“Nonsense! Others can choose not to be fools, but you have no choice. The realm belongs to your father emperor, and in the not-too-distant future it will be yours. If you don’t be the villain, who will? Fang Xuanling did nothing wrong. You truly are the best candidate to be the fool. Since those hotheaded youths have given you a good opportunity, do it thoroughly and well—do it in a way that puts your father emperor’s mind at ease.”
Having finished speaking, whether or not he saw the Emperor was unimportant. The Yun family itself still had many matters waiting to be handled. Constables from Chang’an County discovered a small boat at Qingshui Wharf. On this boat there were only corpses, no living people. Among them, an old bearded man clutched half a bronze plate in his hand. The corpse was frozen quite solid. The constables had to break his fingers to remove the half bronze plate. Qingshui Wharf was originally a dock in the outskirts of Chang’an County. The surrounding area was open and exposed with no shelter. After the cold wind passed through, the banks of the Ba River were already covered with icicles. If not for merchants and travelers preparing to journey far while the river hadn’t yet frozen who discovered it, this boat might have drifted downstream and capsized in the Ba River.
The white-haired and bearded Great Elder had a flame pattern tattooed between his brows. His wrinkled face was full of sorrow, though his sorrow wasn’t directed at the deceased but at that half bronze plate.
As soon as he got his hands on the half bronze plate, he knew it was genuine. He desperately wanted to know who the murderer was, yet couldn’t explain why his subordinates were wearing night-traveling clothes. His hands, covered with age spots, trembled like leaves in the wind.
The murderer was the Yun family. When everyone was filled with righteous indignation and preparing to turn the Yun household into a death ground that very night, a steward from the Yun family arrived with a guard, holding the flame token of the already deceased elder and demanding the Zoroastrian temple pay three thousand taels of gold.
“Do you know why the temple needs to pay Marquis Yun gold?” The Great Elder forcibly suppressed his fury and patiently asked the Yun family steward.
“Elder, this small person doesn’t know. The Marquis only gave this small person this token and told this small person to personally deliver it to the Elder’s hands, then bring back three thousand taels of gold to the household. As for other matters, this small person knows nothing whatsoever. Oh, the Marquis also said forget about the virgins—the Yun family is a good and virtuous household and won’t take women.”
The Great Elder’s pupils contracted to pinpoints. Others beside him jumped out in fury, about to attack. The ignorant steward was greatly alarmed and quickly hid behind the guard. A burly man with a guard’s appearance drew his horizontal blade and shouted: “What audacity! The night before last I told the Marquis that bearded barbarians can’t be trusted and we should kill them all. Where’s the logic in giving away your own family treasure? Now it’s exactly as I said. Heh heh, if you have the guts, make your move. If this grandfather dies, you’ll definitely accompany this grandfather in burial.”
The Great Elder soothed the agitated congregation members and asked the guard in a low voice: “What happened the night before last?”
The guard said with a smile: “Seven petty thieves entered the residence to steal and were captured alive by this grandfather’s brothers—six of them. One more was too badly injured and died. The Marquis originally wanted to execute them all, but an old white-bearded man said he was willing to exchange three thousand taels of gold and twenty virgins for a bronze plate. If he didn’t trade, the Yun family should never expect peace in the future.”
“Three thousand taels of gold isn’t a small sum. The Marquis said it wasn’t worth fighting to the death with the Zoroastrians over a broken copper plate, so he agreed. That old man insisted on taking the copper plate first and left his wooden token as collateral. It was agreed he’d come today to get the money, yet you bastards are actually reneging on the debt.”
“You’re saying those people were still alive when they left the Yun household and took away the bronze plate?”
“Heh heh, six alive, one dead—killed by this grandfather’s own hand. One slash and the kidneys fell out. It would be seeing a ghost if he could survive.”
The Great Elder turned back to ask questions, then nodded and said: “What you said is all true?”
The guard said with a sinister smile: “How could it be false? Now we’ve all torn off pretenses. This grandfather has no reason to deceive you. I knew long ago that bearded barbarians don’t keep their word—the Marquis was too trusting. Are you going to attack or not? If you don’t attack, this grandfather won’t be polite.” Having spoken, he raised his horizontal blade and rushed forward to grab the Great Elder, capturing the leader first.
A hulking giant behind the Great Elder swung the massive hammer in his hands and sent the guard flying back, man and blade together. He crashed to the ground and spurted out a mouthful of blood.
The hulking giant was about to raise his hammer to smash the guard into meat paste when the Great Elder stopped him. He walked before the guard, crouched down, looked into his eyes and said: “Everyone who went to the Yun household died—died on a boat by the Ba River. The bronze plate was also broken in half. Tell me, do you know who did this?”
The unruly guard, hearing the news that those people were all dead, froze for a moment, then immediately burst into hearty laughter. Pointing at the Great Elder, he said: “Dead? They deserved it! All bearded barbarians deserve to die.”
The originally kind-faced, physically frail Great Elder kicked the guard so hard he flew up. Without even looking whether he lived or died, he said to another elder: “Pay him three thousand taels of gold. We will fulfill Yesha’s promise.” Having spoken, he slowly retreated behind the curtain and never appeared again.
The steward quickly helped the guard up and asked: “Old Zhang, how are you? Can you stand? We don’t want the gold anymore. Let’s leave right now.” Seeing the guard shake his head with difficulty, he helped him up, preparing to leave.
A big bearded man carrying two boxes placed them before the steward. Without speaking, he walked into the rear hall. For a time, only the two of them remained in the entire great hall.
The guard lay face-up on the bluestone floor and said to the steward: “Steward Yu, don’t rush to take this money. Since they’ve paid the debt, they won’t renege. Besides, debts to our household aren’t so easily owed. Right now your most urgent task is to gallop back home on horseback and tell the Marquis that those people are all dead, someone wants to frame our household, and the Marquis must be careful. Go quickly! Never mind the gold for now. I’m watching it—it won’t be lost. The important matter comes first.”
The steward’s expression changed drastically. He pulled out a small wine flask from his bosom, stuffed it to the guard, hurriedly unhitched a draft horse from the carriage, mounted the bareback horse, and galloped urgently toward Chang’an city.
Seeing the steward leave, the guard leaned against the boxes, placed his horizontal blade beside him, and stared wide-eyed at his surroundings, as if at any moment someone would rush out to snatch the gold.
Right next to the great hall was a small room where the Great Elder and other elders were all present. Through a copper tube, all movements in the great hall were clearly visible. Seeing that devoted and loyal guard desperately protecting his master’s household wealth, the Great Elder sighed and said: “There’s been a twist in the matter. What this person said is very likely true. The deaths of Shaye and the others probably weren’t the Yun family’s doing. No one is shameless enough to kill people and still come to collect promised money. The matter of virgins in the faith is only known to elders. The promise of three thousand taels of gold and twenty virgins is exactly the highest authority of an elder.”
“We’ve studied this person Yun Ye. He truly is someone who muddles through. As long as you don’t provoke him to anger, he’s harmless. Shaye’s promise indeed has a very good chance of moving him.”
“Moreover, the Light Plate was destroyed, not stolen. This further indicates the Yun family is unrelated to this matter. Without this half Light Plate, no matter how the Yun family explained, they would be the most suspicious. The Light Plate has appeared, which means the Peacock Ming King has definitely vanished from this world. We must recently mobilize congregation members to search for the other half of the Light Plate’s whereabouts. Whoever possesses it is the murderer, an irreconcilable enemy of the Light World. I swear in the name of the God of Light—even if we all die, we will hunt down the criminal who damaged the Light Plate. The only thing that can wash away sin is flame.” After the Great Elder finished speaking, everyone crossed their arms over their shoulders and loudly vowed—without avenging this grudge, they would never rest until death.
Zhang Shuan felt his chest burning with pain. He didn’t dare open his mouth—as soon as he did, he wanted to vomit blood. His nasal cavity was full of the fishy, salty taste of blood. Opening the wine flask, he took a big gulp. The fiery liquor immediately suppressed the nausea in his chest as it went down.
His eyes looked at the great hall’s dome. He couldn’t help recalling the Marquis’s words: “Courage should be great, but the heart ever more careful. If the Yun family wants to avoid war this time, it depends on how you perform. Old Yu knows nothing of any matter, so you needn’t worry about him. As long as you display thirty percent of your usual shrewdness, this time our household can not only have three thousand taels of gold enter the accounts but can also sit on the mountain and watch tigers fight, properly appreciating His Majesty’s marvelous wisdom. Stupidly going to war is the worst strategy—the Yun family won’t do it and doesn’t want to do it.”
It should be eighty percent successful by now, right? The Marquis said success or failure depends on details. Now isn’t the time to slack off. There are still three hours that need persevering. As long as he persevered until the household’s main forces arrived, all would be worry-free.
“Father Emperor, why take away half the plate and leave half behind?” Li Chengqian stood beside his father, grinding ink while asking questions. The Emperor, who was looking at blueprints, lifted his eyes from them and said casually: “This is helping Yun Ye extricate himself. His original idea was too crude. To successfully evade, one needs sufficient caution.”
“Hmph hmph, I dare wager this little brat came up with this idea on the spur of the moment. What he told He Tianshang was half true, half false. At the beginning he was definitely blinded by fury. Chopping that Light Plate was definitely something done in a fit of rage. Seeing the plate chopped in half, only then did he think of remedying it. Being able to think of such a method in a flash of lightning isn’t easy. Considering he conscientiously works his heart out for Great Tang’s prosperity, this father emperor will help him tie up loose ends. It just so happens our household also has some troublesome matters that need handling. The Imperial family really can’t come forward, so let these people do it. Afterward, we’ll kill the Zoroastrians to avenge him.”
Li Chengqian didn’t know who the Li family’s enemy was. Since Father didn’t say, that meant he shouldn’t know. So he didn’t ask either. He placed the ground ink at a convenient position for his father and returned to his own seat to continue reading his memorials.
After flipping through two memorials, he still couldn’t help but hesitatingly ask his father: “Father Emperor, Chancellor Fang and the others plan to have your son expose the Daoist sect’s tricks. Although this is what your son should do, your son’s heart always feels displeased. Are they treating your son as a fool?”
Li Er put down the brush in his hand, laughed until tears flowed, slapped the table and said: “Not bad! You saw through it? How does it feel being forced to be a fool? This father emperor of yours has been this kind of fool countless times. Hahaha!”