Chapter 18 of the case file: "Lord Feng is exceptionally handsome; would you be willing to marry him?"...

Feng Tingxiao patted Feng Tang's arm and said calmly, "Second brother, don't get angry."

Feng Tang glanced at Feng Tingxiao, crossed his arms indignantly, and straightened his expression.

Shen Shiyi's gaze swept over Xiao Yin, who remained silent beside them, before quickly returning to his own. He said sarcastically, "Lord Ji, is this a case of the Huang Dynasty allowing officials to set fires while forbidding ordinary people to light lamps?"

Ji Guang's eyes turned completely cold, while Qi Shan, the Left Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, gritted her teeth in hatred: "You! You are truly... truly a barbaric slut! How shameless!"

Shen Shiyi leaned back in his chair with a leisurely air, crossed his legs and swung them around, then closed his eyes and said casually, "This wild woman has stepped into the grand hall of your Chao Dynasty. She is upright and honest. What is there for me to be ashamed of?"

The hall was silent. Shen Shiyi opened his eyes, a playful smile in them. He rested his chin on his hand, winked at Zheng Qingru, and said slowly, "Lord Zheng, would you be willing to marry me?"

"Smash!" Even with Ji Guang's good temper, he couldn't help but smash the cup.

Feng Tan's gaze fell on Zheng Qingru's fingers, which had turned bluish-white from gripping them too tightly. The young man was poised and ready, sitting upright with a stiff and restrained expression, unsure of how to respond.

Feng Tan lowered her eyes. Zheng Qingru still remembered the gentlemanly upbringing and knew he should not speak ill of a woman.

She sat at the far left of the long table, hidden from the sunlight, and looked up at Shen Shiyi with a smile, saying, "General Shen, Lord Zheng already has someone he likes. As the saying goes, it's better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage. Why don't you marry someone else?"

Shen Shiyi's eyes lit up, and he met the boy's gaze, saying, "Alright! Lord Feng is exceptionally handsome, would you be willing to marry him?"

Feng Tan was an official recommended by the cabinet to participate in the negotiations yesterday, and Shen Shiyi recognized her as well. This shows that she is not as carefree as she appears on the surface. In fact, she is like a wolf poised to pounce. Her laughter and scolding before the hunt are just a smokescreen. She is waiting for a signal to start tearing into the ground. This is her true way of playing the game.

"If the general dares to marry me, I dare to marry you." Amidst the incredulous gazes of the assembled officials, Feng Tan smiled and continued, "But what are the general's betrothal gifts?"

Shen Shiyi asked with interest, "What does Lord Feng want?"

As the sunlight shifted eastward, Feng Tan's entire face was bathed in light, her skin as smooth and lustrous as jade. After a moment of silence, she slowly uttered three words, "Silu Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shiyi drew her broadsword and flew to Feng Tan's side. Her movements were as fast as lightning. The gleaming blade was pressed against the boy's Adam's apple. She gritted her teeth and said, "You're playing me?"

The change happened so fast that the officials on both sides of the rosewood table were startled. Ji Guang shouted angrily, "Shen Shiyi, what are you doing! Put down the knife!"

Zheng Qingru gripped Shen Shiyi's arm tightly, as if afraid that the tip of her knife would advance any further. His usually calm tone was now tinged with anxiety. "General Shen, in negotiations between two countries, it is a grave taboo for blood to splatter on the table!"

Of all those present, only Feng Tan remained composed. She looked directly into Shen Shiyi's eyes without flinching and said, "What is peace talk? Peace is surrender. As a defeated nation and a surrendered nation, ceding territory and paying reparations is only to be expected. General Shen says that my Huang Dynasty has no money to use, but how much silver does the Hua Kingdom, which came for the wealth of the Linzhang Sea, have? We are all penniless. If we continue to test each other, we will both perish. Who will reap the benefits then? It is better to follow the rules of the country. Ceding territory and paying reparations is better than the collapse of the entire nation."

Shen Shiyi and Feng Tan exchanged a glance for a moment, then slowly sheathed their broadswords and laughed again, "Those serving in the Six Ministries are truly officials with the power to speak the truth! But those with nothing to lose are fearless. It's not just my Hua Dynasty that wants to take over the Linzhang sea area; there are also the Japanese pirates eyeing it covetously. Huang Kingdom should not go too far, otherwise..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the threat in her words was obvious.

Zheng Qingru met Shen Shiyi's sharp gaze and said, "If the Hua Dynasty still has the national strength to fight our Dynasty, then we shall fight; if not, we should lay down our arms, surrender, and bow to the north."

Ji Guang rubbed his temples, realizing that nothing would come of it today, so he said, "Let's call it a day. We have a banquet to attend tomorrow, so we have plenty of time to talk. There's no rush."

***

As the sun rose in the east, its orange-red rays shone on the young man's departing figure, casting a long shadow. Zheng Qingru, having just emerged from the reception hall, quickly caught up with Feng Tan and said urgently, "Lord Feng, please wait!"

Zheng Qingru was chasing after him so fast that he had to catch his breath a few times before he reached Feng Tan and said, "I am very grateful to Lord Feng for relieving my embarrassment earlier. If you need anything in the future, please feel free to come to the Dali Temple to find me."

Feng Tan glanced at Xiao Yinshi as he boarded the carriage and drove away. After he left, she turned to Zheng Qingru and said, "No need for later. I have something to ask of you, Lord Zheng."

Zheng Qingru was clearly surprised by the young man's answer. He paused for a moment, then said gently, "What does Lord Feng want me to do?"

Feng Tan bowed and explained the reason, "I have not served as the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Justice for long. In the past, many cases in the Ministry of Justice were not handled by me, so I am unaware of the facts. Last year, the case of the Chief Clerk of the Linzhou Bureau of the Ministry of Revenue privately altering land taxes was adjudicated last month. I did not review the case and do not know the specific details of the incident, so I was unable to submit a third report to the Emperor. Last year's case files are all kept in the Court of Judicial Review. I request to borrow them for half a day to clarify the cause and effect before returning them to the Emperor."

The young man's voice was gentle and soothing. Zheng Qingru felt a sense of tranquility, and that strange, familiar feeling returned. He suppressed his chaotic thoughts, pursed his lips, and said, "What Lord Feng asks for is only right. Please come with me."

The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review were not far apart, but the Court of State Ceremonies was some distance away. It took about half an hour for the carriage to stop at the gate of the Court of Judicial Review.

Zheng Qingru walked ahead, and the patrolling soldiers recognized him, so they were exempted from checking his identity.

Zheng Qingru said to Feng Tan, "Lord Feng has not been in the capital for long, so he probably hasn't been to this street before. Look, five li to the east is the Censorate, and the next street ahead is the Ministry of Justice."

As Feng Tan followed him into the inner courtyard of the Dali Temple, he truthfully replied, "This humble official has only been to the Ministry of Justice once."

"Look at me, I've completely forgotten that Lord Feng's job is to be an inspector, so naturally he's been to the Ministry of Justice."

Upon reaching the inner courtyard, Zheng Qingru gave instructions to the gatekeeper, produced the warrant, and after verifying its authenticity, the eunuch in charge of the keys brought the keys and unlocked the iron lock on the door of the archives.

Zheng Qingru pushed open the door and said, “All the case files that have been jointly tried by the three judicial departments are here. The case of tax evasion by the Ministry of Revenue official that Lord Feng just mentioned is a major case. The testimonies and other files from last year’s joint trial by the three judicial departments are all stored here. The records are so important that the people who come to check them are more thorough.”

The archives were vast and complex, stacked high, with the top layer accumulating dust over the years. During the reign of Emperor Jianming, the archives were cleaned daily by students of the Imperial Academy, but Emperor Chongming abolished this practice after his ascension, and no longer assigned anyone to clean them. Fortunately, the paper used for the archives was meticulously chosen, uniformly made of thick, unbleached and unvarnished cotton paper, and the binding material was also cotton thread.

Zheng Qingru had never been in charge of organizing case files before, so he could only help Feng Tan search through them bit by bit.

Feng Tan's finger paused on a yellowed case file, and she asked casually, "The cases jointly tried by the three judicial departments are all major cases. Is the case file of the woman who caused a sensation in the capital eight years ago also here?"

Zheng Qingru stopped flipping through the pages, walked up to Feng Tan, and a rare sharpness appeared between his brows. "What is the meaning of this, Lord Feng?"

Feng Tan looked at the young man's suddenly changed expression in the dim light, his voice still calm, "Everyone in the court knows that I have some personal grudges with Minister of Justice Gao Yu, so I am a little curious about the case of the woman who caused Gao Yu's promotion by three ranks back then."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qingru's expression softened slightly. He looked into Feng Tan's eyes and said earnestly, "Curiosity killed the cat... Moreover, this case should not be used as a tool for Lord Feng to speculate on officialdom."

Feng Tan paused, avoiding Zheng Qingru's persistent gaze, and smiled as she looked down at the yellowed scrolls. "Your words are wise. The officialdom is ever-changing. When I first entered the capital, I offended both the Left Censor-in-Chief and the Minister of Justice. As the Ministry of Justice is investigating the Ministry of Justice, I will inevitably have to deal with Gao Yu in the future, so I can't help but feel uneasy."

Tiny dust particles floated in the slanting sunlight, and an undercurrent silently flowed between the two. After a moment of silence, Zheng Qingru said, "The laws of the court are strict, so Lord Feng need not worry. As long as you act uprightly and sit honestly, Gao Yu cannot do anything to you."

Feng Tan looked up and met his eyes, saying, "Is the law strict? Not necessarily."

“You…” Zheng Qingru’s lips twitched, and he was speechless for a moment.

Feng Tan walked through the beam of light between the two, looked up at the young man's clear face, and questioned, "Does Lord Zheng think the law is strict? Was the law that Feng Youming violated reasonable? Did she deserve to be tortured to death?"

"I..." Zheng Qingru's cheeks flushed with anger. "Lord Feng, you have overstepped your bounds!"

Feng Tan nodded in response, "I have overstepped my bounds."

Zheng Qingru suddenly realized that this young man, seemingly humble and respectful, was actually rebellious and unruly at heart. That's why, even under the powerful authority of those two adults, he still managed to rescue Lin Wanzhou. Was his concern for Lin Wanzhou so great, and his search for the case file of the female culprit also for her sake?

“The case file of the female calamity is not here.” Zheng Qingru pressed down on his throbbing brow, his voice calming down. “The female calamity case is of great importance. After the joint trial by the three judicial departments, His Majesty sent Sheng Honghai, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, to seal the case file with the imperial seal and place it in the Censorate.”

Feng Tan: .....I came for nothing.

She walked to the bookshelf behind Zheng Qingru, tiptoed to reach down a stack of case files, and said as she flipped through them, "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I have found the case file of the head of the Linzhou Bureau of Civil Affairs who privately altered the land tax."

As he was leaving, Zheng Qingru watched the young man step out the door and his figure slowly disappear into the sunlight, and reminded him, "Feng Tan, if you want to enter the Censorate to review the case files, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven without His Majesty's decree. You should take care of yourself."

Feng Tan didn't turn around, but waved the case book in her hand to indicate that she understood.

As the winter wind gradually picked up, it blew up the official robes of the seventh-rank official of the Azure Stream Imperial Edict. Her hair ribbon was blown by the wind and swirled onto her face. She flicked it with her fingers and turned to look at the solemn Dali Temple behind her.

Sunlight was cut off by the double-eaved glazed tiles, and shadows shrouded the couplets for clearing up the injustices engraved on both sides of the vermilion gate. The stone lions guarding the gate remained silent, and their golden statues withered and no longer reflected the moral order.

Is it as difficult as climbing to heaven?

There are even more difficult things to do.