Although the Supervisory Council is not large in scale, it is not lacking in talented people. Even Su Yan, whose coroner skills are so outstanding, can only be considered average in the Supervisory Council.
The person in charge of the Censorate is Wenren Yi, who grew up with the current emperor since childhood. He was injured when he was young and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.
Su Yan was also familiar with Wenren Yi, but this person was elusive and rarely showed his face, and kept his distance from his master Liu Yuanxiu.
Therefore, although Su Yan had heard of Wenren Yi, she had never met him.
Wang Sizhi led Su Yan to a dark room. As soon as they entered, it was incredibly cold and dark, so dark that they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces. If it weren't for the lanterns they were carrying, Su Yan wouldn't have believed that anyone would be willing to stay in such an environment.
After walking for a while, the view gradually opened up, and as you went up the stairs, a library came into view.
Su Yan and Wang Ruofu emerged from the tunnel. The room was filled with neatly arranged bookshelves, making it crowded but not cluttered.
Looking at the books in the room, Su Yan was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth. She never expected that Dali Temple would have such a place.
Passing through rows of bookshelves, the two arrived at a huge screen. The screen was painted with what appeared to be a map of Chang'an, with even Su Yan's courtyard clearly marked.
At this moment, Wang Ruofu changed his usual demeanor and bowed respectfully to the blurry figure behind the screen, saying, "Wang Ruofu, the Director of the Court of Judicial Review, greets the Dean."
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of rapid coughs came from behind the screen. Wang Ruofu asked worriedly, "Dean, are you alright?"
"fine……"
A steady voice came from behind the screen, followed by the sound of a wheelchair turning.
This was the first time Su Yan had seen her senior sister treat someone other than their master with such respect, and she couldn't help but feel curious.
Su Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw an elderly man with a full head of white hair, dressed in white, pushing a wheelchair out from behind the screen.
When Su Yan saw Wenren Yi's appearance, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She had heard that he was two years younger than the emperor, but the emperor was only over fifty years old, while Wenren Yi looked much older than a sixty or seventy-year-old.
Su Yan sized up Wenren Yi, and Wenren Yi sized her up as well.
Their eyes met, and Su Yan realized she had been abrupt, so she quickly bowed and said, "Su Yan, the newly appointed coroner of the Supervisory Council, greets the Director."
"I've seen your exam paper. It was well-organized and composed, and your autopsy skills were solid. I didn't expect you to be so mature and composed at such a young age. I value you highly."
"Dean Xie's praise is appreciated, but I still have many shortcomings and need to learn more."
Upon hearing this, Wenren Yi's lips curled into a smile. "Neither humble nor arrogant, neither hasty nor impatient. May I ask who your teacher is?"
Su Yan had anticipated that someone would ask her this question, and replied in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Dean, Su Yan has been learning autopsy from my father since childhood. After my father passed away, I came to Chang'an to study autopsy."
"Like father, like son... May I ask who your father's teacher was?"
"Reporting to the Dean, my father did not receive instruction from any famous master; he learned from an old coroner in the county government."
“Indeed, there are always people more capable than you, and there’s always something beyond your understanding…” After saying that, Wenren Yi smiled and looked at Lai Suyan, “Would you be willing to join the Surveillance Bureau?”
Su Yan nodded solemnly, "I do..."
How could I not want to? I went through so much trouble to come to the Dali Temple just to get into the Supervisory Council, didn't I?
In fact, the Supervisory Council has another little-known function: it is fully responsible for investigating cases involving royal secrets and the imperial court, while the Court of Judicial Review is more often responsible for cases involving civilians.
While investigating the Su family's case, Su Yan discovered that it seemed to involve the royal family, so the Dali Temple could not possibly have any records of it. Perhaps some clues could be found in the Supervisory Bureau.
Looking at Wenren Yi, Su Yan felt a chill run down her spine. Although he was smiling at her, there was no smile in his eyes. It was as if she was being stared at from the depths of the abyss, which made her scalp tingle.
Wenren Yi smiled, said nothing more, and waved to the two of them.
Wang Ruofu immediately took Su Yan away from the library, leaving only Wenren Yi's increasingly aloof and lonely figure.
Su Yan was in a daze, and for some reason, she glanced at Wenren Yi before leaving the Secret Pavilion with her senior sister.
After leaving the secret room, Su Yan patted her heart, still shaken. "I was so scared, that old man was terrifying..."
Looking at Su Yan's expression, Wang Ruofu chuckled, "Scared now? Who told you to insist on joining the Supervisory Council? Let me tell you, there are no normal people in the Supervisory Council. Isn't the Court of Judicial Review good enough?"
Su Yan shook her head and retorted, "There's nothing wrong with the Dali Temple, but I'd rather broaden my horizons in the Supervisory Council."
Wang Ruofu knew, of course, that Su Yan was just trying to appease her, but she couldn't be bothered to dwell on such trivial matters. After all, everyone in this world has their own unspeakable troubles.
He chuckled and joked, "Fine, if it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, she'll remarry. If you want to go to the Supervisory Council to suffer, of course I can't stop you. But I still have to remind you, the Supervisory Council is no good place. It's a special institution, and the chances of losing your life there are much higher than at our Dali Temple."
Su Yan naturally knew that the Surveillance Bureau was like a target on a shooting range, always easily creating wave after wave of enemies, since everyone involved in the case was powerful and influential.
Su Yan smiled. "I know... but I still want to stay here..."
Wang Ruofu looked at Su Yan speechlessly and teased, "Hopeless. The Oversight Council really only accepts freaks."
………………
In the past few days, Su Yan has encountered numerous setbacks at the Surveillance Bureau. Her colleagues are either nowhere to be seen all day or treat her coldly and rarely pay attention to her.
Su Yan felt as if she had been abandoned.
Two days later, a major case occurred in Chang'an.
A merchant from Jiangnan bought an old house in Chang'an. While renovating the house, he discovered twenty female corpses in a dry well.
The coincidence was that the previous owner of this residence was Fan Shangwen, the Minister of Rites and Grand Master of Ceremonies. Since it involved high-ranking officials in the court, the case naturally fell into the hands of the Surveillance Bureau.
Since Su Yan was new to the job, it was impossible for her to be in charge, so Wenren Yi assigned her to the head of the academy, Xie Yu, to assist her.
Xie Yu's ancestors were marquises. Although his grandfather was born out of wedlock and did not receive a title, his family was still a prominent clan.
Xie Yu did not object to Wenren Yi's decision, but he looked at Su Yan with obvious disdain, gave her a cold glance, and then walked out.
Su Yan had never hated anyone so much. That arrogant and disdainful attitude was even more annoying than Shen Yao's. He looked so clean and tidy, how could he be so repulsive?
Watching Xie Yu's departing figure, Su Yan gritted her teeth in anger, but helplessly, she had no choice but to bow her head and chase after him with her autopsy kit.
As soon as he stepped out of the Dali Temple, Xie Yu mounted his horse and rode away without waiting for Su Yan at all.
Su Yan was so angry she wanted to scratch Xie Yu's arrogant face.
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