The capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng, was holding a small spring examination. The exam papers were delivered to the Longtu Pavilion. However, this exam was not for selecting talented scholars or ministers but for finding individuals well-versed in ancient and modern scripts, with patience and meticulousness, who could organize and restore scattered ancient books and case files.

The exam papers were graded by two senior officials—both of whom were quite busy lately.

Now, everyone in Kaifeng, from the royal family to commoners, knew about two officials who were constantly at odds—one was the infamous corrupt Grand Preceptor, Pang Ji, and the other was the equally famous upright official, Bao Zheng.

For twenty years, Bao Zheng and Pang Ji had served in the same court. They were of similar age and rank but had utterly clashing personalities and incompatible temperaments.

To make matters worse, one was the emperor’s father-in-law, and the other was the chief minister. Neither was willing to back down.

In a way, their rivalry was partly due to Emperor Renzong himself.

Zhao Zhen, the seemingly kind and gentle young emperor, actually had a bit of a mischievous streak. Whenever the court was peaceful, he enjoyed stirring things up between his two senior officials. Recently, with the borders stable and no major disasters or grievances in the empire, the emperor suddenly had a whim—to sort through all the unresolved case files from the past three years stored in the Longtu Pavilion and study them.

As soon as Bao Zheng, the Grand Academician of the Longtu Pavilion, heard this, his dark forehead began to sweat. He stepped forward and suggested, “Your Majesty, the Longtu Pavilion holds an enormous number of case files. Perhaps it would be best to select some students from the Imperial Academy to help organize them?”

“Ah!” Grand Preceptor Pang Ji stretched out his voice and also stepped forward, saying, “Your Majesty, how could mere students from the Imperial Academy distinguish which cases are significant or not? This task requires Grand Academician Bao himself!”

Bao Zheng squinted at Pang Ji, thinking: You fat old scoundrel, stirring up trouble!

Pang Ji, seeing Bao Zheng’s eyes narrow—his entire face as dark as an inkstone—felt a little uneasy. But seeing Bao Zheng trapped in this mess, he couldn’t resist adding fuel to the fire.

Zhao Zhen stroked his chin thoughtfully and then said, “The Grand Preceptor makes a valid point. Bao Qing, you shall personally handle the organization.”

The corners of Pang Ji’s lips curled up in a triumphant smile—but before the smile fully formed, Bao Zheng immediately responded, “Your Majesty, I fear I cannot handle this task alone. May I request that the Grand Preceptor assist me?”

Pang Ji’s smile froze. When he heard Zhao Zhen casually say, “Granted,” his entire expression collapsed.

As soon as the eunuch announced, “Court dismissed,” the other officials watched as Bao Zheng and Pang Ji left the palace gates, each grabbing the other’s arm in frustration.

“Blackie, why are you dragging me into this?”

“Thanks to you! Why shouldn’t you share the burden?”

After being trapped in the Longtu Pavilion for three days and nights—covered in bites from bookworms—these two finally decided to stop bickering and find a solution. Thus, they came up with the idea of holding an examination.

In the end, all the successful candidates were students from the Imperial Academy. Ten students spent half a month sorting through just the unresolved cases from the past three years, which filled an entire bookshelf. There was still much more to organize.

One day, Zhao Zhen strolled into the Longtu Pavilion, casually pulled out a file, and asked Bao Zheng, “Bao Qing, is Guard Zhan idle these days?”

Bao Zheng tilted his head and thought for a moment…

At the Taibai Restaurant, Zhan Zhao, who was enjoying a bowl of wontons, suddenly sneezed.

“He’s idle,” Pang Ji chimed in again. “I must say, Bao Zheng, you really found yourself a capable aide. Ever since Zhan Zhao arrived in Kaifeng, all those old and unsolved cases have been cracked—especially the ones involving martial artists! Before, even a minor sect’s dispute would leave you in distress, but now everything is sorted out…”

Bao Zheng frantically shot him meaningful looks, but his expressions were drowned out by his pitch-black face. Unfortunately, Pang Ji, being old and slightly farsighted, couldn’t catch the signals.

“Are Bao Qing and the Grand Preceptor idle these days?” Zhao Zhen asked with a smile.

Pang Ji immediately fell silent, while Bao Zheng rolled his eyes viciously—so white that they stood out starkly.

“This entire shelf of unresolved cases…” Zhao Zhen gestured from one end of the bookshelf to the other, then patted both Bao Zheng and Pang Ji on the shoulders. “How about the two of you set out on a patrol?”

Bao Zheng and Pang Ji’s mouths fell open.

Bao Zheng hurriedly protested, “Your Majesty, I have many affairs to handle at the Kaifeng Prefecture…”

“Aren’t you idle these days? If anything arises, I will have someone call you back,” Zhao Zhen blocked his excuse effortlessly before glancing at Pang Ji.

The Grand Preceptor swallowed nervously—he had even less of an excuse, having just admitted he was free.

“Start with this case,” Zhao Zhen said, stuffing the file he had pulled out into Bao Zheng’s hands before turning and heading back to the palace, fully satisfied.

Left behind, Bao Zheng and Pang Ji could only stare at each other—black face to white face—sighing together.

…

Back at the Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhan Zhao saw the bailiffs packing their bags, and a long parade forming at the gate. At the front, the “Justice and Integrity” banner was raised high, looking rather imposing.

From a distance, he spotted Bao Zheng and Pang Ji walking side by side.

Pang Ji immediately noticed the young man in red standing ahead.

Zhan Zhao had only recently arrived in Kaifeng, and no one knew exactly how Bao Zheng had managed to recruit him into solving cases.

Pang Ji had mixed feelings about him—he liked him and disliked him at the same time.

He liked him because he gave off a naturally charming aura, making it hard for anyone to dislike him. His first impression was one of sheer amiability.

He disliked him because, as someone who had seen much of the world, Pang Ji knew that people who were too gentle often carried an unshakable pride, and those who always smiled were the hardest to deal with once they turned serious.

For someone as young as Zhan Zhao to make such a name for himself in the martial world, he was certainly not an easy character to handle… And most importantly, he was on Bao Zheng’s side.

“Guard Zhan,” Pang Ji greeted him with great politeness.

Zhan Zhao’s lips curved slightly, his bright eyes forming crescents as he gave the Grand Preceptor his usual warm smile.

Pang Ji clutched his chest—when was the last time someone had smiled at him so sincerely?

“Sir, are you heading out?” Zhan Zhao asked Bao Zheng, though his gaze rested on the file in Bao Zheng’s hand.

“Yes, Guard Zhan, prepare yourself. We set off tonight on a patrol to investigate unresolved cases.”

Zhan Zhao’s interest was piqued upon hearing the word “unresolved cases.” He reached out and flicked his wrist…

With a crisp sound, the file unfurled instantly, rolling out from one hand to the other. With a quick shake, it was fully open!

The motion caused a stir behind them. Bao Zheng turned back to see a group of maidservants watching, their mouths forming a clear “handsome” in unison.

Clearing his throat, Bao Zheng turned back—only to find Pang Ji also staring, mouth agape.

He nudged him. “Old man, stop staring at my pure-hearted young aide!”

Pang Ji waved his hand dismissively. It wasn’t that he was swooning over Zhan Zhao’s charm like the girls—it was the dramatic shift in Zhan Zhao’s expression that had truly shocked him.

Zhan Zhao had turned deadly serious.