Pausing for a moment, he tapped the edge of the desk with a fingertip, his voice softening with a feigned hint of weakness. “I have a frail constitution. I hope Lord Nie will show some mercy.”
He seemed to amuse himself with his own words and let out a light laugh. That laugh caused the slight upward curve of his eyes to sparkle with a touch of cunning. His complexion seemed even more like frost-kissed snow—vivid and dazzling enough to make it impossible to look away.
Nie Jin’s breath hitched. His mind momentarily faltered, and he instinctively averted his gaze.
“Why won’t Lord Nie look at me?”
Master Plum seemed to have found a novel toy and was enjoying himself immensely. He pressed Nie Jin further, “Weren’t you looking quite intently just a moment ago?”
At those words, the scribe at the desk nearly snapped his brush, while the two lictors standing behind them shuddered, involuntarily exchanging a look.
In all the years they had followed Nie Jin, this was the first time they had seen the Iron-Faced Judge rendered speechless by someone’s blatant flirting.
Nie Jin fixed his gaze back on the man’s face and said in a heavy tone, “This is an official interrogation. Please conduct yourself with dignity.”
Master Plum leaned back into his chair, lifting his chin with a careless air. “Then ask your questions, Lord Nie. Don’t just spend the whole time staring at me.”
Ignoring the jab, Nie Jin resumed his usual, stiff tone. “You bypassed the Secretariat, bypassed the Ministry of Revenue, and didn’t even file a record with the Ministry of War for this batch of cotton. There was no official transfer process, no warehouse receipts, and the quantities are unaccounted for.”
“Even if you are providing relief to the commoners, you cannot act outside the law.”
The teasing glint in Master Plum’s eyes faded. He asked languidly, “Does Lord Nie know how many days a complete process takes? From the Secretariat’s deliberation, the Ministry of Revenue’s audit, the Ministry of Works’ report, the Ministry of War’s orders, the Imperial Treasury’s disbursement… then to the weavers, the embroidery workshops, the wholesale storage, and finally the public posting for distribution?”
Nie Jin frowned slightly. “According to the Great Chen Statutes, for urgent matters, the fastest it can be done is seven days…”
“Seven days?”
Master Plum burst into a fit of laughter, covering his nose with snow-white fingers. “A few years ago, when the locust plague hit Hedong, they followed that exact procedure,” he said, smiling brightly. “By the time the relief grain reached Hedong, three full months had passed.”
“Lord Nie, care to guess how many people starved to death?”
Nie Jin stared at him silently, offering no answer.
The recording scribe looked up, his face pale, unable to stop himself from asking, “How many?”
Master Plum tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as if searching through a memory. His tone was lazy and devoid of emotion. “I don’t remember. The corpses were all eaten clean—how could anyone keep count? Who was even left to record it?”
The room fell into a dead silence.
Nie Jin’s back, which was always held ramrod straight, swayed imperceptibly as if he had been stabbed through the chest.
Master Plum watched the Iron-Faced Judge’s reaction with great interest. He watched the man’s Adam’s apple bob with difficulty; he watched his tightly pursed lips tremble ever so slightly. He asked softly once more, “Does Lord Nie still want to arrest me?”
Nie Jin closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his voice was low but resolute. “I can understand the need to provide relief to the people. However, treating disaster victims like thieves and humiliating them in the streets—”
“That, I cannot tolerate. Starting today, the Court of Judicial Review will take over this matter. All distribution processes will be moved to the inner hall of the government office. The cotton clothes will be remade, deodorized, and trimmed. The Ministry of Works will be ordered to provide the approval documents overnight, and then a distribution roster will be finalized.”
Having finished, he turned to the scribe. “Pass down my order. Send men to seal this distribution point, move the goods to the estate, and have the Court of Judicial Review handle it personally.”
The scribe hurried off to comply, and the lictors in the room filed out in silence.
Master Plum watched him with a deep, meaningful gaze and let out a soft sigh. “I advise Lord Nie not to change my methods. You are too young. You might be capable of handling cases, but when it comes to disaster relief, you understand nothing.”
Only the two of them remained in the room. Nie Jin sized up the man’s face. He looked to be only in his early twenties, yet his tone was “seasoned and heavy,” as if he had endured a lifetime of storms. “I understand nothing? And you do?”
Master Plum gave a slight nod. He stood up, walked to Nie Jin’s side, and leaned in until they were incredibly close.
He spoke almost directly into the judge’s ear. “If Lord Nie runs into trouble, come find me. I can’t stand to see a good man suffer a loss.”
Nie Jin caught the scent of the man’s fragrance and recoiled as if stung by a bee. Those words, however, reminded him of something. “This case is not yet closed. I will summon you at any time. Leave your name and address.”
Master Plum slowly wrapped his mink fur cloak tighter around his shoulders. His eyes rippled with a playful glint. “Ask Pei Du. He knows my background quite well.”
Nie Jin’s brow furrowed. “Pei Jingyi?”
Master Plum walked out gracefully, his snow-white mink fur sweeping over the threshold. Without looking back, he said, “I’ll be waiting for Lord Nie to come and catch me at any time…”
He seemed to deliberately drag out the last syllable, his voice carrying a lazy, nasal quality. “But don’t make me wait too long, now~”
The final note lifted slightly, like a tiny hook scratching at the tip of one’s heart. That “now” was breathed out softly—half-coquettish, half-provocative.
Nie Jin’s expression remained cold and rigid, yet at the collar of his official uniform, his carotid artery could be seen pulsing violently.
🗣️📢Aaand another man added to the Chancellor’s hare- uuuh I mean faction haha🤭