The administrative seat of Jiaozhou was Longshu, and the seat of Longshu was Jiugao.
The government office of Fan Tong, the Governor of Longshu, sat upon the most scenic stretch of a small embankment in Jiugao City. This embankment was named "Yue Embankment." The nameless ancient structure atop it had once served as the headquarters for the supervisors during the construction of the local waterworks. Because its outer walls were built of stone and were exceptionally sturdy, it had been preserved. After the founding of Jiugao, this site was chosen as the new location for the Governor’s yamen, intended to better guard the city's hydraulic hub.
In Qin Jiuye’s view, however, Governor Fan likely had no idea what he was actually guarding, let alone spent any silver to maintain the dam over the years. On Yue Embankment, the marks of erosion by insects and ants were glaringly obvious, and the accumulated silt remained uncleared. Had the city not invested heavily in the construction of its waterways years ago, and had the upstream floods not truly reached this area, Jiugao might have been submerged several times over by now.
The silver of the entire Governor’s yamen was spent elsewhere.
It went into the two golden "Heaven-Reaching Pillars" at the entrance, the emerald glazed tiles embedded in the eaves, and the very courtroom where interrogations were held. This hall was divided into front and back halves. The front was no different from an ordinary courtroom, but the back featured a large, square pool dug directly beneath the courtyard’s open ceiling. The pool was perpetually filled with water, yet not a single lotus or blade of seagrass could be seen within it.
Qin Jiuye stared at the swaying expanse of green water, her heart churning with apprehension.
The bailiff who had brought her here had vanished, leaving her to kneel and wait. she knew neither when she would see the legendary Governor Fan, nor what would happen once she did.
The sky, which had been clear all morning, turned overcast again. Rain began to fall—not as sudden and violent as the previous night, but a lingering drizzle that felt sticky and damp. A fishy stench wafted to her nose, the smell of stagnant water that had not flowed for a long time.
It was said that beneath Governor Fan’s interrogation pool lay a secret passage. This passage was usually closed, as it connected to Jiugao’s moat, where several century-old river monsters were kept. If any living thing fell into the water, they would be torn apart until nothing but white bones remained in an instant.
Consequently, when Governor Fan presided over cases, there were always prisoners who went in and never came out, or whose bodies were never found. It was rumored they were thrown into that pool of green water; unable to reach the shore, they were eventually scented and devoured by the monsters from the moat...
Qin Jiuye shuddered, no longer daring to look at the emerald water. She fixed her gaze instead on her trembling knees.
The nightmare from her night at the Su Manor—of swallowing a large fish whole—flashed through her mind again.
Dreams are often the opposite of reality. Could it be that the dream didn't portend her eating a fish, but a fish eating her?
Just as her thoughts reached their most terrifying peak, a flurry of footsteps echoed from behind the massive stone *Tan* beast in the central courtyard.
Though she had made a living in Jiugao for many years, Qin Jiuye had never stepped foot inside the yamen before, nor had she ever seen the legendary Governor Fan. Yet, at this moment, she recognized him instantly. He was flanked by five or six bailiffs, and his physique appeared twice as wide as those around him.
It was not yet the height of summer, but Governor Fan was already drenched in sweat after walking only a few dozen paces. With great effort, he waddled to the official chair beneath the eaves and sat down. Attendants immediately began fanning him from both sides.
During this, Qin Jiuye stole a glance, her heart pounding louder than the grievance drum outside the yamen gates.
No matter how composed she was at Guoran Ju, once she entered official territory, she felt like a minor demon stripped of its disguise.
Though she dabbled in the business of the *jianghu*, she was, at her core, a cautious person. She understood the principle of quitting while ahead and never craved what did not belong to her. Thus, while her business was somewhat unconventional, she had never courted major trouble, nor did she have experience dealing with the authorities. Now that trouble had found her, she could only comfort herself with the fact that Kang Renshou’s disappearance had nothing to do with her. Perhaps Governor Fan simply wanted some information to complete a procedure. If she gave a full and honest account, she might walk out of here safely.
With this thought, she seized the opportunity to bow.
"This commoner, Qin Jiuye, greets Your Honor. May I ask what Your Honor wishes to inquire about? I shall tell you everything I know."
Peering with half-open eyes at the woman kneeling in the drizzle, Fan Tong knew at once she was a country girl who hadn't seen much of the world.
He had spent many years in officialdom and had seen more people than he had eaten grains of rice. With a single glance at the way a person knelt, he could tell whether he could gain something from them or if they were merely a waste of time.
The one before him was undoubtedly the latter.
The fat official on the golden-thread phoebe chair nodded, leaning sideways against the seat. He seemed satisfied with her attitude, but when he spoke, his voice was like a great bronze bell, filled with authority.
"Qin Jiuye, proprietor of Guoran Ju. From the hour of the Rooster yesterday until this morning, where were you? And what were you doing?"
Asking for one's whereabouts and actions was standard procedure; it was unavoidable.
Qin Jiuye swallowed hard and replied carefully.
"In response to Your Honor, yesterday, after leaving the Su Manor at the start of the Rooster hour, I exited the city through the West Feng Gate. I returned to my residence in Dingweng Village around the start of the Pig hour and did not leave thereafter." She hesitated for a moment before adding boldly, "Protector Qiu visited my home after nightfall to ask a few questions; he can testify to this."
"You are currently being questioned in my yamen. There is no need to bring up the Protector." Fan Tong seemed slightly displeased by her mention of Qiu Ling, but he did not press the matter, continuing instead, "I thought that since you met Kang Renshou not long ago, you might recall something. For instance, who did he associate with previously? Or did he have any enemies?"
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people had seen Kang Renshou. Why ask her specifically? She truly wasn't familiar with the man.
Qin Jiuye’s insides churned again, but she maintained a submissive expression and answered truthfully.
"Master Kang was known for his healing touch and benevolent heart; logically, he wouldn't easily make enemies. However, I am truly not well-acquainted with him. We met for the first time at the Su Manor, and I know nothing else."
Governor Fan’s voice paused for a moment, then he asked again.
"You say you met Kang Renshou for the first time at the Su Manor and have no grievances with him. Is this the truth?"
"It is naturally the tru—"
Before she could finish, Fan Tong’s face suddenly contorted, and his voice rose sharply.
"Audacious peasant! Even now, you dare to quibble! As someone in the medicine business, how could you not know who the manager of Huichun Tang is? You went to the Su Manor together to provide consultations; you were competitors. How can you say there was no conflict of interest? Perhaps you do not yet know that I have already detained the servant who delivers vegetables to the Su Manor. If you still refuse to speak the truth, do not blame me for being heartless!"
This string of accusations left Qin Jiuye dizzy. She processed his words one by one in her mind before finally grasping the key point.
Delivering vegetables? What did a vegetable delivery servant have to do with her being brought here to be scolded?
But then, a realization struck her, and she froze.
The servant who delivered vegetables to the Su Manor... wasn't that Qin Sanyou? Had Fan Tong arrested her grandfather? When did this happen? What was the charge? Had they mistreated him, interrogated him, or tortured him? Had they brought her here because they couldn't get anything out of him?
Qin Jiuye’s mind became a chaotic mess. The carefully prepared explanations she had rehearsed were forgotten, replaced by a wave of panic spreading through her heart.
"What? Realized your tracks are exposed and lost your tongue?" There was a faint, discernible leisure in Fan Tong’s voice; he clearly relished the feeling of having total control. "Who is Qin Sanyou to you? If you won't say, I have my ways of checking your household registry. When that time comes..."
Qin Jiuye’s throat tightened as she lowered her head and replied.
"He is my grandfather."
Fan Tong sneered.
"I thought that for the sake of self-preservation, you would even sever this bond between grandfather and granddaughter. Tell me then, what exactly happened between you and Master Kang? Think carefully before you speak. I want to hear the truth."
Qin Jiuye suddenly felt that what Governor Fan wanted to hear was not the truth.
Because she had just told the truth, and he clearly didn't care.
Upon realizing this, she began to reassess her situation.
First, this courtyard was likely not the formal courtroom of the yamen, but rather Governor Fan’s "private garden" for handling personal matters.
Second, Fan Tong had arrested Qin Sanyou without a formal warrant or bringing him out to confront her. This did not follow the rules of interrogation. She guessed he feared that if she and her grandfather met, their stories would align and support each other, causing this "framed charge" to collapse.
Yes, Governor Fan’s purpose in bringing her from the village so early was likely not to learn anything from her, but to convict her.
But Kang Renshou was only missing; the facts hadn't been established. Why was he so eager to find someone to blame? She didn't understand the intricacies, but she felt an immense sense of crisis and pressure.
"Your Honor is wise; I dare not hide anything. Though my grandfather is but a tenant farmer from Suiqing Mountain, he has been diligent and law-abiding all his life. For years, he made his living as a boatman without a single mistake, let alone committing robbery or murder. All the boatmen on the Daixiao River know this. Now that he is old and cannot travel far, he often delivers vegetables to Jiugao and nearby villages. He only took the job at the Su Manor because the previous person quit, so..."
"So, you are saying it is a mere coincidence that your grandfather took over the vegetable delivery at the Su Manor just as you received an invitation for a medical consultation?"
Fan Tong interrupted her impatiently. Qin Jiuye had no choice but to nod.
"Precisely."
Beneath the golden pillars and emerald tiles, Governor Fan smiled like a demon checking his ledger in the Halls of Hell.
"How could there be such a coincidence? I believe you were obsessed with that hundred gold taels reward. You envied Master Kang’s superior skills and his successful treatment, so you harbored evil intent. You conspired with your grandfather to kidnap him, steal the gold, and then kill him to silence him. Am I correct?!"
Correct? Not a single word was correct!
Qin Jiuye was dumbfounded, momentarily unsure where to even begin her rebuttal. But knowing that a charge of highway robbery and murder would mean spending the rest of her life in penal servitude, cold sweat soaked her back. She fiercely pinched her thigh, telling herself she had to stay sharp.
"Why does Your Honor say such things? Master Kang is merely missing. Why would I kill him to silence him?!"
Fan Tong’s excitement was peaking, his tongue becoming even more nimble.
"Kang Renshou is the manager of Huichun Tang. He always travels with servants. Why would he vanish alone without informing anyone? A whole night has passed; he has likely met with foul play. If I do not act swiftly, should I wait for you to finish cleaning up the murder scene before I question you?!"
Qin Jiuye took a deep breath, quickly organizing her words.
"In response to Your Honor: First, when I left the manor yesterday, the sun had not yet set. Master Kang should have still been inside. How could I have returned to the manor to commit murder? Second, Master Kang is over seven feet tall and powerfully built. I am small of stature, and my grandfather is old and frail. Even if we combined our strength, how could we drag Master Kang’s body out of the manor and dispose of it without being noticed? Third, Your Honor says I craved the reward, but have you found those hundred gold taels on my person or at my residence?"
She finished in one breath, her heart still thumping wildly.
In terms of logic, she wasn't afraid at all. What she feared was that Fan Tong had no interest in the truth and was simply desperate for a scapegoat to quickly close a case that was causing public alarm.
She had no connections in this city, and she had a "record" of doing unconventional business. She was the perfect candidate for a scapegoat.
As she waited for Fan Tong’s response, he bypassed her questions and dropped another bombshell.
"Stop talking nonsense. Who said you committed the crime inside the Su Manor? Bring in Guo Rengui, the Su Manor steward."
A flurry of footsteps sounded as a familiar figure stepped forward from the side.
Qin Jiuye looked closely. Good heavens, wasn't that the man who had confiscated the *Flower Market Collection* from Jinbao that day?
Fan Tong waved his hand impatiently, signaling the man to skip the long-winded greetings, and went straight to the point.
"Tell her what you told me earlier."
Guo Rengui, clearly accustomed to serving in the inner courts, gave a report so fluent one might think he had been memorizing it for half a month.
"After the consultation the day before yesterday, Master Kang provided a prescription and stayed at the manor to rest. That night, our young mistress’s spirits improved greatly after taking the medicine. Because Master Kang had business at his clinic and could not stay long, we gave him the full reward as agreed and set a time for the next visit. We saw him off at approximately the start of the Rooster hour yesterday."
The start of the Rooster hour—that was shortly after she had left the Su Manor.
Kang Renshou could have left at any time, yet he chose to leave right after her. It was truly infuriating.
Fan Tong seemed to know what was troubling her and asked slowly, "The start of the Rooster hour... that’s less than half an hour before the curfew. How did Master Kang leave? Did he have his servants prepare a carriage to fetch him?"
Steward Guo seemed to be waiting for this exact question. He immediately continued his report submissively.
"Master Kang did not expect the young mistress’s condition to improve so quickly. Since his departure was sudden, he hadn't called for a carriage from the clinic. He said he would take the river and catch a boat. He asked Old Qin, who was free at the time, to take him a short distance and paid him thirty copper coins. The manor’s servants and the boatmen at the docks can all testify to this."
Kang Renshou had boarded Qin Sanyou’s boat? This was all too bizarre. But since Qin Sanyou wasn't here, she couldn't question him. She could only focus on the information provided, trying to find an opening for a counterattack.
"Even so, why insist that something happened on my grandfather’s boat? Huichun Tang isn't right on the riverbank. It’s possible Master Kang met with trouble on his way back to the clinic after getting off the boat."
This time, the man with the small mustache who had been silent beside Fan Tong spoke up—it was the Scribe, Cao Jin.
"Reporting to Your Honor, this morning I sent men to find Qin Sanyou and seize his boat. Upon searching it, bloodstains were found at the bottom. In my opinion, though this woman appears frail, she is used to hard labor, and that old vegetable seller is quite robust. If they hid the body on the boat and threw it into the river, it wouldn't require much strength."
"Used to hard labor," "quite robust."
For people like her and Old Qin, the only consolation for their toil was a body that wouldn't starve or break easily. Now, someone was using that very fact to argue she was capable of murder. It was tragic and absurd.
Qin Jiuye suddenly laughed, her voice losing some of its fear and gaining more anger.
"Master Kang decided to leave the manor on a whim. How could my grandfather and I have planned this in advance? Unless, if Master Kang hadn't left, we were going to break into the Su Manor and kidnap him?"
The moment she said this, the yamen courtyard fell into silence.
But after the silence came an even more aggressive counter-attack. Cao Jin ignored the anger in her voice, his own becoming even harsher.
"Why would you need a plan? It was a crime committed out of sudden greed and malice!"
Disaster was imminent; if she didn't fight now, when would she? By this point, Qin Jiuye had cast aside the timidity she felt upon arrival. She nearly stood up from the ground.
"May I ask if Your Honor can confirm that the blood on the boat is human? My grandfather delivered several live chickens to the Su Manor a few days ago. Perhaps the master asked him to transport something else..."
The gavel struck with a sharp *crack*. Fan Tong slammed his hand on the desk and stood up.
"Nonsense! You quibble even in the face of death. I see you won't confess until you see the coffin. Men—"
Before he could utter the word "torture," another voice followed immediately.
"I, however, feel that Proprietor Qin’s words make some sense."
Fan Tong looked up in shock to see Qiu Ling stroking into the courtyard.
He seemed to have arrived in a hurry, still wearing his black armor. The green water reflected his tall, straight figure, like a black ruler dividing the golden opulence of the eaves in two.
Fan Tong, who had been leaning back, involuntarily sat up straight. After a moment of struggle, he managed to stand and step out from the shade to bow.
"Greetings, Protector. What wind brings you here? This is just a trivial case, not worth your presence..."
"So, what Governor Fan calls 'trivial' is this." The young Protector’s eyes swept over, his gaze carrying an undeniable pressure. "I wonder if, were I present, this matter would become 'worthwhile' today."
Why did this man have to humiliate him in public every single time?
Fan Tong felt an unspeakable resentment, but his old face remained plastered with a smile as he slowly rubbed the gavel in his hand.
"The Protector jokes. She is merely a suspect, a thief who commits crimes regularly. How can her words be trusted? She says she left the Su Manor before Kang Renshou; who can prove it? Perhaps she was hiding somewhere, waiting for her chance..."
"I can testify to that."
Qiu Ling’s voice was steady and deliberate. Qin Jiuye didn't dare look up.
She remembered the scene at the Su Manor and couldn't tell if the man before her was truly there to help.
As if to confirm her doubts, he continued.
"Governor Fan has held this post for over ten years; you should know that to convict someone, you need evidence. Let me ask instead." His rain-dampened boots stopped in front of Qin Jiuye. His voice was flat. "I heard that after Proprietor Qin left the city yesterday, she returned to her home in Dingweng Village and remained there until the yamen sent for her this morning. Aside from my visit around the hour of the Pig, is there anyone else who can prove you did not leave Guoran Ju?"
Qin Jiuye had a bitterness she couldn't voice. She could only murmur, "There is someone, but..."
But that person wasn't here, and he couldn't come here.
However, just as she hesitated to speak, a commotion broke out at the main gate. A bailiff rushed in to report.
"Your Honor! Someone is trying to force his way in. I tried to stop him, but he's with someone from the Su family..."
Before he could finish, another voice approached from the distance, cutting through the mist and rain.
"Officers, do not worry. I am only here to find someone."
Qin Jiuye turned her head blankly. At the bottom of the stone steps facing the yamen gate stood a tall, thin figure holding an umbrella.
A moment later, the edge of the umbrella lifted slightly, revealing a pair of light brown eyes.
"Sister, it's raining. You didn't bring an umbrella, so I came to fetch you."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
玥堤 | Yue Embankment | The site of the Jiugao Governor's office.
犭贪 | Tan | A mythical beast representing greed, often depicted on the walls of yamen to warn officials.
掾史 | Scribe / Registrar | A low-ranking administrative official (Cao Jin).
曹进 | Cao Jin | The Scribe/Registrar assisting Governor Fan.
郭仁贵 | Guo Rengui | The steward of the Su Manor.
阿姊 | Sister / Elder Sister | A term of address used by Li Qiao for Qin Jiuye.
