At the Xinan County yamen.
Magistrate Zhao Hong wore a dark scowl as he looked at the young soldier who had come to deliver a message. He had never expected that the lord of this fief would actually send people here.
This soldier was the one he had assigned to tail the county magistrate covertly to gather information, and he had witnessed every scene that unfolded right outside the teahouse.
Zhao Hong tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop, lowering his head to ponder for a moment, before a sinister smirk crept across his face.
"So what if she's a commandery princess? Without solid evidence, she wouldn't dare kill even me, the county magistrate. A conviction handed out arbitrarily would never win the public's support."
With that, he strode purposefully toward the outside, barking an order to his subordinates as he went, "Pass my order, gather everyone from the yamen to welcome the arriving princess."
His subordinates were rather confused. Just a moment ago, the magistrate had looked furious, and now his face was wreathed in smiles.
At the entrance of the county yamen, Xi Qingyue and her party spotted Zhao Hong leading all the yamen staff standing respectfully by the gate from a distance.
Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan both walked forward with their hands behind their backs, their steps perfectly in sync, with Mu Jin and the rest following closely behind.
When Zhao Hong saw them approaching, he hurried over to bow with a wide grin, "This lowly official, Xinan County's Magistrate Zhao Hong, greets Commandery Princess Cenyue! Greets Commandery Princess Suwei! We respectfully welcome the two princesses to our humble county!"
Xi Qingyue glanced at him. This was a man of around forty, a classic smiling tiger who looked refined, scholarly, and so overly deferential that Xi Qingyue almost thought she had misjudged him.
She spoke in a cool, even tone, "I haven't said a word yet. How can you be so sure that I am the princess? Not long ago, one of your men claimed that we were impostors."
Zhao Hong replied with a smile, "Your Highness, this official only heard from my subordinates that the two princesses were arriving, so I brought my men here to the yamen to welcome you. I have no idea at all what just happened. It must have been some kind of misunderstanding, right?"
Right after saying that, he rounded on a nearby soldier, snapping at him sharply, "How do you do your job? You never tell the whole story when you speak! Did you hide something from me earlier?"
The soldier was so terrified that he immediately kowtowed, "Your Highness, Magistrate, it's not that this lowly one hid anything. As soon as I heard the princesses had arrived, I rushed straight to report to the Magistrate. I didn't know anything else at all!"
Zhao Hong then turned back to Xi Qingyue with that fake, ingratiating expression, "Your Highness, was there some misunderstanding just now? If my subordinates have done something wrong, I beg you not to hold it against them. This is all my fault for failing to discipline them properly. I have been derelict in my duties."
Xi Qingyue looked at Zhao Hong's performative falseness and did not bother wasting words on him. She raised a hand at once to stop him from continuing his act.
"Stop. Don't put on that pretense with me. I don't have time to chit chat. You'd better explain why you used Princess Wenqing's name to extort wealth from the common people without permission. Did you act alone, or was there someone pulling the strings behind the scenes? If you can't give a clear account, you won't live to see another day."
The moment these words were spoken, Zhao Hong's face turned a livid shade of blue-green. He had humbled himself so much to put on a disguise, yet the princess had not spared him even a shred of face. Did she really think he was someone easy to bully?
His expression hardened, and he spoke in a cold, sharp tone, "Your Highness must not wrong this official. Every tax and levy order for Xinan County was delivered by people from the Princess's manor. They would pass on the instructions and leave immediately, and this official only followed every requirement the Princess's manor laid out."
At this shameless attempt at evasion, Mu Jin shot him a glare sharp enough to cut, "I am from the Princess's manor myself. How come I never heard that the Princess sent anyone to issue such orders? Where is the official seal? Where is the formal written document? Do you take us for fools?"
Xi Qingyue swept a glance over Zhao Hong and let out a cold snort, "Truly cunning and despicable. It's a pity for you that you have run into me."
Right after saying that, she turned to walk into the yamen, issuing an order to Mu Jin, "Mu Jin, bring all the people in, along with Shen Hanyan's account books. Have them repeat the statements they made earlier right in front of the Magistrate."
Zhao Hong was seized with shock the moment he heard that. Shen Hanyan had dared to keep account books behind his back? She deserved to die. He should have gotten rid of her and replaced her long ago.
All of a sudden, he stepped sideways to block Xi Qingyue's path, speaking in a low, heavy voice, "Your Highness, wait a moment. It's not that this official doubts your identities, but none of us here have ever met the princesses or even heard of their titles. Empty words prove nothing. We should at least confirm that your identities are legitimate, should we not?"
Xi Qingyue smiled, tossed her official seal over to him, "Examine it carefully. That way, you'll be able to die with no regrets later."
Zhao Hong pretended to scrutinize the seal carefully, but in reality, he was sizing up the number of people Xi Qingyue had brought with her against the yamen's own remaining guards, calculating the odds of locking the doors and killing everyone here.
Xi Qingyue did not take Zhao Hong seriously at all. She smiled and patted Xi Weilan on the head, "Lan'er, watch closely. When you grow up, you not only have to guard against petty villains, but also against these hypocrites, especially the kind that are smiling tigers like this one."
Xi Weilan tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking, "Sister, what do I do if I meet a hypocrite?"
"It's simple. If you can't beat them, you play along with their act, then find a chance to run. If you can beat them, it's even simpler. You just deal with them once and for all. Of course, by the time you grow up, you will definitely be strong enough to beat them. If you really can't win, you can run first and call for your big sister to help you."
The moment Xi Qingyue finished speaking, every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at her.
Mu Jin could not help but let out a quiet snort of laughter, and the common people who had followed them here all looked utterly astonished.
To say such things right to the magistrate's face—everyone thought it was just the innocent talk of an eight-year-old child teaching a three-year-old little one. Was that really a proper way to raise a kid?
Zhao Hong was so enraged that his face turned even darker, but since Xi Qingyue had not named him explicitly, he could not very well stand up and admit he was the hypocrite she was talking about.
Xi Qingyue glanced at him, the curve of her lips lifting again, "Magistrate Zhao, you've stared at it long enough. Don't crush my official seal in your hand."
Before Zhao Hong could even try to give the seal back, she reached out with her right hand, snatched it back, and tucked it away.
Then she took Xi Weilan by the hand and walked into the yamen, paying no more attention to Zhao Hong who was standing behind her.
Zhao Hong was so furious that his face shifted back and forth between pale green and purple. He gave his steward a meaningful look, then hurried to follow after them.
He thought to himself, "If the gentle approach doesn't work, then I'll go for the hard way. You don't want to let me live, so you won't get to walk out of here either. At worst, we'll both perish together. If I'm lucky enough to survive, I'll take all my money and leave Xinan City. There are plenty of places in this world I can hide out. Prince Kang's fief isn't far from here. If worst comes to worst, I can flee to Northern Yue."
He had already made up his mind. If Xi Qingyue refused to spare his life later, he would shut the yamen gates and slaughter everyone here.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Xi Qingyue was seated in the chief judge's position on the county yamen's main courtroom, while Xi Weilan had dragged a small chair to sit right beside her.
The two of them were rather short, so only the tops of their heads peeked over the edge of the high bench. Xi Qingyue simply placed a thick padded cushion on the chair to sit on.
Xi Weilan leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Sister, let me do the interrogation next time. Sitting up here looks really imposing."
Hearing that, Xi Qingyue could not help but burst into laughter. She stroked Xi Weilan's head and nodded, "Alright, we'll swap places. Shen Hanyan and the rest have already confessed everything they need to confess. Later, you can focus on interrogating the Magistrate and the county commandant."
Just like that, before the shocked eyes of everyone present, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan swapped their seats.
Staring at the three-year-old child seated in the judge's spot, Zhao Hong felt nothing but deep humiliation. He was the county magistrate of this city, yet two little children were trying to put him on trial and punish him. This was absolutely unbearable.
"This is absurd! Even if you are a commandery princess, you have no right to interfere in court political affairs. Surely you understand the rule that women must not meddle in governance, Your Highness?"
Right after the words left his mouth, Xi Weilan smacked the wooden judge's gavel sharply with her small hand. "How insolent! This Xin'an City is Big Sister Lu's fief. I am the person personally appointed by Big Sister Lu. Since she has tasked us with overseeing Xin'an City, we have the final say here. You have been fraudulently using Big Sister Lu's name to deceive the public, and that deserves a beating!"
As she spoke, she banged the gavel a second time. "Guards, drag him out and give him twenty heavy strokes of the bamboo plank first!"
