Hearing what Mengde said, the three of them stepped forward to take a look at the case file in her hands.
Outside the study, the younger brothers of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu—who had not been invited in—watched with envy on their faces.
After all, opportunities like this, where one could handle official court documents even before becoming an official, were rare.
And to do so under the guidance of a capable official made it even more valuable.
This kind of experience would be incredibly beneficial once they were sent out to serve in local counties.
Of course, someone like Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu wouldn’t care about such opportunities.
In the Yuan family, practically anyone could become an official.
It was easy for them to get guidance from high-ranking bureaucrats.
But for most commoners, experiences like this were something they might never obtain in their entire lives.
This was the gap between the aristocratic clans and the common people.
Naturally, their envy turned toward Liu Bei, who had been invited in with the Yuan brothers.
‘What exactly does this kid from Zhuo County have going for him?’ they wondered.
First, he was taken in as a trusted friend by the two Yuan brothers, and now he’d even caught the favor of Lady Cao?
Why did all the good things fall into his lap?
While the people outside stewed in jealousy, the three inside were examining the case file handed to them by Mengde.
The case itself was fairly straightforward.
In simple terms, a wealthy household in Taixiang County, Qilu Commandery of Qing Province—belonging to a man named Xu Hao—was broken into at night.
During the attempt to catch the thief, someone in the Xu household accidentally killed a servant named Wang Zhu.
As a result, the local magistrate convicted Xu Hao of accidental homicide and sentenced him to exile in Youzhou.
By all accounts, Xu Hao was an innocent party caught in unfortunate circumstances.
Still, killing someone—even accidentally—should come with consequences.
So, a punishment like exile seemed fair.
However, after the case was submitted to the Minister of Justice, it was returned for reevaluation.
The reason? The autopsy report didn’t match the testimonies.
The victim’s body showed several wounds of varying size.
Given how many times he had been struck, it was difficult to believe the killing had been accidental.
The Minister of Justice’s suspicion, in this case, was understandable.
***
Cao Song currently held the position of Minister of Works. During the Western Han period, this role was known as the Yushi Dafu, but it was renamed Sikong during Wang Mang’s reforms.
Emperor Guangwu later kept the title after restoring the Han dynasty.
Back in the Western Han, the Yushi Dafu was essentially the imperial inspector general, with duties that included reviewing cases and monitoring officials.
But after the Eastern Han began, Liu Xiu—wary of the Three Excellencies holding too much power—transferred many of their responsibilities to the Secretariat (Shangshutai), reducing the Excellencies to little more than ceremonial figureheads.
Even so, as everyone knows, real power isn’t about what title you hold—it’s about how many people support you.
Now, as one of the Four Eminent Officials, Cao Song was not only one of the few surviving reformists (the Qingliu faction) still holding high office, but also someone deeply admired by idealistic younger officials.
In such a political climate, “jurisdiction” was just a matter of finding a legal excuse to justify doing what one already had the influence to do.
Moreover, Emperor Liu Hong was the kind of man who preferred fooling around with palace maids over governing, so he was happy to shove all the tedious, “unimportant” duties onto Cao Song.
What the emperor truly cared about—such as appointments and finances—he held onto tightly.
As for reviewing criminal cases from the provinces? As far as Liu Hong was concerned, that was hardly worth his time.
“Let the music play, let the dancing continue!”
***
After reading the case file, Yuan Shu was the first to speak.
“I think the Minister of Justice made the right call here. According to the autopsy, the victim had multiple wounds of various sizes. How can someone get hacked that many times and still have it called an accident? Who is this Xu Hao trying to fool?”
“You’re right,” Yuan Shao nodded in agreement.
“What’s there to hesitate about with something like this? Mengde, do you think there’s something wrong with this case?”
Miss Mengde smiled and shook her head.
“With your current talents and character, it might be fine for you to serve as a county magistrate or a commandery governor. But if either of you were to become one of the Three Excellencies or Nine Ministers here in the capital, the people of this country would be in deep trouble.”
“Why?”
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu both tilted their heads in confusion.
Mengde replied, “Because lower officials will never report the full truth to their superiors. They’ll only say what benefits themselves. That means, when reviewing any report, a competent superior must approach it with skepticism—looking closely for inconsistencies and doubts. Anyone who believes a report without question is a fool.”
“Take this report, for example. Do you honestly believe that Xu Hao’s family accidentally killed the hired worker Wang Zhu while trying to catch a thief?”
“Uh…”
The two brothers glanced at each other, speechless.
Although it felt like the girl had just insulted them, they were more curious about what she had just said than concerned about her tone.
‘It wasn’t a theft?’
‘Then what was it?’
At that moment, Mengde turned her gaze toward Liu Bei, who had been silent the whole time.
She gave a slight nod and asked, “Liu Bei, what’s your opinion on this case?”
Liu Bei bowed and cupped his hands respectfully.
“I cannot claim to fully understand the case from the dossier alone. But based on the written report, I believe the officials involved may be deliberately downplaying the severity of the situation.”
“Downplaying the situation?”
The two brothers furrowed their brows in confusion.
But Mengde nodded.
“Exactly. I also believe that the local officials are trying to minimize a serious incident—hiding certain facts, or even twisting the outcome of the case entirely.”
Yuan Shao couldn’t help but ask, “Why would they do that?”
“For reputation. For their political achievements,” Mengde sighed.
“What’s the most important thing for an official these days? Isn’t it their reputation? As long as an official has a good reputation, even if he’s not especially capable, he’ll still get promoted.
Among the Partisans, there are quite a few with outstanding personal reputations but very little actual ability.
So for local officials looking to build their name, the easiest way is to make it seem like their jurisdictions are perfectly well-managed.
That means no serious crimes, and any large incidents must be classified as minor ones.
This so-called theft case on the dossier—it’s very likely actually a nighttime robbery by a gang of bandits.
Think about it.
‘Why would the victim have so many wounds on his body?’
‘Isn’t it obvious? In the chaos of the night, both Xu’s family and the bandits were slashing wildly in the dark. Who would be able to tell who they were hitting?’
But a public robbery carried out by bandits is a terrible look.
So the county magistrate probably pressured Xu Hao into saying he only encountered some petty thieves.
Because ‘thieves’—while bad—sound far less alarming than ‘bandits,’ don’t they?”
“But… how can you be so sure that there’s something wrong with this dossier?”
Yuan Shao asked with a tone that was curious but edged with doubt.