Censor Liang Pou agreed to meet me on the third day after Ru Songyi delivered the letter.
The response had come back within hours, which was itself informative. A man who received an unexpected letter from a household whose legal status was currently in dispute had two choices: ignore it and let the situation develop, or respond quickly and attempt to control it. He had chosen the second option, which told me that whatever role he played in this affair, it was not one of indifference.
The meeting was set at a tea house in the administrative district—neutral ground, public enough to be safe, quiet enough for a private conversation. I arrived before him, as I always did for any significant meeting, and chose a table in the corner with clear sightlines to both entrances and no adjacent tables occupied.
