Xiao Qi from the Liu family hurriedly drove his family’s flock of sheep to catch up with Ergou from the Huang family, frustratedly throwing stones at the lead ram in front. Ergou from the Huang family was herding his family’s three cows and could ride on a cow’s back without having to walk barefoot. Just as Xiao Qi watched Ergou about to descend the steep slope, he was delighted to discover that Ergou’s family cow had become disobedient, actually walking back along the small stream no matter how Ergou shouted at it—it simply wouldn’t listen.
Whenever Ergou was exasperated, Xiao Qi would be happy. Giggling, he walked past Ergou, but before he could be pleased for long, Xiao Qi discovered that his own sheep had also become disobedient. The lead ram buried its head sniffing the ground and followed Ergou’s cow back. Wherever the lead ram went, the flock would follow. Xiao Qi ran up and grabbed the lead ram’s large horns to make it turn around, but ended up being knocked flat on his back by the normally obedient lead ram. Ergou, who had just been angry, immediately stopped being upset—after all, misfortune wasn’t his alone.
Soon neither of them could be happy, because that patch of grass ahead always seemed haunted. No matter how frantically the two shepherd boys drove the cattle and sheep, they simply wouldn’t move, lowering their heads to lick the ground. The two children were both shocked and frightened, but they didn’t dare abandon the cattle and sheep—these were their families’ lifelines. Without these cattle and sheep, there was no point in going home alive.
Just when the two children were most terrified, they heard from afar that the Tibetan camp over there had erupted into chaos. Standing on the slope and looking down, they saw some Tibetans wielding knives and hacking about wildly, while others prostrated themselves on the ground continuously kowtowing. This made the two children even more afraid—clearly they were possessed. Xiao Qi frantically tried to wrench the lead ram’s head around, while Ergou pulled at the cow’s nose ring trying to drag it back, but neither the cow nor the sheep would obey. Hearing the ghostly wailing from the Tibetan side, Xiao Qi flew into a rage, picked up a stone and threw it toward the Tibetan camp, knowing he couldn’t hit anything—it was just an instinctive way to vent.
Then came a rumbling boom. The two children were so frightened they fell sitting on the ground. They watched as more than half the Tibetan camp disappeared, and a huge deep pit appeared in the ground.
“Xiao Qi, you killed all those Tibetans with your stone!” After a long while, Ergou finally spoke to the already stunned Xiao Qi.
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!” Xiao Qi burst into loud tears of fright. “Brother Gou, it wasn’t me!”
“I saw you throw the stone,” Ergou said, looking at Xiao Qi with admiration. How amazing—to be able to kill so many Tibetans with a stone! He’d have to ask Xiao Qi properly later how he did it.
Fortunately, at this moment the cattle and sheep had all returned to normal. Seeing that dusk was approaching, they all turned their heads toward home without needing to be driven. The two trembling children followed the cattle and sheep back.
“Xiao Qi, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about this. Let’s hurry home. If the authorities ask, we can’t say anything even if beaten to death. Understand?” The slightly older Ergou kept admonishing his little companion.
“I won’t say anything even if beaten to death!” Xiao Qi answered tearfully. The two drove the cattle and sheep at great speed, and before long descended the steep slope along the stream, leaving behind a large patch of grass trampled into a mess by the cattle and sheep.
Sitting in a tree fork, Gou Zi saw countless people beginning to search the surrounding area. With a backflip, he moved to another tree, and in just a few moves reached the side of the official road. Mounting his horse tethered by the roadside, he flicked the reins and headed for the Cheng residence.
Yun Ye, Old Niu, and Old Cheng and his sons drank wine all night long. At dawn they drunkenly lay down still dressed, but they had barely slept for a while when Duan Hong appeared before Yun Ye’s bed. Without a word, he placed two fingers under Yun Ye’s neck to feel his pulse. Discovering that Yun Ye was truly drunk, his expression became very strange. He grabbed Yun Ye’s wrist to check again—no mistake, definitely drunk. Being disturbed like this and having no awareness at all.
Seeing Xinyue, who was serving at Yun Ye’s side, with a face full of anger, Duan Hong quickly apologized: “Madam, this is His Majesty’s command. This servant must ascertain where Marquis Yun was yesterday and last night. This servant dares not be negligent.”
Before Xinyue could speak, Old Cheng’s voice came from outside: “Yesterday the entire day, little Ye was a guest at this old man’s residence. In the evening we drank all night with Old Niu and only just settled down. What happened?”
Duan Hong bowed to Old Cheng and said: “My lord, you will naturally know when you go to the Hall of Ten Thousand People. If Marquis Yun was indeed a guest at the Cheng residence all day yesterday, then there’s no problem. His Majesty has strictly ordered that this matter not be leaked. Please forgive me, my lord.”
Hearing Duan Hong’s words, Old Cheng immediately became cheerful and laughed heartily: “That’s good then. This boy was here the entire day yesterday, properly drinking and eating, and went nowhere. Not only was he here, his whole family was here. What? At this hour I still have to report to the Hall of Ten Thousand People? Can you cover for me and say Old Cheng is ill? While you’re at it, say Yun Ye and Old Niu are all sick too.”
“Duke Cheng, this is not an appropriate time to take leave. It would be best if you, Duke Niu, and Marquis Yun still make a trip to the Hall of Ten Thousand People. His Majesty has ordered that no matter what Marquis Yun is doing, he must enter the palace immediately.”
Just as Xinyue was feeding her husband sobering soup, Cheng Chumo, who had gone to the palace early for duty, hurriedly returned. He looked at Yun Ye with concern and said quietly to his father and Old Niu: “Yesterday at the hour of You, the Tibetan envoy’s camp suddenly experienced ghostly transportation—all goods and wealth disappeared. Immediately after, the earth collapsed. No fewer than three hundred of the Tibetan envoy’s subordinate officials died, all buried alive. The Tibetan Grand Minister has appealed to Great Tang, demanding that the culprit be found, or else he will raise a full army to demand justice.”
Old Cheng and Old Niu looked at each other. The Tibetans’ threat to demand justice could be treated as hot air. Right now all the military officials in Great Tang were bored to death—having an opportunity to go to war was truly rare, regardless of who they fought.
As for this kind of earth-collapsing incident, why would they look for trouble with Yun Ye? This boy was indeed at home drinking all day yesterday and went nowhere. His Majesty was overthinking this.
Yun Ye was force-fed two bowls of sobering soup by Xinyue before he came to. He hung over the edge of the bed vomiting violently. After feeling slightly better, Xinyue dressed him in his official robes and sent him onto the carriage, then jumped onto the carriage herself to attend to him throughout.
Throughout the journey, Yun Ye would stop the carriage every few steps to hang out the back of the carriage and vomit. No matter what Xinyue fed him, he would vomit it all back up cleanly. However, the more miserably Yun Ye vomited, the happier Duan Hong became. This was being completely drunk. As long as that matter had nothing to do with him, it was a blessing. What did suffering a bit at this moment matter?
When the staggering, sallow-faced Yun Ye was helped into the Hall of Ten Thousand People by guards, even Li Er was startled. Yun Ye looked like he only had half a life left. He couldn’t help but stand up and urgently ask Duan Hong: “What happened to the Marquis of Lantian? Is he ill? Has Daoist Sun examined him?”
Duan Hong quickly said: “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Marquis of Lantian Yun Ye is not ill, it’s only caused by severe drunkenness and vomiting.”
Hearing Duan Hong’s words, Li Er sat back down. He had someone bring a cushion for Yun Ye to sit against a pillar, then pointed at Yun Ye, who was hanging his head and twitching, and said to Ludongzan, who was standing on the left side of the hall in full armor: “What does Your Excellency think?”
Ludongzan stepped forward with clasped hands and said: “Surveying Great Tang’s meritorious nobles, I only have a past grudge with the Marquis of Lantian. Now that such an inconceivable incident has occurred, I truly don’t know how to report back to my king. I only ask Your Majesty to dispatch capable officials to solve this case quickly, lest it affect the relationship between our two countries. Could it be that the Marquis of Lantian’s severe drunkenness is not a celebration after the deed?”
“The Grand Minister speaks carelessly. Marquis Yun is a hereditary marquis of our Great Tang and cannot be slandered. This old man has just inquired—Marquis Yun has been a guest at Duke Lu’s residence with his entire family since yesterday and has not stepped outside the Cheng residence even once. The Grand Minister’s words are truly chilling.” Fang Xuanling had just asked Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda standing beside him and knew that Yun Ye indeed had not left the Cheng residence. This kind of thing was easy to verify, and Cheng and Niu would not lie about such matters.
The head-hanging Yun Ye suddenly stood up and staggered out of the Hall of Ten Thousand People. He snatched the spittoon held by an inner attendant and had another bout of heart-wrenching dry heaving. This time even yellow-green bile came out. After vomiting, he flopped down with a smack on the white jade steps and passed out—he really hadn’t slept for two nights and was truly too miserable.
An inner attendant quickly entered the hall to report that Marquis Yun was now vomiting bile, and continuing like this would likely harm his body. Li Er angrily slapped the armrest and ordered the imperial physicians to take Yun Ye to the front hall for care. He said irritably to Ludongzan: “Yun Ye has always been proud and arrogant. If he truly did this deed, he would never pretend to be drunk to escape. You want to solve this case—I’m afraid you’ll need his cooperation. From the looks of it now, he probably won’t take the case. You, Ludongzan, are also wise. Why not investigate yourself? As long as you can provide conclusive evidence, I will definitely give you an explanation. Court dismissed!”
After venting his anger, Li Er waved his sleeves and turned to leave, leaving Ludongzan on the side ignored. Dai Zhou, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, bowed to Ludongzan and said: “Grand Minister, rest assured. Great Tang will absolutely not stand by idly. What His Majesty just said was said in anger. His Majesty has always been very fond of Marquis Yun. Seeing him suffer, he was naturally displeased. But such a shocking case occurring in Chang’an—the Court of Judicial Review will not stand by. This old man has already dispatched his most capable subordinates to Xiliu Camp. No one can make a case completely flawless. There will always be traces left behind. The Grand Minister need only cooperate fully. Before the case is fully resolved, you must not privately conflict with Marquis Yun, otherwise Great Tang’s laws will show no mercy.”
Dai Zhou never spoke pretty words. Tang Jian from the Court of State Ceremonial smiled bitterly and rubbed his hands. Hearing these words that sounded more like threats than comfort, he shook his head and came over to say to Ludongzan: “Officials in charge of law are like this. The Grand Minister need not be angry. I’ve heard that Tibet is currently formulating its own laws, and the Grand Minister’s visit here—observing governance is also an important matter. Why not use this opportunity to carefully observe Great Tang’s legal system, turning misfortune into fortune? Through this incident, you can go through the complete process of Great Tang’s legal system. Perhaps it will benefit Tibet’s laws. The stones of other mountains can polish jade. The Grand Minister must not underestimate the law. That Great Tang enjoys such prosperity today is entirely due to laws constraining people’s behavior. This official believes Tibet will also have need of this.”