Chapter 532 - The Dugu Qiuhun Case

The members of the Law-Studies Club were jubilant, but for Ma Jia, the victory brought immediate headaches. As the newly anointed head of the judiciary, his first official challenge was a minefield: how to handle the cases of Chang Shide and Dugu Qiuhun.

On the eve of the Assembly’s closing, someone had proposed a public trial—dragging both men before the Senate for a struggle session. The motion was rejected; the violence of the imagery was too extreme, and after days of contentious meetings, the exhausted delegates had little appetite for more drama. The extensive lobbying by the overseas stations had also done its work, killing the proposal in the cradle. Instead, the Assembly passed a compromise motion: a hearing would be held by the Honor Court after the session adjourned, supervised by the Senate Standing Committee.

Since it was a judicial matter, the hot potato landed squarely in Ma Jia's lap.

Ma Jia returned to his Maritime Court office in the Customs Building—he hadn't yet moved into the Executive Committee compound—and convened a small meeting of his key cadres. They were there to debrief and plan.

The Law-Studies Club was the undeniable winner of the Second General Assembly. Not only had Ma Jia secured a seat in the highest ruling circle, but the principle of "rule by law" had been enshrined in the collective's constitution, locking in the future of every legal specialist. Though decorum forbade cheering in the office, smiles were plastered on every face. An Xi was practically vibrating with glee, feeling that his legwork had been the catalyst for their total victory.

Trained legal minds tend to be efficient. There was no wasted talk. They quickly reviewed the situation and set the agenda for the next phase: the Club would continue to champion "pure scholarship" and "rule of law," using the newly passed Associations Law to strengthen their internal organization.

The final item was "dividing the spoils"—allocating positions within the new judicial system. As the head of the Arbitration Tribunal and the supreme judicial leader, Ma Jia held the keys to the kingdom. The entire Club had been waiting for this moment.

Ma Jia was cautious. He promised everyone would get a piece of the pie but set a condition: they first had to draft the blueprint for the system itself—legal traditions, trial procedures, organizational structure. They had to build the house before they could move in.

"Go back and discuss it. I want proposals by Thursday," Ma Jia ordered. "I need to submit the plan to the Executive Committee by Monday, then to the Senate. Once the structure is approved, we assign personnel. Don't slack off now."

"Will do!" they chorused, eyes bright with ambition.

As the meeting dispersed, with members already planning celebratory drinks at the Farm Café, Ma Jia held Ji Xin back.

"The Chang Shide and Dugu Qiuhun cases," Ma Jia said quietly. "I'm handing them to you."

Ji Xin hesitated. "What's the leadership's temperature on this?"

"Ambiguous. The directive from the top is 'don't let it blow up,'" Ma Jia said. "But be warned—many ordinary Senators and even some Executive Committee members don't share that leniency."

"I understand," Ji Xin nodded. "Leave it to me."

"It's in your hands."

Ma Jia had chosen Ji Xin carefully. He was articulate, mature, and prudent—qualities essential in a tangled political mess. More importantly, he was upright; he wouldn't try to leverage the cases for personal profit, unlike many others circling the waters.

Ma Jia handed him two files. Chang Shide's was thin; Dugu Qiuhun's was substantially thicker. The weight difference alone told Ji Xin where the real trouble lay.

"Chang Shide is at Guest House No. 1. Dugu Qiuhun is at the Army Club," Ma Jia said. "You can interview them anytime—they aren't going anywhere."

Ji Xin was assigned a temporary office in the Customs Building. He moved in immediately, bringing his sleeping bag and personal effects.

He knew Chang Shide's case was manageable. Exonerating him wouldn't be difficult because the leadership's orientation was fundamentally protective. The public anger over the "woman issue" had largely subsided after the Assembly; a few procedural maneuvers would likely see Chang Shide through without much controversy.

The real challenge was Dugu Qiuhun.

Dugu mobilizing the police to "suppress a riot" wasn't catastrophic in itself, and Ji Xin dismissed the hysterical claims of a "coup attempt." He believed Dugu's loyalty to the collective was absolute. The problem was that Dugu's expression of that loyalty had triggered a primal fear among the transmigrators: the fear that one of their own might use indigenous forces to threaten the group.

They were building an empire where the indigenous population would form the bulk of the military and administration. Securing the loyalty of the native elites was already a major anxiety. Now, Dugu had demonstrated the nightmare scenario: a transmigrator turning native guns on his comrades for political ends.

If the police hadn't been intercepted before reaching the fortress—if the locals had seen their "gods" scattering before native truncheons—the collective's prestige might have collapsed irreparably.

From that perspective, Dugu's conduct was indeed "extremely egregious." Severe punishment—removal from office, investigation, a lifetime ban on public service—was entirely justifiable.

But Ji Xin sensed deep waters.

The "Dugu Qiuhun Incident" wasn't isolated; it was part of the "Maid Revolution." Ji Xin hadn't marched that night—he disdained mob politics—but he suspected the Law-Studies Club wasn't clean. Ma Jia and Shan Liang leading the march together... was that really a coincidence? Or was Shan Liang just the detonator for a pre-planned explosion?

And beyond the Club? How many other shadows had moved behind the scenes that night? Recalling the Executive Committee's paralysis during the crisis, Ji Xin began to see the shape of the game.

He broke the seal on Dugu's file. It contained Political Security interrogations of every policeman present, reports from Bei Wei and Xue Ziliang, and transcripts of Ran Yao's conversations with Dugu.

The smoking gun was a handwritten order from Dugu himself, instructing Li Yayang to mobilize the Police Reserve Company.

The depositions of the indigenous officers made Ji Xin draw a sharp breath: multiple policemen testified that Dugu had ordered them to open the armory and take Minié rifles into the city.

Ordering indigenous personnel to enter the city armed without authorization was a fatal error. Regardless of intent, that single act was enough to destroy him. Pinning a "coup attempt" on him would be effortless.

Dugu Qiuhun's political career was dead. That was certain. The dilemma was how to bury the body. Ma Jia's instruction was "don't let it blow up," but the undercurrents both in and out of power wanted blood. Someone needed to pay for the scare.

Ji Xin decided to start at the source.

The day after the incident, Ran Yao and Mu Min had arrived at the East Gate Market Precinct. After a brief closed-door interrogation, a pale Dugu Qiuhun was stripped of his pistol and taken away. Mu Min took temporary command, bringing in fresh trainees from the Academy, while the original officers were carted off to a Political Security "study camp" for intensive debriefing.

Dugu had been held at the Army Club ever since. He lived in a comfortable room, received daily meeting minutes, and even voted in the Assembly by proxy, but he was effectively a prisoner.

When Ji Xin entered the room, Dugu looked surprisingly unbothered.

"Are you my defense lawyer?" Dugu waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not guilty. I don't need a defense!"

Ji Xin smiled faintly. "I'm not a lawyer. I'm a judge."

Dugu looked confused.

Ji Xin introduced himself and explained the Assembly's resolution regarding the Honor Court hearing.

(End of Chapter)