Night fell. Marquis Weiwu's residence.
The middle-aged, portly Marquis Weiwu sat in his chair with a grim expression.
Two beautiful women were in the hall as well. One knelt on the floor, weeping inconsolably—heartbroken and desperate.
The other woman comforted her in low tones.
His second daughter had vanished under mysterious circumstances. Combined with the carriage collision beforehand, Marquis Weiwu concluded that his daughter had been kidnapped.
He ran through a list of potential enemies in his mind. Political adversaries seemed unlikely—the hereditary title had been passed down to his generation, and he had long been pushed to the fringes of the imperial capital's power stage. Still, the clustering nobles remained a formidable interest group.
But the distinction between a group and an individual mattered. Marquis Weiwu could not recall any political foe willing to go so far as to kidnap a nobleman's daughter.
As for personal enemies, he had not made any recently.
"Your Lordship has already reported to the authorities and notified the Golden Rooster Guard at the city gates. Don't worry—Ying'er will be found."
"Sister, Ying'er is a delicate girl. If something happened to her... even if she's found back, she won't be able to live on."
The Marquis's face twitched, his expression darkening further.
At that moment, a servant rushed in, calling: "My Lord, the young miss has been found!"
The Marquis and the two wives hurried to the front hall, where they found their haggard daughter, tear stains still fresh on her cheeks, along with the Imperial Blade Guards who had brought her home.
After the butler rewarded the guards and sent them away, the Marquis studied his daughter for a moment and let out a slight sigh of relief: "Ying'er, what happened?"
Zhang Yuying, clutched in her weeping mother's arms, sobbed: "It was that Zhou Li—Vice Minister Zhou's son—who kidnapped me! He not only wanted to defile my innocence, but also planned to murder me to silence me!"
She recount what she had heard and seen, vividly embellishing how she had seized a lapse in the guards' vigilance to escape the wolf's den.
"Your Lordship, you must seek justice for me, for Ying'er!" Zhang Yuying's birth mother was shaking with fury.
"Your Lordship, this Zhou Li has repeatedly bullied Ying'er—and in doing so, has bullied our entire household!" the principal wife said in a cold voice.
Marquis Weiwu flew into a rage, slamming his palm down and shattering the table: "That surnamed Zhou has gone too far!"
...
The next morning. Meridian Gate, Eastern Side Gate.
Officials arriving for court were astonished to see that Marquis Weiwu had come in armor today—though without a weapon at his waist.
...
That day, something amusing happened at court.
Marquis Weiwu, armored, ascended the hall. He invoked his ancestors' achievements and tearfully accused Vice Minister Zhou.
He cried out: "Our forebears blazed trails and braved death for the throne. Now their descendant's daughter is bullied, and Your Majesty does not protect her—wouldn't this chill the hearts of warriors across the realm?..."
The matter blew up spectacularly.
The culprit, Zhou Li, was utterly bewildered. *When did I kidnap the second Miss Zhang? How come I don't know about it myself?*
Emperor Yuanjing was furious. He ordered the Court of Judicature and Revision, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to handle the case, demanding results within two days.
As the prime suspect, young Master Zhou's first stop was the Censorate.
The official in charge of interrogating him was a circuit censor.
This sixth-rank official sat behind his desk, said nothing, and first gave young Master Zhou a thorough beating.
After the screams had died down, he slapped the gavel: "Zhou Li—is the courtyard where the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Weiwu was held your private property?"
"It is!" Zhou Li could only admit.
It was common for powerful nobles to purchase private residences in the inner city. When Zhou Li bought the courtyard, he hadn't used any intermediaries. The deed bore his name, and the yamen records documented the purchase.
"Since it's your courtyard, there's nothing more to discuss. Sign and fingerprint the confession!"
Two runners stepped forward—one with the confession document, the other forcing Zhou Li to affix his seal.
According to the tripartite review process, after the Censorate finished its interrogation, the verdict would be sent to the Ministry of Justice. If the Ministry disagreed with the Censorate's findings, it would conduct a retrial.
Thus young Master Zhou was transferred to the Ministry of Justice, where his treatment changed dramatically.
Wine and food were plentiful, and the Ministry's director courteously arranged for a physician to apply wound-sealing balm to the young master's bloody backside.
After several hours of "interrogation," the Ministry of Justice overturned the Censorate's ruling and declared Zhou Li innocent—a victim of frame-up and slander.
The case file was sent to the Court of Judicature and Revision.
The Court said nothing and immediately gave Zhou Li another beating. After a similarly "rigorous" interrogation, the Court rejected the Ministry of Justice's verdict and found Zhou Li guilty.
The next day, seeing that the Court, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice could not reach consensus, Emperor Yuanjing ordered a joint tripartite trial. The case was escalated.
The Court dispatched a vice-minister and two assistant ministers; the Ministry sent two directors and four clerks; the Censorate sent two circuit censors.
Eleven officials in total jointly heard the case.
The tripartite alliance: the Ministry of Justice maintained Zhou Li's innocence—that he had been framed. The Court of Judicature and the Censorate both agreed that Zhou Li was guilty.
The two sides bickered for an entire day without resolution.
At dusk, a white-robed disciple of the Directorate of Celestials was summoned to the yamen.
"By His Majesty's order, I am here to assist in the investigation," the white-robed disciple announced, then turned to Zhou Li kneeling before the hall and demanded:
"Zhou Li—did you kidnap Zhang Yuying, the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Weiwu?"
Zhou Li shook his head frantically: "I didn't! It wasn't me! I'm being framed!"
All the officials stared intently at the Directorate's disciple.
The disciple declared righteously: "He's lying!"
Zhou Li's face drained of all color.
...
Three days later, Vice Minister Zhou was stripped of his post and banished to the frontier for embezzling state funds and failing to educate his son. His son, Zhou Li, was exiled to the southern territories.
...
Fifty cavalry rode leisurely along the official road. Second Uncle led the way on horseback, jubilant, his horse's hooves quick with spring wind.
After the news of Vice Minister Zhou's downfall, Xu Pingzhi had pulled Xu Qian and Xu Xinnian aside for an entire night of drinking—partly from the exhilaration of revenge, partly from the relief of setting down a heavy burden.
The brothers rode behind their uncle. Xu Xinnian said: "There's something I'd like to ask, Elder Brother."
The Eldest Brother glanced at him: "Curious why Zhou Li confessed? Or why the court heavyweights couldn't see through this rather clumsy frame-up?"
Xu Xinnian pondered: "I've only grasped part of it. For Vice Minister Zhou's political enemies, it doesn't matter whether Zhou Li is truly guilty. They'll seize this leverage and tear the Vice Minister apart.
"For Marquis Weiwu, this is a chance for revenge. Before, he couldn't compete with Vice Minister Zhou because he lacked allies—now it's heaven-sent. That's why he appeared in armor at court, causing a sensation.
"As for whether his daughter was truly kidnapped by Zhou Li—he may suspect otherwise, but without sufficient evidence, this Zhou young master, who has repeatedly bullied his daughter, is clearly the more hateful one.
"What I can't figure out is—this wasn't done by Zhou Li. Vice Minister Zhou and his allies know this perfectly well. They should have mounted a counter-strategy."
"Remember why I went to the Directorate that day?" Xu Qian laughed. "What's the eighth rank of the Directorate called again?"
"Eighth-rank Qi Observer..." Xu Xinnian's eyes lit up with sudden understanding.
"When the tax silver case happened, the Directorate's warlocks participated in tracking and adjudicating the case. That shows His Majesty relies on the Directorate." Xu Qian gazed ahead, triumphant.
"At first glance, the case seemed illogical. But upon closer inspection, no evidence was left behind... Well, Elder Brother is a professional in this area. Combine that with the factional struggles, and the case was bound to be messy and difficult to investigate. The simplest and most effective approach, naturally, was to seek out a warlock from the Directorate."
Xu Xinnian was convinced: "So, Elder Brother bribed the Directorate's warlock."
"Vulgar!" Xu Qian spat. "As an alchemist, how can you call it bribery? It's equivalent exchange!"
He paused, then said: "Cijiu, remember this: apart from blood relations, all friends and enemies in this world are born from the word 'interest'—especially in court.
"No one is kind to you without reason, nor does anyone hate you without reason. Even your closest friend's bond with you necessarily serves a positive function for them.
"When you enter the court in the future, I hope you'll become a capable minister—not an incorruptible one." Xu Qian was instilling his private philosophy to his little brother, continuing slowly: "Remember—harmonize with the light and merge with the dust."
To mold his little brother into the future Grand Chancellor of Great Feng, he first had to shape him in his own image. What use was cultivating a Grand Chancellor who would go his own way?
Xu Xinnian gazed into the distance and said aloud: "Harmonize with the light, merge with the dust... But what if I lose myself in the fog of power someday?"
"That's your own fortune to make. Of course, if you become a traitor who disrupts the court, Elder Brother will cleanse the family line." Xu Qian said half-joking, half-serious.
"Good!" Xu Xinnian shot back. "If Elder Brother becomes a warlord who harms the land in the future, I will do the same."
*Did I just set a flag...?* Xu Qian coughed and looked toward Xu Pingzhi: "Second Uncle, you must bear witness for us."
"Scram!" Xu Pingzhi turned around and cursed. "First it's brother against brother—as if I don't exist!"