Rule Amendments

Lu Zheng can see the "underpinnings" of rules: the notes between the lines, their levels of force, and the intent behind their creation. His older sister, Lu Yao, died because of the sixth clause in an unpublished attendance policy. An addendum described her as "living alone, with no immediate family under the same roof, and emotionally sensitive." In that moment, he understood: rules can kill, and their victims are denied even the chance to defend themselves. He became a rules defense attorney, representing people wronged by the rules in court: smoking bans, parcel lockers, matchmaking corners, school districts, contract killings... Every case led to a deeper layer of the General Charter of Rules. His mentor, Zhou Shen, helped draft the charter's trial version. Prosecutor Qin Jing is the "daughter of the rules." Though they stand on opposing sides, both point to the same question: Article Ten of the trial version states, "All rules may be amended by humanity." Why, then, did the official version quietly change that to "All rules are valid"? Lu Zheng's defense work takes him ever deeper, until he stands before the legislature, fighting a case about the rules themselves on behalf of everyone ever judged by them.