Barking Up the Wrong Tree - The Dynasty’s Female Constables

　　While Ming Feizhen and his colleagues left Liu Shan Men, an interesting matter took place at Liu Shan Men. It was the day the female constables welcomed their new colleague.

　　Shen Yiren set up the female constables division at the age of fourteen. For the record, they were an official team the imperial court acknowledged. Their reputation was on the rise as of recent, leading to people perceiving them to be a law-enforcing team with plenty of potential. The dynasty's system was impressive, considering there was room for there to be female constables in an era where eunuchs and women could work as officials.

　　Female constables existed long ago, and there most certainly were a decent number of excellent female constables comparable to Shen Yiren. Now, due to constables being treated as personnel as opposed to officials, Shen Yiren needed to jump through lots of hurdles to legalise them as officials. Strictly speaking, then, female constables were around before female officials were acknowledged. Having said that, there was a lot of doubt in the imperial court. See, if females could fulfil the roles of a constable, was there really a need to establish an exclusive "Female Constables" team. To compound the matter, it was suggested during Liu Shan Men's period of decline.

　　Shen Yiren had plenty of sound reasons. Her response to the criticism and scepticism earned the acknowledgement and support of Empress Dowager, the Empress, the consorts and high-ranking officials' wives. She said: "Females can hold up half of the sky."

　　There were cases of female soldiers in military history. There were sects led by females in the martial world. The Emperor's Entourage and the Qilin Guards also had female adepts, such as Ye Luo and Si Fu. The only missing ent.i.ty was an official female combat team.

　　Shen Yiren stated she wanted to form a team proficient in combat, capable of apprehending criminals, collecting intelligence, being able to bear with admonishment and physical pain and was fearless. She argued females were also able to take risks on the frontlines. They performed the same work as males, including jobs inconvenient for males.

　　The team operated exactly as Shen Yiren described. They bolstered Liu Shan Men's withering forces. They exhibited the ability to crack cases as proficiently and effectively as the veteran constables of the office as well as punis.h.i.+ng crime. They solved a string of over a dozen cases. As a bonus, they were able to deal with cases involving housewives, family issues and palace maids, which would've been inconvenient for males to handle. At the end of the day, ordering a man to ask one of the consorts how her underwear thief sneaked in, its colours or her period was ridiculous. Hence, Female Constables' integral part in the grand scheme of things was soon accepted, gaining them fame.

　　Liu Shan Men's vice-captain, Shen Yiren, was a female. So accordingly, she needed female subordinates to a.s.sist her. With that said, the female constable's proficiency was evaluated to rival the Qilin Guard's elites thanks to Shen Yiren's training.

　　The biggest hurdle Female Constables faced was their small numbers. Shen Yiren's target population when she initially established the team was elites. She aimed to have them focus on the imperial capital; she didn't want too many members. Unfortunately, dozens of them was evidently insufficient. As such, she began recruitment for new female constables before she left. In fact, she already conducted interviews. The examinees who pa.s.sed only needed to sort out their paperwork and undertake their recruitment ceremony. Today was the day of their ceremony.