Li Diudiu and his companions had found a restaurant with a decent number of customers and were preparing to eat. As Xiahou Zuo pointed it out—every other restaurant along the street was cold and empty while this one was packed—it clearly had to be good, and the crowd looked like locals.
They were all hungry, thinking they’d just walk in and order whatever, but just as they were about to step inside, a large group of constables in official dress came charging from behind, shoved people aside, and rushed in.
Li Diudiu looked at Xiahou Zuo and said: “That entrance doesn’t exactly look like a group of people in a hurry to eat.”
Xiahou Zuo said: “Forcing their way in like that—not just one person dead. It’s a murder case, and probably more than one.”
Before his words had even faded, a wave of cries erupted from inside—the newly arrived constables had clearly been given quite a shock themselves.
“Let’s go.”
Li Diudiu said. “Find somewhere else. Trying to get a meal today is proving complicated.”
Xiahou Zuo said: “We’ll eat a bowl of noodles at a roadside stall and be done with it.”
The three of them were just turning to leave when a few constables descended from the upper floor. One of them pointed directly at Xiahou Zuo and shouted: “Halt!”
Xiahou Zuo glanced back. “Calling me?”
The constable ran down the stairs cursing: “Obviously I’m calling you—who else would I be calling?!”
Xiahou Zuo thought to himself: *Here we go, this is shaping up to be trouble. How delightful.*
These constables didn’t recognize him. When he’d come to see the county magistrate earlier, these men must not have been present—if they had been, they wouldn’t dare raise their voices like this.
Earlier, the county magistrate had warmly invited Xiahou Zuo to a welcome banquet—already prepared, he said. Xiahou Zuo had declined, saying he was tired and didn’t want to eat. He could afford to refuse. Because his standing was high enough.
Not many people are born with the means to say no to others. Born with it—what most people claw and climb after their entire lives may never yield. Most people in this world are still on the side of the smile that gets turned down. Xiahou Zuo had the standing to say no, and the vast majority of people couldn’t even resent him for it. People like Qianlie County’s magistrate would, in fact, feel faintly anxious at the refusal.
As it happened, the magistrate had intended to host Xiahou Zuo at this very restaurant. When Xiahou Zuo wouldn’t come, the magistrate had already booked it—so he and his party simply went ahead on their own.
Heaven alone knew how a man’s luck could be that bad. Going out for a meal and getting himself killed in the process.
“These outsiders arrived suspiciously and they’re leaving suspiciously—take them all in. For all we know, they’re the killers!”
The deputy constable in charge shouted. With the constable captain dead inside, this man was the highest-ranking survivor.
Xiahou Zuo heard those words and understood exactly what was happening: there’d been a murder upstairs, and these constables were going to grab a few out-of-towners to pin it on. Close the case fast, earn commendations from above.
And it was simpler than dealing with the real culprits. There might even be money in it.
Xiahou Zuo smiled faintly. “Do you know who I am?”
The constable snorted: “Do *you* know who *I* am?”
He waved his hand. “Tie them all up!”
Xiahou Zuo said: “Where is your county magistrate? Your deputy magistrate? Don’t they care how you conduct yourselves?”
The constable bellowed: “So the killers are you! Already asking after the magistrate and deputy magistrate—you killed them, and now you’re playing dumb! Anyone who resists lawful arrest will be cut down on the spot!”
Xiahou Zuo went still.
Dead. The magistrate is dead.
If he wanted to, he could have put every one of these fat-necked constables flat on the ground by himself, right now. But in this moment, Xiahou Zuo didn’t feel like doing that. He wanted to play.
“Hold on.”
Xiahou Zuo said: “It seems we’re not walking out of here today. But how about this—let one of us go back and pass word, gather some silver. We’re businessmen; we have associates in this town who can vouch for us. A substantial reward awaits if our innocence is established.”
The deputy constable thought: I don’t care about any of that—grab them first, sort it out later. If they can produce a large sum of silver, all the better. If not, pin it on them anyway. Either way works.
This sort of thing was routine for them. Not the first time. No hesitation whatsoever.
He really was out of luck today—Xiahou Zuo was Prince Yu’s son. But Xiahou Zuo had no interest in announcing himself by that name, so he never wore fine clothing. Had he been wearing silk brocade—a mark of status—this constable would never have dared act so recklessly.
And Li Diudiu and Changmei the Daoren looked even more plainly dressed. These constables sized people up by their clothes first, and seeing three men in common fabric speaking with out-of-town accents—who else would they target?
Xiahou Zuo had read these men perfectly, which was why he’d dangled the mention of silver first—a piece of bait, even if the fish were small fry. He wanted to play.
“No need to shove. We’ll walk ourselves.”
Xiahou Zuo said: “One of us goes back to let my household know to bring silver for bail. Have them come quickly.”
His personal guards were somewhat uneasy, but they didn’t dare disobey Xiahou Zuo’s word. One acknowledged the order and set off.
The constables escorted Xiahou Zuo, Li Diudiu, and their companions to the county jail. No one had time to deal with them further—they were shoved into a cell and left. The county office had been wiped out; that crisis couldn’t be ignored, and people were already being sent out of town to inform the higher office in Xinzhou.
Because of Xiahou Zuo’s mention of silver, the constables weren’t yet considering torture to extract a confession. Otherwise they’d have given them all a beating first, then gotten them to sign a statement—a convenient scapegoat, and the pressure from above would come down lighter on them.
Xiahou Zuo looked around the cell. Besides a bit of dry straw, there was nothing—no bed, no bedding of any kind.
Most notably, besides the three of them, there was not a single other prisoner.
“I’ve always wanted to see the inside of one of these.”
Xiahou Zuo looked around with interest. “But the one back in Jizhou City—I wouldn’t have dared go in there. I’ll be honest: this is my first time in jail. I’m a little nervous.”
Li Diudiu said: “How shameless.”
Xiahou Zuo nodded: “Shameless and nervous at the same time.”
Only two jailers were posted by the cell door, not particularly close. Everyone else had gone off to deal with the crisis—with a case this enormous, no one in official clothing could expect to sleep that night.
Even if they were only going through the motions, they at least had to look like they were going through the motions.
Xiahou Zuo walked over to the cell door and waved to the two jailers. “You two—come here a moment.”
The jailers glanced over at the sound, then looked away again, taking no notice. They were quietly murmuring to each other about the magistrate’s death, most likely.
Xiahou Zuo reached into his sleeve and produced a banknote, giving it a wave. “Come over here, come on.”
Li Diudiu watched him and thought: what he should be holding is not a banknote, but a handkerchief—that beckoning wave had a distinct air of flirtation.
*Come over here, come on…* Disgusting.
The two jailers glanced over again, and upon seeing the banknote, their eyes lit up. In all honesty, if it hadn’t been for the chaos of such a massive case, anyone brought in would have been searched by now—not a single item of value left on them. This town ran on the principle of plucking every passing goose clean. People, too—though naturally they wouldn’t be plucked feather by feather.
The two men sauntered over and looked at Xiahou Zuo: “What is it?”
Xiahou Zuo passed the banknote through. “One hundred taels. For the two of you.”
One hundred taels was no small sum for these two. They exchanged a glance, small stars lighting in their eyes.
Xiahou Zuo said: “We’ve been wrongly detained. I won’t hide it—my family back in Jizhou City carries some weight. We’ll be released before long. These one hundred taels are my appreciation to you both. No other meaning—just make sure we’re comfortable in here.”
Jailer One took the banknote and pocketed it with a smile. “Looking at the three of you, you don’t seem like troublemakers. If you really have been wronged, don’t worry. We won’t let you suffer.”
Xiahou Zuo smiled. “Many thanks.”
He produced another banknote. “I have one more request—could you help with something?”
Seeing Xiahou Zuo spending so freely, the two men decided he really must be from a family of means—perhaps genuinely well-connected. Their earlier dismissive attitude quietly vanished. Jailer Two took the banknote and asked: “What does the gentleman need?”
Xiahou Zuo said: “This cell is a little small. I’d like to move to the larger one over there.”
The two jailers exchanged another glance. *What’s wrong with this man?*
Xiahou Zuo said: “It’s just how I am—I like things big. Small ones don’t do it for me. All kinds of small ones.”
Jailer Two looked at the one hundred taels in his hand and thought: *The gentleman is paying, the gentleman’s word is law.*
He opened the cell door. “Fine, we’ll move you.”
They settled into the larger cell. Xiahou Zuo asked: “Sounds like something big happened? You all seem rather anxious.”
“Quite the something big.”
Jailer Two said: “The county magistrate, the deputy magistrate, the chief clerk, the chief jailer—and our constable captain—all killed… Whatever kind of bandit would dare lay hands on the officials like that.”
Xiahou Zuo’s group all paused at those words. The three exchanged glances—none of them had imagined that the very officials they’d encountered so recently had already been slaughtered.
Li Diudiu, however, quickly made the connection: the magistrate’s death was almost certainly tied to Yu Chaozong and his men. Under ordinary circumstances a case this large would never happen; with Yu Chaozong’s group appearing in this very town, something this extreme breaks out immediately—there was simply no way the two weren’t connected.
Besides, those Yanshan bandits killed without hesitation. Whether the dead were county officials or anyone else, it made no difference to them.
“Well then…”
Xiahou Zuo produced a few more taels and passed them to Jailer One. “We’ve nothing better to do sitting here idle. Go out and buy some melon seeds and peanuts, brew a pot of tea, bring a small table in—let’s have a chat.”
Jailer One’s expression turned uneasy. “That really isn’t…”
Li Diudiu opened his money pouch, picked out a piece of silver, looked at it, put it back, chose a smaller piece, and passed it to Jailer One. “My share. I’d like a duck neck, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Changmei the Daoren also produced a piece of silver and handed it over. “Mine too. Bring some steamed buns if it’s convenient. I’m getting on in years—I get hungry.”
Jailer One sighed. “You people—just what do you think this jail is?!”
Xiahou Zuo passed over one more piece. “Get good tea leaves. Make us comfortable. When my household comes to bail me out, there’ll be a generous reward.”
Jailer One: “Uh… all right, wait here.”
The two went out. About half a shichen later, they came back carrying a low table, set out melon seeds, peanuts, duck neck, steamed buns, and a few other side dishes, and brewed a pot of hot tea.
“Come, come.”
Xiahou Zuo sat cross-legged on the floor and patted the spot beside him. “Sit down and chat. Tell me—what did the county magistrate do to bring this sort of end on himself? Some kind of grudge?”
Jailer One said: “That’s not a good idea—you talk among yourselves, I’m on watch, someone might see—”
Xiahou Zuo said: “Could it be something to do with a woman?”
Jailer One said: “Well, that’s hard to say. Our magistrate had a fondness for that sort of thing.”
He lowered himself down beside Xiahou Zuo. “Let me tell you…”
And off he went, chattering away.
Li Diudiu looked over at his master Changmei and lowered his voice: “Master, you really did call it.”
Changmei let out a long sigh: “I’m rather astonished myself.”
—