The county magistrate of Datong, a forty-five-year-old seventh-rank official who had entered the bureaucracy as a provincial graduate over a decade prior. He recognized that the poisoning accusation was baseless and that Prince Dai had choked to death. However, as an insignificant official facing the powerful Prince Dai Manor, he hesitated and ultimately chose to detain the suspects rather than deliver justice, fearing loss of his position if he offended the manor.
