Chapter 326: The King Stands Above the Law

"It was just that, under the Central Gentleman of the Chariot, two newly appointed Gentlemen of the Guard dozed off while on night duty in the forbidden palace."

Half a shichen later, in the room where the Central Gentleman of the Household and his junior staff rested, Heifu's two subordinates were explaining to him why Meng Yi had been so furious earlier.

One of them was called Li Liang, a man from Longxi Commandery whose rank was Grandee of the Public, with a mature, seasoned face. The other was named Dong Yi, a man from Xiayang in the Capital Prefect, also a Grandee of the Public, big-boned and burly, a typical Guanzhong warrior.

Gentlemen of the Guard are required not to sleep too deeply even when off duty, and must be ready to answer a summons at any moment — let alone dozing off while actually on guard duty; it was indeed a grave offense.

After receiving a dressing-down from Meng Yi, those two junior Gentlemen were expelled from the Guard on the spot. They slunk home dejectedly, and would surely get a severe beating from their fathers and elder brothers, for they had already thrown away a brilliant future, and even ruined their whole family's official prospects.

"So when serving as a Gentleman in the palace, you can't afford to make even the slightest mistake…" Dong Yi sighed.

Li Liang, however, responded: "Even if one does not serve as a Gentleman, as an official of Qin, one still cannot afford a single misstep."

Li Liang, the man from Longxi, was not yet thirty. He was a junior clansman of Li Xin, and this lament came from the bottom of his heart — only after he said it did he realize he had spoken out of turn.

Heifu merely committed their words to memory in silence, but said aloud: "So that's how it is. I had thought Central Gentleman Meng was simply too harsh in enforcing the law."

Dong Yi said: "The General of the Central Gentlemen does indeed enforce the law strictly. Normally, for a first offense by a young Gentleman of seventeen or eighteen, a reprimand, or at most a somewhat heavier punishment, would suffice. Who would have thought he would expel them outright…"

Heifu seized the chance to ask: "I once heard that before Lord Meng became General of the Central Gentlemen, he tried a case by royal command and sentenced the Prefect of the Central Chariot Office to death?"

Li Liang, who was more circumspect, shut his mouth the moment he heard this topic.

Dong Yi, simpler in mind and free of scruples, laughed and said: "The Household Order of the Central Gentlemen is right. General Meng previously served as a Case-Reviewing Clerk in the Commandant of Justice's office, specializing in hearing cases. Several years ago, when the Prefect of the Central Chariot Office committed a crime, His Majesty ordered Lord Meng to try the case. Lord Meng dared not bend the law, and ruled that the Prefect should be executed and his eunuch registry struck off. In the end, His Majesty the First Emperor, considering that the Prefect of the Central Chariot Office was honest and had toiled diligently for many years, pardoned him…"

Having confirmed that this matter had indeed happened, Heifu shook his head inwardly.

The very first event in his rise had been a false accusation lawsuit, in which he was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing under Xi's judgment and received the reward he deserved.

Because of this, Heifu had held a favorable impression of Qin's judicial system from beginning to end. Moreover, having served as an official for many years, he was also very familiar with the Qin Code. He therefore knew that Qin placed great emphasis on legal procedure; from county jailers to commandery prison officials, and up to the Commandant of Justice's office, judges at every level basically handled cases according to the law, rather than acting on personal morality or favor.

But when he arrived at the center of the empire, he discovered that this seemingly seamless Qin legal system had one enormous, natural hole.

The King of Qin — or rather, the Emperor — stood absolutely above the law.

Although successive Kings of Qin, as well as the current First Emperor, all understood that the Qin Code was the foundation upon which Qin had built its state and unified the world, nearly every generation of Qin kings had, to a greater or lesser extent, exercised the "power of pardon" that belonged solely to the sovereign.

During the second campaign against Chu, Cheng Shang of Qin Mo, who had worked alongside Heifu, told him something: In the time of King Hui of Qin, the Grand Master of Qin Mo, Fu Tun, lived in Xianyang, and his son was arrested for murder. King Hui of Qin, who at the time relied heavily on Qin Mo, considered that Fu Tun was advanced in age and had only this one son, and intended to pardon him. The Grand Master of Qin Mo, however, believed that whether by Qin law or Mohist rules, murder was a capital offense, and that a hasty pardon would break the rules; he therefore requested that the King of Qin execute his son according to the law.

And in the time of King Zhao of Qin, during the Battle of Handan, the Qin general Zheng Anping surrendered to Zhao. By law, Fan Ju, who had recommended him as general, should have been implicated and executed. Yet King Zhao of Qin issued an order throughout the realm that anyone who dared speak of Zheng Anping's affair would be put to death, and instead increased his rewards to Fan Ju to set his mind at ease. It was only when Wang Ji, another benefactor of Fan Ju, was also convicted and executed for colluding with the feudal lords — with irrefutable evidence and surging public outrage — that King Zhao of Qin had no choice but to grant Fan Ju death.

Now, Meng Yi, who was in charge of the trial, had already sentenced Zhao Gao to death, yet the Emperor once again exercised his power of pardon, directly absolving Zhao Gao of his crime, letting him continue working in the Central Chariot Office and regarding him as a trusted confidant as before…

This was perfectly normal. After all, from the very beginning of its codification, the Qin Code was a body of laws and decrees built around the centralization of monarchical power; the final decision-making authority naturally had to rest in the monarch's hands. Now, when it came to important death penalty cases — for instance, when a high court official committed a crime warranting death — the Commandant of Justice would even submit a memorial to the Emperor for review; only when the Emperor marked his approval would the death sentence be valid.

Thus, certain individuals who received the Emperor's special favor enjoyed the privilege of having their offenses go unpunished.

"But of all people, he had to pardon Zhao Gao — the one man who should never have been pardoned…" Heifu thought to himself.

Heifu was extremely wary of this man, Zhao Gao.

It was not only what Zhao Gao had done in history. From their very first meeting, Heifu had merely revealed a sliver of killing intent, yet it was detected by Zhao Gao — who had served as the King of Qin's driver for many years and was adept at reading expressions and gauging moods — frightening Heifu into a cold sweat.

After entering Xianyang, when the King of Qin ordered his ministers to deliberate on an imperial title, Heifu had thought that, having grasped the correct answer and delivered his flattery with perfect timing, he was certain to take first place. Who could have guessed that the Prefect of the Central Chariot Office, Zhao Gao, had also divined the Emperor's thoughts? In the end, one of them "deeply accorded with Our heart," while the other "quite accorded with Our intent," and they split the honors evenly. Heifu was promoted by the Emperor, and Zhao Gao also advanced one step in rank.

Upon learning of this, Heifu was horrified.

"I relied on cheating. What did Zhao Gao rely on? Reading expressions and gauging moods? Or fathoming the First Emperor's mind?"

His wariness toward Zhao Gao deepened several degrees. Now that he was on duty in the forbidden palace, whenever the First Emperor traveled, he would have to stand guard at his side — a duty that overlapped with the authority of the Prefect of the Central Chariot Office. He would inevitably have to deal with Zhao Gao from now on.

Facing this man, Heifu realized that at present, he had no confidence whatsoever.

He had now confirmed that Zhao Gao was not a eunuch; he had a wife, a daughter, and a son-in-law, and was also an expert of the inner court so strong he could "stop a galloping horse with sheer strength." Heifu feared his own martial prowess was no match for him.

Moreover, Zhao Gao had been at the First Emperor's side for nearly twenty years; a great traitor who appeared utterly loyal, he had won the Emperor's deep trust — so much so that the Emperor would even exercise his power of pardon for him. Even Meng Yi could not sentence him to death, let alone a newcomer like Heifu.

"It's best to rein in my killing intent and maintain an uneasy peace for now…" Heifu made up his mind not to provoke this formidable character for the time being.

"Still, this time I stole his thunder in the imperial title deliberation — will Zhao Gao see me as an enemy?"

Heifu could not afford to be unguarded. Acting on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, he decided he must cultivate a good relationship with his superior, Meng Yi.

But Meng Yi was a man strict with his subordinates and strict with himself — not an easy person to deal with. And from the look of things, the Cavalry Order of the Central Gentlemen, Wang Li, was quite dissatisfied with Meng Yi; the Wang clan was not easy to get along with either.

A hidden threat in Zhao Gao, a superior in Meng Yi, a colleague in Wang Li — Heifu suddenly realized that the waters of the Zhangtai Palace were truly deep.

"No use overthinking it. First, firm up my own little patch of ground, then follow closely in the Emperor's footsteps — that is the way to survive in the forbidden palace!"

He glanced at the thuggish-faced Dong Yi. Dong Yi was easy to handle — simpler in mind, and also a man from Xiayang in the Capital Prefect, a fellow townsman of Zhang Han. The two had once served as Gentlemen of the Guard together, and between him and Heifu there was only one degree of separation; they quickly warmed up to each other.

Li Liang was different. This man appeared respectful toward Heifu on the surface, but in truth, his mind was full of calculations.

Further down, the two hundred Gentlemen of the Guard were all young masters from Guanzhong, every one of them holding no low rank. They could not compare to the three thousand Southern Commandery lads Heifu had personally trained, and winning their wholehearted submission would be no simple matter either…

Just as Heifu was adapting to his new post, the first grand court assembly after the Emperor assumed the imperial title was also about to commence…

PS: The third chapter on the 29th won't be out until 12:30.

(End of chapter)