The Provincial Surveillance Commission Office

Lord Cui wiped away his tears with his sleeve, his voice trembling with grievance:

"You have no idea! Yesterday, some damned bastard secretly stuffed firecrackers into my yard!"

As a result, one house was blown up, and then another one followed suit, a chain reaction of explosions!

Not only were all the houses destroyed, but even the fish in the pond were not spared!

My several large, golden carp, which I've raised for many years, were all destroyed by that frying!

Tell me, is there no justice left? Is there no law left?

Zhou Wanwan, who was standing next to her, burst out laughing and quickly raised her hand to cough, saying, "It's truly outrageous, truly lawless."

How could you possibly fry up Lord Cui's precious fish?

That fish was raised for so long, it's so precious! It's such a waste to fry it, I've been craving it for so long."

When Lord Cui saw Zhou Wanwan, he stammered, "This... how did this girl end up at your place? Wasn't she killed in the explosion yesterday?"

Zhou Wanwan rolled her eyes and said irritably:

"Who said I'm dead? I went back to the mountain yesterday."

I didn't really want to stay at your Cui Family's house, but you insisted on keeping me, so I had no choice but to leave.

"Thank goodness I retreated! Otherwise, who would be responsible if someone got blown up?"

Lord Cui wanted to cry even more, and so did Lord Nie. The two walked to the main hall.

Lord Nie said with a face full of grievance, "My house was also robbed yesterday. What kind of person could do such a heinous thing?"

Lord Cui looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "Zhou Wanwan, you didn't do all these things, did you?"

Zhou Wanwan blinked and looked at him, saying:

"Lord Cui, the yamen (government office) needs to be careful about evidence when handling cases!"

Don't spout nonsense. My family is just a small, insignificant family; how could I possibly have such abilities?

Besides, I've had a pretty rough time too, being kicked around like a football by you guys. Don't I have any dignity?

Also, I'm here as a guest of your household, not to become a concubine. What kind of lucrative job is that?

Lord Nie, that's also why I came to see you.

Nie Shi'an coughed and said:

"I think being a concubine in the Cui Family would be quite nice."

You've lived with the Cui Family for so long and have a good relationship with them. The Cui Family family is kind and generous; they won't mistreat you.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Nie Shi'an and said:

"So you've been living at the Cui Family for quite a while now, and you have a pretty good relationship with them."

"Why don't we just marry Madam Cui?"

Nie Shi'an was almost furious:

"You're talking nonsense! I'm a married man, how could I possibly marry... Madam Cui!"

If you keep talking nonsense, I'll slap you.

Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly and said:

"You can send me to the Cui Family as a concubine, no problem."

Tomorrow I'll ruin the reputations of both your families.

Nie Shi'an knew Zhou Wanwan was really capable of doing it, and he was so angry that his beard trembled.

"You beast, you're capable of anything! Come with me!"

Someone like you, you'll never settle down anywhere. You might as well come with me to the yamen!

Nie Shi'an was a third-rank provincial inspector, and he worked in the Provincial Surveillance Commission's office.

Zhou Wanwan followed Nie Shi'an into the Provincial Surveillance Commission's Office, looked around, and couldn't help but nod. "Wow, this place is really nice, quite imposing."

Nie Shi'an turned back and gave her a warning look, saying, "From now on, you'll be living in the yamen. Behave yourself, or believe me, I'll throw you in jail."

Zhou Wanwan quickly nodded and said:

"I've been to jail before, what aren't you capable of?"

However, I actually find this place quite interesting.

Nie Shi'an glared at her fiercely, said "Sit still and don't even think about going anywhere," and then led her towards the inner courtyard.

Passing through a screen wall and turning into a side courtyard, it was much quieter than the main hall outside.

Nie Shi'an led her to a room, opened the door, and said, "From now on, you'll stay here and aren't allowed to go anywhere."

Zhou Wanwan went inside and was instantly stunned.

This room is no ordinary room; it's clearly a case file room.

The four walls were lined with large bookshelves, which were Manman full of books, both thread-bound and leather-bound, piled up densely.

Stacks of files were piled up on the table and the floor, bound with rope, covered with dense writing, some with labels attached.

In the middle of the room was a large wooden table, with two chairs beside it.

Zhou Wanwan walked over and sat down, casually picking up a case file and flipping through it. The file was densely covered with details of the case, witness testimonies, and reports from local officials, page after page, making it dizzying to read.

She stuck out her tongue. So this so-called job involved dealing with these cases and these books.

She loves solving cases; it would be so much fun!

After Nie Shi'an turned and left, the room quieted down, and the plants began to whisper among themselves.

The old spider plant by the window swayed gently, as if sighing:

"Oh, finally someone's here, and it's just a little girl."

This house has been empty for so many years, and no one has ever been willing to come.

A hardy jade plant next to it echoed:

"We've been guarding so many case files here, we're practically sentient beings."

This place is piled high with unsolved cold cases and dead cases that no one has bothered with for years.

A slender asparagus fern in the corner said softly:

"Many cases have been shelved for more than a decade. Some grievances have no outlet, and some leads have gone cold."

The officials all find it too troublesome; they just shove it in here and then ignore it.

The old pomegranate tree in the yard outside the window chimed in:

"This room is the quietest place in the government office, a dumping ground for bad cases that nobody wants to investigate."

There's never a soul around, just a few of us old guys keeping watch."

Another old osmanthus tree also gently swayed its leaves:

"Some cases are clearly still progressing, but nobody is willing to pay attention to them, and they're all just sitting here gathering dust."

So many grievances have been buried in these piles of papers.

Even if we send a little maid, it won't make a difference! What can she do?"

Zhou Wanwan sighed and said, "That's right. What use is a little girl like me? Do you think I can solve cases?"

This sentence silenced all the flowers and plants.

The old osmanthus tree asked softly, "You... you can hear us?"

Zhou Wanwan glanced at him and said, "Otherwise what? Tsk tsk tsk... You guys have quite a few old cases here, don't you?"

The old pomegranate tree said happily:

"Good heavens, my savior has finally arrived! Girl, you must help these people!"

These cases are all about unlucky people; they're so pitiful.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "You guys are quite compassionate! Let me see just how unlucky you are."

Zhou Wanwan casually picked up a yellowed file from the desk, dusted it off, and opened it.

After reading only a few pages, her heart sank, her nose stung, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.

"This is so tragic, so tragic... Waaaaah..."