The Ministry of Justice Arrests a Suspect

Xu Qi'an had just stepped into the county yamen when he heard a tearful voice call, "Big brother."

It was Xu Lingyue, standing there as graceful as a flower in a pale green silk dress. Tear tracks lingered on her fair, pretty face, and her eyes were red and swollen, making her look like a little flower that stirred pity.

Xu Lingyin was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, she was in a side hall and hadn't been allowed to come over.

Xu Qi'an gave a slight nod and a reassuring look.

County Magistrate Zhu, who had already received word, sat high behind his desk. When he saw the yamen runners escorting a group inside, he got a clear look at the richly dressed young master whose face was blazing with anger.

Old Zhu was startled and hurriedly rose to greet him.

"Oh my, isn't this Young Master Zhou? How is Vice Minister Zhou?"

The richly dressed young master abruptly swept his sleeve, forcing County Magistrate Zhu back. Pointing at Xu Qi'an, he snarled, "This man attacked me in the street and tried to kill me. Arrest him at once."

"Surely it wasn't that serious, surely not." County Magistrate Zhu put on a smile, then turned, his face full of fury, and shouted, "Constable Xu Qi'an, get your ass over here!"

Xu Qi'an braced himself and went over.

"You bastard! You even dared to hit the son of Lord Zhou, the vice minister of revenue. How many heads do you have?" County Magistrate Zhu lashed out and kicked Xu Qi'an, then turned back with a fawning smile:

"Young Master Zhou, this is a flood washing over the Dragon King's temple-we're all on the same side. Be magnanimous and overlook this petty man's offense. Don't lower yourself to quarrel with a nobody like him."

Outside the crowd, Xu Lingyue watched her cousin being berated because of her. Tears streamed down her face, and her delicate nose, finer and more prominent than an ordinary woman's, was red from crying.

The vice minister of revenue's son. Xu Qi'an's heart sank.

In the officialdom of the Great Feng dynasty, an official's influence depended not on rank, but on background and power.

There were many officials of the first and second ranks, but only a small handful truly stood at the pinnacle of power.

The ministers and vice ministers of the Six Ministries were among them.

He had beaten the vice minister of revenue's son. This had become a serious matter.

"Cut the fucking crap. You won't arrest him? Fine, I'll do it myself." Young Master Zhou swept out a hand and ordered his attendants, "Seize this brat."

He didn't believe the brat would dare resist and attack anyone inside the county yamen.

County Magistrate Zhu shouted, "Anyone who commits violence in the county yamen will be killed on the spot."

The yamen runners of the three squads rushed out, drew their sabers, and laid them against the necks of the attendants who were about to act.

The ununiformed runners stood guard with staves.

"Zhu, you dare touch my men?" Young Master Zhou pointed a finger at County Magistrate Zhu's nose and cursed him out.

"Young Master Zhou, please don't misunderstand. I am an official appointed by the court, merely acting according to the rules." County Magistrate Zhu kept his fawning smile and wiped the spittle from his face:

"I have a written complaint here accusing you, young master, of riding recklessly with intent to harm and bullying a respectable young woman. The complainant is Xu Lingyue."

This was a measure County Magistrate Zhu had prepared long ago. If the other party had been an ordinary official's son, he would have found a way to make a big matter small and a small matter vanish.

He had never expected the person involved to be the vice minister of revenue's son.

Young Master Zhou gave a derisive laugh. "Riding recklessly with intent to harm? Who did I hurt? Bullying a respectable young woman? Zhu, go out on the street and ask around. Did I lay a finger on this woman?"

"Then perhaps the woman mistook you for someone else." County Magistrate Zhu smiled and tucked the complaint back into his sleeve.

Damn it, County Magistrate Zhu can't handle this. I have to find a way to save myself. If there's no other choice, I'll have to run, but that will definitely drag Second Uncle's family into it. Xu Qi'an was getting anxious. In this day and age, only an official's son could deal with another official's son. He was far out of his opponent's league.

Never mind him-even Second Uncle, a hundred-man commander in the Imperial Saber Guard, was nothing before the vice minister of revenue.

Nothing at all.

As for regret, he had none. With a saber at his neck, was he supposed to let himself be butchered?

As thoughts raced through his mind, he saw one of Young Master Zhou's attendants leave the county yamen, and County Magistrate Zhu did nothing to stop him.

Xu Qi'an's heart grew colder. He walked over to Head Constable Wang and said quietly, "Boss, I can't escape this calamity today. There's something I'd like to ask you to do."

Head Constable Wang was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Go on."

Over the past month, his relationship with Xu Qi'an had advanced by leaps and bounds. They went to the entertainment quarter every day and drank with courtesans together, forging a deep friendship.

"First, lend me one tael of silver."

Head Constable Wang felt inside his robes and pulled out a handful of silver fragments, less than one tael in all.

Xu Qi'an took the silver and pocketed it before saying, "Boss, ride to my house as fast as you can. Get a book from the cabinet beside my bed, a blue-covered book. Remember, don't take the wrong one."

The diary had a pale yellow cover.

"Once you have the book, go straight to the Bureau of Astronomy and find a young woman named Caiwei. Give her a message for me: Xu Qi'an is in trouble. Come save him quickly."

"The Bureau of Astronomy?!" Head Constable Wang hesitated. "How could someone like me go there?"

Asking him to enter the Bureau of Astronomy was like asking an ordinary person to enter the imperial palace. He didn't even have the nerve to go near it.

Xu Qi'an had known this would happen. He said quietly, "If something happens to me, there'll be no one to pay you back that silver."

Head Constable Wang's eyes widened.

"Get this done for me, and next month's wages are all yours, boss."

"Xu Qi'an, screw you." Head Constable Wang rushed out of the county yamen, cursing all the way.

After receiving word, Xu Pingzhi borrowed a horse from a colleague and raced to the Changle County yamen, whipping it all the way.

He crossed the threshold and entered the main hall. The first thing he saw was his daughter, trembling as she wept without pause. Then he saw the yamen runners and attendants, swords drawn and crossbows cocked.

Xu Pingzhi looked away, went over to his daughter, and asked with a grave expression, "What happened?"

It was as if Xu Lingyue had seen her savior. She cried even harder and told her father what had happened between sobs.

When he heard that Vice Minister Zhou's son had raised his horse's hooves to trample the little girl, the corner of his eye twitched, and his face grew even darker.

"If it weren't for big brother, Lingyin would be gone. Boo-hoo."

Ningyan... Xu Pingzhi looked at his nephew, closed his eyes, and composed himself for a few seconds. Then he said quietly, "Go to the side hall and look after Lingyin. Don't come out."

He watched his daughter's retreating figure disappear at a trot, then stepped forward in silence and stared at the richly dressed young master. "Young Master Zhou, can this matter be settled?"

The richly dressed young master met his eyes and seemed to feel a killing intent as tangible as substance. He recalled what Xu Qi'an had said on the street.

The defiant words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't force them out.

"What imposing official authority you have, Hundred-Man Commander Xu. What, if my young master refuses to let this go, will you splatter blood within five paces?"

An old man entered through the county yamen's main gate. He wore a long blue robe with gold trim at the cuffs and collar, and a jade pendant hung at his waist.

His hair was mostly white, with only a little black left. His face was lean, and his sharp gaze seemed to hide needles.

He was still at the gate when he began speaking, but by the time he finished, he had reached the main hall.

"Uncle Chen." The richly dressed young master was overjoyed.

"How did you get hurt so badly, young master? What damned beast did this? This old servant watched you grow up. Even the tiniest injury breaks my heart."

The old man saw the dried scab on the richly dressed young master's earlobe and felt both heartache and anger.

"I've told the master time and again to assign you a Qi Refining Realm expert, but he always refuses on the grounds that you like stirring up trouble."

"And what if you do stir up trouble? Better someone else suffers than you, young master."

Sensing that he had been locked onto by a surge of Qi, Xu Pingzhi felt as though he had plunged into an ice cellar. His back prickled as if a snake were crawling over it, and he felt as though he were hovering on the brink of life and death.

He often felt something similar while fighting on the battlefield, and it kept him from daring to move a muscle.

This old man was a Spirit Refining Realm expert.

County Magistrate Zhu cleared his throat. "And you are..."

"I wouldn't dare!" the old man interrupted blandly. "I am merely an old servant of the Zhou household. I don't deserve such respectful address from Lord Zhu."

"You're too modest, senior." Even a gatekeeper at the prime minister's residence ranked as a seventh-rank official; an old hand in officialdom understood that best. County Magistrate Zhu smiled ingratiatingly:

"Look how this has turned out. It's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. The Capital Evaluation is at hand, and harmony should be valued above all. What do you think, senior?"

The old man sneered. "A few insignificant nobodies can't affect the master's Capital Evaluation. The Zhou household has always won people over with virtue and handled everything according to the court's rules and regulations."

At first, no one understood what he meant. Then, a moment later, a jumble of loud footsteps came from outside the yamen.

A group of armored soldiers bearing weapons poured in. At their head was an official in a green robe embroidered with a silver pheasant. He swept his gaze around and declared:

"The Ministry of Justice is here to apprehend a suspect. All bystanders, stand aside. Anyone who interferes will be treated as equally guilty."

After a pause, the fifth-rank official in green put on a smile for Young Master Zhou. "Young master, may I ask where the suspect is?"

Young Master Zhou pointed at Xu Qi'an. "Shackle that dog for me."

The fifth-rank official in green swept out his hand. "Seize him."

The armored soldiers rushed forward, took out their shackles, and put Xu Qi'an in chains.

"My lord, what crime has my nephew committed?" Xu Pingzhi cried in alarm.

"Whether or not he is guilty is for me to decide," the fifth-rank official in green said mildly. "As a section director of the Ministry of Justice, I have always enforced the law impartially and with meticulous care."

Xu Pingzhi wanted to say more, but County Magistrate Zhu held him back tightly.

"Take him away!"

P.S.: 2,700 characters. That feels too long. I'm always so conscientious that one slip and I write too much. I need to reflect on that.