Chapter 58

“Little Shu, produce the letter.”

Instantly, every eye in the courtroom fixed on Chen Shu. Only Chen Shu blinked in momentary confusion. She turned to look dumbly at Shen Jie. Seeing Shen Jie’s gesture at her waist, she quickly remembered and reached into her sash’s inner pocket. She pulled out a letter—indeed a white silk envelope sealed diagonally, its contents untouched. Holding the envelope without even straightening its folds, she promptly offered it to Shen Jie.

“Not to me—to His Excellency the County Magistrate,” Shen Jie corrected with a laugh, jerking her chin.

“Oh!” Chen Shu exclaimed. She scurried two small steps forward. Under the intense scrutiny of the entire courtroom, she placed the letter on the magistrate’s desk before him. She even helpfully nudged it slightly closer before retreating back to her position below the dais.

The yamen runners truly seemed unaccustomed to anyone daring to defy the County Magistrate so boldly in court. Initially shocked, even though Shen Jie naturally exuded an undeniable, extraordinary aura—as if heralding a formidable background, hence the brave display, they ultimately found plausible—Chen Shu was entirely different. Her features were inherently soft and rounded, lending her an air of naive charm. Though undeniably clever, she appeared far more guileless than Shen Jie. Even dressed in warrior’s garb, she still resembled a regular, harmless girl next door.

Just now, witnessing the intense, sword-drawing tension between Shen Jie and the County Magistrate, even these brawny runners were stunned into absolute silence. Yet Chen Shu, looking the quintessence of “innocent and easily bullied,” remained utterly unruffled. She casually took over Shen Jie’s instruction and, under the County Magistrate’s still-panting fury, delivered the envelope right to him with seemingly effortless ease.

The act felt particularly conspicuous, especially because delivering such letters should have been Sun Jin’s ordained duty.

A few eager spectators among the yamen runners had already turned to observe Sun Jin’s reaction.

Predictably, Sun Jin, accustomed to strutting around in the magistracy due to his minor authority, considered this a brazen slap across his face. Admittedly, Chen Shu, delivering the letter herself, felt utterly natural and commonplace. Yet the effect on Sun Jin was just as stinging as an actual slap. With the County Magistrate himself still flushed with unvented rage, how could Sun Jin dare to retaliate? Pale with fury, he could only shoot Chen Shu a venomous glare. Mortifiedly aware the runners below were mocking him, he steeled himself, stepped forward again, lifted the letter Chen Shu had placed on the desk, and offered it directly to the County Magistrate.

As for this Sun Jin, he was truly sycophantic and ambitious, far too clever for his own good. His thoughts were solely fixed on preserving his own meager reputation within the confines of the small Yingqiu City and its modest county office; he paid no mind to the critical shift that had just occurred in the case unfolding in the courtroom. The County Magistrate, though also a seeker of false fame, possessed a far clearer mind. His eyes rested on the letter, but he did not take it. Instead, he paused for a moment, then lifted his chin and declared:

“A mere letter! Even if your sophistry is penned on that page, it’s just words. How can it prove the innocence of you two?”

The County Magistrate’s voice still carried the remnants of unspent anger, yet upon closer listening, a touch of uncertainty could be discerned beneath it.

Leaving aside his tone or expression, the fact that he dared not even take the letter, attempting instead to dismiss it with words, made it clear his confidence was hollow.

Following his words, everyone in the hall indeed turned their gaze towards Shen Jie. Instantly, their collective focus became almost tangible, seeming to make the already brightly lit courtroom even more starkly illuminated. In the vastness of the courtroom, Shen Jie stood at the exact center. Unbeknownst to them, the very perception of her status seemed to have shifted. The way everyone looked at her, silently waiting for her to speak, resembled how they would regard the actual arbiter of law sitting in judgment within this very hall.

“Does Your Honor make such a hasty judgment, casting doubt on the letter’s authenticity without even glancing at it?” Before Shen Jie could finish her sentence, the County Magistrate braced his hands against the desk, likely already formulating his rebuttal. Yet she maintained her leisurely pace, turning her head instead to offer Sun Jin a smile. “Ah, perhaps Your Honor is simply overburdened by daily affairs? Headaches brought on by written text are understandable. Why not ask this gentleman… County Security Official Sun?” She suggested. “Would you be troubled to read it aloud for His Honor? So that everyone present may hear and judge the content!”

Frankly, Shen Jie’s counter was masterful. Not only did it effortlessly deflect the County Magistrate’s attempts to twist the truth, but it also capitalized perfectly on Sun Jin’s impulsive and foolish nature. She truly forced the County Magistrate into an unanswerable predicament. He could only watch helplessly as Sun Jin’s expression shifted from anger to pleasure, then to outright smugness. Sun Jin snorted through his nose, practically snatching the letter from Shen Jie’s offer, gave the envelope a sharp, dismissive flick with one hand that produced a crisp snap, before leisurely opening it.

This whole sequence successfully drew the attention of everyone present. There was the County Magistrate’s gaze, laden with tense suspicion. There were also the stares of The Magistrate’s Men below the dais, filled with unabashed curiosity.

Only Chen Shu, unnoticed, sidled closer to Shen Jie’s side. She leaned in and whispered urgently: “…But the signature on that letter… won’t it expose Lord Shen’s identity?”

Shen Jie tilted her body slightly to listen. A small curve touched her lips. She turned her head, also lowering her voice, not answering but countering:

“Shouldn’t you be calling me sister?”

On the dais, Sun Jin had already pulled the letter out and begun to read it aloud. With his theatrically modulated, overly deliberate recitation, the hushed exchange between the two women went completely unheard.

Chen Shu stood beside Shen Jie. Because Shen Jie had turned towards her, they stood close. Chen Shu could almost see the fierce light of the candles reflected in Shen Jie’s pupils. She paused, momentarily stunned, before shooting Shen Jie a look mingled with embarrassment and a hint of annoyance. “…I’m not joking!” she insisted.

“Don’t fret,” Shen Jie replied with a silent laugh. She reached out, ruffling Chen Shu’s head, making the fluster on the girl’s face even more vivid, then said, “Wait until our County Security Official is finished. The signature at the end of that letter isn’t—” She paused mid-sentence, her smile turning towards the County Magistrate, whose face on the dais had grown increasingly livid.

“Isn’t what?” Chen Shu pressed urgently.

Her impatience made her blurt out the question. However, the letter, after all, had been hastily penned by Shen Jie late that night as a plea for grain. It stated the facts concisely; how long could it possibly be? Therefore, in the space of that brief interchange, Sun Jin reached the letter’s conclusion.

This letter, naturally, was one of those composed overnight by Shen Jie within the confines of the Diancang Pass administrative offices. Its content simply described the predicament at the pass and plainly requested emergency grain supplies. The wording was factual and unadorned. Only the signature at the end—

“…Protector-General Liu Mao,” Sun Jin announced.

As he read the letter, his complexion had steadily paled. Standing in the courtroom, he was forced to continue through gritted teeth. Reaching the name at the end, he paused long after uttering it, even the pronunciation seeming an effort. For even if he didn’t know the name of the distant capital’s Right Supervisor of the Court of Judicature and Revision, the “Lord of the Pass” at Diancang Pass, Liu Mao, was a figure he certainly recognized.

Not only recognized, but he also knew that although Liu Mao had only held the title of Protector-General for a few years, the troops under his command were vast. This was power far beyond what a petty County Security Official, or even a minor County Magistrate, could dare to challenge.

Moreover, though the Yingqiu Weir had collapsed, Diancang Pass lay separated by several treacherous peaks. The mountains created a barrier; communications were severed. News of Diancang Pass’s disaster hadn’t reached this secluded, mountainous region. The officials, whether out of ignorance or wishful thinking, had largely failed to realize that the collapse of the long-neglected Yingqiu Weir could precipitate such enormous catastrophe.

Brilliant light filled the courtroom, yet absolute silence reigned. It was so quiet one could almost hear the paper crackle under Sun Jin’s convulsively tightening grip.

After a long silence, the County Magistrate finally spoke, his voice strained: “…Even with such a letter and a signature… we still have no proof it was genuinely penned by Protector-General Liu… How can it serve as evidence?”

This was a desperate, last-ditch objection. He saw Chen Shu’s eyes widen comically, her hands clutching her robe – that tell-tale sign of her conscience when telling a lie. Shen Jie had no time to grab her ear and correct her, but fortunately, no one seemed to notice. It was Sun Jin again, now strangely alert, who stepped forward to fill the void.

“Your Honor…” Sun Jin said, his voice dropped low. Yet in the absolute stillness of the court, his words still landed like a mallet on a drum. “There… there’s an official seal impression… It doesn’t look counterfeit…” However softly he spoke, it clearly reached every ear.

There it was. It began as an interrogation, devolved into argument, had thrown unexpected twists, yet remained within the County Magistrate’s nominal control – until this moment. Sun Jin’s remark, intended to assist, became the unseen slap. Unintended, perhaps, but it mirrored the humiliation Sun Jin had endured moments before, now landing squarely on the County Magistrate.

What could the County Magistrate possibly say now? He glared at Sun Jin, rage blazing in his eyes, as if he wished he could order Sun Jin dragged away alongside the prisoners right that instant.

One face wore naked obsequiousness; the other, pure loathing. Sun Jin, just moments ago the dutiful lackey sharing close exchanges with the County Magistrate, had in an instant earned himself a glare promising swift retribution. Chen Shu had never witnessed such a spectacle. She watched with undisguised glee, rising slightly on her toes for a better view, until Shen Jie spoke again:

“I presume Your Honor has no further questions? Then, if I may… What vital duty compelled the esteemed County Security Official of our fine county to gather a group of laborers, deep in the dead of night, at the ruined Yingqiu Weir?”

——

They finally enjoyed a good night’s rest. When Shen Jie and Chen Shu awoke again, the sun was already high in the sky.

Having had his authority thoroughly undermined, the County Magistrate no longer dared treat the women like prisoners. After all, beyond the letter purportedly signed by “Liu Mao”, their very origin from Diancang Pass provided ironclad evidence of their innocence regarding the affair here. Not only did it exonerate them, but overnight, the County Magistrate had likely agonized, scratching his head, trying desperately to devise how to handle the Yingqiu Weir case – a case that was now known to the agents of Diancang Pass.

Thus, all that night’s bustle amounted to nothing but sending off a habitual swindler to prison, where he sulked for a day, ignored by all.

They were settled into the finest inn in Yingqiu City, two upper rooms at that. Last night it was too dark to see clearly, but when Chen Shu woke this morning and touched the window frame or the tea table, she found them coated in a dense layer of dust—probably thicker than the grime covering that courtroom by threefold.

Shen Jie soon came to call for her. Though the letter had been delivered, delivering letters was never Shen Jie’s true aim. With the situation now critical, and their identities needing concealment, Shen Jie still greeted Chen Shu as “little sister” when she spoke.

Chen Shu responded, paused briefly, then sweetly offered a “Big Sister” in return. This made Shen Jie halt mid-step on the stairs, turning to look at her.

“Why so mushy?” Shen Jie chuckled.

Her question was direct, but Chen Shu hesitated before finally stammering with uncharacteristic awkwardness: “…Since you’re my elder sister, could… could you teach me… to investigate cases?”

Shen Jie paused, then broke into laughter: “Teach you… why bother learning that?”

“I…” Chen Shu sniffed, her face scrunching as if steeling herself. “MysworddisappearedbecauseitwentoffonitsownIcamedownfromthemountaintofinditbutYunShensaidIcantjusttellanyonethetruthandhavetolookformyselfslowlybutIthinkBigSistersofamousmusthaveaway!”

“…Huh?”