Those who had formerly served under Zhao Weizhen, who among them could claim to be entirely blameless? If one did not take some benefits, or submit a token of allegiance, how could one survive in officialdom?

If this princess truly begins to investigate, no one will escape implication.

Lizhu feigned surprise, her moist eyes blinking rapidly, a look of pure innocence on her face.

“Why does Assistant Prefect Zhao speak such nonsense? How could I possibly apprehend a court official? It is only that you were implicated in the Mei household murder case. Fearing you might escape that night, I ordered your temporary detainment. But I do not intend to handle the matter myself—it shall be handed over to Decision Officer Lin for judgment.”

Lin Zhang was bewildered. “…Me?”

He, a minor official of five hundred bushels’ rank, was to try a thousand-bushel Assistant Prefect?

“Precisely you.”

Lizhu’s gaze was bright and firm. She beckoned Danzhu forward:

“This is the suspect in the case. I hand her over to you as well. Decision Officer Lin, whether the skies over Yiling Commandery can clear, whether justice for the Mei family can be upheld—all depends on you.”

Lin Zhang instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his legs turning weak.

“I… the one involved was not Assistant Prefect Zhao, but his son, Zhao Ji. Why…”

Lizhu said, “Naturally it is not only this case. Since I arrived in Yiling Commandery, I have suffered multiple assassination attempts, yet the mastermind remains unknown. As this has occurred within Yiling, of course it must also be Yiling’s officials who seek justice for me.”

Lizhu stepped forward and personally took Lin Zhang’s hand, speaking solemnly:

“These cases must be handled thoroughly and with utmost seriousness. Not only the entire Yiling Commandery, but even Luoyang, is watching you… How has Decision Officer Lin fallen? Quick, help him up. The cases have yet to begin.”

Lin Zhang dared not listen any further.

Being told to investigate Zhao Weizhen was already fatal enough, now he was also to investigate the princess’s own assassination attempts. How deep the waters ran, he didn’t even dare to imagine, much less act upon!

Seeing Chang Jun lift the man to his feet, Lizhu raised her head and looked around at the other officials in the hall.

By now, who among them did not understand?

This princess was clearly advancing through retreat. She lacked the authority, so she used Zhao Weizhen and the power behind him to intimidate them.

From the looks of it, she likely did not intend to pursue their petty past corruptions.

Otherwise, why bother with threats? She could have simply arrested them all.

And the purpose of intimidation, was it not merely to make them behave?

The officials exchanged glances, quietly considering whether to take the offered step down, when the princess spoke again:

“You gentlemen are intent on resigning. I am but a mere princess. Though I wish to dissuade you, I have no right to interfere in government affairs. Since your decision is made, I can only… bid you a sorrowful farewell.”

At that, the officials grew uneasy.

The princess was not even planning to use her authority to coerce or arrest them, so what point was there in this collective resignation farce?

Lin Zhang weakly said, “Wait, Princess, please do not be hasty. The handling of these cases… still requires the gentlemen’s assistance. We cannot allow them to resign.”

Lizhu sat back down, smiling:

“How would I know anything about appointing officials? Since Decision Officer Lin says he needs help, then you may choose the people yourself. If anyone is willing to stay, that would be best.”

At this moment, those who had just been clamoring to resign all turned burning gazes toward Lin Zhang.

Kneeling below in the hall, Zhao Weizhen’s eyes were filled with venomous resentment.

Truly, he had underestimated her.

He and Lord Tan Rong had both underestimated this princess—she was no weak, easily bullied woman after all.

Seeing the crowd turn sides and his allies crumble, Zhao Weizhen knew that if this continued, he would have no way to survive. He immediately shouted:

“Lin Zhang! Think clearly! Princess Qinghe is nothing but a powerless princess! If you throw yourself under her command, once she lifts her foot and leaves Yiling, how will you survive! Don’t be afraid of her! She’s just a princess, Nanyong’s empire is not her turn yet—”

Before the words were finished—

A sharp, resounding slap, like the swing of a large palm fan, landed hard across Zhao Weizhen’s face.

The supervising official beside him stared in disbelief at the young bandit leader who had suddenly appeared.

Lizhu was also startled.

“You dare strike a court offi—”

Another slap came down. The struck areas swelled rapidly; the face was so puffed up it could hardly be looked at.

Pei Zhaoye crouched halfway in front of the two of them, straightening their now-slanted faces, and smiled:

“I’m not a princess. I’m a bandit. And I beat court officials. Any problem with that?”

“……”

The story of how this man had nailed someone to the city wall with a long spear outside the gate the previous night had already spread throughout the city.

The officials had already feared the name of Hongye Stronghold; now, not a single sound dared escape their lips. None would even risk a breath loud enough to draw the attention of this god of slaughter.

Pei Zhaoye stood up with a faint smile and threw two more men from the Pei household into the hall.

“And these two as well. For years they’ve forced good women into prostitution. Every courtesan and dancer in the Pei residence can testify, and there’s a dry well filled with countless bones for evidence—enough to condemn them a hundred times over. That Lin-something, make sure you investigate them together. If you lack details, feel free to ask me.”

Lizhu glanced at Lin Zhang’s expression.

He looked as though he’d rather die handling the case than ever ask Pei Zhaoye a question.

Among the officials who had been making a scene about resigning, a few leaned together, whispering:

“In that case… should we just take this chance, go along with it, and drop the matter…”

“If you want to be the one to stick your neck out, go ahead.”

Another spoke in a low, guarded tone: “When Lord Tan Rong settles accounts later, he’ll ask who first defected to Princess Qinghe. Lin Zhang will be one, and you’ll be next!”

They didn’t want to resign either, but neither did they want to offend Tan Rong.

When those above fought, those below suffered. They were but small fish and shrimps in the pond; naturally, whoever was stronger was the one to follow.

Between the Tan clan’s patriarch and a court princess—which was heavier, which was lighter—they could easily tell.

The officials cast envious glances at the few men Lin Zhang had chosen.

They could continue holding office, and if trouble came, they wouldn’t be the ones to bear the blame. After all, it was Lin Zhang who had named them. Ah, what luck—truly enviable.

After the commotion, those who were to be imprisoned were imprisoned, and those resigning took their leave.

However, since Cui Shiyong was still bedridden, the officials merely submitted their letters of resignation without affixing their seals.

Even so, it was an event that shocked the entire court. By the end of the morning, officials had already drafted memorials and sent them galloping to Luoyang.

At the third quarter of the You hour, Lizhu, as promised, saw Tan Xun off at the ferry.

Tan Xun gazed at her, weighed down with worry, his eyes seeming to hold a thousand unspoken words.

“Thanks to you for handling several urgent matters at the government office today, otherwise those minor clerks would have been run ragged.”

“These are nothing but trifles,” Tan Xun sighed softly. “Princess, you and I grew up together, yet I find myself less and less able to understand what it is you are trying to do.”

Lizhu only smiled. “Winter is near, and the river wind is bitterly cold. Take care to keep warm on the road.”

Tan Xun nodded gently, his gaze soft.

“And the three hundred thousand shi of grain you promised me, don’t forget.”

“…Naturally.”

Tan Xun’s eyes shifted toward a certain direction in the distance.

He rarely envied others, but at that moment he found himself unaccountably envious of that man.

Free of the bonds of family, able to love and hate so freely—it was a luxury he could never hope to possess in this lifetime.

Of course, more than envy, there was also jealousy.

Suddenly, Tan Xun stepped forward and leaned down.

Lizhu blinked in surprise.

“…There’s a cocklebur here.”

From that posture that almost seemed an embrace or a kiss, Tan Xun straightened and looked deeply at her.

“Lizhu, as for Second Uncle, I will do my utmost.”

Whether he spoke of the grain, or of something else, it was hard to tell.

Lizhu merely inclined her head slightly, and after watching the ferry drift away into the dusk, she turned to walk back. But when she circled once around the tree where she had agreed to meet Pei Zhaoye, she saw no familiar figure.

“So you still know to come find me. I thought you’d forgotten I was alive.”

Lizhu stopped in her tracks and lifted her head to look up into the tree.

The afterglow of sunset filtered through the leaves, and the man sitting on a branch leaned his head, looking down at her. His face was half-obscured by the light, but his tone was unmistakably displeased.

“He kissed you?”

Lizhu blinked, only then realizing why Tan Xun had suddenly mentioned a “cocklebur” earlier.

How childish.

Lizhu opened her hand. “Is the view up there good? I want to see it too.”

“……”

When Lizhu sat on the branch and curiously looked outward, Pei Zhaoye’s cool voice sounded beside her.

“Do you think I could never get angry no matter what you do?”

Lizhu turned her head and nodded matter-of-factly.

“You really can’t.”

“…That’s not necessarily so.”

Pei Zhaoye crossed his arms, keeping some distance from her. “You said Danzhu should suffer a bit, but you never said she should lose her life. The evidence of her killing the Mei family of three is solid, how are you going to save her from conviction?”

“I can’t save her.”

It was Lizhu’s first time climbing a tree. Afraid of falling, she clung tightly to the trunk and refused to let go.

“But someone else can.”

Pei Zhaoye sneered coldly. “That Decision Officer Lin who couldn’t take his eyes off you?”

Lizhu: “…Of course not him. Why are you speaking so oddly? I didn’t notice him staring at me at all. He didn’t even dare look me in the eye when he talked.”

“Do you know why he didn’t dare look into your eyes?”

“I don’t want to guess.” Clinging unsteadily to the trunk, Lizhu glanced at his hands. “Are your hands very busy?”

Pei Zhaoye’s hands twitched instinctively, then stilled.

“A little.”

Lizhu silently stared at him.

“…You still haven’t answered my question.”

His eyes were dark and deep. “Did he kiss you just now?”

Lizhu turned her face away and ignored him.

A hand gripped her chin, gently turning her head back.

“No pretending to be mute.”

His fingertips brushed against her lips, rubbing lightly—not hard, but lingering—with a trace of resentment in his tone: “Why is it always me getting jealous over you? Why don’t you ever get jealous over Danzhu?”

Lizhu blinked. “Elder Sister Danzhu’s back in prison again—if I still got jealous, wouldn’t that be going too far?”

That was true enough.

Pei Zhaoye said, “…No matter. She nearly caused a huge disaster this time, it’s just as well to let her stay inside and reflect a bit. Next time, she’d better not act recklessly… even if she wants to kill someone, she should at least bring more people along to do it.”

Lizhu opened her mouth, then chose to let the topic pass.

“But, you really are jealous?”

“……”

When Lizhu’s eyes lit up as she looked at him, Pei Zhaoye withdrew his hand and turned his gaze aside.

“Nonsense,” he said flatly. “…So, did he kiss you or not?”

Lizhu only smiled at the sight of him.

Because she had never seen him look like this before.

In her previous life, whenever Tan Xun was mentioned, Pei Zhaoye had always spoken well of him, never uttering a single word of resentment — as though he truly bore no grudge toward Lizhu’s former husband.

Though Lizhu had always thought him a good man, she sometimes couldn’t help but wonder: Was it because he didn’t love her that much, that he didn’t even mind Tan Xun?

Just as she herself hadn’t minded Tan Xun being involved with other women.

So he could get jealous after all.

Pei Zhaoye watched as she carefully, inch by inch, scooted toward him along the branch.

Too clumsy.

How could someone who toyed with officials as though they were monkeys be this bad at climbing trees?

Lizhu’s body wobbled slightly.

The fingers that had seemed loosely resting at his waist suddenly tensed.

Yet Lizhu still managed to edge herself right next to him.

Smiling faintly, she closed her eyes and said: “If you kiss me, I’ll tell you.”

Pei Zhaoye’s pupils contracted.

…Miscalculated — turns out, he was another monkey being toyed with by her.