Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 95 The Scoundrel Teacher
Upon hearing this, Xu Jin quickly covered his face with his sleeve and secretly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw his colleagues hiding behind the files, secretly watching him. He immediately became furious and embarrassed.

He looked down and saw that there were only a few drops of oil on the snow-white handkerchief, and no scallions at all. He was immediately enraged and angrily pointed his finger at Zhou Zhao.

"Zhou Zhao!"

"I'm here."

The voice came from behind him. Xu Jin looked closely and saw that the direction he was pointing was empty. Zhou Zhao had already disappeared.

He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw that the little girl had already found an empty table in the case file and started reading it seriously.

Her calm and composed demeanor, as if she were returning home, made him look like a clown.

Xu Jin gave Zhou Zhao a sinister look, then flung his sleeves and walked out.

As soon as he left, the hall immediately became lively.

Zhou Zhao could still vaguely hear Chen Yuzhao and Zhou Chengan exchanging pleasantries with their colleagues under the guidance of their teacher amidst the noise.

"Young Master Zhou, I saw you investigating the case during the competition! I hadn't figured it out at all, and you found the murderer! Xu Jin is a petty person. You've offended him this time, and he'll definitely try to trip you up. Be careful."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao looked to his side and saw a round head peeking out from behind the tall stack of bamboo slips on the table next to him.

A boy, still looking quite young, excitedly approached, "My name is Chen Jiyuan. Before you came, I was the newest person here! I didn't dare to go against him, and I've been wiping his tables for three months now!"

“Li Tingshi doesn’t handle anything and won’t come until after midnight. He usually leaves everything to Xu Jin, who is the person who stays here the longest.”

"Therefore, although Xu Jin is a judicial officer just like us, he is no different from a court historian."

Chen Jiyuan was like a chatterbox that couldn't be shut up once it was started. He kept muttering to himself, regardless of whether Zhou Zhao wanted to listen or not.

The officials of the Court of Justice were clearly ranked.

The Chief Justice of the Court of Justice, Li Huaishan, holds a rank of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain). He is responsible for arrests on the left and right. However, the original Left and Right Supervisors of the Court of Justice were dismissed by His Majesty for their ineffective handling of the Shanming Changyang case, and the positions have remained vacant until now. The Court of Justice now mainly cooperates with the Northern Army in arresting people.

Next were the Left and Right Attendants, with a rank of 600 shi (a unit of grain). Zhou Zhao had only met the Left Attendant Chang; there was also the Right Attendant Guan, who had not previously been in the capital.

Below the left and right court officials are the court scribes. Currently, the Court of Justice has six court scribes, and the three teachers in this courtyard who are mentoring new recruits are all court scribes.

Further down the hierarchy are the lowest-ranking officials, like the minor clerks in charge of judging cases and the chief clerks.

What they do is review case files, find corresponding precedents and laws, and assist court historians in investigating and adjudicating cases.

The rest were minor officials such as clerks and jailers...

Chen Jiyuan was gesturing excitedly as he spoke, but then suddenly deflated, "It's one thing for us to just coast along with Li Tingshi, but why are you here, Lord Zhou? I've heard that in the past four years, not a single new talent has risen to prominence under Li Tingshi."

If these judicial clerks performed well, they could be directly promoted to court clerks; if there were no vacancies at the moment, they could be recommended to serve as local officials in prefectures, counties, or fiefdoms. Once they had gained experience in handling matters independently and had made meritorious contributions, they could return to the Court of Justice to fill vacancies.

Zhou Zhao frowned as he listened.

She understood almost instantly why Xu Jin had been hostile towards her.

Firstly, because she is a woman, it is only natural that a white sheep would be ostracized when a group of black sheep suddenly appears.

Secondly, she had just returned from Tianying City, at the height of her fame. Although the sheepfold was almost completely devoured, the lead sheep, Xu Jin, was still worried that she would steal the mountain king's tattered headscarf.

Thirdly, she was assigned to Li Youdao's command, and Xu Jin was certain that this was a move by the higher-ups to suppress her and prevent her from rising to prominence. Zhou Zhao thought to herself, and sighed silently.

It's not that she doesn't understand the ways of a newcomer; it's just that the path she has to take is different.

There were many people like Xu Jin in the room, all watching to see if she would soften her stance even slightly, as they would swarm around her and bully her. But if she was too assertive, their prepared accusations of "disrespecting elders" would come crashing down on her.

"Really? Never to rise above your circumstances? Does that mean you can do whatever you want, without any restrictions?"

Zhou Zhao looked at the bamboo slips, ground the ink, picked up his brush, and began to write the applicable laws at the back of the scroll.

Chen Jiyuan was taken aback, his expression turning serious. Suddenly, he had a look of realization, and his gaze fell on Xu Jin's desk not far away. His eyes darted around, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Apart from Chen Jiyuan, no one else came over to talk to him.

Zhou Zhao didn't mind and picked up his pen to write quickly.

Every single one of the nine chapters of the Great Qi Dynasty's laws was etched into her mind. She dared to say that she had seen more precedents than everyone else present combined.

"Young Master Zhou, Li Tingshi has arrived..."

Chen Jiyuan sniffed. He knew Li Youdao was coming from the strong smell of alcohol. He quickly turned his head to remind the newcomer Zhou Zhao, but his eyes met Zhou Zhao's profile.

"Where have all those files between us, piled up like mountains, taller than a person, gone?"

Even though the case files were piled up like the Great Wall, he had already gotten used to talking to people with his head down and muttering about his superiors while covering his face.

What's the difference between moving away those musty-smelling files and stripping him naked and throwing him out to dry in the sun?
Chen Jiyuan shuddered and his face turned red instantly. He shrank back uncomfortably, not knowing where to look.

He looked at Zhou Zhao, but the girl didn't even look up. She pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "Put the ones that have been approved over there."

Chen Jiyuan's mind went blank, and he couldn't help but stammer, "It's over, it's over? You didn't even look at the law code..."

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, walked to the corner behind Zhou Zhao, picked up a file and began to read it. The more he read, the wider his eyes became.

"A cheap trick!" A familiar voice came from the doorway.

Zhou Zhao looked up and saw an old man with white hair standing next to Xu Jin. His clothes were loose and baggy, his nose was bright red, and a wine gourd was hanging from his waist. The smell of alcohol emanating from him was so strong that it could make anyone drunk, even from this distance.

Zhou Zhao looked at the old man and his gaze fell on his hair. He was not wearing a crown, but had his hair tied up in a bun with a knife stuck in the center.

No wonder he's called Li Youdao (Li Has a Knife).

He did indeed have a knife.

Li Youdao let out a burp and staggered in. He snatched the file from Chen Jiyuan's hand and glanced at the articles written by Zhou Zhao.

Then he staggered a bit, stuffed the file back into Chen Jiyuan's hand, and started rummaging around in his sleeve pocket, waist, and money bag.

He searched for a long time but couldn't find it.

He then jumped around a few times, and with a loud clatter, a small token fell out. He bent down, picked up the token, and threw it directly to Zhou Zhao.

"I know you've always liked to cause trouble since you were little. Let me tell you, if you cause trouble, you'd better clean it up yourself. I'm not going to help you."

Zhou Zhao stood up speechlessly and grabbed the small token in his hand.

She is clearly well-behaved, sensible, self-disciplined, and respectful, yet she didn't kick Xu Jin away today.