Liu Yichu seized the opportunity to advise, “Lord Sun, it’s nearly the hour of the Sheep now. Prefect Yang should be returning to the office soon. If he learns of this wretch Su Jin’s evil deeds, he’ll certainly want to interrogate again. You’ve been investigating cases outside for several consecutive days. Why not rest first? What do you think?”
Though Yingtian Prefect Yang Zhiwei was somewhat incompetent in three areas, he had always valued Su Jin. If Prefect Yang learned he had privately administered beating rods, it would surely displease him.
Awakened by Liu Yichu’s reminder, Sun Yinde climbed down the offered ladder and nodded, “True. This official has been unable to eat or sleep peacefully these past days due to the case at hand. I’m truly exhausted. Leave this wretch for Prefect Yang to deal with.” He looked up again at the corridor—accompanying that thunderclap, bean-sized raindrops had begun falling. With a stern expression, he added, “But punishment must still be given. Have him kneel here and thoroughly reflect on his mistakes. When he figures it out, he can come report back to this official.”
Su Jin knelt in the wind and rain, soaked through. Since he said so, she agreed.
Sun Yinde pointed at the sky and sneered coldly, “Su Jin, if you’ve done nothing wrong in life, you need not fear ghosts knocking at midnight. If lightning strikes and burns you to a crisp shortly, it will be your just deserts.”
As he spoke, an office servant ran from the front hall, announcing loudly, “Lord Sun, Lord Yang has returned to the office!”
Sun Yinde said with displeasure, “If he’s returned, he’s returned. Why the shouting?”
The office servant knelt on the ground, his face full of fear: “In response to Lord Sun, accompanying Lord Yang back to the office are also Court of Judicial Review Minister Lord Zhang and Left Censor-in-Chief Lord Liu. Lord Yang has already brought the two lords toward Tuisi Hall.”
As soon as the words fell, three figures emerged from the front corridor.
Sun Yinde rubbed his eyes. Recognizing the visitors, he rushed forward and prostrated himself on the ground: “This subordinate official, Yingtian Prefect Deputy Sun Yinde, greets Lord Liu and Lord Zhang. This subordinate official did not know the two lords were visiting and failed to welcome you from afar. Please punish this subordinate official!”
Zhang Shishan said, “Since you didn’t know Lord Liu and I were visiting, how could there be a distant welcome? Rise and speak.”
Sun Yinde kowtowed in acknowledgment and stood up, then went to observe Liu Chaoming’s expression.
Liu Chaoming’s face was cold and desolate. His gaze seemed inadvertent, falling on the person kneeling in the misty rain.
Sun Yinde said righteously, “Reporting to Lord Liu, this person is a magistrate in our prefectural office. Due to improper conduct—shirking duties, being absent without leave, and privately investigating a forbidden case—I punished him with kneeling here, awaiting disposal.” Speaking, he shouted into the rain, “Su Jin, come pay your respects to Lord Liu and Lord Zhang.”
Only then did Su Jin turn her body to look toward the corridor.
The sudden rain poured down, drenching people until they couldn’t see the world before them clearly.
Her gaze lingered on Liu Chaoming for a moment, and the corners of her mouth moved slightly.
Perhaps she wanted to say something, or perhaps to ask herself—in these few short days, how many times had they met?
Then she looked toward the emptiness, her tone calm and composed: “This subordinate official, Su Jin, greets Lord Liu and Lord Zhang.”
This indifferent appearance caused a moment of chaos in Liu Chaoming’s self-proclaimed clear thoughts, as if someone had grabbed a wolf-hair brush tip and swept across a sundial that had stood upright for years.
But what exactly had been disrupted, he did not know.
Sun Yinde noticed his strange expression and asked tentatively, “Lord Liu, in your view, how should this wretch be dealt with?”
The vague bewilderment gradually transformed into an indescribable, uncontrollable anger, yet he couldn’t explain its origin.
Liu Chaoming strode toward Tuisi Hall, coldly tossing out a single sentence: “Let her kneel.”
—
**Author’s Note:**
Some girls privately messaged me saying they’ve read too few official court novels and asked me to explain simply:
Let me use the previous scholar riot as an example—
Put it this way, there’s a group of intellectuals causing trouble somewhere.
They first find a crowded spot, hold up banners, and shout slogans.
At this point, the government (that’s Su Jin’s unit, the Capital District Office) definitely needs to send someone to handle it. So everyone pushes the responsibility around, and the most honest Director Zhou (Zhou Ping) comes out.
Director Zhou says, please don’t cause trouble anymore.
The intellectuals think, this person looks easy to bully, let’s beat him up first.
So they summon the urban management uncles (Five Cities Military Commission).
The urban management uncles say, if you keep causing trouble, we’ll use force.
The intellectuals see they can’t afford to provoke them, so they leave. After the heat dies down, they’ll find another spot and continue causing trouble.
Simply put, that’s what happened.