The County Yamen Murder Case

The night sky was clear as if washed, dotted with stars.

The tallest building in Great Feng's capital was the Star Observation Tower, where the Directorate of Astronomy conducted its affairs.

A young woman in a yellow dress climbed the stairs with light steps. As she passed the seventh floor, she heard a noisy commotion coming from the alchemy chamber.

A group of Alchemy Masters in white robes were arguing, their faces flushed red.

"Why did it fail again? The steps were obviously so simple."

"I told you, the amount of salt must have been wrong."

"No, I think it was the water."

"Was it the fire? I saw Senior Brother Wan bring the salt to a boil just now."

"This is too hard. The alchemical technique for turning salt into silver is too hard. I can't do it."

The corner of the yellow-dressed Caiwei's mouth twitched. "Those people are still making fake silver," she muttered.

Two days ago, she had brought the story of turning salt into silver back to the Directorate of Astronomy. At first, her senior brothers had refused to believe it.

Salt could turn into silver?

Not even a three-year-old would believe that.

But soon afterward, the Tax Silver Case was solved. His Majesty considered the fake silver immensely potent and quite extraordinary, and ordered the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to produce it.

And so the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Alchemy Masters began working their livers to the bone, throwing themselves into the blessing of 996 day and night.

They had been grinding away since two days ago, fighting again after every defeat and suffering defeat after every fight.

"Caiwei, it's Junior Sister Caiwei!" someone shouted excitedly.

In an instant, haggard faces turned toward her, and eyes flashed with sudden brilliance.

"Junior Sister Caiwei, how exactly is this fake silver made?"

"Junior Sister Caiwei, come and take a look for me. Is something wrong with the steps? You're the only one who's succeeded in making fake silver."

They surrounded the young woman in yellow.

Chu Caiwei had no choice but to enter the alchemy chamber and watch her senior brothers make fake silver.

"Another failure!" lamented a white-robed Alchemy Master working at the scene.

"Junior Sister Caiwei, what went wrong?" The white-robed men adopted an attitude of humble eagerness to learn.

There's nothing wrong. That's how I made it too. Chu Caiwei pondered, then said, "This is an alchemical art passed down from ancient times. It is profound and obscure, not something one can learn just like that. It must be taught by explaining the profound in simple terms before it can take deep root. I shall teach you senior brothers a mnemonic. Remember it well, remember it well."

Her senior brothers prepared to listen.

"Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus!" Chu Caiwei circulated Qi through her dantian and pronounced the remarkable mnemonic word by word.

"What does this formula mean?" Her senior brothers found it impressive without understanding it. They understood every word, but put together, the words left them baffled.

I don't know what this is either. Chu Caiwei smiled inscrutably and said nothing.

"A genius, a genius! The person who wrote this mnemonic was truly a genius of Alchemy," a white-robed senior brother exclaimed.

What genius? Senior Brother, don't let your imagination run wild! Chu Caiwei's smile did not change.

"Junior Sister Caiwei, who told you this mnemonic? Did you meet a master of Alchemy and receive their guidance?"

Good question! Chu Caiwei thought, lightly tossing the blame away.

"That man's name is Xu Qi'an. He's the nephew of Xu Pingzhi, the Seventh Rank green-robed officer of the Imperial Saber Camp. Just go find him."

When they heard he was a martial artist, the white-robed men were displeased.

"What a joke! Our grand Directorate of Astronomy is full of talent, yet we have to find an outsider to make fake silver?"

"And a martial artist at that."

"Wouldn't we become a laughingstock if word got out?"

Different cultivation systems had given rise to several very interesting chains of contempt.

The Daoist Order looked down on the Buddhist Order, and the Buddhist Order returned the contempt.

Warlocks looked down on wizards, wizards looked down on Gu Masters, and Gu Masters in turn looked down on warlocks.

Then Daoists, Buddhists, warlocks, wizards, and Gu Masters all looked down on martial artists together.

As for the Confucian School: sorry, but if I may speak frankly, everyone here is trash.

In recent times, however, the Confucian School had declined.

"Junior Sister Caiwei, you guide us."

Caiwei gave a "heh." "Definitely next time!"

She forced her way out of the crowd of white-robed senior brothers and continued up the stairs.

In truth, she didn't understand it either.

The last time, at the prefectural yamen, she had made fake silver in one smooth run. Afterward, Caiwei had tried again in private and failed.

She had copied the previous process exactly, but it had still failed. She didn't know why.

The Star Observation Tower did not have an ordinary tiled roof, but an octagonal platform that subtly corresponded to the eight trigrams.

It was therefore called the Eight Trigrams Platform.

At the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, an elderly man in white leaned over a table, a wine cup in one hand and his head propped on the other. Neither quite drunk nor sober, he gazed down at the capital below.

The young woman in yellow knew better than to disturb him. Her master usually did no proper work, preferring to sit on the Eight Trigrams Platform, drinking and admiring the scenery.

He also disliked being disturbed.

He would hold a cup of wine and narrow his eyes, saying he was concentrating on watching the mortal world.

"Caiwei, you're here?" the old man in white said with a smile.

"Master." The young woman in yellow broke into a smile and trotted over to stand at the edge of the eight trigrams, the hem of her dress fluttering.

"What reward did that old emperor give you?"

"A few hundred taels of silver and a few bolts of silk." The young woman in yellow said, "Master, what exactly is fake silver?"

"I don't know."

"There's something in this world that you don't know, Master?"

"Far too many things." The old man in white chuckled. "I don't know where those few thieves from nineteen years ago went."

"You always say those little thieves from nineteen years ago were hateful, but you never tell me who they were or what they stole."

The old man in white rose and stood at the edge of the octagonal platform, sighing. "What they stole was extraordinary."

"Then do you know who made the fake silver?" The Directorate of Astronomy was the birthplace of the Warlock System. Even if the Alchemy Masters under heaven did not come from the Directorate of Astronomy, they were sure to have some connection to it.

An Alchemy Master had been involved behind the Tax Silver Case and had produced such a wondrous thing. That person was certainly no ordinary figure.

"Of course I know."

The courtyard, the main room.

Xu Qi'an lay in bed, staring blankly at the crisscrossing beams by the bright moonlight streaming through the window.

He was worried about his future, somewhat anxious and lost, yet also full of excitement.

As a quality product of nine years of compulsory education, all the knowledge in my head is a cheat.

I can easily stand out in this backward monarchic society and become the most dazzling flower of the bunch.

However, a society where imperial power reigns supreme often means human rights cannot be guaranteed. Today it's young models at the club; tomorrow it's military conscription and exile.

That was a state of affairs that would cause any modern person great worry.

As Xu Qi'an pondered, he fell asleep. When he awoke, daylight was streaming in. He put on his black yamen uniform, fastened his belt, tied up his long hair, and hung his saber at his waist.

He stood straight, masculine and handsome.

He had to admit that ancient clothing gave a boost to both looks and bearing. It was just too much trouble when going to the toilet.

He climbed over the wall to his second uncle's home and mooched breakfast. Uncle and nephew then left for work together. Xu Pingzhi had been restored to his former post, and everything was as before.

Changle County Yamen was the yamen of a county attached to the capital. It was inside the city, six or seven li from the Xu residence. Xu Qi'an had neither a horse nor a carriage, so he had to take the number 11 bus, arriving at the county yamen in two quarters of an hour.

Changle County Yamen faced south. Two stone lions as tall as a person stood at the entrance, and drums with peeling paint stood on either side of the reddish-brown gate.

The structure of the county yamen was worth discussing. The biggest official was, of course, the county magistrate, known as the chief official. He had two deputies: the county assistant magistrate and the chief clerk.

These three were court-appointed officials with official ranks. In Xu Qi'an's era, they would have held established government posts.

Below the three court-appointed officials was the registrar, also known as the chief officer.

But the registrar had no rank and was not graded.

Next came the three shifts and six offices. The three shifts were the ceremonial, constable, and guard shifts, responsible for ceremonial duties, public order, arrests, and the like; the six offices corresponded to the court's six ministries.

Xu Qi'an was a runner in the constable shift, commonly known as a constable.

When he entered the yamen, the registrar was taking roll. Registrar Li, standing in front of the hall, saw Xu Qi'an with a saber at his waist and froze.

His expression was as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

The yamen runners noticed that something was wrong with their superior's expression and turned to look. Then they wore the same ghost-seeing expressions.

"Xu, Xu Qi'an, are you a man or a ghost?!" someone asked in a trembling voice.

Registrar Li noticed Xu Qi'an's shadow on the ground and felt somewhat relieved. In a composed tone, he said, "What nonsense are you spouting in the court hall? Do ghosts have shadows?"

Hearing this, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Xu Qi'an thought for a moment, then added, "Perhaps I'm a Walking Corpse."

Registrar Li was shocked, and the runners' hearts tightened.

Xu Qi'an hurriedly cupped his fists. "Just a joke. Greetings, Lord Registrar, colleagues. I've been released from prison."

Registrar Li asked, "What happened?"

They had heard that the Xu Household had been imprisoned over the Tax Silver Case.

"Naturally, we redeemed our crimes through meritorious service. His Majesty was merciful and pardoned the Xu Household's offenses." Xu Qi'an promptly recounted the matter again, but gave the credit to his second uncle and produced the document provided by the Capital Prefecture yamen.

At the same time, he understood. Although the tax silver had been found, the verdict had not yet come down. In other words, the case of the missing tax silver had not yet settled; after all, the procedures had to be followed, and that wouldn't be so quick.

That was why the runners at Changle County Yamen did not yet know about it.

Once roll call was over, several constables who knew him well immediately gathered around to congratulate him.

"Ningyan, you have to treat us to drinks."

In this era, one addressed a friend by their courtesy name rather than their given name. When introducing oneself, one used the given name rather than the courtesy name.

"Right! Survive a great disaster and good fortune is bound to follow. You have to treat us."

"I heard that pleasure house on Linshui Street just bought a new batch of courtesans. Ningyan, will you come with us tonight?"

Treating you to drinks is one thing, but you want me to pay for you to sleep with women too? That's too much. Xu Qi'an was just about to decline on the grounds that he had no money when he suddenly stepped on a hard lump. He looked down and saw that it was a small piece of silver.

Is it really true that surviving a great disaster brings good fortune? He immediately stepped on it, remaining calm as he pretended to look at the scenery around him.

After the others had walked a few steps ahead, Xu Qi'an quickly bent down, picked it up, and slipped it into his money pouch without a change of expression.

They passed through a corridor and sat for a few minutes in a side hall on the west side. Then Registrar Li came in with a gloomy face and looked at Head Constable Wang. "Old Wang, the county magistrate wants us in the inner hall."

Head Constable Wang's face fell, and he went out without a word.

Xu Qi'an watched Head Constable Wang's back disappear and asked, "What's going on? The boss doesn't look too happy."

"While you were in prison these past few days, there was a murder on Kangping Street. The dead man was a merchant with quite a bit of money and influence. The county magistrate flew into a rage and has been catching Head Constable Wang for a scolding every day."

"He was just a merchant. The magistrate didn't need to fly into such a rage, did he?" Xu Qi'an cracked melon seeds as he spoke.

Since ancient times, every death had been a major case, but as the magistrate of a county attached to the capital, a Subordinate Fifth Rank official, he should not have reacted so strongly.

"Heh, that merchant was related to a certain supervising secretary. I imagine the pressure came from that side." The runner said, "And besides, this year is the Gengzi year."

"The Gengzi year?" Xu Qi'an didn't catch on.

"The capital evaluation!" the runner explained.

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