Kayla stared at the scroll she’d dropped onto her desk. There was a sharp ringing in her head that drowned out what Caichun and Boyong were saying. The false testimony against Liu Hongyu wasn’t her doing, but she had a feeling that it was the Empress Dowager’s.

We’re fucked. We’re done for.

Calm down, Grandmother definitely had backup plans when she planted her eyes and ears!

No, the Grand Duke definitely knows who it was, he’s targeting me so that she can’t make a move! He made it so it reached the court first and not the Palace, so the Emperor can’t push this under the table.

Then what do we do?

If it was one of the Empress Dowager’s men, then that meant Kayla’s hands were tied. By proving her own innocence, she could accidentally reveal the Empress Dowager’s hand in the investigations, and that would not only besmirch the Imperial Family but also completely discredit everything they’d uncovered so far in the investigations.

A feeling of despair overwhelmed her. Nothing. We can’t do anything.

She instinctively sensed that the Grand Duke had pushed her into a deadlock that not even the Emperor could get her out of, one that would invalidate the investigations altogether.

“Shit,” she cursed in English. It was the first time she’d spoken English out loud in Wenyuan’s world, the words sounding almost foreign to her ears. Her knees gave in, and Kayla sank back into her chair.

“I’m fucked,” she groaned, burying her face into her hands. “Why the fuck is this happening? That sack of shit completely screwed me over!”

“What?” Boyong said in alarm, turning to Caichun. “He’s speaking in tongues!”

“Call a healer, he might be having a stroke,” Caichun ordered. Kayla hastily raised her hand to stop them, reverting back to Chinese.

“Stop! I’m fine!” Kayla snapped.

“My lord, are you sure?” Boyong stepped forward to take a closer look. “Maybe we should get a healer just in case.”

“Forget the healer, I have a charge of coercion and bribery on my hands right now,” Kayla said dryly. “I was just expressing my frustration in a foreign language.”

“Minister, I’ll go fetch Chamberlain Sun,” Caichun said.

Kayla breathed in deeply, nodding. “Sounds good.” Caichun quickly left the room.

“My lord,” Boyong said, a look of concern on his face. Kayla stood up slowly and made her way to the office door. Vice-Ministers Shen Liangjun and Ma Kaijie were both standing there, along with several other members of the core staff who had evidently run over from their desks.

“Minister, what’s happening?” Ma Kaijie demanded.

“The Secretariat Department is launching an attack against us by accusing me of coercion and bribery,” Kayla announced. “I ask that everyone stay calm and lend me your assistance. From now on, this building will be under max security. See to it that not a single document goes missing.”

“Understood, Minister,” the gathered officials voiced in unison.

“Also, as long as the charges against me are open, there will be grounds to openly contest any investigations conducted by the Court of Judicial Review. I have no idea how long they’ll take, so as a countermeasure, I am authorizing the two Vice-Ministers to use the Halved Seals of the Minister’s office,” Kayla said. The officials let out shocked exclamations, Shen Liangjun and Ma Kaijie turning to look at each other in disbelief. Kayla waved for them to follow her into the office, the other officials hastily scurrying off. Once the door was closed, Kayla unlocked one of the drawers on her desk and took out the Halved Seals.

Similar to the military seal, which required two matching parts to authorize someone to command the army, the Halved Seals for each government institution allowed the two second-highest ranking officials to act in place of the highest-ranking official together. The Halved Seals could only be released with the signature of the highest-ranking official as well as notarized written guarantees from the two second-highest ranking officials to bear joint responsibility for their actions while in possession of the two seals. The only other way the seals could be released was under orders from the Emperor. Though each institution had a set of Halved Seals, it was merely a formality and almost never used, since most officials couldn’t bear relinquishing power to their subordinates.

Kayla filled out the authorization form and signed her name, stamping it with the Minister’s seal before gesturing for Ma Kaijie and Shen Liangjun to write their statements. After a moment of hesitation, Ma Kaijie began to write, Shen Liangjun following his lead. Satisfied with their guarantees, Kayla stamped each one with the Minister’s seal, which had the power of notarization for internal documents.

“The two of you surely understand how important the Court of Judicial Review is, as well as how important it is meant to become. I trust that you will complete your duties to the utmost of your ability,” Kayla said. “Gentlemen, I leave the Court of Judicial Review in your hands.”

“But Minister, don’t you have any method of countering them? You can’t sit and wait to be killed!” Ma Kaijie protested.

“I will prove my innocence, but I won’t drag in the Court of Judicial Review or its resources unless I can do so in a legitimate way,” Kayla replied. She understood the weight the Emperor had placed in the growth of a neutral faction to fill the power vacuum the Grand Duke would leave behind. If she messed that up, she would be left with no support whatsoever, which meant almost certain death.

“Understood, Minister. Please be assured that I will carry out my duties to the best of my ability,” Shen Liangjun said, Ma Kaijie nodding in agreement.

Kayla nodded. “For the duration of your cooperation, I will ask Chamberlain Sun to assist you closely. The two of you should also keep detailed notes of all your decisions, supervising both yourself and your fellow Vice-Minister throughout this process. At the end of every workday, both you and Chamberlain Sun will submit your notes to me for review,” Kayla said. “This is not an act of distrust, but of necessity. Our institution has only been around for less than a week, most of its staff comes from various other departments. If communication breaks down at the top of the chain of command, everything will fall apart. Using this method, not only can we avoid such a scenario, we can also prevent external intervention from seeking to sow discord.”

Neither of the two Vice-Minister outwardly expressed any displeasure at the additional restrictions. It was a relatively crude method of surveillance, but Sun Ruhui’s presence ensured that the two Vice-Ministers couldn’t get away with collusion, and submitting the records every day also left less space for revision or excuses.

“Understood, Minister. I think it’s a good idea,” Ma Kaijie said, Shen Liangjun nodding his agreement.

“Very well, then it’s decided,” Kayla said. “Please go make the necessary arrangements.”

The two bowed and left. Kayla turned back to Boyong, who was still standing in the corner of the room.

“Let Chamberlain Sun and Case Reviewer Chen know of the new developments,” Kayla said.

Boyong nodded. “Understood, my lord. May I ask if you have any way to deal with the accusation?”

“I’m working on it,” Kayla replied, waving for him to go.

“I’ll be right back, my lord,” Boyong bowed his head and left her alone. Kayla sank back down into her chair, her head spinning. She’d done what she could to preserve the Court of Judicial Review, but she had no idea how to preserve herself.

Kayla had barely gotten a moment to herself before there was another knock at the door.

“My lord,” Boyong called.

“Come in,” Kayla replied. Boyong came in quickly, a worried look on his face.

“My lord, Minister Liang is here with officials from the Ministry of Justice,” Boyong said urgently.

Kayla slowly got up from her chair, the stiff fear in her mind seeming to extend into her limbs as well.

“I see,” Kayla said heavily. “I’ll go greet them.”

She made her way to the entrance, Boyong following behind her. Officials from the Court of Judicial Review hovered nearby, watching anxiously as Kayla greeted Minister Liang.

“Minister Liang, it’s good to see you,” Kayla said, not meaning it in the slightest. Minister Liang was followed by Zhang Dingyong, as well as the familiar faces of several officials in the Ministry of Justice who were decidedly not on good terms with Kayla, including one who had become the new Left Secretariat.

The Minister and the Left and Right Secretariats are all here, they mean business, Kayla noted. One a count of one to ten of how screwed I am, I’m probably up in the nineties.

“Minister Zhao, I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of the workday like this,” Minister Liang said regretfully. “I’m here on official business, but I’d like to briefly discuss it with you first.”

If it’s the Grand Duke, then Minister Liang’s probably not involved. At the very least, he shouldn’t have a reason to intentionally make things difficult for me. Though the accusations had been publicly released, she doubted Minister Liang was involved. After all, he gained no particular benefit from discrediting her.

“Not at all,” Kayla replied. “Would you care to join me in my office?”

“Certainly,” Minister Liang said. He motioned for his subordinates to wait in the office area, following Kayla into her office. Kayla closed the door firmly behind them, gesturing to Minister Liang to sit in one of the chairs.

“Minister Liang, I suppose this is about the accusation from the Secretariat Department?” Kayla asked. He nodded.

“That’s right. First of all, I’d like to apologize for the leak about the investigation, we had no intention of publicizing any accusations before even starting a formal inquiry, and I can assure you that the leak was not from the Ministry of Justice,” Minister Liang explained.

“I thought so as well. Was it from the Secretariat Department then?” Kayla asked.

Minister Liang hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yes. That’s what I wanted to tell you, Secretary Han of the Secretariat Department presented a written statement from one of Liu Hongyu’s servants, Li Sanjin. He claimed to have given false testimony against Liu Hongyu after you coerced and bribed him. The Secretariat Director filed an accusation with us, and since there was a signed statement, we had no choice but to open an investigation.”

“Of course, it’s part of your job,” Kayla said. She had never heard of Li Sanjin before, and she also hadn’t viewed any of the testimonies from the Liu Hongyu case. Most details hadn’t been disclosed to the court, and records of the investigation were also kept under tight security for which she hadn’t had clearance. “May I ask how Secretary Han came upon such a statement?”

“Apparently, he recommended Li Sanjin to Liu Hongyu’s household as a servant since they were from the same hometown, and Li Sanjin came to him for help after testifying,” Minister Liang replied. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Minister Zhao, I believe in your innocence, of course, but is there anything that I should know before we officially start investigating?”

“Not that I can think of. Whatever Li Sanjin claims I did, I had no part in whatsoever. The accusations are likely an attempt to discredit the Court of Judicial Review and the investigations into the corruption of court officials,” Kayla replied.

“I agree,” Minister Liang said. “If that’s the case, I’ll do my best to prove your innocence. Lower-ranking officials would usually be held in custody during the investigation process, but as a third-rank official, you’ll be able to continue your work and life as normal so long as you cooperate with us. You’ll be called in for questioning tomorrow, and we’ll have to ask for access to your documents starting from three months ago to the present.”

Three months? That’s around when I first got here.

“I understand,” Kayla said after a slight pause. “You won’t have too much to look through from the Court of Judicial Review. I’ve authorized the use of the Halved Seals for the Vice-Ministers, so I will leave the governance of the Court in their capable hands for this period of time.”

“The Halved Seals? Well, that’s certainly very prudent of you. If that’s the case, we won’t be here for long, once we’ve got everything you’ve worked on so far, any new documents will be exempt from the investigation. We’ll be mostly focusing on your work during the time of the Liu Hongyu case, while you were still serving as the Left Secretariat of Justice. We have limited access to records from the Imperial Investigator’s Bureau from when you headed the investigation on Yue Wuxuan, but given that something like this happened, they will also have to launch an internal investigation. We’ll request for the documents from that case and the Liu Hongyu case to be released to us, and I’ll let you know when that comes through,” Minister Liang said.

So the Imperial Investigation Bureau also have their hands tied, Kayla noted with an ounce of dread. And I don’t even know what the testimonies look like, there’s nothing I can do at this point except to reach an understanding with the Empress Dowager about whether or not I take responsibility.

At the very least, she’d make sure we get through this safely, right?

Kayla didn’t have an answer for him. Wenyuan’s grandmother doted on him, but first and foremost, she was the Empress Dowager and a member of the Imperial family. Who knew what she would choose?

“Sounds good,” Kayla said, forcing a smile at Minister Liang. “Will I be able to view Li Sanjin’s statement?”

“I’m afraid not,” Minister Liang said apologetically.

“That’s understandable,” Kayla replied insincerely.

“One last question, Minister Zhao. Have you ever met Li Sanjin before this? If you have, please tell us in as much detail as possible,” Minister Liang said.

Kayla hesitated. She’d always learned not to speak to police unless she had a lawyer present, but it wasn’t as though there were any lawyers in this place. She didn’t even think there was such an occupation.

I can’t give him anything concrete unless I know what Li Sanjin said in his statement against me and in the Imperial Investigator’s Bureau.

“I don’t recall that name. To be honest, I’m not much in the habit of remembering the names of servants unless I see them every day,” Kayla replied. “But if he was from Liu Hongyu’s household, then I’ve probably met him before at some point.”

“I see,” Minister Liang replied after a slight pause. “If that’s the case, then please try to remember any details you may have forgotten before tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

Kayla stood up to send him off, leaving the office door open as Minister Liang left.

“Minister, the officials from the Ministry of Justice want copies of all the documents with your signature on them,” Ma Kaijie called out to her. Kayla nodded for them to proceed from the doorway, watching as the officials from the Ministry of Justice fanned out and set to work.

This feels like getting raided by the FBI or the IRS for tax fraud, she dazedly thought to herself. It was her first time on the other end of the investigation process. What the fuck do I do now?

Boyong made his way over, Caichun and Sun Ruhui behind him. Kayla let them into her office, closing the door halfway.

“My lord,” Boyong said in a low voice. “Is there anything I need to take care of right now?”

Kayla understood Boyong’s implicit request about if there was any evidence to destroy.

“I need information from the Imperial Investigator’s Bureau, but I can’t get in contact with anyone without arousing suspicion right now,” Kayla muttered. “Just stay still for now, I’ll try to think of something.”

“Minister, if you’re being framed like this, they’ve probably already planted evidence,” Sun Ruhui warned her. “Can you think of anything that might be used against you?”

Kayla hesitated before shaking her head. “Nothing that can be tied to this case. I don’t have access to Li Sanjin’s statement, and I also haven’t seen his testimony from the Liu Hongyu case. Do you have any ideas?”

“Depends on if this is directed at you personally or at the Court of Judicial Review,” Sun Ruhui said thoughtfully. “If it’s at the Court of Judicial Review, it’s likely that the Secretariat Department hasn’t had time to hide their tracks for an investigation, so they’d probably be satisfied by immobilizing the Court of Judicial Review. If you take a leave of absence, the case will probably be allowed to die down after a while. But if it’s personal, then you’ll have to actively prove your innocence.”

“It’s personal, that’s for sure,” Kayla said grimly. At his questioning look, she sighed. “It’s most likely the doing of my grandfather.”

Speaking of, how did Boyong find out? Did one of his former co-workers give him a heads up?

“That’s…do you think he would have you convicted?” Sun Ruhui asked after a slight pause.

“I don’t know,” Kayla replied honestly. She couldn’t tell if he would be willing to disgrace the Zhao clan by doing so, or if he thought her past actions a greater affront to his pride.

“Minister, if I may, I believe he wishes to either see the Court of Judicial Review dismantled or have you convicted. More likely than not, he’s aiming for one of those two goals, if not both,” Caichun cut in. “Sir, if he’s had the Secretariat Department announce it to the entire court, then he definitely has confidence that it won’t backfire. That means Li Sanjin probably was ordered to provide a false testimony. If we can figure out who was really behind it, we can escape this predicament. Minister, do you have any idea who it is?”

Kayla’s heart skipped a beat. Figure out who it is? We’re all screwed if that comes to light!i

“No,” she said in as level a voice as she could manage. “I’m afraid not.”

“Are you sure, Minister? Earlier when you read the Secretariat Department’s accusation, you seemed to have thought of something,” Caichun pressed on.

Damn it, this kid’s too attentive, Kayla tugged at her collar, sweat beading on her forehead.

“I thought of my grandfather, but I doubt he would be the one who ordered Li Sanjin’s testimony,” Kayla said. Caichun frowned slightly, but Sun Ruhui gave her a sharp glance before the young woman could ask any further.

“I agree, I doubt the Grand Duke would be careless enough to use one of his own crimes,” he said calmly. “Minister, please try to think carefully if there’s anyone who might be behind this.”

“I will. The two of you should head back to your stations for now, it’s not good to spend too long speaking privately with me given the situation. I’ll let you know if I think of anything,” Kayla said.

“Understood, Minister,” Sun Ruhui and Caichun said in unison. The two of them bowed and left, Kayla also standing up. She nodded at Boyong.

“Come on, they’ll need to search my office,” Kayla said before stepping outside. Zhang Dingyong quickly approached her.

“Minister Zhao, apologies, but may I ask for your permission to check your office?”

”Of course, please go ahead,” Kayla gestured at the open door. Zhang Dingyong bowed his head slightly before waving for two of his subordinates to enter. Kayla headed over to a quiet corner to wait for them to finish, Boyong trailing along behind her.

“Sir,” Boyong whispered into her ear. “Was it someone from the palace?”

Kayla managed to catch herself before she could stiffen, forcing herself to keep her reaction under wraps before glancing at Boyong.

Damn it, why are you so perceptive? It was one of the reasons why she’d wanted to hire him, but still.

“What are you talking about? Don’t bring this up again, the situation’s enough of a mess already,” Kayla replied. Boyong bowed his head slightly.

“Apologies, my lord.”

“Boyong, how did you learn of this before the accusations came out?” Kayla asked, unable to push aside the strange feeling nagging at her inside.

“I was warned by a servant from the Grand Duke’s household, I ran into her near the Court of Judicial Review,” Boyong replied. “It seemed that she was on her way to warn you, but I was worried she would be in danger so I sent her back.”

Kayla’s heart skipped a beat in fear. “Her?”

“A secretary from the Outer Quarters, though I believe she’s served you before. I’m not sure what her name is,” Boyong replied.

Kayla sucked in a deep breath. “Chujiao,” she said softly, her hands starting to tremble.

Shit. That girl-

She turned to Boyong and discreetly passed him a purse of silver from her sleeve.

“Boyong, forget about anything else. Take this and go give this to Chujiao right now, you can find her in the office for household purchases in the Outer Quarters. Get her out of the capital to somewhere safe,” she ordered him. “If there’s any chance the Grand Duke might find out, she’ll die without leaving a complete corpse. Even if the girl refuses to leave, just grab her and go. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Chujiao being Wenyuan’s childhood friend and crush notwithstanding, Kayla had a pretty clear idea of how brutal the Grand Duke was, even to those of his own flesh and blood. She wouldn’t wish his wrath on her enemies, much less on a girl she was fond of.

“No, my lord. Forgive me, but I can’t do that,” Boyong said firmly, hastily pushing the purse back to Kayla. “What happens once she’s out of the capital? I can’t stay by her side to protect her while my master’s in danger, and then she’ll be in much worse of a situation alone in an unfamiliar place. Not to mention that it would confirm to the Grand Duke that she tried to warn you.”

Kayla blinked, the fear clouding her mind clearing somewhat. “You have a point. But-”

“My lord, please think about this carefully. How would she have known about this, as a low-ranking secretary in the Outer Quarters? Someone senior on the staff must have warned her. Their fates are tied together now, so that girl will definitely be safe. After all, whoever told her definitely wouldn’t want the Grand Duke to question Chujiao,” Boyong convinced her.

“Right,” Kayla breathed in deeply, tucking the purse back into her sleeve. “You’re right.”

It must have been Matron Li. Chujiao’s too smart to trust the words of anyone else.

“Not to mention that I failed to warn you in time. Since no countermeasures were taken, there’s no proof you were ever warned,” Boyong gently pointed out.

Kayla nodded. “I really hope that’s the case.”

---

From her desk, Caichun glanced at the officials from the Ministry of Justice who seemed to enjoy making a mess of Zhao Wenyuan’s office, even though it was already enough of a mess with haphazardly piled documents everywhere. Sun Ruhui hovered close by her, evidently worried that one of the officials would harass her.

She felt a little touched by his kindness, but it was mostly buried underneath the confusion and discomfort in her chest. Zhao Wenyuan didn’t seem the type of man who would force someone to make a false testimony, she had never doubted that. But she had seen it with startling clarity earlier, the look on his face as he’d read the Secretariat Department’s accusation.

I’m certain that he knows who’s behind it.

Whoever it was, they were either important to Wenyuan personally or extremely powerful. She didn’t know enough about the Minister’s personal life to draw any conclusions there, but Caichun had a gut feeling that it was someone very powerful. It definitely wasn’t the Grand Duke, which left a much more troubling possibility.

It’s probably a member of the Imperial Family. Sun Ruhui had likely come to the same conclusion as well, which was probably why he had stopped her from asking any further. Caichun anxiously clasped her fingers on her lap, watching the chaotic scene before her.

If Zhao Wenyuan was protecting a member of the Imperial Family, then the situation would be much more difficult to resolve.

“Chamberlain Sun,” she called out softly. Sun Ruhui turned to look at her.

“Are you alright, Case Reviewer Chen?” He asked as he took in her nervous expression.

“Yes, but about the Minister’s situation,” Caichun explained. He nodded.

“A solution definitely exists,” he assured her. Caichun nodded.

“If you say that, I feel much more assured. The Minister's deeply entangled in all of this, but we don't know enough to help him," she pointed out. Sun Ruhui nodded.

"We need to figure out why Liu Hongyu was punished,” she said. “We need to find someone who worked for him in the past.”

---

Cultural Notes

威逼利诱/Coercion and bribery: This proverb refers to abusing your position of power to coerce someone and bribe them/tempt them with benefits in order to force them to do something. Notably, there needs to be a clear power difference.

鱼符/Fish Seal/Seal of Military Command: In Ancient China, military command was authorized via a tiger-shaped seal (fish-shaped in the Tang Dynasty) that had two halves. One half was given to the commander of an army, and the other half was kept on hand by the Emperor. Only when both halves were present could you be authorized to command the army and lead it away from your post. The Halved Seals here are a fictional construct, though there were various ways to authorize such a command structure across the different dynasties.

刑不上大夫礼不下庶人/Punishments are not administered to high officials, rites are not applied to commoners: This tradition stems from the pre-Qin era, and has been maintained to varying degrees across dynasties. Punishments and torture were not applied to those above 大夫, a high-ranking official position from the pre-Qin era, and commoners were not punished for breaching etiquette or rites. Though the position of 大夫 became defunct in subsequent dynasties, high-ranking officials were nonetheless exempted from more humiliating punishments in many cases. In Kayla's case, it's actually her bloodline and not her rank that protects her, since the one leveling accusations is the head of the Secretariat Department, who ranks above her.

死无全尸/Die without a complete corpse: A Chinese proverb referring to suffering a violent (and usually quite gruesome) death, especially in the case of receiving a harsh punishment or revenge.