Sudden thought. Out of all the book sources for my characters, I unexpectedly have one directly connected to the judicial system.
And that is...
Ximen.
In the novel, after purchasing his title, he moved up the bureaucratic ranks very successfully and literally worked at his provincial judicial tribunal as a deputy commander of a thousand households. Which, in turn, is a pretty interesting hybrid civil-military(!) rank.
In my take, however, he founded the Syndicate, his precious Mudanyuan, and promoted it (not like he had many options in Hongyuan Backstreets), but the fact itself is intriguing. He has brilliant managing skills (and that's one of his few genuinely good traits).










