"Anyone" meant including Jing Yi.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at the Ministry of Justice tomorrow."
Jing Yi walked to the window and was about to jump out when he noticed the dimming sky and suddenly remembered something. He turned back with a teasing smile and asked Xiao Jin Yu, "Have you ever thought about giving yourself a martial arts alias?"
Xiao Jin Yu was momentarily taken aback, frowning slightly. "Martial arts alias?"
"How about 'Jade-Faced Judge,' the boss of Six Doors?"
"Did you hit your head on the window too?"
"..."
From the time she parted with Jing Yi until dark, Chu Chu had been doing the same thing.
Looking for an inn.
She absolutely needed to find an inn to get a good night's sleep. Taking the Six Doors exam was a big deal, and she needed to be full of energy.
She also wanted to find an inn close to the Ministry of Justice. The capital was so big that if she wasn't careful, she might get lost and miss the exam, which would be terrible.
But after asking around, Chu Chu realized that the little money she had wasn't even enough to take a glance at the pillows in these capital inns.
As it grew completely dark, she mustered up the courage to enter a small, old-looking inn that appeared less expensive. When she asked the innkeeper about the cheapest room rate, her spirits sank again.
"Half a tael of silver..."
"Think it's too expensive?" The innkeeper glanced at her typical country girl attire and continued calculating on his abacus with some annoyance. "Then go to the place across the street. For a young girl like you staying there, not only won't they charge you, they'll even pay you."
"Really?"
How come Mr. Dong never mentioned that there were such inns in the capital!
The innkeeper didn't even look up. "Don't believe me? Go ask them yourself."
"Thank you, innkeeper!"
By the time the innkeeper looked up in surprise, Chu Chu had already rushed out the door.
"Hey, little girl! The one in the pink dress! You, come back, come back!"
Chu Chu stopped and turned around, seeing the innkeeper waving vigorously at her from behind the counter.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing... how much money do you have on you?"
After all, he'd been running this inn for nearly thirty years - he couldn't just stand by and watch this naive young girl actually rush into the brothel across the street.
"Just... seventeen wen."
"I'll take just seventeen wen then."
Chu Chu waved her hand grandly, smiling sweetly. "No need to trouble yourself! The place across the street doesn't charge anything!"
The innkeeper's face darkened. "You... just stay here. Anyway, I don't have many guests today. I won't charge you."
Chu Chu blinked her bright almond-shaped eyes. "But the place across the street will even pay me."
The innkeeper's face turned completely black. "I'll... I'll give you free meals tonight and tomorrow morning."
"Why?"
"You... you have a fortunate appearance. Wherever you go, you bring good luck."
Chu Chu's eyes widened round. "Innkeeper, you're amazing! You said exactly the same thing as Shen Ban Xian from our town!"
"Hehe, is that so..."
"Yes! It's just too bad people in our town don't believe it. They always say I'm unlucky, which is why I can't get married... If only they had half your insight!"
"I don't deserve such praise... Lai Fu! Take this young lady to Room Earth-B on the second floor."
"Innkeeper," Chu Chu blinked at him again, "could I stay in Room Heaven-A instead?"
"Eh?"
"I'm here for an exam, for good luck."
"...Fine, Heaven-A it is."
"Thank you, innkeeper! You're truly a good person!"Chu Chu set down her floral bundle in the small room labeled "First Class A," washed her face, and enjoyed a satisfying meal of three dishes and one soup.
The dishes consisted of one large meat dish, one small meat dish, and one vegetable dish, with a cabbage and tofu soup. It was better than any meal she had eaten during her journey, though the only drawback was that the staple was steamed buns instead of rice. Thinking the innkeeper might not know she was from the south and wasn’t used to steamed buns, she went downstairs before bed to let him know in advance: for breakfast, she wanted rice porridge, along with mung bean cakes and pickles.
Then, she pulled a notebook from her floral bundle, burrowed into the warm bedding, and lay on her stomach, carefully reading through it.
It was the Legends of the Nine Great Arresters from the Six Doors, as told by Mr. Dong. She would jot down each part after listening, write it up when she got home, and when she had time, bring it to Mr. Dong for corrections. After he revised it, she would carefully transcribe it again at home. Over time, she had accumulated enough to bind into notebooks—three thick volumes so far.
Since she was taking the exam to become a coroner at the Six Doors, they might ask about the Six Doors. It would be a disaster if she got nervous and forgot, so it was better to review again.
She read until she fell asleep, not even noticing when or how the candle on the bedside stool went out. The next time she woke, it was because Lai Fu was knocking on her door to deliver breakfast.
Chu Chu scrambled up in a panic. She had intended to wake up early to review a bit more, but now there was only time to eat.
Luckily, what was delivered was exactly what she had requested the night before: rice porridge, mung bean cakes, and pickles.
The county magistrate’s wife had been right—the mung bean cakes in the capital really weren’t as fine and refreshing as the ones in their Zizhu County. The rice porridge was the same; the grains were hard and lacked any fragrance. And the pickles—weren’t they supposed to be sweet and sour? How could they be so salty it felt like you could squeeze salt crystals out of them?
No wonder this innkeeper didn’t have many guests!
Chu Chu didn’t have time to dwell on it. She ate quickly, thanked the innkeeper hurriedly, and, carrying her bundle, rushed to the entrance of the Ministry of Justice two alleys away.
The sky was still pitch black. Before she even reached the steps, she saw someone opening the main gate of the Ministry of Justice from the inside.
A good night’s sleep had indeed cleared her mind, and Chu Chu suddenly remembered what Jing Yi had told her on the street yesterday: when meeting officials of the Ministry of Justice, she must show proper respect.
Chu Chu pattered up the steps, knelt down decisively with a "thud," kowtowed to the person, and called out clearly, "Chu Chu kowtows to the esteemed official!"
"Good heavens above!"
The person she had knelt to was so startled that he stumbled back two steps, not noticing the high threshold behind him. With a "bang," he tripped and fell flat on his back.
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