"Have you heard of Magistrate Li Suo?" Su Ziji suddenly changed the subject and asked.
Chai Kejing shifted uneasily. "I have. He is the magistrate of neighboring Maocang Commandery. The matter caused quite a stir. Li Suo is already fifty-five and about to retire, yet he was stripped of office and thrown into prison, his dignity utterly swept away."
"It is good that you have heard of him. Do you know on what charges he was stripped of office and imprisoned?"
Chai Kejing muttered, "I heard it was slander and false accusation."
Li Suo had earned the Associate Presented Scholar degree and was exceedingly diligent. He had received repeated commendations from the Ministry of Personnel during his time in the counties, and once had even been personally praised by the Emperor: "His diligence is commendable."
Yet his official career had gone poorly. Magistrate was as high as he ever rose. He repeatedly submitted memorials to the court reporting corruption in the commanderies and counties, and was repeatedly rebuked. He was then stripped of office and demoted to county magistrate, but only became more stubborn.
A superior had advised him, "You are about to retire. Why not leave the commanderies and counties—and yourself—some dignity?"
Li Suo refused to listen and instead escalated matters, submitting a ten-thousand-word memorial. He was thus stripped of rank all the way down and hauled off to prison.
"It was slander and false accusation." Su Ziji's face remained expressionless. Bowing down to comply with everything was easy; looking upward only revealed branching roads and hardship. He was the Imperial Grandson, and naturally people respectfully organized the case files and delivered them to him.
"I actually had the files brought over, wanting to see whether he had been wronged, whether there was anything pitiable about him." Su Ziji