Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

"Lord Sun," Fang Zheng said, "you've been a clerk in the yamen for so many years, you know the procedures and the rules."

You should know why you were arrested today.

Sun Xianrong sneered, looking completely unconcerned.

"I do not know."

Fang Zheng, you are just a lowly ninth-rank inspector, yet you have committed treason by detaining an official appointed by the imperial court without authorization.

Do you know what crime this is?

Fang Zheng said calmly, "I am here on the orders of Lord Lü, the Supervising Officer, to investigate long-standing cases in Yongqing County."

"Don't even mention a lowly eighth-rank clerk; I'd dare arrest even a county magistrate or county commandant."

Sun Xianrong gritted his teeth, said "good" twice, and then sneered.

"I, Sun, would like to experience your interrogation skills, Inspector."

After saying that, he leaned back in his chair, shut his mouth, and refused to say another word.

Fang Zheng had long anticipated that this would be a tough nut to crack, and he nodded to Guan Tieyi.

Guan Tieyi carried a large stack of files onto the table, which was almost two feet high when it was put down with a dull thud.

Upon seeing the case files, Sun Xianrong's eyelids twitched, but he remained indifferent.

Fang Zheng ignored his reaction and continued, "These are the case files of major cases in Yongqing County over the years. Of course, they are not all of them; only the ones that you, Lord Sun, were in charge of are selected."

Lord Sun, do you know what I discovered while reviewing these files?

Sun Xianrong stared at the roof beams without saying a word.

Fang Zheng didn't need his response and continued, "I've noticed that whenever a case involves powerful figures, you, Lord Sun, tend to confuse the issue when handling it."

No matter how well a case file is written, it will always contain contradictions because it doesn't conform to the facts.

He opened a file: "This is your case from last year."

The Li family in the south of the city accused the Cao family of forcibly occupying their shop. You ruled that "the accusation was justified, but there was no evidence to substantiate it," and had the accuser beaten twenty times and thrown out.

He flipped through another book: "This is from the year before last."

Widow Wang from North Street said her son was beaten to death by the young master of the Cao family after drinking. You investigated for three days and concluded that it was a fight after drinking, an accidental injury, and that you paid a few taels of silver to settle the matter.

Widow Wang was dissatisfied and appealed to the prefectural government, but her appeal was rejected. That very night, she hanged herself at the entrance of the county government office.

Flipping through another book: "This is from the year before last."

The owner of Liu's pharmacy sued the county clerk for soliciting bribes, but when that failed, the clerk deliberately blocked his approval for medicinal materials.

You didn't even investigate; you just wrote "false accusation" on the case file and threw the person into jail for three months.

Fang Zheng closed the file and looked at Sun Xianrong: "Lord Sun, do you still remember these things?"

Sun Xianrong was still staring at the roof beam, seemingly lost in thought.

Fang Zheng shook his head and pulled out another autopsy record: "Last autumn, Zhu Hongcai, the son of the county magistrate, accidentally killed two farmers while hunting outside the city."

Your case file states "obstructed by trees, mistook for prey, and committed manslaughter."

However, the coroner clearly wrote that each of the two men was hit by two arrows, the first in the leg and the second in the center.

Tell me, what kind of accidental shot could be so accurate?

First shoot the leg so the enemy can't escape, then finish them off with another arrow.

This wasn't accidental killing; it was a hunt!

They treat human lives as prey, taking pleasure in it.

Sun Xianrong's expression changed slightly, but he quickly recovered.

He smirked: "Fang Zheng, do you solve cases by guessing?"

"Whatever the coroner writes is what it is? How do you know it's not a coincidence? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"How dare you!" Guan Tieyi shouted.

Sun Xianrong didn't even look at him, laughed twice, and then fell silent.

Fang Zheng was not annoyed. Instead, he said very seriously, "Deduction is a necessary process in solving cases. Lord Sun has been a clerk for so many years. Don't you know this principle?"

You deliberately ignored the obvious problems in the coroner's autopsy file.

This alone is enough to convict you of negligence in handling the case and disregard for the facts.

Sun Xianrong still sneered: "Even so, so what?"

In the end, this matter will at most result in a six-month salary deduction and some other form of punishment.

Even if I bear this crime, it's just a matter of being dismissed from my post as a clerk. At worst, I'll be assigned to another office. What can you do to me then?

Guan Tieyi was so angry that he gritted his teeth, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. If he hadn't been holding back, he probably would have slashed at the enemy immediately.

Fang Zheng stared at the arrogant Sun Xianrong and said coldly, "Lord Sun, you have also studied the classics."

Have they truly abandoned all their initial aspirations for being an official?

Sun Xianrong smiled and said, "Fang Zheng, stop with the nonsense."

You, a mere ninth-rank inspector, have arrested and interrogated me, an eighth-rank clerk. If you only bring up the case from earlier, the impact might not be enough.

I have powerful backers; maybe I can get out of here before dawn.

I will take the initiative to admit my mistake and punish myself by cutting my salary, and then this matter will be over.

As for you, you should think about how to explain it.

"Perhaps, it won't be me who loses my job, but you."

"Snapped!"

Guan Tieyi slammed his fist on the table, drew his steel knife, and shouted, "You bastard, I'll chop you up right now!"

"Brother Guan!"

Fang Zheng said sternly, "Put the knife away."

Guan Tieyi gritted his teeth, but still put away his knife.

Sun Xianrong laughed loudly, extremely arrogant.

Fang Zheng didn't say anything more, but instead took out another file.

"More than a month ago, someone in the north of the city reported that Liu Qingyu, a newly admitted female student, had disappeared without a trace."

On the same day, someone saw him being abducted on the street by the young master of the Cao family. That night, a female ghost in red was also seen causing trouble. Later, the Cao family claimed that their young master was traveling far away.

Rumors circulate that this female scholar was forced to her death by the Cao family and turned into a vengeful ghost.

As the clerk, you hastily concluded the case without any investigation, concluding that Liu Qingyu left the county on his own.

You're covering up evidence of the Cao family's murders!

Before Fang Zheng could finish speaking, Sun Xianrong raised his voice to interrupt him.

"Fang Zheng, you are still just guessing, without any real evidence."

You are falsely accusing an official of the imperial court!

Fang Zheng smiled.

In the art of interrogation, it is not the prisoner's denial that is to be feared, but the prisoner's silence.

Sun Xianrong was all bark and no bite; his mind was clearly unstable.

It's time to deliver the decisive blow.

Fang Zheng didn't rush to refute; instead, he slowly closed the file and placed it beside him.

He raised his left hand, palm up, and lay there quietly without saying a word.

Sun Xianrong was puzzled and stared at his hands.

A wisp of red smoke drifted from Fang Zheng's palm and condensed into shape under the candlelight.

First came a few slender fingers, then a section of forearm, and finally the whole person emerged from the smoke.

Liu Qingyu, dressed in red with black hair and a pale face, hovered in mid-air, her long hair moving without wind, staring straight at Sun Xianrong.

Sun Xianrong's pupils suddenly contracted, and his body jerked backward.

"You...you..."

Liu Qingyu did not speak, but slowly floated closer, a chill emanating from her body.

She was originally an eighth-rank cursed ghost, and was also granted the ninth-rank position of patrolling the underworld. In addition, she had been practicing the Ghost Candle Illuminating Soul Scripture for a long time, so her strength was no longer comparable to what it used to be.

Under her oppressive aura, Sun Xianrong, a mere mortal stripped of his official position, trembled violently.

"She...she is..."

"Liu Qingyu".

Fang Zheng took over the conversation, his tone calm, but he had actually activated his special ability, "A Wake-Up Call."

"You yourself closed the case, saying she left the county on her own, but she has already transformed into a red-clothed evil ghost."

Lord Sun, wouldn't you like to ask her yourself whether she left on her own or was forced to her death?