Chu Chu pursed her lips. People said those in the capital looked down on folks from small towns, but since he was from the Six Doors, she had to tell the truth. "Zizhu County."
The scholar's smile didn't falter in the slightest as he nodded. "No wonder you have a Suzhou accent."
Chu Chu's eyes lit up as if she'd met a fellow townsman. "You know Zizhu County?"
"I know your magistrate, Lord Zheng."
"Lord Zheng is a good official—very clear when settling cases. It's just that he married too many wives, and Lady Zheng isn't happy about it."
The scholar chuckled softly. "I wasn't aware of that."
This was the first person she'd met outside Suzhou who knew Zizhu County, and he even knew Magistrate Zheng. Chu Chu immediately felt as if he were a dear old neighbor. She was just about to explain in detail what had happened between Lord Zheng and Lady Zheng when he spoke again in that endlessly patient tone, "Since you were doing fine back home, why trouble yourself coming all the way to the capital?"
Chu Chu pinched her fingertips and pouted. "They don't allow women to be coroners where I'm from... But Mr. Dong said there are female arresters among the Nine Great Arresters of the Six Doors, so there must be female coroners too."
"Who is Mr. Dong?"
"The storyteller at Fragrance Adding Teahouse in our town. He knows all about the Six Doors—every deed of the Nine Great Arresters."
The scholar coughed lightly, suppressing a laugh. "So you really want to be a coroner that badly?"
Chu Chu lifted her chin. "My family has been coroners since my great-grandfather's time."
The scholar nodded thoughtfully, as if genuinely considering her words, before saying, "If you truly wish to become a coroner for the Six Doors, you'll have to take an exam. Can you handle that?"
Hearing there was a way into the Six Doors, Chu Chu immediately replied, "Yes! Of course I can!"
Wasn't this exactly why she had come?
"There's an exam tomorrow morning. Can you prepare in time?"
"No need to prepare—I could take it right now!"
The scholar laughed softly. "In that case, be at the main gate of the Ministry of Justice at the first hour of mao tomorrow. Someone will tell you how to proceed."
Hearing "Ministry of Justice," Chu Chu grew anxious again. "Isn't this for the Six Doors? Why do I have to go to the Ministry of Justice?"
"Six Doors recruitment is managed by the Ministry of Justice. Didn't Mr. Dong mention that?"
Chu Chu shook her head—Mr. Dong had never said anything about that.
"Then you now know more about the Six Doors than Mr. Dong does."
With utter sincerity, Chu Chu said, "Mr. Dong was right—the officials of the Six Doors are all good people."
The scholar smiled kindly. "When you go to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow, remember to bow if you see anyone in official robes. No grabbing people's arms like you did earlier."
Chu Chu's cheeks flushed hot, and she nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking rice. "I'll remember."
"My surname is Jing, given name Yi. The character for 'scenery' and the character meaning 'feathers assisting flight.' The capital is full of all sorts—a young girl like you must be careful. If you run into any trouble you can't handle while you're here, just go to any yamen and mention my name. I'll hear about it quickly."
His words sounded boastful, but his tone carried no hint of arrogance. Chu Chu stared at him wide-eyed, her tongue nearly tripping over itself. "You—you must be... you must be the boss of the Six Doors!"
"The boss of the Six Doors?"
"The one who comes and goes without a trace, elusive as a divine dragon, whom the Nine Great Arresters obey without question, who holds all the empire's cases in his grasp—the mysterious boss of the Six Doors, known throughout the jianghu as the Jade-Faced Judge!"Jing Yi's smile had stiffened at the corners of his mouth, and faint black lines seemed to form on his forehead. What kind of nonsense was all this...
"Then I can't be considered the boss. I've just been on duty for a long time and have many friends."
"Then are you a Divine Detective?"
Jing Yi still shook his head. "I'm a civil official in the Six Doors."
Chu Chu looked at the large blade in his hand with a suspicious expression. Mr. Dong had said that Divine Detectives rarely reveal their identities for the sake of convenience in handling cases. But he had even told her his name—why couldn't he just finish explaining everything in one go?
Jing Yi followed her gaze and understood her thoughts. With a slight smile, he raised the blade in his hand. "This was left at my place by a Divine Detective. If you can pass the exam to join the Six Doors, I'll have him acknowledge you as his younger sister."
"Do you mean what you say?"
"Didn't Mr. Dong say that people from the Six Doors always keep their word?"
"He did!"
Prince An Manor.
"Lord Jing."
Jing Yi raised the large blade in his hand in acknowledgment of the two doormen who bowed to him. Without breaking stride, he headed straight for the inner courtyard with familiar ease.
From the start of winter until a day or two before the New Year, Prince An Manor received the most visitors annually. With unfamiliar guests already keeping them busy, the staff paid little mind to this all-too-familiar face, allowing him to come and go as he pleased.
After all, Jing Yi had never considered himself an outsider at Prince An Manor.
And after all, the place Jing Yi was headed to wasn't accessible to just anyone in Prince An Manor.
Three Thoughts Pavilion.
During this time of year, if anyone came to Prince An Manor seeking Prince An, Xiao Jin Yu, their name cards would eventually be delivered to the entrance of Three Thoughts Pavilion, handed over to the guards stationed there, and then they would have to wait as long as it took.
In the end, they would either receive a note outlining the solution to their matter or be directed to meet in some hall, chamber, or building according to their official rank—but entering Three Thoughts Pavilion was out of the question.
Jing Yi was the exception to Three Thoughts Pavilion.
Ever since Chu Chu kept mentioning the Six Doors earlier, Jing Yi had been thinking that if he had to pick a tangible building in the capital that truly matched her description of the Six Doors, the most suitable would be this Three Thoughts Pavilion.
However, he rarely entered Three Thoughts Pavilion through the door.
He usually climbed in through the window.
During this season, Xiao Jin Yu was always holed up on the third floor. Jing Yi found climbing the stairs troublesome, and the guards considered announcing his arrival redundant. Over time, he and the guards at Prince An Manor had reached an understanding: he would climb through the window, and they would pretend not to see it.
So when Xiao Jin Yu, standing by the window and about to lift his hand to open it for some fresh air to clear his mind, heard some unusual noises, the next moment the suddenly swung-open window frame smacked squarely against his forehead with a "thud."
OpenNovel