The Shuntian Prefecture Office.
It had several courtyards set aside specifically for trying cases, used according to the status of those being questioned and the gravity of the matters under investigation.
In the most spacious courtyard, people stood in two separate groups.
The autumn tiger still had some bite left in it. Near the courtyard gate and in the shade stood mostly officials and clerks, bailiffs, and a few scholars granted preferential treatment. Though they whispered among themselves, they dared keep their voices low. Their eyes flicked toward the main hall from time to time, with "gossip" all but written in their gazes.
The other group stood outside in a sunnier spot: merchants, shop assistants, craftsmen, and women. They dared not speak, but their attention was likewise fixed on the hall.
Inside, someone who should never have appeared here was conducting the inquiry.
"Majesty and might!" By the screen wall, bailiffs holding water-and-fire staves in formation passed the imposing courtroom cry down the line. "Summon Provincial Graduate Bo Ningyun!"
All the noise stopped at once. It became so quiet that a falling needle could have been heard. Provincial Graduate Bo Ningyun, who stood in the shade, froze briefly. Still looking fairly composed, he hurried inside. Through the curtain, a young man wearing a golden crown could just be made out, seated behind the judicial desk.
"I never thought Prince Dai would come to question people himself. This... this really is a first." After a short while, the murmuring resumed. Beneath a tree near the courtyard gate, a minor clerk fanned himself with his hand and could not help remarking on it.
His colleague looked agreement. "Isn't that the truth?"
Never mind an imperial prince like Prince Dai-even First or Second Rank officials were never seen making a special trip to