Yang Xuanse had no idea if the Crown Prince had given this official any special instructions, but his conscience was clear regardless. "This commoner is innocent. I beg Your Honor to investigate thoroughly."
The fat on the Governor's face trembled, his eyes narrowing into mere slits. "Innocent? If you are innocent, why was your pouch found at the scene? It seems you won't tell the truth until you taste some real pain. Men—!"
Realizing they were about to torture him, Yang Xuanse panicked and blurted out, "Your Honor, you’re condemning me without even asking a single question! Are you just looking for a scapegoat to close the case?"
"Contempt of court! An additional crime! Beat him—!" The Governor refused to listen, tossing an authorization token onto the floor in front of Yang Xuanse.
The constables immediately swarmed him, pinning his hands with wooden staffs and forcing his spine down. Without another word, they prepared to drag him outside for a flogging.
Utterly panicked but unable to struggle free, Yang Xuanse plunged into despair. He could feel that the Crown Prince's psychological manipulation—his gaslighting and PUA tactics—was actually working.
He knew that if he just called out and pledged loyalty, someone would step in to save him. But out of sheer stubbornness, he refused to open his mouth. The worst that can happen is I die here and get sent back to the modern world, he thought grimly.
Resolving himself, Yang Xuanse squeezed his eyes tightly shut. But a second later, a voice shouted, "Stop!" Yang Xuanse opened his eyes, only to find a complete stranger standing there.
"The Dali Court is taking over this case. By order of the Deputy Minister of the Dali Court, we are here to overturn this injustice." The newcomer held up a Dali Court badge, backed by a large contingent of men.
In practice, the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Dali Court were separate judicial entities that didn't interfere with one another. However, in terms of judicial hierarchy, the Dali Court held higher authority.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince had tacitly acknowledged Yang Xuanse as a adviser; the Governor of Jingzhao had only resorted to torture because he thought the Crown Prince prioritized a quick confession.
The Governor had not anticipated the Deputy Minister of the Dali Court interfering. Upon quick reflection, he suddenly suspected that he wasn't supposed to torture the man at all, but rather conduct a fair trial. Cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.
Everyone knew the Dali Court operated under the Crown Prince's faction. Displeasing the Dali Court meant displeasing the Crown Prince. What terrified the Governor even more was the realization that he might have completely misread the Crown Prince's intentions!
Wiping the sweat from his brow, the Governor hurried down from his dais, pasting on a fawning smile. "There is no injustice here, merely a case that has yet to be fully clarified. If the esteemed Dali Court wishes to assist in solving it, we will naturally yield jurisdiction to you."
The official tucked his badge away and, without wasting a breath on pleasantries, ordered his men to take Yang Xuanse away. This time, Yang Xuanse really was heading back to his "happy home"—the Dali Court prison. It hadn't even been three months, and the previously damaged Dali Court had already been fully renovated.
Still shaken and thoroughly confused as to why he had been transferred back to the Dali Court, clarity only arrived when he saw Bai Luo in the prison corridor.
"Brother..." Yang Xuanse rushed to the cell bars and crouched down, looking incredibly pitiful.
Bai Luo crouched down on the other side, glancing around cautiously. "Shh—keep your voice down. The situation isn't too serious this time, but that Jingzhao Governor is a glory-hound. I was worried you’d be tortured into a false confession, so I begged the Deputy Minister to request your transfer. The Crown Prince isn't interfering in this matter, so all we need to do is genuinely solve the case."
Yang Xuanse was stunned. "Wait... Brother, you were the one who begged the Deputy Minister?"
"There are two Deputy Ministers in the Dali Temple, and one of them happens to be a distant uncle from your sister-in-law's clan. So... you know how it is. Now that the case is in the hands of the Dali Court, just relax. The truth will definitely come to light." Bai Luo patted Yang Xuanse’s shoulder reassuringly.
After everything he’d experienced, Yang Xuanse didn't believe in "the truth coming to light" anymore. At the foot of the Imperial City, where political power crushed everything else, the objective truth was a myth.
However, Bai Luo’s immense kindness made him feel uneasy. "But Brother, how did you even know I was arrested? It hasn't even been a day! And wasn't this a massive waste of a favor? You can only use connections like that so many times..."
At this, Bai Luo clapped his hands together. "Ah, we have your neighbor auntie to thank for that! She saw guards searching your house and immediately sent her son to notify me. Once I asked around and realized what had happened, I scrambled to find a way to bail you out. I obviously believe you're innocent, but I couldn't let you suffer in the Jingzhao Prefecture. The Dali Court is our home turf, more or less. You're my brother; getting you out of a tight spot is just what I do. There's no such thing as a wasted favor when a life is on the line. Staying alive is what matters most!"
Yang Xuanse was overwhelmed with emotion. Over the three months he’d spent in ancient times, Bai Luo's family was the best thing he’d encountered. Being utterly clueless about this era, he had relied entirely on Bai Luo's support to survive. Choking back tears, he said, "Brother... seriously, thank you..."
Bai Luo playfully punched his arm. "Don't give me that 'thank you' nonsense. You're completely alone in a strange land. I see you as a brother, so don't treat me like an outsider. If you actually have any clues, spit them out so we can get you out of this dump as quickly as possible."
Sniffling, Yang Xuanse nodded. "Yeah, I know, Brother. Let me think... Oh, right! Did you say your wife’s distant clan uncle is the Deputy Minister? Are relationships in the Imperial City really that intertwined?"
"Of course. Though there are commoners who test into their positions via the imperial exams, so it's not hopelessly tangled. It's just that prominent clans have existed for generations, producing countless marriages and alliances. Almost everyone is related in some minor way. And even if they aren't actually related, they can always just claim to be! If you share the same surname, you can force a connection somehow." Bai Luo emphasized his point with a series of meaningful looks.
To put it bluntly: when dealing with society, your status was whatever you claimed it to be. Name-drop a few famous historical figures from your ancestry, and suddenly you were the descendant of nobility.
In an era dominated by aristocratic clans, possessing the right surname guaranteed that others would give you a modicum of respect.
A lightbulb went off in Yang Xuanse’s head. This immediately made him think of his current case. The victim was a distant cousin of the Deputy Magistrate. A Deputy Magistrate clearly outranked a mere prison guard, which meant this cousin probably wasn't an absolute nobody either.
Furthermore, although the incident took place near the Imperial City, the fabric shop wasn't actually located within the inner city markets. Yang Xuanse lived outside the city in Bai Family Village.
To avoid a brutal commute, he had deliberately found a job at Ganlin Workshop, which was located just outside the inner city walls.
Geographically speaking, both Ganlin Workshop and the fabric shop were on the outskirts and fell under the jurisdiction of Changhe County.
Factoring in the Deputy Magistrate's connections, this murder should technically have been tried by the Changhe County Magistrate. Bumping it up to the Jingzhao Prefecture wasn't entirely against the rules—the Prefecture was the highest local administrative authority, after all—but it didn't make logical sense.
A Deputy Magistrate grieving a murdered relative would be desperate to find the killer immediately and should have processed the case locally. Transferring it to the Jingzhao Prefecture felt unnecessarily convoluted.
It was like having a family member murdered in your hometown, bypassing the local police station entirely, and driving all the way to the provincial police headquarters to report it. It had a comical "technically allowed, but totally unnecessary" vibe to it.
Deep in thought, Yang Xuanse finally said, "Brother, I honestly don't know much about what happened, because I really just went in to buy two outfits. Clearing my name should actually be quite simple. You just need to check the time the city gates were locked, the time I arrived home, and the specific time of the victim's death. I was already home by the time she died. The timeline doesn't match up."
In reality, proving his innocence was incredibly straightforward. The Crown Prince had likely noticed the gaping holes in the timeline as well, assuming Yang Xuanse wouldn't actually face serious jail time.
No one could have predicted that the Jingzhao Governor would resort to immediate torture to pin the blame on a scapegoat. Thank god Bai Luo had been quick enough to pull some strings in advance.
Bai Luo memorized the clues Yang Xuanse provided and went straight to work leveraging his connections. That was just the way the world worked, no matter the era: having connections got things done faster than anything else, even faster than cutting in line.
Yet, even with that advantage, it took three whole days to process the evidence, organize the case files, and officially clear him of suspicion.
On the day Bai Luo came to release him, he overheard other prison guards gossiping. Apparently, another woman had been found dead—this time at a rouge shop. This new case had been transferred directly to the Ministry of Justice.
At that moment, Yang Xuanse had just received the personal belongings confiscated during his home search. Bai Luo urged him to check if anything was missing.
Silently, Yang Xuanse set his bundle back down. "Brother, how about I stay in a cell for a few more days? It's safe here! Plus, the people are so talented and speak so nicely—I absolutely love it here!"
He was terrified that the moment he stepped outside, he’d be made the scapegoat for another murder and end up right back behind bars. It wasn't like the Dali Temple was a hotel where he could check in and out as he pleased.
Bai Luo hesitated, but before he could offer any comfort, a voice rang out from the entrance. "Young Master Yang, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence. You did promise that whenever he had need of you, you would invariably agree."
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