some unknown secret behind all this? It seemed the rumors that Prince Qingxu was weak were indeed true. I would have to make a proper inquiry into Prince Dongxuan later.
But the note requesting the file was already here before me. I definitely could not refuse to accept it. After hesitating, I picked up the old note that had just been torn from the file-request register.
The file-request note clearly had not been used for a long time, which also confirmed what You Hongying had said. However, the scarlet seal on it was exceedingly fresh, and that gave me a glimmer of hope. I put the note away and took my leave.
When I returned to my own Hall of Penal Law, a group of immortals stared blankly at me as I entered, their expressions extremely complicated.
The disorderly archive room no longer looked quite as busy as before. Only one or two officials were rustling about as they organized the documents.
I looked toward Gong Lin and asked, "How are the materials coming along?"
"They're ready," Gong Lin said calmly.
By the time I had gone there and back, most of the day had passed. If they still were not ready, they might as well stop