"So why can't we just walk over?…"
At the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review.
Xin Yi was highly efficient. Following Shen Wang's instructions, he quickly bound the man and dumped him at the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review.
In truth, this case had long been solved. The culprit was a repeat offender who didn't steal gold or silver, but specialized in sneaking into people's homes to steal worn clothing.
But the real culprit was skilled at hiding and escaping—the moment he sensed anything amiss, he would immediately flee.
So even though the Court of Judicial Review had posted notices offering a reward for his capture, they had been unable to apprehend him for a long time.
But this was precisely what the Imperial City Bureau excelled at. They never liked to do things out in the open, preferring to operate in the shadows. They had secretly tailed the man for several hours before he showed a single opening, and they took him down in one move.
After binding the man, Xin Yi couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "Wasn't this simple? Those people at the Court of Judicial Review are a bunch of good-for-nothings."
However, he didn't trust those fools at the Court of Judicial Review. After dumping the man at the entrance, he didn't leave. Instead, he hid in a tree not far away, observing their reaction.
"Who's this?"
The guard on duty was startled by the bound man, then approached with a puzzled expression.
But the bound man had his hands and feet tied together, and his mouth was tightly stuffed. He could only struggle and let out muffled whimpers, his body squirming like a worm.
"Mmph—"
Seeing this, the guard quickly stepped back, then noticed a note on the man. He picked it up, and after reading its contents, his eyes went wide.
He immediately turned and went inside to report to his superior.
Before long, a man came out—with a long, monkey-like face, looking furious. "Provocation! This is absolutely a provocation!"
The guard scratched his head and said, "Sir, who would dare come to the Court of Judicial Review to provoke us?"
"Who else? Naturally, it's those lawless, bandit-style bastards from the Imperial City Bureau!" The monkey-faced man's face flushed red with anger.
"This note says this man is the real culprit in the flower theft case. Then who was the one we caught yesterday?"
The monkey-faced man was still fuming. The Imperial City Bureau had been stepping all over them for ages now, and the two sides couldn't stand each other.
"Naturally, they're just stirring up trouble!" the monkey-faced man retorted reflexively. But his gaze drifted to the man on the ground, and his heart skipped a beat.
The man on the ground did indeed bear a five… six, seven, eight, nine-tenths resemblance to the portrait on the wanted notice.
The monkey-faced man was puzzled, but yesterday his superior had personally caught a man—the supposed culprit of this case—who was still locked up in the prison, waiting for their lord to return and close the case.
If this man really was the one they'd been hunting for over half a month, then who was the one in the prison now?
The man caught yesterday had indeed been shouting "I'm innocent!" the whole way back. But then again, who in the Court of Judicial Review didn't claim innocence?
Later, his superior grew annoyed by the noise and knocked the man out with a single blow.
If they really had caught the wrong person… cough…
His mind racing with thoughts, the monkey-faced man gradually calmed down. He ordered, "Take this man inside first. I'll go report to the lord."
His original intention was to discuss the matter privately with his superior first, but when he went over, he learned that Lord Guan had gone out today.
The monkey-faced man had no choice but to divert to the prison instead. He brought out the man caught yesterday and decided to interrogate him himself to confirm the truth.
"Sir, I'm truly innocent."
Before he could even ask a question, Wen Qingyuan kowtowed and spoke.
He had barely touched water all night, and having been on the road the entire time before that, with his heart weighed down by worry for Xie Ning's safety, he looked in terrible shape at the moment—dark circles heavy under his eyes, exhaustion written all over his face.
Fortunately, however, he hadn't suffered any mistreatment upon being brought in.
The monkey-faced man felt a twinge of guilt at that moment. He rose and handed him a cup of water.
Wen Qingyuan accepted it with some trepidation, looking at the monkey-faced man with confusion.
"Didn't you say you were wronged? Tell me, what's your grievance?" The monkey-faced man studied his face intently for a moment, his suspicions already seventy or eighty percent confirmed.
He had seen the portrait too. Though the two men did bear some resemblance, comparing him alone against the likeness in the portrait, this man before him was indeed not the one.
Wen Qingyuan took a gulp of water, then spilled out the events of the previous day like beans pouring from a sack.
Hearing this, the monkey-faced man understood what had happened—they had made a blunder and arrested the wrong person!
But he couldn't very well admit that outright, could he? Where would that leave the dignity of the Court of Judicial Review?
So he cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I've heard your grievance. Once we've verified things, you'll be cleared of all charges."
Wen Qingyuan let out a great sigh of relief and asked, "Then when will I be allowed to leave? I have a child who came to the capital with me, and I don't know if he's safe right now."
"Well…" The monkey-faced man stroked his chin, hesitating over whether he should wait for his superior to return and report this matter before deciding what to do.
Just then, a figure appeared around the corner, his voice arriving first: "What has this man done?"
Hearing the voice, the monkey-faced man hastily rose to bow, cold sweat beading at his temples, and said respectfully, "My lord, this man… this man is…"
Of all the people who could have shown up, it had to be Qu Tong, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
His heart was already crying out in misery, his mind racing to figure out how to spin this back into something presentable.
If the lord learned they had arrested the wrong person, they would all be in for a punishment.
But with the lord's notoriously sharp eyes, lying to his face would be no better than asking for trouble.
Seeing him hem and haw without producing a coherent answer, Qu Tong knew something was off.
"You speak." Qu Tong pointed at Wen Qingyuan, who was kneeling off to the side, his voice cold.
Wen Qingyuan couldn't quite grasp the situation, but at least a high official had come to hear his grievance. So he repeated the same account he had given before.
"My lord, I am truly wronged. You must have arrested the wrong person."
Qu Tong said nothing, his gaze practically tangible as it bore into the monkey-faced man.
The monkey-faced man, feeling the weight of that stare, lowered his head even further and dared not utter a single word.
"I will send someone to the city gate to verify your identity. If what you've said is indeed the truth, you'll be released shortly."
"I'll also have someone prepare some food. Eat something first." Qu Tong added.
Wen Qingyuan naturally nodded eagerly.
With that, Qu Tong left together with the monkey-faced man.
"My lord, I only just discovered this myself," the monkey-faced man confessed before Qu Tong could even ask. "Just now, at the entrance to our court, there was a bound man with a note on him."
As he spoke, he pulled the note from his robes and handed it respectfully to Qu Tong.
Then he continued, "I saw something was off right away—realized we might have arrested the wrong person—so I came to the prison to check things out first. And as luck would have it, I ran into you here, my lord."
Qu Tong listened, then let out a cold snort.
Knowing that his words were half true and half false, he couldn't be bothered to quibble over such details at the moment.
"Send someone to the city gate to check the records and see whether that man truly only entered the city yesterday." Qu Tong ordered.
He naturally wouldn't take someone else's word at face value, nor would he trust this note of unknown origin. Everything required evidence.
"Have Guan Shitou come here." Qu Tong ordered again.
The monkey-faced man was about to open his mouth and say he wasn't there, but catching sight of Qu Tong's expression, he swallowed the words back down. "Yes, my lord."
With that, he slipped away as if his feet were greased.
…
An hour later.
Guan Shitou, who had been out on business, was suddenly summoned back. On one side stood his glum-faced superior, and on the other, a subordinate who looked thoroughly guilty.
Guan Shitou's heart pounded with unease. He clasped his fists in salute. "My lord, is there something you need of me?"
Lord Qu didn't answer him. Instead, he turned to the person beside him and said, "Bring him up."
Before long, the man who was brought in was the one bound hand and foot. He no longer struggled as he had at first, but simply kept his eyes closed, wearing an expression of utter non-cooperation.
Qu Tong picked up a portrait with his right hand, held it beside the man, and said to Guan Shitou, "Take a look. Is this the same person?"
Guan Shitou didn't understand what was going on, but he answered honestly nonetheless: "Of course it is. This is the very man I personally captured yesterday."
The moment those words fell, the monkey-faced man standing behind him slowly closed his eyes.
Seated in the place of honor, Qu Tong's expression remained largely unchanged. He merely gave a faint nod. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely." Guan Shitou replied without hesitation.
Qu Tong pointed at Wen Qingyuan, who had just entered, a trace of barely perceptible mockery in his tone. "Then who is this man?"
Guan Shitou followed his gaze and exclaimed in shock, "Aren't you the one from yesterday—"
Before he could finish the sentence, he realized something was wrong. He turned his head to look at the bound man on the ground, his gaze darting back and forth between the two.
They… did seem to look a bit different…
At this point, what was there left to misunderstand?
He had grabbed the wrong person because of his face blindness.
Guan Shitou steadied himself and tried to look more carefully, but Qu Tong raised a hand to stop him.
"Tell me, what does this official look like?" Qu Tong asked, his expression unchanged.
Hearing this, Guan Shitou swallowed hard. He was just a rough man, but Qu Tong's gaze remained fixed on him, and he didn't dare refuse to answer.
So he opened his mouth and replied hesitantly, "Two eyes, one nose, one mouth…"
As he described it, his voice grew quieter and quieter. He knew in his own heart that he hadn't passed the test.
Hearing this, Qu Tong finally couldn't help but close his eyes, massaging his forehead in headache.
"My lord, please don't make things difficult for your subordinate." Guan Shitou's entire face scrunched up as he spoke.
Qu Tong smiled faintly. "I'm afraid that won't do. I've just decided that from now on, there will be an additional monthly assessment—identifying people from portraits."
As those words fell, it wasn't just Guan Shitou—everyone nearby looked up with ashen faces, letting out sounds of shock.
…
Before Wen Qingyuan left, he was treated to a good meal and fine drink.
He had just stepped out of the Court of Judicial Review gates when a man in black suddenly dropped down before him, as if he had been waiting for some time.
"You must be going to find Young Master Xie Ning. He is currently at my master's place." Xin Yi said.
When Wen Qingyuan heard this, he guessed in his heart that Xie Ning had likely taken his advice and gone to see Lord Pei, or perhaps had already found his father by now.
A relieved smile spread across his face.
It seemed his worries had been unfounded—he had been concerned that Xie Ning might get lost on his own.
"Is your young master Lord Pei?"
Xin Yi was slightly puzzled, not understanding what this had to do with Lord Pei.
But he was anxious to carry out Shen Wang's instructions, so he said in a low voice: "I'll take you there now, apologies."
Wen Qingyuan was just about to ask why he was apologizing.
The next moment, before the words could leave his mouth, Xin Yi hoisted him up and flew off with lightness kung fu.
Having just endured a night of hardship and being utterly exhausted, Wen Qingyuan suddenly had a mouthful of wind forced down his throat, unable to move a muscle, and a question surfaced in his mind.
"So why couldn't we just walk there?"