Some matters seem difficult to handle, but for certain people, they’re merely things mentioned in passing.
Xue Ruogu served at the Censorate as Investigating Censor, responsible for supervising and impeaching court officials for corruption, bias, and unlawful conduct.
Especially after Emperor Yanyou ascended the throne and further emphasized employing remonstrating officials to check the courtiers, the position of Investigating Censor, though seemingly modest in rank at only Upper Sixth Rank, could absolutely be called a position of low status yet great authority in the court.
Xue Ruogu was straightforward by nature, and thus executed Emperor Yanyou’s intentions most thoroughly, consequently offending countless people during this past year.
After the assassination case occurred, Shen Yang disregarded other ministers’ opposition and insisted on recommending Xue Ruogu to replace Shang Wensheng as Prefect of Guangde Prefecture, to stabilize the situation there and prevent civil unrest from breeding. However, his memorial submitted to Chongwen Hall sank like a stone into the sea with no response.
At this time, many people understood clearly that Xue Ruogu was not a candidate His Majesty trusted. Those forces offended by Xue Ruogu, and even people dissatisfied with Shen Yang, inevitably vented their resentment upon Xue Ruogu’s head.
During Emperor Tianyou’s reign, he had intentionally suppressed the great clans and powerful houses of the capital region’s auxiliary counties. People like Shang Wensheng and Wei Zhen possessed enormous wealth with estates stretching for blocks, yet their positions in court were not high.
Shang Wensheng enjoyed great reputation in his youth, but after half a lifetime only managed to become a Bureau Director, ultimately dying in office as Acting Prefect of Guangde Prefecture.
Before the Jinling Incident, Wei Zhen was merely Vice Magistrate of Lishui County.
In the campaign to recover Jinling, Wei Zhen had rendered meritorious service. Also, during and after the Jinling campaign, the power of the capital region’s great clans suffered heavy blows, eliminating the need for further suppression. At that time, Wei Zhen could have taken a more important and prestigious position.
However, since the fires of war in Jinling had just been extinguished, the capital’s auxiliary counties like Lishui urgently needed officials familiar with local conditions like Wei Zhen to preside over recuperation and recovery. Therefore, when selecting officials, Wei Zhen was not immediately appointed to serve in the Six Ministries’ departments.
Wei Zhen served as Lishui County Magistrate for one year. Though the locality was still far from achieving recuperation and recovery, the situation had generally stabilized. Even Wei Zhen, who was not keen on power and position, felt it was time for him to advance.
In mid-to-late March, Chu forces advanced by water and land, and by late March, one hundred thousand troops had already pressed beneath Chaozhou city walls.
At this time, officials should properly be dispatched to cross the river first to receive Chuzhou.
Yet as part of the campaign to recover Chao and Chu prefectures, the candidate for Chuzhou Regional Commander had never been settled by the court.
The Court of Political Affairs ministers looked down upon incapable officials, but qualified and capable officials were unwilling to serve in Chuzhou, or had already been posted externally to prefectures and counties and could not be recalled immediately.
Recovering Chao and Chu prefectures did not yet amount to thoroughly annihilating the An’ning Palace rebel forces.
Chuzhou was a place where the population had completely fled, vast lands lay barren, and it might still suffer rebel counterattacks at any time. After assuming office, the Regional Commander, as local official, would also need to maintain good relations with the garrisoned Imperial Guard commanders.
Who would be willing to go to such a poor, ruined, and dangerous place to be a put-upon daughter-in-law?
At this time, someone recommended Wei Zhen to serve as Chuzhou Regional Commander, and then someone suggested kicking the resentment-attracting Xue Ruogu out of court, posting him externally to Lishui as County Magistrate. This immediately gained many people’s support.
Wei Zhen was willing—after all, advancing from the Upper Sixth Rank of capital county magistrate to the Upper Fourth Rank of medium prefecture regional commander meant leaping four grades consecutively.
Only during the current court’s urgent need for personnel would there be such arbitrary promotions and appointments of officials. Once the situation stabilized, everything would return to a step-by-step rhythm.
Wei Zhen had already passed the age of knowing Heaven’s mandate. He had no time for advancing grade by grade step-by-step. Even knowing Chuzhou was dangerous, he willingly packed his belongings and assumed his post accompanying the army.
Investigating Censor was an Upper Sixth Rank position, and capital county magistrate was also Upper Sixth Rank, but Xue Ruogu’s transfer from the position-low-authority-high Investigating Censor to capital county magistrate was naturally a demotion.
Xue Ruogu himself didn’t care. Shen Yang could accept this outcome mainly because Lishui was an auxiliary county of the capital, extremely close at hand. If he truly needed Xue Ruogu, recalling him to court would also be extremely convenient.
The entire matter was settled in mid-April. Xue Ruogu also took leave of Shen Yang, Qin Wen, Li Tang, and others at the first opportunity, bringing his family to assume his post in Lishui city, over one hundred thirty to forty li distant.
As for the intentions hidden behind this entire affair, no one could detect any trace, or perhaps only those parties within the vortex themselves might perceive some irregularities?
……
……
Late April was already early summer. Under the brilliant sunlight shining down, there was already some heat.
In the ditches on both sides of the official road, wild grass grew rampant. In distant fields, farmers were plowing, wearing short jackets and hemp shirts, exposing dark, lean arms.
Outside the entrance to Chenjiatang Village stood a peach grove occupying over a hundred mu.
The peach blossoms had long since withered, and the branches were laden with green fuzzy peaches.
Outside the peach grove, beside the official road, there was a small clearing where a thatched shelter stood. Someone sold herbal tea for a living there. Several passing customers gathered around the tea stall drinking tea. Judging by their appearances and dress, they seemed like resting porters and peddling merchants. Before the tea stall sat some baskets filled with goods, with shoulder poles leaning slantwise against the baskets.
Four horse carts drove up from the north, with seven or eight servants and blade-wielding guards following on horseback.
Even though fierce fighting raged just across the water on the Yangtze’s northern bank, no one would imagine that bandits would dare rob travelers on the official road over a hundred li from the Chu capital.
The servants and escorting guards sat relaxed and at ease on their horses, surveying the bright scenery in all directions.
The porters and merchants before the tea stall, however, curiously looked toward the official road, as if none yet knew what important personage was passing through. Several li ahead at the official pavilion, local officials and gentry stood waiting to receive him.
“Stop for a moment.” Passing the tea shop, the leading cart’s curtain lifted from inside. Xue Ruogu stuck his head out from the cart and ordered the driver to stop the horses.
“Lishui County is just ahead. Many people are waiting to receive Father. Why are you stopping here, Father?” A seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth rode up from behind and asked Xue Ruogu, who was thoughtfully surveying the tea shop.
“If they’re willing to wait, let them wait. Your mother is weak of body. She and your sister have both sat in the cart all day—their bodies must be tired. Getting down to walk around will do them good. Everyone has also traveled most of the day and should drink some tea.” Xue Ruogu spoke to his eldest son Xue Mo, who had already grown to adulthood.
He jumped down from the cart and walked directly toward the tea stall, pointing at the herbal tea and asking the old man tending the stall: “How much does this herbal tea cost?”
Xue Ruogu wore official robes. The old man seemed somewhat frightened, stammering before finally explaining that two bowls of tea only cost one coin.
Without waiting for the attendant soldiers to drive them away, those several merchants and porters yielded the tree-stump seats, holding their tea bowls and squatting at the edge of the clearing to continue drinking tea.
Xue Ruogu took one of the tree stumps and sat before the tea stall. His sharp gaze swept once over those several merchants and porters at the field’s edge as he accepted the tea bowl the old man handed him.
The bowl contained amber-colored herbal tea, still floating with some broken tea leaf fragments.
The youth and a young girl supported a delicate and beautiful middle-aged woman as they walked over and also sat before the tea stall.
The youth and those servants and blade-wielders were truly thirsty, gulping down several bowls of herbal tea in succession like watering cattle, directly crying out how refreshing it was.
The woman and girl had more interest in gazing at the surrounding scenery.
Only Xue Ruogu, as if holding a bowl of the world’s finest tea, sipped in small mouthfuls. He sat for a full two incense-stick periods without finishing one bowl of herbal tea. The porters and merchants sitting at the clearing’s edge divided into two groups, quietly discussing nearby rustic anecdotes, not daring to approach and disturb the official.
“Father, are you waiting for someone?”
“I also don’t know who I’m waiting for. Perhaps I’m overthinking all this.” Xue Ruogu spoke thoughtfully. Seeing the sky darkening, if they didn’t leave now they probably couldn’t enter the city before nightfall, he drained the remaining tea in his bowl and stood to walk toward the cart.
After Xue Ruogu and his party’s carts and horses traveled far, those several porters and merchants walked back to sit before the tea stall, seemingly having no intention whatsoever of hurrying on their way.
“Master Feng, will Magistrate Xue truly overturn the case for those several dozen refugee victims who died miserably at Donglu Mountain?” A porter with a dark complexion looked at the cloth-robed guest sitting before him and asked. “Looking at his manner, he seems to have long realized something suspicious about his transfer to Lishui. Just now he probably thought Master Feng would step forward to meet him…”
“Since he’s realized something is suspicious, yet still rushed without delay to assume office in Lishui, don’t you have any expectations?” the cloth-robed guest asked with a smile.
“The coroner and Wei Zhen’s two advisors involved in this case—though we followed Master Feng’s instructions and found ways to keep them all in Lishui, getting them to speak is not a simple matter.”
The dark-faced porter knit his thick brows, his expression still pessimistic. He had other worries as well.
“Moreover, even if Magistrate Xue investigates the truth, overturning the case is not easy. He might even throw away the lives of his entire family needlessly. When I acted willfully and recklessly initially, I already implicated too many people, and too many died. I also caused Your Lordship to suffer unwarranted suspicion. Alas, if there had been a choice, I would rather have buried the resentment in my heart!”
The wooden, dull-witted tea-selling old man tremblingly extended his hand to refill their bowls.
The porter originally wasn’t worried about what associations the crude rustic old man might form from hearing their words. But just as he was about to accept the tea bowl, he noticed the tea-selling old man’s hands seemed burned by fire, with dark scars. Beneath those scars, the finger joints didn’t seem withered like bamboo as a true old man’s would be. His heart suddenly jumped in alarm. He retreated two steps, walked to the basket, placed his hand on the cargo-carrying shoulder pole, and stared at the old man, saying: “I wonder what distinguished person this brother might be? You actually escaped even Shang’s notice just now?”
“According to what you say, if I hadn’t used the pretext of land grants to recruit bond-servants into military service at Maoshan initially, this series of connected tragic cases wouldn’t have occurred, and Shang Zhongjie perhaps wouldn’t have harbored resentment and slaughtered the refugees,” the tea-selling old man said, holding a tea bowl as he sat down and stared at the porter. “I ask you—was it wrong from the very beginning?”
“Your Lordship!”
The porter never imagined the tea-selling old man was truly someone else entirely. Hearing that familiar voice, his emotions surging, he fell to his knees with a thud…