Awakening

Lawsuits in the Great Wu Dynasty were simple enough.

The plaintiff's complaint, drafted together with a legal adviser, was enough to open a case.

The yamen had to handle it. Otherwise, if the wronged party took their grievance to the prefectural authorities, even the county magistrate would catch the fallout.

"Has this fellow gone mad? He actually wants to go against the Magistrate!"

Fan Anzhi cursed under his breath.

With a grim face, he accepted the petition and gave it a cursory read.

He then handed it to the registrar and snorted coldly. "Send it all to His Excellency!"

After the registrar left carrying the documents and case files,

the Criminal Affairs Office's registrars, copyists, and others immediately began discussing it.

An elderly registrar smiled and said to Fan Anzhi, "That Assistant Servant has some nerve, daring to go head-to-head with the Magistrate!"

"Isn't that courting death?"

Fan Anzhi snorted. "Sometimes, it may not be what he wanted."

The old registrar nodded. "Clerk Fan is right!"

"If he hadn't been forced into a dead end, he wouldn't have gone this far."

There was some resentment in his voice. "That Magistrate Ma, too!"

"First the evil cult stirred up trouble, then our own people started fighting among themselves. Isn't that just adding to His Excellency's worries? Does he think we haven't been cursed at enough?"

Fan Anzhi said earnestly, "Opportunities like this are hard to come by!"

On the surface, this was a grudge between Su Mo and Zhou Meng, two unranked runners.

In truth, the Magistrate and Chen Gan had locked horns.

As fellow subordinate clerks, the people of the Criminal Affairs Office naturally leaned toward Chen Gan deep down.

"Clerk Fan, do you think Chen Gan can beat Magistrate Ma?"

A voice suddenly cut in from beside them.

Fan Anzhi turned to look.

The speaker was Zhuo Lang, an old Criminal Affairs Office registrar with more than ten years under his belt. His prestige was second only to Fan Anzhi's, and he usually kept fairly close to Chen Gan.

He said flatly, "The Magistrate is an official, while Chen Gan is a clerk!"

"How could a clerk possibly defeat an official?"

"This time, even if he doesn't die, he'll have a layer of skin peeled off!"

Zhuo Lang chuckled. "Not necessarily."

"Care to play a hand, everyone?"

A copyist beside him widened his eyes. "Registrar Zhuo, are you looking to die?"

"You even dare use the Magistrate's affairs for a joke?"

Zhuo Lang rolled his eyes. "So what if he's the Magistrate? He doesn't oversee us!"

"Besides, who said we were betting on the Magistrate?"

"I'm merely betting on whether Chen Gan can escape this calamity!"

"Bet that Chen Gan comes out unscathed: one pays ten. Bet that Chen Gan lands in prison: twelve pays one!"

"Those betting he's fine put down one tael; those betting he goes to prison put down twelve taels!"

The moment everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.

There was little amusement in the Criminal Affairs Office, so gambling pools were a common pastime.

Of all the old registrars, Zhuo Lang had the worst gambling itch and opened the most pools!

A minor auxiliary official with no real power was not someone the old subordinate clerks particularly feared. If they tossed in a few coins and played a few hands, could he really shut down the entire Criminal Affairs Office?

Did he think he was the county magistrate himself?

Everyone began shouting at once.

"Chen Gan comes out fine, one pays ten?"

"Prison is twelve pays one?"

"What if he dies? Does that count?"

"We used to wager at most a hundred or eighty coins. Registrar Zhuo, can you afford to pay out that much silver?"

Zhuo Lang chuckled and flung a heavy money pouch directly onto the table. "Of course death counts!"

"See this silver?"

"Bet however much you want, and I'll pay however much you win!"

"If I'm short even one coin, carve flesh off me to settle the debt!"

The pouch struck the tabletop with a heavy thud, proving there were at least twenty or thirty taels of silver inside!

The Criminal Affairs Office clerks' eyes darted around.

Chen Gan's odds of winning were low, but the payout was high. Put down one tael, and it paid ten!

The Magistrate had high odds of winning. There was a good chance he could throw Chen Gan into prison, or even take his life.

But it took twelve taels to win a single tael!

The Criminal Affairs Office clerks earned even less in salary and rations than the Fast Squad, and unlike the Fast Squad, they had few ways to make extra money. They earned only a dozen or so taels a year!

If they lost, wouldn't they be working an entire year for nothing?

The clerks quietly began calculating.

The three squads and six offices were all full of shrewd hands!

They quickly did the math.

Though the Magistrate was an official, he had only recently arrived and had no local roots.

Chen Gan was vicious and ruthless, with no shortage of tricks up his sleeve. If he truly risked his life, he still had one or two chances in ten of winning.

By reason, the odds should have been one pays six or seven.

Now they were one pays ten. This was clearly worth doing!

They all worked at the bottom rung of the yamen, seeing one another today if not tomorrow.

If Chen Gan survived by some stroke of luck, how would they get along with him later if they had bet on him going to prison?

Besides, clerks were clerks and officials were officials. If they bet on the Magistrate winning, wouldn't that be telling everyone they were not of one heart with their fellow clerks?

"Chen Gan comes out fine, thirty coins!"

"I'm betting on Chen Gan winning too—fifty cash!"

"Add three hundred and eighty cash on Chen Gan coming out fine! I'm going all in with you!"

Gambling and brothels were the oldest forms of entertainment.

The crowd noisily rushed to place their bets.

Zhuo Lang picked up his brush and recorded them one by one.

Suddenly, a cold snort rang out. "Look at the lot of you! Is this the Criminal Affairs Office or a gambling den?"

Everyone's voices abruptly died away!

Zhuo Lang looked up at the head of the Criminal Affairs Office and said with a smile, "Clerk Fan, why not play a hand too?"

Fan Anzhi snorted again, then said, "One tael on Chen Gan coming out unscathed!"

As he spoke, he took out one tael of silver and handed it over.

Zhuo Lang hurriedly pushed the silver back. "Clerk, have you forgotten? You still haven't repaid the tael I lent you last time!"

Fan Anzhi smacked his forehead. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I truly would have forgotten!"

He smoothly pocketed the silver again.

Yet inwardly, he pondered: if Chen Gan won by some lucky chance, wouldn't he get ten taels of silver for nothing?

As the clerk of the Criminal Affairs Office, his salary and rations came to thirty taels.

Adding in a few other sources of income, he could bring in a hundred and eighty taels or so.

Unfortunately, he had elderly parents above him and children below him. On top of that, he had one principal wife and two concubines riding on his back. Including servants and rough-working maids, he had a whole large household to feed.

From time to time, poor relatives of the same clan came to sponge off him, and he could not easily refuse them!

At every New Year and festival, he had to pay respects to his superiors, while favors exchanged among colleagues were another enormous expense.

He was stretched thin, with his sleeves too short for his arms.

Ten taels of silver was not something he could simply dismiss.

The yamen was tiny as a fart.

News that Chen Gan and the Magistrate had gone up against each other quickly spread throughout the yamen.

Not only the Criminal Affairs Office.

The other five offices and three squads had gambling pools as well, and Chen Gan's odds were all quite high.

Clearly, no one thought much of the old Assistant Servant.

Of course, take a gamble, and a donkey cart might become a horse cart!

Naturally, they bet on Chen Gan winning.

It was not as though nobody bet on the Magistrate; there were simply very few of them.

The odds were so low that even winning would bring no joy. It would only buy a few lumps of salt—did they look like beggars?

The county yamen's second hall.

County Magistrate Xue Shan, his cheeks lean, the short beard on his chin trimmed with meticulous care, and official authority weighing heavily upon him, was frowning as he flipped through the documents and case files that had just been delivered.

He had served in Changping County for six years!

He had passed the provincial examination while young, with limitless prospects ahead of him, yet because he had little backing, after twenty years in officialdom he had somehow risen no further than a Principal Seventh Rank county magistrate.

Naturally, Xue Shan was unwilling to accept that.

This was the year of the grand assessment. He had hoped to receive a middling-to-good evaluation, then grit his teeth, draw on the savings he had amassed over many years, pull a few strings, and move his backside a little higher.

Who could have known that an evil cult would suddenly emerge and cause chaos?

Naturally, Xue Shan was in no mood to be pleased.

With a dark expression, he finished reading the first few case files.

He then picked up his large brush.

He signed two arrest warrants, took out his command tablet, and handed it to the adviser at his side. "Have the Fast Squad arrest them!"

His adviser, Dong Yangrong, frowned. "My lord, this Ma Yingshi harbors ulterior motives."

"It is said that he belongs to a branch of the Ma Clan and has some connections in the prefectural authorities. Should he gain a foothold in the county, I fear he may become a menace!"

Having followed Xue Shan for many years, he handled more than half of the county's affairs.

Dong Yangrong saw at a glance what Ma Yingshi was plotting.

Under normal circumstances, in a case involving a county official, the relevant official would be notified at once.

If Ma Yingshi had wanted to suppress the case, a casual word from him would have kept the six offices from delivering it to the county yamen so quickly.

Xue Shan waved a hand. "He has more than enough ruthlessness, but not enough skill at intrigue. He is no threat."

Dong Yangrong was somewhat surprised. "Why do you say so, my lord?"

Xue Shan said calmly, "He simply could not bear being overlooked and wanted to use two subordinate clerks to establish his authority."

"That alone would be one thing."

"But he even treated his concubine's own elder brother as a chess piece, casting him aside at will."

"With such a cold and callous temperament, so eager for quick success and immediate gain, how could he possibly go far!"

An official one rank higher could crush a man to death. No matter how Ma Yingshi jumped about, how far could he jump?

Dong Yangrong nodded. "My lord's words are sound!"

"This student shall notify the Fast Squad to make the arrests at once!"

"Wait!" Xue Shan suddenly called after him. "Has there been any news from the garrison?"

Dong Yangrong shook his head. "No news has arrived."

Xue Shan's brows drew tightly together. He muttered to himself, "The Imperial Guard must know much about this evil cult matter!"

Then he looked up at Dong Yangrong. "What does Adviser Dong think?"

Dong Yangrong instantly grew grave. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, "For the Locust God Temple's evil cult to produce a Magic Item like the Corpse Oil Lamp, it cannot be an ordinary evil cult. The oil lamp's style is even that of the previous dynasty. I fear it may be connected to remnants of the former dynasty."

"This is not something Changping County can handle."

He paused. "Since the Imperial Guard has already intervened, things are much easier."

"My lord should respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. Comfort the common people, order the three squads of yamen runners, archers, and local militia to make preparations, and be ready to cooperate with the Imperial Guard at any time!"

Xue Shan gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I only fear the Imperial Guard cannot be relied upon!"

"If they take down the evil cult, it will be a great merit for them, and they need not care whether the county people live or die. But I cannot do the same!"

Their positions and interests were entirely different.

He was the chief official of an entire county.

If the people under his rule suffered grievous casualties, then even if the evil cult was finally taken down, the Imperial Guard would claim the credit while the punishment rod fell upon him.

Xue Shan pondered for a long while before finally waving Dong Yangrong away.

He ground ink, lifted his brush, and wrote a letter to the capital.

Perhaps he could sound out some information from his former teacher at the Ministry of Rites, an Assistant Director.

The county yamen was exceedingly lively.

Only now did Su Mo slowly awaken after his old uncle had caught him off guard and struck the back of his neck!