Chapter 3 — Female Judge

They sat behind the neighboring tables, still not daring to speak up until now. I looked at the emperor. "The goddess wants to win the prize and also wants to investigate the case of late dispatch. These two things are not contradictory." The emperor asked: "Where is the evidence that the dispatch was late?" I replied: "Outside the palace." Ta Hanh Chu's chin moved slightly. I ordered the maid to carry the things in. Two black painted urgent dispatch containers are placed side by side in the middle of the main hall. The mouth of one tube is sealed with red wax, the other tube with blue wax. I pointed to the tube on the left. "This is a test letter written by the goddess after leaving Van Hoa Pavilion three days ago, sent by the official translation station." I pointed to the tube on the right. "This is an envelope with the same content, sent by the caravan's horsemen on a detour." Chu Thien blurted out: "It is against the law for a female candidate to use an urgent dispatch tube without permission." I looked at him. "So the tube on the left was not sent by me, but by patrol Qin under orders." Your Majesty checked the backup and sent it."Tan Tri Vi nodded. "I wanted to test the route to the station, so I sealed the patrol."The tube on the right was taken by me thanks to the people's horses. The official station service tube just arrived today at Dragon hour. The tube brought by the people's horse arrived from the hour of the Rat last night. The official station service is three hours slower than the civil service. The delayed route is identical to the dispatch from An Tay. The Emperor ordered: "Open." Ta Hanh Chu suddenly knelt down. "Your Majesty, the wax seal of the urgent dispatch tube cannot be opened arbitrarily right on the throne. If it is opened incorrectly, all service stations will imitate it in the future, and the emergency dispatch rules will be broken." I looked at him. "Are you afraid of the rules being broken, or are you afraid that the horse tag hidden in the sealing wax will be exposed?" He raised his head. I put my hand on the left tube. "Your Majesty, when you open this tube, you will know where the An Tay dispatch once stopped, who changed horses, and who took advantage of stealing the manuscript of the women's department to bring an old essay to the front of the palace." 5 The emperor personally held the paper-cutting knife. The red wax layer was split open. From the dispatch tube, a small bronze horse card rolled out in front. On the surface of the card are engraved two words: Bach Sa. That is the service station under the management of Major Khanh Thai Bo of Ta Vien. Ta Vien is Ta Hanh Chu's uncle. Ta Hanh Chu stared at the horse card, his shoulders and back not moving at all. He is much calmer than Luc Minh Chau. The Emperor asked: "Why is there a horse card of the Bach Sa service station in the tube?" I replied: "Every time the emergency dispatch tube passes through a station, a good dispatcher must hang an additional bell through the station at the end of the tube. If you change horses in the middle of the route, the horse card must go with the tube. The test tube sent by Tan patrol departs from the south gate of the capital. Following the correct route, it must go through three service stations Truong Dinh, Quy Nhan and Lac Ha, and should not go through Bach Sa." Tan Tri Vi added. Sung: "Bach Sa is located at the northwest turn, go around another twenty-seven miles." The emperor looked at Ta Hanh Chu. Ta Hanh Chu said: "If you lose your way, it's not unheard of." I nodded. "It's possible to get lost once. An Tay Dispatch also stopped for a night in Bach Sa, is it a coincidence?" I took out a printed copy of the translation station route. There was no record of personal money or a list of people's names on it. There were only horse hoof prints and sealing wax marks. "Before the urgent dispatch from An Tay entered the capital, the rope hanging from the bell at the end of the tube was cut. The person who cut the rope used a green hemp knife commonly found in the Ta family's stables. The knife blade would leave behind three small strands of silk." The maid gave the end of the dispatch tube to the craftsman in front of the palace. The worker used silver tweezers to pick out a few strands of hemp. "Your Majesty, there are indeed three small strands of silk." Ta Hanh Chu said: "Just because the Ta family's stables use that type of hair doesn't mean other people don't use it." I said: "So there is a second thing." I took one out of the tube.

piece of oil paper. On the paper were written only four words: Borrow twenty horses. There is no name below. Only half a seal. As soon as he saw it, Chu Thien's shoulders immediately collapsed. The emperor asked: "Whose seal is this?" Tan Tri Vi replied: "The inspection seal of the southern room of the Ministry of Rites. It is the small seal that Minister Chu carried with him." Chu Thien lay on the ground. "Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I only lent a horse to Young Khanh. I have never delayed an urgent dispatch." "Borrowing twenty horses, why do I have to go through Bach Sa service station?" Chu Thien could not answer. I answered for him: "Because the Bach Sa service station has the Ta family's own horse. When the An Tay dispatch arrived at Bach Sa, the horse was changed, and the dispatch tube was held for one night. The next day, the official's horse was changed back, so there was an additional three days delay on the way." was switched at Bach Sa.” A few sounds of chair legs rubbing were heard in the palace. We open the second dispatch tube sealed with blue wax. Inside was an envelope tested without a single mistake. The corner of the paper has three cinnabar dots that I marked before. But the envelope in the left tube only has two dots.