Clues
Xiao Diting took the person away, and walked with a bang, looking quite angry.
Even though Song Chenjing was the one being bullied, she still felt sorry for him out of loyalty.
She was unprepared for this battle. Before coming to the Dali Temple, she had privately investigated the family backgrounds of her colleagues, among whom Song Chenjing left the deepest impression on her.
Song Chenjing was Song Pingzhang's cousin. He was exceptionally talented, but due to the burdens of his family, he could only come here to work as a minor prison warden. He had a lot of ambitions but could not realize them, so he was naturally depressed and his personality became increasingly gloomy.
Only the princess could use her meager power to pave the way for him and achieve some tangible results, giving him a place to put his abilities to the test.
Aside from Lin Huaiyu, who had shown him much favor due to his family background, Song Chenjing held Princess Mingzhao in the highest esteem.
While carrying the documents, Song Chenjing also had to hold an umbrella for His Highness. He was tall and well-proportioned, and his appearance was completely different from Song Pingzhang's. Lord Song was gentle and refined, while Song Chenjing was flamboyant and eye-catching.
Song Chenjing followed closely behind Xiao Diting. His sleeves were covered in mud, and the red marks on the back of his hands were glaring. He even hunched his shoulders unconsciously when he walked. He was nowhere near the fearless figure he was rumored to be.
"You're tall and strong, with no broken arms or legs, how come you just let people push and trample you like that?" She was furious at his behavior, so she stopped and said with a hint of exasperation, "The Dali Temple's official documents are in your hands, you're in the right, are you afraid of them? Where's your fierce spirit of arguing with everyone and debating with scholars?!"
Song Chenjing lowered his head, his official hat pulled low, revealing only his tightly pursed lips. He kicked a stone at his feet, his voice barely audible: "Your Highness, regarding this matter..."
He wanted to say a lot, but the words caught in his throat. In the end, he just shook his head and didn't say anything more.
Looking at his dejected appearance, Xiao Diting suddenly raised her hand and slapped her head—how could she have forgotten this boy's temperament?
I had heard of his "stubbornness" before at the Dali Temple, but now it seems that he was more than just stubborn; he had clearly driven himself into a dead end.
She stared at Song Chenjing's evasive eyes, and then recalled Lin Huaiyu's "going with the flow" attitude this morning, and suddenly felt enlightened.
"You offended someone from the Ministry of Justice, didn't you?" She scoffed, her gaze beneath the umbrella turning colder. "They deliberately made an example of you, just to cause trouble for the Court of Judicial Review..."
"Lord Lin already caused a scene at the Ministry of Justice for you once. If you fall out with your colleagues over this matter again, it will make us, the Dali Temple, look like we are abusing our power and it's not dignified."
Song Chenjing looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with surprise, clearly as if his thoughts had been exposed. He opened his mouth, but in the end only said in a low voice, "This subordinate does not want to cause trouble for you, my lord and Your Highness."
"Foolish!" Xiao Diting reached out and poked his forehead, but her tone softened a bit. "You're carrying out your duties under the banner of the Dali Temple. If you suffer any injustice, you're slapping the Dali Temple in the face. From now on, if anyone dares to make things difficult for you, just stand up for yourself. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. What can't I handle?"
Song Chenjing's eyes welled up with tears, and he quickly lowered his head to hide his emotions, replying heavily, "Yes."
Xiao Di heard the muffled sound in his voice and softened his tone, continuing to walk forward. He casually asked, "How did you get into trouble with the Ministry of Justice while I was in Huaizhou? It can't be that they're just causing you trouble for no reason."
"It's about an old case." Song Chenjing tightened his grip on the case file, his voice finally becoming clearer. "Last month, I took on a case involving the Ministry of War, and supposedly also related to the Northwest garrison. The Ministry of Justice has been dragging its feet, investigating for almost a month with no progress. The Court of Judicial Review was supposed to assist in the case, but I pressed them too hard, so..."
He paused, his tone tinged with frustration: "I had a fight with the head of the Ministry of Justice, and afterwards they started targeting their subordinates in every way."
Xiao Diting didn't stop walking. Hearing this, he only turned half his face, the sharpness in his eyes fading slightly: "An old case? How far have you gotten in the investigation?"
Song Chenjing hurriedly followed her steps, clutching the dossier in his arms even tighter, his voice more confident: "Actually, this case has already been tried, but the Northwest side has been insisting on giving an explanation... The confessions match the records in the dossier, only the Ministry of Justice is missing an inspection document."
He paused, then added, "Lord Lin has sent letters to urge them three times, but the Ministry of Justice keeps delaying with the excuse that 'review is required.'"
"The Northwest keeps pressing on?" Xiao Diting found it strange. Ever since she obtained information about the Northwest from Pei Wenjin through her talent, she had been very concerned about clues in this area.
Song Chenjing first looked around mysteriously to make sure no one was eavesdropping before leaning close to her ear and saying, "Isn't it all about the cause of death of that general five years ago? The court has always kept it a secret... As you know, the commander-in-chief has never believed the result and has been pulling strings with the officials behind the scenes."
"Does my father know about this?"
Song Chenjing nodded, his expression growing increasingly grim: "Bringing up old matters was originally His Majesty's intention."
"Is General Yu's return to the capital this year to report on his duties also for this matter?" Xiao Diting hadn't been idle on his way back either, and had overtly and covertly gathered a lot of information about Pei Wenjin.
In her early years, Commander Yu of the Northwest was busy fighting wars and usually sent two of her own adjutants to report on their duties. After the wars subsided, she did not return home for a long time, citing the reason that "bandits are still rampant and the border needs to be cleared".
Logically speaking, given the emperor's stubborn temper, he would have found a pretext to arrest her. However, the emperor and she interacted in a strangely harmonious way, almost ignoring her completely.
This is not something the old emperor would do with his personality. If it weren't for the fact that he had pulled some strings behind the scenes and felt indebted to the Northwest, he would never have accepted being overshadowed by someone this time.
It seems the Emperor doesn't want to delve deeper into this case; maintaining this strange harmony with Commander Yu isn't so bad. Currently, the Northwest hasn't made any move, but the Emperor has already become impatient, pretending to demand an explanation for her, but his real intention is basically hoping Commander Yu will know when to stop.
No one dared to defy the emperor; anyone else in that position would have been beheaded long ago. The only reason Commander Yu remained standing was because she was a woman.
A woman's power is the easiest to seize; by promising her a husband or bestowing a marriage upon her, she can be arbitrarily deprived of it, so the emperor naturally trusts her completely.
She quickly grasped this connection; she even realized that this case was a hot potato. The Ministry of Justice's attitude towards Song Chenjing wasn't just due to past grudges, but also because it was instructed by higher-ups to keep delaying the matter.
She astutely realized that this was likely another "Huaizhou grain draft".
"Understood," Xiao Diting replied casually, without pressing for further details of the case.
She glanced at the "Justice Archway" plaque hanging across the street, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked directly at Song Chenjing.
“Serving in the Dali Temple is like walking on a knife’s edge; making enemies is commonplace.”
She patted his arm, her tone resolute and unwavering: "From now on, if you encounter any difficulties, don't have to endure them. With me here, you can just stand tall and do your job. The sky won't fall, and no one can force you to submit."
Song Chenjing's eyes welled up again. This time, he didn't lower his head to hide it, but simply cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Your Highness thanks you for your kindness! I will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust!"
She had just finished encouraging him when she unexpectedly poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "But you must understand the principle that too much rigidity leads to breakage. Hand over this case to me, and I will give these idiots who eat the emperor's salary but do nothing a good job."
Song Chenjing was extremely surprised and couldn't help but retort, "But Your Highness, my intuition tells me that there's more to this than meets the eye, and I'm not willing to let this go so easily..."
"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. It's not about getting you out of this. I have something more important I want to arrange for you to guide others... Will you do it or not?"
Song Chenjing's eyes gleamed again. Upon hearing that it was specially arranged by the princess, he was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation: "This subordinate is naturally willing."
Xiao Diting nodded in a good mood: "Go back and help me deal with the pile of documents on my desk. I'll come find you again in a few days."
"clear!"
After saying that, he handed the umbrella to the princess while holding the dossier, and walked briskly towards the Dali Temple. His previous dejected appearance was gone, replaced by a youthful uprightness.
Xiao Diting looked at Song Chenjing, his gentle expression gradually fading, and his eyes became serious again.
She closed her umbrella and hurried toward the Ministry of Justice office she had just left. The case needed to be approved by higher authorities before it could be assigned to her, and she was still a little uneasy because she hadn't asked all the questions.
As soon as she arrived at the yamen gate, she saw the two yamen runners who had bullied her earlier whispering in the corridor. They caught a glimpse of her dark official robe out of the corner of their eyes and hurriedly bowed, their expressions showing a hint of panic.
"Your Highness, may you be well." The two men's voices trembled, their heads bowed low, as if afraid that the princess's return was to cause them trouble.
Xiao Diting's gaze swept over the trembling shoulders of the two constables, his fingertips tapping lightly on the umbrella handle, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger: "Where are your superiors?"
The yamen runner on the left swallowed hard and forced a reply: "Your Highness, the Minister went out early this morning, saying he was going to the Ministry of Revenue for a meeting, and he hasn't returned yet."
"Oh? You went to the Ministry of Revenue?" Xiao Diting took half a step forward, casting a shadow over the two of them. "But when I came over just now, I saw you wink at the west wing. Could it be that you were tipping off the people at the Ministry of Revenue?"
These words struck a nerve; the constable's face instantly turned deathly pale, his lips trembling as he couldn't utter a word. Another man beside him tried to smooth things over for his companion, but was immediately interrupted by Xiao Diting's cold gaze: "What? Still trying to make up lies to fool me?"
She raised her hand to push aside the constables blocking her way, her steps unwavering: "Get out of the way."
The two men, as if receiving some kind of instruction, moved forward again, blocking the doorway: "Your Highness, please forgive us! Without the Minister's order, we dare not let you in!"
Xiao Diting's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Before they could react, he grabbed the wrist of the left constable with his right hand and pulled the sword from his waist.
The moment the cold light was drawn, all the officials who had been peeking around shrank back, even their breathing became soft.
"I'll say it again, get out of my way." She gripped the hilt of her knife, the blade hanging at her side, yet exuding an intimidating aura. "Anyone who dares to obstruct me will be considered to be going against me."
The two constables were so frightened that their legs went weak and they almost knelt down. Seeing the coldness in Xiao Diting's eyes, which held no hint of a joke, they dared not continue and hurriedly retreated to the side.
Xiao Diting glanced at their pale faces, flicked his wrist, and his sword flew back into its sheath with a "whoosh," fitting perfectly into its original position.
She didn't look at the two men again and walked straight into the depths of the Ministry of Justice's main hall.
Passing through the front hall and around the corridor, she arrived at the Minister's office area. Logically, this should be the busiest time for official duties, but she didn't see a single person in charge on duty, which she found strange.
As they drew closer, the sound of string and wind instruments drifted on the wind, mixed with men's laughter and chatter. The lively atmosphere made Xiao Diting pause and frown—this was hardly a meeting; it was clearly a banquet.
She followed the sound to the reception room on the east side. The carved wooden door was ajar, and she could see a stove burning inside. Amidst the rising smoke, Zhou Xianzheng, the Minister of Justice, was holding a wine cup and chatting and laughing with the person sitting opposite him.
As for the other person sitting opposite him, she would recognize him even if he were burned to ashes. He wore a plain brocade robe with a gold belt, was wrapped in a fox fur, and had a pale face that still showed signs of illness. Who else could it be but Pei Wenjin, who was still in solitary confinement?!
She had just sent someone to inquire after Lord Pei's well-being today, but another messenger came to say that Pei Wenjin was still unconscious and unable to receive guests. She hoped the princess would not be offended.
The fact that this person, who is currently in a "coma," still has the time to feast and drink with others suggests that they are not just keeping an eye on her alone!
Zhou Xian and Pei Wenjin discussed something in hushed tones, which made Pei Wenjin shake his head repeatedly. Zhou Xian then turned to urge him to drink, and Pei Wenjin obligingly drank two cups.
Just as he thought it was time to leave, the wooden door was kicked open, the delicate door panel nearly breaking. Zhou Xian, emboldened by alcohol, shouted angrily, "Who's so rude—"
"It is I." Xiao Diting's expression was cold and hard. She didn't look at Zhou Xian, but stared intently at Pei Wenjin with piercing eyes. "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Lord Pei."
Pei Wenjin awkwardly cupped his hands, his face turning deathly pale after being startled: "Greetings to Your Highness."
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