Chu Wenqian had served as acting magistrate of Qiantang County for less than half a year before spending two million in public treasury funds to expand the County Office. A simple investigation would establish the facts, and the Chu Clan had never intended to conceal it: the offense carried only a light punishment, dismissal from office, and would have little effect on the clan. They hoped to evade the greater charge by admitting the lesser and did not want the Yangzhou officials to investigate further. But most of the registrars serving under Wang Shao, Neishi of Yangzhou, came from humble families. They were both astonished and furious at the Qiantang Lu Clan's fraudulent registration in the gentry register. They had never imagined that such a convenient route into the register existed. Had the crime not been exposed, even people like the Lu Clan would have become gentry-a farce to make the whole world laugh. Yet Chu Jian, Chenglang of Wu Commandery, had failed to report such a major case to the provincial administration and had hastily closed it. There must be other secrets behind it, so they pressed urgently ahead with their investigation and gathering of evidence-
Chu Jian's heart pounded with dread. He knew that if the Chu Clan sank into the mire of the Lu Clan's Fraudulent Gentry Register Registration Case, the entire family would collapse. They might even be stripped of their place in the gentry register. He could never stand by and watch his clan fall to such a state. Goujian had tasted excrement in a golden hall, and Han Xin had endured the humiliation of crawling between another man's legs. Why could he, Chu Wenqian, not bow his head and speak humbly, weather the immediate crisis, and then slowly plan his next move?
On the