After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by the Paranoid Eldest Princess - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bai Jingwu, the nephew of Magistrate Bai, was imprisoned for killing someone by galloping his horse through the streets.

As for Magistrate Bai himself, his perversion of the law and failure to discipline his family were already grave, but with commoners now stepping forward to report other crimes, his guilt was compounded.

Shen Jueming had been busy interrogating Magistrate Bai until nightfall. After hastily grabbing a few bites of food, she picked up the petition she had requested from the Hu couple to examine it.

This year was an evaluation year for certain prefectures and counties. As an Assistant Commissioner of the Surveillance Commissioner’s Office, she was responsible for conducting inspections and investigations on the local level, then reporting her findings to the Ministry of Personnel for their official assessment.

She had just arrived in Yaoding yesterday, and Magistrate Bai had immediately hosted a banquet in her honor. Shen Jueming had felt uncomfortable after sitting there for only a short while and had retired early to rest.

Today, Magistrate Bai had given her quite a massive surprise!

Shen Jueming loathed such people who twisted the law for personal gain more than anything else in life.

She came from a humble background of a “cold gate” family and had encountered much injustice in her youth. Consequently, since working at the Surveillance Office, whenever it was her turn to inspect local officials, she never let any corrupt officers slip through her fingers once their misdeeds were discovered.

Throughout her years as an official, the Hu couple—who had beaten the drum to cry for justice before her today thanks to the County Vice-Magistrate opening a “convenience door” were not the first. However, the petition handed to her today, or perhaps it could be called a legal brief, was something Shen Jueming was seeing for the first time.

The wording of the petition was plain and clear, the logic was organized, and there was no emotional grandstanding. It relied solely on facts and evidence; the very skeleton of legal principles seemed to be contained within it.

The opening defined the nature of the crime, with a few brief sentences striking the heart of the matter. Then, using a calm and rational tone, it laid out the time, location, and individuals involved, listing witnesses, physical evidence, and the autopsy report—the chain of evidence was complete. Subsequently, it cited the statutes to point out the murderer’s fault, and finally mentioned how the Magistrate’s actions had corrupted the court’s discipline and harmed the government’s reputation.

It wasn’t long, yet every part was interlinked, moving from the simple to the profound with extreme rigor.

Shen Jueming thought that the person who wrote this petition must have a very deep level of study and insight into the law.

She suddenly developed a desire to meet this person.

Wen Chenqing had no idea that someone wanted to get to know her based on a single petition. She sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain to feel the breeze on her face, her mood excellent.

During those first few days after transmigrating, she didn’t have much to do because she was sick, so she had Yinxing bring her various laws of the current dynasty. Whenever she was free, she would flip through them; later, she often read them during study breaks, treating them like extracurricular reading.

She hadn’t expected them to come in handy so soon.

Before transmigrating, Wen Chenqing had taken an elective course where the final exam involved writing a paper on ancient legal statutes or judicial procedures. For that reason, she had specifically studied the subject.

She had never written an ancient legal brief before, so when she decided to help the Hu couple, she had asked Madame Chen and the others about Magistrate Bai’s reputation and hurried to a bookstore to buy a template book on how to write legal complaints. After reading it, she distilled its basic format and patterns.

Before putting brush to paper, Wen Chenqing had hesitated, but in the end, she discarded all emotional rhetoric and chose a straightforward narrative.

Fortunately, she succeeded.

Thinking of the Hu couple’s tears, a mixture of joy and relief, Wen Chenqing rested her face in her hand and looked outside. The spring scenery along the road bloomed in her eyes, and her pursed lips curved upward.

Upon arriving, she entered the villa with a light step.

Ajin greeted her with a beaming smile. “What happened? You seem so happy, A-Qing.”

This sight of someone waiting for her at the door gave Wen Chenqing a warm feeling in her heart.

She touched the corner of her mouth, surprised. “Am I smiling?”

Ajin pursed her lips and shook her head. “Naturally, you can’t see how you look right now. Your eyes are so bright—even more dazzling than the stars in the sky.”

Wen Chenqing’s fingers curled at the praise. “Ajin, I’ve found you’ve become quite the smooth talker lately.”

Yinxing said excitedly from the side, “Ajin, you simply have no idea what the Miss has done!”

Now that the matter was settled, Yinxing chattered away, recounting every bit of effort Wen Chenqing had put into the case.

“The Miss is truly a master strategist! She guessed in advance that the murderer might insist the autopsy report didn’t count, so she had me send word to the Hu family. Luckily we prepared early; when that murderer heard that an autopsy could be performed on the spot, his legs went so soft he almost collapsed!”

Wen Chenqing felt a bit bashful at Yinxing’s blunt praise and shook her head repeatedly. “This matter only succeeded because the Hu couple had the resolve. How can I take the credit?”

“But Yinxing did a lot of the legwork this time.” She patted Yinxing’s hair bun, smiling gently. “Thank you for running back and forth, Yinxing.”

Yinxing puffed out her chest happily. Under her lady’s praise, the corners of her mouth were turned up so high you could hang a fish on them. She thought blissfully that she was doing a good deed without seeking fame—maybe it would even be written into a storybook one day!

Watching Wen Chenqing gently praise Yinxing and intimately pat her hair, the line of Ajin’s lips flattened slightly.

She tugged at Wen Chenqing’s sleeve to divert her attention, feigning surprise: “Didn’t you go to the academy today? Why did you go to Yaoding County instead?”

Wen Chenqing then told her about the day’s itinerary.

“But Ajin, is there something dirty on my hand?” After finishing her explanation, Wen Chenqing noticed that Ajin was looking down, carefully wiping her palm for her.

Si Jinghua said, “There was a little just now, but it’s clean now.”

“Oh.” Wen Chenqing realized she was still holding her hand and felt a bit awkward. She wanted to pull away but feared she might misunderstand, so she said, “Ajin, why do I feel like your handkerchief is more comfortable? And your bedding too—it feels softer and lighter somehow?”

Si Jinghua said with a smile, “How could that be? Would the servants here skip over you to give me the best of everything?”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Wen Chenqing said. “The things we use are the same, it’s just…” It was just that she really felt something was off.

But the items looked identical. If she had to break it down, Wen Chenqing didn’t understand these things well enough; she could only express it as feeling lighter, softer, or more comfortable.

Perhaps there were variations in quality even within the same batch? Since they were hand-sewn, a little difference was normal.

She gave an embarrassed smile. “My senses aren’t that accurate anyway. Forget it, let’s not talk about this.”

Ajin gave a soft smile. “As you wish.”

After dinner, Wen Chenqing went for her usual walk and light exercise.

Because she had stayed in Yaoding for quite a while during the day, she went to the study to read for an extra half hour, even lighting a few extra candles.

She had a study again now.

It couldn’t be helped; Ajin seemed to be seriously following through on her plan to sleep with her. Every time she brought it up, she said it made her feel peaceful and comfortable.

Wen Chenqing had gone from being at a loss to being used to it.

Anyway, Ajin’s sleeping posture was well-behaved, and the bed wasn’t small. Two people who slept quietly didn’t interfere with each other.

So now, half of this room served as her study, and the other half was used for Ajin’s belongings. The bedstead hadn’t been moved; if Ajin ever changed her mind, she could go back and sleep there.

When the time came, Wen Chenqing put down her book, blew out the candles, and went back to prepare for bed.

Wait—

“Ajin, where is my bedding?”

Looking at the bed, where Ajin was leaning against the quilt with her hair down waiting for her, Wen Chenqing was dumbfounded.

Where was her quilt? Where had it gone?!