Xie Zheng looked at Fan Changyu: “You know that constable surnamed Wang. Go find him quickly and tell him to take the yamen runners to guard the city gates. They must not let the rioters enter the city.”
Fan Changyu was puzzled: “If the rioters enter the city, shouldn’t they only cause trouble for the county magistrate and those yamen runners? Why should we help the county magistrate stop the rioters?”
The expression on Xie Zheng’s face was indescribably cold: “They’ve put their lives on the line to rebel. Do you still think they only want justice? What they want now is power and wealth! Any household in this city is richer than those farmers, enough to make them hate to the bone. One step further, they can become rebellious troops committing all kinds of evil – burning, killing, looting, and raping. If you don’t want to see this county town completely plundered, do as I say.”
Hearing him say this, Fan Changyu’s heart sank for a moment at the complexity of human nature. She pressed her lips together and said, “Constable Wang has already been dismissed by the county magistrate. His words no longer carry weight in the yamen.”
Xie Zheng frowned but still said, “Just go and pass on the message. Say that the county magistrate has been marginalized. Tell him to first take the yamen runners to set up defenses at the city gates. When encountering rioters, prioritize pacification, promising that the officials will return all the collected grain and won’t pursue their crimes.”
“But what if the officials don’t return the grain?”
“First stabilize the rioters. I’ll think of a way for the rest.” His gaze was calm, inexplicably convincing.
Fan Changyu thought for a moment but still had some concerns: “Didn’t you say they’ve rebelled, seeking glory and wealth? Can this stabilize the rioters?”
Xie Zheng glanced at her: “The rioters will fight to the death because they have no way back. Promising not to pursue their crimes and returning their grain gives them a chance to return to their former lives of farming. The ambitious ones will continue to instigate and refuse to compromise, but those who just want to farm honestly and were forced to this point will start to hesitate.”
Fan Changyu finally understood. He wanted the rioters to become disorganized first.
For a moment, she felt that the Yan Zheng before her was unfamiliar. It seemed she had never truly understood him.
Xie Zheng noticed her gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fan Changyu shook her head and asked, “How do we get out?”
The soldiers were still guarding the back alley of the Yixiang Building. If they left from the alley entrance, they would surely be seen by the guards outside. If they knocked out the soldiers and left, it wouldn’t be long before the unconscious soldiers were discovered, still exposing their whereabouts.
Moreover, the other end of this alley was a dead end and extremely narrow, used for draining rainwater from the eaves of two houses. It could barely fit one person, and due to constant moisture and lack of sunlight, the walls were covered in slippery moss. One wrong step and they would slip.
Xie Zheng glanced at the high wall at the end of the alley and said to Fan Changyu, “Step on my shoulders and climb over.”
Fan Changyu estimated their heights and nodded, “Alright, after I climb up, I’ll find a ladder for you.”
As Xie Zheng crouched down by the wall, she placed one hand on the wall and stepped onto his broad shoulder.
With their combined heights, Fan Changyu finally reached the top of the wall. She used her arms to pull herself up and over. As she looked into the courtyard, she saw a man writing something at a desk in front of a wide-open window. He suddenly looked up sharply in her direction.
With lightning speed, Fan Changyu picked up a tile from the wall and threw it at his acupoint.
The man looked shocked and didn’t have time to say a word before collapsing onto the desk.
After throwing the tile, Fan Changyu belatedly realized that the man looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t immediately recall where she had seen him before.
Hearing the commotion inside, Xie Zheng asked her, “Is there someone on the other side of the wall?”
Fan Changyu nodded and said, “Mm,” then added, “I’ve knocked him out. There’s a bamboo ladder in this courtyard. Wait a moment, I’ll bring it over.”
She jumped down from the wall top, her movements as agile as a cat’s.
The bamboo ladder was neither too long nor too short, just right to reach the top of the courtyard wall. After climbing up the ladder to the wall top, Fan Changyu passed the ladder to the other side of the high wall, allowing Xie Zheng to also enter the courtyard safely.
He went into the room and glanced at the person Fan Changyu had knocked out. A hint of something unusual flashed in his eyes as he said, “It’s the owner of the bookstore.”
How did this Zhao family residence happen to be right next to the Yixiang Building?
This bit of suspicion made him take another look at the unfinished letter on the desk. Because of the heavy brush strokes made when Zhao Xun fell, many characters were covered by ink stains, but the general content could still be made out.
Xie Zheng’s eyes suddenly turned cold. As he left, whether intentionally or not, his sleeve knocked over the inkstone, spilling thick ink all over the table, soiling the unfinished letter paper and covering half of Zhao Xun’s sleeve and face with ink stains.
After hearing him say this was the bookstore owner, Fan Changyu was already feeling somewhat guilty. Seeing Xie Zheng knock over the inkstone made her even more nervous. She stammered, “I… I hit your employer, and you spilled his inkstone. Won’t he hold a grudge against you?”
She remembered that Xie Zheng wrote essays at the bookstore. Wasn’t there still a deposit from that forty taels last time?
Xie Zheng was slightly taken aback, not expecting her to worry about this. The cold expression on his face softened a bit as he said, “It doesn’t matter. He might not remember you, and he doesn’t know I was here.”
Fan Changyu thought about it and realized he was right. She had barely recognized him herself, and as a wealthy merchant, he saw many people every day and probably wouldn’t remember her. She let out a big sigh of relief.
The Zhao residence was a two-courtyard house, but there were almost no servants to be seen. Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng easily slipped out through the side gate of the Zhao residence.
Fan Changyu thought to herself that all this trouble was because both the front door and back alley of the Yixiang Building were being guarded by soldiers. She couldn’t help but say, “Manager Yu and the staff from the building have all been taken to jail by that dog official. Why do they still need to have people watching the Yixiang Building? Could it be just to find Yu Bao’er?”
Xie Zheng’s expression was deep and somber as he only said, “It’s not impossible.”
Fan Changyu’s expression immediately became somewhat indignant: “Those dog officials’ hearts are truly too vicious!”
To make an example, they wouldn’t even spare a child?
Xie Zheng didn’t respond to that, only saying, “I’ve temporarily left the child with the old man who drives your cart.”
Fan Changyu had rented the old man’s ox cart for a month to make deliveries, and he was somewhat trustworthy.
But having that old man take care of a young master from a wealthy family would easily arouse suspicion. Fan Changyu said, “When I go to Constable Wang’s house, I’ll take Bao’er along.”
Xie Zheng nodded. As they were about to part ways, he looked at Fan Changyu as if wanting to say something, but in the end said nothing.
It was Fan Changyu who saw his hesitation and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
The sky was gloomy, making Xie Zheng’s eyes look darker than usual. He said, “If the rioters enter the city, just focus on keeping yourself safe.”
After a pause, he added, “Don’t trust anyone lightly.”
Fan Changyu’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. She looked up at him and asked, “Are you about to leave?”
Suddenly saying such things to her was very odd indeed.
Xie Zheng choked for a moment, his expression not looking good as he said, “Although I’m not someone particularly trustworthy either, for now, you can still trust me.”
After he left, Fan Changyu stood there in a daze for a moment before going to pick up Yu Bao’er from the cart driver’s place to take him to Constable Wang’s house.
When Constable Wang heard about the rioters, he was also greatly shocked. After pacing back and forth in the room several times, he said to Madam Wang, “Bring me my constable uniform.”
As Madam Wang went to the inner room to get the clothes, Constable Wang looked at Fan Changyu and said, “This husband of yours, to have such insight and be so perceptive, he must be no ordinary person…”
Fan Changyu said, “His family used to run an escort agency, so he might have seen and experienced more than others.”
Constable Wang said, “That explains it.” After changing into his constable uniform, he went out first to find his former subordinates.
Madam Wang walked him to the door, her face full of worry.
Fan Changyu didn’t know what Xie Zheng’s next plan was. Letting a dismissed constable go out and do these things was risky.
But once the rioters entered the city and started looting, with no way to retreat, their ambition and greed would also surge. Like carnivores that had tasted blood, they would no longer be able to stop. The beast had to be strangled before it could taste fresh blood.
She thought for a moment and said to Madam Wang, “You mentioned earlier that you have maps of the county yamen and the county magistrate’s residence?”
Madam Wang hesitated before nodding and asking, “Yes, I do. What do you want to do, girl?”
Fan Changyu said, “From what my husband implied, with the grain collection matter turning out like this, the county magistrate has likely been marginalized. Why don’t we rescue the county magistrate? If nothing else, we need to first restore Uncle Wang’s position as constable. That way, it will be easier for him to handle matters.”
No matter who was secretly in control at this moment, in the eyes of ordinary people and yamen runners, the county magistrate was still the highest official in Qingping County.
Madam Wang didn’t know if this girl was naturally brave or what. She was still somewhat nervous, yet this girl was thinking of even bolder actions. Thinking of her husband who had gone to stop the rioters, she steadied herself and said, “This is too risky. I’ll go with you.”
Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, “There’s a less risky way, but I still need your help, Aunt.”
Madam Wang’s expression changed-
Yixiang Building.
A carriage drove towards the back alley of the Yixiang Building, stopping not far from the alley entrance. No one seemed to come out of the carriage, and the guards at the back door of the Yixiang Building discreetly observed the carriage.
Two of them exchanged a glance and were about to go over to check when suddenly a black shadow darted out from the other end of the alley. It swung a club, hitting the remaining two guards on the back of their heads. The two guards immediately lost consciousness.
Fan Changyu had changed into boy’s clothes at Constable Wang’s house and blackened her face with soot, making her original features unrecognizable. After kicking off the seal on the back door of the Yixiang Building, she ran inside.
The two guards who were about to check the carriage immediately shouted, “An accomplice to the murder has broken into the Yixiang Building to destroy evidence!”
They rushed in to capture Fan Changyu, but she was waiting for them right behind the door.
As Fan Changyu entered, she hurled a club that struck one man unconscious. The soldier behind him drew his sword to attack Fan Changyu, but she dodged to the side and kicked him into a deep swill barrel in the backyard. The soldier folded into the barrel, unable to struggle out for some time.
After a brief moment inside, Fan Changyu emerged cradling something wrapped in a cloak, and quickly left the courtyard.
The soldier in the barrel shrieked hysterically, “The thief is escaping! The thief is escaping!”
This commotion had already alerted the guards at Yixiang Tower’s main entrance. A group of men dressed as constables, though not real ones, split into two groups and pursued from both ends of the alley. They only glimpsed a small man hurriedly boarding a carriage at the alley’s entrance, seemingly carrying a child.
Before the officers could catch up, the carriage sped away.
Snowflakes drifted gently as the driver, clad in coarse cloth and wearing a conical hat that obscured their face, skillfully cracked the whip. Their expertise was evident in their handling of the reins.
As some officers attempted to block the carriage’s path, the driver unfurled another whip about ten feet long. A single lash would tear flesh from bone. With a sweep to the left and right, the approaching officers were left writhing and wailing by the roadside.
The lead officer shouted, “It must be an accomplice from the tower escaping with the brat! Quickly, call for reinforcements!”
A signal arrow shot into the gray sky, and soon the county office dispatched another team of officers.
The people in the carriage were none other than Fan Changyu and Madam Wang.
Madam Wang, intimately familiar with every street and alley in the county, made several turns to shake off the pursuing officers. Before jumping off the carriage, Fan Changyu said, “Aunt, please lead these officers on a chase for about half an hour. After that, don’t worry about them and focus on your escape.”
Madam Wang tilted up her conical hat and asked, “Half an hour? Will that be enough time for you?”
Fan Changyu replied, “My husband should have gone to the county office. I’ll head to the County Magistrate’s residence. With all the officers out chasing Yu Innkeeper’s son, we should be able to find the County Magistrate.”
Of course, Yu’s child wasn’t in the carriage. What Fan Changyu had wrapped in the cloak and carried out of Yixiang Tower was merely a small blanket.
Madam Wang simply cautioned, “Be careful!”
Fan Changyu responded, “You too, Aunt.”
The carriage slowed down, and after Fan Changyu disembarked in a secluded spot, she navigated through several twists and turns into an alley, heading towards the County Magistrate’s residence.
Upon arriving at the County Magistrate’s doorstep, Fan Changyu was surprised to find Song Mother already there.
Hiding in the shadows, she observed Song Mother accompanied by a very young maidservant, carrying various packages and wearing a fawning smile. “Young Master Yan is about to leave for the capital to take the imperial examinations. He’s been thinking of the Young Miss, so he asked me to bring these little gifts for her…”
The doorkeeper responded, “How thoughtful of Scholar Song.”
He instructed the servant behind him to accept all the jewelry and accessories Song Mother had painfully purchased but didn’t invite her in.
Song Mother’s smile was becoming strained. After being turned away for several days and reluctant to see her expensive gifts go to waste without gaining the County Magistrate’s family’s favor, she said, “The other day, Madam praised the shoe designs I showed her. I came especially today to have tea with her and bring her those designs.”
The doorkeeper simply replied, “Madam has caught a cold and hasn’t recovered yet. If Madam Song has anything for her, you can leave it with me.”
Song Mother had originally thought the County Magistrate’s status was somewhat beneath them. Once Song Yan achieved a high rank, a county magistrate’s daughter might not be worthy of her son. However, given their current residence in this county, they still needed the magistrate’s assistance. This was why she maintained cordial relations with the magistrate’s wife.
Previously, when the magistrate’s wife was eager to arrange marriages for her children, Song Mother’s mind raced with calculations. She dangled the prospect of being a scholar’s wife, or even an official’s wife, to entice the magistrate’s mother and daughter, without actually committing to an engagement.
When the magistrate’s wife occasionally pressed the issue, Song Mother would tearfully bring up Song Yan’s recent broken engagement. She’d explain that Song Yan, being a filial son, had ended his engagement with the Fan family butcher’s daughter for her sake, enduring a reputation for being fickle. She’d lament that the Fan family was now spreading rumors about how the Song family had wronged them, and express fear that if Song Yan were to become engaged again so soon, it would further incite the Fan girl’s jealousy. She argued that if the Fan Girl were to spread malicious gossip, it would surely affect Song Yan’s future career. Since the two families would eventually become in-laws anyway, why rush things?
The magistrate’s wife had been persuaded by this explanation, and the two women often enjoyed tea and opera together, with the magistrate’s wife always being warm towards her.
During the New Year, Song Yan embarrassed himself with the Fan family at the Lantern Festival, leaving Song Mother feeling utterly humiliated.
Fearing that the magistrate’s wife might look down on her son, and although she had initially planned to keep her options open, this incident suddenly made Song Mother worry. What if her son didn’t pass the metropolitan examination and couldn’t secure an official position in the capital? Looking around Clear Peace County, marrying into the magistrate’s family would still be the most prestigious option. This was why she had brought gifts to pay New Year’s respects to the magistrate’s family on the second day of the New Year.
To her dismay, she was turned away at the door.
Song’s Mother returned home that day nearly coughing up blood from anger. Afraid of affecting her son’s studies, she didn’t dare tell Song Yan about this incident. However, she silently vowed to mend relations with the magistrate’s family and had been sending gifts to their home for the past few days.
When her attempts to approach the magistrate’s wife failed, she tried to win over the magistrate’s daughter. Yet, even after sending gifts up to this day, she still couldn’t gain entry into the magistrate’s house.
Song Mother felt as if her face had been torn off and trampled underfoot. As she left, she couldn’t even force a smile. With an ashen face, she waited until she had turned the street corner before spitting viciously on the ground several times. “What do they think they are? Just a county magistrate’s daughter, do they think my Yan is begging to marry her? They have the gall to accept gifts but won’t even invite me in for a cup of tea?”
Fan Changyu, pretending to browse wares at a nearby stall, overheard Song Mother’s words. She cast a sidelong glance at the departing Song Mother and, although she had long since stopped caring about the Song family, couldn’t help but muse that this was karmic retribution.
She thought to herself that it would be best if the magistrate’s family had seen through the true nature of this mother-and-son duo and were therefore ignoring them.
She circled to the back wall of the magistrate’s house and climbed over using a tree that grew close to the wall.
Wang Constable, having served as a local constable for over a decade under several magistrates, was very familiar with the layout of this residence. After studying the map provided by Madam Wang, Fan Changyu had a good idea of the mansion’s layout. This should be the kitchen area.
She moved silently along the wall and, after passing through a hanging flower gate, she spotted the doorkeeper entering. She quickly hid around the corner of the wall.
The doorkeeper, carrying the gifts from Song Mother, was pleading with a man who looked like a guard: “Sir, these are all from our future son-in-law for the Young Miss. Please be understanding and let me give them to her.”
It was highly unusual for the magistrate’s doorkeeper to be begging a guard.
Fan Changyu pricked up her ears to listen.
The guard merely sneered, “Put them with the other things in the side room. If even half a word of this leaks out, you can all kiss your heads goodbye!”
The doorkeeper was frightened and didn’t dare say another word.
Fan Changyu suddenly realized that the group controlling the magistrate’s mansion must be formidable. She made her breathing even more subtle and prolonged.
She noticed that throughout the magistrate’s compound, no one had cleared the snow from the courtyards. She wasn’t sure if this was because the magistrate’s family was under control and the servants were slacking off, or if someone had ordered that the snow not be swept.
After all, with snow on the ground, no matter how lightly someone stepped while crossing the courtyard, their footsteps would still make a sound in the snow.
As Fan Changyu was deep in thought, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around and found herself face to face with a young maid carrying a tray.
Just as the maid was about to scream, Fan Changyu swiftly moved in and knocked her unconscious with a chop to the neck. She caught the tray with one hand while supporting the maid with the other. After a glance around, she used her foot to open the door of a nearby room and carried the maid inside.
Moments later, Fan Changyu emerged dressed in the maid’s clothes, openly carrying the tray.
As she turned the corner, a guard under the eaves glanced at her. Fan Changyu kept her head down as she passed by, heading in the direction the doorkeeper had gone earlier.
Having studied the map beforehand and possessing a good sense of direction, she didn’t have much trouble finding the doorkeeper’s quarters based on the mansion’s layout.
When she pushed open the door, the doorkeeper was sitting in a chair, lost in his thoughts. Upon seeing Fan Changyu, he was so startled he nearly fell to the ground. Wincing in pain, he tried to put on the air of an old doorkeeper, coldly demanding, “Which room are you from, girl? How dare you!”
Fan Changyu, realized that if the magistrate was under guard, the order to dismiss Wang Constable couldn’t have come from him. The magistrate might even be counting on Wang Constable to save his life.
So she said, “I’m one of Constable Wang’s people.”
The anger on the doorkeeper’s face froze, then he nearly burst into tears of joy. “As expected of Constable Wang, he saw right through the strange happenings at the county office these past few days…”
Seeing that he was about to launch into a long lament, Fan Changyu frowned and cut him off, asking only what she wanted to know: “What’s going on in the mansion?”
The doorkeeper, with tears in his eyes, explained, “A few days ago, Ji Prefecture issued an order to requisition grain. A team of officers bearing Ji Prefecture’s official waist tags came to supervise the grain collection. When my master heard that they were demanding one stone of grain per person, he pleaded that this would push the common people to the brink. But the officials from above used the grain requisition order to pressure him, telling my master to just carry it out.”
“My master had no choice but to order the grain collection. However, those officers who went to collect the grain ended up killing farmers in the countryside. My master, fearing that this would reach Lord He in Ji Prefecture and cost him his position, wanted to go to Ji Prefecture early to beg forgiveness. But that group of officers from Ji Prefecture put him under house arrest. They claim to be men of Wei Xuan, the Military Governor of the Northwest. They say everything is under their control now, that even Lord He has been dismissed by the Military Governor. They accuse my master of obstructing the important matter of grain collection and have confined him to the mansion. Neither the Madam nor the Young Miss is allowed to leave or receive visitors.”
Fan Changyu’s frown deepened. She had heard of Wei Xuan before; the tragic incident of grain collection in Tai Prefecture was caused by his subordinates acting with impunity.
She felt uncertain for a moment. If Wei Xuan was truly this brutal, forcibly collecting grain in this manner, even if Wang Constable managed to temporarily dissuade the mob at the city gate, what would happen if Wei Xuan then brought his troops to slaughter those commoners?
After some thought, Fan Changyu suggested, “Why don’t we capture the high-ranking official Wei Xuan sent, and have the County Magistrate return the collected military grain to the people?”
By capturing the leader, he wouldn’t be able to order the killing of civilians.
The doorkeeper’s lips trembled, too frightened by the first half of her suggestion to even consider the second half. “C-capture? There are over a dozen highly skilled soldiers in this mansion, and the county office is entirely under their control. How could we possibly capture anyone?”
Fan Changyu said, “If we can’t overpower them, can’t we use some kind of sleeping drug?”
The doorkeeper couldn’t help but scrutinize Fan Changyu, wondering if she was sent by Constable Wang to help.
Capturing a military officer from Ji Prefecture – what kind of crime would that be? If those people sought revenge later, the heads of everyone in this mansion combined wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!
He waved his hands repeatedly, “Impossible, impossible! How would my master explain this to those officers afterward?”
Fan Changyu knew this plan was a bit underhanded, but this County Magistrate had been in office in Clear Peace County for three years. While he hadn’t done anything wrong, he hadn’t done much good for the people either. This was the only option available now. It might implicate the County Magistrate, but it was worth a try!
She said, “A person was killed by officials in Ma Family Village. The officials have already driven the surrounding villagers to rebellion. There are thousands of angry mob members gathering to storm the county office. Don’t you think your master will be the scapegoat when that happens? As the steward of the County Magistrate’s household, won’t you also be resented by those angry mobs?”
The doorkeeper’s lips began to tremble again. After weighing the options for a moment, he said, “There are no sleeping drugs in the mansion, and those men are very cautious. They make the servants taste all food and drink before they consume it.”
Now Fan Changyu was at a loss.
Seeing her expression, the doorkeeper reluctantly added, “However, we do have croton seeds in the mansion, and the main kitchen is currently brewing white fungus and lotus seed soup.”
A moment later, Fan Changyu was carrying a tray while a young servant boy carried a wooden bucket as they headed to the front courtyard.
On Fan Changyu’s tray was a white porcelain bowl. Inside the bowl, a large snow pear had been cut open at the top, its flesh scooped out and replaced with white fungus and lotus seed soup. The cut-off top of the pear was placed back on as a lid, and the whole thing had been slowly simmered over a low fire.
Through the bowl, one could smell not only the fragrance of the white fungus but also the sweet aroma of the pear.
Fan Changyu could only marvel at how the wealthy could create such novel dishes.
The servant carried a wooden bucket containing ordinary white fungus and lotus seed soup.
Of course, all the soups were laced with croton seeds.
The steward, wearing a fawning smile, addressed the guard under the eaves: “Given the harsh weather, Madam has shown consideration for you soldiers by having the kitchen prepare some white fungus and lotus seed soup.”
The guard, who had a faint scar at the corner of his eye, snorted disdainfully through his nostrils. Though maintaining an air of superiority, he was pleased.
The steward, seemingly accustomed to the guard’s cold demeanor, had a servant first drink a bowl of the soup to demonstrate its safety. Only then did the guard say, “Fine, leave it here.”
The steward pointed to the tray in Fan Changyu’s hands and said, “This was specially prepared for the official inside.”
The guard glanced at Fan Changyu, who kept her head slightly lowered, appearing at first glance to be gentle and agreeable. His smile grew colder, “Hand it to me.”
The steward fawned, “The official has come from afar, and our humble Qingping County has little to offer. Please allow this servant girl to deliver it.”
Insisting on Fan Changyu’s entry wasn’t without purpose. While croton seeds could cause diarrhea, they couldn’t incapacitate everyone in the courtyard quickly enough. Having Fan Changyu deliver the soup would allow her to get close to the military commander – if she could subdue him, everything else would become much easier.
The guard’s mocking expression remained as he seemed to consider something. After giving Fan Changyu another look, he said, “I’ll ask the official.”
After knocking and entering, he addressed a young man who was playing chess alone, propped up on one elbow: “Young Master, the household insists on sending in a beautiful servant girl with your soup.”
The one who had seized Jizhou’s troops and impersonated grain-requisitioning officials to control Qingping County for several days was none other than Sui Yuanqing, the son of the rebel King of Changxin from Chongzhou.
The King of Changxin had two sons. The elder had been sickly since childhood, so the position of heir apparent fell to the younger son.
In earlier years, while the King of Changxin kept a low profile, Sui Yuanqing was known only as a dissolute noble. It wasn’t until the king’s rebellion that he began to make his mark on the Chongzhou battlefield, earning the nickname “Little Marquis Wu’an” for his ruthlessness.
Hearing his subordinate’s report, Sui Yuanqing let out a cold snicker and tossed the chess piece back into its container. “Wei Xuan’s reputation for cruelty and lechery is well-known. There’s no reason his subordinates should be any more virtuous. Fine, let her in. What could a mere county magistrate possibly scheme?”
As the guard was about to withdraw, Sui Yuanqing asked, “Have the scouts reported back about Wei Xuan’s movements?”
“No news yet,” replied the guard.
Sui Yuanqing’s brow furrowed involuntarily. With Wei Xuan’s hot-headed temperament, how could he not immediately lead troops here upon learning Qingping County hadn’t delivered the grain tribute?
Perhaps something unexpected had occurred in Jizhou?
The mob of peasants was nearly at the county town. If Wei Xuan, that fool, didn’t come, this stage he’d set would have been wasted.
His long fingers tapped the table as he spoke, “First, transport the money and grain we’ve extorted from Qingping’s merchants and commoners out of the county. Position a thousand troops at Banpo outside the city. If Wei Xuan doesn’t come, we’ll slaughter the mob ourselves.”
The guard asked in confusion, “Those rebels intend to join our Chongzhou forces. Why would Young Master want to kill them?”
Sui Yuanqing sneered, “We needn’t kill them all. Just enough to thoroughly turn the people’s hearts against the imperial court. How many of these rebels would truly come to enlist in Chongzhou after venting their momentary anger? Only when we force them into a desperate situation will they truly commit to rebellion.”
The scholar they deliberately let escape had carried a message to Jizhou: imperial troops were forcibly requisitioning grain, leaving people no means to survive. When the common folk tried to seek justice in Jizhou, the troops massacred them.
By then, no matter how the Wei faction tried to explain, people would be inclined to believe the scholar’s account. After all, the Wei faction’s infamous reputation wasn’t built in a day or two. And behind the scholar’s tearful accusations were ten thousand lives from Qingping County.
Things backed by facts were always more relatable and easier to believe.
The guard hurriedly said, “Young Master is brilliant.”
Sui Yuanqing ignored the guard’s flattery and asked, “Has that little brat been caught?”
The guard tensed and replied, “Someone broke into Yixiang Tower half an hour ago, injured our men, and escaped with a child. I’ve dispatched troops in pursuit. We should have news soon.”
Sui Yuanqing only said, “Don’t harm the child. After all, he’s my elder brother’s flesh and blood.”
The guard ventured to ask, “And the woman in the prison…”
Sui Yuanqing raised his cold eyes, “She’s my elder brother’s concubine. How to deal with her will be my brother’s decision after we return. For now, let her suffer in prison, but ensure no one violates her.”
The guard acknowledged the order.
After the guard withdrew, someone entered carrying a tray.
Upon hearing those light yet steady footsteps, Sui Yuanqing’s lips curved into a cold smile.
When he raised his eyes to look at the servant girl, though he had expected the county magistrate would send someone presentable to curry favor, seeing such a striking beauty in this backwater still sparked surprise in his eyes.
Especially those eyes of hers – they weren’t sparkling like stars or lively like a deer’s. Instead, they gave a first impression of being both beautiful and honest, the kind of honesty that made one worry she’d be bullied by others if she became a servant in his household.
Having often been subjected to Xie Zheng’s scrutinizing glances, Fan Changyu wasn’t frightened by this stranger’s examining gaze. She simply carried the tray over steadily.
As Fan Changyu set down the soup bowl and moved to withdraw the tray, he said with a thin smile, “Quite brave, aren’t you?”
Fan Changyu thought he had discovered the croton seeds in the white fungus soup. Her palms grew cold and clammy as she thought to herself that this man was clearly of the same ilk as Yan Zheng – though not as handsome, he was equally shrewd and difficult to deceive.
The old saying goes that the first to strike gains the advantage. She immediately swung the tray as if to bring it down on his head. His eyes suddenly turned cold as he extended his long arm to block it.
The tray swing was merely a feint – Fan Changyu kicked him hard in the abdomen. Sui Yuanqing’s face showed shock as he doubled over in pain. Fan Changyu’s other hand had already struck forcefully at the back of his neck.
A normal person would have been knocked unconscious by her strike, but Sui Yuanqing still had enough strength to overturn a side table to block her. Though his feet stumbled, he quickly darted toward the door while clutching his neck.
Fan Changyu hadn’t expected his neck to be so sturdy. Outside, the guards heard him overturn the table and rushed toward the room: “General?”
Fan Changyu had prepared for the possibility of failing to subdue him at close quarters. She immediately pulled out a thin rope she had already fashioned into a noose and threw it around Sui Yuanqing’s neck.
When the guard burst through the door, he saw Fan Changyu had looped a rope around their Young Master’s neck and was pulling back hard. The rope instantly tightened. Sui Yuanqing had one hand across his throat gripping the rope as he struggled against Fan Changyu’s strength, his face red either from lack of air or fury.
Though Sui Yuanqing’s arm strength was shocking – by rights, he should have been able to yank the presumptuous woman toward him like a broken kite – she only stumbled slightly before regaining her footing and matching his strength with the force of a wild bull.
When his neck could no longer resist her two-handed strength and she dragged him like a dead dog to hold a sharp knife to his throat, his handsome face showed both the contortions of suffocation and hatred enough to flay her alive.
He said viciously, “You’d better not fall into my hands, or I’ll flay you and hang your skin on the city tower!”
Fan Changyu, now holding him hostage in the county magistrate’s name, fearlessly jabbed her sharp boning knife into his thigh, making a shallow wound: “We’ll see what’s faster – your flaying or my stabbing.”
Though Fan Changyu’s stab wasn’t deep, it had drawn blood, yet Sui Yuanqing didn’t make even a grunt of pain.
The guards outside were terrified, both worried for him and shocked that their Young Master had been captured by a woman.
The guard who had entered earlier was his guard, named Mu Shi. He immediately shouted at Fan Changyu, “Don’t harm our General!”
Fan Changyu said, “Follow my instructions and I won’t hurt him.”
Mu Shi and the others looked to Sui Yuanqing for direction. Through gritted teeth, he squeezed out: “Do as she says.”
Then in a voice only the two of them could hear, he threatened, “I’ll remember you.”
Why did he only blame her rather than the county magistrate? After all, she was technically acting on the magistrate’s behalf!
Fan Changyu considered this as she pressed the boning knife deeper under his skin, then called out to the guards outside: “Release our County Magistrate immediately!”
Mu Shi turned to look at the steward with an expression that suggested he wanted to tear him apart.
The steward was trembling so violently that he seemed about to faint.
Moments later, the County Magistrate who had been imprisoned for days finally walked out of his room. Upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, he too nearly fainted on the spot.
He would rather have remained imprisoned for another year than face such a situation upon his release!
Sui Yuanqing asked with a thin smile on his lips, “My men have released the County Magistrate. Will you release me now?”
As if afraid Fan Changyu would worry about his revenge, he now acted like a refined young noble: “Rest assured, even if I were to capture you, I would wait until you had completely escaped before doing so. I won’t act now.”
Just then, a soldier ran in urgently from the main gate: “Report – The mob has gathered outside the county town gates. All the prisoners from the county jail have been released and have taken the collected military provisions to the town gates, saying they will return everything to the protesting mob!”
Sui Yuanqing’s face twisted in anger as he asked Fan Changyu with a laugh, “Your planners certainly thought of everything.”
Fan Changyu ignored him. The events at the county office were surely Yan Zheng’s handiwork.
The man in her hands now was a hot potato – if she truly killed him, she would be executing a high official and might have to spend the rest of her life in the mountains with Changning as bandits.
But if she released him, she would surely face dire consequences.
She looked toward the County Magistrate, “Your Honor, the rural people of Qingping County have rebelled over the military grain tribute. You must give them an explanation to quell their anger.”
Her eyes flickered meaningfully toward her hostage.
When the County Magistrate heard the mob had reached the town gates, his face went white. Once the mob entered the town, they would surely kill several corrupt officials, with him, the Qingping County Magistrate, being the first sacrifice.
If he died, when his superiors demanded an explanation, they would still pin everything on him. After all, his achievements in office had been mediocre, and dead men made the best scapegoats.
The County Magistrate caught Fan Changyu’s suggestive glance. Though he was a coward before his superiors, he hadn’t survived in officialdom without being shrewd. He instantly understood Fan Changyu’s meaning.
After considering its feasibility, his face lit up with joy.
Indeed, while he dared not act against these men himself, and the mob needed someone to blame, why not naturally push these people forward to answer to the mob?
The County Magistrate, with his eight-months-pregnant-like belly, and his fat face quivering, didn’t look at Sui Yuanqing as he said: “The grain requisition was brought by the generals’ military orders. Now that things have come to this, I must trouble the generals to go to the city gates and explain to the people.”
How the mob would deal with these men would be the mob’s business.
Sui Yuanqing only gave a cold laugh: “Very well, let’s go to the gates and give an explanation.”
Mu Shi caught his eye and understood, his angry expression also subsiding somewhat.
They had a thousand troops lying in ambush at Banpo outside the city. Once the signal arrow was fired, the troops on the hill would charge down – they could massacre the entire Qingping County if they wished!
Outside Qingping County, a military unit flying Jizhou banners wound its way along the official road. At its head was the elderly general He Jingyuan, whose scholarly refinement was suppressed beneath heavy armor, replaced by an air of authority.
However, his advanced age showed in his white hair and beard, and his wan appearance from several sleepless nights.
Zheng Wenchang, riding half a step behind him, said: “Perhaps that scholar exaggerated. How would a mere Qingping County Magistrate dare to oppress the people under the pretext of grain requisition? I could lead troops to investigate on your behalf – why did you need to come personally?”
He Jingyuan shook his head, his gaze both aged and authoritative: “Qingping County has salt lakes. For this to happen during grain requisition, the reasons behind it are likely not simple.”
Just as he finished speaking, a scout galloped toward them from the front, “Report – We’ve discovered Chongzhou troops hiding in the forest at Banpo, ten li ahead!”
At the scout’s report, even Zheng Wenchang broke out in a cold sweat.