When Taizong came up to him, he saw the man kneeling in obeisance by the roadside, declaring, 'Your Majesty, pardon your servant's fault in failing to greet you from afar.'

Chinese officialdom expected you to ride out and meet a superior before he arrived; 遠迎, "greeting from afar," was the courtesy, and failing to do it was the offence. So the first words spoken in the land of the dead are an apology for being late to a car park.

Taizong asked, 'Who are you? On what business have you come forward to meet and salute me?'

Two blunt questions from a man who has just been kneeling to. 甚 is shén, "what"; 接拜 is to receive someone and pay respects.

The man said, 'Half a month ago, in the Hall of Judgment, your servant saw the ghost-dragon of the Jing River accuse Your Majesty of promising rescue and then permitting the beheading; whereupon King Qinguang of the First Court dispatched a demon-runner to summon Your Majesty for the three-tribunal confrontation.'

The back-story in one breath. 森羅殿, sēn luó diàn, is the Hall of Judgment, the main court of the dead. The 涇河鬼龍 is the ghost of the Jing River dragon beheaded in chapter 10, and his complaint is why the emperor has been summoned. 三曹對案 is a hearing with all three parties present at once — plaintiff, defendant and bench — the underworld equivalent of being called to give evidence in person rather than in writing. 秦廣王 is King Qínguǎng, first of the Ten Kings. 差 is chāi, "to send out," and the 一 of 第一 is yī, an ordinal.

'Knowing this, your servant came here to await and receive you. I did not expect to be late this day — I beg your pardon, your pardon.'

候接 is to wait and receive. The doubled 「恕罪，恕罪」 — pardon, pardon — is the sound of a subordinate who cannot stop apologising, and it is worth noticing to whom: a man who is at this moment holding the emperor's file.

Taizong said, 'What is your surname and given name? What office do you hold?'

Name and rank, please. 甚 is shén, "what."

The man replied, 'In the days of my life I served in the world above before your late father's carriage, was magistrate of Ci prefecture, and later rose to Vice-Minister of Rites. My surname is Cui, my given name Jue.'

The magistrate answers with a career summary, and every line of it matters. 存日 is "in my living days"; 陽曹 is the world above, as against 陰司, the offices below. 先君 is the emperor's late father, Gaozu Lǐ Yuān — so this man served the previous reign. 禮部侍郎 is Vice-Minister of Rites, a serious post. 為 here is wéi, "served as." He is Cuī Jué, and he is establishing that he is family, professionally speaking.

'Now, in the shades below, I have received the post of Registrar-Magistrate of Fengdu.'

陰司 is the netherworld civil service. 酆都, Fēngdū, is its capital city — 都 here is dū, "capital," not dōu, "all." 掌案判官 is the magistrate who keeps the case-files: the registrar. Which is to say, the man with the lifespan ledger.

Overjoyed, Taizong stepped near and, his imperial hand hastening to raise the man up, said, 'You have come a long and weary way, sir. My minister Wei Zheng has a letter he would send you — how fortunate that we should meet!'

Watch the emperor's manners change the instant he learns the man's job. 攙, chān, is to take someone by the arm and help them up — an unusual condescension toward a kneeling subject. 卻好 means "as luck would have it," and 相, xiāng, in 相遇 is the reciprocal "each other." A dead emperor happens to be carrying a letter of introduction to the exact official who decides his case.

The magistrate gave thanks and asked where the letter was. Taizong drew it at once from his sleeve and handed it over. Cui Jue received it with a bow, broke the seal, and read. The letter ran:

拆封 is to break the seal. The tag 其書曰, "the letter ran," hands off to the letter itself, which is written in the balanced, matched-phrase style of formal Chinese correspondence.