Chang'an County Office.
The rear offices.
Only after seeing Li Nuo eat two big bowls of dumplings, drain a bowl of dumpling broth, then lean back in his chair with satisfaction and let out a full-bellied burp—without paying any special attention to his own wife—did Pei Zhe finally relax.
It seemed he really did like dumplings.
At the same time, Pei Zhe felt a little puzzled. He had eaten his wife's dumplings for nearly twenty years and never thought they were especially delicious. Was it true, then, that other people's dumplings always tasted better than one's own?
Li Nuo had been in this world for less than two days. He had eaten at home and attended a Song Family banquet, but the meal that had left him most satisfied was this simple home-cooked bowl of dumplings.
It had nothing to do with flavor. It was an emotional comfort.
After eating his fill, he couldn't help praising her. "Your wife's cooking is so superb, Lord Pei. You're truly blessed."
Pei Zhe's wife was a rather beautiful woman, and seemed about the same age as Song Jiaren's aunt. But their temperaments were entirely different. Madam Pei had a gentle, virtuous air about her; perhaps because she came from a Military Family, Aunt Song Zhen gave people a much more forthright and heroic impression.
Madam Pei smiled at Li Nuo's praise. "If you like them, young master, you can come by anytime."
Li Nuo would certainly be coming to the county office often; his life depended on it. After Madam Pei left, he remembered something and asked, "Lord Pei, is Steward Zheng's concubine still in the county jail?"
The woman had been sentenced to Death Penalty and was supposed to be handed over to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review for review. Surely they wouldn't take her away so soon.
At the mention of the matter, Pei Zhe shook his head and sighed. "Perhaps she knew she couldn't escape death. Right after you left yesterday, she smashed her head against the wall in the cell and killed herself..."
Hearing that Steward Zheng's concubine was dead, Li Nuo sat stunned for a long while.
He had handled plenty of death-row inmates in his previous life, but this was the first time he'd encountered a situation like this.
A life that had been blooming like a flower yesterday had withered and fallen today.
He couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.
One really ought to obey the law.
Li Nuo had wanted to ask what other talents she had, but now he could only let the matter drop.
Once her portrait went dark, he probably wouldn't light it again. Being good at kicking a shuttlecock and applying makeup beautifully were certainly impressive skills, but they weren't worth trading his life for.
However, although Zhang Xiaoyun had died by suicide, Li Nuo's lifespan hadn't changed at all.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
After all, even if she hadn't killed herself, she couldn't have escaped the law. The final outcome wouldn't have changed. If the Code of Law took back the lifespan he'd gained because of it, that would be far too unfair...
After finishing the dumplings, Li Nuo took another short nap in the county office's rear hall.
Song Qian and her husband had made a racket in the next room all night yesterday, keeping him from getting a good night's sleep too. If he stayed at Song Manor again, he'd have to pick a room farther away from theirs.
But yesterday had been an unusual case. Song Manor had been short on rooms, so he probably wouldn't run into the same problem next time.
After a brief nap, he felt refreshed.
By then, several constables had prepared the cases to be heard that afternoon, and everyone involved was already waiting in the courtyard outside.
By the time the county office closed for the day, Li Nuo had heard only four cases.
One marriage dispute, one inheritance dispute, one land dispute, and one theft case. They were all minor cases, and he simply handed down the punishments according to the law. There was nothing to argue about.
The lone petty thief hadn't stolen much, so he couldn't be given a heavy sentence.
Still, Li Nuo hadn't come away empty-handed. After he ruled on the last case, the lifespan remaining on the Code of Law increased by another day, bringing it back to twenty-five days.
That meant he didn't have to hand down a heavy sentence to increase his lifespan. Minor cases could add up, too.
The day hadn't been wasted. After wrapping up the final case, Li Nuo looked at the Magistrate of Chang'an and asked, "Lord Pei, are there usually many serious cases at the county office?"
Pei Zhe shook his head. "Not many. Ninety-nine percent of the cases are minor ones like those we heard today."
Chang'an was the capital of Great Xia, right beneath the emperor's nose, so public order was naturally excellent. Guards patrolled the streets day and night. If serious crimes and murders happened every other day, he wouldn't remain Magistrate of Chang'an for long.
At least, that was how things seemed on the surface.
As the center of Great Xia's power, Chang'an looked peaceful, but undercurrents never ceased to stir. Who knew how much filth and corruption lurked in unseen places?
Li Nuo glanced up at the sky. At this time yesterday, Steward Zheng's concubine had already confessed. A day had passed, so the special skill he'd acquired from her should have expired.
He checked the Code of Law, and sure enough, her portrait had darkened.
To test his guess, Li Nuo had Steward Wu go out and buy a shuttlecock. He tried twice. The first time, he failed to control the force and direction, and the shuttlecock flew straight over the courtyard wall. The second time, he missed it completely.
There was no doubt: this skill had come from the woman who had killed herself out of guilt.
He even asked the Magistrate of Chang'an to take the shuttlecock into the jail and have the female assassin try kicking it.
Pei Zhe had grown used to Li Nuo's various odd behaviors and didn't even bother asking about them.
Lord Pei had once helped Gu Yanran, so although she was a little confused, she obediently did as he asked.
Li Nuo hid around the corner and watched as the female assassin kicked the shuttlecock.
She had once been a young lady from an official family. Her calligraphy was excellent, and she was fairly good at kicking a shuttlecock, too—but she was nowhere near as skilled as Steward Zheng's concubine.
Even though her portrait was still lit, Li Nuo still hadn't inherited her shuttlecock-kicking skill. That confirmed his guess.
Being merely "pretty good" wasn't enough to earn the Code of Law's recognition. A skill had to be honed to its peak.
And the female assassin was nowhere near as good at kicking a shuttlecock as Steward Zheng's concubine.
Zhang Xiaoyun's portrait darkening wasn't the only change to the Code of Law. Li Nuo also discovered that Cui Ze's portrait had vanished from it entirely.
Li Nuo suspected that only criminals with a special skill could have their portraits remain for a long time.
Ordinary people like Cui Ze, who had no redeeming qualities at all, weren't even worthy of having their portraits remain on the Code of Law. After a day, the portrait disappeared on its own.
A short while later, Li Nuo walked out of Chang'an County Office and stretched luxuriously.
He'd worked hard all day, yet had gained only one more day of life.
One day wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
It might seem as if this day had made no difference at all. But if he could add a day to his lifespan every day, wouldn't that be a kind of immortality?
The carriage soon returned to Li Manor.
Li Nuo had barely stepped into the courtyard when he saw Song Jiaren's tall, slender figure.
Beside her stood two small figures.
The two little girls wore identical clothes, had their hair styled the same way, and wore matching jewelry, but their expressions couldn't have been more different.
One had a flower-shaped adornment on her forehead, a light dusting of makeup, and the face of a little fairy. With her hands on her hips, she wore a smug smile. The other girl beside her pouted, her eyes red-rimmed, clearly having cried.
Li Nuo had already stepped one foot into the courtyard, but the next moment he pulled it back out.
He'd never expected Song Ninger to follow him all the way from the Song Family.
If it had been morning, that would have been fine. It wouldn't have been any trouble to give her pretty makeup. But his makeup skill had already expired, and relighting her portrait to regain it would cost him some of his remaining lifespan.
He wasn't about to waste what little life he had left just to make a little girl he barely knew happy.
He'd planned to avoid them until they went home, but one of the Song Family maids had sharp eyes. The moment she spotted Li Nuo, she pointed toward the gate and called out, "The son-in-law is back!"
Before long.
Li Manor.
Inside Li Nuo's courtyard.
A maid from Song Manor looked at Li Nuo pleadingly. "Son-in-law, please give Miss Ninger the same makeup as Miss Mu'er. Please..."
But no matter how she begged—or how loudly Song Ninger cried—Li Nuo remained unmoved.
Li Nuo felt helpless, too.
This wasn't about putting makeup on Song Ninger. It was about taking his life.
He'd been busy from morning till night, mediating disputes and hearing cases. He'd used up who knew how many words and how much saliva, all just to gain one more day of life. How could he squander it so carelessly?
The harder something was to come by, the more precious it became.
If someone wanted his life, Song Ninger wouldn't get it—and neither would Song Jiaren.
There was no room for negotiation.
But he couldn't explain why.
Seeing that Li Nuo wasn't answering, the maid turned to Song Jiaren with a pleading look.
Song Jiaren's lips moved, but she said nothing. Her instincts told her that he had to have a reason for doing this.
When Song Ninger saw that Li Nuo still wasn't responding, she stuck out her little mouth even farther, and tears began welling in her eyes again.
Song Mu'er looked at Li Nuo, then at Song Ninger, and sighed to herself. She took a handkerchief from her little bag, wet it by the courtyard fountain, then rubbed it haphazardly over her own little face. She ran over to Song Ninger and said, "Now we're the same..."
Song Ninger saw her sister's smeared face and wiped away her tears. With a soft huff, she took the maid's hand and said, "Let's go home."
Li Nuo could only give a helpless smile.
So she hadn't really wanted pretty makeup. She just wanted whatever her big sister had.
Now that her sister didn't have it anymore, she didn't want it either.
Fortunately, his wife didn't have a little sister like that. Otherwise, he would've had no peace for the rest of his life.
He gently rubbed Song Mu'er's head. An older sister was an older sister after all. Mu'er was still the sensible one—how could anyone not favor her? Who didn't like a sweet, considerate girl?
After Song Ninger and the maid from Song Manor left, Song Jiaren turned to Li Nuo and asked softly, "You don't like Ninger?"
Li Nuo didn't answer. Song Mu'er answered for him. "Of course not! That time Brother Li Nuo went to our house, Ninger wouldn't play with him. Brother Li Nuo wanted to play with her Rattan Ball, but she wouldn't let him. She even said she wouldn't play with a fool..."
Song Jiaren glanced at Li Nuo and remembered something.
Before Old Madam's birthday banquet, Li Nuo had gone to the Song Family once. He'd wanted to play with Ninger's toys, but she wouldn't let him. He'd been so upset that he'd made quite a scene at Song Manor. In the end, Mu'er had been the one to coax him into calming down...
The servants at Song Manor had laughed about it for a long time.
That was also the first time Song Jiaren had met Li Nuo.
She'd once thought she would spend her life with this husband, whose mind was no more mature than a child's. She'd never imagined that he would change so much in just a few short days.
She looked at Li Nuo and asked, "Is that why?"
Li Nuo couldn't very well tell her the real reason. Fortunately, Mu'er had already found him a good excuse, so he answered quite naturally, "Well, she wouldn't let me play with her Rattan Ball..."
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