Wu Wei stood frozen in place, unable to pull herself back to the present for a long time.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, in this moment… she suddenly realized just how cruel and cold life was for an ordinary citizen with no power or influence in a feudal society ruled by men rather than laws.
The Qinglu County clerk, the core figure in the county’s highest authority, had ultimately met his end in four simple words from the yamen runners’ mouths: the clerk was dead.
“Miss Wu, shall we go?”
“Alright, please give me two gentlemen a moment. I need to say goodbye at home.”
“Very well, take your time.”
Wu Wei returned to the doorway and called out, “Embroider Maiden, I’m coming in.” The Embroider Maiden understood the true meaning behind Wu Wei’s words. She signaled for Gao Ningxue to hide in the inner room first, then opened the door.
Wu Wei didn’t enter the house. She merely said from the doorway, “The Qinglu County clerk… he’s dead. I have to go over there. Don’t wait for me for dinner—eat without me.”
Hearing this news, it took the Embroider Maiden a good while to react. She forced out a sentence: “Come home early.” Her voice trembled, the instinctive human fear of death laid bare.
“Hand me a bar of soap.”
“Oh, right!” The Embroider Maiden took a new bar of soap wrapped in oiled paper from the shelf. Wu Wei took it, tucked it into her bosom, gave the Embroider Maiden one last glance, and turned to leave.
…
On the way to the yamen, the three of them walked in unusual silence. Wu Wei trailed behind Zhang Xing and Li Liu, the only sounds their footsteps.
The clerk’s death was an unforeseen twist that Wu Wei had never anticipated. She suddenly realized a problem: her mindset as a modern person from Blue Star wasn’t well-suited to handling certain issues in this era.
Blue Star was a world of sound laws and robust oversight mechanisms, while this place clearly lacked much of that in comparison.
Wu Wei felt she had already acted darkly enough in this affair—drawing Gao Ningxue into the game openly and covertly, all to take down the Qinglu County Magistrate and his clerk. Now that the facts were laid bare, she knew she was still too green, too lacking in the experience and cunning needed to combat entrenched corrupt powers.
Fortunately, she had been lucky enough to stumble upon a lone county princess. Otherwise… the one who would have died probably wouldn’t have been the clerk, but her.
Wu Wei wanted the Qinglu County Magistrate and his clerk dead too, but she had envisioned it happening through higher officials wielding the law against them. Her opponents, however?
When necessary, they could even eliminate their own people—no law, no loyalty. Sacrifice a pawn to save the king, utterly ruthless.
She was leagues behind them…
Wu Wei pondered: It must have been that Pingjia County Princess’s whereabouts had been exposed. The yamen had caught wind of something and realized it was too late to silence her first. So they pinned everything on the clerk.
The more Wu Wei thought, the more alarmed she grew, a chill creeping through her body. If things were truly as she suspected, then the Qinglu County Magistrate might well weather this storm. Once Dongfang Rui and Gao Ningxue left…
Wu Wei’s heart sank to the depths. Even as her mind raced, she couldn’t think of a way to break the deadlock. In the end, the magistrate hadn’t directly appeared in the matter of bribing the coroner to falsify the handbook. There was no human or material evidence to link him!
She was too young, too hasty. One misstep, and she had created this irreparable situation.
“Miss Wu, we’re here.” Wu Wei had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t even noticed their arrival at the yamen. She forced a smile. “Got it.”
“Miss Wu, this way, please.”
Wu Wei followed Zhang Xing to the main hall of the Qinglu County Yamen. In the center of the open space lay the clerk’s corpse, covered with a white cloth. Yamen runners stood in rows on either side. The county magistrate sat sternly behind the desk, with a plaque overhead inscribed with the words “Mirror Hanging High.” To the left front of the magistrate’s desk sat a small table for the scribe—a stranger’s face.
Wu Wei knelt beside the clerk’s body. “Commoner Wu Wei pays respects to Your Excellency.”
“This magistrate has heard that Miss Wu’s coroner’s techniques are exquisite and that you once assisted Lord Dongfang in a case?”
“Your Excellency flatters me.”
“The man lying there is our Qinglu County’s clerk. This morning, a maid discovered him in his study at home, with a suicide note in his bosom. Take a look—did the clerk truly take his own life, or was he murdered?”
“Yes.”
Wu Wei asked the Qinglu County Magistrate for a basin of water and washed her hands with the soap. Then she bowed toward the clerk’s body, pulled off the white cloth, and examined it. The clerk’s death was not a pretty sight. Superficially, it matched the signs of death by hanging, but Wu Wei still called for scissors and had the yamen runners help cut off the clerk’s clothes. She proceeded methodically.
There was only one ligature mark on the clerk’s neck. No external injuries on the body surface, head, or major joints. No signs of poisoning from the corpse’s condition. The nails were clean, with no evidence of struggle or scratching.
Wu Wei detailed her observations and conclusions. Once the scribe had recorded them, she was asked to sign and press her handprint. This time, Wu Wei only left her handprint, then washed her hands in the basin, wrapped the soap, and tucked it away.
The Qinglu County Magistrate reviewed the coroner’s handbook, then waved his hand. Yamen runners carried out the clerk’s body. He slammed the gavel. “Court is now in session!”
“Mighty…” The runners struck their intimidation sticks. Wu Wei knew what was coming. She knelt in the hall and said nothing.
The Qinglu County Magistrate picked up a sheet of paper, shook it, and held it. “This is the suicide note left by the prisoner Sun Jingshan before his own death by cowardice. In it, he confesses to giving you twenty taels of silver as payment to provide false testimony. Wu Wei… do you admit your guilt?”
Wu Wei hung her head in silence, but her mind raced through the possibilities of every possible response. If she said “I don’t admit it,” this dog of a magistrate would surely torture her!
If she said “I admit it,” he might sentence her on the spot.
But why was he doing this? He’d even taken out the clerk—didn’t he know the Pingjia County Princess was at her house?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wu Wei’s mind. Perhaps this was the magistrate’s clever ploy?
Having learned of the county princess’s trail, he knew silencing her first was impossible. But he couldn’t give her the chance to turn the tables and accuse them. First, let the clerk take the fall for the previous murder. Then use this so-called suicide note to accuse her. Before Dongfang Rui arrived, deal with her according to the law. Even if Dongfang Rui came, the magistrate could claim he had acted by the book—with witnesses and evidence in place, she couldn’t touch him.
The Qinglu County Magistrate narrowed his eyes, picked up a red warrant stick, and said in a low voice, “Since you refuse to speak, this magistrate will take your silence as admission… By the law, those who accept bribes to falsify testimony shall receive forty strokes of the rod, with confiscated bribe money and three months of hard labor. As this case involves a murder and an official, the punishment shall be doubled… Eighty strokes of the rod, confiscation of bribe money, and six months of hard labor!”
Wu Wei cursed inwardly: This dog official wants to beat me to death right here? Eighty? Who does he think I am, a wall?
She silently thanked Dongfang Rui in her heart once more—for the token and her warning!
Precisely because Dongfang Rui had specially instructed her not to use the token lightly, Wu Wei had been extra careful. Only the Embroider Maiden and Gao Ningxue had seen it. No matter how this dog official investigated, he wouldn’t find it!
Even if he tried, could a mere county magistrate access the Bright Mirror Division’s dossiers?
With a sharp crack, the red warrant stick hit the floor. Yamen runners had already brought in a long bench, and two more advanced to pin Wu Wei down.
“Hold on!” Wu Wei shouted, stepping back to create some distance from the runners. One hand delved into her bosom and gripped the Bright Mirror Division token.
“How dare you! This is a courtroom—criminals do not get to make noise! Add twenty more strokes. Execute immediately!”
Wu Wei raised her clenched hand high. “Your Excellency, why not look at what’s in my hand before deciding? A commoner’s life is worthless—best not to implicate you because of it.”
Hearing Wu Wei’s latter words, the Qinglu County Magistrate waved his hand. A runner dragged his intimidation stick over to her. “Hand it over.”
Wu Wei skirted past him and placed the token directly on the magistrate’s desk.
“…What is this?”
The Qinglu County Magistrate picked up the token and flipped it over. The plain token bore the words “Bright Mirror.”
His hand trembled, and his face drained of color.
Wu Wei seized the moment and whispered urgently, “Your Excellency, I am Lord Dongfang’s personally planted agent in Qinglu County. This is a Bright Mirror Division token…” Pausing, she recalled Gao Ningxue’s explanation and continued, “It looks unremarkable, but the material is sourced exclusively from the inner court—impossible to fake. Every token’s owner is recorded in the Bright Mirror Division’s offices.” Fearing the magistrate might desperately deny it and sentence her anyway, Wu Wei added, “Your Excellency has served as an official for many years. Have you ever heard of a female coroner in the Liang Dynasty? This case… I’ve already reported it through special channels to the Bright Mirror Division offices. Their people will arrive in Qinglu County soon. Please think carefully.”
The Qinglu County Magistrate fell silent. He had sent men to investigate Wu Wei’s background and learned that her household registration wasn’t even in Qinglu County. No one knew where she had truly come from. However, according to the yamen runner Zhang Xing, Wu Wei lived in poverty. She resided near the Charity Mortuary with Third Miss Liu, who had remained a chaste widow faithfully waiting by the door, and eked out a living selling firewood.
He had also dispatched men to canvass the markets. They confirmed that Wu Wei had always lived frugally before, peddling firewood at the stalls. Only about ten days earlier had she suddenly visited the Money House to exchange two Gold Leaves. Investigators had also discovered that she had purchased many goods, which led him to suspect she might be hiding someone at home.
With this information in hand, the Qinglu County Magistrate grew increasingly restless. Fortunately, he had taken precautions at the time, ensuring the trouble hadn’t yet spread directly to him. Summoning Wu Wei was indeed intended to deal with her under the law and nip any future problems in the bud.
Yet the Qinglu County Magistrate could never have imagined that Wu Wei was actually affiliated with the Bright Mirror Division!
How could that be? Last time… hadn’t Dongfang Rui locked Wu Wei in a cell by herself and nearly sentenced her?
Was it all a performance? A show for whose benefit…
Could it be… Taizhou Prefecture?
